Battle of the Seven Sisters (2021)

Not well done at all

I love the trope of found-sisters, so I was really looking forward to this. It's not a storyline that is often featured, so I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the show was a let down-for me. There is very little about the show that worked for me. The only character I loved was Allison; every other sister was annoying. Hailey cold-heartedly stole money from parents who hired her to teach their children piano; the fact that she was a loyal friend did not make her behavior ok. She was a criminal who lacked any remorse or empathy, and she deserved to be punished by the law. Grace abused a man who reminded her of hear dead husband. The show tried to make the scenes look funny, but I was not laughing, at all. The fact that she was petite and beautiful did not make it funny or silly. I don't know what the producers were thinking. The romance between Allison and the younger guy ( I can't remember his name) lacked chemistry; I felt that I was watching a big sister and her little brother). As a whole, the show did not work for me.

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You know what they say - the higher your expectations, the harder the fall

The trailer and the ending theme song after the first episode showed so much promise: Vivien Koo's song is very catchy; it's filled with so much angst and passion, I'm tempted to say it's the best TVB song of 2021. The trailer also seemed to imply each of the sisters would have their own unique backstory. After watching the first episode, I imagined the terms of their father's will and their inheritance would ultimately bring them closer together, as a family. And I assumed at the time that by episode 10, they would have developed as strong a bond as the brothers in "10 Brothers", to defeat and arrest a big time mob-boss or their father's killer or something.

None of that happened because the sisters do not share equal screen time. The TV series mainly focuses on the stories of 3 of the sisters and mentions the other sisters' stories offhandedly. Not going to lie, I was particularly drawn to this drama because of Hera Chan, who I find super cute. I expected this would be a breakout role for her. It wasn't because she barely had any screen time (maybe 1.5 episodes in total).

The storyline also forgets about the importance of their inheritance, as a large chunk of screen time is given to characters who have little to contribute to the main plot (i.e. the lawyer's assistant Judy and some stand-up comedian who cannot tell a joke if his life depended on it). Youtube that SNL sketch when Jimmy Fallon was hosting; learning basketball at a Performing Arts School is a terrible idea because you should really learn basketball in PE or from playing in the park. That actor from the original "Love: Come Home" should have spent more time researching actual stand-up, instead of trying to act like a stand-up comic.

I won't waste any more time criticising such an utterly disappointing drama - I've wasted enough time looking up time and time again from my phone (i was on Instagram) as it was playing in the background, hoping something funny, interesting would happen. I'll end this review by saying I should have known better because the nonsensical title was already a clear sign of thoughtless storytelling. The literal English translation of the Chinese title is "The Seven Princesses". Look, none of them come from royalty so they can't be princesses. Also saying that their father treated them all like princesses is a downright lie because the seventh "sister" was not spoilt rotten and had no idea of his existence! As for whatshername winning best actress - not sure what the top 10 robberies were in 2021 but her winning Best Actress is definitely right up there on the list, considering the standout performances of the award winners in 2020 and 2019.

I'm just glad Hera Chan was in the promo poster and had some scenes to show off how she is a good crier and good at being stealthy and mysterious in the shadows, like a ninja.

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