The Law Cafe (2022)

Is it possible for a show to choke?

This Show starts well and showed a lot of potential. It was fast paced, funny and really hooks you within the first couple of episodes. The leads have great visuals and are charismatic. The OTP also has good chemistry and their love line is quite swoon worthy. Throw in some unusual litigations and messy family dynamics and we have a nice smorgasbord of stories. What more can you ask?

Everything was humming along and plots are developing nicely. The love story of the leads are progressing well. We even have a psycho antagonist which really spiced up the proceedings. That is why it is so baffling when the story telling seemed to goes off the rails at the last 1/3 of the show.

The cracks starts to appear when Team Law Cafe took on a sexual harassment case.

It is set up nicely, all the background stuff was dip fed to us. Very troubling but impactful. The veiled threats and actual dangers are there to heighten the tension. Everything is set for a multi-episodic arc with a David vs goliath style battle both in and out of the courtroom. What I didn't expect was a seemingly rushed conclusion to that storyline just when it got interesting and the tension is rising. It just feels underdone.

Yes, it does set up the big showdown with the main antagonist but the handling of this key plot felts arbitrary. It sounds like the back of a napkin type of writing rather than a finely tuned one.

Next, the hostage scene at the church is laughable. It was really illogical. We are talking about a dozen or more armed police with guns drawn standing by while the antagonist stood in plain sight waving a knife and threatening the hostage. He stood like that for minutes while ranting at the assembled police. The sorry saga only ends when the injured ML tackled the antagonist single-handedly. Yes, we get the heroic act but it really defies logic and looks farcical. Not sure how that passed script review. That was the moment the Show jumped the shark.

The acting on the whole was good. The antagonist did a very good job of portraying an unhinged person. The FL was bold and sassy and she really had fun with that. The ML was low key and conflicted. He feels out of sorts around the FL and is over protective. It worked well in the early stage of the Show but it does get a bit tiring towards the end.

I enjoyed most of the show and loved the spunky FL and the OTP's cute interactions but the weird misstep in the story telling did give me pause and took me out of immersion. The last episode is pretty much fan service. I can't rewatch the whole show but a highlight reel will not be a chore. Peace out.

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Consent Is Sexy

I have rarely seen, if ever, such a mature, openly communicative with consent and comfortableness for both partners at the forefront relationship portrayed in a kdrama. Conflicts, fears and issues between the leads never festered but were discussed and solved as quickly as possible (starting noble idiocy of ML aside.) They were affectionate, playful and compassionate with each other, as well as also challenging each other to become their better selves. They had an adult relationship that did not stop at holding hands and blushing which is still rare in kdramaland and openly discussed their needs/wishes regarding intimacy while always heeding the others boundaries.

The way the drama handled consent and how much importance it put on it... it is sadly the first time i have ever seen this in a kdrama to this extent. (Dali And The Cocky Prince comes to mind here too, but it wasn't as integral as it is in TLC) Which honestly, makes me sad as it should not be the exception but the rule and the way the drama subverted typical romcom tropes and viewers expectations regarding that was well-done. It was clear from the start that this is the story of the two leads and their journey of overcoming the demons of their past in order to find together above all else. Since the drama is obviously home in slice of life romance genre more than anything else don't expect a complex law drama nor plot. So go into watching with the correct expectations of it being very character driven instead of having a heavy plot. Slice of life, as said.

And yet the drama managed to address a wide range of social issues in the out of court cases that are still prevalent in today's society, Korea or elsewhere. (Especially the SA case was handled with the gravitas and framing it needed to be) Each of the cases were also mirrored with what the leads currently struggled with, to let them grow alongside in handling it. It never got too dark, no matter how heavy the social topics were because in between situational comedy gave much needed levity. And this without ever ridiculing the issue at hand. The main plot is the weakest link in it all and drawn out too much, but overall that took little away from the refreshingly modern take on the writing of the leads/their relationship for me. The side characters are lovely too and i enjoyed my time with them (minus uncle, however well acted)

I can only hope that other writers of romcom kdramas take note of this one here in regard of how it handled consent, because implicit clear consent is sexy and we direly need more of it in this medium/genre in the future.

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