Kathryn_51

I must admit - I'm having difficulty figuring out/understanding the various motives/strategies of the players. The Ep. 10 pre-release is even more confusing??

"A Supreme Court Justice openly lobbying for his son's trial!?"
https://x.com/mbcdrama_pre/status/2017372252896178506

Who wins this competition?? Kang Sin-jin or Han-yeong. I really have no predictions. Just give me some Se-hui/Han-yeong lighthearted scenes to balance out the tension. ❤️😊

Congratulations to "The Judge Returns". Highest ratings for the season - and on a Friday, no less. 😊

Episode 9 (2026.01.30)
Nationwide: 13.5
Metro (Seoul): 14.7

Saturday has stiff competition and Koreans can watch streaming easily, but still. . . .this is great news (actually topping Taxi Driver 3 for 9th episode).

Yes, in his prior life, he was married to her - but it was a "contract" marriage - each one using the other and she betrayed him. To understand the back-story of the various characters, you really need to watch the full first two episodes which take place in 2035 before he regresses to 2025.

As for the different characters, I rely on the wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Judge_Returns

Over a span of 10 years (2025-2035), Lee Han-young gradually became corrupted due to his alliance with the Haenal Law Firm. In 2035, after his mother died, he decided to break from the law firm (and his wife) and in a final act of defiance, gave a ruling that harmed both the law firm and the most corrupt judge in Korea (Kang Sin-jin). The corrupt judge ordered his killing. In the fantasy part of the story, he confessed his guilt and somehow miraculously was "regressed" back to 2025. His primary goal is to get revenge against the corrupt judge , but when possible, he uses his knowledge of "prior" events to change outcomes so that bad people are punished and innocent people are saved/protected.

If you want more details, I'll provide in a spoiler post.

Based on preview, the BTS and the pre-release, they should have scenes at the restaurant, the steps to Namsen Tower and the law firm. MBC is really pushing them on social media this week.

Pre-release for Ep. 9 - Han-young and Se-hui on the steps to Namsen Tower. ❤️❤️ So cute - she's wearing his running sneakers. And the same white dress I mentioned in earlier post.

No subs.😒, but Se-hui has definitely left behind her cool, bitchy persona - at least for a few moments. MBC description is: "Whenever I see Hanyeoung and Sehee, the mood changes. Sehee wants to let Hanyeoung go and Hanyeoung wants her to believe in him."

https://x.com/mbcdrama_pre/status/2016662578760462562

MBC released the behind-the-scenes video for Episode 8 and it included a scene between Han-young and Se-hui that was NOT shown in Ep. 8, so hopefully will be early in Ep. 9. The couple is eating in the same restaurant as in Episode 1 and Han-young once again tells Se-hui that he's been there before with an acquaintance (Viki translates to "someone I once knew"). Se-hui is wearing the same outfit as end of Ep. 8 (in the law firm) and in the preview where they are on steps to Namsen Tower.

https://x.com/onurscz/status/2015107130374959153

There are comedic scenes but it's not a classic comedy. It's more of a political thriller set amongst the Korean judiciary. It's one of my favorite dramas of the last couple of years and I usually watch rom-coms.

Han-young has one goal - the destruction of both Kang Sin-jin and Jang Tae-sik. If he is successful, that will once again turn the half the judiciary into a public disgrace. He's trying to protect Baek Yi-seok, but looks like we will need to watch Episode 9 to understand how he intends to use the law firm in his plan.

This drama was on my watchlist because of Go Kyung Pyo. He can do dead-pan serious and outrageous comedy.

Plus, I'm a bit tired of viewers who try to watch a drama with a 2020's morality/ethics filter onto life in S.Korea during the 90's - one of its most tumultuous decades w/ economic miracle mixed with/corruption and the IMF crisis.

Hopefully writer-nim can put it all together in a humorous/romantic/heart-stopping manner than honors South Korea of the '90s.

This was very helpful. My time was limited and I FF thru the violent scenes (and I will try to rewatch before the weekend), but this helps explain quite a bit for the remainder of the episode. Thanks.

Correct - which makes an Albert/Bok Hee pairing unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

Woah, that must be intentional. Then they will be forced to deal with the IMF crisis - no business escaped the impact although some were able to recover faster (Samsung, for instance), many - big and small - were destroyed.

Has the drama identified a specific year/timeline? I'm wondering if the IMF crisis (1997) will be a factor.

What a roller-coaster this weekend was! From one scheme to crisis to scheme to crisis. Hard to keep track. Question for other viewers? Is Kang Sin-jin playing a game with Han-young to see what might happen? OR, has he already decided that Han-young needs to be crushed and he is laying a trap for him? I really don't understand how the newest judge candidate fits into Han-young or Kang Sin-jin's plans.

Interesting, because I have the exact opposite reaction. Those scenes were fine in the overall into episodes, but they bore me to tears now. Neither his parents nor the neighbors appeared in the webtoon for more than a handful of scenes.

HOWEVER, having said that, it shows the writer knows what he is doing by including those heart-warming scenes that help humanize Han-young, and Jeong-ho because it appeals to a wider set of viewers - like you. 😊

I just wish they would humanize Se-Hui just a leetle bit more in these early episodes.

Ji Sung has great chemistry with everyone. 😊

As of the end of Ep. 5 - when Lee Han-yeong said "Now it really begins" we are now in full throttle 2nd Act "messy middle" of kdrama land and I'm enjoying every minute. In Episode 7, Han-yeong was juggling: (i) taking ensuring that victims of the sinkhole were justly compensated; (ii) ensuring that Mayor's punishment was only the beginning; (iii) playing suck-up to the Haneul law firm; (iv) psychological fencing with evil Kang sin-jin; (v) strategic plan for Woo Kyung-hoon's downfall; (vi) manipulating prosecutors Park Cheol U and Kim Jin A to eventually join his battle.

2nd Act is like a freaking spider-web - How does Han-young keep track of every single spider and - like any good 2nd Act - which one will eventually bite him.

And finally. . . . .getting Yoo Se-hui in the palm of his hand. He's still using that poor darling. I hope he wakes up soon and realizes how special she is. From MBC:

https://x.com/mbcdrama_pre/status/2014654352112144634

There was ALOT going on in Episode 7 with Han-young juggling so many side plots, I couldn't keep up. I'm going to re-watch again just to try and understand. You are probably smart to watch it all at once so that it flows together.

I predicted from the very beginning (because it was just so obvious) that there would be some sort of happy ending for the couple. But there is a lot - one helluva lot - of story/plot to play out for the final battle(s) to play out. I haven't paid to read/translate the final chapters because the drama is already departing in some ways from the webtoon.

The overall drama story is consistent with the manwha, but there are many changes (some subtle, some significant) in the characters and their individual stories. I don't see an actual wedding at the end (heck, I doubt if we even get a real kiss), but they will definitely be a couple and I look forward to each one individually realizing that they were meant to be.

Thanks for the tidbit from the webtoon. 😊