Decent show needs label “Trigger Warning: SA”

From an analysis of the story and it’s uniqueness in kdrama world, this drama meets the mark. It is of an intelligent female judge, Judge Park (played by Go A-ra) who fights unwaveringly for the law to be as nuanced and considerate as the every-day man may need. Why? Because she’s lived life with a silver spoon and without—she knows that behind every person is a story. In many ways, this drama is a literary romance that makes you want to champion for change. Furthermore, the drama takes a very hard look at the working and sometimes personal lives of people of varied social status, so you appreciate a plot that is not filled with clichés and product placement (though there is the mandatory karaoke scene) for the sake of familiarity. As a social justice drama (not to be mistaken with a courtroom drama), every victory, even the minuscule ones or missed ones are high stakes, and in reality, these circumstances are always high stakes to someone. The drama is, at its essence, different by being heavy on the heroine’s journey and light on the leads’ romance, but most times it’s well-written enough that the lack of romance is okay.

Acting:
When we delve into the acting, this drama gets harder to review. There are some incredibly strong (and seasoned) supporting characters—both men and women— who pull you into their lives and love journeys with almost no hesitation. They are definitively crafted and their growth is reasonable (though accelerated... but it’s a drama). Quite frankly, the second leads carry far more than their weight of this dramas as they too deal with gender roles, harassment, and romance. I wish I could guarantee that my review for acting of the leads is unbiased, but this is not true. You’ll either love or be unimpressed/ unbothered by the male lead, Kim Myung Soo who plays Judge Im. The ticks of his character are often overdone, but fortunately they are short lived and only serve as comedic reminders about Im’s discomfort. Kim Myung Soo really excels by playing with the camera... so perhaps this is the work of the director and composer, but every moment our male lead finds himself love struck is completely endearing and cute. In many ways, our female lead is equally as cute when romance is on her mind, but as this is really her story, we see her more frequently deal with the constant trauma of civil and criminal cases more than love. Generally, Judge Park responds the same way but with varied sequence: Furiously, curiously, and empathetically. Go A-ra deserves a commendation here: She can cry on cue. The number of cues, though are... so, so, so, many.

A few thoughts:
If you are a kdrama viewer who watches with more than your heart, I hate to say it, but you have two choices: 1) Suspend reality in a way you never have before, and/or 2) Do NOT watch this drama with the comments on. The suspension of reality is NOT for time traveling parallel universes, but for meeting yet another female character who lacks the intelligence to apply new information; It is for the sheer volume of liberties taken by the heroine in a high stress and high profile job; It is for this social justice drama thinking it is dressed as a courtroom drama. Also, do not watch this drama in a platform with real time comments because, while you may go to the comments for clarity, you will leave focused on many other aspects of production for which your subconscious was doing tumbles to help you avoid, and now these distractions will be all you will see.

Story:
It’s worth noting that the plot can feel slow at times. This may be because of the slooowwwwwwwwww progress of romance between the main leads and the repetitive nature of some of the court cases; obviously, for our heroine to grow she must deal with a specific type of case before she overcomes the trauma of her own past, but the sheer amount of sexual misconduct addressed (NOT shown), while realistic, may be very triggering for some.

Conclusion:
Truth is, it is rare to find a perfect drama: There are few perfect dramas (despite the liberal scores of 10s given). The heart of the writer is bleeding and each case is compelling. Unfortunately, the writers felt we’d only sympathize if they used the actors to model how we viewers should feel. At this, Go A-ra becomes exhausting because despite this being a drama where her character is to grow—she flatly does not though every one else does. There are some characters where it’d be nice to excuse, but foolish to excuse (No. I will not be gaslighted to think the alcoholic father’s bleeding heart redeems him for failing to support his OWN very-struggling family.). STILL, the individual moments of justice soar where the characters, and romance do not.

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