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I’m on leave, finally. I’m not traveling anywhere, just staying at home and resting, but still it’s so nice – not having to think about work for a week and a half.
I’m using that time to work on my sign-up for Guardian Wishlist, but it’s slow going. I know I want stuff for Guardian and The Rebel, but I’m still trying to decide if I want something else, too.
And The Devil Judge is nearing to an end, so I decided to make a longer post about it.
It’s a Korean drama set in a dystopian version of South Korea in a near future where a few have a lot and many have nothing, and where the government officials only think about their own interest and don’t care about wellbeing of other people. There is unrest on the streets and the President establishes a courtroom live show airing on television – the trails are public and the viewers can vote if the defendant is guilty or innocent. The main character Kang Yo Han is a Chief Judge with his own agenda, a tragic past, and a lot of secrets.
I never saw Ji Sung in anything else, but he is wonderful here, and very beautiful. And he has great chemistry with Park Jin Young, who plays Kim Ga On – one of two associate judges, who work with Kang Yo Han. They are very slashable and I ship them. I read a few fics already, but it’s hard to find something I would like, because it looks like all fluff all the time on AO3, and I want something angsty and complicated.
Ji Sung and Park Jin Young have great chemistry not just on screen, but behind the scenes, too, like for instance in this poster shooting video.
More below with major spoilers for all aired episodes, and with a few fanvid recs.
I get where all this fluffy fanfic comes from, I do. In episode 3 Ga On gets hurt while saving Yo Han during the explosion in Yo Han’s office, and Yo Han takes him to recuperate to his house, where he lives with his niece Elijah. Ga On continues living there even after he’s fully recovered up until episode 12. Because, as he says in episode 8 when his friend urges him to come back to his own house, “But there are people I need to take care of over there, too”. Aww... There is a lot, seriously a lot, of domestic fluff. And all those scenes are delightful.
Yo Han and Elijah are two broken and damaged people living alone in this huge mansion. And there suddenly is this sweet and nice guy who cares about them and slowly coaxes them to open up a little, and he makes them smile and cooks for them. Even their usually standoffish cat loves Ga On. It’s adorable and I get that people want more of the same in fanfic. I just wish there was also something else.
Fortunately fanvids deliver on the angst and complications front and I have recs.
Love The Way You Lie by insomniacpreacher
Under my protection by Felicity Queen
Lighthouse by Felicity Queen (Vincenzo x The Devil Judge fanvid)
There are two more episodes left, they will air on weekend, and I want to watch them to see how it ends. But I admit that my initial enthusiasm waned, because I was very disappointed with the end of episode 13.
As soon as Ga On confessed his feelings for his childhood friend Soo Huyn and they kissed, I knew she would die and I spent all the time while watching episode 13 hoping that I was wrong. Unfortunately I wasn’t. And I can’t call it anything else but fridging.
Let me quote Dramabeans review of episode 14, because it’s well said, and yeah, I agree.
“While Soo-hyun’s death was undeniably tragic, I didn’t feel the emotional punch I think I was supposed to feel. Unfortunately, the emotional impact of her death is mostly in Ga-on’s reaction rather than in mourning her as a character. There’s always been a disconnect for me with Soo-hyun. It’s not that I disliked her – I just never felt an emotional connection, which was highlighted by her death. I’ve come to realize that my disconnect stems from the fact that her character solely existed for Ga-on and his journey. Every interaction they had focused on Ga-on and his needs. She even became a cop to protect him! I know nothing about her outside of her connection to Ga-on. I didn’t even know she had a family until we saw them crying at her funeral. I wish she’d gotten more of her own arc and independent personhood rather than functioning merely as a motivator for the hero.”
I’m using that time to work on my sign-up for Guardian Wishlist, but it’s slow going. I know I want stuff for Guardian and The Rebel, but I’m still trying to decide if I want something else, too.
And The Devil Judge is nearing to an end, so I decided to make a longer post about it.
It’s a Korean drama set in a dystopian version of South Korea in a near future where a few have a lot and many have nothing, and where the government officials only think about their own interest and don’t care about wellbeing of other people. There is unrest on the streets and the President establishes a courtroom live show airing on television – the trails are public and the viewers can vote if the defendant is guilty or innocent. The main character Kang Yo Han is a Chief Judge with his own agenda, a tragic past, and a lot of secrets.
I never saw Ji Sung in anything else, but he is wonderful here, and very beautiful. And he has great chemistry with Park Jin Young, who plays Kim Ga On – one of two associate judges, who work with Kang Yo Han. They are very slashable and I ship them. I read a few fics already, but it’s hard to find something I would like, because it looks like all fluff all the time on AO3, and I want something angsty and complicated.
Ji Sung and Park Jin Young have great chemistry not just on screen, but behind the scenes, too, like for instance in this poster shooting video.
More below with major spoilers for all aired episodes, and with a few fanvid recs.
I get where all this fluffy fanfic comes from, I do. In episode 3 Ga On gets hurt while saving Yo Han during the explosion in Yo Han’s office, and Yo Han takes him to recuperate to his house, where he lives with his niece Elijah. Ga On continues living there even after he’s fully recovered up until episode 12. Because, as he says in episode 8 when his friend urges him to come back to his own house, “But there are people I need to take care of over there, too”. Aww... There is a lot, seriously a lot, of domestic fluff. And all those scenes are delightful.
Yo Han and Elijah are two broken and damaged people living alone in this huge mansion. And there suddenly is this sweet and nice guy who cares about them and slowly coaxes them to open up a little, and he makes them smile and cooks for them. Even their usually standoffish cat loves Ga On. It’s adorable and I get that people want more of the same in fanfic. I just wish there was also something else.
Fortunately fanvids deliver on the angst and complications front and I have recs.
Love The Way You Lie by insomniacpreacher
Under my protection by Felicity Queen
Lighthouse by Felicity Queen (Vincenzo x The Devil Judge fanvid)
There are two more episodes left, they will air on weekend, and I want to watch them to see how it ends. But I admit that my initial enthusiasm waned, because I was very disappointed with the end of episode 13.
As soon as Ga On confessed his feelings for his childhood friend Soo Huyn and they kissed, I knew she would die and I spent all the time while watching episode 13 hoping that I was wrong. Unfortunately I wasn’t. And I can’t call it anything else but fridging.
Let me quote Dramabeans review of episode 14, because it’s well said, and yeah, I agree.
“While Soo-hyun’s death was undeniably tragic, I didn’t feel the emotional punch I think I was supposed to feel. Unfortunately, the emotional impact of her death is mostly in Ga-on’s reaction rather than in mourning her as a character. There’s always been a disconnect for me with Soo-hyun. It’s not that I disliked her – I just never felt an emotional connection, which was highlighted by her death. I’ve come to realize that my disconnect stems from the fact that her character solely existed for Ga-on and his journey. Every interaction they had focused on Ga-on and his needs. She even became a cop to protect him! I know nothing about her outside of her connection to Ga-on. I didn’t even know she had a family until we saw them crying at her funeral. I wish she’d gotten more of her own arc and independent personhood rather than functioning merely as a motivator for the hero.”