Juvenile Justice successfully heightens anticipation with the riveting start of its storyline in episodes 1 & 2.
Viewers who saw the trailer before the series’ release on the 25th of February will not be disappointed. Moreover, Juvenile Justice is off to a strong and exceptional start. In fact, the cast ensemble has wholly geared up and convincingly transformed in their respective roles and characters.
All ten episodes of the series are finally up for streaming on Netflix. Indeed, this legal drama lived up to the tension and intrigued it built up. If not surpassed, it is precisely what the teasers and posters depict.
Nathan Llantos watches Juvenile Justice on Netflix
Opening Week Ratings:
Juvenile Justice Opening Week Story
The first episode begins by showing a montage of night sceneries in the city with people from all walks of life bustling in the streets. In particular, dark alleys and underage teens were highlighted, accompanied by an eerie musical scoring.
In just a few seconds at the start of the episode, hints of crime brooding are already given away, such as showing minors engaging in illegal activities like drinking, smoking and even engaging in prostitution to get money.
The Beginning of the Child Dismemberment Case
Subsequently, the series’ premise uncoils, presenting a young boy wearing a blood-stained hoodie walking aimlessly amid the crowd. Soon after, the boy reaches the police station agitated and seemingly restless.
He then reveals a bloody hatchet to the police officer, saying he used it. The following events showed policemen heading to an apartment complex securing the area for their search only to find a sack atop the highest rooftop containing a mutilated body of an 8-year old boy.
After the 14-year old Baek Seong-u turned himself in, the police investigation department and the members of the Yeon Hwa District Juvenile court immediately goes into action.
As judge Sim Eun Seok (Kim Hye Soo), a strict court Judge who despises juvenile offenders, transfers to Yeon Hwa District Court, this becomes the first case she handles. The court takes a slight detour of events when the other children of the juvenile were introduced in the episode slowly unfolding their characters’ backgrounds.
Meeting the Juvenile Kids
Apparently, in Yeon Hwa, the district court has a tradition wherein they are taken out to the children to eat with the judge responsible for them after they are released from their probation period.
Hence, the social workers and other judicial magistrates working in the court have invited Sim’s newly transferred to join them. However, things get awry as one out of the three newly released juvenile offenders was caught pickpocketing a wallet from the restaurant they are dining at.
As the members of the district court get accustomed to the way Judge Sim operates, and as Judge Cha Tae Joo (Kim Mu Yeol) manage his time caring for the juvenile kids and attending to the pile of cases they have to sort out, they uncover new hints and leads proving that Baek Seong-u is either not be the one who actually killed 8-year old Ji-Hu or he is an accomplice of a third person.
Baek Seong-u desperately claims that the unnamed suspect, a girl, had nothing to do with the crime. However, Judge Sim proceeds to apprehend the other culprit tracking her down at an internet café shop.
The Juvenile Version of Bonnie & Clyde
After being interrogated, Geobo Law Firm held legal guardianship over Han Ye-eun sends an attorney to deny all charges against her. Unfortunately for them, Judge Sim stops at nothing even if she gets on Head Judge Kang Won Joong’s (Lee Sung Min) nerve and takes a scolding.
What is more, Judge Cha assists Judge sim to his best extent. As a result, with their wits and perseverance combined, they were able to get to the bottom of the case.
Baek Seong-u’s mother continuously pleads with Judge Cha and Judge Sim to release her son. She then cooperates by persuading Seong-u to confess. With the case already complicated, the three judges, Kang, Sim, and Cha, deals with the final trial and sort things out to give the appropriate sentence to the child offenders.
Eventually, once facts were straightened out, they discovered that the two juvenile offenders have an intimate relationship, and Ye-eun was indeed the one who killed Ji-Hu.
The Final Sentence
Despite not agreeing to it at first, Head Judge Kang was convinced by Judge Sim’s conviction. Thus, the case has been concluded, giving Han Ye-eun the maximum sentence possible, 20 years in prison.
On the other hand, Baek Seong-u was placed on a level ten 10 probation. Both of the offenders were hysterical after hearing the judges’ decision. The court trial was adjourned, but the queue of cases to be tried does not stop there.
Juvenile Justice Opening Week Musings
Exceptional Cinematography
This series served high-caliber cinematography. For instance, the color grading really conveys the mood and message of the plot’s premise. The camera works are befitting for the genre also.
Besides that, the production design is superb. In the first two episodes of Juvenile Justice, an endearing set design was delivered, resulting in such vivid and surreal world-building.
Impeccable Screenplay
There are already countless legal dramas available on various streaming sites. Nonetheless, this series definitely sets the bar for striking a balance and delivering appropriate representation. And so far, as seen in the first two episodes of the series, the screenplay deserves an A+.
Particularly, the way the cases and characters encompass new ones without confusing the viewers is remarkable. Tons of Law terminologies, yet even those who know little about juvenile cases will learn how the court system operates. Moreover, the characters are so thoughtfully written they have very realistic attributes.
Not just that but the dynamics and differences of the three judges are also brilliantly executed. Indeed, viewers will be compelled to find out more about the other cases and relate and sympathize with the victims after watching the first two episodes.
Best of all, each incident and crime truly encapsulates the grim reality of modern crimes the youth nowadays become involved with. Hence, watching how the storyline unfolds in the first two episodes is alarming and thought-provoking.
Watch all 10 episodes of Juvenile Justice and get to know the unthinkable world of juvenile crimes. The series is up for streaming on Netflix.
PRESS CONFERENCE: “Juvenile Justice” Aims For A Fair Presentation Of Juvenile Crimes
A Variety Of Juvenile Crimes To Unveil Through The Four Judges’ Perspectives In “Juvenile Justice”
Photos & Videos: Netflix
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