Introduction
I was excited to hear that the 2022 Chinese crime drama Under the Skin had a sequel: Under the Skin Season 2. The second season is focused on crime psychology. Whereas the first season introduced the viewers to the wonder of forensic art and its elaborate techniques. Season 2 may be a perfect choice for viewers who love the psychology genre.
There are 11 cases in this drama. Because one case may interest you, while another may not, this recap is to summarize case by case for viewing companion. Minimal spoilers as the cases are revealed, but I will not disclose the culprits and how the crimes are executed. Overall, I hope that you will enjoy Season 2 as you did with Season 1.
If you haven’t watched Season 1 and want to pick up some forensic art guide, I also wrote a drama recap article on Under the Skin, together with co-writer WandereR: Under the Skin: Forensic Art Behind Pictures.
Drama Details
Drama title: Under the Skin Season 2 (Native title: 猎罪图鉴2 )
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Aired: Dec 10, 2024 - Dec 25, 2024
Episodes: 28 | Duration: 45 minutes
Director: Liu Shu Qiao ( 刘殊巧 )
Screenwriter: Zhang Lai ( 张莱 )
Where to watch: iQiyi and Linmon Pictures Official Channel
OST:
"Portrait" ( 画像 ) by Tan Jian Ci ( 檀健次 )
"Under the Skin" ( 猎罪图鉴 ) by Tan Jian Ci ( 檀健次 )
Trailer:
Synopsis
The breakout hit series Under the Skin makes a thrilling return with its second season, continuing its core theme of “revealing hearts through painted shadows.” By crafting lifelike portraits, the show delves into the complexities of the human psyche, illuminating subtle human nature and reflecting the realities of life. With forensic sketch artist Shen Yi, detective Captain Du Cheng, and the rest of the Beijiang task force working together, the second season promises to unravel more mysteries of human nature, hunt down the true culprits of gripping cases, and deliver an enthralling crime drama for viewers. From portraying appearances to revealing the heart, this season is set to captivate once again. (iQiyi)
Characters
For anyone who watched the prequel, it’s good to see the old faces again. Everyone is back! The main characters’ descriptions below are pertinent to Season 1 to give background stories and Du Cheng-Shen Yi’s relationship.
Main Characters
Tan Jian Ci ( 檀健次 ) as Shen Yi
A talented painter with a secret resigned from his teaching position at the Academy of Fine Arts and landed at the Beijiang Public Security Bureau. Seven years ago, when he was still a student sketching on the street, a stranger took a photo of a child and asked him to draw what the child would look like as an adult. However, this painting caused Lei Yi Fei, the former criminal police captain of Beijiang Branch, to be exposed and killed as an undercover agent. Five years later, his guilt became heavier. To find out the truth, he applied to the Beijiang Branch and became a portraitist of the Criminal Police Team.
Jin Shi Jia ( 金世佳 ) as Du Cheng
The criminal police captain of the Beijiang Branch is stubborn and determined. He often acts irrationally and recklessly to solve the case. He was resistant to Shen Yi joining the police force and would not accept the person who killed his master to become a member of the police force. Although under his superior’s persuasion and arrangement, he had to accept becoming colleagues with Shen Yi, he was still full of concerns and even scorned Shen Yi’s “portraits to solve crimes”. In his opinion, in an era where “eyes from the sky” are everywhere, The use of portraits to solve crimes has become outdated.
Supporting Characters
Forensic doctor
Du Cheng’s assistant
IT expert
Beijiang Branch Director
Pre-trial officer
Crime Cases
Case 1: The mystery of the boy group’s death (Ep 1 to 2)
Three members of the idol group “The Glory One” were mysteriously murdered in the dormitory of the talent show. There was only one survivor, Chen Qin. There was no one else in the surveillance of the crime scene, only a strange dark figure.
A fan gift at the scene caught Shen Yi’s attention, and he realized that it might be the key to the murderer hiding at the scene. Based on this clue, the police found Yuan Zhao Di, a stan of Chen Qin’s fans club, and she was wearing a wedding dress and waiting at home.
The police discovered that Chen Qin and Yuan Zhao Di had a unique relationship beyond the connection between ordinary idols and fans. Chen Qin argued that this was just a way for him to maintain relationships with his fans, and he had no idea about Yuan Zhao Di’s intention. However, Shen Yi believes that the relationship between the two is not as simple as they claimed.
Case 2: The missing blind boy (Ep 3 to 4)
A man, Liu Qiang, was stabbed by the river. His blind son Xiao Peng disappeared three weeks ago. Du Cheng and Shen Yi went to the area where the crime occurred to look for clues and met a group of young people. They also discovered an iron cage, inside were a scared Xiao Peng and Yun Lei who looked like he was the culprit. The father was still in a coma and there was no breakthrough in the interrogation. Shen Yi and Du Cheng decided to start with Xiao Peng. But Xiao Peng denied that Yun Lei had hurt him.
Shen Yi found a notebook belonging to Xiao Peng and deciphered the emotional color codes hidden in it. He returned to the scene where the boy was found, followed the traces of the iron cage, and found a hidden place, where he discovered the true situation of Xiao Peng, Yun Lei, and others. On the other hand, Yun Lei managed to escape from the police’s secret pursuit and seemed to intend to commit the next murder. Du Cheng and others arrived and the situation reached a stalemate. At the last moment, Shen Yi arrived with the painting and prevented the vicious incident from happening. Everyone who learned the truth was moved by Xiao Peng’s experience. Although he cannot see other people’s faces, he can see through the good and evil in people’s hearts.
Case 3: Soul Lock in Fengdu Mountain (Ep 5 to 7)
A young woman, Zhang Si Jing, disappeared after climbing Fengdu Mountain. The search and rescue team accidentally discovered a sinkhole full of bones and remains. Everyone in the police force learned that this mountain has the wonder of “Auroral Mist” with steaming clouds and awe-inspiring scenery, which attracts countless enthusiasts to risk their lives, and some people even committed suicide here.
Du Cheng approached villager Chang Feng to learn about the situation. Chang Feng knows Fengdu Mountain very well and has repeatedly persuaded climbers to return. Chang Feng’s sister Xiao Juan accidentally fell off a cliff in a mountaineering accident and died many years ago, which became his lifetime grief. Shen Yi and He Rong Yue collected the bones at the scene for restoration, and they found the bones of an eight-year-old girl, who is Chang Feng’s sister.
When Du Cheng and Chang Feng were hiking the mountain, they met two female Internet influencers who wanted to take photos of Auroral Mist. Du Cheng persuaded them to return. But not long after, one of them fell off the cliff and died. Du Cheng and Shen Yi explored the mountain road to investigate and saw the visual wonder of the Auroral Mist, from which Shen Yi deduced the secret of the mechanism.
At the same time, He Rong Yue found signs of slashing wounds on a corpse and suspected that it had been slashed first and then fell off the cliff. The police confirmed the identity of the deceased as Ma Huai Nan, a middle-aged man who disappeared after climbing a mountain with his wife Ke Ling.
Case 4: Deadly Da Vinci (Ep 8 to 9)
When working on Case 3, Li Han became an undercover agent in the internet suicide group involved in the previous case. After checking, a strange ID named “Da Vinci” requests a friend to Li Han. She observed and reported that there was something wrong with “Da Vinci” who was inciting others to commit suicide. Because of the police intervention, Du Cheng rescued Luo Yu Chen, who had cut her wrist. Jiang Feng failed to prevent another person from falling from the building. Li Han, who witnessed all this, was shocked and fainted. When Jiang Feng’s mother invited her son and Li Han to dinner, Li Han couldn’t bear the pressure and left. Shen Yi took the initiative to comfort her.
This case also involved Li Han’s past relationship with her grandmother. Shen Yi took the initiative to enlighten her. The “Li Han” at home existed, but the decisive and capable “Li Han” in the police station also existed. She should accept the different sides of herself.
Li Han continued to talk to “Da Vinci” to obtain more relevant information. But soon “Da Vinci” unfriended her, and the clues were interrupted. Li Han figured out a way and together with Shen Yi sent a challenge to “Da Vinci” to start a painting competition. In the process, Du Cheng and Jiang Feng found the home of “Da Vinci”.
Case 5: Evil Fire (Ep 10 to 12)
Dong Yi, a middle-aged man, was found dead in his home. The police quickly determined that this was a homicide. The investigation revealed that the deceased’s PI job itself was shady, included spying and stalking. He Rong Yue judged from the autopsy that the murderer had a strong hatred for the deceased. The police discovered three locations where Dong Yi was spying, and the young people related to the three locations happened to be Huang Tao, Hao Zi Qiang, and Ruan Fang Fang: the arsonists in the sensational “Haisu Internet Cafe Arson Case”. However, after comparing the footprints, the they were not the killers.
An audio recording and call records were found on the mobile phone at the scene. Following the clues in the recording, the police found Song Min Jie, a middle-aged woman. She and her husband Wang Hao were the family members of the victims of the Internet cafe arson case.
The police compared the footprints that matched the scene and decided to arrest the killer. The case was quickly solved, but through contact and investigation with Ruan Fang Fang, Shen Yi deduced that she had strong antisocial personality traits. Du Cheng expressed concern about Shen Yi’s contact with her.
Shen Yi asked Li Han to check Ruan Fang Fang’s past. Du Cheng realized that Ruan Fang Fang was indeed in danger, and then discovered that that day was the anniversary of the death of fire victims. Ruan Fang Fang invited Shen Yi to the apology meeting for the fire victim’s family members. Ruan Fang Fang seemed to be apologizing, but in fact, she planned to create a fire.
Case 6: Sin Goes Around (Ep 13 to 14)
The wedding of Lao Yan’s daughter Yan Jing Jing and her fiancee Luo Yi Fan was about to be held, but they received anonymous threatening letters. Lao Yan quickly found they were written by Ao Li. Ao Li is Yan Jing Jing’s classmate. After graduation, she worked with Yan Jing Jing and Luo Yi Fan for several years. There was also a love triangle controversy. Now Ao Li is an internet network anchor. After was found out, she quickly apologized and gained Jing Jing’s understanding.
Li Han worried that Jing Jing would be targeted by Ao Li and asked for Shen Yi’s help. He watched Ao Li’s live broadcast, and through analysis, he believed that the girl had a deep knot in her heart. Everyone decided to get to know Ao Li better. Shen Yi then believed that there was currently too little information to judge whether the danger would continue to arise. Du Cheng, who had returned from a business trip, sent some information about Ao Li to help everyone understand more about her past.
Shen Yi had a face-to-face conversation with Ao Li and found that she had come to a secret warehouse, and there seemed to be her unknown dark side hidden inside. He carefully analyzed and used graphic clues to deduce the location where she might commit the murder.
Case 7: Lying Bones (Ep 15 to 17)
Min Xue, a victim of an old case from the deceased Captain Lei, had established an organization called “Hua Xi’s Home” to help women from troubled families. Shen Yi, who met Min Xue for the first time, saw her face in the video and felt something was wrong with her. He studied her facial proportions and felt that Min Xue’s actual age and appearance did not match.
A fall occurred in a hotel, and the deceased was a middle-aged man named Wei Xian Zhong. His wife said that the suspects who might have killed Wei Xian Zhong were Min Xue and another girl named Jiang Huan. Shen Yi learned that Min Xue was sexually assaulted by her adoptive father Zhang Bin when she was 14 years old and that her adoptive mother Min Sheng Mei condoned the rape. Min Sheng Mei also had made multiple reservations at high-end hotels in the past two years and had brought young girls to the room of middle-aged men next door. Du Cheng interrogated Min Sheng Mei, but she claimed that Min Xue ordered her to do it.
After the news broke, there were public doubts about Min Xue’s past case, pointing the finger at Team Lei for mishandling the case. The Municipal Bureau sent Lu Hai Zhou to the branch to re-investigate the old case with the help of Shen Yi. When they visited the orphanage where Min Xue grew up, they found that there was no problem with the work process of Team Lei back then. But they discovered Min Xue’s past that was not discovered before.
Case 8: Dragon and Phoenix Aria (Ep 18 to 19)
A woman named Guo Yuan was attacked, leading to a serial disappearance case. Du Cheng led an investigation, while Shen Yi tried to restore Guo Yuan’s memory of the murderer’s clothing before the attack. Together, the two looked in a suspicious location: a chemical plant that had been closed due to a fire that caused dangerous gas leaks. Du Cheng and Jiang Feng arrived at the basement of the chemical plant, only to find a shocking scene: several corpses were placed inside!
One corpse inside, Feng Xiao Wen, was used as a breakthrough to detect the murderer. She was a famous opera actress in her early fifties. Her daughter insists that the person who killed her mother was a man named Ge Yu Tian, who is a former employee of the chemical plant. The police investigate his relationship with the actress. Ge Yu Tian regarded Feng Xiaowen as his godmother, but Shen Yi felt that Ge Yu Tian was hiding something. He told Du Cheng that Ge Yutian and Feng Xiao Wen might be lovers.
Shen Yi was under great pressure due to the unexpected incident. Unwilling to miss his intuition again, he decided to confront the murderer head-on. Du Cheng tracked down the murderer by looking for clues from Guo Yuan. Shen Yi confronted the murderer face to face. In the end, Du Cheng rescued Guo Yuan, and Shen Yi also made the murderer reveal the truth by restoring the murderer’s intentions at the crime scene. But Shen Yi successfully uncovered the murderer and protected Guo Yuan, making up for his regret.
Case 9: The Fallen Lion (Ep 20 to 21)
Wealthy businessman Cao Jian called the police, saying that after returning from a business trip, he found the body of his wife Liu Yao in the cold storage of his home. He suspected a robbery. Shen Yi and Du Cheng came to Cao Jian’s villa and found many doubts in the house. He and his son Cao Xiao Dong also seem to often fight.
A young woman named Zhou Shan Shan claimed to be pregnant with Cao Xiao Dong’s child. Shen Yi suspected that the father of Zhou Shan Shan’s child was not Cao Xiao Dong. Cao Xiao Dong had azoospermia due to a genetic defect and was unable to have children.
Case 10: Prussian Blue Mystery (Ep 22 to 23)
Su You Liang, who was about to be laid to rest, was prevented from being cremated by his girlfriend Lin Xiao Yin. She claimed that her boyfriend did not die suddenly, but was killed by his lover An Lu Ran. He Rong Yue found that there was no abnormality in the sudden death of the deceased, but a small trace amount of thallium was found in Su You Liang’s body.
The police launched an investigation into An Lu Ran. Her company and Fang Kai Yi’s research company belonged to the same group. Fang Kai Yi is the mysterious man Shen Yi met at the gallery in the earlier episode and has had several encounters with since then. Shen Yi found cow blood in Su You Liang’s item. Combined with the search and evidence collection, it was determined that Su You Liang used cow blood to make Prussian blue pigment, which is also the antidote for thallium poisoning. Su You Liang knew being poisoned and tried to cure himself. He should know who the poisoner is.
Case 11: Gene Editing (Ep 23 to 28)
The murder case was closed, but Du Cheng discovered new doubts. On the night of Su You Liang’s death, An Lu Ran’s did not have an alibi. News came that her company was suspected of illegal organ transplantation. Ducheng and Shen Yi separately pursued the clues.
An Lu Ran rushed to the place where the organ transplant was secretly performed and quickly covered up the scene. They saw Fang Ke Ying appear and followed him. Du Cheng advised Fang Ke Ying to provide information to the police, but Tang Ke Ying was noncommittal. An Lu Ran urged Tang Ke Ying to steal Fang Kai Yi’s core technical data and go overseas with her to start a new business. But Tang Ke Ying failed to find the data. Under pressure, she looked for Fang Kai Yi. He was furious, scolded her, and left. Fang Kai Yi talked to Shen Yi and proposed painting the starry sky to calm his mood. It was completed the next day.
Du Cheng lost contact with Tang Ke Ying and felt something was wrong. He came to see Fang Kai Yi who insisted that he had not seen Tang Ke Ying since the argument. Du Cheng and Shen Yi split tracked her separately and both came to the animal protection courtyard. Shen Yi found a human skull in the incinerator.
An Lu Ran’s driver Wu Bin became a suspect, but he kept changing his statements during the interrogation. Li Han found out that Fang Kai Yi also went to the beach that night. Fang Kai Yi admitted his grudges against Wu Bin and An Luran but denied murder. He Rong Yue discovered that physical evidence pointed to a physical conflict between Tang Ke Ying and An Luran. At the same time, Wu Bin retracted his confession again and identified An Lu Ran as the murderer of Tang Ke Ying. An Lu Ran escaped.
The truth was gradually revealed, but Shen Yi felt something was wrong. He had a vague feeling that Fang Kai Yi was not innocent. Also he felt something is wrong with Fang Kai Yi’s painting.
Tang Ke Ying was most likely to have brought embryos that should have been destroyed out of the country and sold them overseas. The police suspected that An Luran and Fang Kai Yi had manipulated the whole thing. They used gene editing technology to edit fetus, and then illegally transported them overseas. Fang Kai Yi still denied this.
Shen Yi observed Fang Kai Yi’s studio, and he seemed to have discovered the secret. Fang Kai Yi realized that Shen Yi had not completely abandoned his identity as a police officer, but was looking for some evidence. Through the efforts of the police, an extremely detailed conversation was restored in Wu Bin’s car recorder.
The case came to an end. The Beijiang Branch returned to normal order. For Shen Yi, he said goodbye to his inner demons and realized the importance of respecting rules and boundaries. Du Cheng and Shen Yi also bid farewell to the darkness and ushered in a new dawn.
Conclusion
Although the final case is properly closed, the ending of this drama is interesting and suggested for season 3.
To end this article, and to understand more about this drama, you can read a Twitter post below:
Producer Zhang Yiyun and screenwriter Zhang Lai talked about Under The Skin 2
Images credit: The images are linked to their sources; otherwise, they are taken from official posters and screenshots.
