Park Eun Bin Made Extraordinary Attorney Woo a Blockbuster!
This drama will touch everyone's heart. Heartwarming, at times gut wrenching when one considers the challenges that Young Woo had to endure as an autistic person. It's a humbling journey and makes one realize how tiny their woes are compared to others who must face hardships almost everyday, from the physical challenges to emotional ones when one would never know if she will be subjected to ridicule from the "normal" people, treated with disdain as well as the never ending insults just because she's different.This was the first drama of Park Eun Bin that I watched and she is just a superb actress. She embodied Young Woo to a T and all I can say is, "Bravo Park Eun Bin." Young Woo, an autistic genius savant who memorized her father's law books when she was a child, graduated summa cum laude, and yet, unable to navigate a revolving door, her fascination and fixation with whales, made her a unique and yes, extraordinary heroine. As Young Woo, her light bulb moments in solving complex issues, when her genius shone through, were worth rewatching.
The cases, some more interesting than others, took a back seat and served as the backdrop for Young Woo embarking on a new chapter in her life as a young lawyer. Her autism became an advantage because it gave her a keen sense of observation that a normal lawyer would otherwise disregard. She had her vulnerable moments but she's able to rationalize and accept the fact that people will not always be understanding of her unusual behaviour. That said, she's is confident in her own skin and had a gift of letting people into her life who, in turn, became her fiercest defenders and cheerleaders.
More than ever, this drama was a teaching moment for the viewers and I guess it was what the writer aimed for. No matter how many challenges life throws at you, you can overcome them just like Young Woo, Her fascination with the sperm whale, this gentle giant, is a reflection of who she is; a gentle human being, happy and contented and as she exclaimed in the last scene, after waltzing through and conquering the revolving door, "A sense of fulfillment. The emotion I'm feeling this morning is a sense of fulfillment."
Highly recommended. A great picker upper when you're feeling down and depleted.
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Extraordinary!
The name says it all. Attorney Woo is, in fact, extraordinary. Asperger's is not an easy thing to deal with for a lot of people, but people with Asperger's aren't stupid. They know they are different and they see the way people treat them. I found this drama to be not only interesting on the legal side, but also heartwarming and emotional. I think they dealt with the matter of a woman with disabilities learning to love very well, while acknowledging that loving a person with Asperger's can be difficult. The love story, which is very much in the background so far, as well as dealing with family, friends, colleagues, and clients, is so well done. The actors are amazing. I haven't read the books, so this review is based solely on an appreciation of the series that I watched with subtitles on Netflix. So far I have watched 11 episodes and I would watch them again and again. I sometimes feel some second hand embarrassment, and they do deal with serious issues, but every episode so far has been beautifully done. I am especially pleased with how well the actress who plays Attorney Woo is able to play an Autistic woman, as well as the portrayal of her love interest. Both actors are so good. You'll cry, you'll laugh, you'll have to really think about what it means to be different in this world. I would recommend this series to anyone.Was this review helpful to you?
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Extraordinary literally
August 26, 2022Extraordinary Woo Young Woo is that drama, it is so good. The plot is uncommon and really plays with the strings of your heart. Contrary to the popularity opinions, the reason I couldn’t give a solid 10/10 rating was because I feel like the romance really did not upheld and live the expectations tied to the plot. I know that Young Woo deserves a good love life but I feel like the romance became disproportionate to the given context of the whole series. I feel like the Male Lead babies here to point where it feels like he is her babysitter and not partner. Obviously, this is something that irks me the whole time as to why I just decided to fast forward their scenes as I feel like it became like a plot filler instead.
Overall, I love all the cases they encountered and how the morally grey area in laws plays part. I think it is a good eye opening to many people to realize how some people who "win" court battles are not always morally right and that they simply have the privilege to manipulate and bend the rules to have it in their favour.
As for my hopes for season 2, I want Young Woo to have a good relationship with her estranged half-brother. I loved and lived for their short interactions in episode 16. Honestly Young Woo is the best sister ever, the fact that she put her brother first and plead to their mom about how she should be a better to the brother because Young Woo never experienced a mother figure in her up bringing really made me tear up.
I usually rewatch my Kdramas so maybe I'll like the romance portion of this show if I watch it in the near future. But until then, I can’t say that the romance is well-fitting between Young Woo and the male lead.
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Yeah, it's great but it ended weakly
I love Extraordinary Attorney Woo but the last five episodes are a mess. Sadly, the ending felt lukewarm to me. I would've preferred if they made the show's finale more impactful than making a 2nd season. Of course, I still feel happy for the cast for getting another season. Of course, this happened because this show's ratings skyrocketed. That achievement cannot be underestimated. I hope the next season's plot doesn't feel as disjointed as the first one. Still a strong 9/10 show. Who will ever forget Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) now? This is an instant classic.Was this review helpful to you?
Good, but...
OVERALLThe world needs more representation of neurodivergent people (and people suffering from psychological problems) in dramas, and this one isn't bad at all too, so just watch. If you're REALLY looking for a steamy romance with lots of skinship, then wait until you have nothing else to watch, but still watch it. You'll become a better person if you do.
THE STORY
There have been a few characters on the autism spectrum in K-dramas (Female lead's brother in Shining Inheritance, Main lead's brother in It's Okay to Not be Okay, Main lead in Good Doctor) so I wouldn't say the drama innovates by tackling neurodivergence. It does take a slightly difference angle though: the autistic character is a woman, she's into law, and the drama focuses a bit more on her love story. That's great because not only do we get a glimpse of the stigma in the professional sphere (which there's plenty of in Good Doctor) but we also get a glimpse of the stigma and issues that arise in the relational sphere (dating). As if that wasn't already awesome, the drama starts with pretty interesting legal cases that hook even viewers like me (who don't like legal dramas), the main lead is ADORBS (the ultimate perfect BF that does not exist in real life), and there's a bit of mystery simmering in the background (who is Female lead's mom and what happened to her?). So in theory, this drama's perfect...
But...
In the last third of the drama, the legal cases become less interesting, and what made the drama so appealing (the promise of a deep dive into professional and relational stigma) falls flat. Suddenly no one challenges Female lead's place in a law firm (the social stigma magically vanishes), and all the questions and problems Female Lead and Male Lead have encountered (or should be encountering) for being together are forgotten. The glimpses into stigma really are just being glimpses, nothing more. The ending is also extremely rushed and dissatisfying; it feels like the drama should have had more episodes but was cut down to 16 eps without making the necessary adjustments. In other words, the drama fails to deliver the depth and tight writing it promised at first. It's definitely still worth a watch, but it could have been better. Hopefully there is a second season to fix these flaws. I'm not usually for it, but this drama deserves it!
THE ACTING
Fab! I honestly can't think of anybody who played badly. Park Eunbin made me feel some kind of way in The King's Affections (a bad kind of way), so I was a bit wary coming into this drama, but she blew my mind. She's just so impressive!
THE MUSIC
Good. Quirky when needed, sad when needed.
REWATCH VALUE
To be honest, I'm not sure I will rewatch this drama. While I love what it stands for, it wasn't able to capture my heart the way other dramas tackling mental health (It's Okay, It's Love and It's Okay to Not Be Okay) did. It's probably a one-timer for me (unless a second season comes out!).
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How Extraordinary Life Can Be
I regret watching this show so late. It was so awesome that I watched it twice. Every episode tells something new and it shows how life is for challenging for people no matter who is it. The acting and emotions are deep and the caste was just like made for this. It shows that love is something that all want and need, and job is very tough to handle. The competitive nature of people and also their jealousy that can sometimes causes problems for you. The ending was not the one I imagined but it is worth watching. The emotions it shows, one time you think " what is this?" and other time you are laughing. It also makes you cry in the middle, well for me it was but, I recommend to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
A lovely story
A lovely story about a young autistic woman finding her way in the world and overcoming the prejudice she faces through her brilliance in her field.It lost some points for the savant bit - as savantism is actually incredibly rare, but over done. And she was a walking autistic stereotype - in a “high functioning” individual it is unlikely that they would be quite as autistic as Woo Young Woo. I think this would have been helped by having more neurodivergent input into the making. Despite that, I really enjoyed the story.
I found the depictions of how Woo Young Woo was affected by noise, and her little idiosyncrasies well done, it captures the overwhelm really well.
I love the use of wales as her special interest, I like that she uses her friends and family to learn about life and how to deal with the world around her, I like the education aspect. The greeting between Young Woo and her friend was brilliant!
The child actor that played Young Woo was really very good, she portrayed a young autistic child very well.
I will certainly watch this again.
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Woo to the young to the Woo
Brilliantly contrived, the story of a rookie attorney with a genius mind efficiently provided awareness regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder. Navigating through stories that teaches some meaningful lessons, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is an inspirational drama that teaches to set goals and go for it, although there will be ups and downs in life.With her outstanding performance as the lead character, Park Eun Bin helped the drama to be more engaging, entertaining and worthwhile. One of the terrific performance I have ever seen in a K-Drama. Amidst of the autism and trials and tribulations, a sweet love story between Woo Young Woo and Jun-Ho was an additional delight to the drama. The chemistry between the characters were amazing and Kang Tae Oh was an amazing choice for this role. I like this guy since his performance in Run-On.
Featuring different cases per episode, the drama opted for mostly relatable cases without excessive and unnecessary drama. The supporting characters were good as well to their task. There were only couple of cases where I felt a little downward. Otherwise, EAW has been a rollercoaster ride wherein the narrative has maintained it's essence over the course of the series.
My Rating : 9/10
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Watch this! It is so fun!!!
Loved this show for so many reasons: the story, the acting, the music, the feel / ethos of it. Although it addressed some important issues, the overall feel of it is so light that it does not feel preachy. The chemistry of the entire core group of actors is absolutely outstanding -- I love them all, even the mean ones. The music, especially the introductory jingle, makes me simply happy. And I loved the conceit of "wind in the hair / whale or dolphin" jumping thing.There are some nitpicky aspects of the show, the primary one being that the actual legal revelations Young Woo has are kind of dumb. I do not know how private practice law gets practiced in Korea, but a lot of what passes for brilliant insights seem like things that should have been covered or uncovered during the preparation for court (most egregious example being the hacking case and date of actual hack and the fact that a new had been passed -- I mean, seriously -- those are basics).
All of the characters seemed well developed, but two events / developments struck a bit of a false note: 1. Joon Ho's fight with his friends: He had been portrayed as such a nice all around guy that this seemed completely out of character. The Joon Ho of the show would have been unlikely to resort to violence. 2. Min-woo's transformation and Su-young's interest in him and vice versa -- he was delightful as the mean guy, and while I appreciate the effort to round him out as a character, it was too abrupt and not earned, really. And it was so nice to have a platonic male-female work relationship. Oh well.
Regarding the core romance of the story, this is where the show took me by surprise by completely winning me over. My initial reaction was muted for two key reasons: 1. As stated above, I like seeing platonic male-female relationships on screen, and 2. I admit, it seemed very strange to me to have the Golden Boy of the firm fall for Young Woo. The second point probably points to some biases on my part, and I am not proud of those -- and it is to the credit of the show that a few episodes in I had bought into it.
I am a little torn about Season 2. On the one hand, I want to see what happens next; on the other, I am so afraid that it gets spoiled. And is not the male lead going to the army???
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Good Enough
Korean Drama " Extraordinary Attorney Woo " is a law drama with a strong female lead.First of all, Park Eun Bin is truly shining in this one. Sure, she proved that she can ACT in The King's Affection, but in this drama, she handled her character with such care and sensibility that she didn't overdo it, but rather, she was enjoyable.
The rest of the cast did also a good job with their characters, though Park Eun Bin is the true star.
As for the story, its sweet, sad at times, but hopeful nevertheless.
The creators, moreover, handled the CGI pretty nicely and it was a cute touch tot he story.
So, overall, seven out of ten.
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an unusual story
Treating autism in Korea is a first for me. I was very curious to know how this subject is apprehended in Asia, even if I expected it to be difficult.In the West, we have already had several series that deal with the subject, MONK being my favorite. Even though this drama is unique for Korea, I don’t think it will be memorable for a westerner. As far as I’m concerned, it won’t be unforgettable.
But I had fun! This is a very good series that I recommend.
my drama's summary could be:
"my emotional support pet is a whale." yeah, and good luck with that...
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Worth the Hype
One of the best dramas I've ever seen! The concept was refreshing and the law cases were done in a really entertaining way. The episodic format of almost all the episodes helped it a lot. I don't usually like law dramas, but this one was able to mix all the law terms as well as the feels for the suspects and victims really well. I also like how it focused on the lawyer's jobs as a whole: how they have to decide between doing the "right" thing and the thing, which is the best for their client.Young Woo was an amazing character (kudos to Park Eun Bin, she played her so well!) and as a person, who is an (undiagnosed) autistic, I was able to see myself in some aspects of her: the way she moved her hands, having troubles with social interactions, finding certain noises hard to listen to, not liking some kinds of food because of unexpected taste or texture... I'm not an expert but I feel like the role was done well. If anything it offered me a representation I didn't know I needed.
Another character that I absolutely loved was Geurami. Everything about her was great, from her fashion sense to her unusual friendship with Young Woo.
The romance between Woo Young and Joon Ho was so sweet! He was like a walking green flag, not pressing her into a relationship, respecting her when she couldn't hold hands with him, letting her take her time with their first kiss... There were rocky parts of course but overall it was slow-burn and cute romance.
One thing I disliked about this drama (and most dramas in general, to be honest) is the need to pair all the side characters together. The attorney Myung Seok didn't need to get back to his ex-wife but I can live with that. And also with Geurami having crush on Min Woo because it was only one-sided and also funny to see how confused he was with her flirting. But why did Min Woo did a total 180° flip on the Jeju Island and Soo Yeon fall in love with him out of nowhere? Just no.
Because of that I was originally planning to deduce 0.5 point from the rating but the pros definitely outweighted this one small con, and this drama deserved the highest rating. Hopefully season 2 will live up to the first one.
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