The Judge from Hell (2024)

About Their Acting And storyline of the drama

this Show Is getting better and better.
characters are so good. storyline is perfect.
Park Shin Hye is really a versatile actress, she has been with all types of genre and I like her the most if it is action like in Sisyphus (Kdrama) and Alive (Film), she can really pull off being so badass. She has been such an amazing actress that is hard to beat. She is one of my favorite female leads and I am so happy that even she is now married and a mom, she still looks so young and healthy!
characterization of some characters was not good, and we could not sympathize with the victims of the serial killers that Qazi killed because The characterization and design of the angels and demons was weak and had few story details

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A baddie who will put you in your place

Unfortunately, I thought I already reviewed this only to be cleaning my watch list and find out I did not. That being said, I'm lacking some details as I finished it over two months ago, but I do remember the plot being good, and thoroughly captivating. There is a little bit of romance, but this is definitely crime/fantasy-centered, and I love that the main character is an angry, judging woman, it just emanates such boss energy. While I appreciated Bitna's growth throughout the show, it was nice to see a female character that wasn't easily deceived, dumb, or constantly blinded by her feelings.

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gory, veangeful, addicting drama

Unexpectedly, I loved this show so much. I am an avid fan of fantasy. I didn’t expect that much fantasy aspect in this, but it was the perfect combination of fantasy and real world.

Kang Bitna is an absolute badass. I love her sm. Throughout the show, she never lose her fire. Even when she fell in love, she was still cruel in her punishments as they deserve. She never lost her fire, which I thought made this show really special.

Han Do something I forgot in sorry. He’s such a pure character honestly. Even when he turned to the dark side, he still found himself. Cutie Patootie.

Arong probably had the most interesting character arc. Good for her.

Mando is there for comedic effect bless his soul.

Gabriel and their beef is so funny.

Bael. He’s such a hot bastard. I don’t really understand him. In another drama, he would’ve been the male lead.

The ending left a lot of unanswered questions, so I’m curious if I’ll ever get the answers. If not, I’ll be satisfied

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whats with that ending?

first of all, i wouldnt say i didnt enjoy this drama. it was interesting, and kept getting me hooked during the episodes, curious by justitia and police trying to catch the serial killer but ngl i at first, stopped watching it for a few weeks after the first episode. having justitia to kill the murderers while the police wanted to catch them, made me feel a little bit weird (?) even tho i knew it was justitia' job lol (and the fact that police didnt know the person who was killing them)

the romance wasnt bad nor good. it was okay, i wouldnt say it was unnecessary but neither necessary as some people here says. it wouldve worked any way.

i wanna talk about the ending because even tho i dont hate open endings, this was pretty open to me and i didnt like it at all, at least i wanted to see what was her choice. if she would take bael' place as his heir or lucifer' offer idk i wouldve like that.

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If you are not focused just on the romance, it is a great supernatural series

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean Dark Fantasy, Action Legal thriller. With 14, 60-73 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then a review

Synopsis

Judge Kang Bit-na (Park Shin-hye) is mysteriously stanbed to death in a park and erroneously winds up before Hell’s judge, Justitia (Oh Na-ra). Justitia does not like humans nor does she feel any empathy for the murder victim who was before her by accident so she sends her to hell. This angers Bael (Shin Sun-rok), a major demon who is essentially second in charge of Hell. To punish her, Bael forces her to inhabit Kang Bit-na’s body and identify ten evil amd remorseless sinners who do not get full punishment through the justice system and send them to hell. eternal punishment. She only has one year or her existence will be snuffed out by Bael. During the course of serving as a human judge, Justitia/Bit-na encounter Han Da-on (Kim Jae-young) a violent crimes detective, who becomes suspicious of the judge when he notices many of those who appear before her meet an early demise.

Review

This was a fresh take on sins and judgements and the role of supernatural characters such as demons and angels.  It reminded me of a book series I read by Piers Anthony "Incarnations of Immortality" where every role, God, Satan, Grim Reaper were just jobs.  I found the Hell's judgement aspect of this series very interesting.  Who wouldn't like to think that those truly evil among us might experience an "eye for an eye" type punishment.   It was entertaining throughout.  Well-acted.  And ended reasonably well.  I might watch it again and highly recommend it to fans of the genre.  It's not as strong in terms of the romance but very strong as a supernatural drama. 

Spoilers

Like so many others my main critique was with the romance element.  I did not dislike that it had a romance running through it felt like an afterthought in many ways. It would have felt more integrated if the ending had not been so nebulous.  Does she love him enough to stay behind and be human or not?  I thought the chemistry was fine between the leads but it was just hard, in general, to envision someone so strongly enamored with justice being okay with a partner that is essentially a serial killer.  She was just doing her job and wasn't going after anyone that did not deserve it, but the absolute joy she exhibited in carrying out the brutal and grisly punishments was disturbing.  It was like a serial killer that found a sanctioned purpose for what they already enjoyed doing. The main guy was so good that pairing him with someone who could kill anyone in that manner was just a hard match up to buy. 

It also made no sense why she would be offered the chance to essentially send 10 to hell in exchange for becoming human.  What did it benefit hell to grant her such a thing?  She would have had to carry out her job whether or not she was rewarded.

They seemed to leave it open for there to be another season.  It ended, they were together, but it could be only temporary (three years and she is on her last year when it ends) depending on whether or not she decides to become human.  I don't like nebulous ending.  I know streaming platforms like to do that so they have the option of additional seasons if it is popular.  But it breaks what is great about South Korean shows where you know generally there will be one season.  And there isn't this open-ended decision about future seasons or not. 

#TheJudgeFromHell. #ParkShinHye #OhNaRa #ShinSunRok #KimJaeYoung

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Blockbuster Start, Slightly Lackluster Finale (still one of 2024's Best)

Supernatural merging with modern world, short length drama, one case per episode tying up to a larger storyline - these are the reasons why I started this drama. Right from the start it had me completely hooked, and the first 10 episodes were so captivating that I came on MDL weekly to discuss various theories with others. These engaging discussions made it one of the standout dramas in 2024 for me, but unfortunately, the ending didn’t quite meet my great expectations. Here’s the breakdown:

➥ BEST PARTS
✦ Story & Pace: I like crisp, engaging story telling - & this had different cases per episode while tying it to a larger story involving the main & recurring support casts. (Think: Tomorrow, Move To Heaven, Signal etc)
✦ Acting:
(1) Kang Bitna/Justicia: Park Shin Hye is usually in damsel-in-distress roles, but here she’s a savage + showing vulnerability as her character grows humane. Applauding her acting—more roles like this for her, please!
(2) Han Daon: First time seeing him, and I’m wondering why I’m only discovering this gem now! Handsome & acted with conviction. Hoping he gets the popularity he deserves (like Byeon Woo Seok overnight)—excited for his future projects!
(3) Mando, Arong, Landlady, Police Officers: Often seen in support roles, they delivered perfection even in limited screentime. Especially Kim In Kwon—been a fan since Mr Queen, what a talent.

➥ What Could Have Been Better:
The Finale Episodes 11-14:
The initial 10 episodes had set the bar so high, the scale so massive with its action, mystery that when it came to unfold in the last finale episodes - I was expecting epic battles, emotional rollercoasters, that doubt that will they have a happy ending or not? While it was good and fell into place - it felt underwhelming to the point that what was meant to be blockbuster turned out to be lackluster.

Example: Bael's forced punishments, Justicia vs Satan Battle, Gabriel's Sacrifice*, etc. felt a bit flat & rushed. Also, they did not completely reveal the fate of human Kang Bitna (did she escape Hell or no?)

➥ Overall:
The shortcomings are due to the fact that my expectations were sky-high. Otherwise this drama is great - I am definitely adding it to my Wall of Fame, and I think it is one of the best dramas of 2024. Highly Recommend to BINGE - it is a short one with mystery, action, comedy and romance - so worth the time.

P.S.: Those who know PSH would be familiar with her fish face kissing scenes. I think the ML brought on the wild side - cause that kiss in finale was ROARRRR! FIREEEE!!!!!

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Park ShinHye? Demoness? Yaaassss!

The story is overall quite simple with a demon coming to earth to punish sinners aka murderers by using her powers, because she punished the wrong person in hell. Objectively stating, the thing that really attracted me to this show was how it avoided all the story cliches. Generally, the role of a mythical being is played by the ML but here it is our FL and I also liked that instead of a lawyer it is a judge. Pretty great and unique.

The story started out great with a lot of devil and blood, the romance is also very well developed. Instead of them just finding heavenly love at first sight I loved how they let there love blossom slowly. Believe it or not this show has only 1 proper kiss scene and that is at the end. And I am not complaining it was awesome. It had its own beauty. While we are on the topic. I loved the ML too. He was a sweetheart instead of the normal stoic ones we get. Now that I think of it no one was stoic in this series. Is it what I think it is? A breath of fresh air.

The story was rather short with only 14 episodes, but I still thing it could’ve done better. Till the time the story reached the end it had quite a few strands loose. Like the angel went to hell to save a ‘good’ demon. Or that the one will die curse was a lie. The writers dug the hole so deep that they themselves didn’t know how to get out. But that is just my opinion.

Even with a few strands loose this story was awesome. It was engaging, charming, a little bit confusing but it had kept me on my toes till the end.I admire them for it. I do wish the ending episode would’ve more couple moments but we all wish for things. Tbh my main issue was only with the somewhat childish ending but at least they didn’t use the cliche where the dead ML comes back to life at the last 0.25 millisecond of the last episode.

I still think adding the one will die curse was unnecessary, they could’ve just made it simpler, but come on you have to agree nothing was more satisfying then watch Bitna beating everything out of those monsters. I do think she was not portrayed to be demonic enough, she had more of a vigilante vibes then a devil from hell vibes but I digress.

Oh and one last thing I must appreciate. The AD PLACEMENT! Future dramas take inspiration! that is how you place ads in between. You put them subtly instead of pushing it in our faces!

In the end. Yes I loved it, you willl too. Yes, I will forever love this ship. Yes, I didn’t appreciate the ML enough in this summary. I hate Bael too.

Will watch it again

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Actuaciones on point para una historia meh

La actuación es buena porque Park Shin Hye es un valor seguro. Me hace gracia que no hay casi besos porque este casadisima y tenga un hijo. Así se demuestra también que no es necesario que si o si los protagonistas tengan que besarse mucho para demostrar que son pareja y que se quieren. El chico protagonista (Kim Jae Young) me ha sorprendido mucho pues creía que no le había visto antes actuar y al parecer si le había visto antes actuar pero no es hasta ahora que me he dado cuenta de lo bien que actúa , aparte de ser un pedazo de crush. Kim Ah Young, la vi por primera siendo amiga en My Sweet Mobster, ha vuelto ha hacer una actuación impecable dándonos momentazos. Espero que pronto ya sea protagonista porque ahí nos va a dejar flipando a todos.

Respecto a la historia cae en ciertos clichés que sabes que desde el minuto uno va a caer, rollo se va a enamorar de un humano, su única sentencia buena va a ser la que dicte para su amor, los protagonistas cambiaran a las personalidades del otro, vamos que caen en ciertos tópicos y te dejan ciertas cosas sin finalizar rollo el Han Daon , se carga los videos y no le sucede nada?? Demasiado conveniente para él,no?. O que no se resuelva el asesino en serie que mata a los criminales...No hay mucha parte de la historia que me haya dejado sorprendida tal vez me ha gustado la vecina católica saber su historia y su fanatismo religioso porque venía pero siento que lo otro ha caído en los típicos clichés.
Ahora legalmente hablando, no se mucho del sistema legal de Corea pero flipo que el mismo juez que te juzga es el que tiene que investigar, a la porra la imparcialidad , vamos es que eso es un sistema acusatorio donde el juez no tiene resquicio de imparcialidad porque ha investigado el caso, porque seamos sinceros aquí la policía ni ha pinchado ni ha cortado ni vaya ni ha hecho nada. Aparte de cargarse el principio de juez imparcial, vamos en el último juez es un claro caso de recusación de juez , como puedes tener un juez que ha tenido relación con los vecinos que son víctimas así como con uno tiene una relación sentimental, normal que le deje hacer un alegato al Han Daon y bueno que luego haga esa sentencia, que si que será justa la sentencia (bueno eso depende de quien lo veas porque el crimen ya había prescrito y depende de cómo veas la institución de la cárcel y los derechos de los presos entenderás si los mismos deben tener derecho a la prescripción de sus delitos), es porque la gracia es que no es imparcial y le mete una condena de muerte (cosa que no sabía que Corea todavía tenga la pena de muerte y más siendo una democracia).
Y bueno ese lema que la justicia que no te la ha dado los cielos te la dé en la tierra , pues cariño mio siento decirte que la justicia no existe y más en un mundo capitalista que se mueve por el dinero

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This series is one of my favorites of 2024

✨this series is simply surprising! I was afraid it would have a bad ending like some releases from this year that I followed, but this series had a very good ending 👍 it kept me from start to finish, the performance of the protagonist who played the character Kang Bitna was amazing, I laughed a lot at her expressions, the couple had a lot of chemistry, I simply loved it and yes, this series was on the list of my favorites of 2024 and I will watch it again because I already miss the cast, the last episodes I dehydrated from crying, I felt the pain of those characters who lost your loved ones, thank you screenwriter for being sensible and for delivering a decent ending!

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