Solo Leveling Season 2’s Episode 9 Might Be The Most Disliked; But It Showed What Matters Most To Sung Jinwoo

Solo Leveling is the story of Sung Jinwoo, who, thanks to the system, is on a journey to keep leveling up. It is safe to say that the anime adaptation has done justice to the source material so far, with crisp animation and exhilarating fight sequences.

So naturally, when Solo Leveling Season 2, episode 9 – which features little to no combat – dropped, it ended up getting the most amount of dislikes ever on Crunchyroll platform.

Jinwoo’s edge lord personality and his insane aura farming is part of why Solo Leveling is so popular. While the recent episode saw a marked departure from these themes, it did include something that fans of the anime might not have expected to see – character development.

Because let’s be honest, character development isn’t exactly Solo Leveling’s forte. From the moment Jinwoo became the system’s pawn, he has been laser focused on leveling up, with little room for emotional depth. He became a detached figure mowing down monsters (and looking cool while doing) in his quest for power.

But then, Episode 9 showed us a vulnerability we haven’t witnessed since Jinwoo was the ridiculed E-rank fodder.

In the episode’s quieter moments, Jinwoo’s mother awakens thanks to the life saving elixir he gave her. And when he sees her bathed in the moonlight, staring back at him with nothing but love and compassion, Jinwoo cried. Tears of relief, of joy, of overwhelming emotion – it was all there. And kudos to the animation team for making this scene as memorable as it was.

This wasn’t the Shadow Monarch we had grown accustomed to seeing, but a son, finally achieving the goal he had been relentlessly pursuing.

Let’s not forget, even before the System, even before the fantastical power-ups, Jinwoo was risking his life in dungeons. Why? To provide for his family, to secure the Hunter Association benefits that could afford his mother’s medical treatment.

His motivation, at its core, was always to get his mother back on her feet. Episode 9 brought out this side of Jinwoo, which was otherwise buried beneath layers of power and stoicism.

And ofcourse, Jinwoo’s path to this moment has been paved with morally ambiguous choices. Like the time he killed Kim Chul and made him his shadow. Well, not like Chul was the best guy around, but Jinwoo has made choices which raise questions about his evolving humanity.

His relentless pursuit of power indeed has chipped away at him. Had episode 9 reflected more on these nuances, it would have been a masterpiece. However, all it does it scratch the surface and leave it at that.

While the episode was arguably more impactful than in the manhwa, it still could have done more when it came to Jinwoo’s retrospection. Why? Because with his mother’s miraculous return, he stands at a potential turning point.

Jinwoo has achieved what he set out to do. The one goal he wouldn’t have compromised for anything. And thanks to that, he now has something tangible, something precious to protect.

Given that the series is a power fantasy, Jinwoo surely won’t abandon his quest for strength, but Episode 9’s shift in perspective will add more weight to the decisions he comes to make in the future. For instance, he doesn’t immediately accept the chance to be a part of the Jeju Island raid – he stalls for a moment, before being distracted by the S-rank hunters sparring.

How this newfound dynamic will shape Sung Jinwoo’s future actions and character arc remains to be seen. But Episode 9, despite its deviation from the series’ combat-heavy formula has hit the right notes.