Side dish: It looked like Dan Dan’s husband was about to take off to the Mediterranean with a foreign hussy, but he is not going anywhere. So, he will appreciate Dan Dan cooking up a good Mediterranean meal following one of the 25 Mediterranean recipes at BBC Good Food.
Episode Recap
Gussied up housewife, Dan Dan (Mandy Wong) desperately tries to seduce her husband. When he runs for cover into the bathroom with his laptop, she fears that he is communicating with his mistress. However, Dan Dan refrains from breaking the door down, because she does not want to come off as a shrew.
Undercover cop, Ga Lun (Stanley Cheung) runs into fellow undercover cop, Apple (Priscilla Wong) and her neighbours. On Apple’s orders, Ga Lun walks Fung Nei (Kaki Leung) home in order to pry into her financial situation. Fung Nei’s mother-in-law catches sight of the two former neighbours being familiar with each other, and gives Fung Nei grief when she gets home. Fung Nei claims that she was just returning money she borrowed from Ga Lun’s mother.
Fung Nei begs Ga Lun to back up her lie to her mother-in-law. Ga Lun tries to find out the actual source of Fung Nei’s funding, but she insists that the money is from hometown relatives. Over dim sum, Ga Lun does as Fung Nei requests, and even impresses her mother-in-law with his excellent manners.
Ga Lun is the other man in another marriage, when his superior officer, Tai Shu (Edwin Siu) catches him coming out of a secret meeting with Tai Shu’s fake wife, Apple. Tai Shu feels double crossed by his partner’s assistance of Apple, but he encourages Ga Lun to play double agent.
After her husband cancels a family outing last minute, Dan Dan enlists Apple’s help in tailing her husband. Tai Shu objects to her involvement, because this activity does not help their primary investigation, plus he does not believe that Dan Dan’s husband is a philanderer.
Though Tai Shu initially refuses to help her, he shows up the next day ready to chauffeur Apple and the housewives. Under Apple’s tutelage, the housewives tail Dan Dan’s husband as he goes with a foreign woman to a travel agency, then a jewelry store. However, when Dan Dan’s husband gets down on one knee to propose to the woman in a restaurant, they cannot help but intervene.
Dan Dan’s husband explains every suspicious action away as part of an unorthodox interactive English course. He is ashamed of his lack of proficiency in English, and wishes to find a new job. Dan Dan and her husband confirm their love for each other, and everything is forgiven. Meanwhile, Tai Shu sticks it to Apple for meddling in affairs that have nothing to do with their loan shark hunting operation.
Tai Shu’s father is enjoying a home cooked meal courtesy of his son’s girlfriend. She discourages Dad from contacting Tai Shu, and seems awkward at the mention of future nuptials. After answering her phone, she eagerly takes her leave, claiming work calls. However, Tai Shu’s father witnesses his son’s girlfriend receiving flowers from the same man he caught her having lunch with, then driving away with him.
Apple runs into Tai Shu’s father while he is doing his security guard rounds at the housing estate. He reveals his misgivings about the status of his son’s relationship, then wonders if his failed marriage soured his son’s attitude towards commitment.
Tai Shu rushes to an urgent meeting with his father. Dad reminds Tai Shu that his eighth anniversary with his girlfriend is coming up. Tai Shu was going to resort to the usual homemade card, when his father provides a full itinerary for the special day. Unfortunately, the girlfriend figures out the true architect behind the day, then sourly reveals that their anniversary has already passed. She complains that she has a closer relationship with his father than with him. Tai Shu scrambles to prove that he cares, but his girlfriend has already moved on to someone else.
Tai Shu is unusually subdued and tidy when he returns home to Apple. Later that night, Tai Shu sleepwalks and knocks on Apple’s door. Thinking that Tai Shu is possessed, Apple consults with superstitious neighbour, Lin Heung (Rachel Kan). Tarot cards support their suspicions of supernatural forces.
Tai Shu is drinking beer in the park while thinking back to the night before. When Dan Dan’s husband sits down to comfort him, Tai Shu admits to failing to be the man she wants, referring to his girlfriend. Dan Dan’s husband assumes that Tai Shu is speaking about Apple, and that Tai Shu suffers from the same libido problems as him. Tai Shu honestly admits that he and Apple have never slept together. The men rally each other to action, and both appear to be cheered up by their talk. As Tai Shu gathers up his beer cans, he spots an estate worker nearby. She quickly reassures him that she heard nothing of his conversation with Dan Dan’s husband. Oh oh.
Comments
I think the majority of viewers shared Tai Shu’s confidence that Dan Dan’s husband was not committing adultery. Otherwise, his far fetched explanation for the pseudo date with the foreign woman would have been entirely unbelievable. Exactly what kind of unorthodox program is that English teacher running? It sounded like she was conning honest men like Dan Dan’s husband into taking her out on a date, and feeding into her marriage proposal fantasies.
Apple continues to be ridiculous, meddling in personal affairs unrelated to her primary operation. She reasons that by helping Dan Dan hunt down her adulterous husband, she is bonding with Dan Dan, thus making it more likely that the housewife will confide in her about any loan shark ties. Between this logic, and the one that drives her to attempt to lose real money in the stock market, Apple is starting to look like the rich hobby cop that others have accused her of being. She is focused on doing whatever tickles her fancy, regardless of how impractical or irrelevant the activity is.
Fortunately, someone is learning a lesson: boorish Tai Shu is finally getting his comeuppance. His careless attitude towards women drives his long time girlfriend to seek love and comfort elsewhere. Maybe once Tai Shu starts putting the toilet seat down, Apple will begin focusing on the job she is being paid to do. I can’t wait to see how this relationship turns romantic. In the meantime, here is Apple poking at a somber Tai Shu post-dumping.
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