On this season, the story was far more serious, and flowed better. I did not like the main actress as much as the first, but she eventually grew on me.
The music was fantastic. I have been trying to find the theme song, but have been unsuccessful so far.
The main villain was also fantastic. He was perfect for the role, and did a superb job of both causing sympathy and being chillingly frightening at the same time.
I never submit reviews, but thought this one was worth it.
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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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Quite different from Season1, for better or for worse
For anyone who is watching this after watching the first season, this may disappoint. I don't mean that Season 2 is not as good. In fact, it is a mix bag that is in some ways at least as good. Yet, many viewers may be attracted to this series because ofSeason 1, so they come to it expecting the stuff that appeal to them in the first season and become disappointed when they don't get it.Take for instance the casting and characterization of the main characters. The actors have changed entirely and while the two main male characters remain, the female character has changed. It is perhaps less difficult to replace the role of Dr Qin because he will always be a man of few words. The actors in Season 1 and 2 give slight different vibes, but it is quite easy to see the same character in them. The character of Lin Tao, however, seems harder to replace. The second season has given the character a significant reboot. To be fair, if you watch only either Season 1 or Season 2, you may have no complaints. But if you watch both, you may find yourself preferring one over the other.
The characters' relationships also seem a little different now, and this could be a deal-breaker for fans of Season 1. In Season 1, despite the seriousness of the cases, the characters are generally more affable. In fact, Season 1 is generally a bit more light-hearted. Season 2 is darker, not really because of the crimes. Visually, the scenes really look darker in terms of hues and lighting, and the atmosphere tends to be too thick with tension, with the characters' relationship hardly having the endearing quality that is present Season 1.
If you just pretend that this isn't Season 2 but a different series with different characters, you may find that the stories of the cases are actually more compelling here. There are some flaws too. For example, the series tries to hard to lead the viewer into thinking that a particular character is the killer, Scavenger. This is so overdone that there are only two rather boring possibilities: 1. the character is indeed Scavenger (waaaay too unsurprising, given how many episodes the identity of Scavenger is not revealed), or 2. the character isn't Scavenger but inexplicably does things that give the impression that s/he is (so at least the story has a twist). If you are writing a mystery and you want to throw in a red herring, you can't make it too obvious that you are doing so.
Season 2 actually manages to be better than Season 1 in some ways, but Season 1 has the privilege of being watched by many viewers first. While those who don't like Season 1 may not even be tempted to watch Season 2 and comment, fans of Season 1 may be disappointed because of the difference rather than because of any deterioration.
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¿Y por qué lo recomendaría? Porque ésta segunda temporada se queda corta en muchos aspectos, entre ellos el carisma de los secundarios y la evolución de su protagonista principal. No lo voy a negar, los actores anteriores dejaron el estandarte muy alto y unos zapatos difíciles de llenar. Es decir, hay una referencia televisiva previa a estos personajes y el público se los ha señalado ya. El ambiente es más oscuro y el caso principal un tanto tétrico (lo cual es bueno), pero resulta mucho más pesado verse rodeada de un trío que no está a la altura de las circunstancias y que parece que busca torpemente pistas en la oscuridad.
La primera temporada se sentía liviana porque entre caso y caso teníamos un respiro suavizado por la camaradería y los diálogos punzocortantes de los chicos. Sarcasmos de por medio que sacaban más de una carcajada en el momento justo y después nos trasladaban a otro escenario sangriento de homicidios. La personalidad del trío era tan variopinta, tan viva, tan distinta una de otra, que verles interactuar era una gozada total. Y aquí todo es gris tirando a negro. Oscuro como la trama misma; salvo tres o cuatro escenas no hay más dónde exprimir un poco de amor propio a estos muchachos. ¿Dónde está la esencia del Dr. Qin de la primera temporada? El egocentrismo, la terquedad, su testarudez, su obsesiva perfección ante las cosas. ¿Dónde está la picardía de Lin Tao? Rebelde con causa, cegado por el amor a una novia que jamás vimos y siempre dispuesto a picarle a las costillas a su mejor amigo. No puedo comparar a la genialisima Da Bao con la asistente de Qin en esta temporada porque es que me la hicieron más plana que una pared a la pobre.
NOTA 1: [DUDA EXISTENCIAL] Sé que el personaje que Qin Ming es muy distinto en los libros al de la primera serie (¡hasta casado está!) y me gustaría saber cuál de los dos actores que lo han interpretado han acertado más en su personalidad.
NOTA 2: Y otro punto que no puedo dejar pasar: está bien que jueguen con el ‘bromance’ entre el doctor y Lin Tao pero, ¿hacerlo en una cama donde mataron a una mujer en una casa donde asesinaron a toda una familia? No, por favor. Too much!
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