5
This review may contain spoilers
A Legal Thriller That Resets Itself Too Late
The Return of the Judge starts as a legal thriller about judicial corruption and corporate power. On paper, the premise is strong, but the execution is slow, overlong, and filled with familiar character clichés and exaggerated performances.
By episode 2, the series reveals its true direction: the protagonist is framed, killed, sent to purgatory, and given a second chance in the past with full knowledge of future events. From that point on, the legal tension collapses. Conflicts are no longer solved through investigation or strategy, but through supernatural advantage.
The issue isn’t the fantasy element itself — it’s that it invalidates everything that came before. What was introduced as a grounded legal drama turns into a moral reset story with no real stakes. When the main character always knows the outcome, suspense disappears.
Rather than evolving, the series changes genres midstream, after already demanding patience from the viewer.
By episode 2, the series reveals its true direction: the protagonist is framed, killed, sent to purgatory, and given a second chance in the past with full knowledge of future events. From that point on, the legal tension collapses. Conflicts are no longer solved through investigation or strategy, but through supernatural advantage.
The issue isn’t the fantasy element itself — it’s that it invalidates everything that came before. What was introduced as a grounded legal drama turns into a moral reset story with no real stakes. When the main character always knows the outcome, suspense disappears.
Rather than evolving, the series changes genres midstream, after already demanding patience from the viewer.
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