Updated: March 17, 2022

Here’s a collection of quotes from the series, Through The Darkness:

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On crimes and behavioral problems

“Science is making progress day by day. And there’s no perfect crime in this world. So you’ll never get away with this ” – Inspector Hayoung

“Do you think monsters are made or born?” – Inspector Hayoung

“I’m not sure.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“If such lives are already decided from the moment they’re born, it just seems too unfair and cruel.” – Inspector Hayoung

• “Most murderers like him kill for pleasure.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Killing satisfies them so they can’t stop. They actually become bolder looking for bigger pleasures.” – Jung Wooju
• “The killer isn’t after the money. If it’s not about money or personal grudges, there can only be one goal. Killing.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “The deity is right next-door, but He won’t help. And I wanted to prove that. I was the one who decided that they would die or live.” – Criminal
• “The Behavioral Analysis Team will become the stepping stone to the much needed reform of police investigations.” – Journalist

“There are always traces left at crime scenes. And every murderer leaves a trail. Their behaviors show us what their motives are and what they’re trying to achieve.” – Inspector Hayoung

“Do you blame your father?” – Inspector Hayoung

“I bet you have no idea what it’s like to live with a dad who threatens you with a hammer everytime he gets drunk.” – Criminal

• “I was wrong to expect that the devil would have feelings. He has no emotions. All he cares about is comforting himself and justifying his actions.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Normally, perpetrators look for dark spots to hide themselves.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “And the victims were attacked from the front, not from behind.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “In order for his anger to blow up, he should at least be in his early 30s to have enough social provocation.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “People in their 20s tend to be more impulsive with their emotions. Perhaps that’s why their crimes are mostly random, without a plan or bringing changes into their MO.” – Inspector Hayoung

“Didn’t you hear such a childhood could cause you to become a serial killer? You see, the prison is full of them. People like me who have no one to lean on. People who are alone in this world.” – Criminal

• “Don’t people like me all have the same story? An abusive father. And no one to lean. I had a miserable childhood.” – Criminal
• “I’m not here to interrogate you. I’m here to help you.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Everyone thinks I’m an idiot. Everyone hated me. Everywhere I went, I had to suffer and get beaten up.” – Criminal

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.” – Captain Yoon

“If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” – Inspector Hayoung

• “That’s why what children experience is so important. They accumulate things without even knowing. Of course, not everyone will become a criminal from a bad experience. But kids can’t manage situations themselves. In the case of Nam Ki-tae, he accumulated all of his repeated traumas. I think that influenced his character-building greatly.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “What if, in order to break away from the negativity, he voluntarily assumed the role of a killer?” – Captain Yoon
• “When I see the person dying in front of my eyes, flapping their arms and legs, my heart starts to race. That’s when I finally feel a little alive.” – Criminal
• “I could quit smoking. But I couldn’t quit killing.” – Criminal

“This isn’t a job for the weak-minded.” – Captain Yoon

• “Serial murderers and rapists who commit crimes for pleasure will highly likely show a quality of narcissism. And when they experience an attachment injury, they feel a sense of humiliation and hopelessness.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “They all either tried to use me or bully me. No one wanted to be my friend.” – Criminal
• “People tend to develop excessive self-attachment as a defence mechanism against pain and despair.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “Having a big trauma like an attachment injury must mean that he didn’t feel loved by his parents.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“Perfect crimes require thorough planning.” – Criminal

“There are no perfect crimes.” – Inspector Hayoung

“What’s the point of holding onto the past and regretting it?” – Criminal
“It’s not regretting. It’s repenting.” – Inspector Hayoung

• “If it was a rich family, the thief would be in jail already.” – Landlord
• “The crime of taking another person’s life is serious and unacceptable and the accused did not reflect on his crime despite his history of assault.” – Judiciary
• “Cho Kang Moo’s unusual behavior stemmed from his resentment and hatred towards his parents. He feels absolutely no remorse for the murders he committed. That’s why we need to do research on criminal behavior analysis.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“It’s tough to last unless you have this attitude when you start a career in coming across criminals.” – Inspector Hayoung

• “There’s a void in your eyes. That just showed that you could turn into a monster, too.” – Criminal
• “The body was cut too neatly for someone who’s mentally unstable. It means that the culprit knew the method.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “To a profiler, policing doesn’t come before examining the minds. Examining the minds come first. A profiler must detect what happened at the crime scene.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Most sex offenders are introverted and have a sexual complex. If he targeted a minor instead of a grown woman, it means he wanted to find an easy target who wouldn’t fight him.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “People treat me like I am retarded.” – Criminal

“Even after committing such a heinous crime, he didn’t show any sense of remorse. How is that possible?” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

• “I think his rage against his abusive father developed into abnormal sexual behaviors.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “An unsystematic crime is when the culprit becomes confused while committing the crime.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “If you look at it according to the FBI’s categories of crime, a systematic type is someone who has problems with their personality. An unsystematic type is categorized as someone delusional or schizophrenic.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “Serial killers feel the highest form of pleasure in the pure act of killing. Once that feeling ends, they look for another victim who will satisfy their need.” – Inspector Hayoung

“His choice of a blunt weapon rather than a sharp one shows the anger built within this culprit.” – Inspector Hayoung

• “For a person with this much rage, I’m sure that it showed in his daily life, too.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Character disorder is an illness when one shows extreme or deformed forms of obsessive dependent, avoidant, or antisocial characteristics. But the truth is, everyone makes little of this illness so they don’t take active measures to treat it.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Patients with either schizophrenia, intellectual disorder, delusion. It’s hard for them to commit premeditated crimes.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “We shouldn’t look for mentally ill patients who have been receiving continued treatment. Instead, we should look for a suspect who has a record.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

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On life and humanity

“What will be left with? Our hearts break into pieces while looking into the darkness, so how can we fill that void? I also thought long and hard about it. But you know, no cigarettes or drinks can fill that void.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“Do you think we live with pointless anxiety?” – Inspector Hayoung

“It’s a habit that comes with the career.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

• “I think the world is becoming strange. I feel like I’m running in circles.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “Everyone is busy with their own lives. People aren’t interested in other people’s lives.” – Criminal
• “Who abandoned whom? People who believe Him are pathetic. They pretend to be holy but they chase money and look down on other people.” – Criminal
• “You need to learn to pay attention to how the people around you must be feeling.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“It is good to be focused on work, but it is important to separate work from home.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

• “I can’t even remember the last time I thought about my day-to-day life.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “It does feel like we’re running in a race that’s never going to end when I see these criminals, crawling out here no matter how many of them we put away.” – Captain Yoon
• “Looking into those punks’ minds? It’s all good. But before that, take care of yourself first.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
• “Nothing has changed in this world.” – Inspector Hayoung

“Life has always been unfair. At times, when I am sitting there with criminals, I begin to want to believe that people are born evil. And if such people are made, our world will seem hopeless.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

• “In life, and especially in our line of work, we see more evil than good.” – Captain Yoon
• “It’s quite sad at times that we can’t have hope in people. Whenever I try harder to have hope, I end up facing criminals that are smarter and more evil.” – Inspector Hayoung

“If the world is responsible for creating monsters, it should share the responsibility, too.” – Inspector Hayoung

“I’m leaning toward believing that people are born evil, but a bigger part of me wants to believe that people are inherently good.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“I don’t think what we are born with matters. It’s important to remember that these decisions were made by us, not by other people.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“Whether or not our world has monsters, it’s important to remember that anyone can become one.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“Don’t go in too deep. If you go in too deep, you might fall into that hole.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

• “I realized that having a normal life like this was the joy of life.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “I had been dealing with only evil, intelligent criminals. So I guess I was tired.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “To be honest, what scared me the most was the anxiety that there might be a different side of me I was not aware of. I was scared that I might turn into them.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “When people keep running without a break, they always trip over and explode.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo

“Cops are humans, too.” – Capt. Gilpyo

“Ever since I got this job, I’ve been struggling to believe in the all-powerful creator.” – Capt. Kook Youngsoo
“It’s better than believing in humans.” – Inspector Hayoung

• “We already have enough to worry about. Once the case is closed, stop thinking about it for your mental health’s sake.” – Police officer
• “The victim lost her irreplaceable and precious life at such a young age, and it is clear the victim’s family will live in pain for the rest of her life, along with a psychological shock.” – Judiciary
• “The lucky ones always fall on a pile of gold even by accident.” – Inspector Hayoung
• “You were always like that. You pretended like you didn’t care about people, but you were always considerate behind their back.” – Bang
• “They say women are chatty, but men are worse in my opinion.” – Policewoman
• “Don’t you know that the commissioner is more afraid of the reporters than his wife?” – Chief Heo

“Are we living in a world where good kids can feel safe? Maybe what we lost is a lot more than a child who was like an angel. Maybe humanity and the belief that we must be good are also lost.” – Journalist

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Genre: Crime, Thriller, Psychological
Synopsis: It is about a criminal profiler who struggles to read the minds of serial killers.
Based on: Those Who Read the Minds of Evil by Kwon Il-yong and Ko Na-mu
No of episodes: 12
Starring: Kim Nam-gil, Jin Seon-kyu, and Kim So-jin
Written by: Seol Yi-na
Directed by: Park Bo-ram
Original network: SBS, Viu
Date: January 14, 2022

Subtitle translation: Viu