The Victims' Game Season 2 (2024)

"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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