We start off with a bang this week as “The Devil Judge” promptly tests its newest partnership. Kim Ga On (Jinyoung) has finally taken Kang Yo Han’s (Ji Sung) hand, but there’s no time to ease into their new dynamic. Crisis has already come calling, and it’s time to see whether this relationship will sink or swim.
Warning: spoilers for episodes 9-10 below.
1. Ga On siding with Yo Han over Soohyun
Having successfully put Yo Han’s niece, Elijah (Jeon Chae Eun) in danger, Soohyun (Park Gyu Young) is hopelessly outnumbered. Surprisingly, Elijah doesn’t reach out to Ga On first but directly calls Yo Han. The two men are together (of course) and race to save her.
What’s fascinating about this rescue is the emotional standoff between Yo Han and Soohyun. There’s always been a subtle rivalry between the two but it’s never been more obvious. He strangles Kim Choongsik, the person behind Juk Chang TV that instigates mob violence, while looking right at her, like he wishes it was her. And she arrests Choonsik while saying the words “You’re under arrest” to Yo Han like she wishes she was arresting him.
If this were any other episode, Ga On would side with Soohyun, but his loyalties are with Yo Han now! He asks Soohyun to drop her gun, and it’s only when she refuses that he turns to Yo Han and asks him to stop strangling Choongsik. Throughout it all, he fights by Yo Han’s side. Ga On finally trusts Yo Han, and the show is so much better for it!
2. Family bonding
Ga On takes a while to switch loyalties, but when he does, he gives his heart without reservation. Gone are the arguments and the physical fights. Instead, Ga On starts to heal Yo Han’s fractured family by bringing them together to help them understand that Yo Han isn’t a monster.
He determinedly cooks a full course meal and insists that Yo Han come home to enjoy it, that they all sit at the table like a family. Yo Han’s reaction is priceless, going from confusion to a genuine smile. Dinner is an easy, happy affair, and for the first time, Yo Han visibly relaxes. These two are so good for each other!
Ga On’s efforts aren’t one-sided either. Yo Han’s always needed someone to lean on, and as Ga On continues to brighten his house, Yo Han finally drops his guard and lets himself be vulnerable in front of the other man. The proud, reserved judge who kept calling himself a monster actually cries in front of Gaon, and instead of suspicion, Ga On responds with concern.
Yo Han goes from a man who distrusts and dislikes people to someone who smiles more, is more playful around Ga On, and trusts him with everything. Their growing trust and Yo Han’s corresponding character growth is heartwarming.
So, it’s no great surprise that when Ga On needs him, Yo Han steps up and stands by his side.
3. A return to revenge
Soohyun might have stopped Ga On from vengeance the first time around, but that desire didn’t vanish. Ga On buried it deep, covering it with half-baked ideas about faith in the system, justice, and hope. But Yo Han awoke that desire again and unleashed a part of Ga On that surprised them both.
Who would have expected Ga On to barge into Doh Young Choon’s (Jung Eun Pyo) home and start strangling him in front of his wife and daughter? Who would have expected that Yo Han would be the one pulling Ga On away from Doh Young Choon? Ga On panics when it seems that Yo Han’s about to burn down the house with Doh Young Choon’s family inside, but when Yohan tells Ga On to wait, to listen, and to trust him, Ga On does just that. And we witness vengeance on an epic scale.
It is sheer brilliance watching Doh Young Choon, who choses money over his family, realize the money was fake, and lose his family anyway. Yo Han’s a master at crafting the perfect punishment, and he pulls out all stops here with creating one that allows Ga On to keep his conscience clear and finally have justice. But most importantly, Yo Han gives Ga On the choice Soohyun took away, and Ga On makes the decision to walk away from revenge. Not because anyone is forcing him, but because he wants to.
Ga On returning the victims’ money with the sweetest smile on his face is cathartic, and it further demonstrates that this happy ending isn’t something the system would ever have permitted. But working outside the system with Yo Han allowed him to bring justice to so many people. It’s vigilante justice of the best sort and only brings our favorite duo closer together.
4. The trial of a patriot
“The Devil Judge” remains unafraid of tackling difficult topics, and this week, the show focuses on nationalism. We’ve seen errant would-be patriots running amok for the past couple of weeks with Kim Choongsik’s Juk Chang TV inciting people to fever pitch and carry out mob assaults of people who aren’t Korean. While the arguments made by Choongsik and President Heo Joong Se (Baek Hyun Jin) aren’t unfamiliar to western audiences, this is a bold topic to discuss in a country like Korea, which traditionally wasn’t a multi-ethnic community and is now reckoning with migration.
Ga On and Soohyun head in to arrest Choongsik with tech-savvy Elijah’s help, but they quickly find themselves in a pinch facing Choongsik’s gang of mobsters. Which, of course, is when Ga On’s partner makes his entrance to save the day.
Yo Han’s motto clearly is that anyone who touches Ga On chooses death. It’s adorable.
At this point, these two are unstoppable. Ga On voluntarily participates in rigging Choongsik’s trial, and even tells Yo Han to leave him to handle this one. Yo Han looks absolutely smitten with Ga On’s enthusiasm.
It’s even more hilarious when they’re in the courtroom, where Ga On unleashes his plan, and Yo Han sits back with a delighted smile. This time, it’s Ga On crafting a punishment, and the show’s commentary on social media and nationalism is beautifully woven in. Choongsik might have gotten popular with the anti-immigration, racist, and misogynistic ideals promoted by the president, but he kept that popularity by building a cult of personality as a patriot, an upstanding proud citizen. Ga On knows that trying to convince Choongsik’s supporters that racism and misogyny is wrong is a waste of time. Judge Oh Jin Joo (Kim Jaekyung) tries to do just that with her beautiful, impassioned speech and fails. Instead, Ga On strips away Choongsik’s online persona and reduces it to ribbons.
Proud patriot? More like thieving streamer. For his finishing blow, Ga On lines up the female streamer on whom Choongsik blew all the funds his followers donated, and the man is done for. He wants attention? He’ll get it until the end of his days now, as all of Korea will always know where he is. It’s a punishment so vindictively fitting that it’s almost a surprise that Ga On participated in coming up with it. But Ga On is no longer the uptight man of the early episodes. And some people are finding that harder to absorb than others.
5. Ga On versus Soohyun
The deeper Ga On gets involved with Yo Han, the more he withdraws from Soohyun. And she’s starting to notice. Her words used to heavily influence him. That shared philosophy and belief in the system, in seeing life as black and white, is what kept them friends for so long. But Ga On’s moved away from that world, and the day is coming when his path will no longer be able to intersect with Soohyun’s.
It’s official. We have a love triangle.
The first indication of this came as early as when Soohyun was in the hospital and asked what Yo Han was up to, and Ga On changed the subject. But it’s getting blatant now. Ga On shows up at the precinct to ask for advice before going to Doh Young Choon, but promptly disregards that advice. She tells him that she’d arrest him if he ever did something illegal, and he goes and strangles Doh Young Choon anyway. He rigs trials now and bribes Cha Kyung Hee’s (Jang Young Nam) secretary with Yo Han’s ingots. Soohyun would be horrified, and Ga On knows this, but he doesn’t stop.
Soohyun pokes fun at him living in a big house with a grumpy ahjusshi and an equally prickly teenager, but Ga On immediately lumps himself with them by saying he’s just as strange. He defends Yo Han, saying that the older man had nothing while he had good memories of his parents, a good house of his own, and…
By the look on his face, he doesn’t know how long he can keep that friendship alive. But this is still cathartic in the sense that maturity brings this pain. Sometimes people grow apart, and Ga On’s coming to the bitter realization that this might be the case. Unless Soohyun somehow comes to realize that the world isn’t black and white, this is a bond that’s doomed to break.
6. Sun Ah being handled by Yo Han
Sun Ah (Kim Min Jung) deserves a treatise of her own. What makes her so compelling is that childish sweetness and her protectiveness of women. Kim Min Jung hits it out of the park as usual. Sun Ah’s the mirror image of Yo Han, lonely and traumatized, but where Yo Han has a family now, Sun Ah has no one. Yo Han was her goal because he’s a symbol of the life she always wanted, but it’s telling that she’s lonely despite having ascended to the top. So her eyes remain on Yo Han, as though having him by her side (or rather under her thumb) is the answer to her emptiness.
Yo Han sees this and acquiesces. He plays along, drops to informal language around her, and is quite the gentleman (Ji Sung is so, so swoonworthy!). Sun Ah delights at the attention (who wouldn’t!) and actually trusts Yo Han to follow her orders regarding the live trial so she leaves him alone. However, she makes the mistake of revealing a weakness when she reacts to Yo Han wondering if she really wants to return to the house in which she was a maid.
The angry tears in Sun Ah’s eyes as she says she was merely a short-term guest in that house shows that she still hates being reminded of how poor she was in the past. And Yo Han naturally seizes on that weakness. Sun Ah’s rage upon discovering that Yo Han’s leaked it to Cha Kyung Hee is a marvel to behold. We finally see why Sun Ah never wanted anyone to know. Kyung Hee goes from treating her like a formidable rival to treating her like garbage. In the eyes of the elite, Sun Ah’s power is somehow lesser because she wasn’t born into it. Her position as queen of the mountain has already begun to shake.
We’ve never seen her this angry, and as Yo Han smoothly wraps up the trial, having won this round, Sun Ah vows revenge.
Next week shows Cha Kyung Hee clandestinely meeting Yo Han with a gun in her pocket, Yo Han playing along with Sun Ah for some mysterious plan, and Ga On running like his life depends on it. With the trial over and no looming cases, there are no clues for what all this could mean. Our corruption-fighting duo has had too many victories though – the clock is ticking on their luck and it might run out next week!
But regardless of what happens, may Ga On and Yo Han’s bond continue to reign supreme, because this jealousy and domesticity is too cute.
Check out the drama below:
What did you think of this week’s episodes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Shalini_A is a long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she works as a lawyer, fangirls over Ji Sung, and attempts to write the greatest fantasy romance of all time. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and feel free to ask her anything!
Currently Watching: “The Devil Judge“, “Undercover,” “You are My Spring”
Looking Forward to: “The Veil”
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