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A REVIEW BY SOMEONE WHO WATCHED FOR THE PLOT (a.k.a. Ji Chang Wook’s face)
As someone currently on a mission from the drama gods to finish at least 80% of Ji Chang Wook's entire acting portfolio before the year ends (because why not aim for greatness), I dove into Suspicious Partner without reading a single review. I saw him in a suit and said, “Yes, your honor.”Yes I admit that I can be shallow sometimes.
Also, let’s be real—40 episodes of 30 minutes each? That’s baby food if you’re used to Chinese dramas where one episode is the length of a flight from Seoul to Singapore. I’ve survived 56-episode emotional marathons in hanfu, so this was practically a warm-up.
Here’s why Suspicious Partner had me hooked (and slightly stressed):
1. Acting? On point.
Our ML played by JCW as Prosecutor No Ji Wook? Flawless. Our FL Nam Ji Hyun as Eun Bong Hee? Adorably chaotic. Every character actually acted like a human being. No dead eyes. No robotic dialogue. Everyone showed up to work.
2. Courtroom drama lovers, gather ‘round.
There’s actual legal stuff in here. People get arrested. Trials happen. Lawyers yell. Papers are slapped on desks. Will it make you pass the Korean Bar? No. But will it make you wish courtrooms always looked this dramatic and had this many attractive people? Absolutely.
3. The friend group? Iconic.
Found family energy? Check. Clueless besties? Check. Co-workers you’d die for even though they probably shouldn't be practicing law? Also check. I watched them banter and bicker and solve cases together and thought, “Wow, I miss these weirdos already.”
4. Now, the villain.
Jung Hyun Soo, aka The Serial Killer With Perfect Hair. He really had the audacity to be both a murderer and disturbingly good-looking. I was like… sir? Please pick a lane. My moral compass is already spinning aimlessly.
5. Romance : 12/10 for slow burn, 4/10 for decision-making.
Bong Hee took her sweet time figuring out her feelings—about 38 episodes’ worth of time, to be exact. And Ji Wook? He oscillated between heart-eyes and emotional constipation. It was messy, it was frustrating, it was peak drama behavior. Did I still ship them? Of course.
6. The acting saved some very questionable writing.
Let’s talk about that random child witness plotline. Introduced with drama. Promised emotional depth. And then… forgotten like last year’s resolutions. It was clearly meant to give the ML a personal arc, but they kind of just… let it fizzle. Sir? What happened to the trauma? Who is supervising this script?
Characters To Mentally Prepare For:
No Ji Wook: Prosecutor turned lawyer, walking emotional tornado, has better chemistry with his office furniture than most male leads do with their co-stars, also the reason I’m here.
Eun Bong Hee: The world’s most cursed intern-turned-lawyer. She’s messy, stubborn, and unfairly cute. Gets called “dirty but pretty” by the ML and somehow doesn’t punch him.
Jung Hyun Soo: The hottest killer since Dexter. His villain origin story is half tragic, half "why is he in a turtleneck looking like a Dior model while being evil?"
Final Verdict:
Was it perfect? No. Did the script occasionally forget its own subplots like someone with six open tabs and no memory? Yes. But did I care? Not really. Because the cast carried this show like they were on a pilgrimage. The chemistry was real and the cases were interesting enough.
Would I rewatch?
Maybe not the whole thing. But the rom-com bits, the fight scenes, and any scene where Wook looks personally offended by life? Absolutely.
Rating: 8.3/10
Reason for deduction: Script occasionally wandered off. Still no idea what happened to that child witness. Hope he’s okay.
Also, let’s be real—40 episodes of 30 minutes each? That’s baby food if you’re used to Chinese dramas where one episode is the length of a flight from Seoul to Singapore. I’ve survived 56-episode emotional marathons in hanfu, so this was practically a warm-up.
Here’s why Suspicious Partner had me hooked (and slightly stressed):
1. Acting? On point.
Our ML played by JCW as Prosecutor No Ji Wook? Flawless. Our FL Nam Ji Hyun as Eun Bong Hee? Adorably chaotic. Every character actually acted like a human being. No dead eyes. No robotic dialogue. Everyone showed up to work.
2. Courtroom drama lovers, gather ‘round.
There’s actual legal stuff in here. People get arrested. Trials happen. Lawyers yell. Papers are slapped on desks. Will it make you pass the Korean Bar? No. But will it make you wish courtrooms always looked this dramatic and had this many attractive people? Absolutely.
3. The friend group? Iconic.
Found family energy? Check. Clueless besties? Check. Co-workers you’d die for even though they probably shouldn't be practicing law? Also check. I watched them banter and bicker and solve cases together and thought, “Wow, I miss these weirdos already.”
4. Now, the villain.
Jung Hyun Soo, aka The Serial Killer With Perfect Hair. He really had the audacity to be both a murderer and disturbingly good-looking. I was like… sir? Please pick a lane. My moral compass is already spinning aimlessly.
5. Romance : 12/10 for slow burn, 4/10 for decision-making.
Bong Hee took her sweet time figuring out her feelings—about 38 episodes’ worth of time, to be exact. And Ji Wook? He oscillated between heart-eyes and emotional constipation. It was messy, it was frustrating, it was peak drama behavior. Did I still ship them? Of course.
6. The acting saved some very questionable writing.
Let’s talk about that random child witness plotline. Introduced with drama. Promised emotional depth. And then… forgotten like last year’s resolutions. It was clearly meant to give the ML a personal arc, but they kind of just… let it fizzle. Sir? What happened to the trauma? Who is supervising this script?
Characters To Mentally Prepare For:
No Ji Wook: Prosecutor turned lawyer, walking emotional tornado, has better chemistry with his office furniture than most male leads do with their co-stars, also the reason I’m here.
Eun Bong Hee: The world’s most cursed intern-turned-lawyer. She’s messy, stubborn, and unfairly cute. Gets called “dirty but pretty” by the ML and somehow doesn’t punch him.
Jung Hyun Soo: The hottest killer since Dexter. His villain origin story is half tragic, half "why is he in a turtleneck looking like a Dior model while being evil?"
Final Verdict:
Was it perfect? No. Did the script occasionally forget its own subplots like someone with six open tabs and no memory? Yes. But did I care? Not really. Because the cast carried this show like they were on a pilgrimage. The chemistry was real and the cases were interesting enough.
Would I rewatch?
Maybe not the whole thing. But the rom-com bits, the fight scenes, and any scene where Wook looks personally offended by life? Absolutely.
Rating: 8.3/10
Reason for deduction: Script occasionally wandered off. Still no idea what happened to that child witness. Hope he’s okay.
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