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猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin
Apr. 23rd, 2022 06:29 pmAfter not watching much of anything for ages I tried (and then binged since I couldn't stop watching) the Cdrama 'Under the Skin' (available free here) aka 猎罪图鉴, which technically translates as crime hunting sketchbook I think, but interestingly, both titles work due to the main character (a sketch artist) and his unique abilities.
The premise of the show is that seven years ago Shen Yi was an up-and-coming young artist, known for being able to look at a person or photo and draw how they'd appear if younger or older. When shown a photo of a young boy and asked to paint them as a 35 year old man he does so and accidentally identifies a police detective, Lei Yifei, who is then murdered as a result. Brought in for questioning, Shen Yi is asked to draw that woman but he finds, to his surprise and Captain (and former partner of Lei YiFei) Du Cheng's frustration, he can't. Then, in the first episode Shen Yi, who has been teaching crime scene investigation via art history at the police academy and working as needed as a sketch artist, gets his transfer to the Beijiang criminal investigative police branch approved. That is where Captain Du Cheng works and he is not remotely happy to find out he'll have to work with Shen Yi.
(General, vague spoilers for the show below, but nothing plot specific.)
Of course, Du Cheng is very adversarial at first but Shen Yi showcases his skills on the first case and it's a success; it is his artistic eye that picks up on some clues others missed and his sketch work that identifies suspects. And that's where the show surprised me because I assumed it'd go one of the two typical ways - either Du Cheng would continue to hate/be dismissive of/belittle Shen Yi or that Du Cheng would do a 180 and would instantly accept Shen Yi and they'd be buddy-buddy from then on. And that didn't happen? Du Cheng begrudgingly admits Shen Yi was helpful to the case but their relationship is a slow slide from coworkers to partners to friends (and possibly more, depending how you want to read it) as time goes on. But, at the same time, it doesn't shy away from showing the affect that Lei Yifei's murder has had on their lives both personally and professionally.
Also, unlike the vast majority of 'cop and consultant' type shows they aren't joined at the hip. Too often the consultant (in this case Shen Yi is actually considered a police officer but doesn't seem to have had the same kind of training as the other cops so I think it counts) goes absolutely everywhere with the cop no matter the danger or how little input they could make, but in this show when it makes sense for Shen Yi to accompany Du Cheng he does (to crime scenes, to look at homes of victims/suspects, etc) but overall, for generic cop stuff (asking stores for CCTV footage and other grunt things like that), he doesn't and goes off and does his own thing.
Cast-wise, the show nicely isn't a sausage-fest. Chief Zhang, the one in charge of their police branch, is a woman, as is the ME and also one of Du Cheng's two subordinates. Also, when there's a case where one of the team has to distract a kid so they can question the mom and search her apartment it's Shen Yi that's asked to do it, not the female cop. Case-wise, some are gut wrenching (and as an FYI for avoiding possible triggers some cases include things like: highlight to see- rape, sometimes aided by drugging the victim first; bullying, including over gender non-conformity; spousal/partner abuse; and teachers being inappropriate with students. Also, because of the fact cops are always being presented in a good light, one or two cases have a tinge of what could be considered victim blaming to them in a 'there could have been less victims if only you'd trusted us and reported it earlier' kind of way)
Under the Skin is 20 episodes (each 40-45 min long) and the cases organically run from one to the next with a few overarching bits (mostly Lei Yifei's murder and the changing relationship between Du Cheng and Shen Yi) throughout. It's tightly plotted, wonderfully written and the characters, even the once-off case specific ones, feel mostly like real people. Although I've seen a few people say the show's ending is a cliffhanger, I'd consider it more like one of those 'here's a bit of something that could be used as the jumping off point for S2 if we get it' type ends instead. It definitely did leave me wanting more, but I would have had the same reaction without that bit. (I have seen comments that a writer is working on S2, whether it winds up happening or not, who knows.)
Curious? Here's a link to an ever so vaguely spoilery 1 minute vidlet for Du Cheng and Shen Yi's relationship arc through the show (music only, no other audio).
and a wonderful, but somewhat more spoilery, full vid (dialogue plus music)
and this delightful gif (which is in the official, but very spoilery promo) that I'll drop here for, ahem, reasons....
The premise of the show is that seven years ago Shen Yi was an up-and-coming young artist, known for being able to look at a person or photo and draw how they'd appear if younger or older. When shown a photo of a young boy and asked to paint them as a 35 year old man he does so and accidentally identifies a police detective, Lei Yifei, who is then murdered as a result. Brought in for questioning, Shen Yi is asked to draw that woman but he finds, to his surprise and Captain (and former partner of Lei YiFei) Du Cheng's frustration, he can't. Then, in the first episode Shen Yi, who has been teaching crime scene investigation via art history at the police academy and working as needed as a sketch artist, gets his transfer to the Beijiang criminal investigative police branch approved. That is where Captain Du Cheng works and he is not remotely happy to find out he'll have to work with Shen Yi.
(General, vague spoilers for the show below, but nothing plot specific.)
Of course, Du Cheng is very adversarial at first but Shen Yi showcases his skills on the first case and it's a success; it is his artistic eye that picks up on some clues others missed and his sketch work that identifies suspects. And that's where the show surprised me because I assumed it'd go one of the two typical ways - either Du Cheng would continue to hate/be dismissive of/belittle Shen Yi or that Du Cheng would do a 180 and would instantly accept Shen Yi and they'd be buddy-buddy from then on. And that didn't happen? Du Cheng begrudgingly admits Shen Yi was helpful to the case but their relationship is a slow slide from coworkers to partners to friends (and possibly more, depending how you want to read it) as time goes on. But, at the same time, it doesn't shy away from showing the affect that Lei Yifei's murder has had on their lives both personally and professionally.
Also, unlike the vast majority of 'cop and consultant' type shows they aren't joined at the hip. Too often the consultant (in this case Shen Yi is actually considered a police officer but doesn't seem to have had the same kind of training as the other cops so I think it counts) goes absolutely everywhere with the cop no matter the danger or how little input they could make, but in this show when it makes sense for Shen Yi to accompany Du Cheng he does (to crime scenes, to look at homes of victims/suspects, etc) but overall, for generic cop stuff (asking stores for CCTV footage and other grunt things like that), he doesn't and goes off and does his own thing.
Cast-wise, the show nicely isn't a sausage-fest. Chief Zhang, the one in charge of their police branch, is a woman, as is the ME and also one of Du Cheng's two subordinates. Also, when there's a case where one of the team has to distract a kid so they can question the mom and search her apartment it's Shen Yi that's asked to do it, not the female cop. Case-wise, some are gut wrenching (and as an FYI for avoiding possible triggers some cases include things like: highlight to see- rape, sometimes aided by drugging the victim first; bullying, including over gender non-conformity; spousal/partner abuse; and teachers being inappropriate with students. Also, because of the fact cops are always being presented in a good light, one or two cases have a tinge of what could be considered victim blaming to them in a 'there could have been less victims if only you'd trusted us and reported it earlier' kind of way)
Under the Skin is 20 episodes (each 40-45 min long) and the cases organically run from one to the next with a few overarching bits (mostly Lei Yifei's murder and the changing relationship between Du Cheng and Shen Yi) throughout. It's tightly plotted, wonderfully written and the characters, even the once-off case specific ones, feel mostly like real people. Although I've seen a few people say the show's ending is a cliffhanger, I'd consider it more like one of those 'here's a bit of something that could be used as the jumping off point for S2 if we get it' type ends instead. It definitely did leave me wanting more, but I would have had the same reaction without that bit. (I have seen comments that a writer is working on S2, whether it winds up happening or not, who knows.)
Curious? Here's a link to an ever so vaguely spoilery 1 minute vidlet for Du Cheng and Shen Yi's relationship arc through the show (music only, no other audio).
and a wonderful, but somewhat more spoilery, full vid (dialogue plus music)
and this delightful gif (which is in the official, but very spoilery promo) that I'll drop here for, ahem, reasons....
