City of Splendour Teases Power Shift After Staircase Fall
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago6 MIN
Summary
TVB anniversary drama City of Splendour has shifted attention from its earlier controversy over bold scenes to a major family power struggle inside the Koon clan. In episode 10, Koon Hau-yin, played by Julian Cheung Chi-lam (張智霖), finally snaps after repeated humiliation from his father Koon Chi-sum, played by David Chiang Da-wei (姜大衞), and pushes him down a long staircase. Episode 11, due to air on Monday, 26 October, is expected to address the patriarch’s condition and the leadership vacuum inside the Sheung Lei Fung group, while Elena Kong Mei-yee (江美儀) makes her formal entrance as Ding Lai-ming, the woman long branded the family’s disgrace. Her backstory, including confinement in a psychiatric hospital and knowledge of a secret fund, is being positioned as a decisive factor in the brothers’ next round of conflict.
Key Points
- The series stars Julian Cheung, Ron Ng Cheuk-hei, Samantha Ko Hoi-ning, Kelly Cheung Hei-man and David Chiang, and has generated discussion since its premiere
- In episode 10, Koon Hau-yin quits his post as co-chief executive of Sheung Lei Fung, leaves the family home, and teams up with Ping-lun to launch a rival development fund
- David Chiang’s character publicly counters with a “Dream City Vision Fund”, poaches a key investor, and repeatedly taunts his elder son as a “loser” and “good-for-nothing”
- Producer Joe Chan Wai-koon said David Chiang initially wanted to perform the staircase fall himself, but the production stopped him because the staircase was high and winding
- Elena Kong’s Ding Lai-ming is described as having been confined for 30 years after allegedly poisoning her husband’s mistress, who was also Hau-yin’s biological mother
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong TV audiences, the latest plot turn shows the drama trying to sustain momentum through performance-driven family conflict rather than relying only on earlier discussion about sexual content. Elena Kong’s arrival also broadens the story from a father-sons feud into a succession fight involving mental illness, hidden money and long-buried grievances, which could shape the drama’s third-week ratings and online debate.