TVB Horizon

War and Beauty Overview

A great hit in 2004! I didn't watched this series when it released because I thought it would be quite boring. Honestly, it's not the kind of genre that I really like so I didn't give it a chance. It's just recently that I digged up some old series to see and decided to see it (cause of the compliments it received). And I really do like it.

The story was interesting to see. The schemes in here are much, much better than Beyond the Realm of Conscience and the story flows much smoother. Comparing the 2, Beyond is nothing compare to War and Beauty. Each character showed a reason for their doing and I really love them. War and Beauty really portrays the betrayals, friendships and schemes well.

It a refreshing series to see from tvb and was a great series to watch (though I wouldn't re-watch it, cause it's way to depressing for me xD). One of my friend says that this series is her favorite out of all the ones she've watched that talks about the forbidden city. The ending would be one thing I'll never forget...

Characters

Gigi Lai

She comes from a rich family but her mother is only the 4th mistress, so they had little respect in the family. Gigi is a really filial daughter who entered the palace and wanted to gain power because of her mom.

When she entered the palace, she was really good friends with Charmaine. Though they sworn to be sisters, all it was but just a lie. Though Gigi seem to be dumb on the outside, she is actually a scheming person. All along, her friendship with Charmaine was a fake and Charmaine caused her to lose the chance to see the emperor. With Maggie's help, Gigi was able to caught the emperor's attention and officially became the emperor's concubine. Later she was betrayed by Maggie.

She and Bowie then had an affair and she became pregnant (which everybody thought was the emperor's child). Bowie's and Gigi's was kinda betrayal and love at the same time. Gigi used him even though she loved him.

Even though I don't like her character that much, I do admire her for being a filial daughter. I hated her when she used Bowie for her own good but was touched when she rescued him. She might be evil but that was probably because of all the betrayals that happened to her. She deeply trusted Maggie but in the end, she was really hurt when she knew Maggie lied to her. Out of the 4 leading ladies, I probably disliked her character the most, but I can't say I dislike her either.

Charmaine Sheh

An orphan, she was taken in by a person that trained her to become a concubine. She is really loyal to him but he only wanted to use her to get close to the emperor. Her character is quiet and acted like a nice person but inside, she had a scheming heart.

As evil as she might be, she was not that evil at all. Even though she might be strong in the outside, I found her to be the weakest of the 4 in the inside. She was not evil enough because of Bowie. She fell for him when she entered the palace. As strong as a girl can be, she will grow weak when it comes to the person she loves. Bowie only loves Gigi and Charmaine knew that. Instead of trying to hurt Gigi, she didn't do anything because she knew that would hurt Bowie.

I do pity her character. Loving the one that doesn't love you is sad. Till the end, she still tried to help Bowie all she could and no longer was she fully committed to her 'mission'. For 10 yrs of her life, she was used and trained to get into the palace but in the end, she has nothing. She lost her sister, the man she loves, and the guy who she thinks she was being a filial daughter to. Out of the 4, she was the only girl to escaped from the palace.

Maggie Cheung

Just half a year before she was finally able to get out of the palace, something drastically changed her life. She's a maid who keeps to her work and doesn't get involve into the palace's schemes, but fate turned her life around. Maggie fell in love with Moses and wanted to live with him for the rest of her life when she get out. Unluckily, she helped Gigi and that made the Empress mad. The Empress then murdered Maggie's only family member, her grandmother. In order to get revenge, she betrayed Gigi and became the emperor's concubine, therefore also leaving Moses.

All she wanted was to get the Empress killed but with the Empress's power, that was impossible. Through all her plans, her effort was wasted and ended up getting the people around her hurt. She regretted what she did but the road she took was already official. In the ending, she managed to escape the palace with Moses and CHarmaine but was struck with an arrow behind her back.

Maggie's character was too caught up with revenge that she forgot who she was. In the end she could only regret it.

Sheren Tang

First featured as an evil concubine who trys to keep her position firm beside the emperor. Sadly, she did something wrong and was ignored by the emperor. On the other hand though, that was a blessing because she got to meet Moses whom she fell in love with and learnt the love that she had almost forgotten for her daughter. When Sheren held her daughter in her hand out in the snow, all I can feel was how sorry I was for her. Power corrupted her and had led to this misfortune.

Though she had her down times, I admire her for her strong personalities. She doesn't easily give up and always tried to stand back up again. Another thing I admire about her is that she doesn't get caught up in her emotions. She's smart and knows what to do.

Since the age of 16, Sheren had been living in the palace. So I felt that the ending they had for her was really well suited. Still, out of the 4, I'd say she has the sadest ending. Even though both Gigi and Maggie died, they died beside the one they loved. Charmaine hopefully started a new life, but Sheren..........she will be stuck in the palace all her life, unable to see the one she love.

Jade Leung

She's the character I pity the most in the whole series. Jade is Charmaine's long-lost sister but they both don't know about it. She entered the palace before Charmaine and was abandoned by the emperor because of her sickness. During a coincidental meeting, Charmaine and JAde became good friends. Though Jade appears to be a normal concubine, she too was raise by the guy Charmaine was raised by and her mission is too get close to the emperor. But she didn't, and the reason is because of Bowie.

Before Jade died, she explained to Bowie how throughout the years, she've been slowly poisoning herself because she wanted him to come see her. I was shock to find out that she left the glorious life of a concubine just for him. She really is silly but also my favourite character.

Bowie Lam

5 women like this guy. I really don't know why....but maybe because of his caring attitude? Bowie plays as a royal physician who doesn't live at his home but in a brothel. The 5 women that loves him is Charmaine, Jade, Gigi, his wife and his soul partner at the brothel. In those 5 the only women he truly loved was Gigi. Unbelievable, but I guess love can't really be explain cause the other 4 were much better then Gigi, whom used him over and over again.

If I can choose who I want him to be with, it'll be Jade. Haha, I'm abit bias when I'm saying this (since she is my fav. character). If Jade did tell him earlier that she liked him, I wonder would he like her?

Moses Chan

Probably the least interesting of all the characters. Moses is a royal guard and he loves Maggie.....then I also think Sheren. He loves Maggie dearly but then because of her revenge, she turned him off. After that, he pitied Sheren and decided to help her and that's when I think she began to fell for him. There isn't much to talk about Moses beside the ending...

Ending Memories

During the ending, Moses decided to escape the palace with Maggie and Sheren, but Sheren wanted to stay. No matter what she said, he wouldn't let her go but did he really have a choice? Sheren said to him, "If we get outside, you can only choose one person (between her and Maggie), take that person's hand right now." I don't know if he meant to choose Maggie or actually the both of them, because he took MAggie's hand and did not let go of either of their hands. At that moment, Sheren took her hand away from his and pushed him to go.

I thought of it and I wonder if Moses liked Sheren or not? I felt really, really bad for Sheren. Having to live the rest of her life in the palace alone....

Another part I can never forget is when Charmaine found out that Maggie had an arrow in her back. Maggie told her to not tell Moses because she know that he's going to return to the city and might die there. So they silently rode off with Maggie leaning onto Moses shoulder and Charmaine silently tearing up.

I really like the ending for Maggie. Even though she did die, she died peacefully beside Moses and outside the palace walls. Now I'm wondering what will Charmaine do? Though she escaped, Bowie wasn't with her. But at least she still have her baby.

As stated before, I found Sheren's ending to be the sadest out of the 4. Her ending was just standing there silently reading the poem on the handkerchief. I'm still wondering who that handkerchief belongs too. Maggie's or Sheren's?

Labels: Overview, War and Beauty

=P said on June 28, 2010 10:13 PM

Lol, the hankerchief was Yu Fei's. She had that reminiscent look when Moses (who thought that hankerchief was Maggie's) accidentally dropped it. And she was the one reciting the poem on the hankerchief at the ending, even though the hankerchief wasn't with her. So she is the owner of the hankerchief. xD

LynneD. said on June 28, 2010 10:26 PM

Ah...I see xD Thanks for clearing that up for me. I wonder how it landed in Moses hands then?

An Pham said on June 28, 2010 10:41 PM

OMG thnx "=P" i never really though about that....hmmm that leave me wondering now. but anyways i'm glad you gave this series ago lynnD after all the long years it been out. to tell you the truth, i didnt really like the series at first. i found it hard to understand the plot and though it was alittle to boring. and i dreded all the male talk. but after watching beyond, which i was waiting impatiently for almost a year. i came out with many dissapointment, eventhough i didnt remember much about w&b i still know that the schemes was so much better than it. so again i took the time to watch it once more, but this time without any distraction. and i finally truely appreciate the series. and storyline was phenomenal. everything was in place and i didnt get lose thoughout the series at all. and eventhough this was made in 2004, the schemes and maniulation in here sure made beyond look like a fool. the props/secnerary was also very refreshing to watch since it was film in the actual forbbin kingdom and the ACING...wow what more can i say??? staring 6 best actor/acttress in tvb history it's definitly not doubt that the cast really put in all they have. i'm so glad i download this series on my harddrive cause i do rewatch it once in awhile, especially the scheming part. this series had become a really big classic in my heart and i think also for many viewers, hopfully they can make a newer remake with the superb acting abilities, beautiful senery and stick with the original plot.

An Pham said on June 28, 2010 10:44 PM

ohh i forgot to mention, after rewatching the series, if you truely payattention to all the male tlk, it's actually very crucial to the storyline and is actually more fascinating than it's dullness. and ur exactly right, beyond was noware close to compare to this. even though their outfits were pretty, the storyline was definitly not there, and the props were constintly being reuse through the whole series which looses the grandness of it. but i have to say the acting was also very good though. especially ching hor wai, and susuane tse

=P said on June 29, 2010 2:29 AM

Haha, remember the first few episodes where Moses and his friend (Chan Song) were finding for some second-hand clothes to wear? I think that was where Moses first discovered the hankerchief. The hankerchief was hidden in some second-hand clothes that they were wearing/found. After that, Bak-yeung's dad (I think) told Moses about the sad plight of palace ladies and they sew embrioderies to pass time/or to fight boredom and neglect. At that time, Moses only knew On-sin (Maggie), so he thought that the hankerchief belonged to her since it was "her style". But when Moses asked Maggie whether it was her hankerchief, Maggie said no (which was the truth even though they were on "cold war" ever since Maggie became a concubine). Haha, hope that helps you. :)

=P said on June 29, 2010 2:34 AM

And like An Pham, I'm really glad you gave this series a go. War and Beauty is really one of TVB's classics! There is absolutely no way BTROC can compare to WAB. BTROC just pales too much in comparison. Most of the characters in there were very 2-dimensional, unlike WAB, where every character has his/her reasons for doing what they did. What was TVB thinking about when they promoted BTROC as a "second WAB"? It totally got the hype up, but BTROC failed to be as phenomenal as WAB, badly.

An Pham said on June 29, 2010 7:56 PM

haha thnx =P!! and OMG i soo don't remember saying no to the hankercheif!!...guess i gotta watch it again lol. but i know right!!! how can they compare WAB to BTROC?? that is such a smack in the face for WAB. i was left so disapointed though after watching BRTOC. the first episode was good. but afterworth, it was a total epic failure. it's like all they care was the clothing and makeup. they did not care one bit about the storyline and character devloping. they waste so much good cast in that series, i did not see what was the purpose for michelle yim, susan kwan, ching hor wai, roasani lui, and many more. but i was definitly more disapointed in myself though for waiting days and nights for one aweful series. i wouldnt even give it a one star outta 5

LynneD. said on June 29, 2010 9:03 PM

An Pham: I'm really glad that I gave this series a go too. It was much better then I expected. I didn't really find the male part too boring (maybe only Moses parts, but Bowie's were interesting). Same here. The trailer made Beyond look really good but it ended up messed up. The characters doesn't have layers and the storyline is....pointless in ways.

Yah. For me, it is much better watching on the tv then computer because I always get distracted on the computer. I always tend to lose somewhere while watching on the computer cause I have the urge to forward it. I do think that the older series are much better than the series nowadays. I rarely skipped any series back then but now I do alot. I agree, the sceneries were awesome! How they filmed it in the forbidden kingdom made everything become more realistic. I think without expectations, the more surprise you'll get from a series. I don't think the remake is going to live up to W&B. If they stick to the original storyline......it probably won't be that effective anymore cause for the people who've seen it would know what happens. But it would be fun to do a 'recast' post on it =D Hmm...I wouldn't know who to recast for Sheren though....

Yah the acting in Beyond was good....it was just the storyline that killed it. Kinda sad since I think they spent alot of money on that....

=P: Oh, I see. But why was it so important to him though? Because of it, he helped Maggie alot. Or was it because he thinks that she came from the same hometown as him? Haha, now I'm confuse xD I actually thought she said no to get rid of him....but yah, I also felt that she was serious when she said no. Haha, you remember the series so well =P!

Yah, in BTROC the characters changed in just a snap of a finger. I think tvb was just worried about their look instead of their story. They made BTROC look foolish comparing it to WAB. When tvb tries to recreate a classic series....it usually ends up badly. Like how they did Burning flame 3.

An Pham: I totally agree with everything you say. TVB grand productions had been quite bad lately. Maybe it's jsut me but I've been watching tvb series now mainly because of the cast. Since it was a grand production, it's probably why they used them. I wouldn't rate it that badly.....I'd actually give it a 2/5. Because of the casts acting. And I did enjoy Selena and Tavia fighting. Losing 3 for the failure of the storyline and characters.

=P said on June 29, 2010 11:02 PM

Haha, I remember WAB well because it was really one of the few dramas that really made a huge impression on me. I watched it first on the free-to-air TV, but due to my school work, I couldn't watch it every night, so I decided to get the VCDs so that I could watch it during my own free time. xD

Btw, Moses saw the hankerchief, and immediately "felt" for the person who sewn that hankerchief. Moreover, he saw Maggie sewing embroideries before, therefore he was certain that the hankerchief was hers. So hankerchief (mistaken identity) + same hometown = Moses <3 Maggie. xD

I actually wonder what will happen if Moses knew that the hankerchief was Sheren's... Will he love Sheren even though she's the Emperor's woman? I think forbidden love would have been more interesting and intriguing haha. xD Moses and Maggie liked each other before she became a concubine, so that's different. =P

An Pham said on June 29, 2010 11:20 PM

haha yeah ur right. okie two stars than. since the acting was really good and the customes were breath taking. and yeah they totally made the trailer so much more intriguding than the actually series itself. the two trailer for charmaine and tavia seems was complete opposite and it seems like that alone could have made such a nice storyline. and also the sales presentation for beyond was in my opion COMPLETELY off from the actually the series. but yeah i do enjoy tavia and selena fight. it was one of the only thing i like in the serie, eventhouht the fight did not last long, and outta nowhere selena totally change her whole attitude..how weird right?...haha okie i think im finish for this post now..bye...add me on facebook ppls: www.facebook.com/anfiya13094

LynneD. said on July 2, 2010 8:30 PM

=P: I see^^ What other series made an impression on you? Would like to see them if I haven't yet.

I think Moses would still love her too. Just because she's the emperor's woman, it doesn't mean that the love can easily be erase^^

An Pham: Yes, the sales presentation seems much, much better! I liked how the heads of the bureaus were really evil (Christine Ng). Tavia locked in the cell...(first she loved kevin (she was locked in the cell) but then chased after the king for power) that was a good storyline for Tavia. They should of kept to it.

Yah, I really disliked how Selena changed. She should've find out how Tavia got her mother killed and try to get revenge. Haha, ok^^ but sorry I don't use my facebook...

An Pham said on July 2, 2010 11:15 PM

Hahaha okie I lie. I told myself I wouldn't post any mor comment on this post but I just though of something vert important....since Maggie die, Moses should totally go back to the forbidden kingdom and try to save her out through all obstacle... Watta u think?? And it's okie I forgive u

LynneD. said on July 3, 2010 10:18 PM

Hmm, interesting point. If he does go back though, he'd waste Maggie's good intention....but if he doesn't, he'll live his life wondering what happened to Sheren. I personally think he shouldn't go back because all they did and wanted was for him to be safe. I think it'll cause more trouble for Sheren if he came back for her...cause of the queen =/

=P said on July 4, 2010 9:14 AM

Haha, have you watched When Rules Turn Loose? I think it's pretty heart-warming. :)

Hmm... I think Sheren is strong enough to survive in the palace. She has been there since 16, so that's why she chose to stay back 'cos she won't be accustomed to life outside the palace. ;) If she left, I think the Emperor will send people after her 'cos she's quite important LOL! xD But yeah, I think Sheren was really noble to give Moses up to Maggie... T_T

And do you still know where to watch the sales presentation clip of BTROC? I haven't seen it before. ._.

LynneD. said on July 17, 2010 11:41 PM

Apologies for the SUPER late reply!

Hmm, I remember that series. though not much, I know I did really enjoyed it. Making me wanna rewatch it now =)

Haha, yah. A emperor can't loose his face.

Here u go ;) http://www.megavideo.com/?v=TQ3UFM5L

re-watching the sales pressentation....it looked SO GOOD!! If only tvb kept it like that >< *tears*

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