Law and the City episode 10 review: Cold bait, hollow truths and a plate that never sizzles

The tenth episode of Law and the City opens with a promise it refuses to fulfill. The preview had teased a high-stakes turn in Bae Moon-jung’s pregnancy, suggesting medical complications; however, that thread dissolves with barely a ripple. It’s a bait, and not the kind that builds tension or reshapes characters. It leaves us wondering why they bothered to show it at all. The rest of the episode follows the same logic: muted, resigned, circular.

Defense wins, and no one celebrates

It's not like we don't have tender moments. However, the cases shown in episode 10 of Law and the City all revisit the show's ongoing theme that justice and law rarely walk in step. This time, Ahn Joo‑hyung defends a guilty company and wins, because the system allowed it. The visibly concerned attorney delivers the closing argument with professional detachment, and while his points are sound, the victory lands hollow.

During the entire episode, every character recoils in their own way. Kang Hui-ji buries her discomfort in corporate pragmatism, but ends up saving the day for an entire family. Cho Chang-won insists that idealism still matters, but their words fall like routine scripts, not revelations.

Conversations without heat

Most of the episode takes place around office tables, hospital corridors and brief sidebars, all spaces where characters talk and debate morality and other more trivial matters.

Even the scenes with Moon-jung, supposedly emotional given her pregnancy, unfold in low tones. There’s no emotional crescendo, no visual metaphor pushing the mood. Everything is muted, as if the episode is saving its fire for later.

When principle becomes habit

There’s a slow erosion happening in Law and the City, and episode 10 makes it visible. They’re not completely numb, though. When the verdict lands in their favor, there are no big smiles. Joo-hyung hesitates before standing, his silence louder than his argument. Hui-ji speaks up, but her idealism is starting to bother her managing partner. At these times, the win doesn’t feel like a win, and no one knows what to do with that.

Chang-won wears a grin like armor. Even Sangi seems less moved by what the law allows and more resigned to what it demands. He's also quite trapped between his dreams of a PhD and his need to work and earn some money. However, nothing of it is dug any deeper in this episode. The ideals remain, but they seem dilute, like they’ve been reduced to postures, reflexes rather than revolts.

Two episodes left of Law and the City, and the engine cools

It’s not that the episode betrays the series. On the contrary, it fits the world Law and the City has built: a legal system that doesn’t cater to closure, and characters too worn down to always push back. But episode 10 feels like a plate served before the heat could reach the center.

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It’s not a complete failure, but it is a disappointment. With only two episodes left, this pause feels more like a stall. Law and the City might still be playing the long game, but this chapter doesn’t feel like a necessary piece, just a placeholder.

Rating with a touch of flair: 3.5 out of 5 reheated dilemmas

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