☔ In the Name of Justice 以法之名 ☔ (2025) Discussion: Episodes 12 - 15
Welcome
Welcome to the the episode discussion series for In the Name of Justice 以法之名. I'm co-hosting this series of discussions with u/Large_Jacket_4107 🌂, and we will be following platform's VIP release schedule.
🎬Premiered: June 24, 2025 on Youku 👖 (MDL)
🎬# of Episodes: 36
🎬Genre: Internal Affairs | Legal | Crime | (Light) Suspense
🔗Links: Announcement Post | Character Wiki Post
🔗Episode Discussions: All | Ep 1 - 3 | 4 - 7 | 8 - 11
❗ Please use Spoiler tags in comments if you are revealing info from future episodes ❗
㊙️From a banquet to a secret meeting
Last episode, our “Justice group” realized that none of the local officials can be trusted. To avoid any contact with them, the team spent three days stuck in a hotel room, surviving on instant noodles and takeout. So when Secretary Lan invited them to a banquet, they accepted after some hesitation. I think they saw it as an opportunity to learn more about the police’s conclusion on the crematorium "accident", but having a proper meal was also important :D
It’s interesting that the decision to attend the banquet ultimately fell to Ya Ping as the group leader, even though Secretary Lan called Hong. We've seen before that Hong is very good at making others take charge, often even without them even noticing.
Meanwhile, enjoy Hong and Li giving police chief Xu the side-eye ~ they found a common enemy, yay!
This dish is called 糖醋松鼠桂鱼 and it was spotted earlier this year in a drama Love Never Lost :D
The good news is that Chief of Division 11, Sun Xiangqun, has arrived in Dongping to receive a detailed briefing on how the case is going. I really liked the phrase he used: "Once you draw the bow, there’s no turning back", meaning that once accusations are made, they can’t be taken back and our team must be prepared to see the investigation through to the end.
开弓就没有回头箭了 = Once the bow is drawn, the arrow never comes back
Unfortunately, this saying doesn't seem to apply to Vice Chairman Jiang, aka Hong's father-in-law, because once he objects to pursuing the investigation any further, both Zhang and Sun have to step back, even though they clearly know there's more to this case. They simply don't dare challenge the opinion of such a senior official. Their silence in response to Hong and Zheng's questions was painful to watch :((
🍅Tomatoes and family connections
Almost every character seems to have connections in the legal world, it even feels like one can’t survive as a prosecutor without them. Case in point, Qiao Zhenxing had no backing, and we all know how it turned out :((
As for the tomatoes, I really liked this scene because it showed the different approaches of these characters. Mr. Jiang prefers not to interfere, believing it leads to better results than too much scrutiny. At this point, I don’t think the father-in-law is part of the Umbrella Corp, but he’s definitely guilty of letting some issues slide to protect his own interests.
I was glad to see that beneath his usual humility, Hong still seems ready to pursue the case if given the chance. Here is a comparison picture of servile Hong versus more confident Hong:
Left: wimpy and gutless VS Right: *indecipherable emotions*
🐓Golden eggs and Hong snooping around
Undeniably, the best part of these 4 episodes for me was Hong’s investigation into Xie and his background. Not just because it's hands down one of the funniest storylines so far, but also because it shows Hong working in his element, which was really satisfying to watch!
Hong Liang plays the fool so well that it confuses suspects and makes them drop their guard. Some unbeatable techniques I’ve learned from Hong Laoshi:
Probably the funniest moment from these episodes:
I must say I'm quite impressed with Xie's ability to weave lies on the fly. I didn’t expect him to conjure up such a believable excuse for hiding the golden ingots from his wife while also explaining why he planted them in the chicken coop. I'm worried he'll be off the hook very soon.
🍵 Fluff Corner
He could have been a really good bartender in another life!
You know there’s something wrong with your boss when he spends his days racing a car inside an empty skyscraper and then violently throws fruits in a blender.
Hong is a cat who doesn’t care when people yell at him ₍^. .^₎⟆
Discussion Questions:
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- What did you think of Hong's interrogation style?
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- Any thoughts on the chicken coop and the follow-up questioning of Xie? XD
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- How did you feel about Zhang Wenjing finally getting out of prison?
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- What do you make of the strange relationship between Sun Fei and Chen Shenglong?
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- What are your thoughts on the father-in-law’s intervention? Do you think Hong will go against his wishes and continue the investigation?
Posted Jul 1, 2025, 8:33 PM UTC