Under the Skin Season 2

IMO, S2 should not been made. Lack of originality, boring, and dragging.

Under the Skin S2 is a crime drama that starts with Tian Jian Ci and Jin Shi Jia. It picks up where S1 left off, as the team investigates and solves several crimes with new characters and cases.

Season 2 should not have been made because the storyline was bad and draggy. There were too many cases to solve, so it had 28 episodes instead of the shorter episodes in S1.

The dynamic of the BL CP was not as connected and well respected as in S1. They introduced the third ML into S2 to create a conflict between the two MLs, which made the dynamic and communication even more awkward, and the ending cliffhanger was not good.

It was boring and dragging, and I had to watch it at 2.0 speed to bypass some of the dragging episodes. I did not like S2 at all. Any sequel is never as good as the original.

Synopsis: The second season will continue the core of the story of the first season of "Painting Color and Seeing People's Hearts" and understand the complexity of human nature through the outline of the portrait. The Beijiang squad, composed of simulation portraitist Shen Yi, criminal police captain Du Cheng and others, will continue to solve the human puzzle in the second season and chase the real culprit of the case.

My Reviews:
1. Acting: 6
2. Script: 5
3. Music/OST: 5
4. Production Quality: 8
5. Cinematography: 5
6. Onscreen Chemistry: 5
7. Rewatchable: 4

Overall Rating: 5.5

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A Thrilling Masterpiece of Mystery and Bromance

Under the Skin 2 takes the intriguing premise of its predecessor and elevates it into a truly gripping masterpiece. While the first season was a unique blend of psychological drama and crime-solving, season 2 refines and intensifies every element, creating a more complex, emotional, and visually stunning experience.

The evolving bromance between the painter and the detective becomes even more compelling as they face darker, more intricate murder cases. Their emotional depth, combined with the show’s haunting blend of art and police procedural, adds layers of mystery and human tension that make each episode unmissable. Cinematically, it is beautiful, intellectually stimulating, and emotionally charged. This series is a brilliant continuation of a standout series, transforming it from a captivating thriller into a true work of art. It’s a must-watch for fans of suspenseful crime dramas and powerful character-driven stories.

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The second season amazed me!

As an artist and a writer, the second season is also mind-blowing and smart. Everything is so amazing especially how they use different form of arts and how it contributes to the execution of the cases. For this season they highlighted a lot of topics including the Artificial intelligence, Social and Psychology, Science and of course Art. I am so happy that in this season, the arts are expressing more emotions through colors and the cast executed very well. I love how the character developments seen here. Also, the details of each episode is very unique and again smart. You'll gain knowledge from this series and it taught us alot professionally. Hoping for 3rd season since it's gaining attention to weibo being top 1 trends for the past few days and still the cliffhanger :) Kudos to all the creators, cast and staffs of Under the Skin Series! 再见 !

谢谢猎罪图鉴2!

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Under the Skin Season 2: A Disappointing Follow-up to a Promising Start

Under the Skin Season 2 falls short of its predecessor, offering a slower-paced and occasionally boring continuation of the crime drama. While it maintains a mature and realistic tone in some aspects, the overall execution leaves much to be desired.
Plot and Pacing
The second season suffers from repetitive storylines, predictable plot twists, and lazy writing. The mysterious elements that made the first season intriguing don't last long, and many events seem to occur solely for the sake of moving the narrative forward. The slower pace and redundant scenes contribute to a less engaging viewing experience.
Characters and Relationships
Main Characters
Shen Yi emerges as the central figure, carrying the drama with his intelligence and problem-solving skills. However, his character sometimes comes across as bland.
Du, the other male lead, is disappointingly underutilized and spends most of the season annoyed at Yi's involvement in cases.
The female lead, a hacker, proves to be one of the more useful characters, providing crucial information for solving cases.
Supporting Cast
The other police officers are largely ineffective, contributing little to the plot's progression.
Du and Yi's Relationship
The dynamic between Du and Yi is particularly disappointing. Their interactions are limited to case discussions or Du's attempts to control Yi's actions. Du's behavior towards Yi is often childish and counterproductive, culminating in Yi's removal from the final case.
Case Resolution and Ending
The season concludes with a cliffhanger that fails to impress. The resolution of the final case feels contrived, with Yi having to convince the criminal to turn himself in. Du's sudden realization of Yi's genius after sidelining him feels forced and inconsistent with his previous behavior.
Production Quality
Despite a production time of only 10 weeks (5 for writing and 5 for filming), the drama maintains above-average quality. However, it relies heavily on dialogue and repetitive locations, likely due to the rushed production schedule.
Recommendations
Fans of the first season may find some enjoyment in this follow-up, but casual viewers might find it boring, lazy, and repetitive. The ending, in particular, may be a turn-off for many viewers.
Positive Aspects
Mature and realistic portrayal of certain elements
Above-average production quality given the short production time
Good music and varying end credit songs
Negative Aspects
Repetitive and predictable storylines
Underutilized supporting cast
Poorly developed relationship between main characters
One-dimensional criminals with inadequate backstories
Lack of visual representation of crimes, relying too heavily on exposition
In conclusion, Under the Skin Season 2 fails to live up to the potential established by its predecessor. While it may satisfy die-hard fans of the series, its flaws in writing, character development, and pacing make it a disappointing sequel overall.

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I felt a decline compared to the first season.

I was very happy that this wonderful series that I watched in 2022 had a new season after 2 years, but there was a problem. There was a difference in this season compared to the first season.

Frankly, I won't be able to write about the events in detail because I'm more interested in the couple than the events. Shortly after I started watching, the lack of scenes of the couple compared to the first season broke my heart. They were only together while solving events and had no other scenes. I think the first season was better in this regard.

The series hasn't ended yet, but there are already rumors of a third season. I would love to see this couple again. I hope they come back with a new season where they solve these problems.

Also, the team remaining the same, the ost, the acting and the Shijia-Jianci chemistry are very nice. I love their bond...


edit: The ending was quite mysterious, I'm already thinking about how I'll wait until 2026...

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Psychological Masterpiece - Hugely Misunderstood

The first season of Under the Skin was the literal first ever Chinese drama I ever watched. This was the beginning of my full departure from terrible, stale, morally bankrupt western entertainment, so Under the Skin was more than a mere breath of fresh air, it was water in the desert, a fireplace in winter, and so on. I know a lot of people watched Season 1 mainly for the bromance between Shen Yi and Du Cheng, and that was definitely a very good and wholesome friendship that served as the story axis of the whole season, but it wasn’t the reason I was watching. In a way season one was like Shen Yi’s origin story. It was also Du Cheng overcoming his own trauma and sense of failure and becoming a genuinely excellent leader for his little team.

Shen Yi is an excellent example of how a character can be deeply complex without being morally ambiguous. In Season 2, Shen Yi, having established himself as a committed, talented resource in the police’s fight against crime, had to undergo his next trial. He always struck me as innocent, even naive, but innately brilliant. His brilliance didn’t come from experience, it was his sharp, attentive mind. He could dissect a person’s character, but because he didn’t have much experience dealing with actual people, these astute observations and accurate, seemingly magical deductions, came from a well of knowledge he himself didn’t fully grasp. This is especially shown in the fact that he is very frequently the guy on the other side of the glass listening and watching, not actually talking to the criminal. Sometimes he does, but usually not. In this season this fact is underscored repeatedly when Shen Yi seems to almost fantastically arrive at crucial facts via his artistic process. The knowledge he put on the canvas came from somewhere but he didn’t understand where. So it seemed like magic to the viewer. A clever, disorienting detail.

Throughout season one, up to the beginning of season two, his efforts had been met with success after success. He himself doesn’t even question his success. As far as he’s concerned, the model works. However, when he encounters his first failure, his first catastrophic oversight and a little girl is murdered, that innate brilliance is suddenly shrouded in darkness. Not darkness in the sense of evil, but in the sense of uncertainty. Like all brilliant minds, he begins to question the futility of the fight against evil. In the briefly excellent British drama Ripper Street the main character, a Victorian investigator who had been demoted after he had failed to catch Jack the Ripper, experiences a similar crisis throughout one of the seasons. In one memorable scene he recalls a conversation he had with a philosopher about entropy. This conversation had troubled him ever since. If, despite all our efforts to maintain order and peace, everything is naturally decaying into chaos, what is the point of fighting it? The detective’s friend urgently reminded him that they keep fighting it because if they don’t, chaos wins. But, the detective argued, on a long enough timeline, chaos always wins.

Later, the detective was sharing this same line of worry with a woman he had met, an orphan-keeper in a poor corner of his district whose work seemed equally futile. Her response was immediate and unqualified: “He who saves one person, saves the world entire.”

Du Cheng’s attitude was identical to the orphan-keeper’s. Their job as police was not to save the whole world and erase crime entirely. Their job was to save the person who needs saving right now, stop the criminal who needs to be stopped right now. And then the next person. And then the next person. That’s the job. And it’s important, but it’s also thankless and exhausting and fills you with despair. When one little girl slips through your fingers, every life you’ve ever saved suddenly seems meaningless. Du Cheng, as a character, didn’t really need to develop in this season. His role, narratively speaking, was to serve as the anchor or lighthouse for Shen Yi who was enduring the stormiest seas he had ever known. Tan Jian Ci’s acting as Shen Yi was incredible, here. Always I got the heartbreaking sense from him that he was barely hanging on, that he was clinging to hope by his fingernails, but that he had entirely lost the sense that what he was doing was making any difference. Even when victories renewed his resolve, still you got the sense that he had no light or map in his fight against entropy and that without it, this job would break him and he would become a hollowed out shell running through the motions with a pessimistic sense of hopelessness. “If,” he would often say at the end of a case, “we could have prevented…” And then Du Cheng would silence him, “That is NOT our job.” Pause, then a forced smile and: “I know.”

The writing in this season was difficult and sophisticated. One of the things I admired about the first season was the soft, delicate touch with which they handled very complex moral issues. And, more importantly, that the writers’ sense of right and wrong and morality in general was very sound and was conveyed very well but without seeming preachy, as Chinese cop dramas can sometimes be.

But if the first season went under the skin, this season got into the viscera and the marrow. Every case dug deeper and deeper into the psychological origins of that something that drives a seemingly ordinary person to actually kill another person. And as each case dug deeper, Shen Yi struggled more and more and Du Cheng watched, keeping his distance. Because he knew that this was a fight Shen Yi had to either win or lose alone.

Every case was fascinating, unexpected, and deeply uncomfortable. In that sense I found this season darker than the first, but in a welcome way. Sometimes I found it hard to reach the end because of that inherently tragic reality that most killers did not start evil. But that a series of bad choices led to that final, horrible one. And that at every turn they could have gone back, they could have stopped. But they didn’t. At the end of the day, after all, the ultimate impetus in criminality is the will of the criminal. And Shen Yi could draw and paint and sculpt until his hands fell off, but he would never be able to control human will. Whether of not he could make his peace with that was the ultimate driving question of the entire season.

I don’t care about music. I don’t care about costumes or set design. I care about story and acting. And both were incredible. I loved the addition of Fang Kai Yi. He served as an ideal way to develop the complexity of Shen Yi’s internal struggle. He was a false lighthouse in Shen Yi’s struggle against entropy and that worried Du Cheng who believed Shen Yi was in danger of shipwreck.

There was never a struggle in Shen Yi between good and evil. The struggle was deeper and more fundamental. The writing came at it obliquely and then, from time to time, forced us to hold prolonged eye contact with it. An absolutely, masterfully well-done character development.

Quite liked the possibilities presented with that ending, too.

My only complaint would be that I didn’t get to see more of Shen Yi’s cat. Loved that little dude.

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I’m ready for the third season.

The first thought I had when I finished watching this second season was that I should rewatch the first one. Not because I had forgotten it, but because of a deep need to revisit certain details addressed here. Not to mention that it has been such a long time... three years! Yes, three years of waiting, but a wait that was absolutely worth it.

I read some reviews about the production, the change of director, writer, and so on, but I chose not to dive too deeply into them since, in the overall context, what I saw pleased me enough to overlook any shortcomings.

The criticisms about editing, development, a slow plot, or the lack of relevance of certain characters did not discourage me. Contrary to what many think, I found this season broad and especially profound in its approach to the cases. Undoubtedly faithful and wise in its casting and character development choices, especially Shen Yi.

**"Our boy has grown up!"**

Shen Yi not only elevated his art but also sharpened his mind and expanded his heart immensely. This can be clearly felt in his final dialogue with Du Cheng. Truly remarkable:

*["The two of us are like a compass. If I can draw a large circle, it's because you are the center of the circle. Wherever you go, the circle will follow... Du Cheng, do you know why I love the Beijiang branch so much? Because there will always be someone on the ground doing everything they can to pull me back whenever I want to fly beyond my limits. Without you, I could have been shattered into pieces..."]*

It’s rare to see a plot with such intense and profound dialogues. So much so that, at times, I allowed myself to rewind scenes to fully grasp the reasoning. This is an aspect that doesn’t always appeal to viewers—thinking can be exhausting—and understandably so. However, this is part of the essence of this drama. Perhaps that’s why its investigative approach to evidence is so straightforward. It’s almost comical how, with a mouse click or the press of a button, Li Han uncovers all the case and suspect details, while Rong Yue dissects a body practically in the blink of an eye.

The story alternates between cases, though some intertwine from the beginning to the final episode. The constant presence of the elusive geneticist looms until the very end.

Even though he displeases Shen Yi’s fans, I appreciated his brilliance, though his selfishness and self-deification eroded my admiration. A mad genius, but still mad—completely detrimental to what remains of our humanity.

Fang Kai Yi, Du Cheng, and Shen Yi shape the morphology of the season. Fang Kai Yi tries to bring Shen Yi back, but Du Cheng closes the circuit with all his strength. Between them, Shen Yi emerges glorious, superb, and masterful.

I enjoyed most of the cases, some lighter than others. Though not all deserve glamour, my favorite remains Feng Xiao Wen's—the Beijing Opera artist. Magnificent!

I also greatly enjoyed the story of the blind boy, the cybercafé arsonists, the mountain tour guide, and, of course, the edited embryo.

As for the rest—OST, direction, script, editing, and characters—excellent choices, excellent production.

As someone who knew how to appreciate the show said: *“I’m ready for the third season. Hopefully, it won’t take as long this time.”*

Meanwhile, I plan to rewatch the first season. The ending of this one is hard to digest.

I highly recommend it, and for those who enjoy the genre, two thumbs up!

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Emotions under the skin!!

This season was about Shen Yi’s exploring the world of emotions. Season 1 was amazing and season 2 was no less. The main concept was the same of catching criminals through art but they did a great job of highlighting it on a deeper level this season.

What I like-
1. Shen Yi being the genius that he is wants to explore more. The way he was seeing through people’s emotions was amazing. This season reminded me a lot of THROUGH THE DARKNESS. I was excited and afraid at the same time to see his dark side. And when episode 20 came, I was shocked. I got goosebumps all over. To me, he carried the whole season. He is such a great actor. I want to see him in a psychopath kinda role. TJC deserve all the awards.
2. Li Han and Jiang Feng got more screen time this season. I could see more of their individuality. I loved it. Now I can understand the characters more.
3. The cases and their writings were amazing. Though some were boring and draggy, some were so well-written that I forgot about the boring ones.
4. Du Cheng in the last few episodes was amazing. I love how everything turned out well.
5. The cliffhanger was so good. The similarities between the stabbing in the alley in so uncanny. Now we have to see if it is a metaphorical dream-like season 1 or if he actually got stabbed.


What I don't like-
1. Du Cheng’s is lost in this season. What happened to his hunch? He was so clueless for most of the series. He cares for Shen Yi but I could see more of this in season 1. His emotions this season were not up to the mark. Sometimes it felt like he was jealous and sometimes genuine care. I want season 3 more about Du Cheng. I want to see his character development.
2. Shen Yi has to understand that not every time Du Cheng can save him. He had to think before taking some dangerous actions.
3. Season one for me was better because they worked on cases together. They trusted each other but in this season they were solving the same cases but separately. They wouldn't discuss much with each other and it seemed off. And then the circle talk comes at the end but I couldn't relate to it because their actions said otherwise the whole season.
4. Where did Shen Yi’s hunch go when it came to Fang? Even Du Cheng could tell that he was weird but Shen Yi trusted him.
5. I wish this series also had 20 episodes like season 1 because some cases were draggy and boring.

All in all, I will still give it 8/10 and will wait for season 3. Hope they don't make the same mistakes next season. I want to see more of the focus on Du Cheng this time.

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It. Was. Good

"We are both people who want to change the result,
but the result
should be liberating other people
instead of controlling other people.
This is the true purpose of our existence."
- Shen Yi, episode 28, Under the Skin season two

I am happy I watched this. The acting is fantastic, the stories are unpredictable most of the time (as they should be), and I wasn't bored ever! I didn't skip scenes, I didn't fast forward. This is the first drama in a while that used up every second to be compelling. There were definitely cases that were more interesting than others, but each appeals to a different audience. And if Shen Yi can give us his mystifying smiles, smirks, or shake up a suspect or two like he has a whole other personality, I'm here to stay.

I want people to watch this who think they will in enjoy it, and people who don't, to not. Then we can all be happy.

Also, I didn't need this to be a bromance (and I love bromances as well as a good friendship btwn guys), and I loved the story the way it was without considering if there was a bromance or not, but they just HAD to go and give us a practical confession scene at the end of ep 28. Essentially, Shen Yi - What I love about the Beijiang Branch? You. - to Du Cheng. I almost felt queer baited here. I'm not complaining. I just hope it doesn't affect a season 3.

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Amazing and Inspiring

Under the skin is a rare thriller crime Chinese drama that didn't suffer from overloaded pointless fillers and unnecessary romance developments. There are many crime series (especially Chinese ones) that like dragging out more episodes for profits, which reduces their core value. Of course there are many problems with this second season but overall, the good aspects outweighed the negatives for me.

Because they appear to have a larger budget this season, the shooting locations are far more beautiful and diverse. The artistic value this season is way higher than in season 1. OSTs are as good as they have always been. Cinematography is also better this season, you can feel different artistic shooting styles in many shots. The pacing is planned rather well between cases, they know how to raise the audiences' curiosity so you keep pressing the next button.

The actors are superb, they did well in season 1 but I still can't really invest myself into the characters, but season 2 is different, we get to see other sides of the main cast, to understand their fear and anger, then find their bad traits endearing; it goes the same with the side cast, they act so well so the audiences instinctively sympathize with them even if their screentime only lasted for 2-3 episodes.

Plot wise, most cases are very well written, I love how they have so many different ways of using art to solve a case. The twists and turns, story pacing and development,... The only drawback but also having the biggest impact on the story is the last case, despite being the season finale yet it feels below average in comparison with prior cases, scriptwriters should have spent more time on this case since its season finale, I guess they're rushed to film the show. Fortunately, after that horendous suffering, audiences are rewarded with the advancement in relationship between the two male leads.

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