Law and the City

A nice comfort law drama

Well it was for once not a rushed ending, everything fall into pieces perfectly, they were some plot holes but every good drama has them. All the characters had their own essence, each of them had a personality and a role in the group. This is not a drama you should go if you're expecting romance, it's a subplot but it's more about life and law. The main characters had some chemistry but I cared more about the second one honestly. There was a triangle and some jealousy scenes but I love that it didn't define the drama and it had a natural ending. The sml got it and never confessed because he knew it was unreciprocated. That we don't get an actual conversation or acknowledgement of that later feels a bit like a plot hole, but it also feels realistic too, they didn't know each other for long, they were better as friends and they honestly didn't talk about things that knew would hurt the other or the other wouldn't want to actually talk.
In conclusion, it's a nice comfort drama that happens to be about law, which I kinda do not like, but they made it interesting and relatable which in my opinion is the most important fact, as a person who knows only a little about it, it was fun. The relationships (romantic, friends, colleagues, boss-employee) were excellent and they made sense, you understood why they were friends and how each of the fitted in this friend group. It also shows minority struggles like women in the work environment, and the discrimination they suffer for only being women. I think it was a very complete drama and I loved it.

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They're Serving Us Lawyer's Mukbang Show

I don't know but I feel something's off with this show. Normally calming shows like this have something emotionally hooking to keep the audience interested, but apart from the final two episodes this show feels so empty. The show was promoted as calm and heartwarming series. However when I went through the first episode the first cases are really dark. Luckily, the cases are all resolved safe and sound. The problem is, the writer does this pattern repeatedly until we fed up, no matter how easy or difficult, big or small, malicious or petty the cases are. It looks like the writer is trying to put cases as many as possible so they can bring a lot of "life messages". But as they slip away quickly, the audience may not be able to be emotionally attached to the case before they decide to close the case and bring the other one. I even think more effort shown on screen on the Watch Theft case compared to Hui Ji father's case. Also on the Student Attempted Murder case, Chang Won is a bit distrubed when defending an opposing party on a similar case, but they never show how he overcomes it.

Lunch and dinner maybe the two key events in this show. Somehow I can't find this "friendship" to be categorized as healthy. Apart from Ju Hyeong and Hui Ji, they rarely share any personal thought and burden between them. Their responses when Mun Jeong says her boss rejected her maternal leave request aren't convincing either. I thought after Ju Hyeong reveals his story of taking a case against his ex, everything will be better. Everyone begins to help each other, even on Hui Ji's father case, but I was wrong. Sang Gi hides his desire to enroll in a PhD program, Chang Won hides the pressure coming from his father. To me, they just look like lunch partners, not friends. The writer should highlight the original reason about how they end up together because they aren't coming from the same company and they don't seem really close enough.

The story about Kim Hyeung Min also remains unclear. It doesn't show about her backstory apart from she failed to become a lawyer, especially why does she has a lot of enemies? Alos the love line in this story comes up pretty early. But personally, I think it has been brought up too often for a slow show like this. To make it worse, this plot is probably the best part of the show.

Looks like the main leads are carrying hard this show. Lee Jong Suk plays a logic-oriented attorney, Mun Ka Young plays a more opposite trait, emotional-oriented attorney. They both play their character excellently, and their romance serves well. Kang You Seok has been really busy this year, but it is still a waste of talent because his character isn't very special.

This show has a weird pace, quick on the case but slow on everything else. Yes the final two episodes are excellent, but the path to it doesn't seem encouraging enough. I don't think it's worth for rewatch given the story is calming but feels hollow.

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until now it's a 10/10

LJS comback finally!!!! I've been waiting

honestly it's going good do far i mean i understand why people wouldn't like it
but for me it's a summer kdrama that's refreshing and i really wanted a soft kdrama after all the traumas that i have been watching so far

i mean i really love these silly love tropes it makes me super nostalgic and especially if it's from lee jung seok i mean oh my god look at his charisma

and the cast oh my god i ADMIRE kdramas that has friend groups and these typa things they kill boredom

and last but not least this kdrama deserves to be sat for while eating popcorn or a snack

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Heartwarming workplace friends bonding over their shared lunch breaks

This drama was made for me. It's got all the goods:

1. Slice of Life with grounded characters that feel like real people.
2. Case of the Week pacing to give the story structure.
3. A workplace friend group that FEELS like a real workplace friend group. They're not besties who've known each other for decades. They're peers who met at work, and they balance their professionalism with their personal relationships.
4. Because they work in the same building, but not the same firm, they bond during lunch breaks. So we see lots of delicious food bringing them together.
5. They are all at the point in their careers where they've either seen the cracks in the system or they're just starting to, so we get to watch them grow and become better versions of themselves.
6. A low drama romance side plot that's just plain comfortable.
7. Mature. Misunderstandings get resolved within an episode and people act their age!

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A breath of fresh air

'Law and the City' is a slow-paced/slow burn drama, and that is what I find refreshing about it. While in other dramas there is always a main villain who tries to do everything in their power to see the main leads suffer (always keeping the watcher on the edge), there is no such trope in this drama.

The story revolves around five lawyers who got to know each other while working in the same industry. They go through various cases (be it alone or togheter), while their friendship becomes more and more genuine with each passing day.

I am always looking forward to my favourite actors' new dramas/movies, and for this one I've been waiting for a while. I find the cast to be perfectly chosen, by which I mean that all the main characters can act. I've been following Lee Jong Suk and Mun Ka Young's dramas for a while, and all I can say is that I'm happy to see them play the main leads togheter. Their chemistry is definitely there.

Although I've read a lot of negative reviews, the only conclusion I came to was that "it's not everyone's cup of tea", and that's fine. I, personally, dropped a lot of dramas, and I can certainly say that there is someone's favourite in that list as well. It may seem like a boring drama at first, and I can't say for sure that it isn't. A reason as to why some may find it boring is because the main leads aren't struggling to keep their relationships alive, nobody is trying to separate them, and most certainly there aren't any misunderstandings that drag on for more than 1 episode.

The main characters all have a mature side to them, and know how to rely on each other, knowing that keeping everything to themselves wouldn't do any good to any of the parties involved.

Despite the relaxed vibe it might try to show on the surface, daily struggles are not neglected. Everyone goes through a rough patch or unexpected situations during their lives. The important thing is that we should try and deal with it/come to terms with what is happening, and make the most of our limited time in this world.

To sum it all up, 'Law and the City' is a slow-paced, relaxing and what you may call a "slice of life" show. While it may appeal as boring to some, it is also a drama to which most people can relate. I look forward to the one hour of daily relaxation provided by this drama's episodes every weekend.

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An Absolute Slog to Get Through

Law and the City took everything that people like about legal dramas and threw it all out the door. The leads have no personality, the romance was boring, and they chose the blandest cases. I really thought this show would be more of a commentary on the Korean legal system and while there is a little bit of that, they largely picked incredibly dull civil cases to focus on. This choice was baffling and created such boring episodes with almost no stakes. Spending entire episodes on building materials, real estate contracts, or a watch that maybe was stolen was bizarre and they could’ve gone in a much more interesting direction.

Lee Jong Suk’s character didn’t have a personality at all. They gave him nothing to do and he brought nothing to the role. The romance might as well not have existed, for how little impact it had on the show. Two incredibly beautiful actors with zero chemistry did not make for a compelling romance. Their romance was mostly shown in flashbacks and it never really made sense when they had fallen in love again. Once they get together, almost nothing is shown of their relationship. It felt like the show kept almost making a commentary on aspects of the legal system or workplace, but they never quite covered them enough, so everything felt very surface level.

The main reason I kept watching was that I did enjoy the friendships and the friends were much more interesting than the leads. Their friendship felt very deep when they were working on more personal cases and I think the fact that they all worked for different partners gave them too much separation and didn’t allow us to get enough of their relationships. I found the legal advisor to be such an afterthought and a character that had no purpose. I know that she is a great actress, so I’m not sure why they gave her nothing to do. I kept expecting the show to tackle her backstory to give more insight into her motivations and personal life, but there was just nothing.

This is such a nitpick, but the fact that they didn’t release this show at the end of the year is crazy. Everyone is bundled up in a wool coats for the whole show and that combined with the slow pace made this such an odd choice to be released in the heart of summer.

I would have rated this a lot lower except there were a few episodes in the middle I did really enjoy. Overall this just felt like such a missed opportunity and I really struggled to finish it.

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its not what i expected

normally, i would actually enjoy this type of dramas, where we can see different stories through the character's work, empathize with the cases but they dont actually focus on them. i could understand some of them, like the kids case but i dont think they explained what happened with the surgeon ??

i've watched a few like these but law in the city makes me feel like something's missing. i'm almost at the end of the 5th ep, and i like the friendship the main cast have, it's cute and a group of friends like them would be really good but there's some kind of mistery in their personal lives in each one of them, like one of them apparently was a nepobaby, heeji's parents are dead and was raised by her uncle and aunt, the other girl i forgot her name sorry is married and it's juhyeong friend and he got to work in a case where he had to see his ex which heeji KNEW i dont know if there was something i missed but, how did heeji know about her? yeah, they "know" each other for 10 years but i dont think he told her about his ex or if that even happened at that time, is there something i missed? i dont get it

and btw, i wanna add the fact that since ep 4, juhyeong is being quite nosy in heeji's and changwon's business and that was out of nowhere ??? who wrote this i wanna talk with them

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why you should watch the first 2 #LawAndTheCity episodes ⚖️

1. A Slice of Life Law Drama 🧑‍⚖️💼🖇️
#LATC focuses on civil law cases rather than our usual criminal ones, giving more freedom and less on the investigative side. We see more of the characters' lives both in and out of the office. It's also a different case per episode!

2. Foodie Content 🥘🥗🍲
literally thought this was a tastefully yours revamp! and one of the best highlights/unique points of this drama yet !! the leads are from different law firms in the same building so they created a "lunch group" where they eat together everyday!

3. Easygoing Romance 💗💬🍃
so far, we’ve seen an “i knew you once” trope, but thankfully it’s not rushed or overly secretive about their past. It’s also clear that the characters are mature about their rs, and that the drama doesn’t only revolve around their love story.

4. Found Family 👯👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🤝
proud to say "lunch group family for life" already !! their group is made up of lawyers, so it’s safe to say they’re smart and good people. they have principles and morals and a great dynamic that makes them whole. i'm alr excited to see more!

2 eps in and im loving the relaxing theme of this drama. If your a slice of life girlie who likes chill and relaxing dramas then #LATC is definitely for u!! I do think it lives up to its title "Law And The City" because it not only focuses on their professions as attorneys but also their outside lives in the city. Excited for next week!

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The System Is Cracked and Broken

Just finished watching the last two episodes. The ending was exactly as I thought it would be and gave closure to these professionals who were all questioning the choices of their present careers. They didn't just settle. They risked venturing out to seek the right fit, and were happier in the end. This was a very satisfying drama. I loved the characters and I think all the actors did a top-notch job in character development. It was also realistic. Professionals do question their choices in their careers, and I'm glad to see a drama that addresses this. It's not flashy, nor sexy, but very very relatable. I loved this drama, I loved the junior associate attorneys and wish I could eat with them and discuss life.

After 10 episodes:
I've read some of the other reviews for this drama and I have to say, I think most are missing the real significance behind why I think this series is superb. Most of the reviews focused on it being a "slow burn" and the comeback of Lee Jong Suk. Okay, both of those are true. But if that is only take away you got from this series....you really missed the point. Yes, it's slow, but significant.

First, it's an excellent ensemble cast. The actors playing the junior lawyers are excellent in their respective roles, each delivering a depth in their specific characters that adds such a realistic nature to the delivered storylines.

Lee Jong Suk/Ju Hyeong - a smart, dedicated junior lawyer who has been at this job way passed the time of seeking his own law firm. Why? He became robotic to survive and was good at it. He stopped feeling and just performed. As the drama unfolds, and a past love reenters his life, he begins to wake up and assess why he keeps doing what he is doing when he is faced with representing a victim vs. representing a company with a toxic work environment and the decision is made for him by his senior boss. If you are old enough you can relate to that moment when you realize and want to have life's decisions in your own hands not someone else's.

Mun Ka Young/Hui Ji - Intelligent and idealistic, Hui Ji discovers that her attempt to do the right thing by all parties even if it causes her extra work goes in contradiction to her boss, whom she thought was also idealistic, that would have done what was easiest and most lucrative for the firm.

Ryu Hey Young/Mun Jeong - Smart, a bit of a workaholic, delivers 210% everyday, and is also the soul and caretaker of the group of junior lawyers. I think her storyline is so representative of the sexism and inequality women deal with when faced with balancing career and motherhood. Her boss did not even ask if she plans on coming back after having the baby....instead he just began to prepare to find another lawyer. Thankless behavior for giving so much of her time and her self to his practice. What an @$$hole, but so representative of the work world out there.

Kang You Soek/Chang Won - He just wants to be a lawyer and help people. But he keeps getting rerouted by his boss (babysitting a felon son of a rich client), and hitting the wall of a broken system that punishes a victim instead of the perpetrator. You can just feel his idealism and motivation crumbling around him. Not to mention he is being pressured to stop being a lawyer and take over the family business.

Im Sung Jae/Sang Gi - Smart, extremely hard-working, and able to focus on achieving the goal even if it takes him twice as long. He discovers his true desire is to teach law. However, Sang Gi is from humble beginnings and has to work to support himself and his mother. He cannot take time away to get a PhD in order to teach, because the system will only allow students to work at a PhD full time. How discriminatory and punishing of a system.

Secondly, it allows the viewer to watch as these characters are faced with broken systems and even facing the cracks within themselves. Even the translation team is called Cracks in the System. It's a story of young professionals in that point of their career where they hit the wall. The wall of reality. When they begin to question their work and contribution to it. When they wonder, "Is this all there is? Is this what I actually do? Is this who I actually am? Where is the fairness? Where is the humanity? Do I want to keep doing this for the rest of my career?" It also shows a juxtaposition between early and late beginning career professionals vs. seasoned career professionals who have made choices and now have to lie very coldly and greedily in the beds of their choice justifying for themselves their actions.

These junior lawyers seemingly have enviable careers and lives. From the outside they work in fairly successful law firms in a cool building, they are attractive and dressed stylishly, they have formed a tight bond and friendship and enjoy many meals and outings together. Two of them have even found love together. But up close, you begin to see the cracks forming as we are taken on the journey into the true nature of their work and how that work affects them personally.

I still have the last two episodes to go, and I'm assuming it will show how each lawyer faces the wall of reality in their career and what decisions they will make. Yes, it is a slow burn drama, but if you get past the lack of theatrics and see the significance of the storylines, you can appreciate the work these actors are putting into the development of their characters.

It is a very satisfying watch.

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