Welcome to the Battlefield
Working with the Associate Justice Min, Kim Gaon is sent to become Associate Judge for the Live Court with Kang Yohan as the Chief Judge in trying to collect information and evidence to stop Kang Yohan. Kang Yohan is known to be a no-nonsense judge, becoming popular among the citizens as the one who gets the guilty pay despite their powerful background, with the memorable speech, “I am the Authority,”. As Gaon delves into the works of Kang Yohan, especially after bunking in Kang’s mansion after saving him from an explosion blast, Kim Gaon realized things are not exactly the way it seem on the outside. With Kang Yohan and his unconventional way of exercising law, Gaon is faced with dilemma, seeking true justice that makes the guilty pay no matter what it takes even if it means bending the law to his advantage, or stay true to his conscience that urges him to abide by the law that he has been upholding, despite realising that the law is filled with loopholes that the wealthy and powerful could escape with.
It took me some time to get acclimated with Kang Yohan character, he is depicted to be extremely shady who appears to be working for the citizen on the outside but laughing and drinking happily with the wealthy and powerful on the side. I get how conflicted Kim Gaon is, as Kang’s absurdly arrogant with immovable principle character could really make people either despise or worship him. At some point he reminded me of Prosecutor Jang Dohan of the kdrama The Guardians, one who had no qualm of getting his hands dirty and laugh with the devils just so he could put down those devils for good. Kang Yohan is like this, except he doesnt dodge or hide from the devils, he hit them straight head-on by using devilish tactics and measures that other characters with conscience like Kim Gaon and Yoon Soohyeon see him as the evil one and a threat to humanity, completely blinded to the reality that Kang Yohan is the better devil of them all.
I truly love the actress playing Jung Soonah. She really nailed it as the psychopathic biatch that holds enormous grudge against the wealthy and powerful, especially on Kang Yohan as he saw her as who she truly was before she became powerful, a thieving poor little girl. Her moves are as unpredictable as Kang Yohan’s are, it’s really hard to expect what would come next with these two characters. One point they are reliving their past, giving in to each other and the next they would go at each other’s throat with full vengeance. Although this character surprised me around third quarter of the show when she showed a little sympathy for the poor, the kind she was back when she was a girl.
The mindgames here is definitely different than the average thriller mystery revenge kind of show that I’ve seen cuz justice lurks on the grey and dark areas instead of the righteous path, so you can’t really guess even the protagonist’s next move. When I thought I was becoming bored with Kim Gaon and Yoon Soohyeon’s moments, the next scene turned out to be exciting enough that I could not put the episode on hold. But somehow I am disappointed that Detective Yoon’s character isnt more brilliant than she was in the show. I wish she was more than just a pawn in those mindgames.
As usual with korean revenge drama, the evil ones get fitting ending, though it is exceedingly more satisfying here as their deeds are made known to the general public, leaving no room for retribution at all. Some might think the ending is flat or disappointing with regards to Kang Yohan and Kim Gaon, but ultimately this is a story about revenge, it’s not about upholding justice at all. So for me, the ending is good and fitting.
It took me some time to get acclimated with Kang Yohan character, he is depicted to be extremely shady who appears to be working for the citizen on the outside but laughing and drinking happily with the wealthy and powerful on the side. I get how conflicted Kim Gaon is, as Kang’s absurdly arrogant with immovable principle character could really make people either despise or worship him. At some point he reminded me of Prosecutor Jang Dohan of the kdrama The Guardians, one who had no qualm of getting his hands dirty and laugh with the devils just so he could put down those devils for good. Kang Yohan is like this, except he doesnt dodge or hide from the devils, he hit them straight head-on by using devilish tactics and measures that other characters with conscience like Kim Gaon and Yoon Soohyeon see him as the evil one and a threat to humanity, completely blinded to the reality that Kang Yohan is the better devil of them all.
I truly love the actress playing Jung Soonah. She really nailed it as the psychopathic biatch that holds enormous grudge against the wealthy and powerful, especially on Kang Yohan as he saw her as who she truly was before she became powerful, a thieving poor little girl. Her moves are as unpredictable as Kang Yohan’s are, it’s really hard to expect what would come next with these two characters. One point they are reliving their past, giving in to each other and the next they would go at each other’s throat with full vengeance. Although this character surprised me around third quarter of the show when she showed a little sympathy for the poor, the kind she was back when she was a girl.
The mindgames here is definitely different than the average thriller mystery revenge kind of show that I’ve seen cuz justice lurks on the grey and dark areas instead of the righteous path, so you can’t really guess even the protagonist’s next move. When I thought I was becoming bored with Kim Gaon and Yoon Soohyeon’s moments, the next scene turned out to be exciting enough that I could not put the episode on hold. But somehow I am disappointed that Detective Yoon’s character isnt more brilliant than she was in the show. I wish she was more than just a pawn in those mindgames.
As usual with korean revenge drama, the evil ones get fitting ending, though it is exceedingly more satisfying here as their deeds are made known to the general public, leaving no room for retribution at all. Some might think the ending is flat or disappointing with regards to Kang Yohan and Kim Gaon, but ultimately this is a story about revenge, it’s not about upholding justice at all. So for me, the ending is good and fitting.
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