The Devil Judge / Devilish Judge 악마판사 [2021]

[im0202]

Ok tving just re-revealed the text preview for Ep 16 lol... it’s the same exact content @mademoiselle 😂

I’m gonna cross my fingers and hope for the best for the finale episode tomorrow. 
 

Ga-on’s final line in Ep 15 when he said

Spoiler

“In this moment, I decided to die.”

 

The korean comments on the video were like ‘please don’t die yet, fix the mess first / take responsibility for your actions’ hahaha

I fully agree Ga-on you need to fix everything!!

 

Maybe he will go back to Yo-han’s side again in last episode since he likes to change sides so much 

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by im0202

[mademoiselle]

@im0202 So silly. They should have just left the preview text then. It's not like fans are not quick to share it online. Plus we're experienced enough to know when the preview text said so, it's not gonna be true!

 

Ga On has to go back to Yo Han's side coz we want a happy family scene again, don't we? Or I guess, to fix this mess, he will die for Yo Han and Elijah. But it's just gonna be so sad for Yo Han and Elijah if he dies because he (and his face) meant so much to them.

[mademoiselle]

Atta Sun Ah!!!

 

[Chocolate]

12 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Ga On has to go back to Yo Han's side coz we want a happy family scene again, don't we? Or I guess, to fix this mess, he will die for Yo Han and Elijah. But it's just gonna be so sad for Yo Han and Elijah if he dies because he (and his face) meant so much to them.

Ga On is an IDIOT!!! No happy family for him!

On the side, you’ve got to give it to the chap who plays the President. Who else could play it like him - a brainless sniveling brat.

 

[im0202]

11 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

Atta Sun Ah!!!

This is one example where .gif is lacking. I NEED THE SOUND!! With sound it's 1000x better 

Just watched the episode with subs and I admit I replayed the slap LOL

 

@abs-oluteM One more for the crack ship...

It seems Sun-ah really tried her best to keep Yohan away from harm (i.e. prison). When she shed tears she really made me confused cos she seemed really sincere but by the end of the episode it went back to the ship explosion gif you posted before lol

 

2 minutes ago, Chocolate said:

Ga On is an IDIOT!!! No happy family for him!

He's so easily manipulated that it's hard to feel sorry for him indeed. I'm not hating on the character, just finding it difficult to root for him in any way.

BTW, biggest plot twist would be Kang Yo-han becoming President (I can't see it happening though). But 

 

[Chocolate]

15 minutes ago, im0202 said:

He's so easily manipulated that it's hard to feel sorry for him indeed. I'm not hating on the character, just finding it difficult to root for him in any way.

I hope he is not going to be the one riding in to save the day. He doesn’t deserve to be the hero 😭

 

Whole episode I was going “where’s your brain where’s your brain???”

 

I am so traumatised that I’d rather see FMVs of the crack ship!
 

So since the fire was an accident, what was Yo Han’s reason for going after the SRF group? Was it really just social justice?

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Chocolate

[im0202]

6 minutes ago, Chocolate said:

I hope he is not going to be the one riding in to save the day. He doesn’t deserve to be the hero 😭

Ugh this does sound... annoying lol. But I do want to see Ga-on redeem himself by acting on his own accord for once, without being manipulated by others. After screwing things up so much, it's high time he fixed the mess he had a hand in creating. 

 

9 minutes ago, Chocolate said:

So since the fire was an accident, what was Yo Han’s reason for going after the SRF group? Was it really just social justice?

Although the fire was an accident, Yo-han did witness the ugly side of the SRF members while they were trying to escape the fire. And plus how they behaved when they visited him in the hospital.

[Chocolate]

Uhm, can I ask where do you watch the drama live? Think I won’t be able to wait for subs tonight.

[im0202]

@Chocolate I’ve DMed you ^^
 

@abs-oluteM I got off the crack ship (I think)...

Now my only ship is uncle-niece Yohan & Elijah. They deserve some happiness

 

Good summary of Ep 15:

 

[Chocolate]

 

3 Moments From Episodes 13-14 Of “The Devil Judge” Where The Writing Shone And 2 Moments Where It Faltered

Aug 21, 2021 by shalini

 

It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end. After last week’s cliffhanger, “The Devil Judge” takes no time in getting right back up and gunning for the finish line. But the chips are starting to fall in strange directions, and our beloved characters have never been so fractured. Here’s everything we loved and hated about this week’s episodes!

 

Warning: spoilers for episodes 13-14 below.

1. Bad writing: Soo Hyun

Spoiler

dingyuxi

 

Soo Hyun (Park Gyu Young) as a character has been colossally underwhelming from the very beginning. We know she’s in love with Ga On (GOT7’s Jinyoung) and that she’s a police officer with a very black-and-white idea of right and wrong. That’s it. That’s all we know.

 

kittychicha

 

What are her interests outside of Ga On? We don’t know. What’s her family life like? Does she have any personality beyond being unreasonably angry with Yo Han (Ji Sung) and fawning over Ga On? We don’t know. So when this show rapidly shoehorns a romance, which suddenly culminates in a kiss followed by Soo Hyun dying 30 minutes later, it’s hard to feel anything beyond bewilderment. Why is she being killed off to further Ga On’s character development? Was that her purpose all long?

 

tiesanjiao

 

This is such wasted potential. This romance could have been built up so much better or could have been removed altogether (men and women can be just friends!). The same Ga On who disregarded Soo Hyun’s words and strangled Doh Young Choon (Jung Eun Pyo) in front of his wife and daughter suddenly cares a whole ton about what Soo Hyun would think? The same Ga On who still hasn’t told Soo Hyun the truth of how Doh Young Choon was arrested wants to have an open and honest relationship with her? Really?

 

Even worse, Soo Hyun died pitifully as a consequence of her own decisions (which have always been questionable). Who goes to a dangerous crime scene to visit their boyfriend? Maybe just call him? And the cherry on top is that she died without ever telling Ga On the truth that Yo Han called her to rescue him. She just ended up looking pathetic, lying to Ga On like that.

And yet, it’s not that this show hates women, by any means, because look at how wonderfully-written our Oh Jin Joo (Kim Jae Kyung) is.

 

2. Great writing: Jin Joo

Spoiler

Jin Joo takes her first foray into the world of the elite and quickly realizes two things: that the men will never let her stand at the top, and that she’s made a huge mistake.

 

tichawongtipkanon

 

What’s so wonderful and refreshing about Jin Joo is that she doesn’t take matters at face value. She finds out the truth for herself. Ga On, Soo Hyun, and Min Jung Ho (Ahn Nae Sang) all need to watch and learn. Upon hearing that the virus containment efforts aren’t what they seem, she immediately rushes over to the slums and watches in utter horror at what she unwittingly helped unleash. It’s even more horrifying that her own voice plays over in the background.

 

tichawongtipkanon

 

Jin Joo immediately pivots upon realizing that she was wrong and joins Yo Han in fighting against the elite. She’s intelligent and successfully fools the elite all by herself! Yo Han should have chosen her instead of Ga On. This is great writing, giving us a layered character whom we’ve seen in the background fight her way to becoming a main player. She’s made mistakes but admits to them and gets to where she wants on her own feet — no man included. And she isn’t the only amazing woman we have.

 

3. Amazing writing: Sun Ah

Spoiler

tichawongtipkanon

 

We still have some squandered potential here in terms of a great womance between Sun Ah (Kim Min Jung) and Jin Joo (they flirted so much at the start of the show!), but what’s quite interesting is that their character arcs mirror each other this week.

 

kimgoeun

 

Sun Ah makes the same realization as Jin Joo, albeit much later. Steeped in blood and corruption, she’s long gotten used to the nature of the game. But when Heo Joong Se (Baek Hyun Jin) mentions purposefully infecting the poor with the virus, some long-buried part of Sun Ah (that remembers the agony of being poor) stirs to life. She can’t hide her anger and distaste. However, while Jin Joo rights her wrongs, Sun Ah digs in deeper because she doesn’t know where else to go from here. It’s so sad watching her realize that she’s become a monster, hurting girls just like the girl she used to be. But not knowing any way out, she resolves to climb even higher.

 

kimgoeun

 

kimgoeun

 

It’s hard not to feel sorry for her, while finding her actions reprehensible. And that’s fantastic writing, giving us a layered female villain who’s easy to love, understand, and hate. Her actions may not always be palatable, but what’s important is that there is a basis for those actions. They don’t just come out of nowhere. On the other hand, Ga On’s actions continuously do.

 

4. What-on-earth-is-happening writing: Ga On

Spoiler

“Beyond Evil,” one of the best shows of this year, was a superlative showcase of the enemies-to-partners-to-I’d-die-for-you trope. What made it so compelling was the initial suspicion and friction between the two leads, which then built into a deep trust and acceptance as they understood each other’s philosophies.

 

dramaism

 

As Ga On lived with Yo Han, he saw who the man truly was and started to warm up to him, change him, and help him. It appeared that the show was heading into “Beyond Evil” territory with a terrific bond between the leads. Then, this suddenly vanished. We got a random romance, and the show jumped between serious scenes of a wounded Yo Han doing actually important things like planning to take down the elite, while Ga On and Soo Hyun played a game of puppy love, ignoring the world burning around them. It felt like whiplash.

 

What has become sadly evident is that Ga On takes more than he gives. He uses Yo Han whenever he wants revenge. He runs to Yo Han screaming that they should do something about the Foundation dragging people away, when he was the one who left in the first place. He asks Yo Han for help in catching Soo Hyun’s killer. And every single time things get tough, Ga On runs away.

 

dramaism

 

dramaism

 

This concern is touching, but where does it stem from? A desire to live up to Soo Hyun’s terrible philosophy? Or is Ga On trying to stop Yo Han from getting more blood on his hands? All we see is that the Ga On who begged Yo Han for help becomes a hypocrite, exposing the live court show as a scam, using all the good Yo Han did and throwing it in his face. It’s betrayal at a horrific scale, because Ga On has apparently chosen a side at last, and it is the side of the oppressor. In attacking Yo Han, he’s taking down the one person who wanted to fight the elites. Therefore, Ga On seems to have sided with the elite. (Unless this is all part of a plan?)

 

If this is not a plan and is truly Ga On’s decision, the show’s tagline that Ga On represents hope rings more false than ever. Yo Han’s brand of justice is to open people’s eyes to the hell on earth and give them the agency to make their own decisions no matter how ugly justice is. The side Ga On chose is to cover people’s eyes so that no one sees how ugly justice is. That isn’t hope; it’s fanatic belief in a dead system. Yo Han understands that in a society, people cannot sentence others for their crimes and pretend they don’t have blood on their hands. There is no real difference between people voting for Kim Choong Sik (Lee Hae Woon) to die, versus them killing the man himself. The distinction Ga On is trying so hard to find is an artificial one.

 

dramaism

 

Ga On (like Soo Hyun and Min Jung Ho) does not seem to respect agency. He blames Yo Han for expecting that someone would die during their live broadcast on the scene of the forced removals of the poor. But the old man who died had a choice. He didn’t have to fight for Yo Han, but he did because he wanted to. Yo Han couldn’t have stopped him even if he wanted to. Yo Han understands that people make choices, and sometimes those are bad choices. He’ll manipulate their choices but never take them away.

 

 

If the drama had posited Ga On as finding his own path, not Soo Hyun and Min Jung Ho’s black-and-white nonsense and not Yo Han’s gray road, then this would have been excellent writing. But Ga On apparently just goes straight back to black and white, despite knowing it doesn’t work. It makes no sense (again, unless this is part of a plan!). And thus, we’re stuck with Ga On hating Yo Han part 500. Poor Yo Han.

 

5. Amazing writing: Yo Han

Spoiler

belsmultifandommess

 

The most compelling character in this show remains our titular devil judge. Yo Han goes through hell and back this week. He always does! First up, there’s the death of his right-hand man, K (Lee Ki Taek). It’s horribly sad watching Yo Han mourn his partner of so many years, while sitting beside him thinking that he’ll follow him into death.

 

zhouxus

 

zhouxus

 

Only, Yo Han doesn’t get that break. He’s rescued, injured, and has to deal with Sun Ah threatening Elijah (Jeon Chae Eun), Heo Joong Se disbanding the live court, and the threatening and kidnapping of his partners in fighting the elite.

 

belsmultifandommess

 

And finally Yo Han hits his limit in a country gone mad. He could walk away and let it all burn, but Yo Han has never been that way. Yet, he can’t fight without innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. So finally, bitterly, Yo Han breaks his promise to Isaac. It remains a stretch to say that the old man’s death was Yo Han’s fault, but there’s no denying that he feels responsible for it. But what’s important is that despite all his lip service, he still believes that they are innocent people, or he wouldn’t be upset at having to break his promise. His eyes as he gazes down at the citizens fighting Kim Choong Sik and crew are those of a man moved by their perseverance. Yo Han is no devil.

 

He tries in his own stilted way to comfort Ga On.

 

mymycorrhizae

 

mymycorrhizae

 

But Yo Han pulling out the death penalty frightens Ga On and Jin Joo. If there’s anything this week’s episodes proved, it’s that Yo Han doesn’t have a choice. So, it’s difficult to watch everyone blaming him, acting like he hurts people because he wants to. It feels like Yo Han has borne everyone’s unreasonable anger for so long. The show should be called “Everyone Hates Yo Han.” And the guy’s a walking marshmallow. Oof. 

 

mymycorrhizae

 

This isn’t to excuse Yo Han’s actions of having a man electrocuted to death on television. But the question is whether it’s better for Yo Han to just do nothing and let people get dragged away by the Foundation, or to use the death of a radicalized young man as springboard to take down the elite (there’s some brilliant commentary in this show on how young men are radicalized and thrown away by political leaders here).

 

And to top it all off, Ga On has betrayed Yo Han. It’s amazing the man doesn’t explode then and there!

 

belsmultifandommess

 

Now, it appears that the show is hinting toward Yo Han having been involved in Isaac’s death, raising the question of whether character assassination is in the cards for Yo Han. Everyone’s suspected him for so long, could the show be trying to manufacture an “aha” moment by saying that Soo Hyun and Jung Ho were right all along? If so, that is character assassination (if anything Min Jung Ho seems super suspicious). We’ve seen Yo Han lovingly cherish Isaac’s bracelet, grieve over Isaac, and have nightmares about him. Even Yo Han’s current goals of vengeance are based around that church fire. To suddenly flip and say that Yo Han caused the fire, and therefore all that hatred was justified, raises the question as to what this show is trying to say about people like Yo Han. That people who fight for justice using morally gray means deserve hatred? That they’re “devils”?

 

liveasbutterflies

 

With the finale rapidly approaching, and Ga On flip-flopping for the 800th time, the question arises as to what this drama really wants to say about justice. Is it that Ga On is right, and good and evil are black and white? Or is it that Yo Han is right, and there is no such thing as good and evil but varied shades of gray? One can only hope that the show goes with the second answer; the former is too unrealistic to stomach. Or perhaps there’s a third path? We can only wait and see.

Source

 

[im0202]

New stills:

Argh tvN is so evil, nothing on Yohan 

[mademoiselle]

Episode 15

Sun Ah played by Kim Min Jung is so awesome. Hahahaha. I'm laughing after writing this remembering @Chocolate's reaction to her in the beginning. Have your opinion changed since then?

 

I love the portrayal. In the midst of everything, she still wants Yo Han on her side and tries hard for it. She keeps getting rejected and hurt from it. Since she can't have Yo Han, she'll destroy him. I can't say I understand her fully but I just love her sass. Did anyone notice she herself was barely able to stand upright without holding onto the wall behind her when Yo Han was taken away?

 

By the way, I really want to "refuse" to believe Sun Ah got the bigger brain but if her plan was hatched so earlier on (bribed Professor Min and planted Ga On), then she is smarter than Yo Han to date. How can Yo Han, being so smart as he is, not suspect all of this? We know he investigated Ga On and Sun Ah and did all that not show? Did he undereastimated her all this time, perhaps overly confident?

 

Did anyone keep a score between Sun Ah vs Yo Han's battle of wits? Sun Ah is leading the score board by at least 2-3 points, I reckon! Obviously I'm looking forward to see how Sun Ah's Master Yo Han can turn this around. I love how she calls him Master. He seems to have a plan hatched himself, waiting for the right opportunity to become the Opposition party's leader and run for President. Perhaps the preview text of his death is part of the plan because his death news will cause the wrath of the people.

 

My boss sometimes refer office politics as playing chess. Watching Yo Han and Sun Ah is like watching them play chess. It's kinda thrilling and strangely satisfying to see Ga On crumble realising he's that planted chess piece from Sun Ah and Professor Min is the spy (so-to-speak). At this point, I don't mind him dying to rescue Yo Han while undoing the wrong he did. To be honest I keep entertaining the idea of Ga On's death since last week. Soo Hyun was his world so it felt right that he dies since his world no longer exist. But then I didn't want him to die because of Yo Han and Elijah. Perhaps with Ga On's death, he can free Yo Han and Elijah from their guilt.

 

I hate how easily he's being manipulated in this epsiode. However I also understand why he's become so vulnerable. As Yo Han pointed it out, he's hurting and his judgement had become clouded since Cha Kyung Hee's death. His intention really was to stop Yo Han executing the death penalty and didn't want Yo Han to go on the wrong path. I honestly was quite surprised Yo Han hadn't anticipated his grand plan may not be "death free" as he pushes the SRF into a corner. It'd be naive to think no one would be hurt from doing something so dangerous. It has been a while that I find the execution of his plan/actions (by the story) reckless. It has been how many episodes ago that Sun Ah's lackey had already seen him and the dead lackey meet up and they seem so oblivious or unconcern to the end. He himself was kidnapped and then again has a knife to his neck by Sun Ah. Sun Ah could have killed him many times if she really wants to. In this perspective, Vincenzo had the better upperhand because the villains genuinely fear him/his Cassano reputation.

 

The seed of doubt sprouted in Ga On's mind since Cha Kyung Hee's death and gotta give it to Professor Min. He was the respectful and trust-worthy adult/parent since Ga On's troubled youth to adulthood. His words and opinions would of course weigh in on Ga On. Not to mention Professor Min knows Ga On's weakness is Soo Hyun. Since Soo Hyun's death, he keeps planting more doubts into Ga On using Soo Hyun. It didn't help that Yo Han himself had been concealing things from Ga On and he too showed unwillingness of Soo Hyun's involvement with Ga On.

 

Now, will Yo Han uses his weakness i.e., Ga On as strength in the finale and beat Sun Ah in chess? Is Ga On a pawn or the Knight in disguise? Hahahaha feels like @Chocolate will stone me for calling Ga On a Knight. xPPPP I talk like as if I know Chess but I truly don't. xD Do you know where to watch it live yet?

 

E16 Pre-release cut

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by mademoiselle

[im0202]

4 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

Sun Ah played by Kim Min Jung is so awesome. Hahahaha. I'm laughing after writing this remembering @Chocolate's reaction to her in the beginning. Have your opinion changed since then?

Hahaha oh yes! I remember @Chocolate’s reaction early in the drama 😂 

Sun-ah’s character grew on me too as the drama progressed. Especially since the other SRF members were revealed to be so incompetent and a joke. Sun-ah has definitely proven herself to be a worthy adversary to Kang Yohan!

 

6 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

Did anyone keep a score between Sun Ah vs Yo Han's battle of wits?

Did not keep score but I certainly enjoyed their back and forth very much! Always look forward to every scene they share 😆

Rough translation of the pre-release cut:

E: Why did the police arrest Yohan? What in the world happened? Why aren’t you saying anything?

Don’t tell me... that it was really Yohan? The church (fire incident)? Did Yohan kill my mom and dad?

G: No, Elijah. It’s not like that. It’s all my fault. Like a fool, I was deceived by those people, and reported to the police that Yohan killed Soohyun.

E: What?

G: I’ll fix it somehow. I’ll make sure to bring Yohan back. Even if I have to exchange my life.

E: Why? Why did you do that?

G: I’m sorry, Elijah.

[Chocolate]

 

43 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

Episode 15

Sun Ah played by Kim Min Jung is so awesome. Hahahaha. I'm laughing after writing this remembering @Chocolate's reaction to her in the beginning. Have your opinion changed since then?

 

Haha, yes, I don't mind how Kim Min Jung played the role anymore. In fact, it has turned out to be quite refreshing. I think if the actress had played a villian in the usual way, it may have been more boring. I admit... I was wrong 😅

 

But I still want to see how Yo Han is going to kill her in a lonely miserable way 😂

 

Thanks. Yes I got the links from @im0202. Will watch live tonight.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Chocolate

[mademoiselle]

I wrote a word vomit above (sorry) and forgot to say the following:

 

@im0202 Did you get your hands on the full album OST?

Also, I agree. We needed the sound of the slap. I had wished she would slap him one more time. In addition, I also love these two bits:

This one needed sound too. Sun Ah's "시끄러!"

source

 

@Chocolate True she has to get her punishment for sure. We only have one episode left, I hope we have enough time to get rid of all of them although the main one is really Sun Ah and Clown.

[im0202]

1 minute ago, mademoiselle said:

Did you get your hands on the full album OST?

I managed to listen to the whole thing on Spotify yesterday 😍 Finally got the full version of the opening theme song (I Am The Abyss) and the church fire bgm (Enemy of Truth) - I think those are my faves! ‘Darkness Longing for Light’ is another good one cos it gave me goosebumps when it was used in that epic scene.

 

Sun-ah is such a lady boss. All the men are afraid of her and for good reason! 😂

Don’t worry about your word vomit, @mademoiselle! It’s fun to read everyone’s thoughts.

Anyway, back to Ep 15, realised we didn’t see Yohan’s team at all (the police guy and the lawyer). Hope they have hatched a new plan for Ep 16. I don’t have much confidence in Gaon at all 

[Chocolate]

Source: ourpinksummer

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Chocolate

[Chocolate]

 

 

[mademoiselle]

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

6 hours ago, Chocolate said:

4. What-on-earth-is-happening writing: Ga On

Exactly. What the heck was Ga On thinking? He saw with his own eyes what Sun A and gang are capable of. Has he forgotten what happened to his parents killer? I am still surprised that after all that he has seen and given his training as a judge , surely he can see whatever evidence is rather "circumstantial" ? I can accept that in the early episodes Ga On tended to be naive. Fair enough. But this is eps 15 - isn't  there this thing called growth? 

 

(Some pretty good acting there by Jin Young ...he cries quite prettily @mademoiselle...ahahah...I know you appreciate it when your oppas brood & shed tears) 

 

@im0202 I am also kissing the crack ship goodbye. It wasn't cool that she used the ultimate card on him. As I am still a bit annoyed  with Ga On, I don't care if he dies or not. Just please save YoHan! 
(but for the sake of JY's fandom, I think he better not die or there will be an uproar on twitter later.)

[mademoiselle]

How can Ji Sung still look so good with his hair down in Prison attire? 😂

 

Ga On is annoying me. He's doing useless things, taking up air time.

 

Looks like Professor Min was used too. He wasn't in on Soo Hyun's death but he seems to be still blinded and greedy for higher position (can't really understand the whole convo).

 

Ga On is asking the Lawyer for help. Are they planning to break Yo Han out of prison?

 

Aigoo. I missed the front bit. So Elijah now knows she caused the fire?

[abs-oluteM]

Ouch....

YoHan still looks handsome in jail clothes though I wanna flick the hair from his eyes! @mademoiselle

 

 

[im0202]

Just now, mademoiselle said:

Aigoo. I missed the front bit. So Elijah now knows she caused the fire?

Nope she doesn’t.

Spoiler

In Gaon’s letter written to her, he said the fire was merely an accident.

He said Yohan just didn’t deny all her accusations because even if it’s her hatred for him that fuels her, he just wants her to find a will to keep living after her parents’ death.

Brb 😭😭😭

[Chocolate]

Ga On infiltrated the facility where they kept all the residents from the slum. But all of them look weakened and lying in hospital bed. What did SFR do to them???

 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Chocolate

[mademoiselle]

But I like it. Looks sexy the hair @abs-oluteM

 

Ahhh I see. Thanks @im0202

At least Sun Ah didn't go all the way and told Elijah.

Now I have to ask you what were they doing to those people at the hospital?

----------

Clown wants to get rid of Sun Ah and Yo Han (I think).

 

The girl who helped Yo Han and was kidnapped is still alive. Ga On is trying to get her out of there. He finds an ally and she is helping him now. Not sure if she's trustworthy.