TVB's The Gem of Life blasted for its hasty, anti-climax ending
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Since TVB's 82 episodes long drama The Gem of Life aired four months ago, ratings and public opinion have both been unsatisfactory. The finale aired the night before last, failed to explain many parts of the plot and left the audience with many question marks, it is mauled for a sloppy ending. 
TVB's The Gem of Life finale was aired the night before last, plots that caused the audience to be puzzled include whether Jessica (Ada Choi) chose not to save the dying Ho Fung/Martin (Ngok Wah), also Jessica's bathtub suicide scene was never aired. Did Terrence (Moses Chan) and Constance (Gigi Lai) get back together? These all became mysteries. Earlier the main characters kept contending against each other, however the ending took a 360 degree turn and they all changed for the better. The drama concluded with happy endings but the audience were at a loss. Previously it was rumored that TVB filmed Jessica committed suicide and Bak Siu Yau (Lee Si Kei) died of illness, but Lee Si Kei denied these tragic endings were ever filmed and said only the happy versions that aired were. 
The Gem of Life is 82 episodes long with a very strong cast, before airing the expectations were high. Unfortunately since broadcast started last October, except for the first week with average ratings of 31 points (more than 1.97 million viewers), the following weeks the ratings were all in the 20s: 27, 28, and even dropped to 25 points (approximately 1.6 million viewers). As a series aired during TVB's prime time, the ratings were not so good. Not until last week when the drama was nearing its ending climax, the average ratings finally climbed back to 30 points (approximately 1.9 million viewers). 
The many rivalries of high class society and distorted personalities of the characters in The Gem of Life failed to resonate with many viewers. But many still continued to watch, especially with the finale nearing and the plot becoming more exciting, unfortunately the insipid ending left them disappointed. Netizens commented that: "It's like a runaway horse, it gallops away rapidly only to find the outside beyond recognition, and bafflingly it returns to the original place." Although many netizens criticized the finale, some viewers who like happy endings commended it.
Regarding the netizens criticisms, Lee Si Kei said the drama all along tried to express that during the process of endless pursuit and contention, people do not necessarily feel happy, and the open endings left room for everyone to use their imagination. She laughingly said if everything was explained, 120 episodes had to be filmed. Personally she liked the finale very much because it created a little suspense, the audience thought her character died but Bak Siu Yau was actually asleep and woke up to a happy reunion with her husband and three daughters. Source: MingPao
Translated by: travelbug @ AsianFanatics
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