A remarkable K-drama with typical moving components

Extraordinary Attorney Woo
K-drama Attorney Woo has a predictable conclusion and overused acting. This K-drama gained enormous popularity during the weeks it was on television because of the excellent acting, some compelling cases, and a charming cast of characters. Attorney Woo began with a pitiful 0.9% share of viewers in the country and concluded with a 17.5% share, not to mention amazing numbers of viewers throughout the world owing to Netflix.

Normally I wouldn’t mention this, but Attorney Woo needs to know about it since, in many respects, this drama’s vast appeal is both a good and a disadvantage. On the one hand, having extra eyes on a project is always beneficial. On the other side, the extra pressure to perform, particularly in the last episodes of production following such a positive response, can occasionally make or break a series. And regrettably, it appears that this is the case with this one.

Without a doubt, Attorney Woo is entertaining to watch, but the simmering subplots that accompany the various cases each week finally fizzle out and collapse due to some unsolved issues and a hurried last few chapters that attempt to tie everything up neatly.

The comedy, which is brilliantly brought to life by Park Eun-Bin, revolves around Woo Young-Woo, a 27-year-old who finished first in her class in both law school and college. She has an autistic spectrum condition, which is the only thing preventing her from using her outstanding memory and brain process to their full potential. Young-Woo struggles in social situations and uses her employment at the Hanbada Law Firm to help her deal with the highs and lows of the legal profession.

The series, which is comprised of 16 episodes, essentially juggles episodic cases with a longer running plot-line, with a number of distinct subplots emerging from that over the run-time. The many cases are basically the major emphasis of this, and a lot of realistic law drama has gone into it. This leads to the primary subplot, which is a will they/won’t they romance with Jun-Ho, the office hottie.

A protracted issue about Young-paternity Woo surrounds that. She may very possibly be the daughter of Tae Su-Mi, the potential candidate who is poised to assume a significant position in front of the public, according to rumours.

Alongside this, there is the drama surrounding Min-Woo, a lawyer who objects to what he sees as Young-receiving Woo’s preferential treatment in the business. Myeong-health Seok’s and marriage are the subjects of another subplot, while Su-Yeon is eager for love.

All of these problems essentially surface throughout the episodes, with some of them being hinted at as major dramatic incidents at the conclusion of each chapter. Unfortunately, they are spread out for so long that when the last week of episodes appears, Extraordinary Attorney Woo quickly adds a few extended run-times to try to neatly tie everything together.
The other issue with this programme, which may be more of a personal complaint than anything else, is how heavily it depends on “lightbulb” moments to solve its more challenging situations. The fact that Young-Woo is utterly fixated on whales is revealed in amusing ways throughout each episode. But before getting to a decision that prevails, Young-Woo frequently experiences an epiphany, complete with sightings of dolphins or whales. Although I do like that the programme is just about her, there are times when it seems like a flimsy “get out of jail free” pass.

Thankfully, the show avoids that by adding some ethically grey scenarios and some arbitrary conclusions.