Medical Examiner Dr. Qin 2 (2018)

Season 1 vs Season 2

It's a shame that this season wasn't subbed, which I suspect, was due to the poor reception of having the cast changed. As a disclaimer, it's been a while since I watched season 1, which might be part of the reason why I enjoyed season 2 more than I would have if I watched it directly after season 1 finished. Like someone else mentioned, if you treat this as a completely new season and not bearing much in mind what happened in season 1, you might enjoy season 2.

The Story: I personally thought the plotline was better executed in this drama than season 1. The overarching villain story was present from the very first case, connected well to the later cases, and even tied well with Dr. Qin's backstory. There are a few mini-cases sprinkled in between the main cases conducted by the main villain, so the show was a mixture of mini cases that get solved within an episode or two and a serial killer case. The ending was pretty satisfying and addressed most questions/mysteries, and my only gripe was that there was one character's motives that wasn't really addressed.

Characters: The original trio's dynamic was brilliant and the reason why season 1 had gotten as popular as it did. This season seemed to focus more time on supporting characters, so this left less screen time for the trio's interactions. However, I appreciate the development of the supporting characters since it allowed for ample foreshadowing of who the villain was. Props to the person who played the villain; it really brought the character to life instead of being a 2D filler character.

Regarding the trio, the assistant's character had completely changed. Since they changed the female's name, I could treat her as a completely new character so I was fine with the fact she didn't have the same personality as in season 1. Qin Ming in this season seemed to be softer and spoke slightly more than season 1, which isn't necessarily a bad change. Besides the occasional slip up of him touching something at the crime scene without PPE, the actor did a decent job at portraying an OCD, introverted forensic scientist. From what I remember, Lin Tao got more screen time in this season (they seemed to balance the criminal investigations and forensic side more equally) and I thought he was a good fit (appearance wise) to play a police officer. Of course, I might be slightly biased since I saw Liu Chang in Missing Persons, where he played another police officer role. Personality wise, the humor was still intact - they even mentioned his ever elusive girlfriend! - but serious when he needed to be. I don't remember much about Lin Tao's personality from season 1 so it's hard to compare.

Music: The background music was nice, especially the one that comes on when the villain appears. It's also ironic that Qin Ming's playlist in his car also has the theme music for the show.

Watch Value: If you can get over the fact that it's not the original cast and/or if enough time has passed that season 1 doesn't have such a deep impression on you anymore, I think this show is worth watching. Like many others, I didn't intend to watch this season after seeing the cast change, but picked it up for Liu Chang (after seeing him some other shows). I came for an actor, but stayed because of the story line - which I personally believe was executed better than season 1.

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