Copycat Killer Series Review: A layered series about violence and the long arm of the law

Henri Chang and Jung-chi Chang’s Taiwanese adaptation of Miyuki Miyabe’s crime mystery novel, Mo Ho Han (The Copy Cat), turns out to be a winner in more ways than one.

Creators – Henri Chang, Jung-chi Chang
Cast – Kang Ren Wu, Tsung-Hua Tou, Cammy Chiang, Chia-Yen Ko, Fandy Fan, Ruby Lin
Streaming On – Netflix

Suspense and intrigue, the slow build of tension, the twisted motivations of a deranged murderer, the reach and limitations of the judicial process, journalistic ethics, and the overall emotional toll of the players involved, there’s much packed into this ten-episode first season. What sustains the imagination, first and foremost, is Kang Ren Wu’s riveting central performance as Prosecutor Hsiao-Chi Kuo. His belief in the long arm of the law is beyond reproach. What he lacks in a personal life he more than makes up for in his professional tidings. Unbending, idealistic and obsessive about the truth so as to arrive at a fair judgement, he leaves no stone unturned when it comes to due process and diligence. This exacting standard also extends to his colleagues and himself. And yet, despite his incorruptible and impartial nature, his eternal quest for justice is more personal than one would think. What makes the character relatable is that he is sensitive; he cares, despite the system that is bent on shutting people like him out.

When a woman’s severed hand is found in a public park, patterns emerge, linking the crime to a case that was solved a few years prior. A dogged young reporter working at a popular TV station is immediately drawn to the story. Her reasons are as personal as they are professional. Meanwhile, another young woman goes missing without a trace. Her aged grandfather is left to pick up the pieces. A washed-up cop with decades of experience is assigned the investigation. Prosecutor Kuo enters the scene and pushes the police to do its work in a proper manner. The two cases share some strange commonalities: thumb cuffs that succeeded in dislocating the victims’ thumbs, a dance club that the women frequented and a popular news channel with high ratings. Kuo has been taught that aren’t any coincidences in his line of work. While visiting the killer who surrendered himself in the initial case, Kuo determines many loopholes in the man’s confession. Is it a copycat crime or is a serial murderer still at large?

In addition to its suspenseful writing, Copycat Killer touches upon something similar shows in the genre don’t usually delve into. That is the emotional toll gruesome crimes have on the psyche of people in law enforcement. The complex emotional labour of dealing with violence in an objective way, without getting overwhelmed by it, is something that cannot be discounted. Copycat Killer excels in the exploration of this theme. Kuo and veteran cop Shang-Yong Lin’s (Tsung-Hua Tou) reactions to the killer’s game of cat-and-mouse offer a stark contrast. As for the subject of conflict, get ready for some curveballs to get thrown in your direction. No one person is above suspicion and it is hard to predict what’s going to happen next. Copycat Killer is as much about individual character arcs (and each character’s relation to the case) as it is about the murders, per se. Whether it’s the prosecutor’s violent memories of childhood that come to him in flashbacks or journalist Yen-Jhen Lu’s (Cammy Chiang) quest to clear her murdered friend’s name or Shang-Yong Lin’s fractured relationship with his absentee daughter or TV presenter Ya-Cih Yao’s (Ruby Lin) obsession for news ratings and greater viewership, it all adds up to tell a compelling dramatic mystery tale. Judicial and journalistic ethics play a key role in the story, posing pertinent questions to the audience.

If there were a justified criticism here, it would be of length. At ten episodes totalling to nearly ten-and-a-half hours, you could say that the story could have been wrapped up sooner (seven or eight parts, ideally). The over-dependence on emotions towards the end drags the narrative beyond the cut-off limit. In so much as the writing, directing and acting are concerned, Copycat Killer comes up trumps. Ably assisting Kang Ren Wu’s primary role are Tsung-Hua Tou, Cammy Chiang and Chia-Yen Ko, whose performances are realistic and relatable. Maybe Ruby Lin’s acting abilities could have been utilised better through the episodes. She fades in and out of the story, when needed, but isn’t exactly given the required screentime her prowess demands. All in all, this complex show that sheds light on the foundation of violence, obsession, ethical dilemmas and justice, attention-seeking behaviour, emotional turmoil and the importance of truth, deserves your full attention. The makers need to be commended on presenting an atypical series in what has now become a typical genre.