The more I watch Yo Han in action, the more I realize bringing Go-On to his side was his purpose all along, not because he fears him but because Yo Han doesn't want to have to destroy him along with everybody else. That's how much he's come to care for him, and I think they are better off working together than against each other. I wasn't surprised that Go-On sided with Yo Han. Nor was I surprised at how blunt he was with Justice Min Jung Ho because rather than affect change, the Justice chose to blame Yo Han for the country's state. It took some time, but Go-On knows Yo Han is the only man courageous enough to restore the rule of law.
I loved that rather than Go-On, Elijah called Yo Han in her time of distress. She may bicker and fight with him or even call him names, but she loves him just as much as he loves her, without a doubt. And I love the bond that continues to develop between her, Yo Han, and Go-On. He is like the glue that keeps them steady and maybe helps them realize they shouldn't let their fear of losing each other imprison them.
I agreed with Go-On Elijah needs friends; Yo Han cannot keep her safely looked up forever; rather than do that, he should equip her with the tools she needs to make sound judgments. I know Soo Hyun will not like nor will she easily accept Go-On's new stance but would support him regardless since he's all she truly cares about. I can't even say I try to understand her, let alone like her. It's admirable to have convictions but to blindly believe without facts or even keep an open mind, a necessity in the pursuit of truth, seeing that she is a Cop, now that is worrisome about her.
It's crazy despite having everything any person would want, Sun-Ah doesn't have not even one person to celebrate her victories with other than her secretary. Her obsession with Yo Han makes total sense. Whatever her intention is now that she runs the Foundation, she's the only real adversary to Yo Han and probably the most dangerous. She's more than capable of using whatever means possible to get what she wants, as she has proven time and time again.
I have no doubt Sun-Ah is setting her plans in motion, whether it's using Jin-Joo to take control of the Court or inciting suspicion and division within her own group, among President Heo, Chairman Min Yong Shik, Minister Cha Kyung Hee, and Lee Jae Kyung. What a formidable team Yo Han and she would've made if she was on the side of right. But if Sun-Ah has Jin-Joo and her group of misfits, Yo Han has an ace of a card in Cha Kyung Hee, and he's using it brilliantly. I was not even shocked to see how Cha Kyung Hee gets her dirt on those around her; she's been at the game for too long not to employ dirty tricks. Sun-Ah and her are truly the devils lying in wait.
Despite siding with Yo Han, I wasn't sure Go-On was ready to follow in his footsteps. He is not the kind of person who could easily let go of his ideals even in the face of rage. But I also knew Yo Han wasn't the kind of person that would compromise someone else's ideals either. Whatever else he may be, Yo Han is not what those around him presume him to be, and he's never cared to change those misperceptions until Go-On. I am sure it hurts to be so misunderstood a lot more than he lets on. I feel for him for the loneliness of it all.
Still, I wasn't prepared for the simple, straightforward choices Yo Han makes for Go-On's revenge or the case against the internet inciter, and what great choices they were as Go-On yet again gets to learn from the master that seeing isn't believing; believing is seeing. The punishments most definitely fit the crimes and especially for the inciter. And if Sun-Ah thought she could so easily control Yo Han just because she now controls the Foundations, she now knows how sourly she underestimated the power of the people and the Judge behind the people. Everything about Yo Han as a man and a judge works.
I enjoyed everything Yo Han does but more, what he did to prove the true nature of greed and corruption to Go-On. Monsters aren't born; they're awakened. As they say, the test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching and what Doh Young Choon (Jung Eun Pyo) and those who helped him, particularly Cha Kyung screams greed and corruption. More than that, Go-On has come to realize that a true hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt, or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway -- that's Yo Han and Go-On combined. They may not have the same approach or even agree on much but intend to make the world a better place for all in their own unique ways. Watch episodes 9 & 10 here. On a separate but very connected note, I love Jinyoung's new single, DIVE.