In Season 1, Episode 9 of The Killing Vote, many secrets are revealed, including the identity of Gaetal. The truth about the first letter from Seok-joo’s number-one fan was revealed. That letter left Seok-joo devastated. We also learn about Ji-hoon’s past and the relationship between Seok-joo, Ji-hoon, and Hye-jin. As the episode concludes with a cliffhanger, viewers are left wondering about the fate of Joo Hyun, caught in a dangerous situation, and the looming threat posed by Min-soo.
This article contains spoilers.
The Killing Vote (Season 1), Episode 9 Recap:
The episode begins with Do-hee’s new Killing Vote show. She tells the people that everyone is Gaetal and they were starting a new aspect of the show where people can put their stories about the injustice they have faced in the message board. Maximum likes or the top comment would be checked, and action would be taken. At the police station, Jin-wook is escorted out, but he suddenly pushes the police officers, takes a man hostage, and gets into an elevator to the top of the building.
Meanwhile, Joo Hyun confronts Seok-joo about the letters from his number one fan. Mu-chan calls her and informs them that Seok-joo was and is Gaetal. Seok-joo saves Joo Hyun from a water truck and escapes by getting into it. On the station’s terrace, a police officer shoots Jin-wook, and he collapses. Joo Hyun gets into a police car and chases the truck while informing Mu-chan about the situation. They both chase the truck, but due to a traffic jam, they run toward the truck.
Someone rides a bike from inside the truck and rushes away. Mu-chan tries to shoot the tire but fails, and Joo Hyun finds Seok-joo’s jacket in the truck. They alert the other cops that he is in a different attire on the run. We see a flashback to when Seok-joo receives a letter from his number one fan where they admit to killing Na-rae as a tattle-tale. He also met Ji-hoon, whom he wanted to adopt in the prison church as an altar boy.
Ji-hoon’s grandmother was treating patients in prison, giving Seok-joo a cell phone; he messaged Ji-hoon that they needed to expose the killer. The police are getting frustrated warnings from the higher-ups as they lost Seok-joo. Mu-chan and Jin-soo discuss the possibility of a mole within their department. Once Mu-chan leaves, he calls someone and says the professor’s picnic is over. Ji-hoon and his grandmother, Hye-jin, visit Gaetal’s hideout to find it is thrashed, and they suspect Gaetal no.5, Ko Dong-gyu.
Gaetal No.1 arrives and tells them that Gaetal No. 5 must have joined forces with Min-soo, and all the data is with him. Ji-hoon gets a message from Joo Min telling him she is waiting for him in the playground and won’t leave until he meets her. Ji-hoon arrives at the playground, and Joo Min is angry with him. They spend time together, and Ji-hoon tells her he will move soon. As they walk home, Ji-hoon apologizes to Joo Min as he has to leave and his father has come. He sees a shadow, realizes this, rushes towards the shadow, and is embraced by Seok-joo.
Meanwhile, Joo Hyun and Mu-chan look through Seok-joo’s house and find drawings of a boy along with Na-rae and Seok-joo. Min-soo is excited as he receives data about the Gaetal program, but Dong-gyu reminds him that he had promised to get his revenge. He didn’t know the identity of Gaetal no.1. On the show’s message board, a fabricated message was posted, and likes were fabricated. Assemblywoman Min forces Do-hee to reveal this story.
Jin-soo is keeping an eye on Min-soo. Jin-soo tells Min-soo that he has to protect his students from him. Ji-hoon sneaks into Min-soo’s laptop and copies some files. While talking to Min-soo, he learns Joo Min had spoken to the police about his whereabouts. Hyun and Sang-jae investigate Seok-joo’s prison cell. She realizes that in prison, Seok-joo’s doctor was Yang Hye-jin, Ji-hoon’s grandmother.
A still from The Killing Vote Season 1 Episode 9.Mu-chan visits Ji-hoon’s orphanage and learns that Ji-hoon’s name is Tae-yang, and he had witnessed his parent’s death and couldn’t speak for a long time despite Seok-joo wanting to adopt him. Mu-chan leaves, and Joo Hyun calls and tells him about Seok-joo and Hye-jin’s connection. Do-hee reveals the news about Seok-joo’s escape from the station. Jo-dan gets a message from Gaetal No. 1.
Mu-chan visits Hye-jin and asks about Seok-joo. She keeps all the answers vague, but Mu-chan senses someone up the stairs. He makes an excuse and rushes up, but by then, Seok-joo hid himself. Once Mu-chan leaves, Hye-jin and Seok-joo are relieved. Mu-chan asks Jin-soo to get more information about Ji-hoon. Seok-joo watches a news report about himself but blends into the crowd and gives a man a piece of paper. He then wears a Gaetal mask and leaves.
Jo-dan and Joo Hyun secretly investigate the case in Joo Min’s school. They assumed they were talking to the real Gaetal, but it turns out it was Joo Min’s friend. She told them that the real Gaetal told her to give Joo Hyun a piece of paper. It said, “See you when the weather is nice.” Ji-hoon tries to record this, but Joo Min’s friend notices someone, and Ji-hoon runs away.
Joo Hyun tries to decode the message and finds the answer in Jin-wook’s phone as she sees two weather apps. Meanwhile, Seok-joo was assuring Ji-hoon that Joo Hyun could crack the message. Do-hee begins her Killing Vote program, but the police crash the show. Joo Hyun takes over and tells the people that Gaetal is infiltrating their phones as it is impossible to download the same app twice. They ask the public to delete the app.
Min-soo is watching this and loses his temper, making him gasp for air. His mother consoles him and tells him that it isn’t over and that she will ensure it. Joo Hyun pulls Do-hee aside and tells her that it isn’t okay to leak information about an ongoing case, to which Do-hee tells her there seem to be misunderstandings between the cops and her and that someone had given her the information. Joo Hyun then confronts Mu-chan, who admits to having leaked the information to get him back to the investigation. Furthermore, Joo Hyun gets angry and tells him she doesn’t want to be his pawn and is moving back to her old team.
Jo-dan and Joo Hyun work from Seok-joo’s house, and Joo Hyun thinks there has been an issue with Gaetal’s team. Meanwhile, Jo-dan realizes electricity usage is rising from Min-soo’s house, and the killing vote begins. The voting was taken from the message board, and it was about a real estate con artist who stole from a family, and the family died by suicide. We see the man tied to a chair in his house. The final results were 53%, and Dong-gyu executed him.
The Killing Vote (Season 1), Episode 9 Ending, Explained:
Is Seok-joo the Mastermind behind The Killing Vote?
Mu-chan’s team finds the body the next day. Jo-dan and Joo Hyun sneak into Min-soo’s house disguised as people from the internet company. Joo Hyun sneaks into Min-soo’s room but can’t find anything suspicious. Jo-dan escapes from the house and is in touch with Joo Hyun. Joo Hyun finds a secret door, and she enters to find pictures of Seok-joo and Na-rae. She entered his computer but couldn’t copy files because he had locked the videos.
The door automatically closes, and Joo Hyun panics, but she pulls herself together and checks his computer. She finds a video of Na-rae crying and asking for her father, and just then, the door to the room opens, and Joo Hyun is standing still, shocked.
It is finally revealed that Seok-joo is the mastermind behind the killing vote, but his intention had always been to find Min-soo and make him pay the price. Joo Hyun is in danger as in the last scene, we see Min-soo arrive home and notice something in the window, and the secret door is opened. But let’s hope it’s Jo-dan and not Min-soo. The episode is slow-paced, and the story needs to pick up a little. The motives for “Killing Vote” are becoming increasingly ambiguous in terms of justice and morality.
