Swapping souls and fates in tvN’s revenge thriller Room No. 9

by tipsymocha

So many chills, but in a good way! Upcoming tvN revenge thriller Room No. 9 is getting ready for its premiere, which is just a couple weeks away, and by the looks of the teasers that have been released so far, I can tell it’s going to be an intense ride. Not that I would expect anything less from this formidable cast, which includes Kim Hae-sook (About Time), Kim Hee-sun (Woman of Dignity), and Kim Young-kwang (Your Wedding, Lookout).

The latest clip that’s been released for Room No. 9 begins with Kim Hae-sook’s character Jang Hwa-sa, emotionlessly asking someone to just kill her if they aren’t here to help get her released. Hwa-sa has been on death row for decades, so I can understand her need to end her sentence one way or another, though what happens next probably isn’t what she expected. Brief flashes of a collapsed Hwa-sa, flickering lights, and Kim Hee-sun tripping on some wires as the lights explode lead to a horrified looking Kim Hee-sun staring at her reflection, where Hwa-sa stares right back. Offscreen, Hwa-sa asks, “Are you the one in possession of my body?”

The other half of this body switcheroo, Freaky-Friday-from-hell scenario is Kim Hee-sun’s character, Eulji Hae-yi, who is a ruthless defense attorney with a 100% success rate. She looks decidedly worse for wear in her character teaser, where she sits at a table across from two detectives. She poses an eerie question to them, “If I.. no, if an inmate on death row and I exchanged souls in that room, what do you think would happen?”

Hwa-sa has her own interrogation in front of two detectives for her character teaser, though the question she asks ends in a different way from Hae-yi’s: “If an inmate on death row got out in the body of a lawyer, wouldn’t she naturally try to get revenge?” So. Many. Goosebumps.

And, last but not least, we have poor Kim Young-kwang’s character Ki Yoo-jin, who is described as holding the key to everything. A family psychiatrist, his connection to the case seems to be his relationship with Hae-yi, though it sounds like there’s more to dig there, as he confesses to the detectives in his teaser, “The truth I’ve looked for my entire life was in that room. Room number nine.”

Well, if the show is any bit as creepy and thrill-inducing as its teasers, I’m definitely going to have to watch this through my fingers. I’m intrigued though, especially with this strong of a cast, which also includes Lee Kyung-young (Misty), Oh Dae-hwan (Life on Mars), and Jung Je-won (Hwayugi). Directing is PD Ji Young-soo of Falling for Innocence and Big Man, while Jung Sung-hee of Master of Trade—Inn 2015 and Ja Myung Go will be penning the script. Though it doesn’t look like they have any experience with crime thrillers, let’s hope that they can have a memorable debut in the genre with this show.

Room No. 9 will premiere on October 6 and take over tvN’s weekend slot from Mr. Sunshine.

Via Sports Seoul (1), Sports Seoul (2), Sports Seoul (3), MK Sports, Hankook Kyungje, iMBC, X Sports News

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