"I couldn't watch him suffer. That's why I decided to help him."

First, the tropes. A quirky, antisocial, and genius forensic detective working to solve a horrific crime. A beautiful, inquisitive news reporter trying to be ahead of even the police. An irascible lead investigator hopelessly getting stuck at every step of the way,

A weird thing about trope is that the more you grow tired of them, the more you look for them in every possible minute detail and tenuous connection. But here, I have the feeling they are placed intentionally. Underneath the veneer of exciting plot device are the depth and relatability of them, revealed little by little to the watchers as they uncover more and more victims. Fang Yi Jen does not choose to be quirky, and no doubt he is greatly ashamed by it. Hsu Hai Yin involved herself, not out of a greed for journalistic glory, but because she find something else more important. Chao Cheng Kuan liked to reprimand his underlings, but he has protected them all since the very start.

In fact, the guiding beacon for the show might have been firm faithfulness to the real human condition. The victims are not handpicked in their circumstances. They are normal, ordinary people, coming from all walks of life, doing all types of job, undergoing all kinds of cruelties occurred to few yet known by all, only to converge to the same point: being forgotten. If you are in their shoes, what would you do?

Though our quirky genius is a forensic detective, much of the progress of the case comes from talking to the living. Perhaps, in a stroke of brilliant writing, the show wants to tell us that even if you are neglected by society at large, there will be one person who holds you dear and gives you the sliver of hope necessary to be brave and live on. Perhaps, you might even recognize that you are that person to someone else, to salvage two lonely souls. Of all such people, few can be as forgiving and empathetic as Lin Yu Jung, brazenly played by Chin Chi.

Now, the show contains a few technical issues that, while not critical, might make it less enjoyable for those looking for a war of wit and splendid deductions. You can feel the distinctive Asian drama need for "societal justice" dominating the plot, hence leaving little room for the more thrilling elements of a crime drama.


But the candid and compassionate societal justice it offers is more than enough for me to urge you to watch it.