Copycat Killer recap guide: All 10 episodes explained

Copycat Killer episode 2 recap

The killer’s latest victim is Cin Yi-jun, the granddaughter of Ma Yi-nan. In keeping up with his cruelty, the killer drives Yi-jun to her grandfather’s home so she can try screaming for him through the window, but he doesn’t see her trapped inside the van.

Hsiao-chi tracks down Yan-jhen to ask her more about her roommate’s murder. Yan-jhen admits she thinks the prosecution did a poor job, given how Yu-ping’s name was dragged through the mud. Hsiao-chi agrees with her. Yan-jhen says she and her roommate became close friends, like family. They supported each other. Yu-ping was a talented artist with dreams of becoming an illustrator.

After she died, Yan-jhen started researching other missing women in the city and compiled her report to prove Yu-ping’s innocence and see if she could help the families of other missing women. While looking through some of Yu-ping’s old things, Hsaio-chi and Yan-jhen find a flier for a white-themed party at a popular nightclub called Kink. That was the last time Yan-jhen saw her roommate. She never returned from the club.

Hsiao-chi meets with Tian Cun-yi in prison and immediately notices some discrepancies in the case. Cun-yi doesn’t even know how to use the thumb cuffs, and there are other strange loopholes in this case. Did Cun-yi have an accomplice who is still actively killing women?

Upon looking through Cun-yi’s files, Hsiao-chi recognizes the name of his ex-girlfriend, clinical psychologist Hu Yun-huei (Alice Ko), who specializes in criminal psychology and assists in profiling murderers. Based on the subtle flirtation between the two, there might be a romantic history between Yun-huei and Hsiao-chi or some interest.

He presents his theory that the two murders, old and new, might be related. Even though Yun-huei cannot give Hsaio-chi specific details about her patient due to the confidentiality clause, she seems willing to listen and assist wherever possible.

Working late one night at TNB, Yan-jhen notices one of her co-workers, Jian-ho, filming her as she tries to get a drink from a stubborn vending machine. We’ve seen him lurking in corners, filming people before.

The camera shows a close-up of Jian-ho’s face with what appears to be a burn scar. Will that be relevant later? Jian-ho attempts to help Yan-jhen, but when his efforts fail, late-night show host Chen He-ping (Yao Chun-yao) swoops in to save the day. He offers Yan-jhen some advice regarding her proposal, encouraging her to keep trying to get Ya-cih’s support because it can help her go far in her career.

Yan-jhen continues work on her special report, meeting with Ma Yi-nan regarding the disappearance of his granddaughter Yi-jun. It’s a sad story. Not long after Yi-jun went missing (I guess she must have disappeared a while ago, although the previous episode made it seem recent), her mother got into a car accident and is now in a coma. Mr. Ma has been taking care of her in Yi-jun’s absence. Yan-jhen forms a friendship with Mr. Ma, helping him hand out fliers and getting to know him. He gives her a protective charm in thanks.

Meanwhile, Hsiao-chi and Yong visit Tian Cun-yi’s home for further inspection. Yong reveals Cun-yi got the location of the buried body wrong multiple times, adding fuel to the speculation he might have had an accomplice or been acting on someone else’s orders. The killer somehow knew the detectives would visit Cun-yi’s former residence and leaves behind a gift for them, another red box, this time containing Yi-jun’s wallet and ID card.

They call in Mr. Ma to look at the previously discovered severed hand. He doesn’t think it belongs to Yi-jun because she has a burn scar on her thumb. However, he confirms the wallet is hers. Hsiao-chi tries to reassure Mr. Ma that the wallet doesn’t mean she’s related to the severed hand but asks to look through Yi-jin’s things for potential clues to her whereabouts.

The prosecutor finds Yi-jin’s planner. Every Wednesday contains a small music symbol, and he notices sheet music for the song “Amazing Grace” tucked inside. Mr. Ma doesn’t know anything about this. More interesting is a photograph of Yi-jun with friends at the nightclub Kink, the same place Yu-ping was last seen.

Kink is the next best place to look for clues, but it doesn’t take long before things take a chaotic turn. Detective Yong notices that his daughter, Yu-tong, is one of the dancers. He’s been struggling to keep tabs on Yu-tong as she repeatedly skips class and stays out all night. Seeing her at the club is a shock. Also worth mentioning is the DJ, Shen Jia-wun (Fandy Fan). The camera spends enough time focusing on him, and he has the same dark hair as the killer to make him suspect.

Hsiao-chi later returns home, where he lives with his Uncle Kun, a taxi cab driver who enjoys spending his evenings watching the news. TNB host He-ping is reporting on the killer, noting that the same prosecutor who arrested one of his own, Hsiao-chi, is investigating. He-ping can’t resist leaving viewers with something sinister to consider: “Has this ever crossed your mind? There might be a killer close to you, just around the corner.”

Once alone in his room, Hsaio-chi re-examines the photograph of Yi-jun at Kink. Seeing the group photo reminds him that he saw the TNB cameraman Jian-ho at the club. That’s the second time we’ve seen him lurking somewhere, filming people.

On the topic of filming people, poor Yi-jun is at the mercy of the killer, who has her tied up and captive in his gross killing lair with a video camera aimed at her. The killer makes contact with Mr. Ma, instructing him to humiliate himself by getting on all fours and barking like a dog for several hours, until midnight exactly. Only then will he get a chance to see Yi-jun. He lets Mr. Ma hear his granddaughter screaming and tells him to look beneath the phone where the killer has stashed one of Yi-jun’s braids, having cut it off. Ugh. I hate this guy.

Desperate to save Yi-jun, Mr. Ma complies with the killer’s demands and acts like a dog, begging the police to wait until midnight to take him home. Da-chao later takes him home, but Mr. Ma refuses to tell him what happened or what the killer says. When he returns home, he sees a home video of a young Yi-jun playing on the television, and a red box is waiting for him upstairs with Yi-jun’s keys on top. Inside, the killer has placed a bloody bra, I’m assuming Yi-jun’s, and a VHS tape. Honestly, WTF. My stomach turned.