Extraordinary Attorney Woo

 Extraordinary Attorney Woo

6.5/10

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Genre:                                 Episodes: 16                                  Year: 2022

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Woo Young Woo is a lawyer who has recently landed a job at a prestigious law firm. While she is incredibly intelligent, she has autism and struggles with her social skills. While working she faces discrimination and hardship, but is also able to use her unique skills and perspective when it comes to managing her cases. 

Cast:

Park Eun Bin (Woo Young Woo)

Kang Tae Oh (Lee Joon Ho)

Ha Yoon Kyung (Choi Soo Yeon)

Joo Jong Hyuk (Kwon Min Woo)

Kang Ki Young (Jung Myung Suk)

Jeon Bae Soo (Woo Hwang Ho)

Joo Hyun Young (Dong Geu Rami)

Jin Kyung (Tae Soo Mi)

General Thoughts:

I feel like I’m on the outs with this one. So, so, so, so, SO many people seem to love this show and I just…don’t. I was pulled into watching it as I saw a bunch of cute clips on Instagram and it made the show seem like a fun little romcom. Unfortunately for me all of those clips came from the same episode and a half, and that was about as much lovey dovey cuteness as we ever got.

I mean, it's really my own fault- I know I don't like law dramas

This show was a lot more law-y and work focused that I was really expecting it be. And honestly if there’s one thing that turns me off wanting to watch a drama it’s law. Lawyer, prosecutor, judge- these are all key-words that make me go ‘no thanks’ when reading a K-Drama synopsis. But the cute Instagram scenes. They lured me in. It’s not like it was all bad, I liked the show more than I disliked it and was quite on board for the first few episodes. But after a while all the episodes started to feel a bit the same and it just didn’t feel like the plot was going anywhere. I wasn’t getting the romcom vibes I was expecting and it left me feeling very unenthusiastic to watch the next episode. Of course I must commend the writers and the show as a whole for giving us such a unique heroine that is a part of a group of people who are not usually represented in a positive light in media.

I just wanted more cuteness guys, that's all

Having the main character be autistic was a bold choice, and one that I do think paid of well. Young Woo is a memorable character, and you can’t help but be happy thinking about all the people watching who have never seen a character like themselves on screen before.  I think they handled Young Woo’s autism in a tasteful and well balanced way- it didn’t entirely gloss over the challenges of autism or developmental delays, but it certainly didn’t demonise it either which is what we are all much more used to seeing in media. Unfortunately all the thought and consideration and development that went into Young Woo’s character didn’t make it into the other characters. There wasn’t a huge range of characters that were that integral to the story, and it was mainly just those that worked at Hanbada with Young Woo. Joon Ho had all the making of a sweet and charming leading man, and Kang Tae Oh certainly gave the character a lot of charisma and made him easy to like. But all we ever really learned about his character is that he’s a really nice guy. He’s just a good dude. Which is fine, but it doesn’t make the character super memorable, and meant Joon Ho never really had a sense of individuality- he was just kind of there being nice. And niceness alone isn’t really enough to make me route for a loveline. Similarly, Young Woo’s direct colleagues, Soo Yeon and Min Woo, weren’t developed much either.

Some more girl bonding moments wouldn't have gone astray either

Oh they tried to develop Min Woo but it was not done well at all. And like Joon Ho, Soo Yeon’s main quality was that she was, you guessed it, nice! Not that there’s anything wrong with having a drama full of nice people, I just need a bit more to really be able to fall in love with the characters. Everyone in this show (apart from Woo Young) just seemed to have been given one word personalities- Soo Yeon and Joon Ho were ‘nice’, Min Woo and Woo Young’s Mum were ‘ambitious’ and Geu Rami and Min Shik were ‘quirky’. The only character that seems to escape this vague characterisation was Myung Seok, and that’s really only because he had an entire plot line dedicated to his illness and resulting epiphany. But that let Kang Ki Young have more screen time so I am certainly not complaining- I think he’s a fabulous actor who is able to make side characters endearing and memorable, as is showcased here.

I will always have time for Kang Ki Young

As I mentioned before, the storyline of this show was really focused on the law firm and the cases that they were handling. It felt quite episodic with Woo Young’s team handling a new case each episode with each issue usually being introduced, explored and resolved within the hour. On the plus side this means that we have a revolving door of new characters to get to know and all the cases were examining different issues and ideas. There was also usually also a link between the case being worked on and Woo Young’s life- such as Woo Young contemplating her own ability to love and be loved after the case involving a mentally delayed woman and her ‘gigolo’ boyfriend. On the down side, it meant that all the episodes felt very samey. They all followed the same kind of formula, and there wasn’t really anything unexpected happening. With so many smaller issues being the sole focus of the show, it felt like it took away from the show as a whole- the pacing of the entire series felt very laboured and slow, and apart from the budding relationship between Woo Young and Joon Ho there wasn’t really an ongoing plotline. The final episode with the tension between Woo Young, her Mum and her half-brother was actually quite interesting and I kind of wish that there was some way that this plot point could have been an ongoing one throughout more of the episodes.

So much potential...

I felt like the potential jealousy (or lack thereof) of Tae Su Mi raising her son when she had abandoned Woo Young could have been a really interesting concept to explore, and I think I would have enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Woo Young and her half-brother. All in all, there were parts of ‘Attorney Woo’ that were quite good, but I just feel like there didn’t need to be 16 episodes of it. Honestly, I think the whole thing could have been super condensed down into a really fun movie of just over two hours. 

What Was Great:

Extraordinary Actor Park:

This was basically the Park Eun Bin show. Every character took a backseat to Young Woo, and likewise all other actors took a backseat to Park Eun Bin. She was phenomenal in this role. I think she approached the role of Young Woo with a seriousness and open-mindedness that really allowed the character to bloom into one that has undoubtably become one of the most well loved in 2022.

She was wonderful in every way

Of course a lot of credit must go to the writers for creating such a fabulous depiction of autism for Park Eun Bin to bring to life, but Park Eun Bin herself just really put the magical finishing touches on the character. Her mannerisms, movements, speech and even eye contact did a fabulous job at reflecting Young Woo's neurodiversity. I loved how Park Eun Bin was still able to show that Young Woo was thoughtful and considerate in her own way, even if the way she portrayed that and how she related to others was different to most people. It was obvious that Park Eun Bin approached the character with a sense of respect and fully embraced every aspect of Young Woo-the quirks and traits that made Young Woo unique and that were cues to her autism were realistic and consistent. Neither the writers nor Park Eun Bin would bring in a trait or a behaviour once before abandoning it just to wave a flag that said ‘autism’ in the face of the viewers- all Young Woo’s behaviours felt very well thought through and were evident from the first episode until the last. Throughout the whole show it just really felt like Park Eun Bin had  embodied the character of Young Woo, and she really did give an extraordinary performance in every episode.  

What Wasn’t:

Slow Development:

The pacing of this show was just really slow. Not necessarily the pacing of the episodes- the episodes themselves had a really good pace and balance. But the overall story. There wasn’t much overall story to begin with, and unfortunately there also just wasn’t a lot of character and relationship development to pad that out.

The whale obsession was fun though

Geu Rami and Min Shik are already established as Young Woo’s friends at the start of the show and they don’t really change that much throughout the drama’s duration. Similarly, Soo Yeon and Min Woo don’t really go through that much development either (until the last two episodes and then I hated the way that development went). So really what we are left with is the relationship between Young Woo and Joon Ho. It’s just. So slow.

He just...he looks like he hates this

And I know that a part of that is to represent just how much time and how careful Young Woo and Joon Ho have to be as they navigate this new territory, but I’m sure there was a better way to get that across than just throwing in a few doe eyed looks and forced skinship in a couple of episodes. I really wish the show had dedicated more time to the good parts of Young Woo and Joon Ho’s relationship. We saw their struggles with Joon Ho’s family not being accepting and with Joon Ho feeling unimportant due to Young Woo’s fixation on her cases, so I feel like there really needed to be some super cute and happy moments to balance that out. And there just wasn’t. We got a few cute scenes early on when they decided to date and that was pretty much it. From that point onwards we really never got to see them being happy together. We sure heard about it- they told other people and each other how much they liked each other and wanted to be together but I just didn’t see it. During young Woo’s date ideas, such as dolphin protests, Joon Ho looked bored and embarrassed. And touch was an important part of the relationship for Joon Ho, but anytime they kissed or held hands Young Woo looked massively uncomfortable and that left Joon Ho feeling bad. I wanted to see their relationship succeed and it felt like the writers really wanted to make their relationship succeed but they just weren’t exactly sure how.

I just wasn't buying what they were selling

The drama took so long to get Young Woo and Joon Ho to the point that they were dating that their breakup and reconciliation at the end felt completely rushed and I was left feeling unsatisfied with the conclusion. I didn’t feel like enough of the relationship was developed and explored and so by the end I felt like Joon Ho would always be sacrificing what he wanted and compromising for Young Woo, and Young Woo would always be left wondering why he was frustrated and upset. And I wanted more than that for them.

Lame Lawyer Kwon:

I’m going to level with you. I hate Min Woo. I just really do. He embodies absolutely everything that I dislike in a person and in a character. He’s arrogant, hypocritical, selfish, petulant and has a whacky inferiority complex while at the same time acting so darn superior to everyone around him.

100% *sshat

The fact that he could even look at Young Woo, see (and then ignore) the challenges she has faced, and still have the gall to say she receives special treatment was just so frustrating. And I get it. That was the point. His character was supposed to evoke these sorts of feeling in the viewers because Min Woo’s attitude is not rare. It’s all around us. But because we aren’t directly involved, it doesn’t have much impact on us. But it does have an impact seeing that attitude directed towards a character that we are given understanding and insight to, and that we have come to love and care for. Which fine. I get it. But then the drama tries to…give him…a redemption arc?

Excuse me, drama- what the f*ck is this? Hard pass.

Yes, what the f*ck is the correct response to that, and it is also the response I had when the drama starting trying that sh*t on. Min Woo is the closest thing we have to an ongoing antagonist in this show and we’re just supposed to forgive him? For all his backstabbing and rudeness and entitlement? No thanks. What made this all worse was having Geu Rami have a crush on him and Soo Yeon eventually start to fall for him. Like, maybe Geu Rami can have a pass because I can just go ahead and assume that maybe Young Woo never told her about Min Woo’s attempts to sabotage her at work. But Soo Yeon has no excuse. I really liked Soo Yeon as a character, so for her to be just lumped in with Min Woo was incredibly aggravating. Soo Yeon has been shown to be a good friend and colleague to Young Woo, and was often shown as defending her. She was highly critical of not only the way Min Woo acted toward Woo Young, but the way he perceived her. It was literally the way Min Woo’s brain worked that made Soo Yeon dislike him. But then he buys some flowers and opens her beer while in Jeju (which is just totally unbelievable based off of what we have seen of his character right up until that point) and then she just likes him. Yup. Just like that. Lame lame lame. And then magically because Soo Yeon likes him, Min Woo just stops being a d*ck. The man who has been shown to care about nothing but advancing his own career suddenly develops a conscience thanks to the power of friendship.  

Recommend?

No, I don’t think so. There were parts to this show that were really great, but overall I just really don’t think it’s that impressive. People who are interested in law dramas (ie. not me) would probably like this one though.

I'm sorry to say that I just didn't find this show that extraordinary