Disney+‘s The Judge from Hell was released on 21 September 2024 and yours truly just completed it. Yes, it took me a long while. There is a reason for it, which I will delve in in the review. Click further for possible spoilers and review…

The Judge from Hell tells the story of Justitia, a demon judge from Hell (obviously). For wrongfully judging a human, Kang Bitna, to Hell, she was punished to possess the body of Bitna. Bitna, ironically, was also a court judge on Earth. Justitia, in the body of Bitna, would have to kill 10 sinners and bring them to Hell within a year.

Soon, she came upon a detective, Han Daon, who was accused of hurting a criminal while trying to arrest him. Bitna released him due to evidence that the prosecutor was bought over by the criminal’s family. During a drinking session, Daon told Bitna that his family was killed because of him. Bitna, mistakenly thinking that he killed his family, planned to kill him. Unfortunately for her, he was innocent and brought back to life. Bael, head of Hell, punished Bitna by extending her killings from 10 to 20 within a year. Daon, now alive, was very sure that Bitna killed him but no one believed him.

After a series of strange killings involving murderers whom Bitna released during her court proceedings, Daon began to suspect her. Daon then followed her around even though he had no evidence against her. Except how he recalled her trying to kill him.

Knowing that Daon was innocent, Bitna was led to a serial killer aliased J. The mysterious J was the killer for Daon’s family and other victims. Bitna vouched to find him and bring him to Hell. During this journey, things started to unravel and feelings started to form between the two.

Hope I didn’t spoil the show too much for you, readers…

Firstly, let’s start with the negatives…

The show aired on 21 September 2024 and ended on 2 November 2024. I finished this show more than a month later. Now, if I really love it, it would take me shorter time to finish. It is not that I hated it. The pacing of the show was slow in the beginning. Understandably, the writer was trying to set things up. As a viewer, I started to get annoyed and bored. The ratings did show that. Episode 1 to 5 was low. It was not bad but if compared to Episode 6 onwards, it was not very good. Episode 1 to 5 was in single digits between 6% to 9%. Episode 6 jumped to 13.1% nationwide in Korea and stayed strong at double digits from then on.

The other negative was the ending. It was open-ended to me and left me, as a viewer, unsatisfied. The writer was so good at closing each story well until the ending. Without spoiling much, there is a hint of what Bitna chose in the end. But, the writer did not close the story between Bitna and Daon well enough. It just left the viewers hanging and wanting a second season. Will we have one? Let’s see.

Now on to the positives…

I have mentioned before that I’m a true crime addict. My Spotify Wrapped surely is evidence of that – my favourite podcasts are all true crime channels. For those like me, we know how absurd Korea’s justice system can be. So absurd, we needed shows like Taxi Driver to get the justice we want. The other show is this – The Judge from Hell. We wished there’s a Justitia around to give these murderers the ending they deserved. To die the same way they did to their victims. Yes, yes, two wrongs don’t make a right. But if these murderers are not repentant and the general public live in danger should they be released, why not.

K-dramas are also known for fashion styles. For example:

• What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim: Park Min Young with her corporate chic outfits
• Hotel Del Luna: IU’s timeless glamour and luxurious style
• My Demon: Both the leads have exquisite styles in this show and is a good template for couple wear
• Dali & The Cocky Prince: The show surrounds art and so do the outfits of Park Gyu Young the entire show
• Celebrity: Another of Park Gyu Young’s show and of course, with the plot, the fashion has to be on top

The above are just a few of them. The Judge from Hell will be the next contender for fashion styles that some women would want to recreate. Whoever who styled Park Shin Hye in this show needs to get a raise. She looked good even while kicking sinners’ asses to Hell.

Next would be the cast.

• Park Shin Hye is without a doubt one of the best actresses in Korea. Before this, she was in Doctor Slump and honestly, I tried to watch but couldn’t get past Episode 1. But she made up for it with The Judge from Hell. And she’s perfect for the role too. She’s trained in martial arts and so in this show, she was known to not use stand-ins.
• Kim Jae Young: If one needs a forlorn-looking male, he is perfect for it. I recognized him from 100 Days My Prince, where he was also acting as a sad-looking assassin. He has certainly stepped away from just being a second lead to a main male lead with this show.
• Lee Gyu Han and Choi Dong Goo: It is either the makeup artists or the actors. How in the world did they look quite alike in this show? They are certainly believable as brothers.

Of course, there are others like the actors who acted as the sinners. I really wanted to strangle them myself. They are very good at playing bad. Though I have mentioned Lee Gyu Han, he is so good playing the actual villain in this show (spoiler). Special mention: Park Ho San. You see him almost everywhere. If you watch a k-drama or a k-movie, he’s there. He surely kicked some asses as Satan even though man is already 52 years old. With that blonde hair that he got in this show, I wouldn’t think he’s 52.

Lastly, what made a k-drama apart from the storyline, fashion and casting, would be the soundtrack. I wouldn’t guess that Jessi can sing. Jessi is more known as a rapper. But she did well singing here for Boomerang, one of the main songs. The other main song is Crossroad sung by Sunmi. It has a similar vibe to Stay With Me for Goblin, Another Day for Hotel Del Luna and Dream Me for The Ghost Detective. Sunmi did well here, giving it a more haunting sound. It fits the vibe of the whole show. I will link the Spotify playlist at the end of this review.

To conclude, while it started off slow, I think it is one of the best k-dramas put out by Disney+. It certainly inches the platform closer to be a good contender for Netflix. I would give this drama a 4 out of 5 – minus 1 for the slow start and the cliffhanger.

See the trailer below…

And the soundtrack via Spotify below…