“The Judge From Hell” Episodes 1 And 2 Review – SHOCKING But In A Good Way

So SBS’s newest series “The Judge From Hell” is finally here, let us talk about it!

I’ve been excited about this drama because of the casting. I wanted Kim Jae-Young to gain more fans globally, he’s very underrated, and what better way than to pair with a Hallyu actress? Then something shocked me but in a good way. Shin Hye is doing something I’ve never seen her do.

This notably marks Shin Hye’s 2^nd project this 2024 which is rare, its been a while since she’d done that. I was going to be laser-focused on Jae-Young but Shin Hye and her character fully commanded my attention and surprised me.

Shin Hye seems very comfortable in this role, very commanding and she takes over the screen with how bold her character premise is, its ridiculous, and I like the way its executed so far.

I also personally did not expect the drama to be so physically violent, that point definitely shocked me. I wouldn’t personally recommend it to people who dealt with domestic violence if seeing such scenes would trigger them.

I didn’t feel the time pass by and I liked the way everything was set up. Justitia seems to enjoy torturing bad humans but she’s very hasty in her judgment, I wonder how she didn’t get in trouble earlier than this. I am also guessing that there is a reason why Bit-Na was sent to hell when she didn’t do anything bad, my hunch tells me its not a coincidence or a mistake.

I love the disconnect Justitia has from human emotions. It provides a nice contrast. She is from hell so it’d be weird otherwise, but I definitely did not expect her to care less about the general well-being of the people whose cases she’s taking on. She sees the worst of humans when she judges them so its expected that she does not really care even for the ones who don’t do bad or did not deserve it.

I guess the screenwriter might be building towards her character becoming more empathetic as the drama goes on.

So the script is written by someone named Jo Yi-Soo, a name I’ve never heard of before. I tried searching on various sites and didn’t find much, so I am guessing this is their 1^st project. Doing well thus far. Taking more chances than I would expect from a rookie writer.

There are a couple of caveats to the script including how the judge boasts about being from hell and is diagnosed publicly by specialists but it does not result in her losing her job. Especially since its on a large stage, many would argue she’s not fit to judge others.

I guess you could say she knows she’s connected, but even with this in mind, Justitia lacks the proper social ques to realize she’s doing herself a HUGE disservice. Of course, she hasn’t lived on earth but still, I am curious to see how the screenwriter handles that point.

This is a major plot point that the script will likely circle back to when Justitia goes overboard in the future, so let us see how it goes.

So far, “The Judge From Hell” seems hella promising. Can’t wait for more and I hope that Jae Young gets to shine better in the future.