Akuma to Love Song (2021): A Review
Mo Xiang Wan
The MacGyver Margaret Thatcher of C-Showbiz
MacGyver as in Angus MacGyver, Mac for short, the quick-witted genius polyglot intellectual Jack of all trades with top-notch engineering skills; an imagineer problem-solver with an irenic mind and the ability to fix anything.
Margaret Thatcher, Margaret Hilda Thatcher to be exact, Baroness Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, based on number 10 Downing Street, London between 1979 and 1990. Leader of the Conservative Party, leader of the opposition, chemist, politician, “Maggie”, was an inflexible and uncompromising politician, earning her the nickname ‘the Iron Lady’. Her policies i.e. low taxation, monetarism and privatization of the public sector amongst others changed lifestyles and re-shaped the UK. Margaret Thatcher was the only woman to have held the office thus far in Britain.
Let’s keep it simple, shall we? “We are all alone.”
A hard-working professional with a conduct and no space for romantic love in her life Xiang Wan’s (Qin Lan) physical existence orbited around her family – blood-related and non, and her talents: Lin Xiang and Xu Ling.
A young starlet with a lush fanbase and an ego as inflated as the economy of Venezuela with no signs of abating, Lin Xiang (Cristy Guo) stalked Luo Feng (Wang Zi Rui), her co-star ex-boyfriend perfunctorily exhibiting signs of subconscious erotomania while self-indulging on painkillers. The enemy within, hellfire, flame’s end, out in the cold, lost love forced Xiang Wan to be the negotiator soft-touch that titled MacGyver episodes in the 1980’s. Slow death, thin ice, nightmares and last stand triggered a trail of tears that even Mac would unlikely have been able to prevent that decade or in the later one. Lost love was a two-part episode aired in the... Fall.
A young upcoming celebrity in-the-making, Xu Ling (Wang Zi Yi) wanted freedom from his perceived contractual prison, despite efforts to transform it into a golden cage with more perks than the number of floors in the HSBC Tower in London, declined. The lost Amadeus, the Madonna, the mountain of youth were strictly business. Nothing personal regarding Hera Xiang Wan. The visitor, second chance, deep cover, the challenge brought Xu Ling serenity. It was all about the pilot, as the rising was again for Mac in the mid 2010’s.
Lin Xiang and Xu Ling shared a loyalty and gratitude towards Xiang Wan akin of the fans of the original and the reboot MacGyver series. Mac is Mac like Xiang Wan is Mo Xiang Wan the MacGyver Margaret Thatcher of showbiz.
A shrewd agent - talent spotter, talent developer, artist manager, babysitter, problem solver. All in one, Xiang Wan was a de-facto black-belt in MacGyverism using her ‘scientific’ knowledge to resolve mundane crisis i.e. artist’s emotional management and tantrum control. Her mildly austere form of Thatcherism in managing her life and her charges as the Iron Lady ran the country was similar to a prudent lady of the house who worked hard but rather than playing hard afterwards, didn’t play at all.
Being considered 'the agent' brought a lot of perks i.e. leading roles offers for her artists, top pick in endorsements... but also a lot of envy and jealousy in her two arch-rivals: Judy and Zhu He. Judy wanted her job due to envy. She believed that the job should be hers. With support she would succeed. Judy was a Mary McAleese who run for Irish presidency, won it and replaced Mary Robinson in office.
Zhu He, Yu Jiang's (David Wang) wife, shareholder of Qi Li Culture fully backed Judy, fermenting a volcanic hate for Mo Xiang Wan due to jealousy. Xiang Wan was after all her husband's protégé and a threat to her matrimony. On one hand Zhu He was a Clementine Churchill, the driving force behind Winston’s highly successful career and life. On the other she was a Jacqueline Kennedy having to live and deal with the existence of a Marilyn Monroe. For her, that was a bone-dry martini. Adding Mo Xiang Wan to the equation, it became an Aunt Roberta.
Mo Xiang Wan was a female Nelson Mandela who fought hard for her ideals and objectives only to be allegorically brought down in a humiliating public spectacle. She did not spend 27 years in prison, nor any time at all but like Nelson Mandela rose to become president of South Africa, so did Xiang Wan rise to found her own talent management enterprise. A phoenix might be under siege but always rises from its own ashes.
When becoming a PM was no longer an option, Mo Xiang Wan set out to become queen of her own newly founded kingdom, taking the crown and the duties that came with the job i.e. opening new parliamentary sessions, approving proclamations and so forth.
Common knowledge ascribes that behind a great man, there is always a great woman. Behind a great woman, there is always a great man. Emotionally supporting Mo Xiang Wan was Mo Bei (Godfrey Gao), the man that has loved her since forever. A betrayal psychologically transmuted Xiang Wan's warmth into raindrops of ice. Alchemic love is symbiotic and patient. With care Mo Bei nurtured Mo Xiang Wan's warmth until she was ready to trust him again and accept his feelings. Mo Bei is a Joachim Sauer to Angela Merkel, a man with his own achievements and a solid professional reputation, independent from his life partner.
“We are alone”… Mo Xiang Wan’s volte-face daily reality within the leviathan entertainment industry telenovela puzzle:
- Love in showbiz
- Break-ups in showbiz
- Filming scheduling
- Filming conflict
- Fan wars
- Fan reactions/actions
- Fans impact on an artist's reputation
- Backstabbing
- Contract disputes
- Script changes
- Image management and damage control
- Depression
- Battles with unseen severe depression.
MacGyver was popular. Then he wasn’t. Margaret Thatcher was in the public eye. Then she wasn’t.
What goes up, eventually comes down.
Popularity dwindles, beauty fades and money if not properly invested goes. Showbiz is ruthless. We are all alone shows exactly how much but it also shows character, strength, perseverance, determination and love in the form of Mo Xian Wan.
Regardless of her fluency in MacGyverism or Thatcherism, Mo Xiang Wan is fluent in Xiangwanerism, her unique way of steering the wheel of her own life.
