Copycat Killer – Episode 4 Recap & Review

Episode 4

Episode 4 of Copycat Killer starts with Kuo having a chat with Jian-ho. He asks the TNB reporter about the alleged call from the serial killer – Noh. Jian-ho shares that the killer had initially asked the reporter to go to Kink, the night club in order to find him. Kuo asks why Jian-ho didn’t report the call back then itself. He-ping interrupts the interrogation and shares that he sent Jian-ho to the club in order to find something there.

Kuo asks Jian-ho about the second call and the reporter shares that Noh had asked him to pass on a message to Inspector Yong. The killer mocks Yong and states that if he wanted Yu-tong back, he had to go on TV and apologise to him. Yong is riled up and blames Jian-ho. He is certain that the reporter was indeed the serial killer and states that Kuo is friends with Jian-ho, a person of interest in the case.

Yong makes a scene and claims that Jian-ho was definitely involved with the killer. Just like he did with Yi-jyun, Noh drives his van around the TNB News Headquarters. From inside the van, a bound and gagged Yu-tong can see her father but is unable to interact with him. Noh laughs as he drives off while Yu-tong sobs in the back of the van. Yong keeps replaying the message from Noh and gets further riled up.

Kuo takes more of the pills Yan-jhen had given him while Yong is thinking about going on TV to comply with Noh’s requests. Yong is helpless and tells Kuo that killing Yu-tong won’t make a big difference to Noh but would matter a lot to him. Kuo tries to coerce Yong to not give in but the cop asks if Kuo would have given up the opportunity to save his own family when he was younger if he had the chance.

Ya-cih is against the idea of letting Noh run her show but her boss wants to go ahead with the broadcast. The cops get an alert about Noh’s red van being dumped in a scrapyard. Yong finds Yu-tong’s bracelet among the pieces of evidence from the van. Yong claims that the van was outside the TNB News headquarters adding that the tinted windows would mean that Yu-tong could see her father from inside the van.

The father gets angry at Kuo and leaves the dump yard. Meanwhile, Noh starts torturing Yu-tong. Later that evening, Yong appears on the TNB News night show against Kuo’s requests. He-ping starts the special broadcast with Officer Yong and the police officer addresses his daughter directly. Just ask Yong is about to address Noh, Kuo arrives just in time and stops Yong.

The news outlet puts Kuo in the focus of the broadcast and the reporter directly addresses Noh. He promises to arrest the serial killer but Yong punches Kuo, blaming him for anything that was to happen to Yu-tong. Kuo is all over the news and the prosecutor tells his superior prosecutor that he intervened in the broadcast in order to save Yu-tong’s life. The superior threatens to fire Kuo if he does not back off while Yong hands over his resignation.

Kuo is back home and listens to several worried voices notes from a woman. At the same time, Yan-jhen meets He-ping at a restaurant where the reporter offers the ex-TNB employee a job under his team. Yan-jhen agrees to rejoin TNB News now working under He-ping instead of Ya-cih, leaving everyone in the company shocked. Ya-cih is nonchalant but Jian-ho seems perplexed.

In the break room, Ya-cih chats up with He-ping and somehow is supportive of Yan-jhen and warns her to stay on guard as she works under He-ping. Da-chao and Yong meet over dinner and the junior tells Yong that Jia-yi’s friend had returned from Japan and confirms that the man Jia-yi was talking to was Jian-ho.

The retired officer follows Jian-ho and threatens to kill him when Yun-huei stops Yong. Yun-huei checks on her brother and asks Jian-ho about the incident. Jian-ho dismisses the entire interaction as well as his interrogation from earlier in the day.  The next day, Da-chao tells Kuo that Jian-ho had a criminal record from when he was young which had been wiped out. Kuo ignores the findings and warns Da-chao against sharing details of the case with Yong.

A new officer named Yang Wun-kai joins the task forces as Yong’s replacement and Kuo asks Da-chao to brief the new officer on the case. Just then, Kuo gets a call from Yun-huei who meets him to discuss what happened with Jian-ho. She claims that her brother was not a serial killer but Kuo asks Yun-huei why Jian-ho had a murder record from when he was 15.

Kuo also points out that Jian-ho’s then-victim had a similar lipstick stain on her face. Yun-huei argues that her brother was framed. Kuo takes her word for it but asks for Jian-ho to be around in case he needs to be interrogated. Meanwhile, Yu-tong and Zih-cing together try to escape Noh but the serial killer catches them. Since he is without a mask, it is discovered that the serial killer indeed is DJ Jia-wun from the nightclub. He is choking Yu-tong as Zih-cing watches her friend die right in front of her eyes.

On Ya-cih’s live broadcast show, she gets a direct call from Noh/Jia-wun. Ya-chi asks him what he really wanted with all the murders he was committing. The serial killer claims that he cared about society a lot. Ya-cih is asked to stall Noh’s call until the cops can trace it and the reporter tries to distract him but Noh poses a direct threat to Kuo challenging him to play a game with him.

Ya-cih’s riled up and starts lecturing Noh but the serial killer laughs maniacally and promises Ya-cih that he would come back with a much fiercer response before ending the call. The intercom reports that Yu-tong was left behind in a public park, one that she visited as a child. Yong is there too but Kuo is chasing after a man who was at the scene.

In the park, a woman’s dead body is placed on one of the slides. Yong sees his daughter’s phone around the bleeding girl whose face is covered by a sheet of cloth.


The Episode Review

The revelation of Jia-wun being the serial killer was not a shocker and something that was made very obvious by the makers. I am sure the main purpose of Copycat Killer was not to keep the identity of the killer a mystery but to point out the way in which Kuo catches the killer and to show how media plays a huge role in changing the trajectory of a crime.

I am looking forward to the episodes that come because it can be seen that Yong is going to grow restless after Yu-tong’s death. He could possibly help Kuo find Noh with a lot more vigour unlike his past self now that his daughter was murdered. The pattern of Noh’s murders genuinely has me curious to learn his true motives so I hope that the makers don’t leave out the revelation of Noh’s intent in the episodes to come.

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Expect a full-season review when the season concludes!

 

  • Episode Rating
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