Expectations not met in "The Little Nyonya" finale

The final episode of local drama serial "The Little Nyonya" created a glorious viewership record in 15 years, a tell-tale sign of the viewers' loyal support for this drama.

However, it seems that the audience's high hopes resulted in great disappointment. Many viewers expressed their dissatisfaction in the slapdash ending of the drama on Xin.sg's forums.

Some actors in "The Little Nyonya" also told Xin.sg that they do not think that was the best ending for the drama; male lead Qi Yuwu felt it was a pity that Chen Xi and Yueniang were not fated to be together.

On Xin.sg's forum, a handful of viewers said that they found the ending haphazard and it did not explain each character's ending. As a 34-episode long-running mega production, the ending happened too quickly and skipped many details.

Jeanette Aw, who played Yueniang, felt that modern viewers generally prefer a happy ending and said she could understand their disappointment. "I think I can accept such an ending. But as a viewer, I understand why people hope for Yueniang and Chen Xi to be together.

"However, the context has to be taken into consideration. Yueniang is a traditional and conservative girl in that period. She will not become a third-party, break Chen Xi's marriage or break the (Nyonya) family's faith just because she wanted to be with him.

"In addition, there is a sense of guilt towards Yuzhu (who went insane in the process of helping Yueniang elope with Chen Xi). Having considered the time context and a girl's thoughts then, I can understand why she made that decision," Aw said.

In the drama, Huang Tianbao overly trusted Charlie Zhang and his son Robert and was cheated upon, when he tried to bring prosperity to the Huang family by building relations with the Zhang family. In seeking revenge, Tianbao killed both father and son and was eventually sentenced to death.

Even so, actor Andie Chen, who played Tianbao, was absolutely pleased with such an end to his character. "If it was a happy ending, everyone will wake up the next day forgetting the show; with such an "imperfect" ending, I think the drama will stay in people's memories for a longer period. I love how Tianbao was sentenced to death, because baddies have to pay for their sins," Chen said.

Qi sees it differently though. He has a personal preference for a happy ending and has also expressed his regrets about the ending to the production team. "The economy is not doing well now and things may not be going smoothly. A happy ending may be able to lift the spirits of the viewers.

"I am more traditional; I think good people should get good returns but bad guys need not have a bad ending. They may go through some life-changing moments, and then change for the better. When we were filming, I was also grumbling about the ending to the crew: Sigh why?" Qi said.

"The Little Nyonya" marked Qi's return to TV after spending a year solely in the movie industry. He said that he will continue to juggle between the two but his primary focus will still be the movies. "Having dabbled in movies gained me some experiences; I managed to put what I learnt in movies into Little Nyonya," he said.

However, he has not been notified of upcoming TV drama assignment. When asked if there was a possibility for the mega drama production to be produced as a movie, Qi said the "nyonya" culture depicts a rich Singapore culture, and it would be exciting for a sequel or movie to be made; he hoped to be cast in them if they come true. "It can be different by explaining what would happen to Chen Xi and Yueniang if time were reversed," Qi said.

Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/xin/20090112/ten-416-qi-yuwu-sighs-little-nyonya-3c1b9bc.html