Nine Puzzles – K-drama Episode 1 Recap & Review
Episode 1
Episode 1 of Nine Puzzles begins with high schooler Yoon I-na visiting home. Her parents are dead and she only has an uncle. It is heavily raining and the lights are out. She arrives to find the door to the backyard open. There is a puzzle piece followed by a pool of blood. She is surprised to find her uncle's dead body. He has been stabbed in the neck with an awl, a sharpening tool. The puzzle piece is a wolf in a rabbit's costume.
The cop on the case is Kim Han-saem, a rookie. He observes that I-na doesn't look emotional. Preliminary investigation reveals that the uncle, Yoon Dong-hoon, the former superintendent, died an hour ago, at 9 pm. Han-saem finds another awl in I-na's art studio.
The current chief, Dong-su, is Dong-hoon's colleague and is sympathetic as he questions I-na. She confesses that she doesn't remember anything once she entered the house. She left school at 8 pm and took the bus. She took the long route from the bus stop and reached home around 9. Next, she remembers the housekeeper calling her name and she notices her dead uncle.
Han-saem thinks I-na is the killer. She bought three awls 6 months ago, and one of them is the murder weapon with her fingerprint. There is a 13-minute gap between arriving home and calling the cops. There is no break-in or struggle which means Dong-hoon knew his attacker. She could have taken a shortcut from the bus stop, giving her an extra 8 minutes to enact the murder.
Han-saem questions her next. It is known that she and Dong-hoon were arguing about her dorm. She agrees to it but calmly denies arguing over inheritance. She finally looks slightly frustrated as he mocks her memory loss.
She goes home and lies where the corpse was found. She imagines killing Dong-hoon and smiling with blood splatter on her face. The next day, she shows the puzzle piece to Han-saem and wonders if he will catch the killer.
There is a 10-year time jump. It is clear that I-na doesn't follow the usual social cues. She enjoys bungee jumping as it brings her close to death. She is playful with her therapist. She has dreams of her uncle's murder and is troubled that she doesn't remember. She blurts out observations when she wants to deflect. She acts tough but she doesn't like going home. As she leaves, another doctor invites her to an exhibition.
As for Han-saem, he has turned into a maverick. He has tattoos and dresses like he is homeless. He is reckless and doesn't follow the usual rules. It is the 10th anniversary of Dong-hoon's murder and he is still on it. He tracks down I-na's former dormmate, Mrs. Yeom who has been abroad for a while and threatens her husband, a former criminal. She reveals that one night, I-na had called her an alibi. There was also an awl in their dorm.
At present, I-na hangs around Han-saem's precinct and teases him for looking homeless. Meanwhile, the precinct chief and Dong-su, who has been promoted to commander, visit Dong-hoon's grave. The chief was loyal to Dong-hoon and came back for him.They sympathise with I-na and find it absurd that Han-saem still suspects her. Surprisingly, Dong-su comments that Han-saem may be a loose cannon, but he has heart.
I-na is a cop as well, a criminal profiler to be exact. She is confident around her colleagues but also a little forgetful. Her superior often comments on her oddness but there is no malice. I-na's parents owned a hospital and she is rich due the inheritance.
Her latest case is the murder of a 10-year-old. His brother, the wallflower, suddenly feigns memory loss and I-na takes a crack at him. She plays a game of recounting their steps and he slips up and confesses to the murder.
Back at the precinct, Choi San, a rookie, is curious about the Yoon case. After work, the team chief, Yang Jeong-ho, Dong-su and Han-saem drink together. Dong-su and Yang call out Han-saem for letting I-na mess with him. He reveals that he is trying to establish rapport so she lets something slip. Yang thinks she is doing it to ensure Han-saem continues to work on Dong-hoon's case.
Later, Han-saem retraces I-na's steps on the night of the murder. He doesn't understand why she took the longer route. And there is no CCTV to corroborate her path.
It is 8:45 pm and a girl notices a man looking at her while she is at a bar.
Han-saem peeks into Dong-hoon's house and the housekeeper calls the cops. Turns out, he often lurks around. The cops discuss his tenacity and believe it is why he hasn't gotten a promotion.
At 9:32, the girl from the bar drives off in a red car. She speeds up and slips a red light. The cops let it go as they are at a supermarket. At 10:07, the red car reaches The One City building.
At the end of Nine Puzzles Episode 1, I-na heads to Dong-hoon's. The housekeeper is leaving when there is a delivery. It is a second puzzle piece of a serpentine woman talking to a girl. I-na panic calls Han-saem but he doesn't pick up.
The Episode Review
Nine Puzzles Episode 1 is a strong introduction to a murder mystery with a quirky and offbeat tone. It is full of symbolism which instantly makes for a fun watch. Every time the camera rests on something, it either symbolises something or is a clue which means viewers have to stay locked in.
Along with the strange world of Nine Puzzles, all the characters, main and secondary, are equally eccentric, suggesting that this is not going to be a straightforward thriller. After all, how many cops do you find with tattoos and beanies?
We also have to talk about the portrayal of I-na. Kim Da-mi shares that she approaches I-na as someone childish, frank and unapologetic. While not explicitly mentioned, it is likely that she is neurodivergent which is why she doesn't follow the usual social cues. She does what she wants but she is also sincere which we notice with her uncle and the second puzzle piece.
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