Nine Puzzles- (Final) Episode 11

The Final Piece, a Fiery Exit, and One Last Twist

Nine Puzzles Episode 11 wraps up the killer’s master plan—but not before taking us on one last ride through revenge, grief, guilt, and a burning merry-go-round.

We kick off with a flashback: a teenage Lee Seung-joo at Dream Land, searching for something—or someone. Fast forward ten years, and Yang finally finds her. He returns a handkerchief and photo of her mother, Nam-suk. Lee had changed her name, and Yang never stopped looking. Now, the truth starts to unravel.

Back in the present, Dr. Lee reveals herself to I-na: she’s the puzzle killer. No tricks, no pretense. She invites I-na to witness the next murder. Han-saem loses his mind trying to reach her. CCTV leads the cops to The One City, but they arrive seconds too late—Dr. Lee pushes Assemblyman Kim off the roof. His body nearly crushes Han-saem. It’s chaos.

So, why does Dr. Lee make her murders so theatrical? I-na asks the same thing.

Lee confesses that she stopped killing because no one cared about her story. But when she found out I-na was obsessed with uncovering the truth behind Dong-hoon’s puzzle, she resumed—for I-na. Not to torment her, but to help her "solve" the past.

Flashback: After Yoon-su’s death, Yang returns Nam-suk’s handkerchief to Lee. He begs her to stop. She refuses. The world forgot her mother. No one apologized. Not Dong-hoon, who got three apartments to bury the case. Not Chi-mok, not Yoon-su. They moved on. She couldn’t.

At present, I-na pleads with Lee to stop the killing. But Lee is unmoved—these people destroyed her mother, then forgot she existed. The final puzzle piece? It’s pitch black. The center of everything.

After the rooftop murder, Lee disappears.

I-na heads to Dream Land—the theme park where it all began. She finds Lee sitting on a merry-go-round drenched in oil. Lee has chosen herself as the last piece of the puzzle.

This isn’t a stunt. It’s a statement.

She confesses: for years, she wandered this very ride, hoping to find the restaurant where her mother once waited. She feels responsible for her mother’s death. There’s nothing left for her now. Han-saem arrives, and both he and I-na try desperately to stop her.

Lee doesn’t flinch. “Why do people fight to live when life is meaningless?” she asks. Then she lights the fire.

Dr. Lee dies in flames, completing her final message.

Back at the precinct, I-na stonewalls. No statement. She claims memory loss. Han-saem doesn’t push—he brings her coffee daily. At Yang’s funeral, he quietly apologizes for not saving her.

A week passes. I-na tries to resign, but Superior Yoon talks her down and grants her a break. Han-saem tempts her with a new case and invites her to dinner with his mom. Fun fact? Their apartment in The One City was won in a lottery. Life is weird like that.

I-na also gives a TV interview—playful again, but thoughtful. She reveals the real reason she became a profiler: to profile herself. She once suspected she killed her uncle and needed to know the truth.

Has she moved on? The interviewer asks. She doesn't answer. Just drifts into thought.

And then—one final twist.

A new case drops. A woman named Jeon Mi-so is found drained of blood and posed like a doll. I-na returns to the precinct and profiles the new killer.

Han-saem is stunned when she drops another puzzle on his desk.

End of Episode 11.

The case is closed, but the puzzle? Not quite. Because when the last piece falls into place… a new one always appears.

🧩 The game never really ends.

DramaZen's Opinion

Episode 11 of Nine Puzzles brought the emotional gut-punch I didn’t know I was bracing for. Dr. Lee—aka Lee Seol—wasn’t just the killer, she was a whole tragedy in motion. Watching her walk I-na through her pain, piece by twisted piece, was heartbreaking. And that final scene on the merry-go-round? Chilling. Devastating. Unforgettable.

But leave it to Nine Puzzles to drop one more twist at the buzzer. Just when you think it’s all over, I-na’s back—cooler than ever—and casually drops a new puzzle in Han-saem’s lap like, “Surprise, the game continues!”

From fiery justice to emotional slow burns and that perfect I-na and Han-saem chemistry, this finale nailed it. Not everything was healed, but that’s what made it real. And now? I’m fully ready for Season 2.