Episodes 7-9 of Nine Puzzles pull back the curtain on a few more of the mysteries regarding the serial murder case. There are 3 major deaths in these 3 episodes, one is an unexpected one that left us a little bit heartbroken. But these episodes make it a little clearer what the connections between the victims are and why this entire thing might be happening. Additionally, if you were suspecting a certain somebody at the station, now you know either they’re not involved or they were trying to protect someone, but we’ll get into that a bit later. I’m still a bit confused why the show wasn’t just divided into two parts. It doesn’t make sense that they dropped six episodes in one day and then split the other 5 into two parts. But anyway, after these 3 episodes, there are only 2 puzzle pieces remaining, and 2 episodes as well. Will Ena and Hansaem be able to save at least one of the victims? Who is Yang Jongho trying to protect? Let’s find out in this recap of episodes 7-9.
Spoiler Alert
What Happens in Jeju?
In episode 7, Ena learns that in the One City Complex, Do Yonsu had 13 units, one being Unit 5802. But somehow, Unit 5802 went from person to person in a very short period of time, despite not having any reported problems, so why would it have been sold off so many times? On the other hand, when Hansaem asks Dong-Su about Superintendent Yoon, specifically the nature of his character, Dong-Su tells him that he was a very polished, well-respected guy, but then there was a serial murder case back in the day that didn’t get solved, so he was basically let go because nobody was caught for those crimes. Meanwhile, Ena finds Nam Nari at Dr. Hwang’s. Nari tells Ena that she’s there to see a friend, but she also brings up the fact that she feels somewhat responsible for Miyoung’s death because she saw the car run a red light and never went after it. Ena tells her that she couldn’t have saved her anyway, so she shouldn’t dwell on it.
Later in the episode, Hansaem learns of a case that led to the suicide of a journalist who has connections with Dong-Hoon and Ena, too. The room in which he was found was the one in which Ena was meant to be studying, but her alibi doesn’t add up because she ended up on the roof of the building, feeling sick that night. The journalist was found dead the same night. Anyway, this guy was stuck in a defamation case where he called a girl a “karaoke girl” (basically an escort) in the news when she was simply at the karaoke bar to celebrate her birthday that night. It’s revealed that the man didn’t think badly of Dong-Hoon, even though Hansaem and Ena thought he might’ve burshed it under the rug. Turns out the victim’s brother was furious only with the journalist and had no idea of Dong-Hoon’s death. But it turns out that Dong-Hoon wasn’t the first victim of this serial killer; it was the journalist Ganghyun, who allegedly killed himself, but Ena and Hansaem find a puzzle piece connected to his death.
At the same time, Hansaem becomes suspicious of Yang, because he was one of the guys with San at the scene when the handkerchief went missing. He wonders if Yang has some connection with the killer, even though he’s the only guy Hansaem trusts so deeply at the station. Now, a man named Oh Cheoljin was friends with Ganghyun back in the day, and Ena had heard the latter argue over the phone with him, so she goes to find him in Jeju. The man’s a little bit rattled after he hears the name, meaning they were probably not on good terms, but the scene shifts, and at the end of the episode, Hansaem gets a call saying that Ena’s been held on suspicion of murder.
Who Does Ena Suspect?
In episode 8 of Nine Puzzles, Hansaem finds himself annoyed at Ena because she isn’t telling him what she’s up to, but she’s in prison for murder charges. Now I can say that Hansaem trusts Ena and thinks she’s incapable of killing someone, so he knows she’s up to something, but what? Well, I think what Ena really wants to know is how somebody had a puzzle piece delivered to her taxi on her way back from Jeju. This would imply that she’s got a plan. The piece she got has a man eating burgers on it, looking like a personification of gluttony. Maybe it’s showcasing greed. It turns out the deceased is Cheoljin himself, and Ena was found by a random man working at the docks, pulling out the guy’s body, which was in the sea. Ena basically puts herself in prison so that the killer is forced to reveal something about themselves. The people who visit Ena include Captain Yang, Dr. Lee and her colleague, Dr. Hwang, the police chief, and, of course, Hansaem.
The psychiatrists are there for a seminar, where Hwang mentions a young orphan boy who had murdered his dad. He claims he saw a darkness in the boy, which made him realize he’d killed his own father. Hwang apparently mentions this story often, even to his patients, though that doesn’t seem very ethical. Much later, Ena and Hansaem are back together after Hansaem has learned that his boss lied about having a sibling back in the day and acted somewhat mysteriously. Now we can believe that he was probably looking out for the orphaned kids whom he referred to as his siblings, maybe. I don’t think he actually killed anybody, but we definitely know he has some sort of connection with the killer. Turns out Cheoljin predicted his death to Ena when he heard the names connected to the puzzle case. It looks like his big connection was the One City project, i.e., the place with Unit 5802. At the end of episode 8, Hansaem goes up to Yang, predicting that he’s the one who stole the handkerchief, just as San reveals after he’s been hypnotized.
What Happens to Yang?
Nine Puzzles episode 9 features the biggest reveals of this part. In this episode, Ena and Hansaem try to get information out of Yang, but he confesses to murdering the 5 people and claims he’ll only give answers if they call the press. Hansaem and Ena don’t call the press, though. They learn that Yang looks after abandoned kids after they’re kicked out of the orphanage, basically making his home a shelter. So it becomes quite clear that the whole puzzle is connected to the orphans, i.e., one of the orphans is behind these cases, which is why Yang is protecting them. Later, after a significant holdup, Hansaem lets Yang go, because he knows he’s not a murderer; he just wants to know what he’s hiding. But unfortunately, this ends up being a mistake, because Yang goes to meet a mayor and ends up getting shot in the process. Yang knew that the Sanbeom Kwon was going to be the next victim, possibly because he must’ve done something during the construction of that building, which is why all of these people were murdered. Yang ends up dying just after saying two names to Hansaem (Shindonga and Seojin), who probably feels guilty for his boss’ death. They were pretty close. Ena looks these names up and finds a construction company.
At the end of episode 9, Kwon also ends up dead in the hospital room, even when Hansaem is there, and a puzzle piece is revealed by a news channel. It’s a man standing over some kids, almost looking like he’s luring them in with a gift of some sort. But we’ll have to wait for the last 2 episodes for the last two puzzle pieces.
