The retrial sways in our heroes’ favor, but their victory only lasts for a moment before their opponents attack them again. With the outcome of the case depending on two people’s decisions, the odds are stacked against our team. Despite the obstacles in his way, our lawyer refuses to give up and remains optimistic about their win, choosing to believe in the goodness of people until the end.
EPISODE 15 RECAP
On the drive home, Sam-soo can’t believe so much has happened during his absence and dives right back into work. Since the others have started a fire, it is now his time to catch Justice Jo once and for all. Tae-yong smiles at his partner, joking that he feels encouraged by him for the first time.
As Tae-yong drops Sam-soo off, he asks how he persuaded Doo-shik to rejoin the team, and Sam-soo tells him that he baited him with mackerel. When Tae-yong looks at him confused, Sam-soo points out that Tae-yong doesn’t even realize what he did.
The court adjourns for the day, and in the hallway, Partner Kim confronts Doo-shik for the dismissal. As emotions flare, Boss Kim grabs Partner Kim in an attempt to retreat, but the lawyer shouts at the gangster for touching him. With no need to keep up with their pretenses, Boss Kim asks about his fee, and Partner Kim tells him that they are over.
The sudden change in attorneys was also a surprise for Judge Choi who has no explanation to offer his superior. As for Partner Kim, he informs Legislator Kim about his firing, and the latter snaps his orchid in anger.
As the only ones summoned to court, the police scramble for a solution, unwilling to take the fall for this mess. Their top priority is keeping Jae-sung on their side, so Chief Ahn orders Detective Bae to meet with him.
Sang-man opens his house for the team to use and excitedly asks if they will win the trial since they have the knife. Attorney Hwang expresses some doubt, mentioning the lack of fingerprints, but Tae-yong remains optimistic about the future.
The same can’t be said for the den of evil as Mayor Kang ridicules Partner Kim for his failure. This sets off a chain of finger pointing as everyone in attendance blames each other for this predicament. The arguing only stops when the legislator kicks the table in exasperation and admonishes the group of leaders for squabbling.
Legislator Kim already has a headache because of the upcoming election and asks the group for a solution. The only cards left on the table are controlling the court and recruiting Tae-yong. The legislator puts the justice in charge of the first task, and for the second, he will personally see to it.
Jumping back to Yoo-kyung, she tells Jae-sung that he will be the only one punished since the statute of limitations has passed for everything besides the murder. She mentions how the truck driver had a family as well, but he shouts back that it was an accident. Unfazed by his outburst, she argues that his life was still luckier than the one who died and the one who was framed.
Prosecutor Jang advises Sam-soo to give up since those in power are like the constellations—never changing and shining in the sky. While the prosecutor dreams of becoming a star, Sam-soo wants to ruin the night skies with some shooting stars.
When Sam-soo gets up to pay for the drinks, Prosecutor Jang stops him for a little quiz: who is the big star above Justice Jo? Sam-soo asks if it is Mayor Kang, but the prosecutor’s look of mock surprise makes him reconsider his answer.
Yoo-kyung urges Jae-sung to confess to his family before the courts blame him for everything. Unbeknownst to them, Detective Bae witnessed their entire exchange from a distance and reports back to Chief Ahn.
In their makeshift office, Attorney Hwang paces around the room and wonders if the justice even controls the NFS and tampered with the evidence. Tae-yong warns her not to believe in conspiracies, and they turn their attention to Judge Choi. Tae-yong remembers a rumor that the judge runs every day, but Attorney Hwang cautions him to stay out of trouble.
That night, Judge Choi stays up late examining the evidence for the retrial, clearly not believing Justice Jo’s words about this being a simple case. In the morning, he goes for his run as usual, and frowns when he spots Tae-yong waiting for him. He reminds the attorney that it’s against the law for them to meet outside of court, but Tae-yong points out that the judges broke the rules first.
All Tae-yong desires from Judge Choi is his integrity, but his remark stings the judge’s pride. Judge Choi argues that they are people who make mistakes, too, but Tae-yong asks why those mistakes only happen to the poor and powerless. He requests Judge Choi to just follow the law, and his answer silences the young judge.
Moving away from Prosecutor Jang, Mayor Kang hands the legislator a record of all his wealth and assets. He explains how he hid away some funds in the school foundation and heartily laughs about loving education. Not only does he receive money from the government to help run the schools, the taxes he pays also end up back in his own pockets.
As the mayor brags about how easy it is to make money with the foundation, the legislator orders him to give up his director position. His request does not go over well with the mayor who calls the old man a thief once he leaves.
Jae-sung and Doo-shik will take the stand next week, and the court is dismissed for today. As they pack up, Attorney Hwang commends Tae-yong’s decision to let Doo-shik question the witnesses, and from across the room, Doo-shik bows to the team in gratitude.
Over the phone, Justice Jo screams at the chief judge for the current state of the retrial. Judge Choi stands in the room as well, and he notices the document about controlling him on his superior’s desk. His composure breaks for a flash, but he quickly returns to his rigid expression as the chief judge berates him for not understanding the justice’s intentions.
COMMENTS
For a second, I truly believed Tae-yong’s tactic worked and thought Jae-sung would confess the truth on the stand since he isn’t a terrible person. He may have committed a heinous crime, but present-day Jae-sung seemed to live his life as if to repent for what he did. However, things are never that easy, and it seems that, alongside Tae-yong, I underestimated how strong a motive self-preservation is. With the police and court actively silencing him, Jae-sung has no reason to admit his crimes besides to ease his conscience. His odds are better placed in the opponent’s side, even if it is a risky gamble, because at the very least, they provide him an option to run away from his past. While Tae-yong held onto the hope that Jae-sung was truly a good person who made one mistake, his optimism was met with bitter results. Jae-sung may live his life helping others now, but it does not necessarily mean he feels guilt over his past actions. After all these years, it appears that the murderer truly believes that he holds no responsibility for Doo-shik’s circumstance.
Jae-sung’s decision at the end contrasted with Tae-yong’s previous Samjung retrial and emphasized the courage it took Soo-chul to confess his crimes. Like Jae-sung, Soo-chul had all the same excuses at his disposal—his initial confession, a family to raise, the corruption of the police and prosecution—yet he still told the truth on the stand. No matter who Jae-sung has become, his refusal to accept punishment for murdering an innocent man tarnishes all his achievements and good deeds. While the show depicts Jae-sung as a caring person, it does not pardon his past crimes. Soo-chul is the clear example of what a criminal can do in this situation, and thus, Jae-sung is held to the same moral standard. Even though the audience might feel bad for him, Jae-sung still killed a man that day, and unlike the unfortunate end of the driver or Doo-shik’s rotten luck, Jae-sung’s life has been much better than theirs as Yoo-kyung stated.
The show’s emphasis on Jae-sung as a relatively ordinary person sheds light on how often real-life cases aren’t about large conspiracies or outliers. In the end, Tae-yong’s retrials have been about average people struggling in a corrupt system that takes advantage of the poor and powerless. The problem isn’t simply about judges making mistakes but the fact that the legal system lacks any true checks and balances. If the judges recognize their own humanity and inevitable oversight, then why isn’t there any precautions to deal with this matter? The ugly truth is that those in power do not care. It is not a coincidence that all of Tae-yong’s clients are poor and uneducated. The marginalized become easy targets for police to frame, and when faulty investigations are passed to prosecutors, there are no incentives to do better. As a result of negligence, indifference, and most likely prejudice, the legal system makes bad rulings not due to human error but bias.
The show really shines when it deals with real-life cases and characters. Though this is merely a guess, I assume the den of evil is heavily fictional—not because it seems unlikely but because it feels so one-note compared to the things that I know are based on true events. While I still find the cast of villains comical and colorful, they have mostly done the same thing over and over again. Unlike the heroes, there has been very little development given to the antagonists, and all their motivations feel trite. The show portrays Legislator Kim as the “big bad” who cannot be taken down, but he doesn’t feel as imposing as the show claims. Part of the problem is that the drama fails to construct the villains’ side of this world and their stories. The audience is never shown why the retired legislator holds such immense influence and how these individuals came together. Despite the impressive cast of actors, the script does not give them enough material to work with, and consequentially, their characters aren’t as interesting as I hoped they would be. However, having the actual reporter pen the drama comes with its own unique strengths, and the insight we get into the two leads and the retrials more than makes up for any shortcomings in other areas.