This review may contain spoilers
Beyond the Bar: Guilty of Great Acting, Charged with Predictability
Overall, Beyond the Bar offers a compelling drama. It's fun to watch as new cases unfold in each episode that are engaging to watch. But more importantly, it makes the viewer think about moral and social issues that everyone hears and sees in their everyday lives. Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with the judgements and decisions, the point of the series is that law, ethics and morality are surrounded by grey areas that extend beyond a simplistic division of good and evil.What is probably the strongest element of the series are the actors. Charming, thoughtful, intelligent, but also serious and occasionally fuelled by anger and intensity. They give the main characters authenticity and a fresh perspective on their humanity as opposed to robotic lawyers playing by strict playbooks.
While the episodes are interesting in their own right, the second half of the series suffers from overlapping subplots that aren't as interesting , diverting attention to diverse plots happening at the same time. As a result, the drama plays catch-up towards the end, wrapping up plot points very quickly , just not as compelling as it could have been.
That raises an important issue. The good guys win, but at what cost? Beyond the Bar positions itself clearly on the question of how the cases are to be processed. Even though the stakes are high, the main characters ultimately have the upper hand and seem to overcome every obstacle. The main lead is portrayed from the outset as an adept who can immediately take on the more experienced lawyers. Although her character develops as a lawyer, her side seems too good and uncontested, which makes the cases predictable. Therefore, the drama suffers from a formulaic approach that missed the opportunity to raise the bar in the trials
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