Drama - 5 is such a Lonely Number (我不要被你記住)

“I indulge in your soul, but I can’t keep your body; so I fight my best to delete your MSN, Facebook, blog, messages, recordings, videos, photos, friends, souvenirs… I have to delete all “our” evidences regardless of the truth and the gender; I don’t have myself to remember you, and so don’t you have to remember me. I only want to restart my life!”

This is the main character’s soliloquy in the drama 5 is such a Lonely Number. The character Ben (acted by Pakho Chau) has very rich experiences in love. He is so proud of himself to have many girlfriends. However, he has met one Shirley (acted by Cissy Ma) who has her own mind and finds that he is not suitable for her. Then, she stands him off day by day and starts in love with one of his closed friends, Yong (acted by Benjamin Yuen). Ben tries to retrieve this worsen relationship by begging, kissing and even fighting with Yong. At the same time, Shirley’s cousin and Yong’s sister Ling (acted by Hitomi Lai) expresses love to Ben by her “compelled kiss” and the “outside” person Ming (acted by Jam Cheng) who is their friends and always listen to them loves Yong, kissing Yong secretly when he is intoxicated. All their friendships as well as love relationships are greatly in challenge. They are so tired of the plights and rather give up all the relationships and the people.

This drama has reflected the situation in youth’s love relationship and attitude to friends and lovers in HK. They are so concerned with their status in their lovers’ mind, which should be always important and positive. If not, they would get frustrated and annoyed, and use their own ways to solve the “problems”. Most often, they do things by impulsion and without sense. However, what they mind is only their feelings. They often get lost as they don’t know what they want and actually what they need. They are pursuing a sense of security that they believe they can find in their love relationships. When things go beyond their expectations, they would probably get hurt.

In my opinion, HK’s youth nowadays (as well as the characters in the drama) lack self-esteem. Some of them intend to find it via developing love relationships but in the process they would easily lose themselves more deeply. They are quite self-centered as they do things from the angle of themselves but not their “lovers” and “friends”. I can also find that the youth’s ways of expressing love are quite aggressive - “compelled kiss”, “secret kiss” and begging. What these actions they have learnt from? Perhaps mass media!

Once they get hurt and cannot retrieve, they choose to give up all relative parties and stuff, in order to avoid suffering further harm. I think time can prove and release all. They need not do so because memories are valuable that can show one’s growth and gains. Yet HK's youth are so self-protective and clear of what they like and dislike, what they have to keep or delete.

This drama has shown different challenges on love relationships among HK’s youth, including unrequited love, pure love, mispairing, betrayal… In such complicated relationships, harms and losses can be found mostly. Yet when we really have to face these kinds of plights, do we have courage to recall so?

Pakho's sharing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PWmhDpa4UU

Ho Pui Kei Kathy