So, now that Unriddle has finally well…unriddled, what would you say is the most compelling bit of the series?
Was it the few cases involving psychopaths and missing persons that only the Supercop Rui En and the Big Bun could solve? Surely not, because these were just sideshows to the real drama of the 5 men and the missing money. That is the storyline that first captured the curiosity of viewers and continued to compel them to watch the series. Right to the bitter end. And what a bitter end it is, because in true Mediacorp fashion, what could have been a great climax turned out to be as flat as a pancake that no one wants to eat. Why do I say this? Oh let me count the ways:
#1: According to Unriddle, it takes so long for Yan Dewei to shoot Tay Ping Hui at the jetty that Rui En has enough time to escape from JB, cross the causeway AND get a taxi. Either there was no jam on the causeway (lucky her), or all she needs to do is yell that she’s CID and the obstacles just simply melt away. Which leads me to…
#2: So Supercop Rui En escapes from captivity in JB. Supercop Rui En stops a car along the road. Supercop Rui En yells to the driver that she is Singapore CID and needs to use his mobile phone. And…as if by some strange magic, he instantly believes her and lends her the phone. No questions asked. And why not, you say? Because everyone KNOWS Rui En is a supercop, silly. And a supercop like Rui En doesn’t need such things as identification. After all, she’s famous in Singapore, JB…and some say Batam?
#3: In fact, this Supercop is so super that she doesn’t even need real evidence to solve crime. For instance, how did she know exactly how Yan Dewei managed to capture Tay Ping Hui? How did she know that Yan Dewei wore a mask? How did she know that Savage saw it all?
How did she know that Tay Ping Hui managed to free himself with a razor and tried to clobber Yan Dewei in the car? How did she know that their tussle in the car caused the crash?
Was there blood evidence in the car? Were there signs of a struggle? Was there even evidence that Tay Ping Hui was in the car? Oh of course not silly. Evidence is for minor cops like those in CSI. Supercops don’t need evidence. Supercops are psychic. They just know.
#4 Just like she just knew who her captor was all because he left her some food and water. That evidence was sooooo telling that it immediately made her suspect that her captor was Yan Dewei and that Yan Dewei is that Cai whatever-his-name-is’ son. Wow. It just boggles the mind.
#5 Indeed, because Supercop Rui En doesn’t need corroborating evidence, all she needs to do is narrate the events to Yan Dewei and he cracks. In fact, one could say that the final episode is the culmination of the series’ display of the Supercop’s skills because her narration takes up most of the episode. Sure, the final episode is about resolution. This is when the riddle is unriddled. This is what all the mystery is building towards. So one would expect that when it happens, it would be a revelation. A big aha moment. A climax.
But wait. Instead of fireworks, all we get is the Supercop’s narration of events, with a few unclearly motivated flashbacks thrown in so we don’t even know if Yan Dewei is remembering or the Supercop is channelling.
Those who have watched cop dramas before will know that this tactic of confronting a suspect with a narrative of his crime is an old trick (e.g. The Closer does it really well. Hence the title). It is usually used to corner a suspect by showing him that the game is up. The police are on to him. And they have the evidence to support their claims. So there’s no choice but to confess, deny or call a lawyer.
BUT such narration doesn’t take up more than half an episode. It doesn’t go on and on. And it doesn’t go on and on without any corroborating evidence that would make the narrative so plausible that the suspect is compelled to cave.
In Unriddle, one is not sure if Yan Dewei caved because:
- he got worn out by the long narration (like us);
- he really does have a low IQ or is a badly trained cop because it doesn’t occur to him that there’s no real evidence (get a lawyer already!);
- the Supercop’s death stare is really intimidating (where’s the sunglasses when you need them?), or
- all of the above.
#6 Say you have some precious treasure that you don’t want people to find. Where would you hide it? Some place safe? Some place secure? Some place that no one would ever think of? Sure, unless you live in a Mediacorp world where people bury treasures next to the carpark of their condo.
Surely no one would ever think of looking there would they? In fact, that is such a safe place to hide things that in 15 years, no one, not even the cops, thought to look there. Even the Supercop needed clues from a raving lunatic to find the GPS co-ordinates written in the secret talisman hidden in the amulet to find it. Now what would have happened to the money if the condo was enblocked?
#7 Is this the same diabolical mind behind the complex plot of capturing Tay Ping Hui, killing all his pals and making it look like he did it? Or is this the cop with the low IQ? Because I have no idea what a diabolical mind hopes to accomplish with all this hyperventilating and jumping up and down.
Oh Mediacorp. Why did you have to unravel so? Especially when Unriddle had so much potential?
The only saving grace of the finale is the build up to the sequel. If there ever is one. And if there ever is one, please Mediacorp, please mind the gaps because without the proof, what you get might not even be pudding.
