Juk-Chang’s Reckoning
Episode 10 of The Devil Judge begins with Ga-On and Yo-Han back at the mansion. They’ve dealt with Young-Choon, leaving him to contemplate his actions after the fire. With one down, and the whole Foundation to go, Yo-Han and Ga-On watch as President Heo takes to the screens. He implores the public to check out Seo’s book, specifically pointing out young people and how they should engage in a patriotic society. This gets Yo-Han thinking, as he topples his house of cards (quite literally given what he’s built in his office) and reflects on how to take down the Foundation. That’s easier said than done though. Well, the Foundation themselves joke about rounding up poor people and throwing them all in jail, starting up a reality show called “Clean Korea”. It’s yet another example of the despicable nature of these rich elite. They’re also turning a blind eye to the current wave of violence sweeping across Korea too, as foreigners are beaten down thanks to Heo’s venomous rapport on-air. Commentators on YouTube (I’m guessing it’s YouTube anyway from the way it’s shown on-screen) start to agree with this violence. The ringleader here seems to be Juk Chang too, who’s operating remotely now. Yo-Han and Ga-On decide he should be their next target to go on a live trial. Given the police are working with him though, that’s easier said than done. Their trump card though is Soo-Hyun, who’s obviously just and won’t be swayed – so that could give them a good angle. Thanks to Elijah’s hacking abilities, they get a lock on a location which sends Soo-Hyun off to investigate with Ga-On. When they reach the Real Estate building, the pair snap photos and – thanks to Elijah’s influence – get the place opened up. At the same time, Kyung-Hee arrives at Sun-A’s and warns her, in no uncertain terms. She mentions Seo’s death and the smell of blood surrounding her. This is, of course, pointing out that she knows Seo has been murdered. Getting nowhere with Sun-A, Kyung-Hee instead decides to set up a dinner meeting with Yo-Han. That way she can try and get more dirt on Sun-A. Well, Yo-Han is currently indisposed, as he shows up at Juk-Chang’s hideout. With all the thugs arriving too, a big brawl takes place which sees Juk-Chang trying in vain to escape. It’s Soo-Hyun who stops him though, hitting him with a stiff kick to the face before arresting the man. While the court is given a green light, President Heo holds another press conference and continues to spew utter nonsense. (It’s not entirely though, he’s just very good at saying a little with a lot of words.) With the live trial ready to go ahead, Sun-A questions Yo-Han’s motives. Specifically she brings up his desire to reel Juk-Chang into this, given his connections to Joong-Se. Despite her cool demeanour, when he mentions her being a maid previously Sun-A snaps. She grabs Yo-Han by the scruff of the neck and demands he never mention this again. It’s certainly a touchy subject for her! Anyway, the court trial does finally begin and it’s conducted behind closed doors. Juk Chang gives an impassioned plea about how foreigners are “mongrels” and taking away jobs from Koreans. He speaks of a singled, pure race in a pretty chilling statement that echoes wisps of 1940. The lawyers there manage to grab footage from different people in Juk Chang’s past to swing things back in their favour. The court also bring up Juk Chang’s finances too, and how he’s gained a substantial amount of money. In fact, Juk Chang even used his Grandmother’s funeral funds to send donations to a girl online. As punishment’s for his actions, Juk-Chang is forced to wear an electronic anklet so everyone knows where he is. The entire nation is now going to be able to trace him while he’s out on probation. While Juk-Chang finds himself a victim of his own violent racist behaviour, President Heo takes to the TV and tells the nation this isn’t fair and that it’s conspiracy. That evening, Kyung-Hee heads over to visit Sun-A. She challenges the latter, pointing out all the people who have died in her past. It’s another tense encounter between the pair, one that’s followed up by Kyung-Hee scoffing and calling Sun-A a lowlife. She knows the girl used to be a servant and it completely riles her up. Sun-A loss control and vows to go after Yo-Han and get revenge.
The Episode Review
The Devil Judge returns with a decent follow-up to yesterday’s episode, one that sees Yo-Han make his move while Kyung-Hee finds out about Sun-A’s past.. She’s no longer as protected as she once was, and that’s undoubtedly going to cause major headaches for our characters going forward. The Juk Chang court trial is a nice inclusion, although there wasn’t much in the way of public opinion and swaying in this case, which is disappointing. This does sort of go against the whole purpose of the court trial itself but I guess that’s the point here. Either way, Juk Chang gets his punishment but in truth it’s a pretty harsh one and something that challenges the whole idea of trial and punishment – a recurring theme throughout this series. Either way, the ending to this episode comes to a close with a tantalizing prospect of what could be ready for next week’s double bill.
