This review may contain spoilers
A Legal Drama with a Little Love on the Side
Having just finished watching Law and the City, and immediately going into Beyond the Bar, I couldn't help but compare the two. Except for a couple of areas, young junior lawyers figuring out their careers, and each episode bringing the viewer interesting legal cases, the two could not be more different.
The Beyond the Bar series brought a lot more of the personal lives into the storylines of the lawyers. So, we saw more of a total picture. It wasn't just their work. It was the impacts and influences of their personal lives as well. It also included more storylines of the senior lawyers and partners. While Law and the City had a relationship develop between two of the main leads and once that happened it faded into a small detail, BTB's love relationship developed between secondary characters which built over the episodes and cumulated in a proposal. It was nice. It was the romance the story needed. There was a hint of feelings between the two main leads, but in the end it led to nothing. I think because they had too much respect for each other to take the next step. I know a lot of viewers will probably be disappointed, but actually I didn't see them as a couple so I didn't mind that they didn't get together by the end. Surprisingly the last episode was everyone's analysis of what love is. Brought on by the case of a couple who married but agreed to no love and no sex. This case made everyone think about the reality of love and marriage in the modern age. There are so many good quotes during this part, so have a pen and paper ready. Sadly, many of these personal storylines really didn't develop much. I think they would have been a bigger part of the total story if it would have gone to 16 episodes.
The legal storylines are what made this series so good. The ins and outs of the law, the tension of defense versus prosecution, and the effects this has on human lives makes for good drama, and this series had plenty of it. Sometimes the legal side intersected with the characters personal lives interjecting even more drama and tension into the mix. But,there were dips in the energy, some slow parts, sometimes the episodes seem to follow a pattern week after week that got a tad monotonous, but all in all it was a good watch. I liked the characters and that brought me back every week. I also enjoyed seeing places in Seoul that I remember when I visited last year. It's amazing to me that one trip and so many Kdramas, how much I recognize places in Seoul. "Oh, that's Gangnam....that's Insadong....I remember walking in that alleyway in Itaewon." That's pretty much me talking to the TV during a Kdrama. It's a surprising connection I now have with Kdramas and it makes them that much more enjoyable.
Like Law and the City, which so many stated was a slow-burn series, I'm sure many will say the same with this one. And it is. But it was a good legal drama and I think if you give it a chance, you'll enjoy it.
The Beyond the Bar series brought a lot more of the personal lives into the storylines of the lawyers. So, we saw more of a total picture. It wasn't just their work. It was the impacts and influences of their personal lives as well. It also included more storylines of the senior lawyers and partners. While Law and the City had a relationship develop between two of the main leads and once that happened it faded into a small detail, BTB's love relationship developed between secondary characters which built over the episodes and cumulated in a proposal. It was nice. It was the romance the story needed. There was a hint of feelings between the two main leads, but in the end it led to nothing. I think because they had too much respect for each other to take the next step. I know a lot of viewers will probably be disappointed, but actually I didn't see them as a couple so I didn't mind that they didn't get together by the end. Surprisingly the last episode was everyone's analysis of what love is. Brought on by the case of a couple who married but agreed to no love and no sex. This case made everyone think about the reality of love and marriage in the modern age. There are so many good quotes during this part, so have a pen and paper ready. Sadly, many of these personal storylines really didn't develop much. I think they would have been a bigger part of the total story if it would have gone to 16 episodes.
The legal storylines are what made this series so good. The ins and outs of the law, the tension of defense versus prosecution, and the effects this has on human lives makes for good drama, and this series had plenty of it. Sometimes the legal side intersected with the characters personal lives interjecting even more drama and tension into the mix. But,there were dips in the energy, some slow parts, sometimes the episodes seem to follow a pattern week after week that got a tad monotonous, but all in all it was a good watch. I liked the characters and that brought me back every week. I also enjoyed seeing places in Seoul that I remember when I visited last year. It's amazing to me that one trip and so many Kdramas, how much I recognize places in Seoul. "Oh, that's Gangnam....that's Insadong....I remember walking in that alleyway in Itaewon." That's pretty much me talking to the TV during a Kdrama. It's a surprising connection I now have with Kdramas and it makes them that much more enjoyable.
Like Law and the City, which so many stated was a slow-burn series, I'm sure many will say the same with this one. And it is. But it was a good legal drama and I think if you give it a chance, you'll enjoy it.
Was this review helpful to you?
