The Judge from Hell

The Judge from Hell is a Masterpiece

To start this review, I am rating this Korean Drama, The Judge from Hell, a 10/10.

The plot was all about Kang Bitna, a judge. She was murdered in a public park. When her soul went to hell, she was wrongfully convicted by the judge of hell named Justitia. Since it was wrong, Bael, the director of hell, punished Justitia to be inside the body of Kang Bitna. She was tasked to kill 10 murderers within a year, if she did not fulfill this task, she will brutally die.

When she became Judge Bitna, she became carefree, not justifiable, and doesn't act like an honorable judge. Because of her task to kill murderers, she only use light sentences to them, for example is paying only a fine. Her sentences are only light since she kills them afterwards, torturing them through illusion before they were sent to hell.

In the first episode, Han Daon, a police officer was accused of physical maltreatment of a thief, but he argued that it was just a self defense. Judge Bitna sentenced him not guilty. With the continuous deaths of the murderers sentenced by Judge Bitna, Officer Daon and his team investigated thoroughly the truth behind their death. The story basically revolved with Officer Daon pursuing the truth between Judge Bitna's hidden agenda.

I gave the plot or story with a 10/10 because of how clear, concise, and well made it was. The viewers can easily apprehend what is going on in each episodes. There is also no dull moments, so each scenes are entertaining to watch and you will be easily hooked on what is happening on each episode. I love how you can see the effort of the staffs behind this series. Each episode was perfectly edited, no CGIs were cheaply done, it was edited beautifully. The set designs, especially to the supernatural settings, like the hell, was really done well also.

The other reviewers did not like the last 2 episodes. I kind of agree that the series can be finished with episode 12, but with the episode 13 and 14, they added more to the story. I feel like if it was finished with episode 12, it will be more confusing, because the viewers will feel that the story has more to offer. But with episode 13 and 14, the vision of what will happen next when Judge Bitna send Satan to hell was answered. Also, I love episode 14 especially, since the development between the 2 main characters was enlightened. That episode gave Bitna and Daon a chance for us to see what will happen to their story after all the obstacles they've been through.

Characters/Cast - 10/10
First of all, Park Shin Hye's acting really made me gasped. I know her already from her past films, but with this character, she amazed me so much more. With the way her character's emotions break, her fighting scenes, and her courtroom lines, she was really the perfect cast for this character. She served and slayed in giving us the best Kang Bitna or Justitia experience.

In terms of Kim Jaeyoung as Han Daon, to be honest, I did not like his character at first. I was like "Not all stories need to have love teams and this story is one of those", but later on I understood. Han Daon was the weakness of Justitia. Because of how powerful and strong minded she was, she needs a kryptonite to weaken her. Han Daon's character was really well portrayed with his kind of traumatic childhood experience, him pursuing Judge Bitna, and him as a police officer.

Valak, Gremory, Kim Jaehyun, Moon Dong Ju's characters was an experience. Kang Bitna's task will not be complete without the help of them. There are times that I got angry, most especially of Gremory, because of her poor decision making, but I still loved them all on the end of the series. Their respect to Judge Bitna, as her subordinates, made me respect their characters also.

Each and every side character was definitely needed because of how they added an extra flavor to Judge Bitna's character. Her co-demons, the angel, colleagues in the law firm, and neighbors, they all contributed well to the amazing plot this series has. Each part of Judge Bitna was highlighted because of them and their amazing roles for this series.

In totality, I love every inch of this series. I never felt bored on a single scene. Each episode made me interested on what comes and happens next. I love each and everyone of the characters. This was really perfectly and amazingly made. If a season 2 comes-up, that will be great, but if they decided to not come-up with another season, then it is okay. Everyone must watch this film, because The Judge from Hell is the true definition of a South Korean Thriller-Drama.

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Basic and underwhelming

It’s like, a “mystery” that gets solved in two seconds

they think they're being "smart" by the "plot twists", two faced people that fool the law, but they're so obv, i mean why would they even take the case if that person wasn't the villain xD

for the first case, he fooled the people by claiming he "was repenting". but yeah let's say the law would've put him in jail for a year and he'd come back, but so many things that happened was eyeroll worthy
And the victim is too scared to leave her house cuz he’ll kill her so she chooses to stay alone, won't open the door for the cop who said he'll help, but opens the door for a random stranger claiming to be sent by that cop



for the second case, everyone believed her, and ml comes with her record that she killed her previous husband after he becomes blind, so yeah when there's three mysterious accidents, it starts to make fun of the law




so, the fl is being like death note's light, she is murdering ppl and creating fear with her way of exposing it like a serial killer
And then they add romance to make it look fluffy...

Yes she’s taking rightful revenge, but she also “killed” two not bad ppl without evidence, and she leaves bodies for fun..

So it can create the same chaos as death note, ppl don’t know she’s a demon judging villains cuz it’s her “role/job”, same with dramas like no way out, others would think “ah I can kill a murderer too” and start killing and judging cuz the law won’t

So they’re adding the romance to make it lighter and never go that far in their actual plot..

and this demon judge character, is so over animated, extremely comical, they had to make her so comical to lighten up the role but the over exaggerated facial expressions and extremely high pitched voice just makes it annoying
I don’t wanna compare her to IU but HDL was exactly the perfect balance, she seemed evil and scary but it kept a good comedy while still allowing her to be cute yet mythically believable as someone who’s lived for so long


After a while, she stops “judging” and it became another boring mystery chase for the worlds most obvious serial killer and satan
They had “three” big side plots:
Fl being chased by the demon that would kill her if she cried
Ml finding the serial killer
Fl finding satan

First one, even tho they killed another poor demon for it, she was “spared”
Second one was tied to the third one, the big scary demon she had to hunt, that was solved in two seconds
And they made such a big deal on all and how she didn’t want to kill the serial killer cuz the victims deserved justice

Just for him to run away from the law and her having to finish him off….


They were also talking so much about how if she didn’t kill the serial killer, she’d die… again for them to let that go
And they give her three years to enjoy her time with ml, just for her to leave him and occasionally meet him
And then she’s given yet another chance that if she killed xx amount of ppl, she’ll become human

So, she can be a murderer judge, have feelings, kill ppl and leave marks like a serial killer, get romance, and the chance to become human when



That demon who just loved a human was killed off, real bitna was left in hell without any justice, and PSH wasn’t the real justina, like if she’s allowed to become human, she should have her own face of nara


So yeah I really hated this, they had so many big scary hard to achieve plots, and half were skimmed over while the other half were forgotten…

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You could say that I’ve been waiting for this drama to come along and sweep me of my feet for some time. A gloomy fantasy with a hint of horror and humor that doesn’t take itself too seriously is something I really enjoy. And then it was kind of a bonus to get a story that gave Park Shin Hye a role that made her shine as brightly as I know she can.

The plot, or the setting around it, was a bit rough around the edges at times. It can certainly be argued that her role as a judge was not particularly necessary for the story itself – she could just as well have worked in a morgue. And as a result, the plot allows itself to play as loosely as it wants with that setting. This is not a serious legal drama, this is a fantasy about demons, and as long as it has its own internal logic that it follows to a point, and it works decently. The court was a decent plot device that moves the story along, but it did feel a tad repetitive and almost too much of a crutch to the story at times.

That internal logic doesn’t drag the story down unless you really focus on how the legal system or anything like that works and perhaps some of the logic of how the underworld functions to be a but flawed, but I don’t find myself wondering too much about it as I watch the show. The fantasy-elements don’t feel too hesitant to play around but it’s not as if things are happening for no reason. It gets a little confusing as we get further into the story, and the cop-part of the story may be a little basic, but the fantasy adds something new and fresh to that tried-and-true story.

The drama focuses a bit on the morality of humans, along with the laws they have made to uphold the justice and the people who break them. There is a certain thrill in watching our main character take revenge on the criminals with the same amount of blood and violence that they inflicted on others. But that part got a bit repetitive until the serial killer storyline really got going. And while I thought the drama did a good job of showing human corruption and how weak the justice system is at times, and getting to see Park Shin Hye in all those action scenes was fun, I wanted a little more out of that theme than we got.

The series was exciting with a lot of action and some violence - without being too gory or too cruel. They managed to balance those things with a decent amount of humor and a gentle character moment. Towards the middle, when everything truly was set in motion, there was not a dull moment to be found, and the drama managed to keep the momentum going until the very end.

One of my favorite things about The Judge from Hell manages to deliver one trope, or the role reversal, which I really enjoy; I adore evil female characters or a cold-hearted immortal female character who bring softer human male characters along with them and little by little she allows herself to open a little. Or the male character allows her feel things for the first time in a long time without her becoming too soft. Seeing female and male characters swapping traditional gender roles is always fun, especially if it’s done well.

The romance was slow, which suits the story well, but it was still full of suspense, tenderness and passion. But the story worked for every smile and every tear the characters produced as the narrative slowly moves from enemies to companions and then to lovers.

The drama seemed to have wholeheartedly embraced its wacky setting and just gone full steam ahead. The thrilling action, the exciting build-up, the internal logic as well as the character moments were something that the drama managed so well, and the acting was good across the board, which made the entertainment value of the drama truly addictive. Although for sure, the drama had its weaker moments when history repeated itself slightly and the special effects were perhaps a little lame at times but that can also be part of the charm.

But what I think makes this drama as good as it was were the characters; the spark between them and the humor. The combination of the motives of the main characters and the way they change places, one becomes warmer and the colder was well deserved within the narrative and even the secondary character was well executed, getting their moments shine and develop within the story.

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Bell curve

Why are drama writers not in favour of writing strong female charcters without any romantic attachments??
Kang Bitna becomes the Nth Strong FL who is bogged down by forced romance and fumbled character development.

Park Shin hye was clearly having the time of her life with Kang Bitna (Please write such witty sassy characters for her, dont pidgenhole her into moppy romantic FLs.). While Kim Jae Young literally plays the damsel in distress. Why did the writers think its a good idea to ruin the ML's character with poor writing. The shift from a confident no nonsense cop to one to the damsel in distress was awful to watch(grave injustice to KJY). They wasted the drama's potential by not exploring a platonic relationship between them. Moreover the runaway devil subplot was way more interesting than the serial killer one. And I am not even touching the choices made for Bitna's character by the writers.
the uneveness made me feel like I was watching 2 different dramas. The first 8 episodes were a solid 9/10 while the 2nd half felt like 6/10.

But even with all its flaws I loved that PSH took up such a role and hope to see her in similar roles like this.
This not a bad drama, but if your willing to overlook its short comings, do give it a try.

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Disappointed....story all over the place.

I didn't enjoy the drama as much as I had hoped. The beginning was promising, and the main female lead carried the show with her excellent portrayal of her character. However, the second half became increasingly ridiculous, with the plot taking a nosedive. It's a shame because the storyline had potential. Additionally, the romance between the characters felt forced and lacked chemistry. The behavior of the main lead was inconsistent and his character seemed poorly developed. As a result, I started to lose interest and found it difficult to stay focused on the show. Also the open ending was unnecessary.

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Park Shin Hye needs to play more feisty roles!

Honestly this exceeded my expecting. I didn’t go in expecting much but I ended up loving every second of it.

I admit the supernatural element had a lot of plot holes but the actors were so good that it didn’t make the experience unbearable. I’m actually genuinely surprised at how much I really liked this.

Also, might I add that this might be Park Shin Hye’s best work yet. She needs to play more feisty roles.

We saw a little bit of that in the first episode of ‘The Doctors’…..But this was fantastic! The feistiness was there from start to finish, it didn’t fizzle out. I love seeing kdrama female leads kick ass.

Loved every minute!

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Fantasy ,, Good story ,, Great acting (from Shin Hye)

Story plot:
The story is good and kinda new. the fantasy was exciting but they should have elaborated on the demonic powers and limitations. Some parts could have been written better as they don't add up like they should.
Some scenes would have been more exciting and events should have been thought through to make more sense.
I didn't feel bored most of the show but it could be cut down to 12 or smth. The best part was Shin Hye's acting.

Acting:
Park Shine Hye's acting is 10/10 but that male lead is not as strong and not meticulously crafted I'll give him 6/10 since he did his part. If the lead actors had had more chemistry it would have been much better. I liked all the other characters they were written just right.

Takeaways:
- They weren't much chemistry between the lead actors, the romance could have been elevated a lot, it was a bit disappointing.
- It was nice overall and I would say it's worth watching.

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Premise sets high expectations, they all fall to hell by the second half...

I liked the first 6 eps, rest all dipped imo. Shin-hye's best performance easily. But, i just hated the later half and couldn't bring myself to finish this. Such a bummer it went to the route of rom, but it is made an essential with the prophecy being either of them dies, calling for an intertwined relationship which is forbidden much and burdening and scaling their lives against one another.

I couldn't feel a tinge of chemistry and it felt forced, like how did you catch feelings and go that far? You can't define distinguish if it's out of bloodlust to murder the sk(serial killer/the satan) or out of pursuits and protection of her and their love.

Just boring and the valato wtever she was had good expressions that I'd poke a fork but she gets discarded and sided off, she was at least a bit interesting. Bael is like another character i have a no say to, he is just a plot device idk the ending so god knows what goes there(gods of hell prolly- isn't that him...nvm) her assistant/servant forgot his name was a funny and the cleaning service men too

Also the whole det team adds no value later, it was good to see dynamics and fun banter before. Even with dan-oh and bitna we had a few worthy interactions where they had just different stances in opinions and moral working.

Few things that are worth the mention is how we get a perspective into the Victim's families and affected parties outlook on their grief, suffering and trauma; remarkable acting by the 6th/5th ep killer dude who faked DID, her outfits mwah!!

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Unlike any other drama~

It was a new type of drama that sometime give off Vincenzo feeling; you know how he said at the end that "𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲. 𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐞."

That's what we also see on this drama where a devil herself judges the evils,, this drama was so good at beginning but got ruined in the middle. Guess they just make it child's fantasy where the leads just lives happily ever after. But you know some story don't just get happy ending all the time, there are some couple who just don't end up together.

I would have loved it more if this fantasy drama was a bit more realistic.

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*𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓*
there were also some unanswered question like what in the world happened to real Kang Bitna (as she really didn't did anything sinfull to end up in a fake hell) also why Justita was given more time to spend on earth?

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Other than this two the drama is supub! It so intriguing & the chemistry between the leads are just find as wine~
A must watch for those who loves romance with thriller"

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started off so strong !

i thought this was gonna be so good until the end because the beginning was so strong and the premise was SO GOOD !!!!! i loved both the FL’s and ML’s acting and what i loved the MOST was the satire like !!!!! no words !!!!!! the writer was so good when it came to subtle nuances about criticising the church so well done !! but they also showed how good it is to have faith and how, sometimes, it’s the only thing that keeps people going wtv that faith may be !
the ending lost me a bit ngl and i was bored watching certain scenes but still the fantasy elements made up for it tbh !!

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