Unriddle 2
 |
| Unriddle 2 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Suspense Crime |
| Written by | Phang Kai Yee |
| Starring | Rui En Chen Liping Tay Ping Hui Elvin Ng Joshua Ang |
| Opening theme | Music |
| Country of origin | Singapore |
| Original language | Chinese |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Paul Yuen |
| Running time | approx. 45 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MediaCorp Channel 8 NTV7 |
| Release | 5 March – 30 March 2012 |
| Related | |
| Metamorphosis (2007) Unriddle (2010 Sequel) Channel X (2010) | |
Unriddle 2 (simplified Chinese: 最火搭档 2) is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It will made its debut on 5 March 2012. This drama serial consists of 20 episodes, and will be screened on every weekday night at 9:00 pm. In Malaysia, it will be broadcast on the ntv7 primetime drama slot at 10:00pm around May. It is a sequel to Unriddle, one of the first sequels in Mediacorp dramas in nearly 10 years.
Introduction
The show sees the return of the two main characters Xiaoman (Rui En) and Zhengyi aka Bun (Chen Liping), where picking off from the cliff-hanger ending at the Season 1 they continue to solve cases of complex crimes beyond their imagination. Each case leads to another, quickly taking on a darker and edgier tone, with many loved ones getting killed and pushing the duo to their limits. As the story progressed they realized that there is yet another mastermind behind these events and that their own involvements in these cases may not be just because it was part of their work.
As par for Mediacorp dramas, actors playing characters who were killed off in Season 1 make a return on Season 2, playing different characters (E.g: Brandon Wong).
Story
Zhengyi Trapped (ep 1-3)
Day 8. After leaving a dagger in the eatery, Asura disappears without a trace and is never seen again. Zhengyi confirms that Asura’s purpose in coming to Singapore from Tokyo is to avenge the death of his brother, Shanfan. But why has Asura not make his move yet? During these eight days, Zhengyi lives in fear that Asura will appear any time.
In the meantime, Xiaoman is transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department to assume the position of Deputy Director. Together with Yuze, who has resumed duty, both of them oversee the case involving Asura. She deduces that Asura was acting mysteriously to instill fear in Zhengyi. The elusive Asura finally strikes on the night of the eighth day, with an attempt on Zhengyi’s life. Xiaoman happens to appear on the scene, and both of them are thrown into a fierce battle….
A murder case surfaces shortly after. The victim is a triad member from Japan. Xiaoman and Yuze link the victim to Asura. Using the victim’s identity as a lead to their investigations, Xiaoman and Yuze chance upon some Japanese triad members operating secretly in Singapore. As Xiaoman and Yuze go into action to arrest them, a clash ensues. The leader, Kuroda Yutaka (黑田丰), is arrested, but they lost track of Asura.
Through Kuroda Yutaka, Xiaoman and Yuze learn that Asura is not only seeking revenge on Zhengyi but was hatching a plot….
The abyss of suffering (ep 4-10)
Dylan continues to woo Xiaoman, but Xiaoman indicates point blank that Dylan is not the man for her. Although Dylan is disappointed, he is determined not to give up pursuing Xiaoman’s love.
Soon after, Xiaoman discovers that Yuze is secretly investigating Dylan for he suspects that Dylan murdered his ex-girlfriend, Fan Huizhong. Xiaoman is aware that Dylan and Huizhong were once in love with each other. She suspects that Yuze is convinced that Dylan is the murderer out of jealousy. Yuze’s unit adopts unlawful procedures to monitor Dylan’s movements covertly in an effort to nail him.
Xiaoman finds nothing suspicious about Dylan, and feels that Yuze is too eager to avenge his ex-girlfriend’s death. He has no evidence whatsoever to charge Dylan. She also suspects that Yuze is abusing his authority, seemingly to punish Dylan personally. To stop Yuze from committing more mistakes, she has no choice but to suspend Yuze.
Yuze pursues the case relentlessly but is killed by Dylan and Jieyu.
The final battle (Ep 17-20)
Xiaoman recalls the string of events 6 years ago which seem unconnected. However, after piecing everything together, it dawns on her that someone was manipulating the chain of events to target her in an attempt to land her in trouble. Xiaoman and Zhengyi are determined to fish out this mysterious person.
Zhengyi has already sensed that Xiaoman seems to be obsessed with capturing the murderer. Zhengyi is worried that her best friend is slipping into the fringe of the dark side. If she does not pull her up, Xiaoman would eventually commit an unpardonable mistake.
Langfeng suddenly gets hold of evidence on Xiaoman’s crimes 6 years ago, forcing her to quit the police force before he exposes her. Did Xiaoman really break the law by killing criminals as a way of punishing them? What was Langfeng’s stance? Was he trying to help Xiaoman or destroy her? Who was the manipulator out to get Xiaoman?
Cast
| Cast | Role | Description | Episodes Appeared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rui En | Hu Xiaoman | Main protagonist, working as a CID Officer. Now portrayed as an Anti-hero. Partly to Gao Jieyu's manipulations, her character grew darker, and was revealed to have committed multiple morally questionable acts so as to fit her own idea of justice: Framing her professor Fang Rongge of a murder he did not commit just so she could get to arrest him for another crime, allowing Dylan Cai to die from a seizure without notifying the hospital staff, killing Fu Hongbo for allegedly murdering people when the opportunity strikes, and allowing "Big Little Eyes" to hang to death while confronting Liang Zhichao. Langfeng did not agree with her actions, and got her to agree to resign from the Police Force once she solved the final case. Xiaoman contemplated killing Jieyu in revenge for murdering her mother, but chose not to, and became a fugitive so she could personally confront the alleged true mastermind. | 1-20 |
| Chen Liping | Lin Zhengyi | The second main protagonist, nicknamed "Da Bao" and working as the boss of an eatery, and is also a volunteer to help look for missing people. She is the other anti-hero of the show, and exists on the other side of the law as an informer for Xiaoman. Although not a police officer, she had a strong sense of righteousness and played as the voice of reason to Hu Xiaoman's increasing darkness, despite having personally lost one of her friends and another family member to serial killers. When Ah Ni was murdered in her attempts to help Fu Hongbo and Fu Lelin, Da Bao desperately worked on the case to bring the perpetrators to justice, but was left unsatisfied when she uncovered the truth. She continued to help Xiaoman in the final case, and talked her down from killing Jieyu. In the finale, when interrogated by Langfeng, she vehemently maintained her faith in that Xiaoman will no longer cross the line, and hopefully awaits her return. | 1-20 |
| Rebecca Lim | Gao Jieyu | The main antagonist of the show. She is a Psychiatrist, and Xiaoman's friend and university classmate. She was the Criminal Mastermind behind the serial killings committed by Dylan Cai, Fu Lelin, and Yao Wanyi. Portrayed as cold with little regard for human life in the way she manipulated her patients, who are both serial killers and victims. She was also responsible for Zhang Yuze's death. Back in University, Jieyu believed in Fang Rongge's theories regarding murderers being defined as such from birth, and accuses Xiaoman of framing and betraying her professor, which is why she planned all the murders so as to avenge her professor and hurt Xiaoman. She was exposed and arrested in Ep 18 when she went to Zhang Xinyun's house to retrieve evidence of her crime but was subsequently bailed by Yang Qiujun in Ep 19, whom she subsequently murdered. In the final episode, Jieyu revealed that her father was a murderer, vindicating her own beliefs and claimed to have completed Fang Rongge's research, goading Xiaoman to kill her as a final confirmation she was right all along about Xiaoman being a murderer. Xiaoman chose not to and left her for the cops, broken and injured. In the end, Jieyu received an SMS from Fang Rongge thanking her for completing his research, and cried bitterly when she realized her acts of revenge was for naught. | 2 4 6 7-10 15-20 |
| Tay Ping Hui | Zhang Yuze | Xiaoman's Boss. Revealed to be suffering from a brain tumour early on, but delayed his operation as he wanted to get evidence that Dylan was the one that killed his former girlfriend Huizhong. His urgency to pin down Dylan leads to him doing some questionable acts, and put himself at odds with Xiaoman as a result. Devising a plan to lure Dylan out, he contacted Zhibing, the supposed suspect in Huizhong's murder case, but he fled and was stabbed by Jieyu. Yuze witnessed the killing, and tried to ask Zhibing as to who was the real killer, but he dies. Soon afterwards he collapses after resisting arrest by Xiaoman, and undergoes surgery in hospital. Yuze would become amnesiac for a while, but he regained his memories and confessed that he was cold towards Xiaoman because he was afraid of falling in love with her. Just when he was on the verge of recovery, Jieyu and Dylan killed him after he put up a brief struggle. The last thing he remembers until the end, was still Huizhong. | 1-7 |
| Joshua Ang | Liu Shisan | Da Bao's "Family" Member. He took a liking to Xiao Na, an AIDS victim. In his attempt to rescue her from the violent patrons of the brothel, he accidentally killed the Pimp in charge. Upon some last minute advice from Da Bao, he gave himself up to the police because that would give him a chance of seeing Da Bao and Xiao Na again. He was sentenced to 8 years in the prison. | 1-14 |
| Xiang Yun | Yang Qiujun | Xiaoman's Mother, a lawyer. Although angered by her former husband's pedophilia many years ago, she already forgave him and was appalled when she learnt Xiaoman exposed him to danger as a bait for Dylan Cai and even had him killed, which devastated both mother and daughter. She forgave Xiaoman later on. She was revealed to be the lawyer who defended Yao Wanyi unsuccessfully years ago and thus Wanyi was chosen as a target for Jieyu's manipulations. Killed by Jieyu in the final episode when she dug out her heart, her corpse being discovered by Da Bao. | 7-9 12 17 19-20 |
| Zhou Ying | Zhong Ah Ni | Da Bao's "Family" Member. Encouraged by Da Bao to be more positive in life, and she resolved to help Fu Hongbo and Fu Lelin. Fell to her death after being stabbed and pushed down a building by Fu Lelin's alternate self. | 1-14 |
| Elvin Ng | Xie Langfeng | Nicknamed "Wolf", and Xiaoman's supposed nemesis. He is a CID Officer who joined Xiaoman's team. There are times when he appears as though he is trying to upstage Xiaoman, but in truth he genuinely wanted to help her and repeatedly hints that he knew of her dark nature and warned her about it. He eventually revealed that he liked her but he knew nothing would come out of such a relationship since they are fierce rivals. It is because of this he was left in a dilemma when Xiaoman repeatedly went beyond her line of duty in punishing criminals, and when the last straw broke he forced Xiaoman to agree to resign from the police force after she solved the final case involving Yao Wanyi. In the finale he interrogated Da Bao after the final confrontation with Gao Jieyu with regards to the details of what happened, a scene reminiscent of the initial interrogation scene between Xiaoman and Da Bao in season 1. | 8-20 |
| Yuan Shuai | Dai Baolun | New CID Officer, and an IT expert. | 1-3 5-8 10-20 |
| Adam Chen | Wu Zhiyun | CID Officer who graduated with Xiaoman and Langfeng. | 1-3 5-6 8-20 |
| Sora Ma | Sun Mingwei | New CID Officer | 1-3 5-8 10-20 |
| Huang Qiming | Dylan Cai Zhiming | Birth name Lin Peiyu. Lawyer working at Yang Qiujun's firm. A supposed suitor of Hu Xiaoman. In reality he is a serial killer targeting people who abused their family and children, and chose to woo Xiaoman because her father was a pedophile who sexually assaulted his childhood friend Thomas (Who died back in Season 1). He became a serial killer partly due to allegedly witnessing his father and mother killing each other during a fight when he was a young boy. He eventually managed to kill Hu Guangming, but loses his memory after Xiaoman knocks him out. Gao Jieyu restored his memories along with his childhood memories, and he realized to his horror that he was the one who killed his own father. He confesses that while his main reason for getting near Xiaoman was to kill her father, he fell in love with her and deep in his heart he actually wished Hu Guangming would never return so he would never have to kill him. Jieyu injected an allergic medication to his drip, giving him a seizure. Xiaoman silently watched without alerting the hospital staff, denying him the bell and refusing to press it as he died. | 1 (Appeared on photo) 4-10 |
| Romeo Tan | Fu Hongbo | Fu Lelin's Brother. Wheelchair-bound due to his step-father "Big Little Eyes" physical abuse when he was still a child. Possibly due to Jieyu's manipulations he and his sister believed their sufferings were due to them having being kidnappers of their parents in their previous lives and now they are atoning for their past sins. He had actually been practicing to walk for months, and tried to protect Lelin by making a false confession that he murdered Rookie and Monkey for raping his sister. Held Jieyu hostage before being shot dead by Xiaoman. | 9-15 |
| Julie Tan | Fu Lelin | She was mute and partially deaf due to her step-father "Big Little Eyes" physical abuse when she was still a child. She was the one who accidentally killed her baby sister. She developed a split personality soon after, in which she is able to talk in her alternate self. She was timid and reserved in her outward appearance, but violent and capricious in her alternate self. It was her alternate personality that led her to kill Ah Ni for being close to her brother Fu Hongbo, and was co-planners with Gao Jieyu in systematically tracking down and killing the four kidnappers who raped her. Held Da Bao prisoner and asked her to kill her after all the kidnappers were dealt with. Da Bao refused to kill Lelin despite her being the one who murdered Ah Ni, and Lelin committed suicide by throwing herself towards Da Bao's knife blade. | 9-16 |
| Lin Meijiao | He Ya Zhi | Mother of Hongbo and Lelin. Suffers from mental illness. She supposedly had stabbed and killed Ah Ni in Ep 14, but Fu Lelin was the true culprit. Currently resides in a mental hospital | 10-16 |
| Adeline Lim | Xiao Na | Dabao's new "family" member as of ep 13. Victim of AIDS, worked as a cleaner at a brothel, and was rescued by Shisan. Her positive outlook in life encouraged Shisan, and was encouraged by Shisan in return as she never had any friends who had treated her so nicely. | 9-17 19-20 |
| Oh Ling En | Ah Bi | Da Bao's "family" member. Sorely missed her foster family, whom were either killed off one by one or were sent to prison. | 1-2 4 8-15 17 19-20 |
| Ng Hui | Yao Wan Yi | Serial Killer, who was another victim and patient of Gao Jieyu. Wanyi's first victim had his eyes gouged out for alleged negligence in operating on her baby daughter years ago. The second victim had his fingers cut off for taking her money as a bribe without helping her during her lawsuits against the surgeons, and the third victim had his tongue cut off for alleged broken promises to do his best to save her child. The fourth target was initially believed to be her own husband, but was revealed to be Yang Qiujun, mother of Hu Xiaoman, the lawyer who defended her. When Yao Wanyi was caught, Gao Jieyu realized that she had outlived her usefulness and tried to force Xiaoman to kill Yao Wanyi, having hold Yang Qiujun hostage. Yao Wanyi never made it to her fourth victim (Jieyu did it instead), and was accidentally ran over by a car on the final episode as she tried to flee from Xiaoman and Da Bao. | 17-20 |
| Chen Tianwen | Kuroda (Hei Tian) | Japanese - Asura's Enemy. He killed Asura in Ep 3, and was arrested | 2-3 |
| Brandon Wong | Liang Zhichao | Mastermind of the four serial kidnappers who abduct girls, physically and sexually abusing them and then killing them off for the thrill of it. He and the three other kidnappers gang-raped Fu Lelin, causing her alternate personality to emerge. He was also a patient of Gao Jieyu and thus hinted to be another victim. On the surface he appears to be a book author and inspirational speaker on the concept of Fear. In revenge, Fu Lelin kidnapped his daughter and Gao Jieyu manipulated events such that he ironically caused his own daughter's death by a car accident during his attempt to rescue her. After being exposed, he confessed to his crimes and was taken into custody. | 10 12 15-16 |
| Zhang Wei | Hong Chao | Da Bao's "Family" Member. He bravely stood up to Asura and was murdered by him. | 1-3 |
| Wang Yuqing | "Big Little Eyes" | One of the four serial kidnappers who abduct girls, physically and sexually abusing them and then killing them off for the thrill of it. He and the three other kidnappers gang-raped Fu Lelin, causing her alternate personality to emerge. He was also Fu Lelin and Fu Hongbo's stepfather, who physically abused them in the past in anger for having caused his baby daughter's death. He is portrayed as a dirty old man who sometimes visits brothels. In revenge, Fu Lelin left him hanging by the neck and kidnapped Liang Zhichao's daughter so that Liang Zhichao can confront "Big Little Eyes" and had them fight to the death. Instead, Hu Xiaoman intervened, although she intentionally left him to hang to death while she confronted Liang Zhichao to force him to confess to his crimes. | 9-16 |
| Bernard Tan | Hu Guangming | Xiaoman's Father. He returned in hopes of seeing his daughter and former wife for one last time. Yang Qiujun forgave him although Xiaoman refused to. Knowing Dylan Cai is targeting Hu Guangming, she used her own father as bait. Although she confidently believed that she will be able to apprehend Dylan without getting her father killed, she failed in that aspect. | 7-9 |
| Desmond Shen | Asura | Real name is Luo Jianshan. Shan Fan (Savage)'s older brother. Killed by Hei Tian. | 1-3 |
| Unknown | Rocky | One of the four serial kidnappers who abduct girls, physically and sexually abusing them and then killing them off for the thrill of it. He and the three other kidnappers gang-raped Fu Lelin, causing her alternate personality to emerge. He was an adept boxer, having fought off Xiaoman and Langfeng. He was shot by Xiaoman but escaped. Fu Lelin eventually showed up and stabbed him to death while he was still in an injured state. | 11-14 |
| Unknown | Monkey | One of the four serial kidnappers who abduct girls, physically and sexually abusing them and then killing them off for the thrill of it. He and the three other kidnappers gang-raped Fu Lelin, causing her alternate personality to emerge. His main role in the kidnappings was to dispose of the corpses but showed he was the weakest link when the coffin he was carrying accidentally dropped and revealed one of his victims' bodies. He is portrayed as a dirty old man who frequents brothels and spends most of his pay there. He went into hiding after being exposed but was killed by Fu Lelin. | 11-12 |
| Dick Su | Big Head | Reappeared with a gang, confronting and suspecting Da Bao of being an informer. | 12-14 |
| Unknown | Fang Rong Ge | Gao Jieyu's and Hu Xiaoman's Professor back in University. Came up with a theory that serial killers act the way they are due to their own DNA. While Jieyu adored Fang Rongge and believed in his research, Xiaoman disagreed with that theory. In a past case, it was revealed that Xiaoman believed that Fang Rongge was the mastermind behind a serial killer who went about cutting off people's vital parts (Which is now emulated by Yao Wanyi). Fang Rongge remained silent during his trial and was released due to lack of evidence. Xiaoman decided to transfer his fingerprints to a knife on the dead serial killer's body, framing him for murder. He allegedly committed suicide by blowing up his own car while he was still inside, which devastated Jieyu and turning her onto the path of a vengeful serial killer. He was apparently revealed to be the true mastermind in the finale, having faked his own death and manipulated both Xiaoman and Jieyu to go at each other from afar. He currently resides in Korea as a police commissioner and Xiaoman escaped from the police force so she could confront him, in yet another cliffhanger ending. | 17-18 (Appear in flashback) 20 (Real) |
| Unknown | Pimp | Owner of an illegal brothel. Liu Shisan accidentally killed him while trying to escape with Xiao Na. |
TVC teaser Cases
In this drama it will involve none of four cases shown in the TVCs, however, they will not be relevant.
- Meiling and Meifen, both 22, who were last discovered on the roof of a shophouse and went missing for 104 days 8 hours 32 minutes 21 seconds,
- Wenguo and Wenhao, both 2 months old, who were last discovered in a rubbish dump and went missing for 30 days 21 hours 17 minutes 21 seconds, and
- Yuqi and Yulin, both 33, who were last discovered at an old tree and went missing for 83 days 15 hours 42 minutes 21 seconds.
Star Awards
- Unriddle 2 was nominated for Best Programme Promo when it films 3 campaign spots.