Copycat Killer recap guide: All 10 episodes explained

Copycat Killer episode 7 recap

Well, Jia-wun is dead, and Yu-tong has been rescued. It’s case closed, right? Not quite. Even though the general public believes all the loose ends have been tied up and the higher-ups are pressuring Hsaio-chi to close the case, Kuo Hsaio-chi isn’t nicknamed “Fastidious Kuo” for nothing. One of the most pressing matters still lingering is the question of Jian-ho’s involvement. Was he Jia-wun’s accomplice? A suspect himself? Or just an innocent who got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time?

The general public believes Jian-ho was a killer, just like Jia-wun. Zih-cing’s mother even goes so far as to disrupt the memorial service Yun-huei holds for her brother. Yun-huei remains convinced of her brother’s innocence. Even if he did get involved with Jia-wun or know that he was the killer, she still doesn’t think Jian-ho was capable of murder. Hsaio-chi isn’t so sure he agrees, but that’s why he wants to continue investigating until he can find definitive evidence one way or the other. He’s given ten days to wrap up the case before he’s forced to disband the task force.

In an effort to help Yun-huei, late-night host He-ping suggests that they do a segment with Yun-huei to give her an opportunity to clear Jian-ho’s name on television. They can combine the prime-time and late-night viewers by inviting Ya-cih on the show, too, and having her use her connection to the general prosecutor to bring him on as well.

The segment doesn’t go well as Yun-huei quickly grows nervous under pressure from Ya-cih’s cutting questions. Ya-cih asks her why Jian-ho would have been with Jia-wun if he didn’t know what he was doing and if she really expects them to believe he wouldn’t have known about Yu-tong despite her being found in the car.

Still, Yun-huei stands by her brother, asking if everyone else at the TNB station has anything to say since they all worked with him and should know what kind of person he was. He-ping, who was Jian-ho’s direct supervisor, speaks up on Jian-ho’s behalf and says he was incredibly kind and courageous. He also points out that perhaps there was an accomplice, and maybe he hasn’t been caught yet. Maybe another killer is still out there, preparing his next crime.

Hsiao-chi’s investigation leads him to Jian-ho’s many journals. He has an alibi for many of the disappearances. But in one journal, Jian-ho mentions running into Jia-wun at a club known as Sodom. It’s mostly a regular pornography video rental store, but they also host disturbing “shows” where the women are forced into bondage, tormented, and restrained by thumbcuffs. If Jia-wun was present at those shows, that’s where he might have gotten some ideas.

Later, Hsaio-chi returns to visit Cun-yi in prison and suggests he become a witness for them. If so, there is a better chance Cun-yi can get out early and take care of his ailing father.

A news broadcast leaks some of the findings discovered at Jia-wun’s kill lair. They find several videotapes containing violent pornography. When Ya-cih sees the report, she has her colleague look up an old segment they did regarding the spread of pornography in the city. The segment was hosted by He-ping and featured him visiting the store/club, Sodom. At one point in the video, Ya-cih pauses and notices Jia-wun in the background, confirming he was there at one point and might have crossed paths with He-ping while there, which will be important in a minute.

After confirming Jian-ho’s alibi and watching the TNB broadcast featuring Yun-huei, Hsaio-chi realizes Jian-ho was likely not a killer and visits Yun-huei at her home. He asks her not to give up as he plans to find evidence that will clear Jian-ho’s name once and for all.

Ya-cih quits her job at TNB. Part of her blames herself for what happened to Zih-cing since she was the one talking to the killer when he told the city he had put her body in the park. She tells Yan-jhen she has accepted a new job at an upcoming media conglomerate and already has an exclusive to share with them. She invites Yan-jehn to come work for her, but Yan-jehn says she enjoys working with He-ping. Ya-cih seems to be growing suspicious of He-ping, and rightly so.

Adding more fuel to the theory that there is another accomplice out there is Mr. Ma, who returns to tell Hsaio-chi something he’s been considering. He says the man who called him that night on the payphone sounded older and more mature than the man who called the TNB news station on the air. And since Mr. Ma wrote down everything the caller told him, Hsaio-chi is able to compare his notes to the recording of the killer antagonizing Yong and Ya-cih on live television. He agrees that the way the two callers speak is very different.

Throughout Copycat Killer episode 7, it slowly becomes apparent that the late-night host, He-ping, is the other killer. At the end of the episode, he specifically requests Hsaio-chi’s uncle’s cab to drive home and asks Kun several questions about his nephew. He also advises him to show Hsaio-chi a page in a gossip magazine that says he’s publishing a new book called In a Serial Killer’s Eyes.

Hsaio-chi puts all the clues together and realizes He-ping has been in front of him the whole time. Always lurking near Jian-ho, at the scene of various crimes, and his ego and narcissistic personality fit Yun-huei’s original profile, not to mention the fact that He-ping is far more cunning and media savvy than Jia-wun. It looks like this case isn’t over after all.

Another important reveal in Copycat Killer episode 7 is what happened to Hsaio-chi’s family. The show has been teasing his past trauma for a while now, but in this episode, it’s confirmed that his mother, father, and little sister were all murdered by the same man, who was then sentenced to death. Hsaio-chi has always blamed himself for his family’s deaths because he had gotten into a fight with his father and then told the killer, Hun, that his dad had money in the house.

Hsaio-chi’s father owed Hun money at the time, and Hsaio-chi assumed Hun would just embarrass him. He had no idea Hun would kill them all. But his uncle comforts him and assures him it wasn’t his fault.

We also learn that Ya-cih has a son, and he attends an elite boarding school, although he doesn’t like it there and would prefer to return home.