THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, the characters in this show grow on you, the cases are carefully chosen to bring interest to the story, while also giving us insight into our characters, and character relationships are carefully teased out.

On the not-so-upside, Show does employ a fair amount of coincidence to nudge its story forward, while also having its share of logic stretches. I also wasn’t super interested in the law firm politics, which were also inevitably present.

Overall, I did find this to be solidly engaging and watchable, which is saying a lot, since I don’t tend to gravitate towards legal dramas.

Worth a look, in my opinion.

THE LONG VERDICT:

Confession time: When this show came out, I’d been utterly convinced that I wouldn’t be watching it, due to the fact that I don’t gravitate towards legal dramas, and I don’t particularly care for Lee Jin Wook, as an actor.

Let me elaborate a little bit on that.

First, I’ve historically never had an interest in legal dramas, and have never actually done super well on any ones that I’ve sampled in the past, not that there were many of those, to be fair. 😅

I think I’ve just had a mental barrier when it came to legal dramas, because I’d once read part of a book about law, while contemplating whether to go to law school like my parents so wanted me to do, and I hadn’t found it terribly exciting. 😅

The other thing is, I’ve been aggressively indifferent towards Lee Jin Wook as an actor, for quite some time (apologies to the Lee Jin Wook fans in the house!).

I’d actually found him pretty good in Nine (review here!), all those years ago, but then, I came away from I Need Romance 2012 (review here!) really disliking his character.

I also generally found his screen presence to be on the cold side, so I also found it hard to feel connected to him as a viewer.

Putting that all together, I figured that I really didn’t enjoy watching Lee Jin Wook on my screen, and decided to spare myself the trouble of checking out his dramas, as a general rule.

And so, here we have a show that checks both of those boxes. Can’t lie; when Show’s trailers had first come out, I’d already written it off in my head as a show that I would be sitting out.

AND YET. HERE WE ARE. 😂

I guess this counts as a big recommendation on my part, since I enjoyed this show enough to finish it, and write it this review, never mind that it’s a legal drama, and never mind that Lee Jin Wook’s in it. 😁

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album, in case you’d like to listen to it while you read the review.

I have to confess that while I was watching the show, I barely noticed the OST; it was that unobtrusive, to me.

Now that think about it, though, I do think that the OST is very pleasant and melodious.

Out of the various tracks, if I had to pick one that stood out to me a little extra, it’s the first track, Quiet.

I’m quite drawn to the diminished chords in this one, as well as the not so predictable melody line. Altogether, I find it quite smokey and atmospheric. Not at all what I would have expected, from a legal drama, honestly. 😅

Here it is on its own as well, in case you’d prefer to listen to it on repeat. Just right-click on the video and select “Loop.”

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

First I’ll talk about how to manage your expectations going into this one, and what viewing lens would be most helpful.

After that, I talk about stuff I liked on a more macro level, before I give the spotlight to selected characters and relationships, in a separate section. Finally, I spend some time talking about my thoughts on the penultimate and finale episodes.

If you’re interested in my blow-by-blow reactions, &/or all the various Patreon members’ comments during the course of our watch, you might like to check out my episode notes on Patreon here.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. Show likes a bit of drama

..in a way that I can only describe as very kdrama. 😅

Like, if there’s a way to “kdrama-fy” a moment, Show’s more than likely going to take it.

Knowing to expect this, helps. 😁

2. This is not romance forward

There is some romance in this story, but the romance is more of a supporting arc than a main one.

And (spoiler alert?), if it makes a difference to you, I’m here to say that the potential romance between Lee Jin Wook’s and Jung Chae Yeon’s characters is treated as just that: potential.

3. Suspension of disbelief is required, sometimes

There are occasions when Show takes some artistic license with logic, and adjusting your expectations to accommodate that, also helps.

STUFF I LIKED

Getting to understand the legal perspective

Given that I don’t have a history of being drawn to legal dramas, I was entirely surprised to find that the thing that drew me in first, was the legal perspectives that we hear from Jung Chae Yeon’s character, Hyo Min, in our opening minutes.

[MINOR SPOILERS]

Hyo Min’s a little scattered in some of the regular everyday people things, like being neatly dressed and being on time, but she’s got quite the brilliant legal mind, and, as a layperson who really doesn’t know much about the law at all, I really liked hearing her explain her points of view, like during the interview at Hullim, where candidates are asked to provide insight into various hypothetical cases.

My own perspectives were aligned with the other candidates, thanks to my only having common sense as a resource, so I found it refreshing to hear her thoughts, with are tapping on her understanding of law.

Maybe if you already know law, then this might not be as interesting or as thought-provoking, to you. 😅

[END MINOR SPOILERS]

How watchable and balanced Show is

I was very pleasantly surprised at how watchable I found this show, my friends.

I generally found the legal cases interesting, and that definitely helps, but there’s also how Show delves into our characters that really worked for me; I do think that adds an added layer of depth to everything.

I really appreciate that we regularly got context for our characters, and that the context felt relevant to the parts of their lives that echo the cases of the day.

Altogether, this does make for a watch that feels cohesive, in my experience.

The way Show relates the cases of the week to our characters

Like I just mentioned, Show does have a tendency to bring our leads’ contexts to the forefront of our story, and often in a way that’s related to the cases themselves.

Yes, it’s true that this approach can feel rather pat, but at the same time, I found it to be an effective way to nudge our character stories forward, while still getting the freshness of a case of the week.

In this next spoiler section, I touch on a couple of examples, of how Show uses the cases of the week as neat jumping off points, to bring us into the personal contexts of our characters.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. It’s so true, that we perceive the world through the lens of our own experiences.

This is why Hyo Min is sympathetic towards Intense Mom in this week’s case, because she sees her own mother (Yoon Yoo Sun) in this space, which means that:

1, She wants to believe that Intense Mom is coming from a place of love and good intentions, &/or

2, She has seen that her own mom is flawed, but only human, and is therefore willing to extend that same grace to Intense Mom.

Not that Hyo Min has it all together, certainly.

That beat, where she marches over to her family home to confront Mom for throwing out her plate, just like she’d thrown out her sister, for being imperfect, tells us that this is still a fresh wound, for Hyo Min.

On the other hand, Seok Hoon’s experience with his ex-wife Yeon A (Ji Yi Soo) has convinced him that the famed mother’s instinct may not necessarily be a thing for all women; that women can be selfish to the point of hurting their own children – because his ex-wife had (apparently anyway) terminated her pregnancy because she hadn’t wanted children.

As good of a lawyer as Seok Hoon has been established to be, it’s clear to see that his argument in court is more brutal than it absolutely needed to be, and that this came from a place of personal pain and bitterness.

E5-6. Show continues to serve up cases that somehow have some kind of personal relevance to our leads, and I do think that this is an approach that works – though I have to confess that I had to stop and think about it for a minute, to see the connection this week, versus last week, where the connection had been more obvious to me. 😅

The additional dimension at work, is where we get to see that Hyo Min is in contact with her twin, and Twin is happy, but also, careful about not upsetting her adoptive mother, with any mention of wanting to visit her birth mother.

This is not unlike the dynamic with Jeong Hye and her mother, where Jeong Hye is so careful not to let Mom see that she misses her dad.

I’m thinking that perhaps that beat, where Jeong Hye’s mom gives her permission to express her feelings about her father as much as she wants, is a foreshadowing of a potential reunion between Twin Sis and Mom. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

When Show is thought-provoking

From time to time, Show served up a thought or theme that I found thought-provoking, and I really did enjoy this reflective part of Show’s personality, when it showed up.

I felt like this added a nice layer of depth to my watch.

Here’s an example of when I found Show to be nicely thought-provoking.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E7-8. It’s a theme that does show up from time to time; that things may not be as they seem, and we do see that too, as we explore this case.

The circumstances of the case certainly are thought-provoking on that point.

At first glance, the accusation by the woman’s brother, that the husband had had an affair and had wanted a divorce, do look quite damning.

However, when the husband explains that the illness had caused his wife to treat him differently and appear to lose interest in keeping their appointments with each other, and that he’d become lonely and that’s how he’d ended up having an affair, everything looks different.

Instead of seeing a man who no longer cared about his wife and wanted to get away from her, to be with his mistress, we see that he’d felt lonely and hopeless about his marriage, because of the change in his wife’s behavior, which he’d attributed to fading love, rather than symptoms of illness.

I thought this was thought-provoking; with the right context in place, our understanding of this man’s experience and his rationale for his decisions changes completely.

It’s true that context is everything, isn’t it?

[END SPOILER]

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The cases themselves

I enjoyed some of the cases more than others, which is why this section sits in the neutral zone, for me.

Here’s a quick example of a case that I found to be quite interesting, during my watch.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. I found the case in episode 6 quite interesting, because it sure took a turn that I hadn’t been expecting.

After a while, I definitely started to get the idea that the hotshot famous artist wasn’t the original creator of the work, given that his answers with regard to the creative intent behind the piece, were so labored and vague.

Still, I hadn’t expected that there would be a hidden image in the work itself, so that reveal was a nice twist, I thought.

And, it was a nice turn of the tables on the nasty, affected hotshot artist, to see that he had been the one to copy Jeong Hye’s work, and not the other way around.

[END SPOILER]

Show’s slightly dramatic style

Like I mentioned earlier in this review, Show does have a tendency to prefer a bit of drama, in the way it tells its story.

It’s not be my natural choice for how Show approaches the storytelling, but I do think that adjusting my lens to allow for a bit more drama and melodrama, was very helpful.

Here’s a quick example to illustrate what I mean.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I do think that Show likes to lean into the drama of it all, a little bit, like with the way Hyo Min chooses Litigation as her first choice.

It’s a very kdrama sort of thing, I think, to have everyone go to their chosen places, while Hyo Min just stays in place, only walking to the front and taking her spot, after everyone else has chosen theirs; it just amps up the drama of it all, while everyone gapes at Hyo Min’s choice.

[END SPOILER]

Show’s use of coincidence

As I got deeper into my watch, it started becoming clear to me that our story world was really very small, with pretty much the same few lawyers from another law firm showing up as our characters’ opponents in court.

[SPOILER ALERT]

What I mean is, our Yullim team is just always up against Seong Chan’s (Kang Sang Jun) team at Lee & Seo.

I get that the idea is that Lee & Seo is the top law firm in the country, so of course people would go to them, but it’s really starting to come off as Lee & Seo being a small little firm with only one team, ha.

But fine. I do enjoy Seong Chan continually being outwitted and outperformed by Hyo Min and her team, so I’m willing to just roll with it. 😁

[END SPOILER]

Again, this is honestly a very kdrama sort of thing, and I didn’t hate it, which is why this section is in this neutral zone.

Show’s treatment of supporting characters

There are other trainees who join the Litigation team alongside Hyo Min, but we don’t get to see the other trainees take on cases and stretch their lawyer wings.

Instead, the lion’s share of screen time is given to Hyo Min, and any screen time the other trainees get, is in relation to her.

I’m not too fussed about this, because while that might have been nice to see more of the other traiees, this was never marketed as an ensemble sort of deal (unlike Law and the City (review here!), which was marketed as a friend group sort of thing).

[SPOILER ALERT]

Among the other trainees, I did feel quite sorry for Choi Ho Yeon (Lee Ju Yeon), mainly because she was treated so clearly as a mere plot catalyst.

Does Seok Hoon need to have a chance to spend some quality time with a couple of kids? No problem – let’s give Ho Yeon a problem, so that she’ll need help looking after her little twin sisters.

Does Hyo Min need a reason to reach out to Seok Hoon? No problem – let’s put Ho Yeon in a minor car accident, so that she’ll need help again, with the twins, thus giving Hyo Min a reason to call Seok Hoon.

This dynamic became a little cartoonish to my eyes, after a while, not gonna lie. 😅

[END SPOILER]

When our characters are presented as gray

At a couple of points in our story, Show lets us in on the fact that our characters – ok, mostly Seok Hoon – are more gray than I’d originally expected.

I have to confess that while I understand the rationale that Show gives us for his decisions, the grayness does give me pause; like, I can’t say that I’m 100% supportive of his decisions, and yet, I understand the fact that our characters live in a world that’s also made up of shades of gray.

Here, I talk a bit about the two main instances when this grayness shows up.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. I honestly hadn’t expected Show to go in the direction of rogue justice, coz.. I dunno, I thought that this was the type of show where our characters would fight their battles in the courtroom instead of outside of it.

But, this does bring that soundbite from our opening episodes into the spotlight; the one where Hyo Min had mentioned that the law isn’t perfect.

This is a case of that, exactly.

Following only legal procedure, Seok Hoon wouldn’t have been able to put Choi Cheol Min in jail, because he has too many powerful people backing him.

Going rogue is the only way that Seok Hoon can put a stop to Choi Cheol Min’s unlawful and abusive ways.

Part of me feels that Choi Cheol Min (Do Sang Woo) had this coming to him, while another part of me still wishes that this could have been settled within the legal system. I dunno; what do you guys think about this?

E7-8. In episode 8, we have that whole thing where Ko Tae Seop (Park Jung Pyo) hatches that plan to force Seok Hoon out, but ends up getting more than he’d bargained for, when Seok Hoon not only proves that:

1, It had been one of Ko Tae Seop’s minions who had created that damning document, but that

2, the photo of Seo Hye Jin (Han Eun Seo) entering Seok Hoon’s home wasn’t about them having a personal relationship, but about her seeking help from him, for abuse that she’d been suffering under Hong Do Yun (Park Hyung Soo).

On this point, I don’t know how I feel about how this all goes down.

I was pleased with how Hong Do Yun is forced to resign, but it kind of feels like the reason that he’s forced to resign, and will be investigated, has more to do with dealing with brokers, rather than because of the abuse that he’d subjected Seo Hye Jin to.

Additionally, there’s that beat where Ko Tae Seop requests that Seok Hoon pin the entire issue of leaked information on Hong Do Yun – and Seok Hoon eventually accepts, albeit while adding his own conditions:

1, that Ko Tae Seop’s crony, Choi Hui Cheol (Kwon Seung Woo), get transferred to DA Solutions, which is where Ko Tae Seop had schemed to get Kwon Na Yeon (Kim Yeo Jin) sent, and

2, that Ko Tae Seop not interfere with anything that Seok Hoon might do, in the future.

That.. honestly feels a little shady and petty to me.

I’d imagined that Seok Hoon would turn down Ko Tae Seop’s request to pin everything on Hong Do Yun, so it’s a little confronting for me personally, to see him more or less accept the deal.

I have to remind myself that we have seen Seok Hoon go rogue before, in that earlier episode where he’d taken the law into his own hands to punish that guy for abusing his daughter.

Meaning to say, Seok Hoon’s more gray as a character than is typical for a main character, especially one that’s not marketed as an antihero, and is marketed as a mentor.

[END SPOILER]

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The law firm politics

I have to confess that I wasn’t that interested in the law firm politics, and this does become a fairly important narrative thread, by Show’s mid-point.

However, I was in-principle keen to see the good guys triumph over the bad ones, and that helped me to roll with this arc a little better.

The logic stretches / gaps

Occasionally, I did feel like Show’s logic leaned a little weak, and that did hamper my enjoyment of my watch.

Thankfully, this didn’t happen too often. In fact, there are mainly just two key occasions when I felt myself questioning the logic in this show, which is not a lot.

Here’s a quick spotlight on both occasions, just to illustrate what I mean when I say I questioned Show’s logic.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. On further thought on the artist case, I’m confused as to how the work had been copied, since it wasn’t a replica, but something that Hotshot Artist had copied. How could he have copied it, and still retained the hidden image, when he hadn’t been aware of the hidden image..?

Plus, if I understand it correctly, Jeong Hye had used special fluorescent paint in order to hide her father’s image? There’s no way that Hotshot Artist could’ve copied her work wile including the hidden image, if he hadn’t known that there was a hidden image to include..?

I’m not sure the logic is that sound in this case, to be honest.

E7-8. As for the case around Seol Hyun (Hong Soo Hyun) and how she’d assaulted her husband, I found the handling very odd, I have to admit.

I do understand that lawyers depend on legal loopholes as a matter of course, to help them defend their clients, but coming away from the case, I find myself wondering why the focus of the case was all about whether Seol Hyun was impaired during the moment, and not at all about whether her husband had done anything to provoke her?

It’s true that she gets violent when she’s on that particular medication, but we see from the video, later on, that she did not attack her husband until he’d reached out and attacked her first.

As a layperson, I don’t understand why her husband’s provocation wasn’t taken into account..?

Plus, I also think that if her husband’s provocation had been taken into account, that could have then shed light on the systemic abuse which he’d subjected her to, over the years.

Would that have allowed her to have claimed a cleaner victory, I wonder? One that didn’t require her to lean into a legal loophole?

It does niggle at me, that the entire 10 years of domestic abuse that he’d subjected her to, is basically taken care of in a rogue manner as well.

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON SELECTED CHARACTERS / RELATIONSHIPS

Lee Jin Wook as Seok Hoon

First, let me talk about the elephant in the room: how did I take to Lee Jin Wook in this, given that I’d started this show with a decided bias against him?

Well, y’know, surprisingly, I liked him pretty well, in this. 😅

Part of it is that his character Seok Hoon is a very cold, prickly type (at least on the surface), and that aligns perfectly with the kind of screen presence that I’ve come to associate with Lee Jin Wook.

Additionally, Show does a nice job softening Seok Hoon up as we go along, and I found myself likewise softening towards Seok Hoon (and therefore Lee Jin Wook as well), over the course of my watch.

Whaddya know; I think maybe Show might have managed to cure me of my longstanding Lee Jin Wook aversion. 😅

[BROAD SPOILERS]

As a character, we definitely get to know Seok Hoon better over the course of our story.

We get to learn more about what makes him tick, where his heart lies, and perhaps most poignant of all, where his wounds are rooted.

I appreciated his fearlessness in the face of abusive power, though I was admittedly uncertain about what to make of the various instances where we see him go rogue, a little bit. I will concede that this grayness does humanize Seok Hoon further.

Most of all, though, I felt sorry for him, for the hidden wounds that he nurses, as someone who’s lost both his wife and child.

In this next spoiler section, I touch of a few specific spoilers touching on the various aspects of Seok Hoon, as a character.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. I did get a stab of satisfaction at the scene where Ko Tae Seop tattles to Daddy Ko (Kim Eui Sung) about Seok Hoon for his lack of respect, and demands that Daddy Ko reprimand Seok Hoon – only for Daddy Ko to offer Seok Hoon the position of Managing Partner instead.

As if that wasn’t satisfying enough (because I just love the thought of how upset Ko Tae Seop would be, to know that Daddy Ko had not only NOT reprimanded Seok Hoon, but offered him a promotion! 🤭), Seok Hoon coolly turns down the offer, by bluntly saying that he does not desire to captain a sinking ship.

Ooh! The audacity! 🤭

I also love that when Daddy Ko asks Seok Hoon to explain his decision, Seok Hoon easily takes him through his logic, without missing a beat or batting an eye. Nice.

E3-4. It’s clear that the Choi Cheol Min child abuse case hits a very personal nerve for Seok Hoon, judging from the way he rushes back to Choi Cheol Min’s house, after In Yeong (Kim Si On) goes into surgery, so that he can beat the living daylights out of him.

This, despite the fact that Seok Hoon’s already made a deal with that thug-turned-businessman, that he’ll help him recover the money that Choi Cheol Min’s been skimming off him, if he’ll quietly take care of Choi Cheol Min, so that he won’t be able to keep abusing his daughter.

E5-6. What I appreciate about the handling of the “love is impairment” case, is how, when Eun Yeong (Cheon Hee Joo) asks Seok Hoon if this impairment would apply to “someone like him” – ie, someone as well-educated and smart like him – he answers in the affirmative, and without hesitation.

Can’t lie; I appreciate that from a personal standpoint, because it makes me feel vindicated for all the stupid things I’ve ever done, while blinded by love. 😅

I will also say that this endears Seok Hoon to me a little more, because he’s willing to be vulnerable in this situation, in a manner of speaking, by admitting that he would be as deeply affected as Eun Yeong herself, in a similar situation.

E7-8. On a more personal note for Seok Hoon, the client’s sharing of how love changes colors over time, is the key takeaway.

I feel like this analogy helps to validate what Seok Hoon had tried to tell his then-wife, Yeon A, when she’d asked for a divorce; that it wasn’t that they no longer loved each other, but that their love has evolved over time, and was still changing.

I’m thinking that perhaps Seok Hoon had needed to have that sense of validation for the marriage that he’d shared with his then-wife; to have a sense that their love had meant something?

I do feel bad for him, that his ex-wife does know this now, but had only realized it later, after having divorced him.

That’s sad, because they had loved each other at one point, and had still loved each other when they’d divorced, and now, it’s too late for them to recover what they’d lost, because she’s moved on and is now married to someone else, and even expecting a baby with her new husband.

It’s deeply unfortunate, but that’s life, sometimes, isn’t it?

Love is about timing, and it’s just too bad, that she’d been too immature, while married to Seok Hoon, to realize that they’d had a good thing, and also, too immature, to feel ready for a baby.

Perhaps this is the acknowledgment that Seok Hoon had needed, in order to initiate the proper closure to their relationship, that he’s been toying with, since that moment when he’d felt ready to throw out the soap and cologne that she’d sent.

[END SPOILER]

Jung Chae Yeon as Hyo Min

Overall, I do feel that Jung Chae Yeon does a solid job of the role of Hyo Min.

I am admittedly less satisfied with her delivery of Hyo Ju, but the silver lining here, for me anyway, is that Hyo Ju doesn’t get all that much screen time. 😅

I really liked that Hyo Min’s smart and pretty capable despite being a rookie on the job, and I enjoyed rooting for Hyo Min to win the respect of her colleagues, particularly her boss Seok Hoon.

[BROAD SPOILERS]

I appreciate that Show takes care to peel back Hyo Min’s layers, such that we get to know her better, not only as a lawyer, but as a person.

Beyond that, I also enjoyed the poignance of Hyo Min’s backstory, which I hadn’t quite expected, given her golden girl image.

Additionally, I very much appreciated Hyo Min’s clarity and firmness, when it came to her ex-boyfriend Seong Chan.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. In episode 3, I was surprised to be given that bit of backstory, that Hyo Min had actually developed psychogenic dyslexia, a likely stress-induced impairment.

With how Hyo Min’s demonstrated herself to be very, very smart, right from our opening episode, I’d imagined that she’d just been gifted, while her twin had been impaired, but as it turns out, Hyo Min had had to bear a great deal of pressure from Mom (Yoon Yoo Sun), as the remaining twin.

The fact that it had gotten stressful enough, that she would develop a physical disorder as a result, speaks volumes about the kind of pressure that Hyo Min had to deal with, on a daily basis.

Even in that opening scene, where Hyo Min’s retreated to her room and is watching the butterfly emerge from its cocoon, Mom can be heard banging on the door and screaming for Hyo Min to stop with it already and come out.

Which is really intense, I have to say, and definitely gives me echoes of the Intense Mom in our case in episode 3.

However, we do see that unlike the butterfly in Hyo Min’s memory, she herself has managed to struggle against the pressures of her chrysalis and emerge stronger than before – and she’s now graduated at the top of her class, and is impressing people with her very sharp and agile legal mind.

E3-4. It pleases me extra, that Seong Chan looks visibly unsettled, when it’s Hyo Min who rises to speak in court, rather than Seok Hoon.

I think he just doesn’t know what to do with the fact that Hyo Min is doing better than he’d expected her to, and is even doing better than him.

I do believe that that’s why we see him seek her out afterwards, trying to reconcile with her.

It’s not because he actually has feelings for her, I don’t think; it feels more like he wants to possess her, and therefore subdue / tame her – if that makes sense.

I’m glad that Hyo Min shuts that down immediately and doesn’t give Seong Chan any kind of misplaced hope.

Where other girls might be drawn back in by the tempting prospect of reversing or canceling out the rejection that they’d faced, Hyo Min is very clear on what a jerk Seong Chan is, and I like that very much.

[END SPOILER]

Seok Hoon and Hyo Min

From the beginning of my watch, I was very clear that I would have preferred that Show keep the relationship between Seok Hoon and Hyo Min professional and platonic.

In fact, I do love the idea of a deep and unique bond that doesn’t have to have shades of romance about it, to make it special.

However, I do appreciate that Show teases out their connection very slowly and organically, and then leaves things open-ended, with positive hints at a possible romantic future for them.

[BROAD SPOILERS]

What I like about the way Show teases out the connection between Seok Hoon and Hyo Min, is that it goes through several very natural stages.

First, she wins his trust and respect, as she earns credibility on the job, step by step, while working on the various cases that come their way.

And then, they slowly grow closer, as she opens up and seeks his advice and perspective on things.

After some time, he reciprocates by also opening up and allowing her some insight into his personal life, and eventually, very naturally, we start to see them having conversations, almost as equals.

I think that Show does a very solid job of building the foundation for a romance to potentially happen, and I also think that it’s a wise move that Show makes, in leaving the future of this relationship open-ended.

Here are just a few highlights of this pair, that I enjoyed extra.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. I do very much appreciate the fact that, after that heated exchange with Hyo Min, Seok Hoon actually re-opens the elevator doors, in order to clarify that he’s not mad at Hyo Min.

To my eyes, it feels like a pocket of stability and safety, in the midst of their upheaval of emotions about the case, and I do like that very well.

E5-6. There’s also the thing where Seok Hoon watches over Hyo Min from a distance, and we can see that flicker of approval and acknowledge cross his features, as she gets her breakthrough in the courtroom.

That moment, when he addresses her as “Attorney Kang Hyo Min” instead of “Kang Hyo Min-sshi” says it all, doesn’t it; he finally deems her worthy of the title. 🥲

I do get a vicarious stab of satisfaction from moments like these, because I just like the idea of Seok Hoon coming to a healthy sense of respect for Hyo Min as an attorney, even though she’s only in her first year.

E7-8. It does feel like a caring and thoughtful gesture on Hyo Min’s part, to invite Seok Hoon to share what’s on his mind, because thus far, he’s been the one lending her a listening ear.

I do like how she listens to everything he says, and then assures him, essentially, that this, too, shall pass; that the emptiness he now feels, will eventually be filled again.

That’s empathetic and encouraging, and I like that it’s a message that’s hopeful, without diminishing the experiences of his past. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Jeon Hye Bin as Min Jeong

 In episode 6, we finally get a bit of a spotlight on Min Jeong as a character, and my immediate response to that was, why haven’t we had a spotlight on her earlier?

I mean, she’s such a cool character; I would have loved to have started getting to know her earlier. But oh well. Better late than never, I guess. 😅

The thing that strikes me most about Min Jeong, is what a strong woman she is, having overcome so much, and now, having achieved so much for herself. 🥲

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. I don’t love the fact that they put Jeon Hye Bin in a fat suit, AND made her so submissive and docile towards her ex-husband, but y’know, this circles back to the whole point of episode 6’s case, that when you’re in love, you can easily become impaired in your judgment.

Therefore, I believe that the version of Min Jeong that we see in that fat suit, trying desperately to gain the approval of her then-husband and his family, is not the real Min Jeong.

The real Min Jeong, is the person whom we see in the present: she’s smart, strong, resourceful and resilient, and this version of her, had just gotten sidelined and hidden, in the course of her relationship with her ex-husband (and I honestly resonate with this, can’t lie).

And so, I do love that Min Jeong has reclaimed herself and has done so well for herself, after the divorce. AND, I love even more, that she’s not ashamed to talk about her past. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Jin Woo and Min Jeong

We don’t spend a whole lot of screen time on the loveline between Jin Woo (Lee Hak Joo) and Min Jeong, but I loved whatever we did get. 🥲

[BROAD SPOILERS]

I love that Jin Woo is so unwavering and ardent in his feelings for Min Jeong, and refuses to be deterred, even when she’s studiously avoiding him, because she wants him to date and marry someone his own age, who’ll be able to bear him children.

This kind of determined puppy energy always melts my heart, and I loved that this couple eventually get their happy ending, despite the obstacles that Jin Woo has to weather, to get his dream girl. 🥲

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. When Min Jeong ends up taking Jin Woo home because he’d had too much to drink and had changed the passcode to his home, he ends up seeing her old photos and asks her about it – and I love that she’s so matter-of-fact and unabashed, in telling him that the woman in the photo was her. AND, that the woman who’d come to see her at the office, had been her then-husband’s mistress.

I just LOVE her now, for being so unashamed of everything, and I can absolutely see why Jin Woo has a crush on her.

E7-8. I love that it’s so obvious Jin Woo has a crush on Min Jeong, and I love that he keeps finding excuses to spend time with her, and ask her about her story.

And, I do really like that she’s not purposefully holding anything back from Jin Woo either; it’s always been a matter of it never having come up before, rather than that she’d rather not talk about it, whether in general or specifically with him.

Clearly, they do have a very comfortable sort of relationship, evidenced by the fact that they’re taking each other home when drunk, and Min Jeong even knows the passcode to Jin Woo’s house.

This is why I’m not actually side-eyeing Jin Woo when he makes the executive decision to just crash on Min Jeong’s couch instead of letting himself out, after he takes her home.

I basically have the feeling that if he’d asked, begged &/or cajoled, Min Jeong would’ve let him crash on the couch anyway – which is exactly what happens when she gets up in the middle of the night and finds him still there.

The key thing here, of course, is how Jin Woo gets all worried and anxious, when he hears Min Jeong sobbing, after she wakes up from that dream of her late mom.

I do think that Jin Woo leans a bit on the more pushy side of things when he asks if he should just sleep next to her, but overall, I feel like Min Jeong accepts his reasoning, which is why she just turns over and mutters that he’s being annoying, instead of throwing him out of the room herself.

Based on the way she asks him, at the end of episode 7, why he keeps wasting time on her, I feel like it’s not that Min Jeong doesn’t like Jin Woo; it’s that she believes that he deserves someone younger, without her complicated past.

In fact, I’d say that the fact that she ends up telling Jin Woo to sleep outside, is an indication that she’s more hyperaware of him than she’d like to admit.

I love that when Jin Woo sees Min Jeong rush off in a state of urgency, he doesn’t hesitate to avail himself to help her.

From driving her to meet that lady to pick up the camcorder, to finding her a repair shop that would be able to fix it, to using his family connections to get the guy to make it a priority job, he does everything for her, without actually knowing the significance of the camcorder to her.

All he knows is that it appears to be of great importance to her, so he makes every effort to help her get what she wants, as quickly as humanly possible.

I find that very endearing, honestly. 🥲

It’s only afterwards, as they’re having lunch while waiting for the camcorder to be ready, that he asks about it, and hears the story from Min Jeong.

It’s also very endearing to me, that he would offer to share his family with Min Jeong – and then awkwardly brings in the idea that perhaps they ought to get married.

Tee hee hee! Jin Woo is on the right track, and I hope that they do get married, by the time we finish our story. 😁

For now, I love that he’s attentive and sensitive towards her, and when she gets overwhelmed by the video footage of her and her late mom, and steps outside to cry, I love that he quietly joins her and offers her his shoulder, while telling her that it’s ok for her to cry. 🥲

I really hope that Min Jeong will give Jin Woo a proper chance, going forward; I feel like Jin Woo’s proven himself quite nicely so far, as being very caring boyfriend material. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODES [SPOILERS]

E9-10. Typically, I expect a little extra drama in a show’s penultimate episodes, because the writers are ramping up for the finale, and interestingly, with this show, it doesn’t really feel that way?

It kinda-sorta feels like just another day at the office, actually, with the exception of the fact that we get some significant movement in the loveline between Jin Woo and Min Jeong, which, honestly, is the key indication in these episodes (to my eyes anyway), that we’re coming close to the finale.

In episode 9, we have that case with the doctor being accused of murder because the child molester whom she’d treated had ended up dying.

While it’s against the doctor’s Hippocratic Oath to have refused to treat the patient in the past, I do think it highlights the idea that doctors are regular people with regular feelings and struggles.

With her knowledge of the patient’s past horrific deeds, particularly since she appears to have adopted the child victim, it’s understandable from a human perspective, that she would struggle with the idea of personally saving him, even though she’s obligated to do so, as a medical professional.

I do think that, when confronted with that situation on the plane, she eventually overcomes her personal feelings, and provides treatment like she would any other patient.

To my eyes, she does vindicate herself, by not allowing her prejudice to get the better of her, the second time around.

However, as we see, context is always very important, and when her past context is taken into account, where she’d refused to treat him, her actions are now put in question: had she killed him intentionally, and thus committed murder?

In the end, I do like that Hyo Min and the rest of the Yullim team manage to prove the doc’s innocence.

There are some gray areas that are highlighted, certainly, including how the Chief Prosecutor had purposely assigned the same prosecutor to the case, who had overseen the child molestation case.

This would ensure that the prosecutor in charge would be keenly familiar with the horrific things that the deceased had done – and we see that this definitely comes into play, with how the prosecutor chooses to be helpful to Hyo Min, when she requests access to his family medical history.

And then there’s also we see that the senior doctor who’d ended up treating Kim Byeong Su, had chosen not to tell him about his underlying medical condition, because he’d wanted fate to have its way.

This element of humans doing something to nudge things in a particular direction while technically remaining within the confines of the law, is something that’s come up in our story world before.

While I appreciate the acknowledgement that the law is absolute and unbending, but is applied by people who are living, breathing beings with thoughts and feelings, I have to confess that there’s a part of me that feels a bit uncomfortable with the lashings of vigilante justice in our narrative. 😅

I do think that this is a personal, subjective sort of response, so I think your response will depend on how you feel about rogue justice.

One of the side arcs that I did enjoy, was the one where Hyo Min becomes close enough with Ho Yeon, that Ho Yeon opens up about her family situation.

I thought it was pretty great, that Ho Yeon could depend on Hyo Min to go check on her little sisters, even providing a password, so that the girls would know that they could trust Hyo Min.

And of course, we get to see Seok Hoon’s softer underbelly, as he spends time with the girls and helps to take care of them.

I feel like we can really see a wistfulness in him, where he yearns to be a father, and to have children on whom he can pour out his care and attention, and that just makes the loss of the baby from his past marriage, that much more poignant. 🥲

And then of course, we have our maybe-OTP talking and bonding, while the girls are asleep, and overall, I just have to say that I do appreciate that this is the kind of bonding that Show serves up, when it comes to this potential loveline.

This way, the connection that builds between them, feels like it’s based on open communication and shared understanding, and that lands as much more meaningful than Hyo Min getting distracted by Seok Hoon’s nice-smelling cologne. 😅

In episode 6, I thought the idea of how a bystander is complicit, was well brought-out, and certainly something that I think many of us would be able to identify with.

It is a little confronting, to think that all the times we might not have said anything, we might have been complicit in questionable &/or shady behavior, but I do think that Show handles it very well.

I like that Hyo Min makes the uncomfortable choice to confront the fact that she’d stood by and done nothing, back in high school when Kim Yeong Mi had suffered so much torment from her bullies.

And I also appreciate that Hyo Min confronts her mother as well, who had also chosen to remain passive, in order to secure Hyo Min’s future.

Altogether, this case feels like a bit of a redemption arc for both Hyo Min and Mom, as they both do what they can for Kim Yeong Mi, to enable her to be cleared of the murder charge, and thus have hope for a fresh start and a new life, after her eventual release from prison.

It’s true that Kim Yeong Mi’s life is irrevocably changed due to the inaction of both Hyo Min and Mom, back in the day, and I do think that that in itself remains a lesson for us to take away; that our inaction today, could end up changing the course of someone’s life, literally. 🥲

And again, I appreciate that Hyo Min and Seok Hoon share some meaningful conversation afterwards, as they both reflect on the case.

I like the sense that there’s a mutual respect that’s growing between them, because this means that if writer-nim decides to eventually take this connection into romantic territory, it’ll feel like it was based on something of substance.

These episodes, I did get rather uncomfortable at the arc where that junior employee kept working to seduce Kwon Na Yeon.

First, I was uncomfortable because it looked like she was falling for his tricks.

Afterwards, once we see that she’d been told to expect this kind of trickery, I became uncomfortable at the thought that she seems to be sleeping with this guy, to go along with the ruse.

At least, that’s what Show makes it look like, with that shot of the bed and her shoes beside the bed. Or maybe that’s a red herring, and she’s not going to such lengths, after all. I hope that’s the case. 😅

Honestly, the arc that really grabbed my fangirl heart, these episodes, is the loveline between Min Jeong and Jin Woo.

I can understand Min Jeong distancing herself from Jin Woo, for all the reasons that she eventually blurts out; that she’s too old; that she doesn’t want to have any more children; that it would be a waste for him to be with her.

But I love Jin Woo’s unflagging determination to get through to her, and I love that he basically snuffs out each and every reason that she pulls out, for why she can’t be the one for him.

And how about the way he tells her, so decisively, that yes, he wants to marry someone whom he loves – and how could he marry anyone else, when she is the one he loves??

I found that determination quite swoony, can’t lie. 🫠

And of course Min Jeong is as affected as I am, because that’s how she ends up willingly making that “mistake,” as hungry kisses turn into sexytimes. 🔥🥲

Of course, Min Jeong’s first instinct is to quietly run off the following morning, but I do have confidence that Jin Woo’s unwavering, unabashed love for her, will persuade her to finally take down her final defenses, in our final episodes.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

E11-12. Overall, I’d say that this was a solidly satisfying ending, and, as someone who’s naturally more drawn to emotional beats than action ones, I’m pleasantly surprised at the relatively high occurrence of feels, in this finale. 🥲

I have to say, though, that I was rather taken aback by the case in episode 11, featuring the animal abuser.

Particularly as someone with a fur-baby, I found it disturbing and tough-going, while the focus was on the animal abuser, even though we don’t actually see any footage of him actually carrying out the abuse (thank goodness 🙈).

With the way Show opens episode 11 with the focus on Hash, my drama instincts were already primed for the animal abuser to dog-nap Hash to retaliate against Seok Hoon, and even then, I had to pause the episode for the day, just as Seok Hoon is informed that someone had already picked up Hash from the pet hotel.

Narratively though, I can understand that this event would do two things:

1, Bring Seok Hoon and Hyo Min closer, as she supports him through this harrowing event, and

2, Nudge Seok Hoon and his ex-wife Yeon A into finally having an honest conversation about the abortion, and the breakdown of their marriage.

In fact, I’d say that communication is a key motif in these episodes, as we see that show up in other arcs too – but more on that later.

Going back to Seok Hoon’s conversation with Yeon A, though, it’s really sad to hear that what he’d intended as giving her space and time to heal, had been received by her as him distancing himself from her.

This conversation is just so late, and could have saved both of them so much heartbreak, if they’d managed to talk things through earlier. But I guess that’s just more proof that they just weren’t right for each other, even though they may have loved each other.

This episode, we also finally have an open conversation between Hyo Min and her mom, and again, it’s a conversation that is long overdue.

Up to this point, we’d only seen things from Hyo Min’s point of view, and Hyo Min had believed that the reason Mom gave Hyo Ju up, was because Mom had only cared about Hyo Min’s giftedness, and had disdained Hyo Ju for being hearing impaired.

Now, though, we finally get the backstory, and it’s actually the opposite of what Hyo Min had believed.

Instead of disdaining Hyo Ju and rejecting her, Mom had instead showered Hyo Ju with so much attention that she’d neglected Hyo Min, which had resulted in Hyo Min’s double fracture.

Additionally, Mom’s care had gotten so suffocating, that Hyo Ju’s development had been slowed as a result.

It’s crazy how context really can change everything, isn’t it?

I’m just really glad that Hyo Min finally understands Mom’s heartbreak, and sees that Mom hadn’t abandoned Hyo Ju, but had made a tough choice, to enable Hyo Ju to flourish under Aunt’s care.

All those years of tension and resentment, melted away with a single open conversation.

I’m glad for Hyo Min, but more than that, I’m glad for Mom, because she’s finally not being misunderstood by her own daughter. 🥲

And then, I’m really glad that Hyo Ju shows up to visit Mom, in our final episode.

That’s a reunion that I’d been waiting for (even though I have to admit that I don’t find Jung Chae Yeon’s portrayal of Hyo Ju’s speech skills very convincing, sorry 😅), and I really did love that reveal, when we see that Mom’s been learning sign language, in anticipation of one day being able to converse with Hyo Ju.

Aw. That was very poignant and lovely. 🥲

Our finale episode explores the concept of love a great deal, and I found that quite refreshing and surprising, because I really had expected this show to veer into something a little more action-packed, and more to do with ousting Daddy Ko from Yullim.

Not that he’s not ousted; he certainly is. I’m just very pleasantly surprised at how it all goes down, with a good helping of feels in the process.

I really respect the way Kim Yul Seong goes to Daddy Ko and spends time with him, and eventually reminds him, as a friend, of the mission that Daddy Ko had once given him: to be the last line of defense for Yullim, in case Daddy Ko himself became corrupt.

It’s so impressive to me, how Kim Yul Seong chooses courage and transparency, even in the fact of such a difficult thing that he’s about to do, which would change the course of his longtime friend’s career.

And then, I do love how this actually causes Daddy Ko himself to have an awakening, where he remembers his first love for Yullim, and thus, actually walks away from his position, instead of being ousted from it.

I certainly hadn’t been expecting that as an outcome, so I’m really very pleasantly surprised by how much kindness and love is woven into this arc. 🥲

Of course, my fangirl heart can’t forget to mention the loveline between Jin Woo and Min Jeong.

This arc served as a really suitable platform for the discussion of what love really means to different people, and I honestly love Jin Woo, for the way he refuses to be waylaid by a simple 10-year difference between him and Min Jeong.

I also found it entirely endearing, that he would prepare this whole proposal vow, and then chuck it halfway because it didn’t sound authentic to his own ears, and then just speak from the heart, telling Min Jeong that he really doesn’t quite know what love is, but wants to find out – with her. 🥲

Ahhh, I’m so happy that Min Jeong says yes, and honestly, I’d love to watch a spin-off of this show, just to see them navigate married life together, while figuring out this thing called love. 🥹

Last but certainly not least, we also have the potential loveline between Seok Hoon and Hyo Min, and I’m glad for the retrained hand that Show uses, to handle this arc.

It’s true that I thought the blind date was a touch heavy-handed in impressing on them that they’re perfect for each other, but other than that, I thought the way they inch closer to each other, through open and thoughtful conversation, was quite lovely.

I thought the way Show cuts off Seok Hoon mid-sentence was rather abrupt, in our final scene, but I appreciate the idea, that there will continue to be open and meaningful conversation that Seok Hoon and Hyo Min will share, and that any deeper connection that might happen between them, will evolve naturally, at its own pace.

All in all, a meaningful and thought-provoking finale that I ended up enjoying very well. 🥲

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Solidly engaging, with a surprisingly emotional core.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

MV:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of  Beyond The Bar is You and Everything Else [Korea].

You can check out my episode 1-2 notes on You and Everything Else on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +Shin’s Project [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +Legend of the Female General [China]

VIP (US$15): +Bon Appetit, Your Majesty [Korea]