Recap Korean Drama "The Devil Judge" Episode 3

Episode 3 of The Devil Judge begins with Ga-On awakening at Yo-Han’s after surviving the bomb blast. The real question is – who’s responsible? Who tried to kill Yo-Han? Regardless of this though, the live court show will still continue. Furthermore, reckless driver Lee Young-Min is going to be the one to face the public’s wrath.

As Young-Min’s family deal with the gravitas of this situation, Yo-Han greets Sun-A in the hallway, taunting her over the bomb blast and pointing out how interesting it is that the blast was just enough to rile the people up but not enough to kill him. It’s almost like someone was trying to send a message.

When Ga-On does wake up, he meets a wheelchair-bound girl called Elijah who tells him she doesn’t like his face. As she leaves, Ga-On continues to recover from his injuries. In fact, Yo-Han hires a substitute judg called In-Seok to take over in his stead.

While they all prepare for the upcoming court case, Detective Soo-Hyun starts to look into the bomb blast. She’s determined to figure out who could be behind this. First up, she drives into the run-down Se Eol City.

There, they speak to a guy responsible for supplying the furniture in the offices. The man there chuckles though, refusing to give anything up and telling them to return with a warrant.

Well, Yo-Han’s not waiting for a warrant. He discovers the same furniture plant on his own accord and chokes the owner out. He promises to tell all, uttering that someone from the foundation was behind the blast. Quite who though, remains a mystery for now.

The Social Responsibility Foundation continues to sway the public, promising to shine a light on the lower rungs of society. As the homeless remain hopeful, the actual foundation enjoy lavish food and celebrate their video.

The President isn’t happy, although it soon becomes clear that there’s a coup in the works. Sun-A actually used to be poor and there’s no love lost when it comes to her feelings on the President and the rich.

Back at the mansion, Ga-On overhears one of the helpers talking to herself. She mentions how the house “doesn’t belong to him” but there’s not much more to say beyond that. Still, it doesn’t stop Ga-On dwelling on this.

Lee Young-Min continues to abuse ordinary folks in the street, this time at a restaurant when he parks illegally. This is just one of a series of similar incidents dating way back, with each individual settling the day before these incidents are taken to court.

Well, the court trial begins and Yo-Han makes a massive deal of Ga On being unable to attend. He tells the public to pray for him, as rapturous applause breaks out across the courtroom.

As the trial begins, the defence are confident they can end things without going much further. After all, if all witnesses settle up then there’s not much of a court case. Well, witness Kim Sung Hoon rocks up and takes to the witness stand. He immediately says he doesn’t want Young Min to face punishment.

Sure, this is an early spanner in the works but the public are on Young-Min’s side. In fact, Yo-Han turns the attention to the public where his face is broadcast out for all to see.

Video calls come in from a variety of different people. This is why it’s gone to an open trial, given Young-Min has been using his power to try and buy people out. Well, the people have spoken and judgment is cast.

The public overwhelmingly want Young-Min to be arrested, and he plays the system well too. As applause breaks out around the courthouse, Ga-On watches on TV before heading down to the basement in the mansion. He’s confident that Yo-Han is doing all this for an ulterior reason.

As he explores, he finds a photo of Yo-Han’s older brother, Isaac. He’s apparently the true owner of the mansion. The basement is where Yo-Han stays.

One of the workers at the mansion, Ji Young-Ok, shows up and explains that Yo-Han was an abandoned child. He was taken into the mansion and given food and shelter.

Isaac encouraged him to practice law, while Isaac losing his Mother from a young age continued to be a black cloud on his life.

That’s especially true thanks to his desire to beat Yo-Han with a whip. He’s not happy that the kid looks like him and believes Yo-Han will ultimately go on to kill his brother.

As the episode closes out, Yo-Han shows up at a rundown warehouse, housing numerous homeless people. He finds a familiar face and chases after him across the rooftops. It turns out Isaac died in a fire, one month after the chairman passed away. As Yo-Han stalks this man across the rooftops, he slips and falls to his death.

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The Episode Review

The Devil Judge returns this week with another explosive episode, this time diving into Yo-Han’s past and understanding what’s driven him to this point.

It seems like he was abandoned as a child and taken into this mansion. Isaac’s death and the chairman passing both seem to be connected but whether Yo-Han is directly responsible for that or not remains to be see.

What is clear though, is that these court cases are starting to weed out the least deserving in society and those who manage to pay their way to success.

Seeing the public rise up against these untouchables is certainly satisfying, although you can tell the show is just waiting for a controversial case to throw things into chaos.

There’s a lot of interesting directions this could go and when it’s a case shrouded in shades of grey rather than a clear cut black and white situation, this show could well step up into another level.

While a little slower this week, The Devil Judge does shed light on the past in a really involving way. Understanding more about Yo-Han’s history is certainly welcome, while the Social Responsibility Foundation very clearly have a hand in what’s going on here.