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On May 21, Disney+ Hotstar released the first six episodes of Nine Puzzles, a psychological crime thriller starring Kim Da-mi and Son Suk-ku. Nine Puzzles is directed by Yoon Jong-bin. The Korean drama unfolds with chilling intensity as it follows Yoon I-na (played by Kim Da-mi), a criminal profiler with a dark past. The show’s blend of stylized visuals and fractured timelines sets it apart. It invites viewers into a layered mystery rooted in trauma, memory, and obsession.
The core of the drama lies in a haunting question: why is I-na, a skilled profiler, still viewed as the main suspect in her uncle’s murder ten years ago? As new crimes emerge with the same eerie puzzle pieces left behind, I-na finds herself pulled back into the shadows of her past. Her former accuser, Detective Kim Han-Saem (played by Son Suk-ku), is now forced to work with her.
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It reopens old wounds and unanswered questions. As more pieces appear, so do more bodies, making it hard to tell whether I-na is catching the killer or hiding something herself.
Nine Puzzles is being released in three parts, adding to its tightly wound suspense. The first six episodes premiered on May 21, 2025. It will be followed by episodes 7 to 9, dropping on May 28. The final two episodes of Nine Puzzles, episodes 10 and 11, will be released on June 4. This staggered schedule keeps the tension high. It gives viewers time to process each twist before the next set arrives.
Nine Puzzles Episodes 1–6 Recap: The puzzles start to take shape
Nine Puzzles begins with a rainy night when teenage I-na finds her uncle murdered at home, stabbed in the neck with an awl. A puzzle piece lies beside the body. She is the only one at the scene, and while she claims memory loss, Detective Han-saem immediately suspects her. Although the case goes cold due to a lack of evidence, I-na remains tainted by suspicion.
Years later, I-na is now a profiler with the Seoul Police. She crosses paths again with Han-saem after discovering the body of a bar owner, Mi-young, in a car, murdered and, once again, accompanied by a puzzle piece. The same suspicions resurface. Han-saem doesn’t trust her, but I-na insists the puzzle pieces link her uncle’s death and Mi-young’s murder to a serial killer.
She even theorizes about the killer’s behavior and movements using the symbolic clues in the puzzles.
In episode 3 of Nine Puzzles, I-na officially joins Han-saem’s team, shocking her colleagues. She’s determined to prove a pattern. She believes high-ranking officials like Dong-su and Chief Ho-geun are all connected. Meanwhile, Han-saem finds CCTV footage that raises more questions than answers, particularly about how Mi-young was killed in a location with no surveillance.
Episode 4 of Nine Puzzles takes a brutal turn as a dismembered body is discovered in a suitcase. The suitcase was discarded in the ocean. The red-hatted killer is eventually revealed to be the victim's wife and her lover, but I-na quickly concludes they couldn’t have murdered Mi-young. That case, she claims, remains open. Before the episode ends, another envelope arrives. There is again a new puzzle piece. This time, it showed slashed limbs.
Episode 5 of Nine Puzzles delves into a poisoning case at a factory. The workers recall a tragic accident involving a child, a memory that resurfaces when the child’s father dies. I-na connects this to the puzzle narrative. Meanwhile, she quietly sets up camp in Han-saem’s apartment, which now doubles as their unofficial base. Their uneasy bond begins to evolve.
In episode 6 of Nine Puzzles, the fourth puzzle piece is delivered. The new puzzle piece showed a clown figure. When I-na places all the puzzles together, she is tied to a location called Dream Land. I-na suspects multiple puzzle victims and starts piecing the clues together. She finally links them to the now-defunct amusement park. The episode ends on a suspenseful note as she reveals that the first owner of her luxurious apartment was Yoonsu Do. She believes there is yet another piece of the mystery, possibly tied to her past.
With each puzzle piece, the series builds a map of victims and secrets. The mystery is far from solved, and I-na remains at its center—the profiler, the witness, and possibly the key suspect.
