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A story with strong themes, which didn't reach its full potential
The Judge Returns was a drama that caught my attention the moment I read its synopsis. I have developed a keen interest to series about law and judicial system so it goes without saying that I decided to give this one a go.
The series' start was very strong. The first two episodes were a very good setup for Han Young's backstory and eventual development. From the get-go, we get introduced to a cold judge, who delivers "justice" based on money instead of the law and ethics. We witness him at his lowest in terms of morality and yet, when his eventual death followed, I couldn't help but pity him and wish for his growth in the second chance he got to redeem himself.
This was the first time I watched Ji Sung and I can already tell that he's about to become one of my most favourite actors. He embodied Han Young and he made sure to steal the spotlight every time he appeared on the screen. You could see the fire in Han Young's eyes and his thirst for justice and fair punishment. Han Young's charismatic, charming and yet cunning personality was encapsulated perfectly by Ji Sung. I loved the way he changed his body language and the tone of his voice based on the characters Han Young interacted with, adding more layers to the various dynamics.
Park Hee Son as Kang Sin Jin was an absolute gem, from a visual and acting point. He owned this role and the authority he radiated in his scenes was unmatched. Sin Jin was a multilayered character and Hee Son did a magnificent job portraying his polarizing morality. His micro expressions andsubtle movements made Jin Sin more intimidating and unpredictable and it showed why he had so much influence. His chemistry with Ji Sung was one of the strongest aspects in the drama, emphasizing the ongoing silent battle between Han Young and Sin Jin, their scenes together were so exciting to watch and the build-up to their final confrontation made me eager to watch more.
The rest of the cast was very modest, some performances being more remarkable than others but overall, everyone delivered what was expected of them. I especially loved Tae Won Seok's role as Jeong Ho, Han Young's friend. I watched The Judge Returns before watching Bloodhounds and I couldn't believe that the ruthless bloodhound who made Woo Jin and Gun Woo's lives a hell shared the same actor with a kindhearted and supportive CEO. His versatility was very impressive and although his role wasn't very demanding in terms of emotional delivery, he stole the show whenever he would appear on screen, bringing a breath of fresh air.
The ongoing battle between good vs evil is the most prominent and yet the most complex theme in the drama. Instead of a simplified presentation of the judicial system, the writers highlighted the complexity that lays behind the scenes. There's the famous quote about justice being blind. Everyone is equal before the law and justice is ought to be served regardless of financial power, status or connections. While both sides in the drama strive for this, the means they utilize clash, resulting to a battle of deception.
On the one hand, Han Young, in search of atonment and redemption, is ready to do whatever is possible in order to ensure justice and apply the law fairly. On the other hand, Sin Jin, in pursuit of justice, bended the law and utilized power and money, thus betraying his initial goal for a justice system that will protect everyone equally. Both sides, in theory, fought for the same future, where no one will be treated unfairly. But the methods they used couldn't be any more different and thus, a great dilemma was present. Are we supposed to fight injustice with injustice? Or should we have faith in law?
While I appreciate the drama for its ambitious premise and although I recognise its qualities, unfortunately, once I was done with it, I realized that my feelings weren't as strong compared to my initial reception.
The first half always had me at the edge of my seat, I was looking forward to Han Young's redemption and his confrontation with Sin Jin. At the same time, I enjoyed the domestic moments between him and his friends, which toned down the hectic political aspects and left room for more humane interactions and bonds. The blend between comedy, action and slice-of-life was handled very well in the beginning and kept my interest more than alive.
Alas, in the middle of the road, my feelings for The Judge Returns started to change.
Once the series reached its second half, I noticed that my interest had started declining. I didn't rush to keep up with the released episodes and my attention was deteriorating in some parts. In the end, I decided to put the drama on hold and I put it off for 5 months. Now, putting a drama on hold is by no means an indicator of its quality, but once I resumed it, I understood why it failed to keep my attention.
I love slow paced stories. In fact, the majority of my favourite books, movies and series are slow paced. But while The Judge Return's pacing was not an issue for me at first, in the second half, I found the plot dragging to the point I almost considered skipping some scenes. There were some moments which felt like fillers to me and I wished that instead of them, we would get something that would contribute to the development of the characters and the story. One can handle only so many dialogues between corrupted men. The last two episodes in particular were very hard for me to watch and I almost felt relieved when I reached the end.
Aside from that, the scenes started to feel disjointed, which contributed to the slow pacing. One moment something dramatic would happen and then, the setting would change to something else. Which yes, it can work in terms of narrative but it became predictable and annoying because it ruined the flaw.
A pet peeve of mine regarding the technical aspects was the soundtrack. In thrillers, I prefer it when the soundtrack evokes some emotions and is used to create a suitable atmosphere. But in The Judge Returns, I found the usage of the main theme, particularly the opening, to be used in random moments, thus making the scenes less serious and anticlimactic. I am aware of the fact that soundtracks do not make or break a series but when it fails to deliver the best result, it can affect the viewing experience.
In addition, there were issues with the writing of some characters. Yoo See Hee started off strongly and I was looking forward to see her development both individualy and with Han Young, considering their relationship in their previous life. However, while the character was promising and while Oh Se Young did a good job portraying See Hee, the writing was underwhelming. I found her to be too dependent on Han Young and it would have been nice if the writers had explored her feelings outside of their relationship. There was room for more development and in the end, while I felt proud of her progression, I was left with a lackluster impression. Moreover, the subtle romance between See Hee and Han Young left me unmoved, I was eager to welcome it if done well but in the end, it was done poorly (not that I blame the actors, of course).
But my biggest grip was the way Kim Jina's character was written. Seriously, what was that? You have her being marketed as a main character and yet there were supporting characters which had more screen time than her. And no, I will not listen to any arguments about her being important to the story even with less screen time. A main character is supposed to be a main character and it's a shame she got sidelined. Won Jina was great and I'm sad I didn't get to see her full potential because of the way her character got treated by the script.
Another aspect that could have been handled better was Han Young and Sin Jin's relationship. It would have been interesting if we had seen more of them as "partners" because it would have added more impact to Han Young's betrayal and Sin Jin's broken trust. The scenes we got were definitely magnetic, albeit too few in my opinion. It would have also been nice if they had more exchanges of their different viewpoints (in a subtle way of course, since Han Young couldn't reveal his true beliefs). A bigger debate between them would have added more food for thought compared to what we got in the end.
The Judge Returns doesn't try to offer to the audience a utopian dream of a fair world and a justice system based on equality. Unfortunately, no justice system can be equal and accessible to everyone, at least with the current social standards. But it tries to show that it's still worth fighting for law no matter what. We shouldn't be what we sought to destroy in the name of "justice". What we should do is try to be better humans by helping those who are in need for help.
I definitely recommend The Judge Returns to people who like law series or Jisung's fans. But I don't think it's that profound to not miss it, if it's not under your randar. There are better series in my opinion which tackle similar themes in a better way, such as Pro Bono, a kdrama which became one of my favourites. I definitely do not regret watching The Judge Return but it's a pity it didn't reach its full potential in terms of writing.
The series' start was very strong. The first two episodes were a very good setup for Han Young's backstory and eventual development. From the get-go, we get introduced to a cold judge, who delivers "justice" based on money instead of the law and ethics. We witness him at his lowest in terms of morality and yet, when his eventual death followed, I couldn't help but pity him and wish for his growth in the second chance he got to redeem himself.
This was the first time I watched Ji Sung and I can already tell that he's about to become one of my most favourite actors. He embodied Han Young and he made sure to steal the spotlight every time he appeared on the screen. You could see the fire in Han Young's eyes and his thirst for justice and fair punishment. Han Young's charismatic, charming and yet cunning personality was encapsulated perfectly by Ji Sung. I loved the way he changed his body language and the tone of his voice based on the characters Han Young interacted with, adding more layers to the various dynamics.
Park Hee Son as Kang Sin Jin was an absolute gem, from a visual and acting point. He owned this role and the authority he radiated in his scenes was unmatched. Sin Jin was a multilayered character and Hee Son did a magnificent job portraying his polarizing morality. His micro expressions andsubtle movements made Jin Sin more intimidating and unpredictable and it showed why he had so much influence. His chemistry with Ji Sung was one of the strongest aspects in the drama, emphasizing the ongoing silent battle between Han Young and Sin Jin, their scenes together were so exciting to watch and the build-up to their final confrontation made me eager to watch more.
The rest of the cast was very modest, some performances being more remarkable than others but overall, everyone delivered what was expected of them. I especially loved Tae Won Seok's role as Jeong Ho, Han Young's friend. I watched The Judge Returns before watching Bloodhounds and I couldn't believe that the ruthless bloodhound who made Woo Jin and Gun Woo's lives a hell shared the same actor with a kindhearted and supportive CEO. His versatility was very impressive and although his role wasn't very demanding in terms of emotional delivery, he stole the show whenever he would appear on screen, bringing a breath of fresh air.
The ongoing battle between good vs evil is the most prominent and yet the most complex theme in the drama. Instead of a simplified presentation of the judicial system, the writers highlighted the complexity that lays behind the scenes. There's the famous quote about justice being blind. Everyone is equal before the law and justice is ought to be served regardless of financial power, status or connections. While both sides in the drama strive for this, the means they utilize clash, resulting to a battle of deception.
On the one hand, Han Young, in search of atonment and redemption, is ready to do whatever is possible in order to ensure justice and apply the law fairly. On the other hand, Sin Jin, in pursuit of justice, bended the law and utilized power and money, thus betraying his initial goal for a justice system that will protect everyone equally. Both sides, in theory, fought for the same future, where no one will be treated unfairly. But the methods they used couldn't be any more different and thus, a great dilemma was present. Are we supposed to fight injustice with injustice? Or should we have faith in law?
While I appreciate the drama for its ambitious premise and although I recognise its qualities, unfortunately, once I was done with it, I realized that my feelings weren't as strong compared to my initial reception.
The first half always had me at the edge of my seat, I was looking forward to Han Young's redemption and his confrontation with Sin Jin. At the same time, I enjoyed the domestic moments between him and his friends, which toned down the hectic political aspects and left room for more humane interactions and bonds. The blend between comedy, action and slice-of-life was handled very well in the beginning and kept my interest more than alive.
Alas, in the middle of the road, my feelings for The Judge Returns started to change.
Once the series reached its second half, I noticed that my interest had started declining. I didn't rush to keep up with the released episodes and my attention was deteriorating in some parts. In the end, I decided to put the drama on hold and I put it off for 5 months. Now, putting a drama on hold is by no means an indicator of its quality, but once I resumed it, I understood why it failed to keep my attention.
I love slow paced stories. In fact, the majority of my favourite books, movies and series are slow paced. But while The Judge Return's pacing was not an issue for me at first, in the second half, I found the plot dragging to the point I almost considered skipping some scenes. There were some moments which felt like fillers to me and I wished that instead of them, we would get something that would contribute to the development of the characters and the story. One can handle only so many dialogues between corrupted men. The last two episodes in particular were very hard for me to watch and I almost felt relieved when I reached the end.
Aside from that, the scenes started to feel disjointed, which contributed to the slow pacing. One moment something dramatic would happen and then, the setting would change to something else. Which yes, it can work in terms of narrative but it became predictable and annoying because it ruined the flaw.
A pet peeve of mine regarding the technical aspects was the soundtrack. In thrillers, I prefer it when the soundtrack evokes some emotions and is used to create a suitable atmosphere. But in The Judge Returns, I found the usage of the main theme, particularly the opening, to be used in random moments, thus making the scenes less serious and anticlimactic. I am aware of the fact that soundtracks do not make or break a series but when it fails to deliver the best result, it can affect the viewing experience.
In addition, there were issues with the writing of some characters. Yoo See Hee started off strongly and I was looking forward to see her development both individualy and with Han Young, considering their relationship in their previous life. However, while the character was promising and while Oh Se Young did a good job portraying See Hee, the writing was underwhelming. I found her to be too dependent on Han Young and it would have been nice if the writers had explored her feelings outside of their relationship. There was room for more development and in the end, while I felt proud of her progression, I was left with a lackluster impression. Moreover, the subtle romance between See Hee and Han Young left me unmoved, I was eager to welcome it if done well but in the end, it was done poorly (not that I blame the actors, of course).
But my biggest grip was the way Kim Jina's character was written. Seriously, what was that? You have her being marketed as a main character and yet there were supporting characters which had more screen time than her. And no, I will not listen to any arguments about her being important to the story even with less screen time. A main character is supposed to be a main character and it's a shame she got sidelined. Won Jina was great and I'm sad I didn't get to see her full potential because of the way her character got treated by the script.
Another aspect that could have been handled better was Han Young and Sin Jin's relationship. It would have been interesting if we had seen more of them as "partners" because it would have added more impact to Han Young's betrayal and Sin Jin's broken trust. The scenes we got were definitely magnetic, albeit too few in my opinion. It would have also been nice if they had more exchanges of their different viewpoints (in a subtle way of course, since Han Young couldn't reveal his true beliefs). A bigger debate between them would have added more food for thought compared to what we got in the end.
The Judge Returns doesn't try to offer to the audience a utopian dream of a fair world and a justice system based on equality. Unfortunately, no justice system can be equal and accessible to everyone, at least with the current social standards. But it tries to show that it's still worth fighting for law no matter what. We shouldn't be what we sought to destroy in the name of "justice". What we should do is try to be better humans by helping those who are in need for help.
I definitely recommend The Judge Returns to people who like law series or Jisung's fans. But I don't think it's that profound to not miss it, if it's not under your randar. There are better series in my opinion which tackle similar themes in a better way, such as Pro Bono, a kdrama which became one of my favourites. I definitely do not regret watching The Judge Return but it's a pity it didn't reach its full potential in terms of writing.
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