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Pro Bono korean drama review
Completed
Pro Bono
0 people found this review helpful
by Beesuto
14 days ago
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Surprisingly great drama.

Saw the ratings and having seen Oh My Ghost Clients (although a good show as well) didn't have insane expectations other than a feel good show similar to Oh My Ghost Clients, however I was pleasantly surprised at how the legal battles and power struggles were represented in this show.

Cool concept of a judge being turned into a pro-bono lawyer, done really well with the corruption scandal, leaves you wondering who was behind it and WHY they were behind it. The show sets up the MC as a scummy person vying for power and fame, prioritizing them over achieving justice - however with his backstory it adds an extra layer to his actions and provides further depth on to why he acts this way.

Thought it would just be a case to case show where they look into certain injustices going on, and solve them however he faces numerous obstacles on his path to success. It presents his high level of legal intelligence through the lens of the judge, whilst presenting challenges due to his inexperience as a pro-bono lawyer. It presents him as competent, but still needing room for growth and development, and someone who realizes the worth of his team and role. His character is very funny, someone who is very "arrogant" but fails a lot, however doesn't let it waver them and continues to keep trying to win. His competitiveness truly shines against his opposing defendant lawyer, who truly has no morals and will do anything for money, testing the MC's ability to overcome even the most outrageous of circumstances within a courtroom.

Each case is explored well and presents a new angle and challenge for the MC, and the pro bono team around him challenges him and assists him well to provide a new angle to each and one of them, making them individually stand out. They all have their own motivations, issues and personality, and they mesh well to form a singular team. Nothing is easy for them, and they bond through facing adversity throughout, without mindlessly believing in the MC. They don't rush to conclusions either, and are willing to hear other sides and commit their own research to find the truth, which is very refreshing to see.

The law firm CEO is just kinda an asshole, for no reason too, even to his own daughter. Like I don't really even get his character he's just evil and powerful, but I guess the main focus was how his evilness impacted his daughter growing up. The evil in this show are kind of just evil for the sake of it, for power or money, no real depth towards them. Although the daughter being greedy for power made sense since early on, her character is still kind of dull, alongside the defendant lawyer who simply hates the MC because he stole his love for a bit, which was just kind of a weak explanation for everything. At the very least, the MC didn't submit and left of his own terms, but their arc is kind of disappointing.

The MC achieves revenge and justice whilst developing as a character and enveloping layers with each new case, and the actor is truly one of the better for law related dramas. From Oh My Ghost Clients, Pro Bono and Prison Playbook he has shown his ability and versatility to stand out. The romance between him and the main female of the Pro Bono team is pointless, because it never even is close to developing. Were they trying to tease it, or was it just a simple soulmates situation? It's kinda unclear the intention between the two, why they're the closest of all, and her character is definitely the more disappointing of the Pro Bono team, since it is barely developed or focused on.

Overall a surprisingly great show, typically shows can't balance these aspects very well, however Pro Bono does it well bar a few hiccups near the end surrounding the villains (and how easy it was to take them down).
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