Episodes 1 and 2 of The Judge Returns open with a sharp mix of bleak dystopia, legal drama, and a strange supernatural twist that hits harder than expected. The series wastes no time in showing how far the justice system has fallen. It also shows how deeply one man has helped it crumble.
These opening chapters deliver tension, regret, and a strange sense of destiny that reshapes the story before it even finds its rhythm.
A Brutal Opening and a Judge With a Crumbling Conscience
The story begins with Lee Han-young running through dark, rain-soaked streets. A man grabs his ankle. Han-young kicks him away. A cloaked attacker appears and stabs him while stating that everything is over.
The scene shifts to the year 2035. It is a future where the government forces homeless citizens into cramped underground zones. The policy is framed as a safety effort. In reality, it worsens suffering and creates a rising crisis of suicides.
Amid this grim landscape, Han-young works as a respected judge with a perfect conviction record. He looks powerful. Yet it becomes clear that he is controlled by the elite who placed him in that seat.
His private life is a quiet disaster. This marriage brings him no comfort. His father is ill and needs expensive care. His father-in-law wields heavy influence over every case he takes.
One of these cases involves Gojin Chemical. Factory workers suffered illness and death after exposure to toxic chemicals. Their families want justice. The evidence is strong.
The victims plead for accountability. Han-young listens to none of it. He denies compensation and protects the corporation’s interests. His decision pushes one of the victims, Han Na-young, to end her life. This moment forces him to confront what he has become. It is the first crack in his flawless mask.
The S-Group Investigation and a Judge Backed Into a Corner
Prosecutor Kim Jin-a is the one figure willing to fight corruption. She launches a raid on S-Group, a powerful conglomerate tied to shady politics and the cruel homeless relocation policy. She discovers traces of financial crimes. The deeper she digs, the more she notices that Han-young is a link in the chain that keeps the system running.
Han-young tries to resign. It is a rare moment when guilt wins. His request is blocked. He then shocks the courtroom by sentencing S-Group’s leadership harshly. This victory lasts only a moment. By the end of episode 1, he is arrested for murder. He insists he is innocent. His breakdown in the police car is raw. It also mirrors the terror of people he once judged without care.
A Dark Spiral and a Dead End
Episode 2 begins with chaos. Han-young wakes up in his office beside a bloodied corpse. He panics and runs. The victim turns out to be a whistleblower tied to S-Group. The setup is clean. The frame is perfect. The men behind the scenes want him gone.
Han-young lands in prison. There, he faces desperation and manipulation. A former ally offers him poison as the only way out. Believing it is his last chance, he takes it. He survives the attempt and escapes from the hospital. He rushes to find his father, who has been forced into the underground zones.
The show loops back to the stabbing from episode 1. This time, we see it from Han-young’s perspective. His killer is the bodyguard of Chief Justice Kang Shin-jin. In his final moments, Han-young realizes the corruption reaches the highest seat of law.
As he dies, he sees the faces of people destroyed by his rulings. Regret consumes him. It is a striking sequence. The drama makes no effort to redeem him quickly. It forces him to sit in the ruins he created.
A Reset That Feels More Like Punishment Than a Gift
Then comes the twist. Han-young wakes up ten years earlier in 2025. He is alive. His mother is alive. His career has yet to collapse. He sits inside a courtroom, confused but breathing. The drama treats the time reset as a second chance, but it does not feel like a blessing. It feels like pressure. Han-young remembers every mistake. Every loss. Every life he helped ruin. Now he must face those events again.
His first case involves a petty thief named Sang-jin. In the original timeline, Sang-jin later becomes a serial killer. Han-young knows this. His panic shows when he delivers an unexpectedly harsh sentence. His colleagues stare at him. They think he is losing control. They do not know he is fighting a future they cannot see.
A More Active Form of Justice Emerges
Han-young begins investigating Sang-jin in advance. He tries to prevent the tragedies linked to him. From there, he finds Ju-young, the woman who was wrongly imprisoned for Sang-jin’s crimes in the original timeline.
He also uncovers frozen body parts hidden away. This led to him confronting the killer before the next child could be harmed.
The tone shifts. The drama becomes a sharper thriller. It leans into its moral conflict. Can a corrupt man correct injustice without becoming something worse? Han-young acts with urgency, but his choices raise questions. Saving lives is one thing. Hunting killers with aggression is another.
Episode 2 ends with a shocking scene. Han-young and Ju-young chase Sang-jin. Ju-young shouts that the killer deserves the strongest punishment. Han-young floors the accelerator and slams into Sang-jin before he can escape. It is a wild and messy moment. It suggests that redemption will not come peacefully. It will demand force and consequence.
Our Early Verdict
The first two episodes build a grim and intriguing foundation. The courtroom drama feels intense. The dystopian future adds weight. The time travel twist shifts the story into something bigger and more emotional.
The drama moves fast. It is packed with tension, mystery, and moral questions. After two episodes, it positions itself as one of the more ambitious legal dramas this year. It feels bold and unpredictable. And it leaves viewers curious about how far Han-young will go to rewrite the future.
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