Summary
Episode 9 deepens the mystery. The series has a formidable way of leaking out small plot points but keeping the viewer engaged.
This recap of K-drama Netflix series Stranger season 2, episode 9 (Secret Forest) contains spoilers.
Check out the archive of all the recaps
The opening
Kang Won-chul tells Si-mok that if Dong-jae is dead, the social discourse and the war with investigative rights will be a mess. He raises how Woo is acting strangely and asks Si-mok for his opinion — Si-mok doesn’t seem to know what the symptoms are for when someone is worried which frustrates Kang Won-chul. Si-mok suddenly rushes out as Yeo-jin tells him there’s a message from the culprit.
The message says “I washed the dishes too late?”. It’s almost a riddle to start a compelling ninth chapter. The police and prosectors are getting played with.
The bloody tie
Episode 9 then flits to 2 hours previously where a message was sent by the culprit. The police are shown the evidence. It’s a photo of blood on Dong-jae’s tie — it looks like fresh blood. Yeo-jin asks Jang for the location of the Segok officers. Si-mok arrives at the police briefing which irks some of the officers. The question on everyone’s lips — is Dong-jae still alive? Yeo-jin asks Si-mok if the prosecution will hand over every case Dong-jae worked on so they can find a grudge but it’s unlikely that he can. She’s outraged that the culprit is treating them like this. This seems way more personal in episode 9 and it works.
Pressure
Chief Choi feels the entire police force is feeling the criticism right now and she’s worried if it was one of their own responsible for this. There’s plenty of pressure on her now it’s out in the media and the culprit is teasing them.
Agenda against Hanjo.
Lawyer Oh Ju-seon updates Ms. Lee Yeon-jae about Chief Choi. She’s very invested in the investigations, especially over Park Gwang-su. Oh Ju-seon makes her aware he’s seeing the chief from the eastern office next. She then finds out that Hanjo Engineering will be audited soon. She suspects that the eastern office is out to get Hanjo. This story is still developing slowly and it’s a teaser.
A distraught wife
Detective Jang shows Dong-jae’s wife the bloody tie and wants verification that it is his. She’s absolutely heartbroken but he needs to verify it for the investigation. As he leaves, he hears the wife speaking on the phone about the police so he asks for phone records. Jang obviously has his suspicions.
Breaking down the crime
Si-mok and Yeo-jin talk about the tie again and wonder why they sent it with blood. One of the other investigators states there aren’t many wooden floors like that anymore as they try and summarise the situation in the photo. Yeo-jin wonders if Dong-jae is now dead — there’s plenty of discussion in whether this is a family matter. They feel it will be a location the culprit(s) have full control over.
Updating the press.
Yeo-jin, Si-mok, and the police look at handwritten statements from Segok officers and try and analyze and confirm the writing from the culprit’s written message. Afterward, Yeo-jin updates the progress on the investigation of the disappearance of Dong-jae. Chief Choi wants to gather all reporters and tell them they were wrong to say it was a cop. Yeo-jin shows the culprit’s message. Captain Baek is irked by the news briefing and goes outside to confront someone but he is stopped.
A flustered chief
While having a meeting with Chief Choi, Yeo-jin receives a message from Detective Jang about Kim Su-hang, one of the officers who worked at Segok Police Station — he’s got his resume and the store he worked at right after his release is just 650 meters away from the crime scene. On top of that, the store is his uncle’s — the former Chief of Dongducheon Station. Chief Choi needs to recheck the alibis.
As Yeo-jin goes to check on the files, Chief Choi runs off as she suddenly realized she’s off to her office. Yeo-jin goes to Chief Choi’s second drawer but then the chief stops her. She gets the files herself while looking flustered.
The ending
Si-mok gets a list of websites visited by Dong-jae so he checks out the list. He was looking at articles to do with the death of Park Gwang-su. He filters how many articles were to do with Park Gwang-su and the time range he visited the sites.
Si-mok looks at Dong-jae’s GPS locations and asks for information on Highway 45, Geumnam-ri, Namyangju in one of the case reports.
Si-mok heads to the highway and a flashback follows; a truck driver finds Park Gwang-su dead. The Police arrive and investigate and feel no pulse. Si-mok looks at the photos of the lawyer slumped at the steering wheel.
Stranger season 2, episode 9 deepens the mystery. The series has a formidable way of leaking out small plot points but keeping the viewer engaged.
Additional points
- Detective Jang notes that there is no ransom yet for Dong-jae despite the culprit’s message.
