1
Jessica
Through the looking-glass
Really Strong Start, Then Drifted Into Melodramaland, But Overall A Message That Should Be Seen
STORY:
First of all, major props to the writers and director for portraying a form of rape that affects about 15-20% of women yet remains so misconstrued and misunderstood. And they didn’t just address it; they got it right: the sexism, the victim blaming, the perpetrator’s long-lasting refusal to take accountability for his actions, the university’s utter failure to protect its students in favor of saving face and appeasing those in power, and most of all—the judgment. It felt so spot on, and that was infuriating. I was glad, though, that the drama didn’t gloss over this issue, and stayed pretty true to it until the very end. This drama also takes on cyberbullying as a major theme, and I applaud it for spreading much needed awareness about these two very real issues.
However, as the drama wore on, it started to lose the strength that it possessed in the first several episodes as it dove deeper into a melodramatic mess. To begin, there are actually three rapes that occur in this show: the main one, which is a date rape, and two others that embody more traditional understandings of rape (i.e., violent stranger rapes). While I appreciated the juxtaposition of the two very different forms, at a point it just became too much. Certainly things like this happen in real life. But when you shove all of them together in just thirteen episodes (on top of other minor, yet cumulative, heavy topics), the show loses the sense of authenticity it once had and starts to feel a bit like a melodramatic, Degrassi-esque after school special. It felt as though the writers wanted to shove everything they could think of on this topic into the show, and it causes the subsequent events to lose their intended (and needed!) impact. I think with this type of story, less is definitely more, and The Judgement would have been much more powerful had it focused only on the first rape (and possibly the second). The story line with the third rape felt too rushed and didn’t add much to the story beyond shock value. I think it would have been better served in its own drama, to give it the depth and exploration it needed, especially since it concerned unique stigmas that the other two rapes didn’t have.
In addition, the story at times felt predictable, cliché. For example, I knew from the second episode who had leaked the photos and video. And, as mentioned above, there were a lot of little things that on their own weren’t necessarily over the top, but when added all together with everything else going on, it just became a bit superfluous. Again, less is more with this plot, and I wish the writers had toned it down to keep that authentic feel it held in the beginning.
As for the ending, parts of it felt realistic, other parts felt optimistic. But I will say that the very final scene imparted a sense of empowerment that I hope will serve as encouragement and guidance to those who may be in Lookkaew’s position.
ACTORS/CHARACTERS:
The main and supporting cast was fantastic and really played their parts well. I also thought that Lookkaew and Aud were very true to life; their actions seemed authentic to how people actually in those positions might act. Other characters, however, left me torn. On the one hand, many of them felt very stock-like, two dimensional, and stereotypical. As a result, their story lines felt predictable and manufactured. Their actions became expected and I wasn’t surprised by the things they did. That said, I think the strength of this drama lies in the message it sends and the awareness it brings rather than the depth or uniqueness of its characters.
OVERALL:
Parts of this drama were pretty heavy (well, one character's story line in particular) and I don’t think I’ll re-watch it for that reason. However, despite its flaws, I still thought it was a worthwhile watch (though I would not recommend this for a sad or otherwise emotionally heavy day). I’m really glad that light was shed on this issue, even if it was overshadowed at times by melodramatics, and hope to see more series treat serious issues like this in a realistic, non-romanticized way.
First of all, major props to the writers and director for portraying a form of rape that affects about 15-20% of women yet remains so misconstrued and misunderstood. And they didn’t just address it; they got it right: the sexism, the victim blaming, the perpetrator’s long-lasting refusal to take accountability for his actions, the university’s utter failure to protect its students in favor of saving face and appeasing those in power, and most of all—the judgment. It felt so spot on, and that was infuriating. I was glad, though, that the drama didn’t gloss over this issue, and stayed pretty true to it until the very end. This drama also takes on cyberbullying as a major theme, and I applaud it for spreading much needed awareness about these two very real issues.
However, as the drama wore on, it started to lose the strength that it possessed in the first several episodes as it dove deeper into a melodramatic mess. To begin, there are actually three rapes that occur in this show: the main one, which is a date rape, and two others that embody more traditional understandings of rape (i.e., violent stranger rapes). While I appreciated the juxtaposition of the two very different forms, at a point it just became too much. Certainly things like this happen in real life. But when you shove all of them together in just thirteen episodes (on top of other minor, yet cumulative, heavy topics), the show loses the sense of authenticity it once had and starts to feel a bit like a melodramatic, Degrassi-esque after school special. It felt as though the writers wanted to shove everything they could think of on this topic into the show, and it causes the subsequent events to lose their intended (and needed!) impact. I think with this type of story, less is definitely more, and The Judgement would have been much more powerful had it focused only on the first rape (and possibly the second). The story line with the third rape felt too rushed and didn’t add much to the story beyond shock value. I think it would have been better served in its own drama, to give it the depth and exploration it needed, especially since it concerned unique stigmas that the other two rapes didn’t have.
In addition, the story at times felt predictable, cliché. For example, I knew from the second episode who had leaked the photos and video. And, as mentioned above, there were a lot of little things that on their own weren’t necessarily over the top, but when added all together with everything else going on, it just became a bit superfluous. Again, less is more with this plot, and I wish the writers had toned it down to keep that authentic feel it held in the beginning.
As for the ending, parts of it felt realistic, other parts felt optimistic. But I will say that the very final scene imparted a sense of empowerment that I hope will serve as encouragement and guidance to those who may be in Lookkaew’s position.
ACTORS/CHARACTERS:
The main and supporting cast was fantastic and really played their parts well. I also thought that Lookkaew and Aud were very true to life; their actions seemed authentic to how people actually in those positions might act. Other characters, however, left me torn. On the one hand, many of them felt very stock-like, two dimensional, and stereotypical. As a result, their story lines felt predictable and manufactured. Their actions became expected and I wasn’t surprised by the things they did. That said, I think the strength of this drama lies in the message it sends and the awareness it brings rather than the depth or uniqueness of its characters.
OVERALL:
Parts of this drama were pretty heavy (well, one character's story line in particular) and I don’t think I’ll re-watch it for that reason. However, despite its flaws, I still thought it was a worthwhile watch (though I would not recommend this for a sad or otherwise emotionally heavy day). I’m really glad that light was shed on this issue, even if it was overshadowed at times by melodramatics, and hope to see more series treat serious issues like this in a realistic, non-romanticized way.
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