Nine Puzzles Review
Director: Yoon Jong-bin
Date Created: 2025-06-04 22:22
4.5
Nine Puzzles Review: The Disney+ crime thriller is a gripping, emotional and on-the-verge-of-psychosis drama that drops you into a world of profound mystery from the very beginning, penned by Lee Eun-mi and directed by Yoon Jong-bin. Featuring actors Kim Da-mi as the good but wrongly presumed profiler Yun I-na and Son Suk-ku as Detective Kim Han-saem, the drama also features Park Gyu-young, Hyun Bong-sik, Ji Jin-hee, Kim Sung-kyun, Kwak Ja-hyoung, Kim Do-geon, Lee Joo-young, Jeong Man-sik, Jang Kyug-su, and others.
K-drama Nine Puzzles (나인 퍼즐) constructs a story bigger than whodunit. It delves into trauma, justice and human emotion in much the same way it navel-gazes on its own. What begins as a murder to be solved gradually becomes an intense journey into old hurt, secrets and questions that won’t let you go once the show is over.
Nine Puzzles Review
Disney+ Nine Puzzles feels like a seemingly ordinary crime show with detectives, suspects and unexplained situations at first glance. But when you settle down to watch, you realise that it is more. It is a tale of individuals haunted by their past, grappling with pain, guilt and lost secrets. As a great mystery enthusiast, I was attracted to the show not only by the suspense but by the depth of emotions.
The story revolves around brilliant but quirky criminal profiler Yun I-na. To the world outside, she is icy, but you quickly see that there is fire burning within her — something hurtful she has been carrying for years. She is not simply solving murders; she is trying to uncover the truth of her own history. I just adored the fact that the show did not simply dump everything in your lap all at once. It kept me guessing, made me feel like I was part of the probe too.
On the other hand, we have detective Kim Han-saem, the man who thinks in logic, rules and facts. Their dynamic is interesting. At first, I-na and Han-saem don’t really trust each other and, to be honest, I-na is acting a mess, and even I don’t know if I would trust her! These two have a super awkward beginning to their partnership. But as the series progresses, you’ll watch them evolve from suspicious strangers to a team that completely gets each other. That process felt organic and satisfying — one of the show’s highlights for me.
The structure of the drama is also quite different. The story isn’t linearly narrated. It oscillates between past and present, sometimes as a clue, sometimes as confusion or even because I-in the act of reenacting that whole crime scene, simply to get into the killer’s head, which was kind of crazy. But that’s what makes it fun. Each episode gives you a piece of the puzzle — one that doesn’t make sense on its own but that suddenly snaps into focus. I’m a sucker for dramas like this because I always feel like I’m solving the case right alongside the characters.
And the best part is the use of silence and the little moments. No huge plot twist suddenly dropped in to leave you gobsmacked. The suspense is built up over time. Sometimes, a quiet look or an old flashback is more powerful than a car chase. The visuals are bleak but beautiful, and the music is never overused — just enough to keep you hooked.
Now let’s move on to the performances, starting with Kim Da-mi. She’s been fascinating to me since the Witch: Part 1. There’s something untamed and unpredictable about the manner in which she acts. Whether she’s an explosive teen or an icy profiler, she brings along that same rough-and-tumble energy. There is just so much nuance she has provided I-na with. She’s too intelligent, too gangly, too obstinate, but you can see that she’s also seriously hurt. She’s also really frightening. Kim Da-mi again demonstrates to us that she’s a natural-born talent to these complex characters — characters that unnerve you slightly but also make you love them too much.
And then there is Son Suk-ku, always leaving me in awe of his range as an actor. Last week, I watched him in Heavenly Ever After, where he is a comfortable, devoted husband, all warmth and tranquillity. And now, in Nine Puzzles kdrama, he is a stern, rule-of-law detective who does not let himself be moved by his emotions. He is the ideal opposite of his other roles — and yet he is ideally suited to them.
The shock to me was Park Gyu-young as Lee Seung-ju. She is mysterious at the beginning, but one of the most memorable things about the drama later on. I don’t want to reveal too much and spoil it, but let’s just say that her acting left a lasting impression. She plays the role with so much emotion that it made me rethink everything about her character. Even so-called “villains” in this program are so well-written that you can’t help feeling a little sorry for them.
What I didn’t expect was how emotional this drama became by the time Nine Puzzles’ final episodes hit. I was expecting a crime thriller, but it turned out to be a more reflective series about grief, forgiveness, and how trauma can turn your life. There’s one scene where one of the characters speaks about why it is that people continue living even when life is lost and hopeless. That scene sort of haunted me. It made me look at how pain and healing are so often intertwined.
The drama had a good conclusion, according to me. It was not rushed or forced. And once the case has been solved, it leaves a little room open, too, perhaps for a sequel? If ever there is one in the highly unlikely event that there is, I would 100% view that.
Kdrama Nine Puzzles Review: Summing Up
The Nine Puzzles series is more than a whodunit. It’s a psychological rollercoaster, suspenseful, emotional and utterly addicting in its character study. The plotting is tight, the acting superb, and the emotional payoff is bigger than I was prepared for. If you like thrillers that challenge your brain as much as your emotions, this one drama you can’t afford to miss; I can safely say it was one of the best crime K-dramas I’ve seen in the last few months — and I’d like to think there’s hope for Nine Puzzles Season 2.
