Juvenile Justice
Recap and Opinions - SPOILER WARNING & SENSITIVE CONTENT
Warnings: This show was very dark and touched up themes such as murder, rape, domestic abuse, substance abuse, and others.
Juvenile Justice is, without a doubt, one of the best K-Dramas I’ve ever seen. For context, that’s saying a lot because I have seen a fair amount of dramas. So what made this show, a Netflix Original, one of the best? Let’s start off with the suspense.
I find dramas with suspense or mystery to be more intriguing than say romance or feel-good dramas. So that being said, Juvenile Justice was already high on my list of dramas with potential before I even watched it. Right off the bat, this drama had a impactful start, the first case being the murder of an eight year-old boy by two kids who were minors. I knew that this show was about minor offenders but that seriously shocked me. Needless to say, I was captivated right from the get-go but then, the show decided to get better and I am all here for it. Cases in the show are sectioned off into two or three episodes each, which allows for enough time to fully understand the case and for the outcome to make sense. Considering there were only 10 episodes, nothing felt rushed. So both the suspense and the pacing was amazing.
Now, the characters were another reason why this show was amazing. The main character, Judge Shim Eun-Seok (played by Kim Hye-Soo), was a consistent character, who valued putting away minor offenders and ensuring they were being punished properly. She had a sad past related to the loss of her son, which fuelled her drive to make sure minor offenders were not being given a lesser sentence just because they were minors. Her past ends up catching up to her as the two kids who were the cause of her son’s death end up in another case, this time pertaining to a rape case. She was determined to make sure these kids were properly punished this time, and her determination drove the judge in charge to properly punish them as well. She’s very confident, head-strong and independent but can come across as cold or harsh.
Judge Cha Tae-Joo (played by Kim Mu-Yeol), is the other main character in this show. He is very different from Judge Shim, as he wants to help minor offenders start fresh and become better people. He is also a very sweet person and is extremely caring. His past is what drives him as well, as he was a minor offender and was given a second chance by another judge. He felt as though he owed it to both himself and that judge to help other minor offenders and give them the second chance that he was given. He often questions Judge Shim’s methods and can’t understand why she hates minor offenders so much, as she keeps everything to herself and he was unaware of her past. He even calls her out for being hypocritical when she takes on the final case, stating that she is ignoring the conflict of interest issue and is doing the same thing he tried to do in earlier episodes. He’s overall a really kind man and he is very quick to sympathize with the kids.
Aside from our two main characters, there were many side characters who I felt were crucial to the show as they made it more exciting. For example, the first head judge, Judge Kang Won-Joong (played by Lee Sung-Min) and the second head judge who takes over after he leaves, Judge Na Geun-Hee (played by Lee Jeong-Eun). They both had a strong set of morals that was slightly compromised for different reasons, and they were both set straight by our two main leads. The actors who played the young offenders were also able to add their own style to the show, as they made the viewers pity them, defend them and even hate them. All of which requires extreme talent.
So we’ve gone over the characters and the themes, the only other thing that I could really talk about is the storyline. As I stated above, it doesn’t feel rushed at all, even though there are multiple cases throughout the show. Being introduced to the crime, the victims, the offenders and how they tie into our main leads, all had very good timing. We got to see each character’s back story without it feeling like it was out of place or unnecessary.
Juvenile Justice definitely played with our feelings as there were moments of betrayal, shock, extreme (and I mean extreme) sadness and anger. But it also left us with satisfaction as Judge Shim finally got the closure she deserved and she was able to finally let go of the pain and guilt she was feeling in regards to her son’s death. Overall, I would give this show a 10/10, and will definitely be watching it again. I recommend that you give it a try and I can promise that you won’t regret it.
~Kez