The Devil Judge - EP 12
Added 2025-05-12 14:00:15 +0000 UTCrip the situationships in more ways than one
Comments
Horrifically, the elites’ social cleansing/redevelopment plan seems to have been inspired by real events: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Summer_Olympics#Homeless_camp_expansion and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Home. I’d never heard of that til I watched DJ and did a bit of wider reading. I appreciate that even though it’s a dystopia, the majority of both the individual and societal injustices explored are rooted in truth and history. “I am the abyss” may just be my fave line of the entire show because it’s so melodramatic and thus so Yohan, but also cos I get an instant mental montage flashback of the many times we see Yohan being an embarrassing soppy dweeb and very much NOT an abyss (there’s a perfect gifset of this montage but since it contains one moment from a future ep I’ll save it for later!). But on a more serious note, I think that line says a lot bout how Yohan sees himself and how he obviously internalised his father’s perception of him. If someone calls you a monster long enough, you believe it, and guess in his own way he’s trying to own or reclaim it. There’s a lot I love in that confrontation, but I keep coming back to Yohan’s emphasis on agency/choice. He says he never really had choices before, and now that’s all he’s doing, making certain choices, and that’s what Gaon’s doing too. And I think Yohan actually gives Gaon more agency than both the Prof and Soohyun. Of course he’s a manipulative bastard, and he challenges some of Gaon’s choices (usually with good reason), but he does it through brutal truth-telling, and at the end of the day, he respects Gaon’s choice to leave, even though we can see it breaks everyone’s heart. Internet has debated a lot over whether or not Yohan actually genuinely cares about injustice/inequality/has a functioning grasp of morality, and I’m still not sure where I come down on it (sometimes I think it offends him intellectually but not necessarily emotionally? He finds it all grubby and venal and distasteful and hypocritical, but not sure he FEELS it, if that makes sense? Unless it’s hurting his loved ones…), but I do love that he’s NOT just another caped crusader billionaire vigilante out to rights society’s wrongs out of a burning sense of injustice – and as good as says so in that same scene. Okay, his plans may open the door for fascism which isn’t great, bad Yohan, but he’s a much more fascinating and nuanced character because of it. You’re so spot-on – what he’s doing is in many ways making things worse in the long run, but he doesn’t care! He’s just here to fuck shit up! Cos a) his motive is revenge and everything’s in service of that, and b) we know he thinks humanity is essentially rotten (though sometimes I suspect the lady doth protest too much…) so all he’s doing (in his head) is holding up a mirror and exposing us for what we are (and the fact he can’t understand why other ppl/Gaon just don’t get this is…interesting - I want to dissect his brain!). I mean, he literally says he doesn’t care if humanity disappears, and I believe him! And yes, I also think that is still one of the most romantic lines spoken in the history of the world. (Side note: I know lots of ppl think that’s a flashback, but I always assumed it was more a fantasy of what could have been, cos no way current Yohan has ever been that relaxed and smiley, plus pretty sure he and Gaon are in their jenga outfits, which was prob the last time they came close to being a normal, happy family…sob!) When Yohan DOES care for you, there is nothing he won’t do to protect/avenge you. Even if that’s not what you want/need… But he’s trying, dammit! Their break-up scene is so heartbreaking cos you can SEE him trying to think of the right thing to say – he WANTS to comfort Gaon, to reassure him, to make him stay, but he doesn’t know how cos he’s emotionally constipated and so instead he does the worst possible thing, which is force Gaon to choose. I genuinely think they could’ve worked something out had he not pulled that move – Gaon was upset and shaken and seeking stabilisation or even just an acknowledgement that things were Fucked Up, but he wasn’t looking to leave. He only made his mind up to go once Yohan issued the ultimatum. And Yohan’s face! I think on some level he knew the outcome the second he said it cos you see this mix of hope and fatalism clash across his face – to me, he looks like someone who’s shot his shot but knows he’s missed. And he lets him go, cos agency! And then even though he snaps at Elijah, he apologises, he wants to make it better, he asks Nanny to eat with him, because Gaon WAS changing him! He just needed a little more time to do so without anyone blowing their brains out or plotting social cleansing. Because I’m a sadist I crack up every time I hear Gaon’s prayer for there to be neither nightmares nor tears cos by the end of the ep we’ve had both! It’s gutting to see Sunah realise in real-time that, at the end of the day, in that world she’s clawed her way into, she’ll always be reduced to her sex. It will always be used against her. The intersectionality at play – doesn’t matter how much wealth or power she amasses, she’s still ‘just’ a woman, and (worse?) one who came from poverty. Come on you insane murderous fashionista goddess - fuck ‘em up!!!! Her dropping the cross = foreshadowing of what was going to happen to K? (RIP you poor, sweet boy.) The break-up really threw Yohan off his game – him wringing his hands? We barely ever see him look agitated. Him blithely accepting an invitation to go meet Sunah in a random abandoned factory?? He got sloppy cos he’s distracted, and look what happened! I love that when he messes up, it's primarily cos of his inability to understand ppl NOT being The Worst - he misread Minister Cha cos he couldn't imagine she'd sacrifice herself for her son, and now he's misread Gaon cos he can't see that Gaon values simple human connections and relationships and what they can offer - hope, comfort, love - over revenge or lofty plans to "fight the corrupt world". He misreads (underestimates) Sunah too (though to be fair she's crazier than a sack full of cats so she doesn't make it easy!). I’m aware I say this every ep but…I’m so excited for the next ep! It has one of my ultimate favourite sequences/set pieces in it – literal chills! Every single time! Without fail!
fishinabook
2025-05-18 17:52:27 +0000 UTCright
Freddie
2025-05-13 04:26:00 +0000 UTCHades and Persephone..... head in hands............
bella
2025-05-13 01:31:19 +0000 UTCWow this roller coaster ride continues to get more convoluted and stressful! Why did the romantic montage also have to coincide with the angst... this is why we love and hate BL all at the same time. I do think the show transitioned from hinting at BL to just being like "yeah they were together all along" this episode which is nice in a way, but also I do not know where things can go from here. The way I will destroy these fanfics once it's done though...
Ziggy_Zade
2025-05-12 17:08:39 +0000 UTC
