Nine Puzzles, One Killer
0025: A Brilliant Mystery That Fumbled the Final Piece
Nine Puzzles had us playing detective for nine whole episodes, trying to crack the motive behind a string of eerie serial murders. At the heart of it all is Yoon I-na, an eccentric profiler haunted by accusations of killing her own uncle years ago. Unable to pin down an actual perpetrator, the case went cold - until bodies started turning up, each leaving behind similarly themed puzzle pieces as the only clue to a motive. Viewers locked in their suspects as early as episode two, but if you know the writer’s first masterpiece, Tunnel (my personal favorite), you’d instinctively suspect someone already within the main characters’ orbit. I had my own guess and she didn’t even make the list. (There goes my profiler dreams.😂)
All-Star Cast
This poster isn’t just flexing star power - it’s practically a crime scene lineup. Seven of these faces make brief but chilling cameos tied to the murders, two are nothing but expertly placed distractions, and one? Well, one is the mastermind pulling all the strings. Who’s who? That’s the game.
‼️SPOILER ALERT‼️
Turns out, it's Lee Seung-joo - I-na's psychiatrist - a twist many viewers saw coming. Her mother was the lone casualty (really?) of the Shindonga Market fire, erased to make way for a gleaming high-rise (The One City). Every puzzle murder victim? They were complicit in the brutal demolition of market vendors under the guise of redevelopment back in 2003.
The sudden shift in Seung-joo’s attitude - from resenting her mother to avenging her - was only relayed through Yang Jung-ho’s narration, and I felt short-changed. How did he track her? Was he already aware of her murderous tendencies back then? How did she build her kill list? The reveal left too many unanswered questions for it to land with real impact.
So no, we don’t need a Season 2. What we needed was an episode dedicated to Seung-joo’s backstory - how she got separated from her mom at Dream Land, her life at the orphanage, how she pulled off eight murders unnoticed. It would have given the final episodes the emotional weight they deserved.
This should have ended at 12 episodes max if they wanted to stick the landing.