The Law Cafe

Could have been so much more!!!!

The story is quite predictable. The guy has been in love for more than 10 years but his family did something bad so he chose to never see her again. That's some s**t reason. Jeong Ho as a character was confusing at times. He researched the Dohan construction and even wrote a novel on that. But he could have done so much more while being a prosecutor instead of running away so that the girl would not hate him or leave him for good. Does this even make sense?
Kim Yu Ri as a character was so strong and brave in the first six episodes after that all she did was cry. Sometimes she seemed desperate and I didn't like that. The comedic timing was good. And I liked how straightforward she was never ashamed to ask for help.
Other characters just came here and there. It felt like the writer was forgetting them that they were also a part of the show. When he remembers that he puts them back together to solve cases. Eun Kang's story and trauma were so poorly written. They didn't tell the proper story of his sister. And the fire thing which he did with that kid was so bad. He could learn to take revenge and plot things like this if something doesn't go his way. And what if he died in that fire? Bae Joon did nothing important to the show. What about his career? What about law? He knew nothing about law while being in the same field.
Now the villain Lee Pyun Woong. He did so many things out of the blue just to get the female lead’s attention and could have done more but didn't. Again writer forgot there is a main villain and doesn't show him for straight 3 to 4 episodes and then showed him again doing something extreme out of the blue. He had the potential to be the top villain in Korean drama but later this series lost its charm.

All in all, I would give this series 8/10 but after completing it I am giving it 7/10.

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Enjoyable until the romance takes over

I really enjoyed the first half of the drama. It felt lighthearted with the FL helping her clients with their case and they drag on too long. Some of these cases were fun for how their problems could relate to what the lead pair was going through. But at the mid point of the drama, the FL and ML both admit their love to each other and are a happy couple. I don't like fluffy romance and that's what this second half of the drama focused more on for the FL and ML. The cases felt less important. If you like seeing couples be together with plenty of episodes remaining for happy romance, then you'll enjoy this but for me this second half of the drama was not to my enjoyment before they were a couple. The last episode is just like filler or fan service to some viewers.

Surprisingly, I adored the various songs from the soundtrack. Some fit the tone of what the leads were going through in the first half.

In short, my enjoyment of this drama slowly faded once the leads became a happy couple. But the first half of the drama was pretty fun.

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Well not bad I guess but little boring

finally finished this drama for 3 days. What I can say about this drama is that it was good at the beginning of the drama but in the middle it was quite boring. The story begins with FL father being involved in a case and being accused of being the cause of the deaths of many people in the factory he works in and the person judging him is ML father who was bribed. The story is very monotonous because it is easy to predict, like FL doing law counseling and being helped by ML and so on until the end of the drama. The romance isn't really felt in this drama because from the start there has been a very long time skip from teenage school days to work, so ml and fl already know each other and the romance approach isn't really felt because ml already had feelings from the start and fl had feelings at the beginning. At the start of the episode, it can be said that everyone likes each other, which is a bit of a shame because the romance genre and the law genre, as usual, don't really match because the law is more pronounced in this drama than the romance genre. Overall I gave this drama a score of 7-7.5, even though in the final episodes like episode 14, 16 I skipped a lot of scenes because I was bored, but in the end I was able to finish this drama.

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Superb acting!

This a great story that is elevated even more by the superb acting of so many but I have to focus on the master of moods in this story, the actor Jo Han Chul. He portrays the villian with so much depth. You see the character's vulnerability, his fear of his father, his anger and desire to be loved by his father. He is at turns scary, mean, crazy and despite it all --- sympathetic at times to the viewer. This is such an ensemble cast that make the whole show so good. I followed it with enthusiasm wondering what would happen next. I just finished episode 14 and I am sad that I'm nearing the end because it has just been the greatest show I've seen in months and months.

I plan to update my review when I've finished.

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Great romantic legal drama

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 South Korean romantic legal drama with 16, 60 minute episodes.

First I will provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Some events in life shape us dramatically. Kim Yu-ri (Lee Se-young) lost her father in a tragic accident as a high school student. The fact that the accident was preventable had the company followed better safety standards made her determined to become a lawyer and focus on improving the safety and work quality for workers in Korea. It becomes her life's mission. She went to high school and college with Kim Jeong-ho (Lee Seung-gi) and they were romantically involved until he discovered that his family was involved in the corruption behind Yu-ri's father's accident. With strong sense of ancestry and responsibility for family actions, Jeong-ho decides that he and Yu-ri cannot be a couple and, with little indication, disappears from her life. Both were star students who became legal geniuses but Yu-ri has since pursued her passion to fight the underdog while Jeong-ho become so disillusioned he retreated to investigating the case in private while managing some buildings he owns. When Yu-ri is encouraged to retire from her current legal position because she is taking on two many money losing cases, she decides to open a cafe where she not only serves coffee but also legal advice. The location she picks just happens to be in a building Jeong-ho owns and the two are reunited. Yu-ri does not understand why Jeong-ho ended their relationship all those years ago and still harbors feeling for him not realizing he also maintains feelings for her. Can the two bring the corrupt perpetrators to justice? Will the cafe be successful in helping those who desperately need it and sustain Yu-ri enough she can afford to maintain it? Can Yu-ri convince Jeong-ho that the tragedy is not his fault?

Review

The cases were interesting and the friendships and romances were heart warming. It is a very good legal drama and I recommend it for anyone that likes romantic legal dramas.

Spoilers* Jeong-ho's reluctance to start a romance with Yu-ri was hard to understand as the series wore on. I understood, at first, the whole sins of my father angle and while that is not so much a thing in American culture I could understand it from what I know of Korean culture. But, with that, you either let it go or pursue it. As is so often the case I felt like he should just tell her what his father had done and let her decide if it was too much for her. I loved her unshakable sense of justice. How she would fight for the underdog even knowing it might cause her hardship. I did not feel the loop on Jeong-ho's father was completely closed. An honest discussion between him and his son explaining why he did some of the things he did might have mended their relationship sooner. I liked that they had reunited in the end. To me it was not in character for Yu-ri to be so reluctant to marry. Those that are reluctant usually experience bad relationships all around them. But her mother had a good relationship with her father up until his accidental death and then re-married and had a good relationship with her step-father so her fear of commitment did not make sense. It was also a little frustrating to have Jeong-ho come around and she is now the one, in the latter half of the series, who isn't sure if they can be together long term. I loved that it ended with a wedding. I am a fan of the "happily ever after" and I love all the wardrobe and seeing them all dressed up like that. There was just enough after story after the wedding to know what direction their lives were headed without going overboard and restarting the story.

#lawcafe
#Leeseyoung
#Leeseunggi

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A bit of a Drag

The only reason I wanted to watch The Law Cafe was because of Lee Seung Gi. I loved his work in Mouse and Vagabond. But The Law Cafe is a total let down.

Although I can feel what message the story writers wanted to send and that the intention was good, the execution was pretty poor. To the point that I took 3 months just to finish the drama. It was hard to get through even when it got interesting. The final take down was not the least bit exciting. If anything, it was quite non-sensical.

As for the romance, I didn't get into the chemistry of the leads to begin with or rather, I felt that they had no chemistry. If you enjoy bickering couples then this might be a show you could enjoy. What I did appreciate is the talk of consent and that the female lead was strong and motivated. Male lead was kind and supportive. I also liked the secondary couple - the policewoman and her husband but not much of their story is explored.

The cases were okay but mostly the plot was forgettable.

I feel bad for rating this low because the actors all worked hard but I had to speed up the last 3 episodes just to finish the drama. The show was decent around episode 8 but I just could not connect deeply with any of the characters. It will be a bit more appealing if you love slice of life or melodramas but not as a romance or law drama.

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Great Casting / Okay Storyline

It was okay. It wasn’t an 9 star drama, but it wasn’t an 8 star drama, so I rounded it up to 9 stars. I 100% watched this drama for Lee Seung Gi. I loved him in Busted (the reality variety show) and Korean Odyssey. I was disappointed when Mouse released because it was such an intense graphic drama, I couldn’t stomach to watch it, so to my surprise, I was really happy when he decided to do a rom-com.

I thought Lee Se Young was amazing in Crowned Clown, The Red Sleeve and adorable in Korean Odyssey, so I was really happy with the casting.

The drama started out really funny and I’m all about the premise. I liked the idea of a Law Café, where you offer lawyer services at a coffee shop, how unique right? To me, I guess I enjoyed the first half more. I liked the lighter tone and I liked the rag-tag cast.

You got the part-time guy workers (great eye candy), the newly parents best friends and the odd ball client here and there. I was interested in the mini-problems the main leads would help solve.

The tension between the main leads was hit or miss for me. Sometimes the comedy was awkward and forced and sometimes it was cute. I wasn’t really sold on the chemistry but there were plenty of screen time between the main leads, so if you are a fan of the actors, there you go.

For me it went downhill towards the second half of the series, where they focused on the inner-core of the story. Maybe I just didn’t really connect with the whole sexual harassment and taking down the dirty old men storyline? It was just so dragged out and I felt like everyone was just yelling over each other.

I don’t speak Korean, but even the cursing was getting too much for me. Everyone was cursing, everyone was resulting into physical violence and just well.. had a temper. I guess it was for TV / comedy sake, but it started to be really repetitive.

I also found some parts very boring and dragged out. I think at some parts I would just play on my phone because there really wasn’t any movement.

Overall, it was an okay show. I would watch it for the casting or if you like the lawyer troupe, other than that, it wasn’t one of my favorites (it was no Korean Odyssey !)

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UH!

I mean it was a beautiful kdrama, I liked it but through the serie there were things that I absolutely hated,the main characters not saying things that were SO EASY to say,many fights and I personally, I don't like when old people are trying to be cute and shit, there were this two old ladies who THE WHOLE DRAMA were trying to be cute,no, they just looked annoying and cringe!! Everytime they showed on the screen and were trying to be shit I almost dropped it. I'm glad that I didn't drop it, but man ,THEY WERE ANNOYING! If you are like me and hate that type of characters I advise you to not start this drama bcs it's not worth it...

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An Enjoyable Watch

I watched this drama as it was airing and always looked forward to the next episode, a sure sign that a drama is pretty good. If watching feels like a chore, why bother? Yes, yes, of course I have slogged through a couple of shows I really didn’t enjoy – but this one I did. Here’s why:

1. Interesting premise. Our heroine opens a café with a legal aid office and deals with different issues such as bullying, child neglect and sexual harassment in a very refreshing and no-nonsense way. The cases were interesting and showed the human aspect, not court proceedings.
2. Strong female lead. I really liked the main character a lot. She is outspoken without being obnoxious, dedicated, with a strong sense for what is right and what is wrong. Excellently portrayed by Lee Se Young.
3. Surprisingly good romance. While the “fake dating turns into the real thing” is nothing new, it was still very well executed und even unexpectedly passionate.

There were a few things I didn’t like. Some of the supporting characters were annoying, like the ahjummas and the over-the-top crazy uncle. The café staff, on the other hand, was pretty good. One had an interesting backstory and the other was portrayed by Kim Do Hoon, who played a poor tortured soul in Today’s Webtoon. It was delightful to see him as a happy camper here.

The writing was rather uneven. The show wavered between interesting scenes and dull dialogues, total clichés like the murdered father (are there any fathers actually surviving in Korea?) and fresh scenarios like openly discussing birth control. A scene would be pretty boring and then suddenly a character would elevate it by uttering some profound wisdom. I was struck by this several times.

Would I watch it again? Hm, maybe some scenes. It is well worth a one-time watch though, if for nothing else than the memorable female lead.

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Started strong, identity crisis midway

This was very promising at the beginning, with interesting characters, a good story line, and entertaining writing. But midway, when the ML decides he actually loves the FL, it becomes mawkishly saccharine and the writing loses its crispness in favor of predictable sentiment. The story them morphs into a "Me,Too" polemic, with a lot of added drama and conflict that seems tacked on as an afterthought in an attempt to spice it up. By the last episodes I found I no longer cared about the characters, with the FL's indecision and the ML's family issues. Seems popular to make the MLs weak and simpering characters these days, led around by the FLs and basically becoming so sympathetic and understanding that they are doormats. It's still not awful, but overall it seemed a bit of a mess to me. YMMV.

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If you don't like silly dramas with exaggerated scenes, stay away.

7/10 Amazing with some not-so-great moments. It's silly and cute with some social justice points and mildly inappropriate romance. wouldn't be comfy watching it with my mom, but can recommend it to peers. Though this one is full of flaws in my personal opinion, I still enjoyed it and can easily recommend it.

PROS:
I love how much he loved her and how he fought for her and vice versa for her at the start. There wasn't any unnecessary, "let's break up and be apart for something we can get over in two seconds if we just talk it out," kind of stuff. I also loved how even if sometimes it felt preachy, in the end, they always tried to kind of balance it out. It left a smile on my face.
The supporting characters and even the villain are just phenomenal. they made the story sometimes. You will be laughing your face off and then crying at some points as they touch on a lot of issues.
It's a happy ending and I am a sucker for those.

I'm not someone who likes to complain about plots or acting or OST because I go with the flow of the story and accept it as it is. I don't criticize the writer or blame it on the attitudes of FL or ML.

CONs:
So now that you know this, it's shocking to me that this story had so many unwarranted highs and lows with the love story, that it made me consider badmouthing the plotline in my mind, which I never do. I just hated how she always treated him like crap and he had to apologize for everything, even though he had her best interest in mind.
It also felt a little too preachy with the girl power. I'm sick of this girl power, independent woman crap that keeps getting shoved down everyone's throats in American media and now seems to be infiltrating my safe space with K-dramas. they even had to ruin her style to do it(the ugly dress, in the end, distracted the audience from the story because it was so questionable and cheap).
This honestly was the most immodestly dressed FL I've ever seen and I've watched a TON of dramas. I like K-dramas for their purity and innocence. this one broke that. if you're into that then I guess you'll love the 16+ rated scenes. I didn't. Also dislike how they turned FL into an insufferable person at times for her wild takes that made no sense.

But if you wanna have a laugh and you don't care about innocence and purity or rollercoaster love journeys, then watch it. You'll have a blast.

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It has bigger potencial...but...

I give 4* because of Jo Han-Chul. I only know him as a positive character, and here he gave such psycho-switched scenes that I was incredibly fascinated. The other characters did not significantly surprise, but they did not disrupt the series either. I know the I-love-you-but-pretend-to-hate-you type of relationship rejection is corny but I enjoyed this Lee-Seung Gi fest as well as the constant bickering between the main characters in the beginning. The character of the clever and wise main female character is great. Perhaps the chemistry between the main characters on the part of Lee Se-Yeong was a little lame for me. Lee Seung-Gi was great and played it really well, but I feel that it was somehow cold from the female character's side. More emotions went out of her in The Red Sleeve with Lee Jun-Ho. On the other hand, Ahn Dong Goo was throwing such glances here that he deserves more space and scenes :). Overall, it was a fun watch, had a lot of funny scenes, and dealt with important legal issues along the way.

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