Vicious, Sexy, Badass - This is Park Shin Hye Like You Have Never Seen Her Before
Feminine rage has never been more delicious in this fast-paced, thrilling and hilarious wild ride of a drama helmed by a disgruntled she-devil who loves her sparkles as much as she loves murder.You can almost feel Park Shin Hye’s frustration for always being dubbed as a “mediocre actress” and “overshadowed by her male counterparts” because, this time, she came here without pulling her punches and was in it to slay it.
✔️Her character Justitia is an excellent anti-heroine. She is the female equivalent of the oppa of all oppas, an absolute bad girl in the best way possible.
✔️Selfish, violent, sadistic, cunning and utterly ruthless as she is, her prickly, fashionable, savvy self is also completely endearing. Park Shin Hye embodies her role beautifully and makes her 100% lovable.
There is a childlike sort of purity in this savage demoness as slowly her heart thaws and she starts to reluctantly care for people around her. Watching her gradually fall in love is literally the best thing ever.
✔️While Kim Jae Young is a new actor for me, he holds his own alongside her as the righteous, good cop with a golden heart. That said, he definitely feels like a glorified support role in PSH’s orbit and doesn’t have the wow factor where screen presence is concerned but that’s okay because the show obviously wants to focus more on the demoness.
✔️The pair has good chemistry together and the push and pull between them, along with the banter is fun to watch. However, the romance is a slow burn and almost feels like a friendship dynamic for most of the show with not much skinship.
That said, while PSH does serve her signature dry dead fish kisses in this, there is this one kiss where she is like “bet you didn’t see that coming”. I was almost shocked with how she nailed every aspect of this role.
✔️The drama doesn’t have a lot of filler and at 14 episodes, it does not drag. Each episode features a certain case and while I usually don’t like episodics, it was always great to watch Justitia put her lipstick and high heels on and mete out her own brand of manic justice in the most violent and blood pounding way.
✔️The action scenes were all well shot and while some sequences were longer than should have been, the overall element of CRAZY in all the action never let it turn boring. Park Shin Hye absolutely nails her fight scenes and comes out looking stylish, sassy and always on top.
✔️The supporting characters are entertaining, add excellent comedic value and don’t take up the screen time longer than is necessary.
✔️While the fantasy elements - with the ghoulish sound effects, the hilarious CGI and the wonky getups for the demons - are kind of funny and not that well done, it works because the show doesn’t take itself that seriously.
✔️The OST of this drama is always fun and “Sunmi’s Crossroad” absolutely stands out and brings the right amount of emotional impact when needed.
✅ Overall, the drama is VERY much fun and VERY much binge-able. There are some obvious plot holes but they can be ignored simply because of how entertaining the drama is.
So definitely recommended for a good time pass.
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This review may contain spoilers
It’s not a masterpiece
The production felt underwhelming despite SBS’s efforts, with a script that struggled to stay engaging and special effects that fell short of impressive.The revenge scenes and Kang Bit Na’s so-called “execution” lacked real impact and felt hollow. While the villains tried to appear despicable, they came off as one-dimensional, and the actors’ performances didn’t bring much depth. Even the smaller roles, like the journalist and the victims, were forgettable and didn’t add much to the story.
One aspect some viewers might appreciate—though I found it overly simplified—is the message that humans can be more cruel than demons. However, this concept felt forced and didn’t resonate emotionally. The dramatic shift in atmosphere after Kim So Yeong’s death and the hunt for J and Satan seemed disconnected and didn’t add much suspense. Kim Jae Young’s portrayal of Han Da On was unconvincing, and the supposed transformation in his character lacked any real intensity or depth.
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for me best drama of 2024
a few months ago before judge from hell starts we were talking with my sister about Park Shin Ye. She always portrayed similar charachters.. but, I and my sister are really impressed about Park Shin Ye in this drama.. her skills, the charachter she created and portrayed is totally different than what she did till now. when I was watching the drama Ireally enjoyed watching Park Shin Ye performance. she did an art! she did something above the sky. hope there will be 2nd season.beside Park Shin Ye, the story that a devil making the criminals feeling the same pain as their victims are so so so good. Recently in all around the worl, justice/judges lost its real meaning. real crüminals dont get their deserved punishment in most of the countries. so I liked the idea of making criminals feel the same pain as the victims… from a to z I loved this drama. and it deserves many awards…
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It's great thriller drama
Okay so it was a great drama in 2024 so far .....I love fl a lot how she acts in it like so dam good her acting was so good that I actually think that if there would be a demon in this world then she would be like Kang bitna only.Okay If I am talking about the main lead he is dam hot and he also acted so well in this drama that I have become a fan of him I would love to see him in more dramas like this. And one more his visual is no joke at all...he looks to fine in this drama. I won't give the spoilers to the viewers....I will say one thing that go for it guys without thinking..... it's totally worth watching.
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The judge from hell
One of the best drama of 2024, it really has everything - fantasy, comedy, romance (OMG that one kiss in last episode), action, criminals. There is a lot of violence but it is not as brutal as for example in Death's game. Great acting, plot and music. I really love everything.Park Shin Hye proved that she is amazing actress - she was great in Doctor Slump ( I also loved that drama, also 10/10)
Kim Jae Young was also great. And their chemistry was just perfect.
I love the ending, it was everything I wanted - I quite guessed how it would end but I am really happy with that.
Suprising is that I actually liked Jung Sun Ho' character (J killer's brother) - for me he was morally gray character and I like this type of character.
It is really worth watching!
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Meh
The series is getting a higher score only for its good-for-casual-watch aspect and the graphics being relatively decent. Unfortunately both the FL and ML were very one-note through the whole series and despite trying to force a romance between the two, it really just didn't work. The plot was both straight-forward and sloppy.However, if you can turn off the analytical mind and are the type who enjoys watching an "eye for an eye" kind of of punishment, this is a good one to try. Note that while it's not the most graphic I've come across, it's graphic enough for queasy watchers to avoid.
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Thrilling Fantasy Drama with a Hint of Romance
Is it bad that this is the first drama I've ever brought myself to watch with Park Shin Hye? Although I have to say I'm glad because I don't think any of her past dramas probably live up to her acting in this role.This is a fantasy drama about Judge Kang Bitna, or technically, Justicia, who is literally a judge from Hell that ended up in Kang Bitna's body to serve a sentence after accidentally making the wrong judgement in a trial. Her mission: to kill and send 10 murderers to Hell within one year, otherwise, she'll end up paying with her own life. It makes it easier that her occupation is a Judge, so she ends up giving murderers light sentences to be able to kill them right after. There are themes of belief, Christianity, God, Demons, and Angels, so if these are things you believe might trigger you, best to not watch. This show revolves a lot around morals along with law and justice. She believes justice is served with these murderer's lives when she sends them to Hell, so of course there's a character that believes in the law and legal punishment - here comes in detective Han Daon. He's the first human to discover her secret of being a demon, and simply won't let her get away with these killings. Both have such different beliefs and yet continue to be drawn to one another. Every episode is thrilling as we get to watch Justicia serve payback to these criminals the way we believe they deserve. Heads up, there is gore and violence so if you can't stomach scenes with blood, don't watch! Park Shin Hye plays an absolutely hilariously sassy badass who kicks these criminals' ass and looks pretty while doing it. This drama also has that hint of comedy you need to break the tension after serious and heavy scenes, as well as that hint of romance subplot that are somehow always better than actual romance dramas. Detective Daon clings right to her side, one of the more amusing parts of the show, making the supposedly emotionless demon fall for him - which by the way, this is something that apparently goes against demon law (talk about forbidden love). This is my first time watching Kim Jaeyoung act, and he's great at playing this handsome detective who's serious yet silly whenever he's around Kang Bitna. I'm personally really enjoying the premise, and rooting for their romance even though it may not have a happy ending. Definitely give it a watch if you want something exciting with a fantasy setting and that dash of romance!
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Extremely satisfying . This is therapy!
This drama is like one of those incredibly memorable older kdramas...when the stories used to be refreshing and every episode had some new tale to tell. This is what I was missing 😭The little stories have my heart ❤️
The plot is engaging and the female character is incredibly gripping.
The FL is very direct, business minded and a complex mixture of good and evil like human beings. She is sadistic and I LOVE THAT. Its almost therapeutic to see her doing her job.
The ML, He is nice but for how long? His patience is repeatedly tested and you wonder how that will affect his thinking.
Together, they make a unique and interesting duo. Man, I totally want them to end up together happily but I don't know if that's possible.
I can't wait for upcoming episodes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Good Enough
Korean Drama '' The Judge From Hell '' is a revenge fantasy with many criminal cases that get explored.The drama has a satisfying plot when it comes to giving justice, even though one can argue about its fairness and morality. But the cases the Judge takes up are so frustrating that the audience can't help but root for her to give them a 'proper' punishment.
The fantasy element, moreover, was nicely handled, as it was proven by the way they concluded the story. In addition, there were a lot of small details that enhanced it and made the lore compelling.
On the other hand, the final episode was pretty much a filler. Yes, it gave some additional moments with the characters, but plot vice, it didn't offer much. Also, the romance was nice and sweet at times, as it provided plenty of funny and cute moments, and fortunately, wasn't the focus of the drama. But, in the end, was kind of rushed, so a batter handle of it would have been nicer.
Finally, the performances were all great, but the leading lady stole all the thunder.
So, overall, seven out of ten.
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A decent drama about revenge and internal conflicts
Firstly, I'm happy that Park Shin Hye gave such an incredible performance and was different from the characters she played previously. She is more mature and this role will certainly open the way for more complex performances in the future. I really liked her.The plot itself is interesting, not very similar to the reality of a court of law, however, the way the writers framed a judge's position as defining a defendant's life was fair. The drama reminds the viewer that a judge can only act within the limits of the law, and that was very interesting. Other than that, seeing a demon have moral conflicts, having empathy for victims and human nature was different. This plot was well thought out and well placed by the writers. I don't remember seeing a plot similar to this, focusing on the judge.
It's worth watching if you like dramas that involve the legal world but aren't so realistic (because reality is actually quite unfair and boring, lol). I don't like dramas with a fantastic context, but this one balanced the fantasy narrative well with reality. Still, if you like dramas that involve revenge, this is one of the most satisfying, after all, the judge is not just a judge.
The acting of the actors was decent. The soundtrack is fair. The cliffhanger ending is also fair. As this is an extraordinary narrative, with characters beyond the norm, there would be no way to end it any other way. I confess that I found it strange that the judge had a relationship with ML, but, as her role was satisfactory in itself, I didn't mind too much about the attempt at romance at the end, lol.
Anyways, it's a fair drama, with great revenge scenes, and a very decent ending.
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Probably 2024’s Best
Loved this drama. It was something I always looked forward to at the end of every week.The angst, the action, the drama, the plot, they were all wonderfully made.
And as much as I love romance and the chemistry between the leads, this is probably the first time that it didn’t become my focus or priority. I was so engrossed in the story that I just want to know what will happen to Justitia and the gang in the end.
Speaking of the end… While the open ending gives everyone a somewhat happy ending; because it’ll be up to us to interpret what Justitia’s next action will be, I still preferred if they ended this on a bittersweet note. I think the impact would even be bigger. Because in all honesty, the plot twist to give her mortality in the end, beats the purpose of her being an actual judge from hell with zero f**ks to give. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the character growth of Justitia, but let’s be honest, we cannot erase that at the end of this all, they are still from hell… And I was somehow prepared that this will be like a CLOY love story with heaven and hell as the barrier... I just really wish that the ending was more thorough, or more options were given, rather than it being focused on just giving a happy-happy good ending fan service for everyone.
But overall, I still love this drama. Very much so one of the best for 2024.
-.5 just because I can’t with the ending. This is probably a me issue though.
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A Kdrama worth watching
I have so much to say but all I can say is the series is a 10/10 . Park shin hye’s acting was great , everything was amazing .The series started well and ended well , I didn’t think of dropping it at all and looked forward to Friday’s and Saturday’s because of this drama. It was well executed and I must commend the directors and producers
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