Dryadris

For me the underlying theme is more than 'free will'. Its almost philosophical like 'what is good and what is evil'? We see demons doing good things, but they are called evil just because they were born as demons. Then we see humans doing terrible things, but they are called good just because they are humans. So why have humans every right to do whatever evil they want to do and still be called good, while demons, no matter how hard they try to do good, will still be called evil. How much does the things one do really matter?
For me the perspective of good vs evil was presented perfectly in E25. ZYC was always seen as a good person, doing so much good for the people and from one second to the other he was despised, yelled at, called out only because he will maybe become a demon. Everything good he had done is forgotten immediately.
I dare say that FoF is a very deep drama with a lot to think about (if you're willing) and not some easy going drama. Not something you can watch, feel entertainted and forget about. It stuck and it make you think. At least it make me think.

He ist my suspect no1 too. He has the needed knowledge and intel to pull it off. And her is close to the group and knows their moves and plans. I cant pinpoint why or what but something about him in that go scene smelled fishy. He made my crepper-senses tingeling.

Well, I dont think its ZYZ or ZYC because their hands doesnt really match the hand of the masked man and LL would recognise ZYZ immediately. Then ZYZ wants to die a specific way I think to break the cycle of an evil great demon to be reborn. Giving LL his inner core would cause the exact opposite.

I also dont think its ZYC older brother because why should ZYZ lie about him killing ZYC father and older brother? And LL must have been also lying when he talked about the death of ZYCs brother and that it wasnt ZYZ own will to kill them.

The masked man must have great knowledge about the inner workings of the demon hunting bureau and also about their planed moves, knowledge about demons in general, knowledge about their connections to each other, knowledge of all the details about the Bingyi clan and also knowledge about the inner workings of chongwu camp. And the head of the bureau would be a perfect fit. I dont know but after that go scene i just got the feeling that something is fishy about him.

PSJ became a hunter because her brother was weak and couldnt do it. She hates martial arts training but she was doing it to protect her brother. So overall all she did was for the sake of her brother. Her brother saw how much she suffered and wanted to easen her burden because he thought she must have seen him as a burden. So he made that wish in order to protect his sister from the pain and suffering but made her suffering more in the end. So sure, one can say that if she didnt have that strong will to protect her brother, he would never hade made that wish, so its totally her fault. But it isnt that simple. Both had good intentions and both good intentions led to a disaster. Everything came full circle in the end. What happens is the fault of both because they never really talked to each other. They never opend up to each other. A backstory must not always be important for the plot to move forward. Sometimes a backstory only have the purpose of explaining a characters motivation or a specific behaviour. Simply to give a character more dimension instead of letting it be a blank sheet of paper. When we first got introduced to PSJ we saw a cold, distant, somewhat emotionless person who disconnected herself from nearly everything. Backstorys and flashbacks are a way to show what event triggered a specific behaviour or mindset or attitude. And for me this was the purpose of that subplot - character development.

I can understand your point of view. I think the scene isnt meant for sympathy but to show the complexity of the human nature. I for example could see her struggle in this moment. The inner fight between what she think is right and her love for her brother. Killing him was the reason to leave the camp. This Event was what made her tink. But thats just my point of view.

The way Chenwu Camp is presented its a 'kill first, ask questions later' organisation. We learned really early that these people dont care about collateral damage and killed a lot of innocent people during their activities. They are not interested in inprisonment. Simply kill and be done. We see that right in the first episode when they killed that demon girl without hesitation for much lesser than what PSJ brother did. PSJ was a commander in chenwu camp, so i expect there was a lot of drill and if you dont follow orders you'll get killed. So i wouldnt call PSJ a normal human, more a traumatised human who is been forced into some sort of behaviour from which she cannot easily break out. Trapped in a very specific mindset that has certainly been beaten into her mind over the years by the chenwu camp. Its easy to say 'She should have been doing this or that' when you didnt experience the same stuff PSJ experienced. Chenwu Camp is similar to a cult. As an outsider you recognise the lies and the wrongs immediately, but for a member they are not so easy to recognise as such. And besides PSJ hesitated and then her brother told her that he is guilty. He confessed. What reason would she have had to doubt everything after a confession?