The Judge from Hell: Episodes 13-14 (Final)

by DaebakGrits

It’s the conclusion of our gore-filled drama, but will it also be the end for our demon and detective? This OTP has a morbid prophecy hanging over their heads, but maybe, amidst all the revenge porn, our finale will reveal a loophole that will allow them to have their happily-ever-after.

 
EPISODES 13-14

Now that Tae-gyu, the final baddie, has been arrested, it’s only fitting that he sees his day in court — you know, because our main character is a judge from hell. And given our main character’s profession, it’s equally fitting that Tae-gyu ends up in Bit-na’s courtroom.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: how the hell was Bit-na able to preside over his case? Well, Beanies, it all boils down to political corruption. Lest we forget, Tae-gyu and his satanic father had a lot of politicians in their back pocket, so when Bit-na approached the incarcerated Tae-gyu with an offer similar to the one he made with Satan, he presumably pulled some strings (re: blackmailed) and had his political friends pressure Bit-na’s boss so that she was assigned his case.

Obviously, Bit-na doesn’t intend to uphold her end of her bargain with Tae-gyu — she’s not in favor of killing innocent people in order to gain immortality, like Satan. But after Bael’s last-minute visit to her judges chambers, it’s unclear if she will punish him in the court of law… or hell. Thankfully, depending on how you look at it, Tae-gyu arranges for his brother — and the main witness for his trial — to get shanked in prison. He lives, and his almost-murder allows Bit-na to delay the judicial proceedings for a few days and stew on Bael’s ultimatum.

Although it looked like the attack on Deadbeat Brother’s life would cause him to back out as a witness, he shows up to Tae-gyu’s trial fashionably late because Da-on, with just a few parting sentences, convinced Deadbeat Brother that he would be able to find justice for his mother’s murder if he testified in court. While on the witness stand, Deadbeat Brother admits to being an accomplice to So-young’s murder, the perpetrator behind the attack on Bit-na’s neighbor, and a witness to the killing of Religious Landlady’s son.

Unfortunately, there’s no proof to corroborate his story, so it’s a classic case of he-said-he-said, and Tae-gyu’s lawyer tries to imply that Deadbeat Brother is the real murderer who committed the crimes while under the influence of drugs. Bit-na and Da-on, however, suspect that Tae-gyu filmed his other murders the same way he recorded himself torturing Deadbeat Brother’s mother, and thanks to some rushed, totally-convenient-for-our-plot detective work, the videos are located and admitted as evidence. The contents of the tapes are so gruesome that even Bit-na struggles to watch them.

Tae-gyu, however, remains as cocky as ever. Yes, the videos prove he committed twelve murders in the past, but because the statute of limitations has lapsed, there’s nothing the court can do about it. He brazenly turns to his victims’ families, who are all seated in the audience, and goes off on a crazy tangent about how he killed his victims in order to liberate them from their poor (in the literal sense) miserable lives. He openly admits that he doesn’t feel any remorse because he’s got a god complex and believes his victims found eternal peace at his hands.

Wow… just wow. But you know what? I buy it. As far as serial killer antagonists go, I’ve got to give props to the writers for giving him a backstory that’s on brand with his twisted logic. Does it make sense to us, the viewers, without murderous, psychotic tendencies? Of course not, but within the story, it kinda checks out that a kid who grew up poor, neglected, and resentful would — after making a deal with a bonafide demon — see himself as delivering his own brand of salvation to others who’d suffered like him. Then again, maybe I’m giving this drama a lot of leeway because, more often than not, serial killers in K-dramas have no purpose beyond ruining a perfectly good rom-com.

The trial proceeds with Da-on stepping up to provide his own testimony as a witness to So-young’s murder, but while on the stand he transitions to recount his family’s murders. Tae-gyu’s lawyer objects — statute of limitations, irrelevancy to the case on trial, blah blah blah — but this is Bit-na’s courtroom, and she’s going to allow her man to have this moment. When the lawyer continues to protest, Bit-na has him escorted from her courtroom. Tae-gyu won’t ever be on trial for his serial killings, but Bit-na gives him this moment to confront the killer and find some semblance of closure.

As for delivering her verdict, well, Bit-na still has some time to deliberate and decide what matters most to her. Does she return to hell alive, or sacrifice herself so that the families of Tae-gyu’s victims will find peace? Her demon friends beg her to follow Bael’s orders and send Tae-gyu to hell so that she will live, and even Basement Halmoni/Gabriel agrees that this time around she should just continue to do as she’s always done — but I don’t think Bit-na should take anything Gabriel says at face value.

Da-on, the person whose opinion Bit-na values the most on this matter, is also the least informed on the matter. Bit-na hasn’t told him about Bael’s ultimatum, so when she asks him not to resent her for whatever sentence she chooses to give out, Da-on natively responds that he understands. Due to the statute of limitations, he believes she’s hinting that her verdict may not be satisfactory to him. Poor guy, he has no idea that she’s asking him to not be sad that she opted to sacrifice herself.

The day comes when Bit-na announces her verdict, and she sentences Tae-gyu to death — much to the surprise of the random reporter who became mildly important enough mid-way through the drama to get consistent (albeit brief) screen time. Da-on is elated by Bit-na’s verdict, and takes her to his family columbarium. I’m sure that his parents are up in heaven, watching down on their son, absolutely elated that he’s fallen in love with a demon. Then again, she’s also a judge, which is one of the top professions K-drama parents want their overachieving kids to pursue, so if the general public can reverse their opinion of Bit-na thanks to her latest verdict, then maybe Da-on’s dead family can overlook the fact that she’s a demon.

After the trial, Religious Landlady visits Tae-gyu in prison, hoping to finally understand his motive for killing her son, but he spouts more of the same nonsense from the courtroom, claiming he saved her son from the poverty he had no choice in being born into. She swears to never forgive Tae-gyu — not that he cares — but it’s clear that Religious Landlady feels the sting of his words.

That’s when Bit-na and Deadbeat Brother, who is sentenced to time while undergoing a drug rehabilitation program, come in clutch. You see, when Deadbeat Brother stumbled upon his brother’s murder of Religious Landlady’s son, he took the gift the boy had purchased for his mother. Now, years later, Deadbeat Brother returns the gift to her and she’s able to read the note her son wrote the day he died, which confirms he loved her and was happy with his life despite their lack of money. So, not only does Religious Landlady finally get her closure, but Deadbeat Brother gets a little redemption arc — right before Tae-gyu has him killed.

This drama really didn’t have to do Deadbeat Brother dirty like that (or give me flashbacks to another misunderstood brother who got roped into doing his more evil brother’s bidding), but in order for Tae-gyu to apply for a special leave from prison to attend his brother’s funeral and escape police, well, his brother obviously had to die.

While Tae-gyu plans his prison break, Bit-na says her goodbyes. Everyone assumes her behavior is the result of her recent reassignment to a courthouse near the coast, but the reality is that the time has come for her to return to hell and pay the consequences of defying Bael. As she bids Da-on farewell, I can’t help but shake my head at his cluelessness. Dude, can’t you see the way she’s looking at you? Those are not the eyes of a woman who’s about to be only a three-hour bullet train away from you. Then again, he can’t hear the dramatic swell of the music as she gives him a slo-mo kiss and walks away.

Ah-rong, however, won’t passively accept her idol’s death sentence, so she goes against her promise to Bit-na and tells Da-on the truth. He races to her rescue, but he’s too late. Bael’s creepy minion, who has been lurking in the shadows ever since Bit-na disobeyed Bael’s command, has stabbed her and left her bleeding — but alive — in a secluded park. She’s rushed to a hospital where doctors and nurses work tirelessly to save her, but Gabriel’s prophecy is fulfilled as Bit-na flatlines and a single tear drops dramatically from Da-on’s eye.

Next we see our hero, he’s placing a flower on a funeral altar, but it’s another fake-out and misdirect that’s become a staple of this drama’s sometimes non-linear storytelling. The reality is that Bit-na died — but only briefly. After she was pronounced dead, Da-on cried over her body, and another tear dripped down his face and landed on Bit-na’s cheek. Although the timing of the tear would imply that his love for her miraculously saved her from her fate, the reality is that Basement Halmoni passed away peacefully in her sleep (it was her funeral altar we saw earlier), and Gabriel came down to hell to rescue Bit-na.

Because Bit-na’s verdict eased the minds of a lot of people on earth, Gabriel spares her from eternal death, heals Bit-na’s wounds, and sends her back to earth — but Bit-na is still a demon. So if you thought Gabriel would reward Bit-na with mortality and a life as a human if she passed all of his tests, then you’d be wrong. But given that Tae-gyu escaped from prison, our demonic hero team kind of needs her powers to hunt him down and destroy him. And this time it’s personal. Cue: epic battle outfit, epic lighting, epic fight, and epic revenge porn moment.

As was the case with her past cases, Bit-na creates a gore porn scenario that is finely tailored to suit Tae-gyu’s brand of evilness. She begins by hunting him like an animal with a crossbow. Then she gives him a false sense of hope by thinking she will set him free if he can defeat Satan in a gladiator-style sword fight — which he loses, of course. The final stop on Tae-gyu’s torture tour is Da-on’s childhood home, where Bit-na chops off his hand and promises to remove more body parts. When Bit-na releases him from her illusions, she makes him put his prison uniform back on and proceeds to hand him a giant can of whoop ass. She beats him until he’s begging for forgiveness, but, as she tells him, forgiveness is not an obligation. With those final words, she stabs him, brands him, and sends him straight to hell.

The next day, Da-on and his team locate Tae-gyu’s body, which Bit-na and her team staged to send a clear message: he was killed in order to avenge his victims. His body was hung from a post, and below his feet were twelve caskets containing the missing body parts of his victims. By killing Tae-gyu, Bit-na also completed her original mission on earth, and Bael welcomes her back to hell. It appears that Gabriel can save Bit-na from eternal death, but not her job as hell’s judge and Bael’s successor. Surprisingly, Bael grants her a three-year extension for her time on earth, so Bit-na doesn’t have to leave Da-on’s side immediately. Da-on looks a little bummed when he hears the news, but beggars can’t exactly defy the orders of high-ranking demons.

Two years pass, and Da-on visits Bit-na in the tiny coastal town where she was transferred. There’s some cute playfulness and familiarity to signify our OTP is still going strong despite the distance between them, but Da-on expresses a desire to be physically closer to her in their last year together. Luckily, at that exact moment, just as they’re going in for a kiss, Bit-na gets a phone call. She’s being transferred back to Seoul.

From here, our story systematically revisits the families at the center of Bit-na’s previous cases and, all things considered, they’re doing well. Religious Landlady and her tenants are also thriving, and the neighborhood is brighter now that the redevelopment project has been abandoned. Bit-na, who was clearly missed, is welcomed back to not only her former neighborhood but her old job as well. There are even signs outside the Seoul courthouse posted outside heralding her return, but Bit-na is comically disappointed that journalists — in a mostly praiseworthy manner — compare her to the villainous Joker instead of vigilante hero Batman.

In Seoul, Bit-na is reunited with some familiar faces of the supernatural kind, too. Obviously Ah-rong and Man-do (who’s now a practicing Buddhist) — but Gabriel has also returned to earth and is currently living as the boyfriend of Da-on’s adoptive sister. (Yes, it’s awkward, and no, I’m not going to think about it too much.)

Bael also makes a reappearance, accompanied by ominous indoor wind and music. He relays a message to Bit-na that comes straight from the top of the demonic food chain. Lucifer has a proposition for Bit-na: if she can kill 10 more hell-bound souls within the next year, she will get to live out a life as a human. His timing is perfect because, wouldn’t you know it, Da-on’s team just so happens to be sending the unsolved case files and evidence pertaining Bit-na’s serial killings to archives.

Bit-na doesn’t hide Lucifer’s offer from Da-on. Instead, she mulls over her options with him. On the one hand, she loves the idea of extending her time as a human in order to be with Da-on. But, on the other hand, she doesn’t enjoy giving criminals light sentences and blocking their victims’ families from finding closure. In response, Da-on says he trusts her no matter what decision she makes. Either Da-on is now truly Bit-na’s ride-or-die partner in crime, or he knows she will “do the right thing” and put others before her own selfish gain.

Either way, we know she’s at least tempted to take Lucifer up on his offer after encountering an obnoxious and openly unrepentant criminal in her courtroom, but we don’t actually get any confirmation one way or another because our final scene with Bit-na is a callback to Episode 1. Once again, she’s pulled into answering the questions of a group of young school children. When they ask if she’s a good judge or a bad judge, she looks directly at the camera, smiles, and answers: I’m a judge from hell. (Cue: title sequence.)

The ending leaves it open for the audience to decide how they believe Bit-na will proceed going forward. Personally, after Tae-gyu’s case, I like to believe Bit-na has figured out that there’s a loophole that allows her to sentence the criminal to a harsh sentence in her courtroom before staging an elaborate prison break and killing the bad guys. That way the victims’ families can maintain their faith in the justice system and hell gets to collect on its unrepentant souls. It’s win-win for everyone, but something tells me the writers don’t like loopholes as much as they like plot holes.

But, you know what, since all the major plotlines were tied off fairly well, I’m not going to lose sleep over my remaining unanswered questions. (Looking at you, human Bit-na, wherever you may be.) I’ve been disappointed by the endings of a lot of dramas recently, but I can’t say that’s the case with The Judge from Hell. It was consistent — consistently good or bad, depending on what side of the fence you fall on — from start to finish. Either way, I was entertained, so I’ve just accepted the fact that The Judge from Hell is kind of like a Fast & Furious movie: action packed and full of a lot of tropey but likable characters reiterating the importance of family justice.

 
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