REVIEW: ‘LINK CLICK’ Season 2 Episode 6 — “Lee Tian X1”

After nailing viewers with some truly traumatic elements in the last episode, LINK CLICK Season 2 Episode 6 jumps straight back into the action. LINK CLICK (Shiguang Daili Re­n) has been exploring some dark topics that have made this popular donghua (Chinese animation) stand out amongst other seasonal series.

LINK CLICK Season 2 Episode 6 picks up after Cheng Xiaoshi, in the body of Xixi, decides to intervene when Xixi’s father was on the verge of killing his own family. The end result left Xixi’s brother Tianchen brutally wounded. Their father fails to see how wrong his actions are and once again Cheng Xiaoshi’s strong will to do what’s right is ultimately not enough to stop people from experiencing the pain he is trying to prevent.

For the second episode in a row, a good portion of LINK CLICK Season 2 Episode 5 was physically difficult to watch. Seeing the way Xixi’s father unleashes his rage on their mother made me turn away from the screen for a moment. It teeters the line of showing enough realistic elements of domestic violence to drive home just how horrific it can be without being gratuitous. It also shows that LINK CLICK is not afraid to go to really dark places in order to tell its story.

There is a moment when all of this is going on when Lu Guang tells Cheng Xiaoshi that, if he had been able to foresee what was going to happen, he would not have let him experience that pain. It’s a message just as much for Cheng Xiaoshi as it is to the viewers. Behind the happy picture of Xixi and her mother was an unfathomable pain that changes a person. Xixi, Tiachen, and their mother will never be the same, having experienced such abuse, nor will Cheng Xiaoshi for having to watch it happen while in control of Xixi’s younger self. A fictional example of the brutality of domestic violence, it has such deep roots in real-life examples that guarantee viewers will be impacted by it as well.

Cheng Xiaoshi is returned back to the present against his will, which adds to the idea shown in previous episodes that Xixi and Tianchen have powers similar to Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi. If they have the ability to impact Cheng Xiaoshi like being able to send him out of the past against his will, this would make for an interesting development. The fact that in the present, she refuses to speak to anyone but Cheng Xiaoshi shows they definitely have some sort of connection.

Their meeting reveals several things to Cheng Xiaoshi, including the fact that he recognizes her voice from events in earlier parts of the series. What he recognizes her from originally and how she appears now do not match up, however. It adds an interesting layer to her character, given how she appears now and what her background is. She also has a previous connection to the mysterious Qian Jin, though what that relationship is exactly has yet to be uncovered.

Qian Jin is clearly up to no good and appears to be the puppetmaster behind the major events of the series so far. Despite his relatively recent appearance in the show, his actions show there is so much more to him than meets the eye. The way he talks about enacting his plan and not failing this time, followed by the disappearance of Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi, sets up even more mystery and intrigue as the season progresses.

LINK CLICK Season 2 Episode 6 expands on the central mystery of the series while using incredibly dark portrayals of abuse in a truly harrowing way. There is so much sitting just beneath the surface that is only going to get better as more and more is uncovered. 

LINK CLICK Season 2 Episode 6 is streaming now on Crunchyroll with new episodes every Friday this Summer Anime season.