The Four (2008)

The Four 

The story of four young constables, who work together to solve cases and to bring down a corrupt official during the Song Dynasty. Coming from different backgrounds Heartless, Cold Blood, Iron Fist and Chaser form a bond like brothers and work to uphold justice.  

Mou Ching(Heartless)

Heartless got his name from a monk after he was crippled as a child, hoping that when he grew up he would not seek revenge for the destruction of his family. Heartless starts off not showing any emotion and not really caring only about anyone else but the housemaid, his two attendants and the uncle that raised him.  His is quite intelligent and very observant at times.  

I quite liked Heartless when we meet him, beside being a little anti social and not seeming to care about others.  He was a good person, understood that you often in to take your own personal emotions out in order for justice to be served.  However, by the end of the show I thought he was more a hypocrite. 

Iron Fist

Iron Fist, so called because he can destroy a blade with his bare hands and his fists are so powerful, was raised by an Ironsmith.  He is the second surviving son of the man that destroyed Heartless's family.  Heartless's father died seeking revenge on them.  

Iron Fist was okay for me. Iron Fist went through aloud in the series and displayed a lot of rage, much of which I thought should have been reserved for Cold Blood.  Also it seemed it was created so that Heartless and Iron Fist would have the stronger bond and although they did go through events that should have created it.  It never seemed like they ever really came to that point.  

Cold Blood

Cold Blood lost his parents at a very young age and was raised by wolves.  He starts off being an assassin before joining the constables.  Cold Blood seemed like the one who would have the most rage but never displayed it much.  He really did not speak all that much in the entire series.  I felt like he was the closest to Heartless even though they only really had the island episodes were they were shown to bond. 

Chaser

Chaser is a swindler before becoming a constable.  I think he was suppose to be the comic relief and more fun member of the group but I didn't laugh all that much.  

Yeut-fei

Yeut-fei is the daughter of the leader of the Blue Sky Sect and later Iron Fist love interest.

Song Chi-yin

Chi-yin Song comes in contact with the constables as a doctor, first as a doctor for Heartless then as a go to coroner, whenever they needed to examine a body or cure someone.  It turns out that she is a spy for the Prime Minister, Choi King.  Choi King was to over throw the current Emperor and is involved a many other crimes and conspiracies.    

I really was suspicious of Chi-yin the moment she came to learn from Heartless doctor and supposedly diagnosed him.  There was nothing in that scene about Heartless that she could have observed that gave away his condition (many re-watch).  I think she just listened outside the door, then used it as a way in. There are other scenes were people enter a room an know already what the people inside were talking about.  From then on there were too many times were I knew she was up to something.  Even when people started to suspect her, Heartless would defend her because he liked her.  

One review I read really thought she was a nice person. I really did not sympathize with her and the ending angered me a little.  From the beginning of the series to the end she just keep harming people and even Heartless that she claimed to love.   To begin with she killed Heartless's first doctor so she could be the one he would come to.  She kills the leader of the Blue Sky Sect even when Yeut-fei even considered her a friend. She knew about the mines and did nothing when Iron Fist's sister gets raped.  She uses Yeu-fei to drug Iron Fist and uses the metal gloves to frame him.  He almost get executed. She murder's Iron Fist's brother.  She destroys evidence that the constables needed.  She murder's Fook, and blinds Yeut-fei.  When Heartless finally catches but let's her go, she comes back kidnaps him and has him tortured.

I thought or believed that a theme of this show would be justice instead of revenge that is prevalent in many ancient Chinese series. Where someone seeks out to kill someone for the death of another and it goes on and more people are involved, Death all around.  I am not sure in Chinese culture but in most European and American culture there is the idea of Lady Justice.  A symbol of justice, usually a woman with a blindfold holding a scale in one hand and a double edge sword in the other.  Justice is suppose to be blind representing objectivity.  So justice would be meted without fear, favor, money, status or weakness.  It is impartial.  The scale weighted out the support and opposition and the sword meted out the punishment with reason and justice.  

When both Heartless and Iron Fist find out that their families destroyed each other.  They were both angry and upset but they did not take out their sorrow or want revenge on each other but to find whoever had instigated the whole thing.  which is quite amazing since some stories would have caused them to go against each other.  But then we find out that Iron Fist's older brother is alive and has killed corrupted officials.  Heartless tells Iron Fist that it is his job and duty to arrest him despite the fact that it's family.  The brother still killed people, though he personal feels they deserved it.   Iron Fist decides to let his brother go, but the brother dies and Iron Fist thinks Heartless did it to save Song Chi-yin. 

The reason I really didn't like Heartless towards the end has to do with how he goes against everything he claimed to stand for and even preached at Iron Fist.  When Chi-yin does all the above I mentioned and he is being help prisoner.  I thought that he finally went through his struggle and came out the other end.  However, he decides to runaway with her.  That's fine to that point but Heartless discovers the diagram for the weapon.  I would have given Chi-yin a chance even after everything she did up to that point but what does she do?  She takes the diagram and gives it to Choi King.  Why?  She had escaped , he didn't know where she was.  But she, herself chose to go back and give him the weapon.  Then, I am suppose to feel bad for her having a nightmare? What did she think Choi King would do with the diagram.  She has been aware of his plans since the beginning. After, she decides to poison all the women and Heartless's uncle.  I know, Ckoi King saved her life and raised her but how many lives does she owe him.  She has killed multiple times for him, she has one life.  Heartless saved her life too, why doesn't she call him master and do things for him?  Heartless said that she had repented and turned a new leaf. She never apologizes and she continues to hurt people after this point. Chi-yin talked about being an orphan and how sad that was. What about the people she decided to make orphans, like the doctor's family or Yeu-fei.   Chi-yi had spent a whole lot of time with these people and was smart enough to know right from wrong but she continued to harm people even Heartless. She could have at any point started helping the constables or stop murdering people. At this point she poisons all the people that Choi king had kidnap, if she herself did not want to do it, why did she? Like with Yeut-Fei, she could have just switched the powder and gave them a tranquilizer.  Who would have known? She is the one most formidable in medicine.  But she actually poisons them and only choses to save them when Iron Fist was about to kill her and she wanted Heartless to still want her.  The ending she get's angers me.  she supposedly absorbed poison from five people that would have killed them and she had only hours to live. Also were body and face would have turned hideous, a metaphor I think of how she was truly. But no, she does die and a gets two small scars on face and Heartless still loves and forgives her.  

All this really changed how I saw Heartless at the end.  Iron Fist's brother pays for all the people he killed although deserved with his life.  However, Heartless barely gets angry at Chi-yin or even thinks of bringing her to justice.  He still wants to be with her and thinks well of her.  Everyone has feeling and everyone can fall in love but does that forgive killing and poisoning people.  I am sure, even serial killer had someone they loved or cared about that does not forgive the wrong the competed.  Which is why I liked the idea of Heartless as someone who was aware that he had to put aside his personal view and punish those that had done wrong.  To have him turn into some love sick idiot and not even lame someone who hurt him, his friends, family and killed others. Just killed the series.