Everything to Remember from Link Click Season 1

When the original donghua Link Click first premiered in April 2021, it created quite a stir. Time travel is a familiar trope that has been used and reused many times over, but Link Click took it and created something new. Its unique premise, execution and memorable characters made Link Click one of the stand-out animated series of the season.

Link Click switched genres frequently throughout its run. It went from being a mystery to a sweet slice-of-life, culminating into a heart-pounding psychological thriller-esque finale that left the fate of one character hanging in the balance. Season 2 of Link Click is nearly upon us and here’s what you’ll need to remember before it premieres.

Link Click’s Unique Twist on Time Travel

People time travel using a variety of different methods whether it’s through a powerful machine or a portal, but in Link Click, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, two friends and partners who run Time Photo Studio, have the ability to go back in time with a simple high five. The donghua adds a twist by using photography as a medium. At Time Photo Studio, the two help numerous clients with their regrets. As soon as they slap hands, Cheng Xiaoshi gets transported into the body of the photographer while Lu Guang remains in the present time. Acting as Cheng Xiaoshi’s guide, Lu Guang directs his friend on where to go and how to act whilst also making sure they don’t go over the imposed 12-hour time limit. In Link Click‘s time travel, as long as a node in the timeline does not get changed, whatever Cheng Xiaoshi does before the node won’t change the future. Most importantly, Lu Guang is there to remind Cheng Xiaoshi that they cannot change anything and to let whatever happened in the past stay in the past.

Because Cheng Xiaoshi inhabits the body of the photographer, he’s also experiencing every emotion that the photographer feels: every feeling of regret, love, fear, heartbreak and grief. He grows empathetic to their struggles. This makes it all the more difficult for him to separate himself from the individual and leads to him trying to help them, even though it would have been better, both for him and the person, if he had left it alone.

The Unravelling of Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang’s Friendship

Because the two have different ideals, it’s inevitable Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang often butt heads. Despite that, the two work well together. However, it all comes to a head when they accept an architect’s request to go back to his high school days and relieve him of his regrets in Episode 4. Cheng Xiaoshi transports himself back to 2008 and begins to deliver messages to each person and Cheng Xiaoshi soon realizes he time-travelled back to May 12, 2008: the Great Wenchuan Earthquake that had killed over 80,000 people, including the architect’s friends and his mother.

This event marks a significant turning point in Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang’s friendship. Lu Guang’s rules are there to protect Cheng Xiaoshi and to prevent him from getting too invested in their clients’ experiences. But Lu Guang’s choice to withhold information in this incident as well as an earlier one unbeknownst to Cheng Xiaoshi has created a rift between them, leaving them uncertain on where they stand with each other.

The Mysterious Killer Plays a Game

One of the most ingenious moments in the donghua was how the series brought back the case from Episode 1 “EMMA.” Emma was a young woman caught up in her company’s fraudulent activities. When Cheng Xiaoshi took over her body, he tried to bring Emma and her parents together — a choice that tragically took her life. Link Click reveals the prime suspect in Emma’s murder is a man named Liu Min.

However, it turns out Liu Min may not be the main instigator and that there may be greater forces pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Just like Cheng Xiaoshi, there’s someone out there who also has the ability to possess bodies. Except they have no intention of helping people. At the end of Season 1 of Link Click, the mysterious person takes over Qiao Ling’s body, making her stab Lu Guang right in front of a horrified Cheng Xiaoshi as the voice declares they look forward to continuing this game.