dangermousie | The Devil: ep 3 meta and picspam

Just finished episode 3 of The Devil. It gets better with every episode, and I don't want to miss even a second. If it keeps it up, it will definitely go on the list of my all time favorites.

You know, it's so impressive that with everything, the humanity in the Lawyer peeks through...he is not a psycho or a monster, just a very broken person, so driven by revenge (for what, we don't know yet, but it has something to do with that murder of a schoolboy, 12 years ago). But you know? I don't think he gets a pass, and to me, the reason he doesn't deserve to ride off happily into the sunset with Psychic Girl or similar isn't his vendetta against the Cop (I don't know what he has against him, but I assume it's something serious), or even the murders themselves (the two people so far are scum and I assume also have something to do with the event 12 years ago). No, what I cannot forgive is his use of innocent people to carry out his vengeance, first that homeless ex-convict and (it looks like, from previews) that single mother. They have nothing to do with it all! His manipulation of the situation has them become murderers! I don't care if he is brilliant and he becomes their defense attorney and gets them off...they have to live with the knowledge of killing someone. It is that, that I cannot forgive him for. Even as I remain interested in him (he is just like this giant puzzle) and even sympathetic...

I find this drama's take on vengeance really interesting: because it's all ultimately hollow, isn't it? Whatever demons haunt the Lawyer won't be appeased when his revenge is finished (whatever it is). And he creates more damaged people in the process (and I love that he feels guilty about it but doesn't stop). And the Cop, whatever it is he had done in the past, 12 years ago, that riled up the Lawyer so much, is a truly wonderful person now, so what is the point? He is destroying a thoroughly good man.

I found Psychic Girl's reference to Faust really interesting in that regard.

Anyway, picspam:

When Cop is questioning the suspect in the first murder, we cut to Lawyer who decided to appoint himself the suspect's counsel:

I love the intercuts and the bars symbolism. They use it a lot during this episode as if two show both men caged:

When he doesn't have to act because nobody is observing him, Lawyer's eyes are really depressed, aren't they?

Suspsect tells Cop that Lawyer is his benefactor:

Interrogation:

I love this shot of Cop looking at Lawyer, and we see Lawyer's face distorted/distanced/reflected through glass. They like to do these shots, of Lawyer through obstacles or reflections or silouette, as if he is hidden/contained.

This was such a wonderful scene. I went from shipping Lawyer/Librarian just for amusingness' sake, to shipping them for real.

She hears a voice, asking for a particular book which is not on the shelf:

He looks so thoroughly normal and sweet with her:

And there is teasing, and she decides to look for that book:

I love how the light in the library is always so pure and gorgeous.

She leans down to look for the book and here is the scene where I fell head-over-heels:

Because he is looking at her:

And the camera becomes his eyes so we are looking through his eyes at her. That was such a gorgeous scene, I sort of died:

And then we snap out of it, and the scene sort of continues as a neutral observer...

She stumbles and he reaches to help her out but she sees things through touch and she sees his dead mom, I think...

At the front desk, she finds out the book has, indeed, been checked out. And there is a LOT of eye-frelling:

Seriously they keep staring for ages:

I love these shots of the Cop, as if caged:

I really like this character for some reason. Maybe it's the glasses?

Cop loses it looking for accomplice to the murder because he just knows there is something more:

Lawyer with a reporter:

I wonder why his office manager (the former cop) is so solicitous of Lawyer?

I love these distorted shots:

I love these shots:

Lawyer at the church, with Psychic Librarian's Mom. I love how he was sitting there in the dark, intercut with Librarian telling Cop the story of Faust.

He knows sign language! (Her Mom is deaf):

She tells him he is a good person and he says not really. (Side note: how is it humanly possible for someone to be as freaking beautiful as Joo Ji Hoon?)

More awesome shots:

I love this shot through reflection, because he is all masked so we can never see his full humanness directly, and only when he doesn't notice he is being observed: