Nine Puzzles – K-drama Episode 11 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

The Review Geek

2 days ago

Episode 11
Episode 11 of Nine Puzzles begins with a flashback of teen Lee Seung-joo visiting Dream Land. 10 years later, Yang visits her and gives her Nam-suk's photo and handkerchief. He wasn't able to find Dr Lee earlier as she had changed her name. She has questions and Yang tells her everything.
At present, Dr Lee introduces herself as the puzzle killer and takes I-na to the next crime scene. Han-saem worries as he is unable to contact I-na. The cops comb the CCTVs and find the women heading to The One City. When they arrive, Dr Lee throws Assemblyman Kim from the rooftop. His corpse misses Han-saem by an inch. Han-saem is upset that I-na put herself in danger by leaving with Lee.
Why does the Puzzle Killer aka Dr Lee make a spectacle of the murders?
I-na is upset that Dr Lee was toying with her. However, Lee explains that she genuinely wanted to help I-na uncover the puzzle. Lee stopped killing because no one was interested in her story. She resumed after learning I-na was obsessed with uncovering the truth.
There is a flashback after Yoon-su's death. Captain Yang gives Dr Lee back Nam-suk's handkerchief that she dropped at the crime scene. He wants her to stop but she believes it is too late for her. He realises that she wants the world to know the injustice done to her family and suggests the press conference. However, she refuses as she also wants vengeance.
At present, I-na tries to convince Dr Lee that murder is not the way to go. The therapist disagrees as she reveals that none of the victim-culprits apologised. They had forgotten Nam-suk's death which angered her. We also learn that Dong-hoon got 3 apartments to bury the case. He sold them to buy his house.
Why does Dr Lee kill herself?
After Lee kills Assemblyman Kim, she gives I-na the final puzzle piece and escapes. The piece is blacked out and is the centre of the whole puzzle.
Dr Lee is spotted at the funeral home, hinting she regrets Yang's death. Han-saem rushes there while I-na visits the theme park to stop the final murder.
I-na hits the jackpot as she finds Dr Lee in the merry-go-round. Lee has doused the ride in oil. Turns out she is the final piece and is going to kill herself. I-na thinks she is a coward but that isn't the case.
Lee reveals that she had forgotten the restaurant's location and would often visit the merry-go-round in hopes of finding her mother. She feels guilty that her mother died while waiting for her at the restaurant. She has no more reason left to live. Han-saem shows up as well and the duo tries to stop Lee.
Lee simply comments that she hates people struggling to live a life not worth living. She doesn't understand why they kill one person to make space for another person to live. She burns to death while I-na and Han-saem look in shock.
How does it end for I-na and Han-saem?
At the precinct, I-na refuses to give a statement, citing memory loss. Han-saem too doesn't push her. She hides in her house and he brings her coffee every day. He also attends Yang's funeral and apologises for not saving Dr Lee.
A week later, she tries to resign but Superior Yoon convinces her to take a hiatus. I-na runs into Han-saem who tries to tempt her with a new case. She is amused but has dinner with him and his mom. She learns that they got The One City apartment in a lottery.
She also does a TV interview on the puzzle case and is back to her playful self. She reveals that she became a criminal analyst to profile herself. She suspected herself of being Dong-hoon's murderer and wanted to uncover the truth. The interviewer asks if she has moved on and she is lost in thought.
A while later, Han-saem has a new case. After being drained of blood, Jeon Mi-so is dolled up and put on display. I-na returns as a profiler and analyses the killer. At the end of Nine Puzzles Episode 11, she shows Han-saem another puzzle and he is in disbelief.
The Episode Review
Nine Puzzles Episode 11 ends the perfectly fine murder mystery on a perfectly fine note. And as usual, the writers get greedy and mess it up by focusing on how quirky and cool and different I-na is. I-na once again plays the memory loss card but this time, it doesn't make sense as the one thing Dr Lee wanted was the world to know the injustice suffered by her and her mother. So, why does I-na stay mum when asked for her witness statement?
And after mourning and accepting the situation for a week, she is back to her quirky and goofy self in the interview. Her character development is all over the place, making one wonder what the writer's goal was by creating someone like I-na. It is quite strange that the same show does a great job with Han-saem and Dr Lee.
Han-saem finally grows up, allowing himself to think emotionally instead of solely relying on logic to close a case. And fortunately, the majority of the finale focuses on Dr Lee and the puzzle case, which let's be honest, are the highlights of the show. Viewers will not only be able to sympathise with Lee, but also understand her. She is disillusioned by the world and doesn't think it is one worth living in.
The final heartache is the fact that she blames herself for her mother's demise, as Nam-suk refused to leave the restaurant. The plot twist is so melancholic that one won't mind glossing over the plothole of why Nam-suk didn't go back to the park or why she left without Lee in the first place. Maybe Lee was already gone? The emotional payoff isn't marred, wrapping up the case in a realistic but bittersweet manner.
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