Recursive derangement proof clarification I saw a proof of a recursive definition of $D_n$ = the number of derangements of a set of size $n$.

A combinatorial proof of the recurrence for $D_n$:
Here's a combinatorial proof of $D_n = (n-1)(D_{n-1} + D_{n-2})$ for $n \geq 2$ due to Euler.
For any derangement $(j_1, j_2, \ldots, j_n)$, we have $j_n \neq n$.  Let $j_n = k$, where $k \in \{1, 2, \ldots, n-1\}$.  We now break the derangements on $n$ elements into two cases.
Case 1: $j_k = n$ (so $k$ and $n$ map to each other).  By removing elements $k$ and $n$ from the permutation we have a derangement on $n-2$ elements, and so, for fixed $k$, there are $D_{n-2}$ derangements in this case.
Case 2: $j_k \neq n$.  Swap the values of $j_k$ and $j_n$, so that we have a new permutation with $j_k = k$ and $j_n \neq n$.  By removing element $k$ we have a derangement on $n-1$ elements, and so, for fixed $k$, there are $D_{n-1}$ derangements in this case.
Thus, with $n-1$ choices for $k$, we have, for $n \geq 2$,
$$D_n = (n-1)(D_{n-1} + D_{n-2}).$$

What I'm having trouble understanding is, if $j_n \neq n$, and $j_n=k$, why can $k$ only be any positive integer less than $n$, and does this only apply to the final element of the derangement (which is listed here as $j_n$), or does it apply to all of them? If it did apply to all of them, it seems like the only numbers being able to be chosen for a certain position would be those less than the position number, but that doesn't seem logical to me.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Proof from: Mike Spivey (https://math.stackexchange.com/users/2370/mike-spivey), I have a problem understanding the proof of Rencontres numbers (Derangements), URL (version: 2012-08-28): https://math.stackexchange.com/q/83433

I think an easier-to-understand proof would be:

*

*we have $n - 1$ options to place $n$

*It suffices to count the number of derangements, such that $j_{n-1} = n$ (one fixed number) and multiply this by $(n - 1)$ to get $D_n$
If the number $n - 1$ appears in the last position ($j_n = n - 1$), then - as above - $(j_1, \dots, j_{n - 2})$ is any of the $D_{n-2}$ derangements
If the number $n - 1$ is among the first $n - 2$ numbers, then $(j_1, \dots, j_{n -2}, j_n)$ is any of the $D_{n - 1}$ derangements.
