Thoughts on The Fierce Wife's Ending

I just finished watching the whole series and the movie today. It was a really long TV series (23 1-1.5 hr episodes) and a short movie(1hr 48 mins). Last year or the other year, I was able to watch almost half of the series already when we borrowed the neighbor's DVD collection of it. However, I got tired of it halfway and only recently decided to watch it again.

Its story was good and mature. It dealt with marriage, divorce, extramarital affairs, relationships with age gaps, family, self-fulfillment, and of course the pursuit of happiness. 

The reason why I gave up watching it before was because I got too frustrated and disappointed and mad at Wen Rui Fan and Li Wei En. Their behavior during the first half of the series were just too hateful. I read online that people would curse the two actors during and outside filming. It was proof that the program was widely popular and the actors were good in portraying the characters. Even when it was shown across Asia, the reactions were similar. The audience empathized with the difficulties of Xie An Zhen, Wen Rui Fan, Li Wei En, Lan Tian Wei, and the others. 

After a year or so, I decided to watch it again. I needed closure hahaha and I read that it was a really good program. There are times when I felt the scene was a filler or the lines were preachy but then every TV series has them. The flow of the story and the characters more than make up for the program's deficiencies.

When I watched the final episode, I was convinced that An Zhen chose Tian Wei. It was downright rejection when she told Rui Fan "I can't go back". Moreover, her constant reading of Tian Wei's columns and her smile at the end had more meaning. It can mean two things (just friends or more than friends) but at least it was not an explicit no.

At the start of the movie (a continuation and ending of the series), I was more convinced it would be Tian Wei. There is no way one would stick postcards from a suitor on one's ref without any romantic inkling. In addition to that, she seemed happy and comfortable with Tian Wei (they had way more scenes too) unlike the awkward and forced meetings with her ex-husband. 30 mins through the movie, it was pretty much settled it would be Tian Wei but fine let the director attempt to convince us Rui Fan has a chance.

1. almost begging for one more chance through a product launch

- An Zhen forced a smile so it's a no

- Alright, she was touched by his words but not enough though

2. Meng-meng's speech at the school

- An Zhen also forced a smile and was feeling awkward

3. Kang De's endless hardsell for Rui Fan and An Zhen at the birthday party

- Honestly, it was over the line. He should know his limits. 

4. Rui Fan buying and almost giving the ring

- The look on An Zhen's face was like saying "Sorry but please don't because you know I don't want to anymore"

Anyway, I was very much relieved when Rui Fan didn't give the ring and when he told Meng-meng to let go in the end. Finally, he realized that he can't be with her again, that her happiness is with someone else. It took him four years to realize. Wen Yu Meng too, it must have been really painful for a child.

For Wei En, I'm glad that she let Rui Fan know of Oliver's (the son, not the cat nor the stuffed toy) existence. Finally, she redeemed herself to me when she decided to raise the child on her own but not keep the secret of who his father is. Telling An Zhen was the right thing to do as her cousin, and also as the former mistress. 

The climax was very corny, unrealistic, and predictable but it was another fun element of the movie. Finally, these two people can be happy together. It was a happy ending for everyone. Rui Fan as a father to both Meng-meng and Oliver, Wei En as a mother, Ho Ai Lin as a strong independent woman once again, Hao Kang De and Wen Rui Xuan with Zhuang-zhuang in a complete happy family, Lan Tian Wei and Xie An Zhen as a happy new couple. Even the minor characters had happy endings.

The movie was a nice ending to this story. It was light and tied up all the loose ends episode 23 left us. I have so many more thoughts throughout the show but the movie confirmed my predictions. It provided closure. It was the end.

* As usual, I just grabbed some photos off Google images. :)

Filipino vs Spanish vs Portuguese

When I was a kid, we used to buy lots of canned goods such as sardines, corned beef, luncheon meat, and tuna for a number of reasons. One, it can be eaten when we run out of food in the refrigerator and we're hungry. Too, we can eat it when the maid's not at home and/or when no one wants to cook. Three, they're cheap compared to buying microwavable dishes. I think there are more reasons but I can't remember every one of them. 

Anyways, we always bought sardines from the Philippines because they're cheap. I used to really like them especially the spicy ones. However, I grew up and saw all the other sardines on the supermarket shelf from different countries and I began to wonder how different they really are. Is it just called spanish sardines because it's manufactured in Spain? Just recently, I decided to buy three kinds and taste all of them. I bought a Ligo sardines from the Philippines, a spanish sardines that I can't remember the brand, and a Zaragosa Portugues sardines. 

 

Ligo sardines was the worst of the three. It only had three pieces inside and its taste reflected its price. The sauce was spicy, the kind of spicy that's constant and somehow overpowering. The sauce was thick and there was a lot of it. I'm not so sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing though. Oh! On the plus side, the fish was fat.

Next I tried the Spanish sardines. I was surprised at how many pieces fit in that little bottle. There were about 12-15 sardines inside. The fish was thinner than Ligo and still had its tail :)) It was bathed in a sauce made of oil, chili, and some other spice. The chopped chili and part of the oil gave it its spicy taste. It was not overpowering though. It only hints once in a while. 

For the Portugues one, it also contained around 10 or more pieces in one bottle. There were no chili in the corn oil that surrounded the sardines but it was still a little bit spicy. The least though, out of the three. It had the thinnest fishes and had still had scales which I didn't enjoy. However, I still liked it better than the Ligo.

I only tried three kinds and they may not even be representative of each country's sardines. Based on these three, I liked the Spanish sardines the most. It suited my taste best. There were enough for the three people to get full. The sauce didn't look unhealthy and the spiciness was just the right amount for the fish. 

*Again, all pictures are from the internet because I forgot to take photos of the ones I tried. I was too focused on comparing them, I think.