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This review may contain spoilers
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
🔬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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