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The Victims' Game taiwanese drama review
Completed
The Victims' Game
10 people found this review helpful
by AnnitsAnn
Aug 5, 2020
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Solid and heartwarming

Ahhh! I didn't think I would love this drama as much as I do. I'm writing this as the credits are rolling. This drama is soooo touching. I cried a lot in parts later on in the series. The central theme came together so well in the end and what a fantastic performance by the actors. The way this was filmed, the lighting and the acting made the drama feel so realistic and raw. The earlier scenes made it seem like this would be more about the suspense but the over-arching theme was a lot more about humanity and our need for love, attention and acknowledgement.

Joseph Cheng was fantastic as Fang Yi Ren who is a genius who has Asperger's syndrome. The way he expressed his inability to read and express emotions' like other people felt so convincing. Even more so when they started showing his way of expressing his own emotions despite the difficulties. There was one scene where I just started crying with them haha. That's the part that got me the most. It was so well captured and those moments felt very genuine. You have to watch it to experience it fully and appreciate the wholeness of his character. He was someone you just wanted to comfort and give a hug to and tell him it would all be okay.

I loved his dynamic with Tiffany Hsu. It was a bond that started with both sides in it for what they could gain but grew into a genuine, even touching, relationship.

Wow. Even the police force were quite something to watch. Jason Wang as the captain really owned his role. He was natural at it. Actually, all of them were, down to the very minor of roles. That's what made the drama more believable.

The mystery was well presented in a way that kept me interested in what was to happen. After a while though, you figure it out and the *suspense* dies down and I'd say if you are looking for a lot of suspense, you might end up disappointed. Especially with the way this drama was packaged. However, I would like to stress that this doesn't take away from the overall quality and enjoyment of the drama (in fact, I LOVE, love, love this drama). To put it in a more coherent picture, if you've watched Voice 1, which was FULL of suspense and a lot of times, quite gritting scenes, then this would be a tone down from that. I expected something different but I loved what I got just as much as the one I expected to get. The drama was slower in pace, in terms of how the mystery all came together. Personally, I ended up enjoying it and the slower pace let me take the details in nicely.

The investigations were done in a logical manner, no getting frustrated over why the police force were acting in a not-so-smart way (one more reason why I kept watching.)

The music at the end of each episode was so good and again, like the rest of the drama, wasn't the kind of music you'd expect to hear in this. But this music added so much to the overall impact.

The development that our main characters had in the end felt like a pretty neat way to wrap everything together.

Overall, this drama felt so much like a revelation. A look through the inner most aspect of a person, of how and why a lot of the same things that happen to us affect us so differently, make us respond so differently from each other.

I would actually love to see a 2nd season, but this time onto a more procedural, crime focused story. This feels like a prologue and a strong introduction to our characters.

One more thing: The script in this was amazing. Everything was spot on and the characters were able to really convey
what they wanted to say in such a distinct manner.

So yes. One more drama I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

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SPOILER: (Mild, if you would like to know about some of the character's dialogues. The ones that had so much impact.)

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"The meltdown, the pain, and the despair, they are all mine."
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"I thought that having a family and getting married would make me normal! I thought I could be normal!"
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"Victims... They all seek empathy from assailants. I believe that death isn't the key. We're all afraid of deaths that can't be acknowledged. We all seek
understanding. Have you thought of lending them a hand? I want to lend you a hand. You are still alive. We still have a chance."

"I was never a part of your life. What is "we"?"

"You've always been here. I knew you... before you even knew yourself."


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