The Devil Judge: Episode 6

by quirkycase

Our scheming judge finds himself facing an obsessive adversary who might just give him a run for his money. Thanks to her expert maneuvering, he’s forced to go on defense as his trustworthy image is threatened. Meanwhile, our houseguest makes himself a little too at home and oversteps, putting him on the outs with his host.

 
EPISODE 6 RECAP

Ga-on is awoken in the middle of the night by a worried Elijah. She tells him Yo-han is gone – he’s never stayed out like this since the fire. Ga-on fixes them some tea and notes that Elijah must actually like her uncle. She even helped with the Seok-hoon case.

When Elijah counters that she was just doing it for fun, Ga-on laughs at the family resemblance between her and Yo-han. She sobers and says Yo-han is the type who destroys everything around him. She’s heard the stories of what he was like as a kid. And just look at what happened to her dad and her.

Meanwhile, after being forcibly kissed by Sun-ah, Yo-han remarks that she still doesn’t know her place and has a habit of “touching everything.” We flash back to when the housekeeper was training young Sun-ah who was mesmerized by the riches around her.

She’d particularly taken a liking to the pretty Yo-han, pitying that he was kept in the basement. She started bringing him meals and even being his lookout so he could go upstairs without his father knowing.

As Sun-ah cleaned the upstairs window one day, Yo-han asked if she liked him. When she said she did, he asked her to prove it by jumping out the window. The housekeeper witnessed Sun-ah jumping and looked up in horror at Yo-han watching passively from the window.

Now, Sun-ah whines at how mean he was when she liked him so much. Yo-han scoffs that it wasn’t truly him she liked. We see that Yo-han had caught her stealing and warned her against it, which she excitedly took as him worrying about her.

When the housekeeper noticed items missing, Yo-han overheard Sun-ah put the blame on him by saying he’d been secretly going out a lot recently. He let it slide until she tried to steal a cross necklace that had belonged to Isaac’s mom. Shortly thereafter, Yo-han asked her to jump while holding the necklace for her to see.

In the present, Sun-ah argues that even so, she liked him. She likes anything that sparkles and shines. Yo-han remarks on her hard work and wonders if she’s now playing maid while stealing from the SRF. Sun-ah angrily grabs him by the neck, choking him.

She calms down and releases him, calling him impressive for how he eliminated his brother and threw suspicious off himself by saving his niece. How could she not fall for him?

At the mansion, Elijah shares that she hacked into Yo-han’s computer when she was 12. She found a secret folder with the form to cancel the donation. It was dated a week before the fire. Ga-on comforts her as she cries that Yo-han was all she had.

Yo-han is tired of the reminiscing and tells Sun-ah to get to the point. She says she doesn’t care what games he plays so long as he leaves the SRF out of it. Yo-han argues she’s wasting her time. It’d be better to just kill him. He has nothing to protect, so threats are useless.

Sun-ah sighs that’s a shame and stabs him with a syringe. Her motorcycle-riding subordinate Jae-hee comes in and chuckles when Sun-ah can barely look at the needle in her hand. Apparently, needles are her worst fear. Sun-ah orders Jae-hee to return Yo-han to his home. His disruptions make the SRF leaders rely on her more, so she’ll leave him alive.

She notices the cross necklace wrapped around Yo-han’s wrist and doubts he has nothing to protect. When Yo-han wakes in his car, the necklace is gone. He stumbles up to the house and is surprised to find Ga-on and Elijah fast asleep next to each other on the couch.

Yo-han quietly goes over and pulls Elijah’s sweater over her … before backing over the wheelchair and barely managing to keep himself upright. Somehow the commotion doesn’t wake either Ga-on or Elijah up.

In the morning, Ga-on asks Yo-han where he was last night. Yo-han fends him off by offering to tell Ga-on all about his nighttime activities involving a “tough” woman. Ga-on stops him as he starts talking about hair pulling and kissing.

Elijah finds Ga-on in the kitchen and asks (or demands, really) that Ga-on make ramen for her. Instead, Ga-on cooks a full breakfast for all three of them. Yo-han catches Elijah grinning and staring after Ga-on and starts teasing her about it.

Despite both Elijah and Yo-han’s grumbling about the food, they scarf it down. Elijah wonders where Ga-on learned to cook so well, so he explains that his parents ran a restaurant for 16 years and he’s lived alone for another 13. He gets quiet when she asks why his parents stopped running their restaurant.

The housekeeper comes in and is stunned at the scene, unaccustomed to seeing normal family activities in this household. Yo-han hops up and flees the room as she rants that he never touches the food she makes.

The next day, Ga-on takes Elijah to meet Soo-hyun who he hopes can be an older sister type for her. After a bit of chatting, Soo-hyun asks if Elijah has a copy of the form she found on Yo-han’s computer. Ga-on doesn’t seem thrilled with Soo-hyun putting Elijah on the spot, especially as Elijah starts to look uncomfortable.

He suggests that there might be other, less nefarious reasons for why Yo-han canceled the donation, but Soo-hyun disagrees. Before Elijah has a chance to respond, she spots Yo-han marching toward them. He angrily rips Ga-on from his seat and pushes him into the wall.

Yo-han accuses him of kidnapping a minor and warns that he won’t let anyone mess with Elijah. He wheels the mortified Elijah outside. Elijah yells that she won’t get in the car. “Am I your toy? Does being like this make me a pushover?” Her voice breaks as she asks if he had to go this far. She ignores Ga-on who calls out to her from the balcony and lets Yo-han put her in the car.

Elsewhere, a couple of high society ladies enjoy themselves at a host club. Sun-ah sits in the back, apart. All lightheartedness is zapped out of the room the moment Minister Cha walks in, and the young men hurry to serve her.

Minister Cha knows the women bought up land where the Dream Village is being built and threatens them with prosecution. They both kneel and make their excuses, but she isn’t having it. Sun-ah follows her out. When Sun-ah returns, they vow to donate the land to the SRF and beg Sun-ah to talk to Chairman Seo on their behalf.

Moments before, Minister Cha had asked Sun-ah if her performance was satisfactory. When Sun-ah said Chairman Seo would be happy, Minister Cha had wondered who the real Chairman Seo is. “Does it matter?” Sun-ah asked. Minister Cha doesn’t care so long as Sun-ah catches Yo-han as promised.

After comforting the distraught women and promising to protect them, Sun-ah takes out the necklace she stole from Yo-han. It’s time to determine whether or not Yo-han truly has nothing to protect.

At the mansion, Ga-on goes to talk with Yo-han about what happened with Elijah earlier. Yo-han launches into a detailed profile on Soo-hyun and reminds Ga-on he told him he wouldn’t hesitate to remove threats.

Ga-on grabs him by the shirt and warns him not to touch Soo-hyun. Yo-han taunts that he’s now curious to see what Ga-on would do if he did mess with her.

The next day, Ga-on calls Soo-hyun and urges her to be careful. He spots a motorcycle following Justice Min and recognizes it from the courthouse. Ga-on sees Jae-hee taking photos while Justice Min meets with someone. Ga-on grabs her, but she easily fends him off and runs.

Jae-hee tries to flee on her bike, but Ga-on stole the key. Before Ga-on can catch her, she yanks open the driver’s side door of a nearby taxi and throws the driver out. Ga-on hops on her bike and gives chase.

As they go through a tunnel, Ga-on swipes some netting from a truck bed. He throws it onto one of the taxi’s wheels, effectively stopping the car. Jae-hee gets out, but as Ga-on approaches, another car swoops in. Jae-hee hops in, and they take off.

Jae-hee caught Ga-on’s attention like Sun-ah wanted, but she doesn’t see why all of this is necessary. Sun-ah says they’re spreading seeds of doubt. Jae-hee smiles at how diligently Sun-ah works when it comes to Yo-han. Jae-hee gets ready to head to the next target.

Ga-on goes back to Justice Min and tells him about what just happened. Justice Min thinks Yo-han must be behind it. He’s been meeting with important people who are Yo-han skeptics.

At the courthouse, Sun-ah just happens to run into Jin-joo in the hallway. Sun-ah flatters her, calling her a star. Viewers think she’s the most “humane and approachable” judge. Jin-joo says she grew up poor, so she has an easy time empathizing with the powerless.

Sun-ah says those who grew up poor can sense each other, but she deflects when Jin-joo asks about her background. Looking around at all the portraits adorning the walls of the courthouse, Sun-ah asks why they’re all old men. She encourages Jin-joo to be ambitious – she’s the one who shines brightest in the trials.

At home, Ga-on finds Yo-han watching a video of a group of Yo-han fans called the Bamboo Staff Unit who are taking the law into their own hands. They mercilessly beat pickpockets and the like in the streets, calling it flogging. Ga-on sighs as he watches Yo-han whose face remains neutral.

Elsewhere, Soo-hyun tails Ki-hyun (the JU Chemicals employee who flipped on the stand) as he withdraws a large sum of cash from an ATM. She reports to Ga-on and intends to check if Yo-han is the benefactor.

Ga-on doesn’t want her taking this further after Yo-han’s threat, but Soo-hyun isn’t about to be cowed. As she drives away, someone snaps photos of her.

Soo-hyun requests to trace Yo-han’s account based on this new evidence and finds her boss’s angry reaction odd. Her suspicions are founded since he then contacts Yo-han’s lackey to report on Soo-hyun’s activities. When Yo-han finds out, he tells his lackey to go ahead with “the plan.”

Ga-on and Jin-joo are both in contemplative moods in their office. Jin-joo remarks that Yo-han seems odd and dismissive lately. She worries that he either doesn’t trust them or is looking down on them. Ga-on is too absorbed in his own thoughts to give much of a response.

That night, Soo-hyun calls Ga-on after discovering that Ki-hyun has gone missing. Not only that, but inside his house are signs of a struggle. Right as Ga-on starts to panic and warns Soo-hyun to get out of there, someone hits her on the head from behind.

Ga-on rushes into the hospital where Soo-hyun is being patched up. She plays it off like it’s no big deal, but the nurse says it could’ve been serious. Soo-hyun admits she was scared she might not get to see Ga-on again. He takes her hand.

They’re both shocked when they see Minister Cha on TV announcing that Yo-han is suspected of bribing a witness who is now missing. That night, Ga-on storms into the mansion and punches Yo-han with no preamble.

Yo-han raises his fist to punch Ga-on back but stops. Instead, he pushes Ga-on over his desk and stabs a pair of scissors down right beside Ga-on’s head. Ga-on calms down enough to explain why he attacked, but Yo-han insists he didn’t touch Soo-hyun. He warns Ga-on to never attack him again.

Sun-ah watches Minister Cha’s announcement while in the bath. Over the phone, she compliments Jae-hee on a job well done.

While Jin-joo frets over what this accusation means for their show, Yo-han meets with Minister Cha. He argues she doesn’t have evidence to prove her accusation, but Minister Cha thinks the narrative is more important.

Yo-han can’t hold in his laughter when she spits out that he’s getting what he deserves after making her cry “tears of blood.” He takes back the deal he was going to propose and tells her to do whatever she wants.

Yo-han later meets with the other senior judges who seem happy to have this excuse to get rid of him.
Chief Justice Ji isn’t eager to see the public turn against them and demands Yo-han’s resignation. They’ll put The People’s Live Court on hold.

The minute Yo-han steps into the lobby area, he’s accosted by reporters. Sun-ah and the SRF gang watch him on TV and figure they can just recast his role.

Yo-han holds a press conference in the courtroom to address the citizens. Jin-joo and Ga-on rush over and offer to join him – they should take responsibility together as judges. Yo-han says it’s not their responsibility. “Today, I’m going on this stage as a defendant, not as a judge.”

Yo-han shocks the nation by readily admitting that he did bribe the witness. He bows deeply in apology. But nothing in this courtroom is complete without some dramatics. Ki-hyun marches in and announces, “Judge Kang did nothing wrong!”

Ki-hyun insists every word of his testimony was true and that Yo-han took pity on him and his family after he was fired for being a whistleblower. Documents on the screen showing the bank transfers corroborate his timeline. He claims Yo-han checked up on him after the trial and started helping him.

Yo-han puts a hand on Ki-hyun’s shoulder and acknowledges that no matter the reason, he acted in a way that diminished the public’s trust. He then asks the public to vote: innocent or guilty? He’ll step down immediately if the public has no faith in him.

Over 4 million citizens vote with 92% believing Yo-han is innocent. Yo-han promises to honor the people’s will. He’ll now put everything on the line to expose a coverup. He introduces the Dream Village project and says he’s received a tip that the money donated by the citizens is lining powerful people’s pockets.

Photos of our gang of five populate the screen: Minister Cha, President Heo, Chairman Seo, Chairman Park, and Chairman Min. Yo-han promises to personally compensate anyone with information on what’s really happening with that money. While everyone rushes around her in a panic, Sun-ah smiles appreciatively at Yo-han’s image on the screen.

 
COMMENTS

It’s game on now. What a smart play by Yo-han, getting the nation to exonerate him by having Ki-hyun crash his press conference. Not only was he able to get out of this accusation predicament, but he used the vote to assess where the public stands. I didn’t expect him to publicly take on the SRF like that and go so far as to list names, but it makes sense to take this opportunity to leverage the people’s devotion. Popularity is volatile, so going on the offensive while he has public support is a good gamble. But I’m sure Sun-ah will have something up her sleeve. We’ve already seen how effective she can be at manipulating people behind the scenes. I’m guessing she’s the one behind Soo-hyun’s attack, and it was probably another attempt at sowing doubt among Yo-han’s potential allies. I have no doubt she’ll be a formidable enemy for Yo-han, and she might just be the only one smart enough to pose any real threat. I do find myself getting more and more suspicious of Justice Min, though. Something about him seems shifty. He’s been intensely against Yo-han from the start, seemingly without any evidence of wrongdoing. Could he be involved with the SRF? He did say he’s been meeting with “important people” who don’t like Yo-han.

Elijah is clearly Yo-han’s weak spot, and I have no doubt Sun-ah will discover that soon. The poor girl has been through enough, so Sun-ah had better not mess with her. While Ga-on was out of line in taking Elijah to meet Soo-hyun, I do understand his concern. She’s a teenager who’s lonely, isolated, and traumatized. She doesn’t seem to have any friends or even have many opportunities to leave the house. It’s obvious she cares about Yo-han but seems to hate herself for doing so given that he might’ve killed her parents. She needs a support system, and it appears Ga-on is the only person she’s opened up to so far. I believe Ga-on really was trying to help Elijah by introducing her to Soo-hyun, but that was not the way to go about it. They especially shouldn’t have put Elijah on the spot about Yo-han. Ga-on did look surprised when Soo-hyun asked about the file, so maybe he wasn’t aware she was going to question Elijah like that. Either way, Elijah is a minor and not in a dangerous situation at home, so Ga-on should not have taken her somewhere without permission. Yo-han had a right to be angry, but I felt bad for Elijah who was clearly embarrassed and felt disrespected. It’s bad enough to have your parental figure make a scene in public when you’re a teenager, but the way he wheeled her out without a word made her feel helpless. She’s entitled to the same level of agency over her body as anyone else.

We do seem to be going the doppelganger route with Ga-on. I think I’m just primed to expect birth secrets in dramaland, so that’s always my first assumption. At the very least, even if there does end up being a birth secret in the future, I don’t think Yo-han knows about it. And now with Elijah’s little crush, I’d be quite uncomfortable if we did go that route. Honestly, I don’t really think it matters since his resemblance alone is enough to have an impact and connect him to that family. I find it amusing that despite everything, Ga-on is still crashing at their place. With all the things Ga-on has suspected Yo-han of doing and all the ways Ga-on has irritated Yo-han, you’d think he’d be gone already. Ga-on’s curiosity must be strong to keep him from leaving even after what happened with Soo-hyun. Honestly, I’m more surprised that Yo-han hasn’t kicked Ga-on out yet. Ga-on has snooped around, accused Yo-han of being a murderer, taken Yo-han’s underage niece to meet a cop without permission, and even punched Yo-han in the face. If none of that gets him kicked out, I don’t know what will.

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