"The Commandments" was my third experience with Deric.
I had my doubts as to whether I would like his character or not,
because I hated him in the series prior to this one, "All About
Tin" and "Heroes From Shaolin." His characters as
Tin and Sai Fun annoyed me because he was too darn righteous and
he picked wrong girls like Catherine and Noel. Right for him, wrong
for me as a viewer, so hmph!
However, my newfound affection for Deric began with "The
Commandments." It probably helped a lot that he chose Vivian
Chow in the series, and that I am a big fan of Vivian, but besides
that, I enjoyed watching Deric as a semi-stupid, clueless guy
who magically transforms into a hero but still seems semi-stupid
for some reason in the end. He was not righteous, he was not perfect,
he was not heroic (if he appeared to be one, I must say he was
coerced into catching the bad because he is the main character),
he was just a down to earth, "My Next Door Neighbor Deric"
kind of Deric.
In the series, Deric brought misfortune into his neighborhood
upon birth, so people didn't like him that much. Except his childhood
friend, Mui Siu Wai, whom he was engaged to. I think she liked
him a little TOO MUCH. Anyhow, when Deric came to a big city,
he met a kind-hearted girl played by Vivian. She was always being
bullied by her stepmother and stepsister (Chor Ka Po), even though
she was her father's first wife's daughter. Vivian's birth mom,
Lui Yau Wai, left the house when Vivian was a baby because her
husband pissed her off (probably about not having a son). After
Lui Yau Wai left, she gave birth to a boy but he was soon kidnapped
by a thief. She grieved and tried to find her son, but to no avail.
She only remembered that the boy had a butterfly tattoo somewhere
on his back (this becomes important later on).
Deric and Vivian got along well and fell in love eventually.
Before this, Deric also met a guy named Tai Sin, played by Wu
Yuet San. They became good friends, but Wu was a bit conniving,
while Deric was naive. When they came to the city together, Wu
fell in love with Vivian's stepsister, Chor Ka Po. But something
was wrong with his face at the time so she humiliated him, saying
he was ugly. He vowed revenge. Later, his face went back to being
normal (and pretty handsome, I suppose), and he was able to capture
Chor Ka Po's heart and marry her. Little did she know that it
was the same guy she rejected.
Deric got lucky (which he has never been before) and somehow
met a great martial arts master. He learned some nice kung fu
and became pretty strong and smart. His friend, Wu was jealous
so he started plotting against Deric. Deric was having a dilemma
of his own - he had to reject Mui Siu Wai's wish to wed because
he was in love with Vivian. Obviously, Mui Siu Wai didn't like
Vivian too much in the series and did things to separate her from
Deric that didn't really work. One night, Mui Siu Wai got bloody
drunk and ended up sleeping with a guy named Ah Fei (I don't know
the actor's name) who had a crush on her. Ah Fei was a son of
a thief (you can guess who he really is). Mui Siu Wai mistook
him for Deric and she later claimed pregnancy, which Deric denied.
After some more misunderstandings, it was revealed that Ah Fei
was actually Vivian's long-lost-brother and Lui Yau Wai's long-lost-son.
Now that Lui Yau Wai actually had a son, Vivian's father had to
beg for forgiveness from her. Chor Ka Po and her mother were given
cold shoulders in the family, while Vivian was adored along with
her brother.
By this time, it was also revealed that Wu was a bad guy. Chor
Ka Po finally learned that he was the same guy that she rejected,
but she really loved him and didn't want him to fight Deric (because
Deric was going to marry her younger sister, Vivian). The duel
between Deric and Wu took place anyway, and Wu of course lost.
During the duel, he hit his head on a rock and became mentally
retarded. Chor Ka Po ended up taking care of him (quite touching
here, noting a big personality change on Chor's part).
As for Mui Siu Wai, she realized that the guy she slept with
was NOT Deric, but Ah Fei, so she ended up marrying him, which
was all good because he liked her anyway. Deric and Vivian got
together and it was all a big happy ending, which is pretty rare
for a Deric series. =)
I am not sure why the title is "The Commandments,"
but this is not to be confused with "The Sacred Commandments"
which is an 80's serial with Stephen Tung Wai, Austin Wai Tin
Chi, Gigi Chiu Ngar Chi, and Jamie Chik Mei Chun.
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