Chen He-ping is the true narcissistic mastermind in Copycat Killer who brings together the others and carries out elaborate murders in the city. The character is played by Chun-Yao Yao.
Chen He-ping initially presents himself as an ambitious journalist who wants to get out of the late-night slot and into the primetime slot on television. He is very kind and supportive of his team, especially Hu Jian-ho when he’s being questioned by the police.
However, his real identity is revealed later on as his suspicious past is brought up and he lets his arrogance get the better of him in a very public slip-up.
Quite good at his job
He-ping shows an interest in the serial murder case right from the beginning when the severed hand was found in the park. It was he who convinced Shang-yong to come on television and apologize to the killer, borrowing time from Ya-cih’s show.
Later on, he supports Hu Lin-huei after her brother dies and talks her into coming onto the show to defend her brother’s character, once again stepping over Ya-cih’s toes during the program.
He shows his true colors to Ya-cih when he kidnaps her and then kills her in her apartment. What pushed him over the edge was when she called him irrelevant and told him that he would be forgotten easily, after which he bashed her head in with an ashtray.
Sick and twisted individual
Hsiao-chi is determined to work the case even after Jia-wun’s death so that he can prove that Jian-ho’s only crime is knowing Jia-wun. Meanwhile, He-ping criticizes the authorities and proposes the theory that there is still another accomplice pulling the strings.
After killing Ya-cih, he takes over her timeslot and pushes his agenda even further. He even writes a book detailing the entire serial murder case which comes across as suspicious to Hsiao-chi.
They strongly believe that he’s the one behind all the murders that they are not able to find concrete evidence to support it. He-ping was connected to two suspicious cases of arson when he was a child and both his parents died in mysterious accidents.
They learn that he initially did a feature on the SODOM club and the rise of the porn industry in the country which is where he met the other people who helped him fulfill his dreams.
Lin-huei theorized that the killer was a narcissistic person who wanted all the attention on him and He-ping fit that description to a T. He begins provoking Hsiao-chi directly by releasing videotapes and calling himself Noh, causing mass panic in the city.
The straw that breaks the camel’s back is when He-ping kills Lin-huei. Hsiao-chi confronts him and almost kills him with a gun but stops himself at the last moment.
The prosecutor goes to jail for firing a gun and He-ping seems to have beaten him once and for all. However, after a meeting with Mr. Ma and finding Cun-yi’s letter confessing that He-ping is the real killer, Hsiao-chi makes one final plan to take him down.
He requests to come on He-ping’s show to apologize but during the show, they orchestrate a phone call from someone pretending to be Noh. Hsiao-chi categorically dismisses his work and calls him irrelevant just like Ya-cih did and He-ping cannot take it.
He-ping snaps and admits to everything on live television in a crazed outburst before being arrested. He is found guilty through a trial but soon after stepping out of court, he is stabbed and he bleeds to death.
Also Read: Copycat Killer (2023) ending explained: Does Hsiao-Chi catch the real killer?
