The Victims' Game Season 2

"Some secrets have no room for so many people"

The Victims’ Game brought Fang Yi Ren back for a second helping of pain and murder. This time Fang would find himself the prime suspect when his mentor’s case from 15 years ago was re-opened and the bodies started dropping around him.

Fang is called into police HQ by Prosecutor Chang, who is new and takes an immediate dislike to Fang. Another fresh face is Dr. Hsueh, a medical examiner who also has no love for the retired forensics investigator. The case in question involved a teen couple in a murder-suicide which was closed by Fang’s mentor, Lin Ching Jiu. When civilians involved with the old case start dying, Chang is all too willing to point the finger at Fang. Intrepid reporter Hsu Hai Yin quits her job after her boss sensationalizes a teen addict case she worked on. One of the teens in the story ends up at Sevensleeves rehab. Handsome Lin Meng Cheng runs the rehab and home for teenagers from troubled families. When Hai Yin visits, he hires her right away as the foundation's PR rep. Her inquisitive nature tells her there is more to Lin than meets the eye. Fang’s daughter Xiao Meng feels suffocated and not understood by her dad and moves out. She coincidentally ends up living at Sevensleeves. Someone who was familiar with her problems from S1 offers her a job cleaning up crime scenes which leads to insights on her part.

I enjoyed the dynamics between Fang, Hai Yin, and Xiao Meng. Hai Yin and Xiao Meng were so sure that Fang wasn’t trying to understand them that they failed to see they might not have been trying hard enough to understand him. Fang and Xiao Meng struggled to determine if they could build a relationship while Hai Yin was feeling shut out from Fang’s thoughts. Whether Joseph Chang’s portrayal of a man with autism was accurate or not, is not a judgement I’m qualified to render. Chief Chao returned from S1 with his steadfast belief in Fang, a relief since Fang was being bombarded on all sides. I didn’t find the “who done it” part very suspenseful. I was quite certain who killer #1 and serial killer #2 were by the second episode. The heavy-handedness of Prosecutor Chang always trying to bring Fang down got old quick. He was a shady character with connections to an even shadier organization.

Warnings---If you are squeamish, there were numerous gruesome scenes of murder, torture, and decomposed bodies. The body count was high and bloody. Revenge was not a dish served cold but at the average body temperature much of the time. There were also a few gross scenes with insects. Tiffany Hsu’s Hai Yin smoked almost continuously in S1, so if smoking is a trigger you’ll be pleased to know that she didn’t light up once in S2 that I can remember.

The main theme of S2 was “What would a parent sacrifice for their child?” Some of the parents were willing to sacrifice lives, reputations, and peace of mind. As determined characters searched for the truth, others tried desperately to bury it. Despite its shortcoming, I found The Victims’ Game S2 engaging and binge-worthy.

23 June 2024

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PSYCHOLOGY loversss

I would totally recommend you this series if you're passionate with crimes and psychology. I felt like the producers were into characters, it was surprising how I was able to understand the pain of the characters. They expressed well human behaviour and their psychology. Some character speaks Taiwanese, and it made it seems like a complete universe (I understand mandarin, so it made me feel like the series' world was not from our world).

As for the second season, it is hard to understand. I had to do research to understand better.
It's long but worth to give it a try!

(Please watch the first and the second episode before giving up!)

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A Compelling, Mysterious Sequel Series

VICTIM’S GAME 2 picks up close to where the first season ended, with our Forensic Detective (ASD / Aspergers Syndrome lead), Fang Yi-Jen, pulled into another investigation of an equally mysterious string of murders, with Journalist Hsu Hai-Yin helping along the way.

The show is very compelling. I really enjoy the intensity of this series, as a dark, edgy crime show full of believable yet unique story and characters. I really enjoyed the cast, especially Hsiao-chuan Chang (as Forensic Detective Fang Yi-Jen) and Wei-Ning Hsu (as Journalist Hsu Hai-Yin), as well as Moon Lee (as daughter Chiang Hsiao-Meng), but the entire cast was really great.

“After discovering his estranged daughter's link to mysterious murders, a forensic detective with Asperger's syndrome risks everything to solve the case.”

Overall, this 2nd season of Victim’s Game series was really good and stayed in tune with the previous series. Watch this if you liked the previous season of Victim’s Game.

[NOTE: Trigger Warning. Suicide. Abuse. Violence. Gore. Bullying. Cancer. Language. Dark Adult themes. etc.]

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Great Follow Up

I've waited for this since for so long but only watched it earlier this year. I think I was anticipating for it for a long time that I just kept putting off seeing it?

Anyway this was an amazing follow up to the first season. Completely different feels but has a solid foundation that still made it feel like the first one. It's been months since I've watched this so I can't remember the exact details but I really enjoyed it. The story was complex and well thought of and I love seeing the cast back.

The only criticism would be Hai Yin's character. She had such a major role in the first one, though still a big presence in this season, it felt like she didn't have an exact role in the story that was pivotal or at least had a similar impact as the first. It was almost like she's an after thought. I don't know exactly how to describe it but that's how it felt. There were long instances where we didn't see her onscreen (at least that's what it felt like) and I just keep thinking where she is or that she'd have done something about what's being shown on screen by now.

I think that's the only criticism but it's one of the things I remember about this. But again, I really enjoyed watching it and how the storytelling evolved from the first season. I love the team, how the detective covers for Yi Ren and how Tsai Hsing still caves to Hai Yin. And it's nice to see how they focused on getting Yi Ren and Hsiao Meng become closer and understand each other more.

I would love to see them back again, hopefully not as long a wait this time!

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Captivating Yet Frustrating

This 2nd installment both captivated and frustrated me to no end. Coming off the high of the 1st season, I was looking forward to this season. How could they outdo themselves from the absolute phenomenon that was the 1st season? Unfortunately, I was not impressed as I'd hoped.

🔬Fang Yi Jen - At the end of season 1, I was impressed by how he had changed, or rather, by the changes that he was making, especially with the people closest to him. His greatest desire was to have those around him understand him. By the end of that season, he had already started making steps to involve himself in their lives. However, in this installment, he seems to have reverted to his season 1, episode 1 self. Throughout the series, he doesn't talk to his friends. He remains closed off and keeps secrets, although those around him are actively trying to help him. It was frustrating to watch
Now, idk much about autism, so I cannot speak to how autistic people interact with those around them. So with my limited knowledge, I'll say this: it felt like the screenwriters didn't know what to do with Fang Yi Jen. They didn't know how to make him 'interesting,' so they stalled his character growth.

📰Hsu Hai Yin - How she is listed as part of the main role in this is beyond me. Miss girl had so little to do with the overall plot till the last 2 episodes. In this installment, she gets a new job with the most suspicious guy ever and largely does nothing about it. Is this the same Hsu Hai Yin from the 1st season? The one with the inquisitive mind and tips and tricks to help her get to the bottom of all her cases? Where did she go, and who was this passive person who replaced her?
All she had to do was open her mouth, talk to Yi Jen, and this case would've been solved in 5 episodes. I wonder why she kept quiet. Part of me thinks it was to save her job. Because I refuse to believe that part of her saw the good and trusted in Ming Cheng. She didn't know the man, and she's not a very trusting person.

🫧Hsiao Meng - I liked her story arc in this. She facilitated death in the 1st season, but now, she's helping with the aftermath of it. It's also kinda nice to see real-life consequences of her actions. School is hard, and finding a job is harder after what she previously did. Her name and face were everywhere. Sure, she was manipulated before. Someone took advantage of her immense sadness to put her in the middle of all the murders in season 1.
But life goes on. And society isn't that forgiving, making it nearly impossible for her to integrate. I love that she found her way through it all, though. I was scared for a minute that she'd be taken advantage of - Thank God it didn't happen. The last two episodes gave us hope that she might go into the same field as her father. She has his smarts. Yi Jen has thoughts about it, even though he never quite voiced them

🔬📰Yi Jen & Hai Yin - I am confused by the relationship between them. In ep 2 (?) Hai Yin mentions that they aren't romantically involved, I think, because Yi Jen said that he cannot handle that. So.... what exactly are they?? She looks like she 'like likes' him. Their dynamic gives romantic, but their words said something different. At the end, once everything is sorted, they talk about their relationship. Saying that they are good now.... I just... somebody explain to me like I'm 3yrs old and tell me what's up with these two.

🔬🫧Yi Jen & Hsiao Meng - Their relationship frustrated me to no end. Yi Jen would not tell her that he was in trouble & Hsiao Meng kept lashing out and also not talking about her feelings. It was so frustratingto see. I just wanted them to talk. I had so much hope for them at the end of the 1st season, only to witness this. But at least they finally talked. Like in sn 1, I took something life-threatening to bring them back together. The end of the story shows how beautifully their relationship has grown and evolved. Hopefully, they don't argue again and wait for something life-threatening to bring them back together.

👮🏻‍♂️Chang Keng Hao - The following is what I wrote about him in my notes, probably 4 episodes in ' The prosecutor dude is being a POS to Fang Yi Jen for no reason. So far, we know he hated the old teacher. We don't know why, but he's clearly taking it out on Yi Jen. He tells Yi Jen of the coincidences in the teacher's cases, but when Yi Jen says he wants to investigate it, he shuts him out. Yi Jen has already been shown that he isn't the killer, so why does he keep nagging him about the teacher if he won't let him help? Out here being an annoying little bitch.'
Clearly, I wasn't a fan. With the end of sn 2, they seemed to hint at a 3rd season. This time, with Chang as the main character and the police force as the new victim of his hatred. IDK if I like him enough to watch him as the new protagonist.

The Murders
I liked the story in the 1st season more than this one. The murders are more gruesome in this installment, though. Something that I rather appreciated. There was this really disturbing beauty and precision to how they were done. Unfortunately, the mystery didn't hold till the last episode. I clocked the 1st murderer early, and they gave away the 2nd serial murderer too soon. All I'll say about these murders is that Hsiao Chia Ying was the real victim here. I don't like how dismissive she was about the death of the other boy, who was accidentally killed by young Ming Cheng.
The story says that the saddest part about her life was carrying her mother's secret about how she killed her father. It should've also been highlighted how hard it was to have to hide her love for her father and the parts of her that were like him, which were all good by the way. I understand her mother's feelings towards the dad, but putting such expectations on her child was terrible. The mother did so much to avenge her daughter and clear her name, but at the end of the day, she was the one who made her child run away, unfortunately putting her in that horrendous position

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RAVE REVIEW

Worth-watching. Need for more seasons.

The plot, storytelling, and relationships between each character were so amazing. Besides, the ethical message of crime and punishment is well-made and so meaningful about family bonds and value of lives. I was impressed by the cognitive development of the daughter through two seasons.

One more thing is also important is the unpredictable plot twist in the end of each season, which captivates me many times.

Hope to watch more!! and see how the characters develop in the upcoming seasons, especially the chemistry between our main leads.

RECOMMENDED!

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Há necessidade para uma Terceira Temporada ?

O enredo da segunda temporada, ao meu ver, foi melhor do que o da primeira; entretanto, a primeira tinha um ritmo melhor e mais concentrado. Nesta temporada, as coisas ficaram mais morosas e, em alguns momentos, eu me distraía com outras coisas. As relações familiares de Fang Yi Ren deram um tom realista e necessário para mostrar como está sua vida após os acontecimentos da primeira temporada. Só achei curioso a crise de dúvidas que Hai Yin teve em relação ao seu namoro com ele, visto que ela o conheceu exatamente assim; ele nunca mudou e sempre continuou com esse estilo de vida.

O final deixou brechas para uma terceira temporada, mas pelo visto teremos uma superorganização criminosa ou algo semelhante. Fico pensando em como integrar isso ao escopo do drama, onde as vítimas não são escolhidas de forma aleatória; tudo tem uma ação e reação

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