⚖ Recycled Brimstone ⚖ °8.2° °Excellent°
I AM THE POWER!
He actually pumped his fist when addressing the gala. This judge is tough. He always seems to do the right thing, he just looks very wrong as he's doing it. An old lady tearingly thanks him for his ‘just ruling’ and breaks down sobbing. The Judge holds her, but as Gaon looks on from the back end, that judge is yawning!
T👹J is a 2021 release that is rated 93 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 75-minute episodes (ep16 is 95 min). Sometimes it takes a devil to catch a devil. This is a fantasy-thriller about corruption and political wrangling. They aren't attempting real-life plausibility. If realism is important, or if one knows a lot about the judicial system and how slowly it moves, this show might be annoying. One does have to roll with the unreal elements in order to enjoy it. Therefore, this article won't attempt to explain or justify the impossible timeline nor the audacious actions depicted. If all your shirts are starched and your sneakers are 🥛⚪, this may not be the show for you.
We're post pandemic. Post insanity. Trying to live again. Cut to a politician ranting: He's discussing the country's resurgence along with judicial reform. "Judge Kang Yo Han, dubbed the “Justice Bao” of the 21st century for his ruthless decisions… will deliver, once and for all, what you've always wanted: A trial where justice stands!" Public approval of the country's judiciary is in the teens. They will be televising a trial and letting the public VOTE on the verdict.
And there he is! Right on cue! Is he a judge or a male model? He's sort of a Korean Josh Hartnett (a very good thing). He's questioned about his harshness, especially to the disadvantaged - mentally, physically, & emotionally. He says they're all merely defendants >> /criminals/. He doesn't believe in “such fickle things like good will...”
Not everyone loves him. A denizen of the cigar-smoke-filled back room has brought on Judge Kim Gaon (Park Jin Young from Our Unwritten Seoul & He Is Psychometric) to keep an eye on him. Waiting for Gaon on the first day of his new gig is pretty girlie judge, Yun Su Hyeon (Park Gyu Young from Sweet Home-8.4, Celebrity, & Dali and the Cocky Prince). She knows she was chosen for her looks, she admits, so she'll be working triply hard to prove her worth. They, along with JK, will be judges on the new show. There's no public confidence, but they learn that first day, there's plenty of animus. Early in ep1 a man tries to crash the courthouse with a stolen school bus. Our judge takes out the driver with a high level rifle while Gaon saves a little girl from being struck. They're still strangers, but they're already working together well.
Ji Sung has had mega hits like Defendant, Doctor John, & Connection. Here he's the lead, Judge Kang Yo Han - JK. I've seen him in Familiar Wife-8.5, which shocked me, it was so good. He's about as good looking as a man can get. It just comes down to personal taste. The ridiculously adorable Kim Min Jung (Man to Man-6.7, Mr. Sunshine-9) plays “Jung” Seon A, admin assistant to mega-influencer, Chm Seo. No one is like Ms Kim. She reminds me slightly of Helena Bonham Carter's Marla Singer, from Fight Club, whom Tyler Durden described as a “predator posing as a housepet". Jung is chiffon over black lace over steel. She's amazing. Her boss, Chm Seo has a big social program he's rolling out through his Social Responsibility Foundation.
Park Gyu-Young is Yoon “Su”-hyeon, Gaon's Bff. She always asks him to marry her. He declines, saying he won't ruin the friendship. Gaon's on the show, so she becomes exposed to all of the players, which leads to suspicions about JK. She starts to investigate him. They watch JK destroy an obnoxious driver one day. He literally destroyed the guy's car with a sledge hammer! Su is entirely by-the-book ~ 💯. When Gaon and JK start to bring the heat on the bad guys, she struggles because they can't do it and completely stay on the right side of the line. They are in murky territory. Corrupt governments pass so many laws that it's impossible to keep them all. They make us all criminals so they can get us whenever they want to. Gaon and JK are walking that tightrope.
Jung Eun Pyo plays the con artist who swindled Gaon's family. He has some riveting moments. Baek Hyun Jin (Happiness) plays President Heo Jung Se. Every time he's bellowing from the podium I can almost feel the flecks of spittle. He's sorta gross. To the extent there's any over-acting, it's on him. However, it looks like he's not entirely sane, and nobody else is that extra. Choi Jung Gyu (Children of Nobody, Two Weeks) is the Director and Moon Yoo Seok (Pro Bono, Miss Hammurabi) is the screenwriter. We see lots of those whom we see lots of. The list of guest stars is impressive.
The first airing is a hit! Gaon thought JK was on the take for the defendant (JU Chemicals Chairman) but the very end of the trial was a bit of a stunner. Gaon's more confused than ever. JK looks totally sus, tbf. Like a constant drip, we hear eyewitness accounts and see flashbacks of JK's former life. He wasn't wanted by his father (illegitimate) and he's done some things that appear to be criminal. We don't have the full context, but this judge is no simple guy and he's clearly not much of a rule follower. The more we see, however, the more things align in a way that's favorable to JK. Perhaps he isn't the baddie?
JK lives with his niece (Jeon Chae Eun from Way Back Love & Uncle Samsik-8.4 plays Kang Elijah), though we aren't introduced to her properly for a couple episodes. She's in a wheelchair, ever since the fire that killed her parents. She's deeply angry, and her tone is always caustic. After a bomb goes off at the Supreme Court, Gaon is injured trying to save JK, so he recuperates at JK's house. Elijah is straight-nasty to him. He's a charming guy, though, and he knows how to cook, so he gradually makes inroads with her. Gaon also looks quite a bit like her deceased father, JK's brother. JK even mentions it. Their place is a mansion. They're loaded. JK admits his father was a loan shark. “It's all about selling hope and getting it back through fear.”
This is no romance, though the dynamic between Jung and JK is steamy, along with feeling rather slimy. We see a couple of one-sided crushes. One gets sidelined just as feelings are reciprocated, and it's particularly sad. We see damaged, doomed love. It's actually beautiful in its own way. Corruption is the main theme. Gaon came in suspecting JK and saw every act through a tainted lens. At the same time, he finds himself drawn to JK and he's bonding with Elijah. He continues living at JK's even after he's recovered. It's safer there. At the end of ep2, JK shows Gaon how very corrupt the system is. Gaon cannot deny what he sees: The justice system has a total bowel blockage. Gaon has a total breakdown. “What can we do against them while adhering to all principles and procedures? As I told you, there is no justice in this world. Only a game exists. A terribly tilted one at that.” JK ain't joking!
The balance of TDJ is sorting through the drips of new information to solve not only current crimes, but 20 year old ones as well. “The rich and powerful never reflect on their actions. That's only for the poor.” The corrupt politicians are truly soulless. What the viewer doesn't know is who is working with them. Whom have they paid off? Suspicions around JK won't die, and JK will not defend himself. We'll find out why. Things get very dark before dawn.
The plot works well enough. The writing is good. The acting is outstanding. The filming is good. The feel is heavily stylized and slick ~by design~ as JK has nearly supernatural instincts and acumen. Given its tone and ambitious plot, TDJ brushes up to Big Mouth-7.4, which had me seesawing nearly the whole time wondering if it was entirely too outrageous or if it worked. I decided it worked. This works too, though it collects some chaff with the wheat. When feeling threatened, the president suggests deliberately spreading the virus to consolidate his power. Let's never forget that reality is always much stranger; 3 years after the show was made, an incident nearly as bizarre occurred in South Korea when President Yoon Suk declared martial law on 12/3/24. It only lasted for 6 hours, so the dire emergency was only in the president‘s head.
TDJ serves to remind us all: “We are all here to do our duties bestowed upon us by our people, who are sovereign. We must make sure that no one is wronged and that no one sheds tears of blood. We must also ensure those who make others cry tears of blood are rightfully punished. Is that not our duty? That's why I'm in my judge's robe. If we fail and neglect our duties someone out there will suffer. And their suffering is what breeds monsters. There is a reason why people are enraged.”
QUOTES🗣
Charm is power.
Being over-modest is no different than being arrogant.
Turning crises into opportunities is how those who move the world operate.
“I lived my entire life for revenge. Now that it's realized, I feel empty.”
No matter how much you hate this world and its people, you can't live alone. Everyone needs someone to rely on, because we're human beings.
IMHO〰🖍
📣8.3 📝8 🎭8.5 💓5 🦋5 🎨8 🎵/🔊7 🔚9 🤗6 ▪ 🌞3.5 ⚡5.8 😅2 😭5 😱3 😯3 🤢4.5 🤔6.7💤0
Shazams:
The show opens to the edgy Drop The Game, by Flume & Chet Faker
Age 16+ Language: occasionally R-rated, violence, sexual situations. Rated: 15+
Re-📺? No opposed, but notta priority.
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Crazy Love-7.8,
Racket Boys-8.3,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Flex X Cop-8.5,
Missing: The Other Side-8.3,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Uncanny counter season-1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4,
Vagabond-8,
Why Her?-8, Inspector Koo-8.4,
Sisyphus 8 (give it 2 episodes, ep1 is confusing),
Tunnel 8.5,
Itaewon Class-8.9,
My Mister 9.5,
Moving-8.5,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
Awaken-8.7, Light Shop-8.6,
A Shop for Killers-8.7
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
The Wailing-8.8,
Black 9,
Sweet Home 8.4,
Oldboy-9,
Parasite-9,
Mother-8.8
⛔SPOILERS⛔
⛔
⛔
⛔
Ouch! There's an extremely painful death. Quite a few folks meet their demise in the show's balance, but one death is a difficult pill. Gaon needed to experience loss at the hands of this cabal to be perfectly aligned with JK. They handle the grief properly.
At ep2's end JK takes Gaon to a prison visit to see the man who defrauded his family. The fraud directly led to his parents’ deaths. Another person, who appears to be mentally deficient, is serving out the criminal’s sentence!
In the end he really did topple their construct, which turned out to be a house of cards.
He actually pumped his fist when addressing the gala. This judge is tough. He always seems to do the right thing, he just looks very wrong as he's doing it. An old lady tearingly thanks him for his ‘just ruling’ and breaks down sobbing. The Judge holds her, but as Gaon looks on from the back end, that judge is yawning!
T👹J is a 2021 release that is rated 93 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 16 75-minute episodes (ep16 is 95 min). Sometimes it takes a devil to catch a devil. This is a fantasy-thriller about corruption and political wrangling. They aren't attempting real-life plausibility. If realism is important, or if one knows a lot about the judicial system and how slowly it moves, this show might be annoying. One does have to roll with the unreal elements in order to enjoy it. Therefore, this article won't attempt to explain or justify the impossible timeline nor the audacious actions depicted. If all your shirts are starched and your sneakers are 🥛⚪, this may not be the show for you.
We're post pandemic. Post insanity. Trying to live again. Cut to a politician ranting: He's discussing the country's resurgence along with judicial reform. "Judge Kang Yo Han, dubbed the “Justice Bao” of the 21st century for his ruthless decisions… will deliver, once and for all, what you've always wanted: A trial where justice stands!" Public approval of the country's judiciary is in the teens. They will be televising a trial and letting the public VOTE on the verdict.
And there he is! Right on cue! Is he a judge or a male model? He's sort of a Korean Josh Hartnett (a very good thing). He's questioned about his harshness, especially to the disadvantaged - mentally, physically, & emotionally. He says they're all merely defendants >> /criminals/. He doesn't believe in “such fickle things like good will...”
Not everyone loves him. A denizen of the cigar-smoke-filled back room has brought on Judge Kim Gaon (Park Jin Young from Our Unwritten Seoul & He Is Psychometric) to keep an eye on him. Waiting for Gaon on the first day of his new gig is pretty girlie judge, Yun Su Hyeon (Park Gyu Young from Sweet Home-8.4, Celebrity, & Dali and the Cocky Prince). She knows she was chosen for her looks, she admits, so she'll be working triply hard to prove her worth. They, along with JK, will be judges on the new show. There's no public confidence, but they learn that first day, there's plenty of animus. Early in ep1 a man tries to crash the courthouse with a stolen school bus. Our judge takes out the driver with a high level rifle while Gaon saves a little girl from being struck. They're still strangers, but they're already working together well.
Ji Sung has had mega hits like Defendant, Doctor John, & Connection. Here he's the lead, Judge Kang Yo Han - JK. I've seen him in Familiar Wife-8.5, which shocked me, it was so good. He's about as good looking as a man can get. It just comes down to personal taste. The ridiculously adorable Kim Min Jung (Man to Man-6.7, Mr. Sunshine-9) plays “Jung” Seon A, admin assistant to mega-influencer, Chm Seo. No one is like Ms Kim. She reminds me slightly of Helena Bonham Carter's Marla Singer, from Fight Club, whom Tyler Durden described as a “predator posing as a housepet". Jung is chiffon over black lace over steel. She's amazing. Her boss, Chm Seo has a big social program he's rolling out through his Social Responsibility Foundation.
Park Gyu-Young is Yoon “Su”-hyeon, Gaon's Bff. She always asks him to marry her. He declines, saying he won't ruin the friendship. Gaon's on the show, so she becomes exposed to all of the players, which leads to suspicions about JK. She starts to investigate him. They watch JK destroy an obnoxious driver one day. He literally destroyed the guy's car with a sledge hammer! Su is entirely by-the-book ~ 💯. When Gaon and JK start to bring the heat on the bad guys, she struggles because they can't do it and completely stay on the right side of the line. They are in murky territory. Corrupt governments pass so many laws that it's impossible to keep them all. They make us all criminals so they can get us whenever they want to. Gaon and JK are walking that tightrope.
Jung Eun Pyo plays the con artist who swindled Gaon's family. He has some riveting moments. Baek Hyun Jin (Happiness) plays President Heo Jung Se. Every time he's bellowing from the podium I can almost feel the flecks of spittle. He's sorta gross. To the extent there's any over-acting, it's on him. However, it looks like he's not entirely sane, and nobody else is that extra. Choi Jung Gyu (Children of Nobody, Two Weeks) is the Director and Moon Yoo Seok (Pro Bono, Miss Hammurabi) is the screenwriter. We see lots of those whom we see lots of. The list of guest stars is impressive.
The first airing is a hit! Gaon thought JK was on the take for the defendant (JU Chemicals Chairman) but the very end of the trial was a bit of a stunner. Gaon's more confused than ever. JK looks totally sus, tbf. Like a constant drip, we hear eyewitness accounts and see flashbacks of JK's former life. He wasn't wanted by his father (illegitimate) and he's done some things that appear to be criminal. We don't have the full context, but this judge is no simple guy and he's clearly not much of a rule follower. The more we see, however, the more things align in a way that's favorable to JK. Perhaps he isn't the baddie?
JK lives with his niece (Jeon Chae Eun from Way Back Love & Uncle Samsik-8.4 plays Kang Elijah), though we aren't introduced to her properly for a couple episodes. She's in a wheelchair, ever since the fire that killed her parents. She's deeply angry, and her tone is always caustic. After a bomb goes off at the Supreme Court, Gaon is injured trying to save JK, so he recuperates at JK's house. Elijah is straight-nasty to him. He's a charming guy, though, and he knows how to cook, so he gradually makes inroads with her. Gaon also looks quite a bit like her deceased father, JK's brother. JK even mentions it. Their place is a mansion. They're loaded. JK admits his father was a loan shark. “It's all about selling hope and getting it back through fear.”
This is no romance, though the dynamic between Jung and JK is steamy, along with feeling rather slimy. We see a couple of one-sided crushes. One gets sidelined just as feelings are reciprocated, and it's particularly sad. We see damaged, doomed love. It's actually beautiful in its own way. Corruption is the main theme. Gaon came in suspecting JK and saw every act through a tainted lens. At the same time, he finds himself drawn to JK and he's bonding with Elijah. He continues living at JK's even after he's recovered. It's safer there. At the end of ep2, JK shows Gaon how very corrupt the system is. Gaon cannot deny what he sees: The justice system has a total bowel blockage. Gaon has a total breakdown. “What can we do against them while adhering to all principles and procedures? As I told you, there is no justice in this world. Only a game exists. A terribly tilted one at that.” JK ain't joking!
The balance of TDJ is sorting through the drips of new information to solve not only current crimes, but 20 year old ones as well. “The rich and powerful never reflect on their actions. That's only for the poor.” The corrupt politicians are truly soulless. What the viewer doesn't know is who is working with them. Whom have they paid off? Suspicions around JK won't die, and JK will not defend himself. We'll find out why. Things get very dark before dawn.
The plot works well enough. The writing is good. The acting is outstanding. The filming is good. The feel is heavily stylized and slick ~by design~ as JK has nearly supernatural instincts and acumen. Given its tone and ambitious plot, TDJ brushes up to Big Mouth-7.4, which had me seesawing nearly the whole time wondering if it was entirely too outrageous or if it worked. I decided it worked. This works too, though it collects some chaff with the wheat. When feeling threatened, the president suggests deliberately spreading the virus to consolidate his power. Let's never forget that reality is always much stranger; 3 years after the show was made, an incident nearly as bizarre occurred in South Korea when President Yoon Suk declared martial law on 12/3/24. It only lasted for 6 hours, so the dire emergency was only in the president‘s head.
TDJ serves to remind us all: “We are all here to do our duties bestowed upon us by our people, who are sovereign. We must make sure that no one is wronged and that no one sheds tears of blood. We must also ensure those who make others cry tears of blood are rightfully punished. Is that not our duty? That's why I'm in my judge's robe. If we fail and neglect our duties someone out there will suffer. And their suffering is what breeds monsters. There is a reason why people are enraged.”
QUOTES🗣
Charm is power.
Being over-modest is no different than being arrogant.
Turning crises into opportunities is how those who move the world operate.
“I lived my entire life for revenge. Now that it's realized, I feel empty.”
No matter how much you hate this world and its people, you can't live alone. Everyone needs someone to rely on, because we're human beings.
IMHO〰🖍
📣8.3 📝8 🎭8.5 💓5 🦋5 🎨8 🎵/🔊7 🔚9 🤗6 ▪ 🌞3.5 ⚡5.8 😅2 😭5 😱3 😯3 🤢4.5 🤔6.7💤0
Shazams:
The show opens to the edgy Drop The Game, by Flume & Chet Faker
Age 16+ Language: occasionally R-rated, violence, sexual situations. Rated: 15+
Re-📺? No opposed, but notta priority.
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Crazy Love-7.8,
Racket Boys-8.3,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Flex X Cop-8.5,
Missing: The Other Side-8.3,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Uncanny counter season-1 only °S1-8.4 S2-4,
Vagabond-8,
Why Her?-8, Inspector Koo-8.4,
Sisyphus 8 (give it 2 episodes, ep1 is confusing),
Tunnel 8.5,
Itaewon Class-8.9,
My Mister 9.5,
Moving-8.5,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
Awaken-8.7, Light Shop-8.6,
A Shop for Killers-8.7
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
The Wailing-8.8,
Black 9,
Sweet Home 8.4,
Oldboy-9,
Parasite-9,
Mother-8.8
⛔SPOILERS⛔
⛔
⛔
⛔
Ouch! There's an extremely painful death. Quite a few folks meet their demise in the show's balance, but one death is a difficult pill. Gaon needed to experience loss at the hands of this cabal to be perfectly aligned with JK. They handle the grief properly.
At ep2's end JK takes Gaon to a prison visit to see the man who defrauded his family. The fraud directly led to his parents’ deaths. Another person, who appears to be mentally deficient, is serving out the criminal’s sentence!
In the end he really did topple their construct, which turned out to be a house of cards.
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