Upamanyu Biswas
After Liu Kuang-yung is hospitalized, he is admitted into the care of Zhen Xin Hospital in ‘The Victims’ Game.’ With the rampant death spree unraveling in the wake of the Last Wish murders, Kuang-yung is the first victim to survive his death. Desperate to die because of his role in the murder of Peng Yi-ling’s father, the man almost makes it past the threshold until he is put in the operation ward of Zhen Xin, where they begin to treat him back to health. The hospital becomes ground zero for several vital discussions and revelations, as police and hospital crew become singularly focused on the welfare of Kuang-yung, which prompts inquiry into its origin and whether it is a real hospital.
Zhen Xin is a Fictional Hospital
The Zhen Xin depicted in ‘The Victims’ Game’ is not a real hospital. It is a fictional healthcare establishment crafted by the show’s writers, Liang Shu-ting, Hsu Ruei-liang, and Chen Cheng-yu. The hospital nurses a severely injured Liu Kuang-yung after his suicide attempt leaves him on the brink of death. Captain Kuan and his police officers keep a vigilant eye over Kuang-yung’s safety and protection while the captain questions him about the Last Wish murders. Kuang-yung’s anguished wife waits outside the operating theatre, nervously anticipating her husband’s revival and journey back to recovery. Later, it also becomes essential in the journey of discovery undertaken by Fang Yi-jen when searching for his daughter by chasing down her past.
Despite its fictional conception, a similar hospital can be found in Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan. Cheng Hsin General Hospital, at Number 45, Zhenxing Street, Beitou District, has a name closely approximated to Zhen Xin. The General Hospital sits in a scenic location surrounded by mountains and the promise of open complexes. Both Zhen Xin and Cheng Hsin mean similar things in Mandarin relating to sincerity and honesty; however, there are still differences in their nuance. While they may share their basic premise, the hospital in ‘The Victims’ Game’ is located in the fictional city of Pinglin, which was created for the show. Thus, their differences arise in the specificity of Zhen Xin’s creation within a non-existing locality.
Filming for the Taiwanese show took place in Taipei City itself. The capital city formed the bedrock of the show’s fictional environment and various establishments featured within. The scenes for Zhen Xin Hospital were shot in the show’s primary filming spot, thus lending a sense of reality and tension to those dark hospital hallways and its exterior. While its presence is vital to Liu Kuang-yung’s fate, the hospital also becomes an essential puzzle piece when Fang Yi-jen goes looking for his daughter. During the period when Hsaio-meng’s mother was sick, she would take care of her guardian at the hospital while also leaving behind several good luck notes on the hospital’s patient board. Thus, despite being confined to the realm of fiction, the hospital plays a pivotal role within the narrative, lending a sense of weight to its creation.
Read more: Netflix’s The Victims’ Game: Exploring All Filming Locations
