K-drama midseason recap: The Devil Judge – visually striking vigilante show meanders midseason, but there’s still time for it to end on a high
- Ji Sung plays Kang Yo-han, a merciless jurist in a dystopian Korea where trials are held on live TV. The court cases are the highlight of the series
- Outside the courtroom we’ve learned why the ruthless Jung Sun-a makes such a dangerous foe for Kang, but there have been some notable lulls
This article contains spoilers.
There’s been no shortage of lovebirds, period royalty and upper crust elites in Korean drama series this year, but the breakout character has undoubtedly been the vigilante. From Vincenzo to Taxi Driver and now The Devil Judge, dashing, angst-ridden men have cut a swathe through all manner of colourful villains, meting out retribution on behalf of their victims when the law can’t, or won’t, lift a finger.
Early on in The Devil Judge, the show presented a brief question mark as to whether Kang Yo-han (Ji Sung) was friend or foe, but as junior bench member Kim Ga-on (Jin Young) steadily got closer to him, his eccentric behaviour was unmasked as the actions of a vigilante with a deep-seated hatred for the corrupt powers-that-be.
While Kang’s motives are ultimately no great mystery, Kim’s trajectory has been less predictable. He was initially Kang’s staunchly by-the-book opponent, but he’s steadily warmed to his cynical colleague. Yet even though he sympathises with Kang, he’s still left with a choice – oppose him or follow him into vigilantism.
Kim seems genuinely torn between these two options, but then Kang helps him track down the con man responsible for the death of his parents; after installing a patsy in his place in prison, he is living a happy life in the countryside with his family. At first he appears reformed, but when Kang sets his hidden cash and the building housing his family alight, the con man makes a choice that shows his true colours.
