Since we’re getting closer to the end of The Judge From Hell, we finally get a new structure to the episodes. Until now, each episode focused on a case, and we saw Kang Bit-Na treat each criminal the way they treated their victims to make them confess their crimes and send them to hell. In episodes 9 & 10, we focus on serial killer J and Bit-Na’s plan to kill him. In these episodes, we learn a little bit more about the landlady of the villa and why she’s such a devout churchgoer. Additionally, Bael sends somebody else to mess with Bit-Na after learning that there’s a human interfering with her “evilness.” These two episodes were definitely fun, and the fight sequence at the end of episode 10 was really exciting, reminding us that this is not a melodrama but a fantasy thriller. I guess at the end of the day it boils down to a possession story, and all we need to do is figure out who Satan is possessing. Anyway, without further ado, let’s quickly go into the details of episodes 9 and 10.
Spoiler Alert
What Happens When A-Rong Realizes Bit-Na Is Becoming Human?
The Judge From Hell episode 9 begins with Kim So-Young’s funeral, and Da-On can’t contain his emotions. He makes sure everyone there knows that he’s going to kill the serial killer who calls himself J for stealing everybody he loves away from him. Of course, most of this episode is Da-On brooding, trying to deal with his emotional state and basically making a mess of himself. He even hurts his fellow detectives, specifically the guy who left So-Young alone that fateful night, even though he knows it wasn’t his fault. At the same time, a new detective named Jang Mun-Jae is transferred to Da-On’s precinct. Now, Mun-Jae was a detective who lost his life trying to catch a criminal and was then possessed by another demon named Paimon that Bael sent down to kill Da-On. A-Rong summoned Bael after noticing the change in Bit-Na’s behavior. They make a plan to kill Da-On so that Bit-Na, or rather Justitia, can go back to being evil. Mun-Jae spends most of his time at the precinct trying to get Da-On to do to something bad. Because Da-On isn’t a sinner, he can’t really kill him, so Bael tasks him with making him sin too.
On the other hand, Bit-Na and Da-On get closer than ever, and it seems like romance is in the air, but don’t worry, you’re not getting what you want just yet (sigh). At the same time, Bit-Na finally learns that the neighboring old lady is the angel Gabriel. Gabriel tells Bit-Na that he was tasked with looking after Da-On when his mother died because she prayed that her son would be looked after. Gabriel can only help the poor and good-hearted people. Now, he’s revealed himself because Da-On has decided to kill J, which is essentially sinning in God’s eyes. So, Gabriel can’t help him anymore and tells Bit-Na that she’s the only one who can protect him now. It was because of Gabriel that So-Young realized she wanted to help Da-On.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jae-Gul’s second son Sun-Ho goes crazy on drugs and then almost crashes his car into a group of children who are also saved by Gabriel. Of course, Bit-Na requested to “look after” the case and give him an easy way out. But Bit-Na has been to see So-Young’s body, and after touching her, she got a glimpse of the face that was holding the blade when she died. She thinks that Sun-Ho is J; however, from the vision, we can tell he’s flustered and shocked after noticing the knife in his hand. Does this mean he was being framed? Or is somebody making him do things he doesn’t want to? At the same time, Mun-Jae and Da-On are sent off to find evidence on CCTV footage regarding one of the murders, but Da-On deletes the videos because he thinks there’ll be evidence against Bit-Na. Mun-Jae sees him do it and directly questions him about it. He then tells him that he won’t tell anybody if Da-On does as he requests. He’s basically blackmailing him to “bring out his evil side.”
Who is J?
Now, hear me out, based on what we see in these two episodes, it seems J might not be one person, but a couple of people? It seems Sun-Ho is a scapegoat while his father and brother are actually pure evil. I have a feeling Tae-Kyu is Satan and Jae-Gul is simply a sidekick. There’s something off about the guy. Of course, we already predicted that J was Satan. In episode 10, we learn that Satan can be immortal, if he cuts off body parts of different “good people” and has the magical stone, the Kylum. The reason Bit-Na realizes J is Satan is because he’s been cutting off body parts from all his victims. I still have to figure out why he spared Da-On, though.
Bit-Na gets suspended for causing a scene at a restaurant trying to protect Da-On’s feelings. On her time off, she starts to research the serial murderer. She meets with the victims’ families. Bit-Na cries at every meeting while Da-On is like a brick wall. He tells her that he doesn’t want to go back to being a coward. Here we learn that the landlady’s son was also murdered by J, and that’s why she’s not willing to let go of the villa. She’s been waiting there for the man to return and ask him why he killed her young son so brutally. This is also why she’s estranged from her daughter, because her daughter never got any love, seeing as the landlady was stuck on her elder son’s death. But Tae-Kyu, Assemblyman Jae-Gul’s elder son, tells the landlady’s daughter that there has been a murder in the neighborhood recently, so she should sign the papers and move out of there. Despite being estranged, her daughter definitely cares for her, and she asks her to sign the papers. The landlady won’t do it though; she wants closure for what happened to her son. Finally, Da-On takes Bit-Na to his own home, and she sees the devastation he had been through at the tender age of 10. Now she makes the decision to kill J herself.
Is Da-On Dead?
Bit-Na then looks for Sun-Ho at a fancy club, but when she talks to him, she realizes he’s not a killer. Additionally, Sun-Ho says something about a dead mother and also how he deserves to die because his life has been ruined completely. I told you, scapegoat. In the meantime, A-Rong and Mun-Jae make a plan to kill Da-On by getting Man-Do to call him up and speak to him in Bit-Na’s voice. Man-Do does what he’s told because A-Rong threatens to tell Bit-Na that he’s been going to church. But Man-Do shows his real demonic self by betraying A-Rong too and telling Bit-Na everything in the club. This is with Gabriel’s help, of course (Man-Do is a poor, kindhearted man too, apparently). Bit-Na learns that Da-On’s life is in danger and immediately rushes to his rescue.
At the end of The Judge From Hell episode 10, Bit-Na and Mun-Jae have a massive fight with their swords out and everything. They’re both equally strong, but Bit-Na has the upper hand in the fight, maybe because of the love she has for Da-On. But, in a moment of weakness, when Bit-Na and Mun-Jae’s eyes meet, he sends her into a “nightmare” state. This is when she imagines that Mun-Jae is Da-On and he’s trying to kill her. However, the real Da-On calls out to her and wakes her up from the nightmare, saving her life. Bit-Na punches the guy through 3 walls and then sends his own weapon flying at him. They assume he’s dead, and Bit-Na finally gives Da-On a hug, telling him that he shouldn’t have come down to her rescue. However, at the last moment, Mun-Jae shows up with his weapon again, and Da-On shields Bit-Na from getting stabbed. So, does this mean he’s dead? Well, we know that Da-On hasn’t actually sinned yet, so I’m not sure Mun-Jae’s blow could’ve killed him. Maybe Bit-Na will manage to save him somehow. Though we don’t get to see him in the preview of the next episode.
