The Judge From Hell – K-drama Episode 2 Recap & Review

Taste Of Your Own Medicine

The Judge from Hell episode 2 begins with Bitna interrupted by Daon showing up driving a truck. He doesn’t run anyone over though, but he does confront Jeongjun, demanding he stay away from Minjeong.

Bitna stops Daon from beating this thug, which is just as well given police show up not long after. They take him away on charges of stalking Minjeong. Daon is not happy and he shows at Minjeong’s place, where police tape covers the front door. The place is a complete mess and all of this is to show how unjust Judge Kang has been. However, she obviously doesn’t care and retorts about the pointless cycle of life and death, including how a year’s sentence wouldn’t have made any difference.

Daon is livid and he’s quick to decide he’s going to apply for an arrest warrant. Not all judges are like Kang, some actually want to serve justice, which is ironic given who we know Kang to be. Now, Minjeong is still alive, thankfully, and Daon was there to help cut her down and stop the girl from committing suicide.

The detectives question Jeongjun, who tries to put on the façade of a doting, caring boyfriend. It’s not fooling anyone and Daon is charged by his superior to keep an eye on the psycho. Bitna believes they’re nearly there with this case , believing that a mental death (given Minjeong is feeling dead inside) is just as good as a physical death. I mean, guidelines and all that, right?

Bitna is incredibly cynical and her desire to get a killing here sees her interfere with the case further. The arrest warrant for Jeongjun is rejected and Bitna simply laughs maniacally at her desk.

Daon shows up to see Minjeong and she’s a complete mess. Her parents are unsure what else to do too and her father even swipes at Daon at the door, believing him to be Jeongjun. However, he’s in for a big shock when Daon receives a call informing that Jeongjun is actually dead!

We then cut back 12 hours and see how. Minjeong concocted a meet with Jeongjun in private, deciding to settle this between just them. They meet at an abandoned redevelopment lot, inside an empty house.

However, it’s not Minjeong who shows up but actually Kang Bitna. Imitating Minjeong’s voice using her assistant, he leaves while Bitna decides the real trial is about to begin now. He’s in Bitna’s world and unfortunately, there’s no way out for him.

This time, Bitna gives a taste of his own medicine and decides to abuse him the way he did with Minjeong. The abuse is relentless and she even smashes his leg in with a hammer. Eventually he tries to kill himself, breaking the illusion. Bitna explains that she’s a demon from hell and she’s here to cast judgment on him.

When Jeongjun tries to choke her out, it’s the wrong move as she absolutely destroys him, leaving the guy a bloody mess on the ground. Eventually he admits to his crimes and claims he’s remorseful. He even decides he should die. And just like that, Bitna sends him off to Hell, stabbing him with her knife.

Daon joins the detectives back in the present, as they head off to look over the crime scene. The place doesn’t look like a crime scene though, given it’s been cleaned up thoroughly. This is the doing of the clean-up crew in Hell. They have a great reputation for cleaning up crime scenes. In fact, they manage to rearrange the place to look perfect and even use a special vacuum to suck up all the blood. Justitia has a notorious reputation in Hell so they’re super thorough.

The detectives piece together Jeongjun’s whereabouts, including his route to where he died. They need to determine who he spoke to before dying, and the brand on his forehead reads “gehenna”, which is, of course, Hell. Alarm bells rings for Daon though, given he knows someone who thinks they’re a demon from hell.

Bitna though is busy poring over cases until she’s called in by the Chief Judge. He’s livid over her sentencing to let Jeongjun go with a mere fine. He wants her to change, pointing to her lavish outfits and behaviour, which isn’t befitting a normal judge. Bitna though simply shouts back and refuses.

Now, part of this leniency comes from Kang Bitna’s ties as a human to this world. It seems like she was engaged to marry Assemblyman Jeong’s son. She broke it off but the family still care about her. Given she’s now lost her memories as a result of this incident, Seonho (the chief) is told to watch over her.

At Nobong police station, Minjeong shows to see Daon. She’s doing a lot better and even wants to go back to work too. However, she also reveals how Bitna showed up to see her in church after. She encouraged her to speak of her sins truthfully and not to worry about feeling bad for wanting Jeongjun dead.

That night, Bitna shows up to see Daon. Now, this is her way of trying to extract information from him about various cases. She’s brash and upfront, deciding they should date. Daon is not happy but reluctantly agrees to humour her with some grilled pork that night.

He’s confused by her actions but after eating, decides to extract the info from him after getting the guy drunk. Apparently he’s killed three people in the past, stabbing them with a knife. He claims that he’s sitting next to one of the families… and then passes out.

When Daon awakens, Bitna promises to keep his secret and with a knife in hand, she stabs Daon, deciding he needs to go to Hell.

The Episode Review

The Jeongjun case is wrapped up with Bitna enacting her way of dishing out justice, by making him live through the same abuse he enacted on Minjeong. It’s a “taste of his own medicine” and in true K-drama fashion, there’s no holding back from what’s shown.

The drama has been decent so far though and the ties between Bitna and Daon take on an intriguing turn of events when we find out Daon has actually killed 3 people. Now, he could actually be the one who stabbed Bitna in the park and left her for dead, which looks like it’s the avenue this one could be taking.

Bitna is a difficult character to warm to, which I guess is kinda the point, and it definitely leaves a lot of question marks over how she’s going to find 9 other cases, how her character will develop, and what twists and turns may come. We could see a similar situation to something like Hotel Del Luna, where our male lead thaws the frosty heart of our antihero, but we’ll have to wait and see.

For now though, everything wraps up with an intriguing cliffhanger, leaving the door wide open for next week.