WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood, "Confidential File 668, Ethereal Love," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Joran’s last few episodes have been nothing but nonstop surprises and reveals, and Episode 9 is no exception. As Sawa prepares to make the journey back to Tokyo and resume her executioner duties, Jin is already back laying the groundwork for his secret plan. But a surprise discovery could put him at odds with Sawa once again.
With Sawa still recovering from her battle with Makoto both physically and mentally, Jin leaves her in Rinko’s care and heads back to Tokyo. In the city, Jin once again meets with the captured resistance leader. Revealing yet another vial of blue blood, Jin orders him to consume it while using his brother as a bargaining chip to threaten him.
Later on, Jin has a meeting with one of the Shogun’s agents regarding Sawa. As the two talk, Jin has to stop and deal with some sort of physical trauma. While he suppresses the pain, Jin’s eyes and forehead veins momentarily bulge, though he eventually manages to regain his composure and control whatever is causing this.
Jin is ordered to bring Sawa back to the city, where she will be used to produce more blue blood and create an entire army of changeling soldiers for the current regime as a result. Jin objects, not wanting her to end up as a tool for mass production of the drug. Jin vouches for Sawa’s skills as an executioner and though he pleads that she would be much more valuable acting out in the field, his words fall on deaf ears.
Following her adventure with Rinko, Sawa returns home to find her bookstore dusty and empty. While walking around her old home, Sawa is reminded of Asahi and struggles with the young girl’s memory. Still struggling with the loss of her adopted sister, Sawa suddenly recalls something Makoto said in their last battle. This leads her to a book on a nearby shelf with a small note hidden in its pages. Upon reading the note, Sawa’s expression grows severe.
Back at Nue headquarters, Sawa meets with Jin. But when tries to discuss her newest mission, Sawa takes out her sword and lunges at Jin. Surprisingly, Jin allows Sawa to strike him. Sawa’s cuts, while doing no physical damage, slice through Jin’s clothing and reveal snake-like markings that hint at some sort of involvement with Janome’s experiments.
Jin continues to be Joran’s hardest character to read as his overall motivations and allegiances are still very much unclear. While much is still unknown about his past, this latest revelation allows for audiences to at least fill in a few blanks in regards to his history with Janome. These markings strongly suggest that Jin was the crow-like changeling who killed Makoto, as does the pain that plagued him during the meeting with the Shogun’s representative. What this means for the long run is still unclear, but Jin certainly has some explaining to do.
