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August 30, 2015

Posted at 12:25 PM

*Spoilers Alert* - If you don't want spoilers, stop reading now

Brick Slaves depicts the problems of expensive housing costs in Hong Kong in a comical way. The storyline revolves around the property management company "All in One", and all of the main and supporting characters are linked to the company one way or another. Vincent Wong (Jack, Lau Yiu Ming) became the manager of "All in One" because he saved Eliza Sum (Peggy, Juk Bik Gei) from the sea when she accidentally fell into the water. He encountered Evergreen Mak (House, Lo Bit Dak), who worked under him and had previously interviewed him for his current position. Selena Li (Cecilia, Choi Kin Ching) became Vincent's tenant in his apartment, and they started a bickering landlord-tenant relationship. Kiki Sheung (Joyce, Lei Oi Wah) is the owner of "All in One", and she always keeps an eye on Eliza. She even arranges Eliza to work in "All in One" as an intern.

Vincent's character as Jack is highly likable. He is a good cook and enjoys helping other people. Initially, he disagrees with Evergreen a lot on how things work at "All in One". Later, the two became good co-workers. Jack is trying hard to earn money to pay off his apartment. He is one of the "brick slaves" as he always needs to be concerned of losing his job and will no longer be able to afford his mortgage. However at the end, he sold his apartment and became a chef at his restaurant instead, with the help of Selena's character. Vincent's performance as male lead did not disappoint.

The backstories of Selena's past and the true identity of Eliza's father are the suspense in the drama. I was really intrigued to learn about Selena's past that has caused her to become so aloof and erratic at times. It turns out that her boyfriend, who is Kiki's brother, passed away while trying to rush to see her at her piano performance. Since then, Selena became depressed and would not perform in front of audience. She resorted to offer people piano lessons to make a living. Later, Vincent helped Selena to step out from her past, and she regained confidence to perform again.

As for Eliza, she has mistaken Evergreen's character House as her father due to Kiki Sheung's manipulation. Later, she was distraught when she found out the people she trusted the most are all lying to her. As it turns out, K K Cheung (Martin, Chow Guan Lin), who is Kiki's husband, is actually Eliza's biological father. Kiki tried to hide the truth from Eliza in order to protect her marriage.


Evergreen's family are somewhat supporting to the drama. I especially like Rachel Kan's (Mary, Chu Ma Lei) character, who is Evergreen's wife.


The main theme of the drama is the struggle between earning money to support the mortgage of expensive apartment versus pursuing your own dream. Vincent's Jack decided to pursue his own dream at the end. He sold his apartment and invested in his own restaurant. On the other hand, Evergreen's House continued his life as a "Brick Slave", working hard to afford his family a good apartment flat and paying off mortgage.

Overall, the drama is really enjoyable. There are a lot of spots for laughs, and the performances of actors and actresses are great. The story is well-paced, and the ending wraps up everything nicely. I also really enjoy the chemistry between Vincent and Selena. I think "Brick Slaves" are one of the great dramas in 2015.

Grade: 9 out of 10

TVB.com - http://programme.tvb.com/drama/brickslaves/

Labels: Brick Slaves, Reviews, TVB Series

posted by magnolia_sara | |