Recap Korean Drama "The Devil Judge" Episode 11

Aug 2, 2022

Episode 11 of The Devil Judge begins with a big reveal about Sun-A’s past. Kyung-Hee has done her homework and although Sun-A’s Mother died as part of a slip and fall accident, she believes Sun-A is to blame and actually killed her. In order to keep this a secret, she tasks Sun-A with catching Yo-Han and clearing her son’s name… and she has a week to do it.

After a particularly unnerving moment involving a razor blade and a close shave, Yo-Han invites Sun-A over for dinner. Elijah is pretty forthcoming, asking outright whether she and Yo-Han are together. That’s quickly dispelled but given Sun-A knows Elijah’s name, she senses there’s more to this story than first meets the eye.

The next day, President Park rings Jin-Joo on behalf off the Social Foundation and requests her attendance. It’s uneasy, to say the least, but she shows up as requested and takes a seat before him in a large, open office.

The Foundation want Jin-Joo to be the face of the group for public press conferences. They use Jin-Joo’s past as leverage. A while back she put a man under court arrest. Jin-Joo realizes this is a test and quizzes whether Yo-Han had to go through this process. When they laugh incredulously and say he did, Jin-Joo decides to get involved.

Back at the mansion, Yo-Han starts to loosen up and even plays jenga with Elijah. It’s a big step for him, especially given his past and the tall walls he puts up, but Ga-On is happy that he’s making this step nonetheless.

Well, things take a turn for the worst when Sun-A manages to grab hold of the actress who gave a false statement on-air. With Han So Yoon on their side, this immediately sees Kyung-Hee greet the public and reveal the news about the paid witness.

This consequently puts Yo-Han in the firing line for questioning live on-air from a gleeful Kyung-Hee. It’s an open hearing and Yo-Han is surrounded by enemies…and then it happens. So-Yoon suddenly turns the tables and claims Kyung-Hee threatened her and forced the girl into submission. When Sun-A shows up, it soon becomes clear that she’s double crossed the minister and turned the tables.

With the balance of power switching, Yo-Han brings out Young-Choon (the real one) to essentially commit a political assassination. As Kyung-Hee storms out the court, she requests a private meeting with Yo-Han – and a pistol.

Alone, Kyung-Hee confronts Yo-Han wan asks just why he’s doing this. Well, Yo-Han wants the confidential files. These include incriminating details about slush funds, what the Foundation has been up to and why the riots broke out in the street. If she hands it over, he promises her a way out. If not? Well, she’ll just burn with the others.

Yo-Han is no fool. He knows how hard Kyung-Hee will work to cling to the top. She’ll even betray her own son to do so. Knowing this is the case, another hammer blow is dropped. 12 lawsuits are drawn up against Kyung-Hee, each regarding her blackmail and underhanded tactics for different defendants in prison.

However, even worse is to come from the Foundation. They sit Kyung-Hee down and mention Young-Min’s drug addiction. With Secretary Kim out, a glimmer of hope comes from Ga-on, who happens to drive her to the courtroom, where Yo-Han joins her. He offers her the chance to team up so they can catch bigger criminals together.

When the pair leave the room, Kyung-Hee makes a devastating choice. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she commits suicide. The bang reverberates through the building, sending Yo-Han and Ga-On scrambling into the room. Ga-On tries to find the files but everything takes a devastating turn. Soo-Hyun shows up and notices the pair together.

The Episode Review

The sins of a Mother come back to haunt Kyung-Hee. All of her deception and game-playing has come back to bite her and this episode we see this stack of cards come tumbling down. Despite being the bad guy in all this, it’s hard not to feel a little sorry for Kyung-Hee. She’s completely out of her depth playing with such a cunning snake like Sun-A and her loyalty to her family has cost her dearly.

Learning the truth about Young-Min’s addiction and how she’s facing 12 lawsuits and a potential death sentence from the Foundation leaves her with the desperate and cowardly option of committing suicide.

The ending is certainly shocking and the bites of foreshadowing from Soo-Hyun, mentioning how she wouldn’t hesitate to arrest Ga-On, makes that end sequence that much more intense and meaningful.

Will Soo-Hyun really arrest Ga-On for Kyung-Hee’s death? We’ll have to wait and find out!