This review may contain spoilers
An average but likable drama
I gave My Boss a try because I like the male lead actor. I’ve seen some of his previous dramas, including Love Between Lines, and I really like both his acting and his appearance.
The ML's character has a great sense of style, carries himself well, and truly looks like a lawyer. His comic timing is also quite good—I really enjoyed the humorous scenes.
I also liked one of his assistants, Bao Rui. He is quite funny and entertaining. In fact, I liked all three of his assistants—Bao Rui and the other two as well. The other two, as a couple, have good chemistry and look really cute together.
I also liked the ML’s best friend, Wu Jun, who is also his business partner. He is quite funny and sweet. I especially liked the way he was emotionally invested in the female lead’s sister, as he truly loved her.
As for the FL, initially she was quite enjoyable to watch. She was cute, funny, and expressive. Also i liked how eager she was to learn from her boss and improve herself. She seemed like a very dedicated employee who was genuinely willing to learn new things.
Another interesting character is the male lead’s mother. She is quite funny, and I loved watching her on screen.
Even the negative character—the woman who became a partner in the ML’s company and also liked him—was well portrayed. She was jealous of the female lead and created problems for her. Her acting was very convincing; she really made me dislike her, which means she did a great job in her role.
The female lead’s sister also stood out to me. She looks quite mature, is very beautiful, and truly looks like a lawyer.
Now, coming to the things I didn’t like—initially, the ML’s character was quite dominating and rude. He was quite torturing the FL. He made her work overtime, and even when she went back to home, he expected her to cook for him twice and clean the house as well. He was always threatening her with things like her year-end bonus and other consequences. It honestly felt like torture, and it was disheartening to watch the FL being overworked and treated that way.
The male lead is shown as very professional, but treating employees like this is the complete opposite of being professional. Also, whenever he had personal issues—whether it was insomnia or later his problems with the female lead— he would take out his anger on his assistants. That was not professional at all.
The FL's character, especially in the initial episodes, was portrayed as extremely kind, cute although extremely naive. Even though she was a rookie lawyer, she was quite sincere in her work. I like how dedicated she was towards her work and how eager she was to learn from her boss.
However, her styling throughout the drama was quite disappointing. Her dress sense was very poor, and she hardly dressed formally, even in the office. I understand that she was a struggling, rookie lawyer and maybe the director wanted to show that, but you don’t need expensive outfits to look professional. She often wore jeans and baggy clothes, which didn’t make her look like a lawyer at all. She didn’t appear professional most of the time. Only once or twice did she dress properly, like when she borrowed her sister’s clothes to meet her parents. Her hairstyle was also not well done throughout the drama.
Up until the ML confessed his feelings, her character was enjoyable to watch. But after the confession, it felt like she lost all her expressions and liveliness. Even though she accepted his feelings, the romance that followed felt very bland. It seemed like she wasn’t really into the male lead and didn’t look happy at all.
I’m not sure if this was the director’s choice to show her becoming more mature, but maturity doesn’t mean removing all liveliness from a character. Or maybe the actress wasn’t able to portray romantic emotions effectively. It was quite disheartening to see that most of the effort in the relationship came only from the male lead. The FL didn’t seem to reciprocate properly. Her smiles and expressions didn’t reflect someone who is in love. Instead, she often looked tired or unwell because of her lack of expression.
Both the male and female leads have flaws in their characters. I understand that the female lead wanted to become a good lawyer and make a name for herself in the industry. However, she was aware that the male lead was significantly older than her. If she didn’t have the time or willingness to put effort into the relationship, she probably shouldn’t have accepted his confession in the first place. It might have been better for her to choose someone closer to her age. While I can understand her perspective, it was still disheartening to watch her not properly reciprocate his love.
As for the ML, even though his intentions were to protect her and help her grow into a successful lawyer, some of his actions created problems for her. Repeatedly implying or telling others that she was his GF made her work life more difficult. This eventually led to her changing companies. Even then, when he openly acknowledged their relationship, people started seeing her only as his GF rather than as an individual.
I understand that his intentions were good—he wanted to support and protect her—but this was exactly what she didn’t want. She wanted to succeed on her own and build her identity as a lawyer. His behavior sometimes made her feel inferior, as if she wasn’t capable on her own. It also didn’t help that others labeled her as a “bimbo” or just an eye candy who was successful only because she was dating the boss. That’s why she wanted to prove herself independently, which is completely valid. I think he should have understood this earlier, but I’m glad that eventually he did understand what she truly wanted.
I didn’t like how the ML’s other admirer—the woman who later became a partner in the company and had one-sided feelings for him—was handled. She treated the female lead very badly, yet she left without facing any real consequences. She didn’t even properly apologize, which was the least she could have done. That was quite frustrating to watch.
As for the second ML, Wu Jun, I generally liked his character throughout the drama. However, this was the only time I disagreed with his actions. In the name of mediating between the main ML and that female lawyer, he let her go without consequences. As the ML pointed out, it would have been appropriate to involve the police, but Wu Jun seemed more concerned about her career. At the same time, the female lead’s career could have been seriously damaged if she hadn’t won the case, especially since that woman had tampered with crucial evidence. Being neutral in such situations is not always right—sometimes you have to stand for what is fair and just. I really hoped that the female lawyer would face consequences for her unprofessional and toxic behavior. At the very least, she should have been removed from the company or resigned on her own. But nothing like that happened. Instead, she simply went to the UK for further studies. It felt unsatisfying, especially because it suggests that she might return later and still become a partner in the company. Although this wasn’t shown, the last update about her was just that she was leaving for the UK.
Regarding the ending, I’ve noticed this pattern in many K and C-dramas: the story is stretched until the second-to-last episode, and then everything is rushed in the final episode. This makes the ending feel abrupt and incomplete. Only a few dramas truly feel like they have a satisfying and well-rounded conclusion. In this case, the ending felt unsatisfactory. It was shown that the FL still wanted to become a partner in the ML’s company, and earlier she had mentioned needing about five years to achieve that goal. However, the time skip shown was too short. The child shown in the final episode belonged to the second lead, and the main couple didn’t even properly get married on screen. If the drama shows proposals and hints at marriage—like teasing the male lead by calling him her husband—then it should also show the actual wedding. Otherwise, it feels incomplete. The time skip should have been longer, and they could have shown her becoming a partner first, followed by their proper marriage. Even the wedding scene shown in the last episode felt rushed and underwhelming. The bride and groom didn’t even look like they were getting married—they were dressed casually, and there was no proper ceremony or ring exchange shown.
Overall, the ending lacked depth and closure. A longer time skip and a proper wedding would have made it much more fulfilling, showing both leads as successful in their careers and happily married.
Overall, the drama is watchable, likable and funny. However, as I mentioned, there are several aspects that could have been handled better, which would have made the drama much more satisfying.
The ML's character has a great sense of style, carries himself well, and truly looks like a lawyer. His comic timing is also quite good—I really enjoyed the humorous scenes.
I also liked one of his assistants, Bao Rui. He is quite funny and entertaining. In fact, I liked all three of his assistants—Bao Rui and the other two as well. The other two, as a couple, have good chemistry and look really cute together.
I also liked the ML’s best friend, Wu Jun, who is also his business partner. He is quite funny and sweet. I especially liked the way he was emotionally invested in the female lead’s sister, as he truly loved her.
As for the FL, initially she was quite enjoyable to watch. She was cute, funny, and expressive. Also i liked how eager she was to learn from her boss and improve herself. She seemed like a very dedicated employee who was genuinely willing to learn new things.
Another interesting character is the male lead’s mother. She is quite funny, and I loved watching her on screen.
Even the negative character—the woman who became a partner in the ML’s company and also liked him—was well portrayed. She was jealous of the female lead and created problems for her. Her acting was very convincing; she really made me dislike her, which means she did a great job in her role.
The female lead’s sister also stood out to me. She looks quite mature, is very beautiful, and truly looks like a lawyer.
Now, coming to the things I didn’t like—initially, the ML’s character was quite dominating and rude. He was quite torturing the FL. He made her work overtime, and even when she went back to home, he expected her to cook for him twice and clean the house as well. He was always threatening her with things like her year-end bonus and other consequences. It honestly felt like torture, and it was disheartening to watch the FL being overworked and treated that way.
The male lead is shown as very professional, but treating employees like this is the complete opposite of being professional. Also, whenever he had personal issues—whether it was insomnia or later his problems with the female lead— he would take out his anger on his assistants. That was not professional at all.
The FL's character, especially in the initial episodes, was portrayed as extremely kind, cute although extremely naive. Even though she was a rookie lawyer, she was quite sincere in her work. I like how dedicated she was towards her work and how eager she was to learn from her boss.
However, her styling throughout the drama was quite disappointing. Her dress sense was very poor, and she hardly dressed formally, even in the office. I understand that she was a struggling, rookie lawyer and maybe the director wanted to show that, but you don’t need expensive outfits to look professional. She often wore jeans and baggy clothes, which didn’t make her look like a lawyer at all. She didn’t appear professional most of the time. Only once or twice did she dress properly, like when she borrowed her sister’s clothes to meet her parents. Her hairstyle was also not well done throughout the drama.
Up until the ML confessed his feelings, her character was enjoyable to watch. But after the confession, it felt like she lost all her expressions and liveliness. Even though she accepted his feelings, the romance that followed felt very bland. It seemed like she wasn’t really into the male lead and didn’t look happy at all.
I’m not sure if this was the director’s choice to show her becoming more mature, but maturity doesn’t mean removing all liveliness from a character. Or maybe the actress wasn’t able to portray romantic emotions effectively. It was quite disheartening to see that most of the effort in the relationship came only from the male lead. The FL didn’t seem to reciprocate properly. Her smiles and expressions didn’t reflect someone who is in love. Instead, she often looked tired or unwell because of her lack of expression.
Both the male and female leads have flaws in their characters. I understand that the female lead wanted to become a good lawyer and make a name for herself in the industry. However, she was aware that the male lead was significantly older than her. If she didn’t have the time or willingness to put effort into the relationship, she probably shouldn’t have accepted his confession in the first place. It might have been better for her to choose someone closer to her age. While I can understand her perspective, it was still disheartening to watch her not properly reciprocate his love.
As for the ML, even though his intentions were to protect her and help her grow into a successful lawyer, some of his actions created problems for her. Repeatedly implying or telling others that she was his GF made her work life more difficult. This eventually led to her changing companies. Even then, when he openly acknowledged their relationship, people started seeing her only as his GF rather than as an individual.
I understand that his intentions were good—he wanted to support and protect her—but this was exactly what she didn’t want. She wanted to succeed on her own and build her identity as a lawyer. His behavior sometimes made her feel inferior, as if she wasn’t capable on her own. It also didn’t help that others labeled her as a “bimbo” or just an eye candy who was successful only because she was dating the boss. That’s why she wanted to prove herself independently, which is completely valid. I think he should have understood this earlier, but I’m glad that eventually he did understand what she truly wanted.
I didn’t like how the ML’s other admirer—the woman who later became a partner in the company and had one-sided feelings for him—was handled. She treated the female lead very badly, yet she left without facing any real consequences. She didn’t even properly apologize, which was the least she could have done. That was quite frustrating to watch.
As for the second ML, Wu Jun, I generally liked his character throughout the drama. However, this was the only time I disagreed with his actions. In the name of mediating between the main ML and that female lawyer, he let her go without consequences. As the ML pointed out, it would have been appropriate to involve the police, but Wu Jun seemed more concerned about her career. At the same time, the female lead’s career could have been seriously damaged if she hadn’t won the case, especially since that woman had tampered with crucial evidence. Being neutral in such situations is not always right—sometimes you have to stand for what is fair and just. I really hoped that the female lawyer would face consequences for her unprofessional and toxic behavior. At the very least, she should have been removed from the company or resigned on her own. But nothing like that happened. Instead, she simply went to the UK for further studies. It felt unsatisfying, especially because it suggests that she might return later and still become a partner in the company. Although this wasn’t shown, the last update about her was just that she was leaving for the UK.
Regarding the ending, I’ve noticed this pattern in many K and C-dramas: the story is stretched until the second-to-last episode, and then everything is rushed in the final episode. This makes the ending feel abrupt and incomplete. Only a few dramas truly feel like they have a satisfying and well-rounded conclusion. In this case, the ending felt unsatisfactory. It was shown that the FL still wanted to become a partner in the ML’s company, and earlier she had mentioned needing about five years to achieve that goal. However, the time skip shown was too short. The child shown in the final episode belonged to the second lead, and the main couple didn’t even properly get married on screen. If the drama shows proposals and hints at marriage—like teasing the male lead by calling him her husband—then it should also show the actual wedding. Otherwise, it feels incomplete. The time skip should have been longer, and they could have shown her becoming a partner first, followed by their proper marriage. Even the wedding scene shown in the last episode felt rushed and underwhelming. The bride and groom didn’t even look like they were getting married—they were dressed casually, and there was no proper ceremony or ring exchange shown.
Overall, the ending lacked depth and closure. A longer time skip and a proper wedding would have made it much more fulfilling, showing both leads as successful in their careers and happily married.
Overall, the drama is watchable, likable and funny. However, as I mentioned, there are several aspects that could have been handled better, which would have made the drama much more satisfying.
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