The Good Lawyer
Extraordinary Attorney Woo follows the journey of Woo Young Woo, a brilliant young lawyer who is diagnosed with autism (specifically the previously-known condition of Asperger’s as well as Savant syndrome), as she navigates the challenges of embarking on a legal career, experiencing romance and dealing with complicated familial entanglements, amongst many other real world issues that she faces on an episodic basis.Aside from presenting insights on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the accuracy of which has been and continues to be debated, this drama also showcases plenty of office politics, legal cases, power and relationship dynamics, all nicely packaged in an endearingly feel-good light hearted wholesomeness. Think of The Good Doctor (which also has an autistic lead) but with a massive infusion of Disney/ Hallmark vibes.
An ENA production that’s streamed internationally on Netflix, EAW is directed by Yoo In Sik (Dr. Romantic series, Vagabond) based on the screenplay by the award-winning Moon Ji Won. Noh Young Shim serves as music director. Special education specialist, Professor Kim Byeong Gun from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences of Nazarene University, was enlisted to provide consultation on the depiction of ASD for the drama. The characterization of Woo Young Woo was reported to be inspired by the eponymous character of the film Temple Grandin, portrayed by Claire Danes, also diagnosed with ASD. Despite the original screenplay, certain legal cases depicted are based on actual events published as case studies for South Korean law journals.
The success of EAW (in terms of popularity and ratings internationally as well as in South Korea) has not only spawned a webtoon of the same name, with the first volume published in July 2022, but also the announcement of a second season of the drama a week before the finale had aired.
The soundtrack of the drama features 7 songs, including one which is performed by the lead actress Park Eun Bin herself, an a cappella rendition by MayTree as well as Bae Suzy’s contribution in support of the director who had helmed Vagabond which she had starred in. Full listing as follows:
Courage by Jongwan Kim (of NELL)
Imagination (Beyond My Dreams) by Sunwoo Jung-ah
Better Than Birthday by O3ohn
Tilt by Wonstein
It's Not Easy Not To by Suzy
Blue Night in Jeju Island by Park Eun-bin
Flash (interlude) by MayTree
What I Enjoyed
The performance by Park Eun Bin, which is helped for the most part by the characterization and trajectory of the arc. Of course I’m not entirely certain about the accuracy of the depicted ASD, having no prior real life experience and observation particularly of the Savant syndrome. Everything I know is from films and dramas but as far as comparisons go in similar roles, Woo Young Woo had me convinced. I’ve been impressed by Park Eun Bin in each of her previous appearances in The Ghost Detective, Hot Stove League and The King’s Affection. She seems to possess this propensity for tackling challenging or at least out-of-the-box roles and thrive every single time so kudos to her for not only having the courage to do so but also demonstrating her amazing range to the wider audience. She’s one of those actresses that I always look forward to because of the variety that one can expect of her characters and versatility in performance.
I enjoyed the first half of the drama more than the latter half, probably up to episode 10 or so. It had a very strong start that captured my attention immediately, coupled with the intensity of the feels that kept tugging at the heartstrings during each episode. At certain points, especially in episode 8 for me, the “dust kept getting in the eyes”, if you catch my meaning. There was a fine balance between the heavy emotions and moments of levity which was executed to perfection.
The legal cases are generally quite interesting and revolve around the “garden variety” mundane aspects of civil litigation. Nothing mind-blowing, profound or over-the-top but instead witty and conceivable, while at times even charming with regards to the resolution of certain cases. That said, not every case is amicably or neatly concluded which at least affords a sense of realism where not everything in life goes according to plan and you can’t always win, even if you’re one of the good guys.
There are a number of supporting characters that grew on me and provided an awareness of the cast who portrayed them. None more so than Joo Hyun Young as the loveable and fiercely loyal Dong Geurami. Her adorable “bff greeting” with Woo Young Woo is unforgettable and has probably reached iconic status by now. Kang Ki Young as the nice boss Jung Myung Seok is another fan favourite, and mine as well, for his enduringly calm demeanour and all round pleasant disposition. The veterans in the show are worth a mention as well, including Jeon Bae Soo who plays FL’s dad and Jin Kyung as the head of the rival law firm, Tae Soo Mi. Each showcasing their experience and lending a palpable sense of presence to the proceedings.
What Could’ve Been Better
The second half of the show or from around episode 11 onwards. I think it was a combination of the story running out of steam and the lack of meaningful plot development as well as depth to a number of the characterizations for the various supporting characters. Admittedly I lost a bit of the initial spark which somewhat led to a lack of interest in what transpires towards the end. I was also rather dissatisfied with the eventual outcome of certain character arcs, most notably the so-called redemption arc of a certain “villainous/ antagonistic” character whom I shall not name to avoid spoiling. Suffice to say, it is not the closure I had been craving for.
The romance aspect involving the FL, while sweet and captivating at first, in the end became somewhat distracting and overly emphasised. It’s cute but finally became a little too cutesy, which kind of glossed over the complications that such a relationship would have realistically exacted on all parties involved. To be honest, I wanted to observe more growth in other facets of their relationship and not merely their interactions.
While some of the legal cases are based on real life, I was often more amused than thrilled. This is perhaps due to the focus being mostly on corporate-based and civil litigation instead of dealing with criminal cases that involve the more sinister and darker side of the law, but even then do not expect smartly-written legal proceedings and quick-fire courtroom action either. This is still officially a legal drama but in reality the legal aspects are more of a side show than the main content itself.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, this is a feel-good drama that is meant to be uplifting and hopeful, rather than being taken too seriously. EAW created an awareness of ASD in general and not just the typical Savant syndrome of genius eccentrics, while the overall performance of Park Eun Bin were the major highlights for me. I really wanted to love the drama as much as I did when it first premiered but in the end I feel that it did not end as strongly as it had started. Certain events and characters were so infuriating and, in my opinion, were not given the outcome that they deserved. Granted, the producers may want to explore further the various characters in the second season but hopefully the writing improves to inject a more believable turn of events and character development. Only time will tell…
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Good or Bad rep of the autism comunity ?
First let me say that this show has some of my favourite Korean actors, so I was quite excited to check it out. I'm always a bit nervous when it comes to autistic representation, because being autistic myself, most of the time they can be quite bad and traumatic. But for Woo YoungWoo it’s both good and bad… so here’s my brutal opinion:Just like so many other films and series with autistic representation, a lot of it is stereotypical, problematic and strait up ableist. It’s quite easy to tell that that Park Eun Bin isn’t on the autism spectrum. being autistic myself, it was easily recognizable as a neuro-typical actor doing inverted-masking* to look autistic. Which is really wrong, and can be extremely harmful. But let’s say that her performance was perfect representation of autism. Would that make it okay not to hire an autistic actor ?
And it’s yet again another autistic-savant. Savants represents probably around 50 to 75 people who are on the autism spectrum on the planet. Yes, people, not precent. Woo YoungWoo being a yet another savant makes it seem like there are way more of us special autistics.
The world is already extremely discriminating agents the autistic community, both in front and behind the camera. Some of this discrimination is done openly, but a lot of it is also built the groundworks of society, work hours, expectations, lack of accommodations, etc. I’m speaking from experience and I’m high-masking. The excuse for casting a more famous non-autistic actor over an autistic actor to playing an autistic character is usually to try to get more viewership, but could you imagine a studio casting this way with ANY other minority group ?
It needs to be a universal rule for studios that if a show has an autistic character, you cast an autistic actor. There may be some rare situations where casting a non-disabled actor in a disabled role might be necessary, but that isn’t the case for Woo YoungWoo. All this does is communicate that big studios believe autistic people are not capable enough to be actors, even when we are portraying our own autism. For me, it’s absurd to think a show have the intention of elevating autistic voices and then refuse to let an autistic character be played by an autistic actor.
Now, sometimes it is challenging because a writer or director who isn’t autistic may be the one pitching the show, but it is then the studio’s responsibility to make sure that the autistic people are hired into the other key positions. Could you imagine if I (a white teen from Norway) pitched a show where the story cantered around Korean culture and then no one on the production team, nor the actors who played the Korean characters were actually Korean ?
Woo YoungWoo is a very docile, autistic. She’s highly attractive, acquiescent and she’s infantilized and treated like a pet by almost everyone. And that’s because her autism is docile. The way her autism manifests isn’t disruptive, she doesn’t have to miss work because of overload, she doesn’t have to excuse herself from meetings, she doesn’t have major emotional responses even to incredibly emotional cases or when people are screaming at her. Her autistic traits barely need any accommodation at all. All of her autistic traits are maybe weird, but still cute and adorable. So, everyone wants to make her their pet.
Another big problem is the Korean title of the show “이상한 변호사 우영우” literally means “weird Attorney Woo YoungWoo” that doesn’t sit well with me. And I have criticism of the English subtitles. I don’t know how it’s said in Korean, but they chose to translate everything in person-first language and the majority of English speaking, autistic communities prefer identity-first language. I preferer to say “I am autistic” or “they are an autistic person” rather than “I have autism” or “they are a person with autism”. Saying I have autism makes it sound like an illness, rather than what it actually is.
I’ve gone over the things I dislike, so I might as well talk about some things I did find likable, like looking at it through the culture of Korea the show is quite ground-breaking.
The first awesome thing about Extraordinary Attorney Woo is that they’re portraying autism in a woman. Autism has largely been depicted as a male condition. Women are far more likely to go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The fact that they chose a woman for the lead who’s autistic is pretty revolutionary.
They also didn’t make her two-dimensional character. She struggles with questions of morality as she has to represent clients of questionable character and she loses cases and makes mistakes. Even with her savant, her photographic memory, doesn’t make her infallible and this creates such a complex character. When it comes the other characters around her there’s a bit of a mix bag, but in every episode there’s at least one great moment of some kind of autistic solidarity or understanding or ableism being called out.
They are showing the spectrum of autism through different characters, although western culture is in a different place compared to Korea when it comes to this, so my criticism is that there showing a spectrum of stereotypical autism traits, but it is still pretty amazing that a Korean show is choosing to show multiple autistic characters so that they are depicting some spectrum.
But the most amazing thing is YoungWoo and JunHo’s relationship. From the beginning JunHo is supportive without judgement. That alone is rare. He exabits, curiosity and looks for ways he can provide accommodation for starting in their very first meetings. From there he never expresses any kind of pity or thinking of her less than, and his feelings for her are obviously from a place of just general affection. He sees her and treats her as his equal and he doesn’t treat her that way because of her abilities. But another amazing thing is that he pursues her romantically.
But just because these things are grate, doesn’t mean I necessarily liked the series. I believe in acknowledging the good in something, especially when we’re stuck with it. The show exists, it’s really popular, I can’t change that. So, I want to talk about the things that are good about it. But we also need to acknowledge the very real and very harmful things that it’s going.
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It's worth every second (Slight Spoilers ahead)
***Final update***I fell in love with every episode. I fell in love every time Woo Young Woo brought her hands together in excitement and every time she said, "wow." I fell in love with the whales and dolphins. I smiled from ear to ear when "deung to the go to the rami" and "sunshine" soo yeon picked young woo up. I loved the way she connected to them. I felt satisfied with the development "tactician" min woo went through. And yes, lee jun ho, the Kdrama community's favorite male lead right now, stole my heart every scene he was in.
A good drama makes you think, "I could write a 10000-word essay right now on how much I love this episode/scene/ character".
When I love a drama, writing a review is the toughest. How do I explain why I loved it so much? my feelings always seem silly when I put them into words. How do I explain how I felt when FL saw the picture of the blue whale? Or when she cried alone in that office? Watching this drama was like watching your favorite person grow up. You want to protect them, realize the world won't wait, and finally learn to make peace with the fact that letting go is the best way for them to be happy.
The Scene that cemented this was in ep 16 when young woo "ghum chak chak'ed" her way into her life and out of ours.
I think the best endings are those that come full circle, and the most magical scene to hit my screen was her dancing her way into things that were scary but inevitable.
If you think about it, each character in the series displayed so much courage.
Aside from young woo, lee jun jo was such a strong-minded and openly honest ML. he was a walking green flag. Lee jun ho's confession scene in ep 16 was one of the most beautifully executed dialogues. I teared up when he started listing the little things he loved about her. How he took the time to think about her every single step of the way and loved doing it. There's no other way to describe the love he has other than it being pure.
Attorney Jang showed that as long as you stand by your principles and learn to accept your mistakes and are willing to move past them, people will recognize your value and respect you.
Sunshine soo yeon who managed to overcome her judgments and learned how to step up when it was most needed.
Kown min woo who showed some real character development. He ultimately had his reasons. Agreed, a lot of his anger was based on his discriminatory prejudices, which made it hard actually to look at him in understanding light. However, he is on par with young woo regarding the complexity of how his character was written. "Walk a mile in someone's shoes" is the quote I can best use to describe him. We only get around 2 minutes of why he chose to make the decisions he did, but it was more than enough for me to soften my views of him. Sometimes the world doesn't give you a choice to be nice or not. If you grow up gentle regardless of your surroundings, I commend you, but if it hardens you, then I won't judge you.
I could go on and on, and I already have. I think from the plot itself, viewers will know that the drama will deliver a unique and worthwhile story. This drama managed to maintain the balance between reality and romanticism. The cases highlighted very interesting and sometimes moving struggles and societal issues that people face. My favorite has to be the episode of the Pied Piper. That episode is a guaranteed tear-jerker. Of course, every case had its own highlights, and the drama as a whole, managed to convey the ethical complications of being an attorney. I'm not in the law department, but I'm sure viewers who have watched this series will appreciate and be able to relate to the attorney woo and her dilemmas of working in law.
However, this drama isn't something that only a section of people can enjoy. This drama is about the law, but every step of the way, I felt the sincerity and emotions of the characters. I could feel the effort the writers put into each and every case they chose to tackle. And finally, I was amazed at how beautifully written attorney woo was. I knew from the first moment I watched ep1 that this drama would do justice to the character that I have come to admire.
The cast seems to be made in heaven. In this case, I can say that the actors managed to complement each other beautifully. While they all stood out, Park Eun bin stole every scene she was in. Watching her at work felt like an honor, from her body language to her microexpressions and speech. She's proved her skills, and I hope in the future she gets to work on projects that can bring out her best as this one did.
I'm glad that this drama has received so much attention. Watching the ratings of this series rise and seeing its increasing reels and shorts delighted me. I'm glad the drama has received such praise. I hope it wins as many awards in the coming ceremonies.
I look forward to adding this drama to my rewatch list.
***PREVIOUS UPDATE***
I am FLABBERGASTED by the lack of attention this series is receiving. I am simply IN LOVE with this drama. It's only been two episodes. I must be crazy. I usually wait for the 3 episode mark and then make judgments but my god this is such a good drama. Guys LISTEN, go watch it.
Attorney Woo is about Woo-young woo (an individual on the autism spectrum) played brilliantly by actress Park Eun Bin. Woo-young woo is the most adorable character written ever I think. The series has so many elements about it, apart from the main plot showcasing the struggles and experiences of an individual with ASD, it also has interesting cases that attorney Woo tackles. Throw in a potential dreamy love interest who supports and understands the FL, a comedic boss, a mystery parent, a supportive and loud team of friends and family, and you have a highly entertaining series.
The most satisfying part of this drama is the character development. By episode 2, Woo-young woo has already changed but not so much as it becomes unrealistic. Furthermore, I love how they show how capable she is. There is no maiden in distress here.
I also have to commend the absolute visuals of the drama. I love the shot of a Blue whale swimming in the sky while she's on the train. The VFX is simply outstanding. It's almost magical. Yep. I have faith that Park Eun Bin will play the role to perfection. I can't wait for the next episode.
I also love how they have lgbtqia+ representation!!! I don't want to say more but it seems SK is opening up more and I'm all for it.
For fans of "The Good Doctor", "Move to Heaven", and "It's okay to not be okay", this is definitely a drama you have to add to your watchlist.
This drama deserves more hype. All of y'all better get on this train before it's too late.
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Likeable but they messed up really hard with some things
Extraordinary Attorney Woo is an enjoyable drama, especially in the beginning. I like that they showed how normally Youngwoo can live, she can work, she can date. After all she is not a sick person. Her relationship with Junho was also one of the best things in the drama, it’s well made and it’s good to see a representation of autistic ppl dating and this not being an issue. Also, most of the characters have really great chemistry with each other, they’re really charismatic and lovable as well. Junho is one of the most perfect guys I’ve seen in a kdrama. Some cases were good too and in general the show can entertain us. I’m also very happy with the cast, love all actors and all of them did a great job. But, I must say I liked more in the beginning, after EP12..not that much. And even with these good points I talked about above, we must talk about the really serious problems that the drama have.I love Youngwoo but we can’t deny that her character is REALLY stereotyped. She is dorky, super smart, and is put off as a different person from others. The drama really tried to put her as a “weird person” and this is contributing to the stereotypical view that people have of autistic people. (even the korean title of the drama is “weird attoney woo” which is MADNESS). I also saw a lot ppl commenting on how her autism is "docile" and that made me realize that Eunbin changed her tone voice to be more high/cute (which I really don’t understand why this was necessary). I love her, she’s a great actress, and I think this was the direction she was given to by the director, but like…why? Also, when the drama tried to bring another autistic person (EP3 and EP10), they also filled the scenes with a lot of stereotypes. Don’t get me wront, I liked both episodes, EP3 for example was really good, it just that the way they’re choosing to show and represent autistic ppl here is a turn off sometimes.
I also feel like the drama had a hard time talking about Youngwoo, her personality, likes and stuff. Everything about her is connect to the fact that she is an autistic person, and that’s because the drama is showing and talking about this too much. We know that she likes whales (it’s her hyperfocus), and that she is a strong-willed person who wants to live independently. But I wish we could’ve seen more.
I also just don’t know what the hell happened after EP12. Youngwoo breaking up with Junho was really unecessary for me. Youngwoo’s boss being sick like WHY????? And who thought it would be a great idea to put Sooyeon falling in love with Minwoo? I would’ve understood if this was put in the beginning but after all the things he said and did? We’re talking about a drama that is showing how bad society treats autistic ppl, we’re all seeing how the main lead suffers a lot with it, so what is the reason to put the main lead friend to fall in love with a guy who is an ableist? Literally, it just don’t make any sense. It’s ridiculous. I knew Minwoo would have a redemption arc later but it was TOO LATE, like literally in the last two episodes. In the end, he didn't even had a decent or well-constructed redemption arc, everything felt extremely forced.
So yeah. I think overall, it’s a entertaining show with enjoyable characters but I don’t think it’s the ideal show to lean more about autism because if you look deeply about the perspective of autism, still have a LONG way. They’re still contributing to stereotypes and misinformation. And it seems like the writers lost their way in half of the drama, which is unfortunate. It could have been a 10/10 show for me.
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Wayyyy too overhyped
I somewhat enjoyed this drama, especially during the first few episodes but after a while it just starts falling flat. I understand that the cases are a big part of the show but it started feeling like they were focusing way too much time on them to the point that all the other plot points and character development of the other characters (except Youngwoo's) were being left to the side. Like, the Tae sumi's and the Hanbada CEO rivalry??? like we dont even know why on earth she hates tae su mi so much???Also the other characters, why dont we know a single thing about the main character's love interest, Junho? Like alright, he's sweet and caring but that's literally it. He doesn't have a plot he's just there being Youngwoo's boyfriend who ocassionally has to deal with other people being ableist towards her and get mad on her behalf, while she just passively stands there not knowing what to do even though she's a 27 year old woman who has had to deal with all of this and more for her entire life. And that's another problem i have which is that we never see her standing up for herself, and the only time we do is because Suyeon literally told her what to do and say to Min woo, and then he continued being an asshole to her who out of nowhere got something of a badly done redemption arc???? And he didn't even start trying to be nice beacause he reflected and realized he was being a piece of shit, it was literally because Suyeon liked him and he wanted to be the type of guy she liked, which is ridiculous.
There's a lot of other things that i have problems with in this show, specially the fact that the main premise of it its a very stereotypical portrayal of autistic people, with the whole genius and perfect memory thing and other things in general, but overall, yes, i still pretty much enjoyed the show but i feel like the people reviewing it on here are being way too nice about it and making it out to be something that it's not.
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Do NOT watch this show if you're expecting an accurate representation of someone on the spectrum. I feel like some things were exaggerated or misrepresented. However, the writers do get some things right. This drama brought up a lot of discussion on the subject matter, especially in countries where people don't have much knowledge about ASD. Some viewers made the extra effort to do some research and this is a big plus, but don't watch this expecting it to be accurate. The writers wanted a story to be different and they got one.
Do NOT watch this solely for the cases. I don't know how to describe them. They were a bit ridiculous, but outcomes/twists were entertaining? They seemed impossible to win, but somehow the team got lucky. Watching this law drama as a foreigner/outsider was a bit weird because I would think of a law in my country and wonder, "They don't already have a law about this?" and "How is this even legal?" But again, this is not my country so I cannot judge or make conclusions based on South Korea's laws. The cases from the first half were more interesting than the second. Then the show starts to go downhill again a bit. You can tell the writers got a bit lazy. Also, news of a 2nd season was announced so maybe they're holding out on stuff. Overall I enjoyed this as a workplace drama, where a newbie joins the workforce and makes a considerable amount growth by the end.
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charming legal drama albeit with a few hiccups
I really enjoyed Extraordinary Attorney Woo. If it weren't for some of the later episodes, I would have rated this even higher.Woo Young Woo (goodness knows why her father named her that) is a girl born with autism. She has had a difficult childhood because of that, and was bullied throughout her school years, including college. As all dramas and real life have taught us, bullies really don't grow up. They're bullies in their childhood and they're bullies after growing up and they're bullies as they enter society as working adults. Young Woo graduated at the top of her class at college and in law school but she was unable to find a job because workplaces, as we know it, are discriminatory against the disabled. Since society behaves like a bully - is it any surprise that their children grew up the same way?
Skipping all of that - Young Woo's obsession with whales reminds me somewhat of Han Geo Roo (Move to Heaven) and his obsession with the aquarium and sealife. But this drama is nothing as dark as Move To Heaven. This drama is light-hearted, bright, and honestly, considering all the dramas I've watched all year, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a good story but it is nevertheless a diamond in the rough.
Because of Young Woo's autism, her colleagues and senior mentor initially doubted her ability to perform at her job. Young Woo very quickly proved them wrong with her first case, and the story took off from there. The pacing was perfect for the first ten episodes or so. Each episode heralds a new case (towards the later half of the series each case sometimes takes two episodes) and each case comes with a soul-touching and soul-searching lesson. What made this drama such an endearing watch is not just Young Woo herself, but all the characters that made up the legal team of the Hanbada Firm. There is nothing more uplifting than having someone supportive at work, and an understanding, generous superior like Attorney Jung plus a kind colleague like Choi Soo Yeon give the drama an overall positive feel.
Joo Jong Hyuk is a very convincing actor who played the role of the office jerk, Kwon Min Woo. Mr.Kwon is small-hearted, selfish, hateful, and he discriminated against Young Woo because of BOTH her disability AND intelligence. Yes, go figure. He first complained that she's incompetent at her job because of her disability, but later he complained that she's too much of a genius. She's actually winning some sort of imaginary competition in his head. Of course, it was all because he felt threatened that he might lose his position at work to Young Woo. I have a massive complaint about the development of his romance with Choi Soo Yeon in the final quarter of the drama. The entire thing was completely unconvincing and it ruined the drama for me a little. It was as if the writer is saying, "hey, he's got his little family circumstance so we can see why he's being such a jerk so let's be lenient towards him." Honestly IDGAF if you've got a situation going on but having treated Young Woo the way he did royally pissed me off and he never really properly apologised for his actions and wrongdoing. Society is already rage-inducing the way it is, when has it ever been lenient and forgiving towards disabled and underprivileged people? But as soon as disabled people started to get a little bit of equal treatment, others rise up and cry about "favouritism" and "inequality". They're now feeling they're on the shorter end of the stick! Wow and now you want me to expense some sympathy towards a bully and a jerk like Mr. Kwon? No. I can't forgive and forget all the crap he has done to Young Woo. So I don't understand why would the writers have Soo Yeon like such a person. Dear sweet 'spring sunshine Choi Soo Yeon', whom Young Woo revealed have helped and defended her in college and law school, having to end up with a guy like this?! Nevermind, the writers tried to tone down his assholishwhatever at the final two episodes and I'm like, leopards can't change its spots overnight, okay???? Hmmmm???
The romance between Jun Ho and Young Woo is sweet and cute, but not very compelling. He fell in love with her after seeing her in a wedding dress? That's it? Or did he fall in love with her because he finds her quirky? IDK man, I love a good romance story and I'm completely open to accepting this main pairing, but honestly the writers need to make it more convincing for me. And since this is a legal drama that has a center female lead, I actually prefer the drama to move on without any romance.
There was a case that the team undertook, in which a guy volunteering at a disabled center dated one of the girls with intellectual disability and ended up sleeping with her. He was charged with rape and brought to court where he tried to argue that he was truly in love with the girl. This was a very interesting case that could address the the range of emotions disabled people feel including the emotion of love, which I thought was important in the way that could protect the disabled from being preyed upon and taken advantaged of by predators, but at the same time not to belittle the disabled's feelings and clarity of mind. I thought perhaps it could also be a stepping stone for Young Woo and Jun Ho to reflect on their relationship as a side. However, not only was the guy sent straight off to jail in the end, there was no after-thoughts by the main couple on this case. There was no appeal filed to assert that the guy truly loved the disabled girl, there was no space for viewers to think about the ramifications of that verdict on future cases where disabled people can also fall in love with other abled people. In my opinion, that episode was a complete missed opportunity.
I don't know about other people, but personally, Attorney Jung Has Stomach Cancer Arc was enjoyable for me. I was especially touched that he's still very much in love with his ex-wife even though they have divorced and separated for 5 years. I cried in the last episode because of his scene with his wife. Attorney Jung is a good guy who isn't afraid to admit his mistakes, including the first time when he doubted Young Woo's ability to function in her job. If he leaves Hanbada and Season Two rolls around without him, I definitely won't find the story as enjoyable. But I'm not willing to see him break up with his wife a second time because he can't keep his promise with her a second time to take it easy with life. I hope the writers and production team can come up with a compromise that will give Attorney Jung some kind of ordinary peace and happiness. I look forward to S2.
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NOT extraordinary, not awful
I hesitated about watching this drama for a long time, in the end it was neither as good as I hoped it would be nor as bad as it could have been.One of the biggest problems I have with Extraordinary Attorney Woo is the way it infantilises and fantasises autism. I have no problem with the presentation of an autistic person who has an idiosyncratic speaking style, but the presentation of attorney Woo's speech is that it seems designed to be cutesy, and that was to be a problem with the entire presentation of her autism.
I cut the drama some slack for that because I know that Korea is an extremely ableist society. It demonises the different, and it may well be that the drama decided to present the attorney as a cute overgrown infant at least in part in order to overcome the deeply ingrained antipathy toward the different in Korea's extremely homogenous society. Nevertheless, it got very wearing. The intent may have been noble, but the effect it was, for me, counter-productive. Presenting her as “a genius fairy” was demeaning, and even her display of the characteristics of her autism was inconsistent.
Similarly I am fine with the idea that attorney Woo has cetaceans as her special interest. One of my best friends is on the spectrum and his special interest is Koine Greek grammar – his brother, further on the spectrum, has superhero comics as his special interest. Both display the same sort of devotion to their interest she does to cetaceans.
But again the presentation of her special interest was infantile and fantasised. Not in the fact that she always wanted to talk about them, that would be normal, but the whole fantasy element of her "Eureka!" Moments involving various cetaceans floating through a field of vision was disappointing for me. Disappointing because it suggested again that she somehow lived in a fantasy world , not like a normal human being .
That fantasy world was also evident in many of the cases. One of the worst examples was in episode nine, involving the "kidnapping" of the children from the Academy bus. Like the kidnapper, I find the whole concept of forcing children to effectively spend 16 to 18 hours a day in some form of schoolwork repugnant. Nevertheless, it is legal in Korea and the extent to which that episode relied on "jury nullification" and sheer feel good fantasy was disappointing.
The wide range of cases covered was a positive highlight, bringing attention to lots of serious issues that are seldom featured in K Dramas. Much of the dialogue when serious was also well thought out, and if it does anything at all to prompt some to consider neurodivergent people in a new light, that’s great. Park Eun Bin did a good job of portraying the character she was given, even if that character was in the end profoundly unsatisfying for me.
So in the end, I give this 6.5/10 – 0 points for its depiction of autism, 6.5 for its highlighting the issue OF autism, and for the often quite exceptionally relevant and well thought-out social issues covered in the cases of each episode
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Story declined but was still pretty enjoyable
I was so captivated by the first episode that I kept watching but unfortunately, it started lagging starting the third episode. I mostly watched just to finish the court case because I was curious of how Woo Young Woo would resolve it. Other than that, I felt like I skipped through half the drama.First, I'll say that the female lead did such a phenomenal job acting. It also brought lots of awareness to autism that I didn't know before. (As well as a bunch of whale facts). I think I read somewhere that she did a lot of research on autism to make sure she didn't portray the character wrongly or stereotypically. However, the male lead...I felt like he didn't really have a character. I saw on TikTok and my friends were talking about how he's the biggest green flag in korean dramas, but he had no personality. The romance seemed very forced, in my opinion. The way that he was helping her in the beginning as a friend was very cute, but then all of a sudden, he started giving her loving gazes out of the blue. I feel like the romance could've been done more naturally, or even not at all. I really liked the side characters though, like Choi Su Yeon and especiallyyyy Attorney Jung. I think he brought in a lot of the comedic aspect and did well with it.
For the court cases, I love dramas that do one case per episode, but a lot of these felt like they were trying to fill up the episodes with the most random things. I did have a select few that I enjoyed, but a lot of them felt like a waste of time and were forgettable.
I will say that the one thing I liked was the ending with the redemption of several characters, though those were also kind of rushed. I heard that they're coming out with a season 2 and wonder what else they're going to do with this. Probably even more court cases?
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This review may contain spoilers
It was very good, until it is not.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo has taken the Kdrama world by a storm with the amount of people that are paying attention to this drama from the start of its airing. It is a very likable drama that is easy to follow, especially if you're a Kdrama fans who always follow the huge amount of other law kdrama.EAW was amazing from the start, it displayed, mostly a very relatable aspect of the view and struggle of people with autism. But I am not gonna touch abt those, whether the accuracy or any stigma that it manage to show bcs honestly I do not have enough knowledge for that. Instead I will talk abt the plot, mostly the cases and the development of the main characters through out the drama.
Most of the cases that are shown in the drama was pretty simple and common, and I actually like it. After so many law dramas featuring murders, serial killers and psychopath, EAW is a breath of fresh air with their simple cases involving various issue and topics. I enjoy most of the cases that are addressed in this drama as I always like this kind of episodic theme in dramas.
As for the main characters, most of them are very great and well-written, except for a few, which is actually the reason how this drama turned from a 9 to an 8 for me. For me the most illogical and shallow part of the writing of this drama is on Jun Ho, Min Woo, and Soo Yeon's character, specifically towards the end of the drama. For Jun Ho, although it is undeniable that he is an amazing character and a great boyfriend, somehow, the build up of his characteristic feels a lil bland. He lacks a proper background story that can help the viewers understand him as a person; such as what are his struggle? His stand? His motivation etc? But of course, I still enjoy their sweet scenes together bcs they never fail to give me extreme butterflies.
For me the fall of this drama started from Ep 13-14, as it has been agreed by quite a lot of people last week. This involves the writer extremely changing Min Woo's character out of nowhere that actually cause a lot of confusion. It seems like they want to give him a redemption arc, yet they don't even know where it come from. Why would he change? What made him change? And if he did, why is it that not even once did he utter sorry for Young Woo? It's just utter confusion
And what's worse, they also ruined Soo Yeon's character, like just bcs of some generous action from Min Woo, just bcs he acted kind a few times, Soo Yeon all of a sudden fell hard for him who she always hates and she knows is an asshole all these while. Like it doesn't make any sense.
Other noticeable flaws of this drama for me is the build up for the Tae Su Mi scandal. It has been brought up to our attention abt it from early episodes, but somehow it seems like the writer forgot abt her character in the middle of the drama, then start going for all the cliches plot first; a breakup, a dying plot and a sloppy redemption arc, and then on the last episode they brought her back and all those buildup goes to waste as it was all settled with no climax all in one episode
I know I touched more on the flaws rather than why I like this drama, but that is bcs it is obvious that this drama is very easy to like and enjoy, and will be memorable. But the flaws that came up on the last 4 episodes took me by surprise that I just have to vocalize it somewhere. Of course, these are all just my opinion and I still had a lot of great time with this drama despite its flaws. Honorable mentions for Jung Myeong Seok, Dong Geurami and Young Woo's eureka moment
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Watch it for Park Eun Bin's performance!
The story was good, overall. It started out very strongly, but by episode 6 or 7, I felt it had pretty much done all that it could do. I would classify this as a legal drama. There is a hint of romance that takes a back, back seat to the legal aspects of the show. That's not wrong, per se, but if you are coming for romance, you'll be greatly disappointed. Even the legal stories got to be a bit boring toward the end. There wasn't a lot of differentiation/conflict between the cases, they all flowed together.Park Eun Bin was excellent as Woo Young Woo.
I struggled with the romance aspect of the story, because I couldn't see what made Lee Joon Ho like Woo Young Woo. They were cute together, but they weren't on equal emotional/developmental footing, which would provide significant conflicts in a romantic relationship (maybe they will delve into this in the 2nd season, because I think that would be the only reason to have a second season).
Kang Ki Young as Jung Myung Seok - I love him in almost everything I've seen him in (the only time I haven't liked him is when he's a bad guy - so his acting is ALWAYS excellent, I just haven't liked the character in that instance.)
The music was fun and appropriate, and I liked the graphics with the whales, but this got old after a while.
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Meeeh.. had lots of potential
Eun Bin Did a fantastic job of acting and all other actors were pretty and cute. Giving it a low rating because I really don’t wish to learn legal mambo jumbo and whales/dolphins jumping out of water when attorney woo has a profound thought and found a legal loophole.Unless there is a season 2, this series let me annoyed with lots of side stories unanswered. I didn’t experience att. Woo’s growth at all. There was no transformation of main characters. Only person transformed were Kwon Min Woo & Jung Myung Seok, and that makes them the hero of the drama.
The evil witch Tae Soo Mi got away with nothing…
No romance/chemistry felt between Jun Ho and att. Woo.
The writers could have a written a very powerful and emotionally engaging drama by change in att. Woo and Jun Ho as a result of their attraction towards each other.
Att. Woo mother could come to her senses.. also att. Woo and her brother relationship could have been developed as well.
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