The Judge from Hell (2024)

Haters Be Damned.. Love.. Justice.. And a Touch of Chaos in The Judge From Hell..

Such a horrible drama.. Bad CGI.. Poor acting.. Bad Ending.. What was that all about?? 5 /10 for me..

If you have heard or read comments like this.. Don’t be too quick to believe them.. Trust me.. This show has so much more to offer.. From the unique storyline to the carefully crafted characters.. Every episode brought something memorable which i wouldnt want to miss..

The drama started off strong.. But ep 2 is where I got completely hooked.. The abuser getting to experience his sins and the pain he was in before his death brought total satisfaction.. This is the kind of intense and unapologetic justice you rarely see in Kdramas... And that ending?? When she stabbed the ML.. Just made it more interesting.. How on earth are they going to go from this to being in love?? Well.. They were in love and more than that by the end of the drama.. This isn’t just the usual Enemies to Lovers trope.. This is something even darker and more intriguing.. Killer to Lovers?? Forbidden Love trope??

Seeing her thrash those culprits was so satisfying.. Easily one of my favorite parts of the drama.. Its not often that a show gives us such visceral justice.. And I honestly couldn’t get enough..

I read people complain about the lack of romance in the first half.. But honestly the chemistry was there all along.. Romance isn’t just about kissing scenes and physical intimacy.. It’s also about those micro moments.. From her smirk in the courtroom when she saw him smiling to her disappointment when he didnt trust her.. She was clearly drawn to him even before she understood her feelings.. She was in love long before she realized it herself.. She literally needed a psychiatrist to point it out..
She is a demon who dont know what love is.. But she was quick to clash with anyone who stood against the ML.. If that’s not love then what is??

When the detective went missing.. What surprised me was how casually her abduction was handled.. Even Han Da On didn't seem interested in doing anything.. I understand his reasons but it felt off.. She had disappeared from a dangerous situation.. She was like a mother figure to him.. He should have been searching for her like crazy.. But he didnt and he didn’t even ask Bit Na for help..

I despised the A Rong/Gremory character from the start and just wanted her to die as each episode passed.. I don't know why.. But she really got on my nerves.. However I have to admit she made up for her mistakes later on.. Really loved Man Do.. He was fun to watch..

I read some complaints about the CGI.. While I wouldn’t call it top notch.. I would rate it a solid 8 out of 10.. Most scenes were well done.. Except for a few scenes involving water..

Justitia went from killing him in ep 2 to going on to say:

" I wanted to kill everyone who made you cry..
And I wanted to make you happy so u never have to cry anymore.. "

And she went from calling kissing scenes in dramas filth to asking him to kiss her more.. That transformation was so much fun to watch..

Now.. The whole drama was a masterpiece.. But the ending.. Ending felt lacking.. She has 3 years left in earth but she chose to stay as a Judge that too far from the person she loves.. With whom she wanted to make memories which she could remember for eons?? And he didn't consider transferring to her city or taking a break?? He can work all he wants after she disappears right?? The logic was quite lacking considering what they both went through to reach where they are and the fact that they don't have a future together.. It was such a vague ending.. If they confirm a second season then all good.. Otherwise the ending is really lacking for me..

PSH really outperformed everyone.. Well there was no one as good as her here.. But she was really good.. She is one of the most convincing reason for the drama's success.. Kim Jae Young did a good job as well.. I hope this drama gives him the recognition he deserves and gets more opportunities..

Overall.. The Judge From Hell has amazing actors.. Great chemistry.. But the interaction between Da on & bitna in the first 8 episodes was truly spectacular.. Just stood out for me.. They were the opposite ends of the same coin.. The plot of Da On chasing her was absolutely exhilarating to watch.. The first 9-10 episodes is the reason why this garnered so much attention..

P.S. I find the subtitles for most dramas frustrating.. They often fail to provide accurate translations.. Missing key moments and not capturing the intended emotions.. Thankfully I understand a bit of Korean.. So I can pick up on what they really mean.. But I cant help but think that most people are missing out on the essence because of the terrible translations.. Its a bit annoying honestly..

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Mind-blowing Drama

I can’t believe we’ve already reached the end. This drama has brought me so much joy over the past few weeks. Every episode literally kept me on the edge of my seat! The director did an amazing job, creating an atmosphere that pulled the audience in completely. The actors gave outstanding performances, bringing each character to life and making every moment unforgettable. Even all the side characters had their moments to shine and connect with the audience. From the cleaning team to the police officers. They’re not just background characters and do contribute to the plot. I’m truly going to miss everything about this show, and I’m sure it will be remembered for a long time to come.

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This might be the best kdrama of 2024 for me.

just 4 episodes out but i think this drama is gonna be my favourite from 2024 (sorry to qot fans). Park Shin Hye was my first favourite Korean actress maybe because i started my kdramas journey with most dramas where she played the lead but after memories of alhambra, i lost interest in her dramas but i am surprised with this one. I have missed just two of her dramas but i could say i've never seen her with this much of jolly or funny-going expressions in her previous dramas. The drama is worth watching people. Also i feel like the main character's character is highly inspired from the main character's character from Hotel Del Luna, not that i am complaining.

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Best Show to end 2024 with!!

I was so excited for this show when i heard Kim Jaeyoung will finally get the main lead role and obviously i also really like Park Shinhye.

Then the show finally came out and boy it delivered. The whole plot, the cast, the supernatural magic, the chemistry between the leads, the short cute romance, the friendships and families shown, everything was perfection!! Especially especially ofcource the happy ending:)

Boy is Jaeyoung handsome as hell and so talented. Idky why it took so long to give him a lead role but hopefully people will notice his talent now.
And Shinhye omg she slayed her outfits and her expressions. Absolutely love them.

On a side note ofcource the show was a v serious one too with brutal things and killings and what not so it's not for the weak hearted i guess or you could just skip those scenes heheh. The best parts were when Kang Bitna always delivered justice:')

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One HELL of a ride!

I think this was the single most consistently entertaining public TV k-drama to come out this year, no cap. I got so used to getting disappointed with kdramas after a particular number of eps that I was all READY for this to fall apart too... but guess what? This was pure fun. There was EVERYTHING-- a kickass fun FL, witty humor, role-reversal romance (I've been waiting for something like this!), fast-paced action, gore, and TONS of outfit changes!!!

Firstly, miss Park Shin Hye CAME THROUGH and carried the drama on her shoulders. She finally escaped the typecasting hell after almost 20 years of her acting career and I couldn't be more happy for her lmao. I could watch her play the role of Kang Bit Na/Justitia for another 10 episodes easy because she was just THAT good. Kim Jae Young, on the other hand, was HOT and adorable. That man could just stand in one spot with his luscious hair and I'd still clap.

So yeah, this might be the BEST (public tv) kdrama to come out this year, because I highly doubt anything will surpass it in quality within these remaining 2 months.

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Not all Kdrama require Romance

This one started great, but I was disappointed after they tried to make Justitia human. I have seen no reason for Justitia to fall in love with Han Da-on. It felt very forced, and I felt zero chemistry between FL and ML. Justitia is introduced as a cruel and ruthless demon judge from Hell. But all of a sudden, with no actual reason, she starts loving a Human. It didn't fit well with her character at all. It would have been far better just not to include romance in this series. The main villains were so predictable from the beginning, and the way that female police officer went after a cruel serial all alone is the stupidest thing I have seen in any Kdrama, but since it's needed for the weak plot, so I guess many such things should be ignored. Park Shin Hye has improved a lot in her acting I liked how she portrayed her character cant say the same for Kim Jae-young though. I absolutely loved the side characters. They felt like the life of this story.

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UPDATE: Started strong, but fizzled out.

Original review after 4 episodes: I wish Disney listed it as ongoing. At least where I am however many episodes are up, look like they that's all there is. I thought it was complete and watched the four released episodes in a night and was left so mad at myself, because I wanted more. And now I have to wait until November to see it all play out. ?

Honestly though, it is good. The main female character reminds me of Sim Eun-Seok from Juvenille Justice or Koo Ryeon from Tomorrow, but at an unhinged level. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about how it would be. I hadn't thought much of Park Shin-Hye as an actress. It isn't that I thought she was bad, it just didn't seem like she had a lot of range based on what I'd seen her in. Apparently that was the writing or direction, because she has shown much more range in these first four episodes than I can really recall from most of the dramas I'd seen her in previously.

I can't wait to see where this goes. I do worry a littttle bit that it might try to do too much. Like I see threads for different plots it could follow popping up and like...if it tries to grab all of them I think it will end up more a knot than a braid. Not my best metaphor, but my point still stands.

Side note, I do feel like spider guy should cut her a little slack. I mean, the guy confessed to killing three people. How was she supposed to know that was more of a childhood guilt thing than an actual confession? She's not psychic, she's just a demon sent to torture and kill murderers and there was a guy in front of her telling her he was a murderer.
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UPDATE: after the first like 7 episodes of supernatural revenge it fizzled out into a forced romance. Whole subplots seemed like they were dropped and the world building was lacking.

A-rong's whole purpose of being a demon punishing demons who fall in love came up once when she killed that random demon from the demon support group. But the group never comes back and her purpose quickly fades to the background in favor of the romance. She went from having her own purpose to apparently just tagging along as Justitia's underling. Man-do's whole thing about him attending church was never expanded on. A high-level angel who apparently was able to just peace out on his heavenly responsibilities to babysit a detective, though mainly in the form of vague warnings. The ultimate evil was scrunched pretty easily once they tracked him down. Honestly, her peer and co-second-to-Bael seemed more threatening than Lucifer in the end. Bael's character confused me entirely since it seemed like he wanted her to fail. I thought it would end up being the big twist/villain situation (since Lucifer was a little underwhelming) that Bael set her up because he was her worried her "I'm the demon of all demons" attitude meant she might try to challenge him and he wanted to basically smack her down before she rebelled. But, no it kind of went nowhere and ended with him being like "I'm glad you're my successor and would be disappointed to lose you". Her being a serial killer leaving bodies of criminals the justice system didn't punish branded with "hell" just kind of get dropped from the plot.

I liked the parts where she made the killers suffer the same fates as their victims. It was not only kind of satisfying (though I personally liked the psychological aspect of them having to feel what their victims did more than the just-straight-beating them up), especially the stalker who almost drove his ex to take her own life, but it really showed off how talented an actress she is when given the right scene. Honestly, I would have preferred to drop the romance and have it be more like Youth Justice where each episode is a different case and then her balancing being a human judge and demon judge to give them justice. Maybe still keep her paired up with a detective to balance the justice vs. vengeance aspect.

As for the romance...I mean, I don't get it. He was drawn to her first from their first trial but then was pretty quickly against her and only following her in the hopes of taking her down and proving her a killer. He wasn't even like trying to be nice to get the information, he made his suspicion 100% clear. He also accused her of killing the other demon after she had basically stepped in to save his life from being killed by that demon. And lectures her about like "oh, just 'cause you're a demon, you think you get to demon things". So, other than his looks, I'm not sure what she saw in him to become so obsessed with him that she was basically ready to risk everything to keep him around. And then he goes from being all "killing killers is bad and makes you bad" to "kill this killer for me" in less than 24 hours. And he then transitioned from capable cop a bit over his head in a supernatural situation to just kind of being a damsel in distress.

I feel like it tried to so much from the start and then had to let things go. Like, if they dropped the whole Lucifer thing and all the moments of Man-do going to church, that would have given them time to establish the romance more.

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This is a rant and reason why I would never recommend this show!

I don't get the hype of this show! I watched the show while it was ongoing and sure for the first 4-5 episodes it was quite interesting but boy after that it was a painful watch till the end!.. The story seemed all over the place, the characters and their intentions did not make any sense and the romance angle was totally unnecessary and forced. There was no explanation as to what happened to the real Kang bin na as in the first episode they said that she was a lost soul and was wrongly sent to the hell..so what happened to her later on we don't know!! The Villains of the first 4 episode were interesting to watch and felt way more real and wicked than the main villains who were fought of way more quickly and easily.. Also I did not get why they had so many side characters (the people of the building), who were quite honestly irritating to watch and the angel was also unnecessary to the story.

Most of all, I was irritated by the fact that they saw/judged supernatural entities through the scale of human morals. I mean why was the ML angry at kang bin na when he knows she is The Devil! It's her Job to put bad guys away..why do he want to punish her for killing the bad guys and the hypocrisy of the ML that the minute he was the one who suffered a loss and needed her suddenly he was ready to understand everything she did??

In all I felt the plot had a lot of potential but they wasted it!.. The characters were not at all reasonable (including KBN love for HDE), side characters were not fun to watch and the plot and dialogus felt very obvious and robotic, there was no feelings and felt no emotion for the characters what so ever (they tried to make most of the characters pitiable)!...

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Drama do ano? Definitivamente merece uma posição.

É extremamente raro terminar um drama e pensar que ele merece 10 mas aqui não tem dúvidas que é merecido! Do começo ao fim conseguiram equilibrar todos os elementos possíveis com uma qualidade surpreendente, tivemos osts, comédia, romance, atuação surreal dos criminosos,vinganças saborosas, efeitos especiais incríveis e um casal com uma química transbordante. Não teve um momento que eu senti a história ficar chata ou enrolada. E é tão bom ver uma fantasia de novo pq é complicado a Coreia investir nesse gênero atualmente e com uma qualidade assim vai ser mais impossível ainda. E ainda teve a surpresa desse beijo final aí pq desde do começo não tava esperando que o romance fosse aprofundado e ganhei um banquete! A atuação da Shin Hye merece ser mencionada pq simplesmente ela brilhou como a Juíza do inferno.

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It's kind of bad, but not the worst.

The only overwhelmingly positive part of this drama is the FL's fun characterization, which Park Shin Hye clearly had a blast bringing to life. In the early episodes this was enough to carry the show, but as the episodes went by the increasingly declining plot with all the asspulls & absolutely insane sequence of events made it very difficult for me to keep enjoying the drama.
Boredom is also a problem, I for one did not enjoy that every other episode had 10 minutes worth of torture scenes/fillers. All the procedural parts were on the boring side as well.

There is not that much romance in this show, but what there is it's really not working for me, the chemistry is not there & the whole romantic plot feels incredibly forced.

As I said before the plot is crazy, but it's not like they suddenly piss off the viewers with something really annoying, it's more of a perpetual eye rolling situation.

As for why is a show that's just barely hitting mediocre so successful? I think similar to Squid Game the audience that is normally watching regular kdramas found all the action scenes & bloodletting a new-ish experience that's still different -in my mind far worse- than now aging American shows of this type. -\_(ツ)_/¯

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