Thoroughly enjoyed this drama through its light and tender moments to the ones that made me hold my breath because oh-my-god-I-cannot-believe-this-is-happening-right-now. I don’t have the authority to speak on the autism representation in this drama, but I will say I appreciate that there were more people in Woo Youngwoo’s circle who were supportive and understanding of her situation. This is in comparison to the KDrama Good Doctor (2013), which featured the trials and triumphs of an autistic pediatrician new to the medical field. I had rewatched Good Doctor while waiting for the new Extraordinary Attorney Woo episodes to drop, and it meant so much to me that Youngwoo wasn’t surrounded by too many people whose first instinct is to yell at her for being different. This is not to say we didn’t meet characters like this, but compared to Good Doctor’s Park Sion, Youngwoo had better people on her side.
The cases they handled were varied and interesting, and I liked that they gave Youngwoo an opportunity to take a look at her moral compass, because that’s something you don’t learn from books. It hurt seeing them lose some cases and Youngwoo doubting her ability to represent someone in court, but it also felt really good when they win and she feels a sense of accomplishment knowing she contributed to their victory.
Overall a very enjoyable drama with a solid cast that I wouldn’t mind rewatching, save for those two episodes near the finale where we get a terminal illness storyline on top of a breakup storyline, like—seriously? It felt like a glitch considering how well things have been built from the ground up. Thankfully, it didn’t go downhill from there, because for a minute there it did feel like we were going to be robbed of a happy ending.
This is my first Park Eunbin drama, and consider me mesmerized by her brilliance. Now thinking if I should watch The King’s Affection even if I’m not really into historical dramas. Eek. Oh, and also—Kang Taeoh, my god. This boy’s eyes can speak volumes. He has a promising career waiting for him after his military duty, that’s for sure.
Number of episodes: 16
Where to watch: Netflix
Favorite characters: Lee Junho and Atty. Jung
Favorite moments: I have a couple, but the first one that really captured me was the slow-mo waltz Youngwoo and Junho in the revolving door on the first episode. It was totally rom-com beats, shot perfectly with all the pretty lighting and stuff. CHEF’S KISS.
Watch it below:
Anyway, inject all the cute Youngwoo-Junho moments into my veins. They are so cute and pure and I want to protect them at all costs!
Is it a romance? YES!
WTF moment: The way they tried to make Minwoo’s character a palatable choice for a love interest for Suyeon in the last few episodes made me cringe. I’m all for character development, but that sob story about his family doesn’t give him a free pass for his assholey behavior (for which he was never punished), nor does it make him attractive enough to be a love interest. Please. Our Spring Sunshine Suyeon deserves more than that.
Content/trigger warnings: Some verbal and physical violence, discrimination against autistic people, workplace discrimination, suicide, bullying (online and offline), the infamous truck of doom, terminal illness
Overall rating
