The Judge Ending Explained

Summary

• The Judge’s ending tied up major plot threads, creating a dramatic conclusion between its main characters.
• The movie leaves many major questions without a definitive answer, like if Joseph killed Mark Blackwell or if Hank ended up together with Sam.
• The main themes of The Judge are forgiveness, accountability, and the idea of leading a dignified life.

The Judge packed quite a few emotional punches throughout its runtime, and the film’s ending only made its plot even more dramatic. The Judge was released in 2014 to a rather lukewarm reception, but the movie has recently found new popularity on Netflix. Part of the reason for its resurgence in relevancy is because of the all-star cast of The Judge, which features several big names like Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. The cast alone couldn’t carry the entire movie, though, and The Judge also needed its emotional ending to stand a chance at making the list of the best drama movies on Netflix.

As The Judge reached its ending, it had several major plot threads to tie together. There was Joseph’s trial, Hank’s relationship with Sam, and his attempts to repair his relationship with his father. They all came to a climax at the same time, making for a very dramatic ending. Because there were so many threads to follow and resolve, though, the ending of The Judge could also do with a bit of explanation.

Did Joseph Really Kill Mark Blackwell In The Judge?

The Judge Doesn’t Say For Certain Either Way

The central question at the heart of The Judge‘s legal battle is whether Joseph killed Mark Blackwell. Despite being such an important aspect of the movie, The Judge doesn’t definitively answer whether Joseph killed Mark. The real events of Mark’s death were hidden because Joseph couldn’t remember them due to his chemotherapy. There’s also evidence in both directions, as Joseph did hate Mark, but Hank also made a compelling case in his defense. Perhaps the biggest piece of evidence in the entire case, the fact that Joseph saw similarities between Mark and Hank, supported the idea that Joseph didn’t kill him.

The Judge
is available to stream on Netflix.

While there isn’t an outright answer to this question, there also doesn’t need to be. Hank could have secured a not guilty verdict for his dad whether he did it or not by using his unethical legal practices, so it was never really about his guilt. Instead, the trial was about Joseph’s relationship with Hank, like the rest of The Judge. Throughout the trial, Joseph was trying to show Hank how to take accountability for his actions. Joseph wanted to prove that he didn’t need to bend the law like Hank did, and that he would accept whatever verdict came out of it.

Does Hank End Up With Sam In The Judge’s Ending?

Hank & Sam’s Relationship Is Open To Interpretation

The fate of Hank and Sam’s romance was also left ambiguous by the ending of The Judge. Sam professed her love for Hank towards the end of the movie, but there wasn’t a definitive answer to whether he chose to be with her. Shortly after Joseph’s sentencing, Hank left Carlinville, the fictional town based on Massachusetts, where The Judge was filmed. However, there are also some clues that they ended up together, like the fact that Sam hosted Joseph’s wake, where she shared an intimate moment with him. Their relationship can be interpreted in many ways, but it’s clear they both share feelings for each other.

Why The Jury Found Joseph Guilty Of Voluntary Manslaughter

They Were Influenced By Both Hank & Joseph’s Actions During The Trial

In a surprising twist at the end of The Judge, the jury found Joseph not guilty of murder, but did find him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. There were likely a couple of factors that went into their verdict. Voluntary manslaughter is a much less serious charge than murder, and the jury may have chosen to only convict Joseph for that because Hank very successfully made him look sympathetic. They didn’t completely let him off the hook, though, partially due to the significant amounts of evidence against him, and because of Joseph’s own actions during the trial, like openly admitting he hated Mark and wished him harm.

How Hank & Joseph Were Able To Forgive Each Other Explained

Both Hank & Joseph Learned From Each Other & Saw Each Other For Who They Were

Throughout The Judge, both Hank and Joseph made inconsistent progress in repairing their relationship, and there were several times it seemed they wouldn’t be able to reconcile. However, by the end of the film, they had both gained newfound respect for each other, and had even started doing father-son bonding activities, like fishing. The reason Hank and Joseph were able to forgive each other was because both of them started to see things from the others’ perspective. Hank saw that his father was so tough on him because he wanted him to succeed, while Joseph saw that his son wasn’t a bad man and had many decent qualities.

Another big factor in their forgiveness was just how much time they spent together. Since Hank had to stay with Joseph during the entire trial, they both had ample opportunities to show each other how much they had changed. When Lauren came to visit, Hank saw that Joseph could be a loving father figure, which helped shift his perspective. During the trial, Joseph saw how talented Hank was and how hard he worked for his clients, which combated the idea he had that Hank was just a bad kid.

The Real Meaning Of The Judge’s Ending Explained

The Judge’s Themes Touch On Dignity, Forgiveness, & Accountability

At its core, The Judge is a movie about forgiveness and learning to take accountability for mistakes made in the past. Both Hank and Joseph made plenty of mistakes in the past; Hank had a wild youth and ended up hurting many people, like Glen and Sam, while Joseph was too harsh with Hank and ended up driving him away. Both of them had to own up to their mistakes – Hank by making amends and learning to practice dignity both in and out of the courtroom, and Joseph by being kinder and more forgiving – before they got their happy endings.

The Judge also focuses heavily on the idea of dignity. For instance, Joseph said multiple times that he had to live in Carlinville, and accepting his verdict with dignity was the only way he could live in town without being ashamed. Also, a major part of Hank’s character development in The Judge involved learning how to be more dignified, which he showed after he returned to Chicago and couldn’t perform his unethical style of law anymore. Hank’s newfound dignity is also the reason Joseph considered his son to be the best lawyer he knew, and the reason Joseph got to die with dignity in The Judge‘s ending.