Summary
In its ninth episode, Revenant upends some major details, raising the stakes and intrigue for the final few episodes.
This recap of the Disney+ K-Drama Revenant Season 1 Episode 9 contains spoilers.
Episode 8 of Revenant strongly implied where this latest outing would end up, and the episode wastes no time in paying off the suspense. It’s the first shocking turn of a few, expected and otherwise, and continues to raise the stakes of a K-Drama that is revelling in its genre underpinnings to a reliably entertaining degree.
With the stakes heightening, our leads San-yeong and Hae-sang begin to ponder, rightly, what their own futures may look like, and what they continue to miss as San-yeong’s father and Hae-sang’s mother did in the same quest.
Revenant Season 1 Episode 9 Recap
How does Mun-chun die?
So, Mun-chun plummets to his death from the window of the police station, as expected.
This sudden and obviously bizarre demise throws the sceptical Hong-sae for a loop. He saw San-yeong at the door when it was opened, and yet there she is downstairs with Hae-sang, crying over Mun-chun’s lifeless body.
Something, very obviously, is amiss.
While a possessed San-yeong, fresh off this incident, literally goes out boogying and sleeps next to her mother in bed, waking up the next morning unable to remember anything about the previous night, Hong-sae takes Mun-chun’s death a lot harder.
He’s the chief mourner at his funeral. He’s terribly emotional. Wracked with guilt, to Hae-sang he says that he should apologize on his behalf for not saving him should Mun-chun’s ghost appear to him.
The impenetrable nature of the crime is also unsettling Hong-sae. He wants San-yeong to turn herself in for it, but there’s no CCTV evidence to support the confession.
The obvious supernaturalism around the event is what finally compels Hong-sae to embrace the idea of the afterlife, ghosts, demons, and other such matters he had previously treated with outright disbelief. Hae-sang is happy to fill him in on the details.
What is contained in the documents?
When Hong-sae retraces Mun-chun’s steps in the investigation he discovers some documents he had tried to have restored.
The documents, which San-yeong is cautioned by the spirit not to reveal the contents of to Hae-sang, suggest that certain belongings were transferred to Gang-mu. A ledger identifies items that were given to the village when Mokdan was sacrificed. As we’ve seen already in this show, items and dates related to death are especially important.
The investigation leads Hae-sang to a relative of the author of an art book that was ripped up by a librarian connected to Gang-mu prior to the librarian’s death. From the relative he acquires the Jangjin-ri 1959 yearbook; the teacher of the year group was also sacrificed.
Revenant Season 1 Episode 9 Ending Explained
Is the evil spirit Mokdan or not?
This is all building towards the big revelation of the episode, and indeed the series, which is that it seems like Mokdan is not the spirit possessing San-yeong.
In a turn of events, it’s actually Hong-sae who helps to deduce this. After having spent time with the possessed San-yeong, obliging her request to drive her around, he determines that the spirit’s behaviour and demeanour are not that of a ten-year-old, which Mokdan was when she was sacrificed.
This theory is supported by the drawings in San-yeong’s house depicting a full moon in the spirit’s creation when there was no such moon at the time of Mokdan’s death. It very much seems like Mokdan is not the spirit, and if that’s the case, then who is?
The answers may well be contained in the yearbook. But with San-yeong telling the spirit outright at the end of the episode that she knows she isn’t Mokdan, is San-yeong beginning to retain some power against its influence? Perhaps enough to be able to finally defeat it?
Time will tell.
You can stream the K-Drama Revenant Season 1 Episode 9 exclusively on Disney+.
