The season finale of TVB's raising the bar, which aired on February 27 created a lot of buzz online. Fans found themselves participating in an online debate when they found out that TVB had another ending planned. 

The final scene that aired showed the lawyers (played by Grace Chan, Stephanie Ho, Moon Lau and Jeannie Chan) meeting up with their teacher (played by Ben Wong) in front of the Court of Final Appeal. A voice-over can then be heard quoting Hong Kong's Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, reminding the people that when faced with adversity, it's important to never forget the "basic factors that helped Hong Kong in the past." The song "We Shall Overcome" then plays and the scene concludes with Grace looking at the Court's entrance. 

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After the show ended, one fan was able to unearth an alternate ending, which reportedly TVB originally planned to use. In this particular ending, the lawyers are joining in a silent protest, showing them standing in front of the court with their heads down. It created a controversy since it is a reference to the June 2014 demonstration when thousands of Hong Kong scholars and lawyers protested the Chinese government's decision to issue a "white paper", which put Hong Kong's independence at risk.

A lot of netizens accused TVB of self-censorship to avoid tension with the Mainland Chinese audience. However, there are also others who are happy with the ending, saying that the alternate ending would have made no sense if it was used. 

Joe Chan, the producer of Raising the Bar, clarified the issue and revealed there is only one original ending, which was the ending they chose to air. Adding that overseas broadcasts all showed the same ending. 

Regarding the accusation that TVB "self-censored", Chan said that the leaked ending was merely cut off because it does not follow the storyline that they originally planned. 

According to sources, the alternate ending was featured in the original DVD of Raising The Bar.

TagsRaising the Bar, Raising The Bar Leaked Ending, TVB, TVB Self-Censorship