This review may contain spoilers
Tough Topics Bound & Highlighted By Tight Storytelling
Often, when I finish a book, movie, or TV show, I go on and on in the review talking about why and how much I either loved or hated it. Other times, like I this case, I have no clue what to say or where to start. Because words fail me. I truly don't know if I have the words to explain why and how much I loved this show.
I started this coz I was in a romance slump. I wanted something darker and above all, something that would make me think. And BOY did I get that. The production is high value as with many Netflix shows, the acting is incredible, and the plot is well-paced and engaging — the plot did lag a bit in the middle, and I thought that the characters were being a bit too reckless, but perhaps that's to make things more intense.
I think what made me fall in love with this story is the issues tackled and the characters themselves.
🔬Fang Yi Jen - I do not know much about autism, let alone asperger syndrome. However, what I know from other TV shows I've seen is that those with this illness are usually utter geniuses or used for comedic relief, or a combination of both. Compared to the regular person, Fang Yi Jen could be considered a genius.
However, instead of this story highlighting that, it chooses to highlight how this condition, unfortunately, makes him both a bad husband and father. Because of how hard it is for him to interact with pple and understand them as a 'normal person' would, he ends up lashing out, when the 'normal' thing would be to be patient — i.e., in the car with his wife and their crying baby.
When his negligence of his daughter in favour of his job ends up getting her hurt, he serves his wife with divorce papers and leaves, never looking back again. He thought he was saving them from himself, but that ended up hurting them even more. He neglected his daughter when she was young and till almost adulthood. If she had never gotten involved in those murders, would he have ever looked for her again? Likely not.
Eventually, he does try and does change for the better, but that does not mean that the poor girl and her mother never suffered. My heart broke so much for them. I loved that by the end, there seemed to be hope for him and his daughter. Fang Yi Jen is still Fang Yi Jen, but where he'd have ignored her before, he takes extra care and time to show up. He also says thank you. This is a personal opinion (observation?), but I feel like most pple only say thank you to strangers, never to those close to them. He now takes the time to say thank you, not just to Hai Yin, but also to the captain, and that one friend (?) he had in the lab section of the police force.
📰Hsu Hai Yin - Lord, did I HATE her in the beginning. She was all for the story. The real people and feelings behind the hard-hitting deadline be damned. However, once she learns the truth about the deaths, after her interaction with the twins' stories, she starts to change, thankfully for the better. This time, it's not just about the hard-hitting headline.
She starts to care about the people she's writing about and how her stories affect not just the subjects, but also others who might be going through the same thing. I do like that she was the one person who seemed to understand Fang Yi Jen the most. He still acts like himself, but instead of demanding that he be 'normal' he takes him for what he is. And eventually, her giving him the space to be who he is leads to a very beautiful friendship.
👧🏻Chiang Hsiao Meng - We feel the most impact in the last two episodes and I cried. Okay, I didn't fall to the ground sobbing, but balancing tears were wiped severally times. She was so, so sad. Her life after her dad was filled with considerable pain. Watching her in the hospital with the mum, then again when speaking to her dad was.... my heart was hurt.
The societal issues were also a huge part of why I liked this plot. Like Hsia Meng, most of the characters were also neglected. They felt like they no longer had a place or a voice in this world because those who were supposed to care for and love them abandoned them when they were no longer of use. Or no longer fit into the mold they wanted — aside from perhaps the story with the twins and Liu Kuang Yung. The twins were a story of jealousy and invisibility, and the latter was about guilt. I'll say that of all stories, I found Liu Kuang Yung's the hardest to empathise with
Rewatch value is an 8, as I feel that this could be a hard story for many to rewatch. Especially once you tie in all the victims' stories and why they chose this path over staying alive and fighting to see another day.
Not sure how to properly end this, so I'll finish with this quote from one of the directors
"In The Victims' Game, there's a group of people who want to let go, and there's a group who also suffers from pain and oppression, but still believes in the value of life. They're trying to bring back those who wish to give up. We hope that the series can make their voices heard when they're still alive."
I started this coz I was in a romance slump. I wanted something darker and above all, something that would make me think. And BOY did I get that. The production is high value as with many Netflix shows, the acting is incredible, and the plot is well-paced and engaging — the plot did lag a bit in the middle, and I thought that the characters were being a bit too reckless, but perhaps that's to make things more intense.
I think what made me fall in love with this story is the issues tackled and the characters themselves.
🔬Fang Yi Jen - I do not know much about autism, let alone asperger syndrome. However, what I know from other TV shows I've seen is that those with this illness are usually utter geniuses or used for comedic relief, or a combination of both. Compared to the regular person, Fang Yi Jen could be considered a genius.
However, instead of this story highlighting that, it chooses to highlight how this condition, unfortunately, makes him both a bad husband and father. Because of how hard it is for him to interact with pple and understand them as a 'normal person' would, he ends up lashing out, when the 'normal' thing would be to be patient — i.e., in the car with his wife and their crying baby.
When his negligence of his daughter in favour of his job ends up getting her hurt, he serves his wife with divorce papers and leaves, never looking back again. He thought he was saving them from himself, but that ended up hurting them even more. He neglected his daughter when she was young and till almost adulthood. If she had never gotten involved in those murders, would he have ever looked for her again? Likely not.
Eventually, he does try and does change for the better, but that does not mean that the poor girl and her mother never suffered. My heart broke so much for them. I loved that by the end, there seemed to be hope for him and his daughter. Fang Yi Jen is still Fang Yi Jen, but where he'd have ignored her before, he takes extra care and time to show up. He also says thank you. This is a personal opinion (observation?), but I feel like most pple only say thank you to strangers, never to those close to them. He now takes the time to say thank you, not just to Hai Yin, but also to the captain, and that one friend (?) he had in the lab section of the police force.
📰Hsu Hai Yin - Lord, did I HATE her in the beginning. She was all for the story. The real people and feelings behind the hard-hitting deadline be damned. However, once she learns the truth about the deaths, after her interaction with the twins' stories, she starts to change, thankfully for the better. This time, it's not just about the hard-hitting headline.
She starts to care about the people she's writing about and how her stories affect not just the subjects, but also others who might be going through the same thing. I do like that she was the one person who seemed to understand Fang Yi Jen the most. He still acts like himself, but instead of demanding that he be 'normal' he takes him for what he is. And eventually, her giving him the space to be who he is leads to a very beautiful friendship.
👧🏻Chiang Hsiao Meng - We feel the most impact in the last two episodes and I cried. Okay, I didn't fall to the ground sobbing, but balancing tears were wiped severally times. She was so, so sad. Her life after her dad was filled with considerable pain. Watching her in the hospital with the mum, then again when speaking to her dad was.... my heart was hurt.
The societal issues were also a huge part of why I liked this plot. Like Hsia Meng, most of the characters were also neglected. They felt like they no longer had a place or a voice in this world because those who were supposed to care for and love them abandoned them when they were no longer of use. Or no longer fit into the mold they wanted — aside from perhaps the story with the twins and Liu Kuang Yung. The twins were a story of jealousy and invisibility, and the latter was about guilt. I'll say that of all stories, I found Liu Kuang Yung's the hardest to empathise with
Rewatch value is an 8, as I feel that this could be a hard story for many to rewatch. Especially once you tie in all the victims' stories and why they chose this path over staying alive and fighting to see another day.
Not sure how to properly end this, so I'll finish with this quote from one of the directors
"In The Victims' Game, there's a group of people who want to let go, and there's a group who also suffers from pain and oppression, but still believes in the value of life. They're trying to bring back those who wish to give up. We hope that the series can make their voices heard when they're still alive."
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