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Overhyped and underwhelming
This show started very promisingly but barely delivered anything by the end. Things were going well until around episode 11 and then went downhill with that weird trip to Jeju island and never recovered. Last two episodes were crammed with cases again and closure for the characters was rushed at breakneck speed.
All in all:
1. FL's character development barely progressed both professionally and personally. There were dropped sub plots that she may become more independent from her father, start cooking for herself, maybe go to work to a law firm that is closer to her principles - all were dropped. In the end, writers still managed to fall into a stereotype trap and convey the wrong idea about autistic people. Irl not all of them are savants, not all of them are treated so nicely at work, not all of them are so cute and therefore well liked. In the end, it became just another tropey story about a genius "detective/lawyer/prosecutor" with a quirk.
2. Some characters like ML were not given any background or character development at all. Some characters, like Min Woo and Soo Yeon had their characters as if completely swapped with someone else. FL's dad barely did anything for the plot, FL's mom is still a bitch - no family relationship development whatsoever. Some characters like FL's friend and friend's boss were relegated to sad and dumb comic reliefs. All in all, side characters of this drama has got to be one of the most underdeveloped I've ever seen in a kdrama.
2. Law side of the drama was weak and amateurish. Irl cases are not won simply by remembering a clause from a law book or looking up precedents, irl everyone looks them up prior going to court. Other attorneys and even some judges here are made so exaggeratingly dumb compared to FL, just to show how smart she is, it's simply embarassing. Some cases weren't even worth going to court, their arguments were on the surface and could have been resolved with a simple legal consultation. A few cases raised some serious social issues but writers didn't have the balls to give their definitive opinion on them, leaving the justice of their verdicts up to the audience to mull over.
3. Romance was very weak. Yes, it's cutesy and fluffy, actors are handsome and professional. But ML basically is just a prop put in there to love FL and be conveniently perfect to care for her for some reason. Was it her looks, or constant whale talk that made him fall in love with her? Not much was talked about when they interacted with each other and it made this whole romance look superficial and not convincing. Their break-up was dumb af and dragged unnecessarily for 3 episodes too long. And barely any time was given to their reconciliation and next to none to their further relationship. ML wasn't even introduced to FL's father. This is not how you give a satisfying closure to a romance arc.
All in all just one big overhyped trainwreck. But hey, they still have a chance to fix all this in season 2! But I'm not holding my breath.
P.S. The only ones worthy of praise were the actors, they did a very admirable job, especially PEB. And production value of this kdrama is very good as well, props to the production team. But sadly even they couldn't pull off the impossible with this kind of script.
All in all:
1. FL's character development barely progressed both professionally and personally. There were dropped sub plots that she may become more independent from her father, start cooking for herself, maybe go to work to a law firm that is closer to her principles - all were dropped. In the end, writers still managed to fall into a stereotype trap and convey the wrong idea about autistic people. Irl not all of them are savants, not all of them are treated so nicely at work, not all of them are so cute and therefore well liked. In the end, it became just another tropey story about a genius "detective/lawyer/prosecutor" with a quirk.
2. Some characters like ML were not given any background or character development at all. Some characters, like Min Woo and Soo Yeon had their characters as if completely swapped with someone else. FL's dad barely did anything for the plot, FL's mom is still a bitch - no family relationship development whatsoever. Some characters like FL's friend and friend's boss were relegated to sad and dumb comic reliefs. All in all, side characters of this drama has got to be one of the most underdeveloped I've ever seen in a kdrama.
2. Law side of the drama was weak and amateurish. Irl cases are not won simply by remembering a clause from a law book or looking up precedents, irl everyone looks them up prior going to court. Other attorneys and even some judges here are made so exaggeratingly dumb compared to FL, just to show how smart she is, it's simply embarassing. Some cases weren't even worth going to court, their arguments were on the surface and could have been resolved with a simple legal consultation. A few cases raised some serious social issues but writers didn't have the balls to give their definitive opinion on them, leaving the justice of their verdicts up to the audience to mull over.
3. Romance was very weak. Yes, it's cutesy and fluffy, actors are handsome and professional. But ML basically is just a prop put in there to love FL and be conveniently perfect to care for her for some reason. Was it her looks, or constant whale talk that made him fall in love with her? Not much was talked about when they interacted with each other and it made this whole romance look superficial and not convincing. Their break-up was dumb af and dragged unnecessarily for 3 episodes too long. And barely any time was given to their reconciliation and next to none to their further relationship. ML wasn't even introduced to FL's father. This is not how you give a satisfying closure to a romance arc.
All in all just one big overhyped trainwreck. But hey, they still have a chance to fix all this in season 2! But I'm not holding my breath.
P.S. The only ones worthy of praise were the actors, they did a very admirable job, especially PEB. And production value of this kdrama is very good as well, props to the production team. But sadly even they couldn't pull off the impossible with this kind of script.
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