Father
Iris' dad
Father, or Mr. Kwan, is Iris' father and noodle shop cook. Along with his wife, Father immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada shortly after the 2019 Hong Kong protests, seeking political asylum as a former protestor. While Father seems jovial and idealistic on the outside, he harbors a deep depression from leaving his home in Hong Kong behind, and from his traumatic experiences as a protestor.
Personality[edit | edit source]
FATHER: Let's just sit down and we can talk over dinner, okay? I created a new noodle masterpiece. Just for you! I call it...Moodle 2! Who doesn't like a good sequel? Come, mui mui. Let's try it together. Because a family that eats together...
FATHER: ...stays...
FATHER: ...
FATHER: Iris? Don't leave us like this. Please. I won't make it without you. (ch. 2)
Father was a kind and easy-going man, acting as the primary emotional glue between his wife and daughter. As the more empathetic parent, Father took on the duty of trying to connect with Iris, as Mother complains how Iris never listens to her. Father had a very strong passion for food, often saying "a family that eats together, stays together". He made home-cooked e-fu (伊面) "longevity" noodles for Iris' birthday every year, and created vegan "Moodles" for Iris after she stopped eating meat.
Though well-meaning and compassionate, Father sometimes struggles with boundaries, as seen when he teases Iris in 2045 about her outfit (to which Iris exclaims "You're worse than mom!"). Father also holds onto his family – and in particular, Iris – as his emotional anchor.
Father's placative nature in trying to keep the Kwans a happy family resulted in him being complicit and often excusing Mother's abuse, both to Iris and himself. Mother's actions and emotional distance frustrated Father, and though they would sometimes fight loudly, they stilled cared for each other.
Behind Father's optimistic facade was a sorrowful and homesick man who ached for Hong Kong and the freedom his life could never attain. Father – while deeply hurt and irreparably harmed by the protests – still believed that the protests were justified, even if they did not achieve the intended liberation. He explained to Mother, who believed that their actions were fruitless, that history would still see their actions and side with them. History would see the resistance pushed by Hong Kong citizens and know it was not complacency.
History[edit | edit source]
FATHER: Mui Mui, I am not strong like you, like your mother. These sounds – Him screaming. My skull cracking... Do you know why I used to sing all the time? It helped to drown out the sounds. (ch. 7)
Father participated in the 2019 protests in Hong Kong alongside his brother. During this, he was beaten by several police officers and suffered a skull fracture, while his brother was carried away by police. During this time, Father would turn to singing and alcohol in order to "drown out the sounds" in his memories of police brutality.
During one protest, Father was injured by police officers, and later had to be assisted by a street medic named Clara. Instead of asking for help, he instead asked her for her number - much to her surprise. She gave him her dad's phone number instead. He succeeded on his second attempt, under the guise of needing Clara to be his emergency contact.
The two continued to participate in protests and became romantically involved with each other after Clara parted from her old boyfriend. According to Clara, Father was a better kisser. During one demonstration, they witnessed a fellow protestor falling off a building, implied to have been pushed by police. Clara wanted to stay with the body and call for help, however with police rapidly approaching, Father managed to convince her to leave with a reminder that they had to "Be water".
At some point, Father and Clara got married.
Leaving home[edit | edit source]
Following the 2020 national security bill, the Hong Kong government criminalised protest and awarded itself sweeping powers to crack down on dissenters; completely rejecting demands for due process. Father was both traumatised and depressed by the capitulation of their movement, but Clara told him their resistance had been necessary. He describes himself as having "lost all hope and respect for this world", but stayed with Clara. When she decided to leave Hong Kong to start a new life elsewhere, he went with her.
Together, they moved to Canada, and Father started working at a noodle shop to earn a living. Clara wanted to have a child, and although he had no desire to start a family, he could not bring himself to say no to her. When Iris was born, he did not love her at first, but eventually grew to love and adore her.
Father tried to raise Iris with a playful and laisse-faire approach, due to wanting to give Iris a permissive and worry-free childhood that he did not get to have. This often caused arguments with Mother, who felt that Iris lacked discipline, and chided Father for being lazy. When Mother would sleepwalk – most often around the anniversary of the protests – Father would stay up all night to ensure she did not do anything dangerous. He would keep the severity of Clara's PTSD a secret from her, and convinced a young Iris to do the same. It is likely that Father's habit of sleeping during the day comes from him staying awake through the night to watch over her. Iris had a habit of sleeping in, which they argued over. Father convinced her to ease up on their daughter by reminding her why they had her:
FATHER: We just wanted to be KIDS. Kids with simple kid lives.
FATHER: School. Friends. Dating. Not arrests... Beatings... Disappearances... (ch. 2)
His leniency, versus Clara's "tough love" often put them into conflict. This came to a boil when a young Iris put her pet hamster (Bobo) in the microwave, killing her. Clara blamed this on Father always letting her get away with everything, and uspet that she had to be the one to clean up the mess herself. Father is at a loss as to why Iris did that, and tries to compromise by promising to dispose of the microwave for her. Clara demands that he be the one to discipline her this time, by beating her with the feather duster.
As Iris became a teenager, she inevitably began to distance herself from her parents (and especially her mother). She became a vegetarian around 2043, so Father invented a new noodle recipe for her:
FATHER: I made you 雲吞麵 (wonton noodles), but then you say you don't eat meat anymore. So... Moodle! Cold spicy oatmilk noodles with bamboo shoots and tofu. It's vegan!" (ch. 2)
He would spin many conversations with his daughter into a proverb, or some other home-grown philosophy, whether it was the symbolic power of noodle ingredients, or the meaning of not closing doors. Given how strained the relationship was between the two women of the Kwan household, Father often worked as a bridge to try and help them understand each other and patch things up.
FATHER: A family that eats together, stays together.
Father expressed his love for Iris through food, such as when he prepared long life noodles (e-fu) for Iris and her friends at her birthday party in 2046. When Iris responded with embarrassment about the overtly Cantonese dish, Father subtly pressses her on the issue, although Iris isn't able to say out loud why she wants pizza instead. Passive aggressively, Father calls her a "stranger" and says he'll eat all the noodles himself (and keep the longevity).
After the arrival of the Occupants in 2047, and the disastrous school dance which kills all of Iris's classmates, Father's life is turned upside down when The 50 arrive near the end of the year to take Iris. Johnson The 50 and Mimi point out how public services are failing. When Iris says she wants to go, Father suggests that they come with her, but this gets denied. Like Clara, Father doesn't believe that Iris would leave her family behind.
Iris barricades herself in her bedroom to pack, due to Clara banging on the door and yelling at her. After she gives up, Father tries to reason with Iris, taking a gentler approach as usual. He tries to coax her out, offering her a way to save face; blaming the rash decision on being hungry. Father struggles to stay jovial, announcing Moodle 2 to get her to come out, but falters when she does not respond.
FATHER: Iris? Don't leave us like this. Please.
FATHER: I won't make it without you.(ch.2)
Some time later, Father comes back to have a heart-to-heart with his daughter. He relates her decision to the choice that he and Clara made, to leave Hong Kong. Although reminding her of the consequences, he reassures her that Clara will eventually forgive her and understand her decision. Father tells Iris:
FATHER: Just promise to come home. You don't have to mean it. But false hope is still hope... And it will take care of us for a while. (ch.7)
Surviving the outbreak[edit | edit source]
Life for the Kwans was rapidly changed by Iris leaving, the pandemic, and the shelling of several major cities. Presumably due to sinophobia and the risk of exposure, Father retired the noodle cart, while Clara continued to work at the hospital. They used their furniture to barricade their door during the day, to protect them against their neigbhours.
Barely into the new year, Clara's hospital closed its doors without notice, most likely due to all the staff being infected with the Occupant's disease (except for her). The couple continued to live in isolation, only leaving the apartment to scavenge for supplies such as food, medicine, and firewood. With the ingredients that remained, Father made moodle for Clara one last time (serving only a small bowl of rice for himself) and they reminiscised about the past.
Now idle at home, Clara started to leave a log of their lives on a video camera for Iris when she returned. Clara forced Father to be on camera, giving him strict direction, as Iris was more likely to listen to him over her. Father hated making these videos, but agreed to do it for Clara. She became fixated on Iris saying she would come back, even restoring her bedroom to how it was after her messy goodbye. Father tries to bring up the implausibility of her return, but stays silent when Clara points out Iris had promised.
Although the situation is tense and hopeless, the two survive together for over a year into 2049. Father struggles with Clara's continual critcism and regular snipes about his dependence on her. He grows frustrated with her as she amasses a hoard of useless items like plastic bags and napkins in their home. When Clara retorts she does this for him, he points out he never asked her to do this. He confronts her on her matyr complex, and pushes her to be emotionally honest with him.
He forces her to face the facts, such as her denial about their dead neighbours, and make her accept that these are the last days of her life. Urging her to be selfish and be present, finally, Clara asks him to be intimate with her.
He drinks and dances and sings with his wife, getting her to relax at last. Many bottles later, Clara begins to reminisce about their activist days. She expresses regret about the protests and leaving home. Father rebuts this:
FATHER: You remember? In the streets...hundreds of thousands marching shoulder to shoulder... Biggest demonstrations in HK history. The world watched it all happen. Heard our voices. Saw us bleed.
MOTHER: So?
FATHER: So if we stayed silent? didnt stand up for ourselves? They would say...this is how it always was. They would say...this is what the people wanted. But no. They can't say that. Because it has gone down in history... That we resisted fiercely. That we fought for a different future...until we couldn't. That legacy lives in us. (ch.7)
When Clara bitterly remarks it dies with them, he reminds her that Iris carries it for them. Although Clara is skeptical, she begrudgingly accepts when Father tells her these were her words.
Some time after this, Father has fallen ill, and Clara goes out to find medicine for him. While she is out, Father goes to Iris's bedroom and records a final video. He recounts his life to her, and finally thanks Clara for taking care of him for so long. He ends by saying he wants to go back home to Hong Kong, and tells his family to meet him there.
He leaves the apartment and ends his life by jumping from a building. Presumably, he was found by an Occupant and eventually 'uploaded' to Source. During the impossible conversations, Father is seen on the streets of Hong Kong, lounging under a parasol while he speaks to the city. After apologising for his mode of transport, he invites the city to a meal, saying "終於...可以一齊會飯。(Finally...we can eat together.)"
Relationships[edit | edit source]
Iris[edit | edit source]
FATHER: I never wanted to be a father. How could I? I lost all faith and respect for this world.
[...]
FATHER: To be honest, mui mui, when you were born, it was hard for me to love you at first. Then after a while, it was the only thing I knew how to do. (ch. 7)
While at first Father was unsure about having a child, he later grew to care deeply for his daughter, Iris, and she became his reason to keep going. Father did everything he could to support Iris, even as she grew up and began to embrace the Canadian norms around her and distance herself from her Hong Kong family background. He was resistant about Iris leaving with Johnson, but knew her well enough to reason and speak with her prior to the moment.
tries to be considerate and conscientious in raising iris, but is emotionally reliant on iris as his motivation to keep going
Mother[edit | edit source]
FATHER: Always a martyr. Everything you do, is for Hong Kong, for your mom, for Iris, for me... 淨係悉犧牲 (Only know how to sacrifice). All these decades living with you... And I don't even know who you are! I don't even know if you know! Just for once, can you be selfish? Have FEELINGS? DESIRES? (ch. 7)
its complicated....
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Mother and Father moving into the new apartment
Father explaining to Iris what his special dish, 'moodles', is
Father standing in Iris' doorway
Father standing in the bathroom doorway
FATHER: During the darkest days of the demonstrations, it was songs that got us through...and some other things...but it's the songs that are important to remember. (ch. 2)
A communion that shows Mother and Father, during a protest in 2019 Hong Kong (ch. 2)
Father's final video (ch. 7)
Father having an impossible conversation with Hong Kong, during the mass communion (ch.10)
Parents under streetlights in the mass communion (ch.10)
Parents under streetlights in the mass communion (ch.10)
close up on the last moodle (note Father's bowl) (ch.7)
Quotes[edit | edit source]
FATHER: What's the point, I wonder, of these busy lives? We run and run on our hamster wheels and get nowhere. Don't know what kind of lives we are living if we're too busy to sing.
IRIS: It's exam week. No one sings during exam week.
FATHER: And that's why they all suffer. Too much hamster, not enough song. (ch.2)
FATHER: Actually, it was mom who was brave enough to have hope. Brave enough to want more for our lives. More for your life.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Father's text color is #E1FF8F.