Actor Park Hee-soon is carrying the weight of the piece with an unmatched performance.
Park Hee-soon plays Seoul Central District Court chief criminal presiding judge "Kang Shin-jin" in MBC's Friday-Saturday drama The Judge Returns (planning Namgung Seong-woo, Chang Jae-hoon/script Kim Kwang-min/directing Lee Jae-jin, Park Mi-yeon/production OHTORY, Slingshot Studio), sharply portraying a figure at the unseen pinnacle of power.
In the early episodes Park Hee-soon watched cases from the courtroom gallery and meeting rooms and shaped the course of verdicts. He arranged judges like pieces on a board, reshaping the judiciary's flow without stepping forward and capturing attention. In particular, Park Hee-soon convincingly completed the most realistic terror of the "shadow of power" with an unshakable expression.
Meanwhile, Park Hee-soon revealed Kang Shin-jin's true colors through his interactions with Lee Han-young (played by Jisung). He created a strange tension of mutual checking and expectation with a single look, and raised the drama's immersion by detailing the power dynamics between characters with precise diction and a low, steady tone.
Thus, Park Hee-soon realistically portrays "Kang Shin-jin," the central axis of power manipulating the judiciary, adding a chilling tension from the drama's early episodes. Attention is focused on what choices Kang Shin-jin will make to shake the board and on the ruthless ruler's narrative that Park Hee-soon will complete.
Meanwhile, MBC's The Judge Returns, starring Park Hee-soon, Jisung and Won Jin-a, airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.
[Photo] Management Siseon
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