Extraordinara Avocată Woo (2022)

10/10 from a non-fan of Kdramas

A white male nearing 50, married with children, is probably not the target audience of kdramas. But, I stumbled across this by death scrolling through Netflix desperately looking for anything to watch, and when I read that it was about an autistic lawyer I wanted to see if it was just another stereotypical portrayal of people sharing my condition. Yes… I’m on the spectrum, so I stuck around to see if I was being mocked. In short: quite the opposite.

Now, I’m not some expert on autistic representations in media, but this is the first time that I’ve seen an autistic person portrayed as a real person with their own thoughts, hopes, dreams, and flaws. Not a one dimensional plot device, weirdo, object of pity, or some combination of these. Kudos to everyone involved in this production for their sensitive, respectful, and dignified treatment of this condition.

That out of the way, I genuinely love the show. While I have no other kdramas to compare it to, it’s easily better than 95% of what I’ve watched in the past 2 years (mostly American and British productions). The overall positivity reminds me of Ted Lasso, which is one of my all time favourite shows, and this is just as good. The acting, not just Park Eun-Bin, is fantastic. The characters are wonderful, even the very minor ones like Hairy Boss. The cinematography, and general production quality is superb. Absolutely top notch show, and it is inspiring me to look into more kdramas (what a gateway drug!)

Lastly, while I’m not really into romances, I’m a pretty sensitive guy whose in touch with his emotions, and so this show just hits me like a punch to the gut time, and time again. What an emotional experience. Many tears - joyful tears - shed. Sure, it’s manipulative, but damn do they do a good job of it.

Rewatching it now with my wife.

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I've seen a lot of negative comments...

UPDATE AFTER I FINISHED WATCHING THE DRAMA

I've changed the "story" rating from 8.5 to 9.5. I really like this drama and I like the development of all characters. But there is one thing I hate. The scene where Joon Ho drove away from the hospital where reporters wouldn't let Soo Yeon, Young Woo, and Min Woo pass. It was so out of the character. The character of Joon Ho that was created in other episodes would never have done that, even under the pressure from senior.

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AFTER WATCHING 8 EPISODES


Recently, I've seen a lot of people say they had high expectations for this drama but eventually got disappointed. This happened because Woo Young Woo with her autism spectrum is shown in a very stereotypical way. In the episodes I watched, the topic of diversity among people on the autism spectrum was mentioned only once when Young Woo as a lawyer was about to defend the boy on the spectrum.

To be honest I agree that Woo Young Woo is portrayed as a little infantile and to be seen as a cute person. And it is a very stereotypical way to show a person with an autism spectrum. There are people like Woo Young Woo and we need to understand it but it would be better if the drama focused more on the diversity of people on the spectrum. There are also people in whom it is impossible to notice at first glance that they have an autism spectrum.

However, I think that this is a huge step for Korean dramas and I hope we will see a more proper representation of people on the autism spectrum in the future.

Despite all this, I'm enjoying watching this drama. It has advantages, such as people with different responses to a person on the autism spectrum. The acting is really good. I also like the relations between Woo Young Woo and Joon Ho, Soo Yeon, and Geurami. The cases and the character's involvement in them are also interesting.

I believe that enjoying this drama is nothing wrong, but you have to bear in mind that some of the things shown in it are ableist and you shouldn't pretend that they are not. However, it is important to pay attention to it and not to duplicate these ableist things and stereotypes about people with autism.

A lot depends on how we as the audience perceive what was shown in the drama.

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charming legal drama albeit with a few hiccups

I really enjoyed Extraordinary Attorney Woo. If it weren't for some of the later episodes, I would have rated this even higher.

Woo Young Woo (goodness knows why her father named her that) is a girl born with autism. She has had a difficult childhood because of that, and was bullied throughout her school years, including college. As all dramas and real life have taught us, bullies really don't grow up. They're bullies in their childhood and they're bullies after growing up and they're bullies as they enter society as working adults. Young Woo graduated at the top of her class at college and in law school but she was unable to find a job because workplaces, as we know it, are discriminatory against the disabled. Since society behaves like a bully - is it any surprise that their children grew up the same way?

Skipping all of that - Young Woo's obsession with whales reminds me somewhat of Han Geo Roo (Move to Heaven) and his obsession with the aquarium and sealife. But this drama is nothing as dark as Move To Heaven. This drama is light-hearted, bright, and honestly, considering all the dramas I've watched all year, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a good story but it is nevertheless a diamond in the rough.

Because of Young Woo's autism, her colleagues and senior mentor initially doubted her ability to perform at her job. Young Woo very quickly proved them wrong with her first case, and the story took off from there. The pacing was perfect for the first ten episodes or so. Each episode heralds a new case (towards the later half of the series each case sometimes takes two episodes) and each case comes with a soul-touching and soul-searching lesson. What made this drama such an endearing watch is not just Young Woo herself, but all the characters that made up the legal team of the Hanbada Firm. There is nothing more uplifting than having someone supportive at work, and an understanding, generous superior like Attorney Jung plus a kind colleague like Choi Soo Yeon give the drama an overall positive feel.

Joo Jong Hyuk is a very convincing actor who played the role of the office jerk, Kwon Min Woo. Mr.Kwon is small-hearted, selfish, hateful, and he discriminated against Young Woo because of BOTH her disability AND intelligence. Yes, go figure. He first complained that she's incompetent at her job because of her disability, but later he complained that she's too much of a genius. She's actually winning some sort of imaginary competition in his head. Of course, it was all because he felt threatened that he might lose his position at work to Young Woo. I have a massive complaint about the development of his romance with Choi Soo Yeon in the final quarter of the drama. The entire thing was completely unconvincing and it ruined the drama for me a little. It was as if the writer is saying, "hey, he's got his little family circumstance so we can see why he's being such a jerk so let's be lenient towards him." Honestly IDGAF if you've got a situation going on but having treated Young Woo the way he did royally pissed me off and he never really properly apologised for his actions and wrongdoing. Society is already rage-inducing the way it is, when has it ever been lenient and forgiving towards disabled and underprivileged people? But as soon as disabled people started to get a little bit of equal treatment, others rise up and cry about "favouritism" and "inequality". They're now feeling they're on the shorter end of the stick! Wow and now you want me to expense some sympathy towards a bully and a jerk like Mr. Kwon? No. I can't forgive and forget all the crap he has done to Young Woo. So I don't understand why would the writers have Soo Yeon like such a person. Dear sweet 'spring sunshine Choi Soo Yeon', whom Young Woo revealed have helped and defended her in college and law school, having to end up with a guy like this?! Nevermind, the writers tried to tone down his assholishwhatever at the final two episodes and I'm like, leopards can't change its spots overnight, okay???? Hmmmm???

The romance between Jun Ho and Young Woo is sweet and cute, but not very compelling. He fell in love with her after seeing her in a wedding dress? That's it? Or did he fall in love with her because he finds her quirky? IDK man, I love a good romance story and I'm completely open to accepting this main pairing, but honestly the writers need to make it more convincing for me. And since this is a legal drama that has a center female lead, I actually prefer the drama to move on without any romance.

There was a case that the team undertook, in which a guy volunteering at a disabled center dated one of the girls with intellectual disability and ended up sleeping with her. He was charged with rape and brought to court where he tried to argue that he was truly in love with the girl. This was a very interesting case that could address the the range of emotions disabled people feel including the emotion of love, which I thought was important in the way that could protect the disabled from being preyed upon and taken advantaged of by predators, but at the same time not to belittle the disabled's feelings and clarity of mind. I thought perhaps it could also be a stepping stone for Young Woo and Jun Ho to reflect on their relationship as a side. However, not only was the guy sent straight off to jail in the end, there was no after-thoughts by the main couple on this case. There was no appeal filed to assert that the guy truly loved the disabled girl, there was no space for viewers to think about the ramifications of that verdict on future cases where disabled people can also fall in love with other abled people. In my opinion, that episode was a complete missed opportunity.

I don't know about other people, but personally, Attorney Jung Has Stomach Cancer Arc was enjoyable for me. I was especially touched that he's still very much in love with his ex-wife even though they have divorced and separated for 5 years. I cried in the last episode because of his scene with his wife. Attorney Jung is a good guy who isn't afraid to admit his mistakes, including the first time when he doubted Young Woo's ability to function in her job. If he leaves Hanbada and Season Two rolls around without him, I definitely won't find the story as enjoyable. But I'm not willing to see him break up with his wife a second time because he can't keep his promise with her a second time to take it easy with life. I hope the writers and production team can come up with a compromise that will give Attorney Jung some kind of ordinary peace and happiness. I look forward to S2.

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Watch it for Park Eun Bin's performance!

The story was good, overall. It started out very strongly, but by episode 6 or 7, I felt it had pretty much done all that it could do. I would classify this as a legal drama. There is a hint of romance that takes a back, back seat to the legal aspects of the show. That's not wrong, per se, but if you are coming for romance, you'll be greatly disappointed. Even the legal stories got to be a bit boring toward the end. There wasn't a lot of differentiation/conflict between the cases, they all flowed together.

Park Eun Bin was excellent as Woo Young Woo.

I struggled with the romance aspect of the story, because I couldn't see what made Lee Joon Ho like Woo Young Woo. They were cute together, but they weren't on equal emotional/developmental footing, which would provide significant conflicts in a romantic relationship (maybe they will delve into this in the 2nd season, because I think that would be the only reason to have a second season).

Kang Ki Young as Jung Myung Seok - I love him in almost everything I've seen him in (the only time I haven't liked him is when he's a bad guy - so his acting is ALWAYS excellent, I just haven't liked the character in that instance.)

The music was fun and appropriate, and I liked the graphics with the whales, but this got old after a while.

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Extraordinary Attorney Woo might be not the most perfect brilliant drama ever. But it's fun drama to watch. I go from laughing, crying, smiling, intrigued, angry, and squealing through it all.

I really like how they tackles different case every episode, the way character's story got related to it, and the good message behind it. Even though there's some episodes that ends with vague closure it doesn't affect the enjoyability of this drama for me.

A good enough amount of romance and swoon worthy moments.
I love the comedic elements in the drama. The comedic elements are not forced, it's light-hearted and funny
+ The cgi for the whales were really good.

Dislikes: I feel like JH didn't have a proper character development, his life's kinda revolves around YW.
KMW change of attitude and loveline could've done better, it happened too suddenly
The story weakened towards the end
Rushed ending/plot holes probably on purpose, since they want to save room for the sequel.

The entire cast was superb, no complaints about anyone's acting skills.
Music used were all good. My favorite is 'Beyond My Dreams' by Sunwoojunga.
I'd definitely rewatching this, probably not the whole drama but mostly my favorite episodes.

Overall
Even with the flaws, it's still an enjoyable watch for me
I'd recommend if you like light-hearted law drama with slight romance.

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Promising, engaging and heartfelt. I can tell this kdrama is going to be perfect in every way.

I knew from the well-written synopsis and colourful poster, I was going to love this kdrama. As someone who is also on the spectrum and has siblings, and cousins, who have ASD, I've kind of always wanted to see myself and my family members reflected on the big screen. Extraordinary Attorney Woo has surpassed my expectations in the best way possible.

Story:
The show focuses on themes such as law (in turn, judicial jargon) but does not restrict itself to the typical "criminal" aspect of the justice system as many shows do. Rather, we see a wide range of cases ranging from the extremely insightful uses of civil law and individual rights. Like many Western tv shows, Extraordinary Attorney Woo (EAO) has so far focused on 1 case per episode, while maintaining a perfect interpersonal relationship between the Main Character (Youngwoo) and her surroundings.

Youngwoo is amicably described in the first episode and sets out into the world. We are given a portion of her backstory that sufficiently contributes to her character and her personality as a whole. And as each episode progresses, her interactions with other characters also moves forward. The romantic interest(?) or at least, the first "friend" at Hanbada that Youngwoo makes, Joon Ho, is lovely, charming and patient. A perfect character to complement Youngwoo's troubles in socialising. This is hugely important because he even wants to apologise for misunderstandings and the discrimination that Youngwoo faces being autistic. Even minor characters receive character development and slowly change their perception positively. (However, there are a range of supporting characters that show different reactions to Youngwoo's behaviour. Some are indifferent, some make attempts to help, or ignore, and some are discriminatory. The wide range helps juxtapose how ostracised it can feel to be "different" and I think will strengthen the dynamics of the cast to stop it from being boring.)

The show deals with complicated and sensitive topics such as the harassment and discrimination that autistic people face every day, which I was so pleased to see. As ASD is a spectrum, everyone is different in their own way and EAO does this beautifully. There is also LGBTQIA+ representation, with a character from a case gaining psychological independence and coming out with her partner.

So far, EAO is bitingly comedic, dramatic and romantic all at once. Youngwoo's accidental humour comes from being blunt and straightforward, which warms our hearts. Interactions grow marginally romantic and always end with a smile on your face or laughter in your lungs. I am pleased that the show understands how to navigate comedy and romance well. It is truly captivating and you are never bored, not even for a second or two. However, after Episode 5 I will say that the show can also tackle serious topics beautifully as well, with ethical implications such as whether the law is the 'truth' or a 'weapon' to be used, being discussed, and how some people cannot move past Youngwoo's autism and see her for herself.

There is a 'side plot' brewing with small scenes at the end of each episode that allude to some sort of thrilling mystery set to unfold in the judicial world. I think this will likely give plot depth to some characters but I just hope it is executed well. Sometimes kdramas always feel the need to make things intense with thrill and mystery by the elongated episodes but EAO has been light-hearted yet hard-hitting when it needs to be. I think as the show progresses, it will be dealt with accordingly. So far, the first couple episodes have stolen my heart.

Acting:
I want to personally praise Park Eun Bin for the commitment to the role because so far she has done a remarkable job. As ASD is a spectrum I can't vouch for how accurate it is but I could see myself reflected in her mannerisms, as well as the small habits my sibling has like echolalia. No detail is overlooked and even the smallest actions are perfect, like Youngwoo fixing a chair to make it straight as she leaves a room even though she is not at the centre of the shot. It just blows my mind. Eun Bin has clearly practiced hard to make Youngwoo's character well-developed and not one-dimensional. She enhances the awkward expressions on others faces through the inability to look others in the eye, the staggered walking and the direct pace of Youngwoo's character as she goes about her life.

The chemistry between the characters is also off the charts. Kang Tae Oh has a small but kind smile that works perfectly in time with his lines and character. There is no strain or poorly worded lines at all. If anything, the show has some hard-hitting lines that truly resonate with you. A very compact and detailed script that gives a voice to all. It shows the true paradox of being in court, with who is the 'victim' and who is the perpetrator. Small actions are used to convey big thoughts consistently which make even the most minor of characters have some purpose and to not feel flat at all.

Many people with ASD tend to have a fixation or an enthusiastic love for a particular thing, person or place. Youngwoo's is whales. Eun Bin does this brilliantly with fast-paced, excited lines over whale facts and careful handling of Youngwoo's whale plushies and memorabilia. Now, this isn't ALWAYS a constant and I'm kind of glad for that because it now shows that Youngwoo must 'hold back' her personality and traits to conform to what others are saying, but knowing her and her amazing strengths, she'll fight back.

Other characters also appear well-developed and provide a range of supporting characters that can sufficiently make this drama interesting. Youngwoo's father discusses the hardships of raising an child with ASD, which I was happy about because it was sincere and showed how mentally draining being a caretaker can be. Most people are already stigmatised by autistic people and extend that disgust and discrimination to others who care for or interact with them.

Music:
Light-hearted, almost melodic. Often picks up the pace when Youngwoo has an epiphany. It plays on the up-beat and "moving forward" direction that Youngwoo's life leads. No song is out of place. Sometimes it is a little too loud for how soft it is meant to sound as background music but it generally follows a generic undertone.

Rewatch Value:
10/10. As you know, kdramas can be tediously long at times. However, due to the 1 case per episode nature of this show, as well as how the arcs are handled, EAO is a show you can rewatch whenever you want. It feels like a perfect pace and the nature of the main character Youngwoo means your attention is constantly grabbed.

Overall, I am so happy that this kdrama is doing so well so far. Thank you to the Director Yoo In Shuk for the visually pleasing, colourful and wonderful shots! The colour palette of the show being shades of blue like whales is also very unique and calming. It makes this kdrama one of those to binge in one sitting!

Hope this review helps :]

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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.

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Don't like it just because you pity her

First of all the actors are great. This drama was very good in the beginning but it lost it's charm
I binged watch it though it's not my genre.The cases were very intriguing and Her way of solving the cases were amazing, it was actually extraordinary. But after episode 9, something was lacking and after episode 11, everything became dull. The cases aren't interesting anymore. Now the MOST celebrated character from the show ,The male lead,His screen time is as less as my patience. I didn't even understand from when he started to like the female lead. People rave about the "green flag" thing only because he likes a girl with autism. I mean he's not bad. He's like any other kdrama male lead. And their love story and the "cat talk" was pretty unrealistic.

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Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

This drama was exactly what I needed.
In my opinion, Atty Woo is the perfect example of how good writing can unfold beautifully on-screen.
This whole drama has taken audiences across the world by storm and we've all seen it's rise since it aired.
The main female lead became an attorney with something that caught peoples' attention anytime she introduced herself.
Autism.
I saw a few people even asking what exactly is autism?
Well, you see, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.
There are sometimes main symptoms of autism, such as, not responding to their name, avoiding eye contact, not smiling when you smile at them, getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound, repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body and not talking as much as other children.
We get to see all these symptoms in this drama!
Park Eun Bin portrayed all of these traits in such an unique way which held all viewers' eyes' captured on her.
Many don't know that Eun Bin majored in psychology and journalism in Sogang University. Which brings us to the next sentence, she genuinely knows how to understand all of her characters well and tries her best to portray them in her best way possible without disrespecting any part of it.
We love an iconic, educated queen for that!
"To measure the success of our societies, we should examine how well those with different abilities, including persons with autism, are integrated as full and valued members."
-Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
I genuinely don't have much to say for this drama except the best of it, I never saw any flaws in it, it kept me in my seat from beginning till end and I'll never complain about it. Such a comforting drama, honestly. With many emotional moments, cute moments, romantic moments and moments that can make your skin boil, yeah, I'm talking about you Attorney Kwon.
Overall a 10/10 from me. Can't wait to see more of this casts' projects and can't wait to support them throughout those new projects!

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Disappointing

I watched it because of Park Eun Bin (I lover her so much in King's affection)
This drama started quiet interesting - so no wonder it got all those attention and early news of American remake.
However just like most kdramas that suddenly got too much praise... the drama started to get boring after episode 6 - either the writers got pressured from all the attention or they really didn't know how to continue later on.
In the latter part of the series it felt as if things became repetitive. So many plot holes that was ignored since the story started to focus on romance and side characters.

I dislike the romance for the main couple, we never get any background story about the ml and how he started to like fl, it honestly bothered me so much... because I feel like watching a fully grown adult grooming a child. It would've been better if they were just friends or the romance was properly executed.

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It was good until it wasn’t :(

I would say first half was a good build up- interesting cases, interesting character development. Mid point it got a bit stale, and towards the end it was just lots of FF.

The acting my Park Eun Bin is definitely praise worthy... I believe she studied the characteristics and portrayed very well a person with autism. So kudos to her!! Kang Tae Oh was dreamy up until the point where they broke up. When that happened, he seemed REAL CHILDISH and having tantrums lol.. idk.. he was just so pathetic about the whole situation.

Last few episodes the cases were boring, and all the unnecessary side plots like getting cancer, and the coworkers liking each other.. seemed like they just needed fillers. Give this one a go... but don’t expect too much. :)

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interesting initially but not towards the end

initially, it was interesting as they touched on a sensitive topic, autism. i’m not sure if i could take the show seriously about autism based on what was shown.

the initial plot was good, where they started with her fitting in into the company and some character development. but towards the end, it became quite anti-climatic and boring. it ended with a lot of question marks and felt quite absurd.

however, the actress, Park Eun Bin’s acting is really really good, the way she portrayed the character was amazing! i was able to relate to the character as she was affected by the words of others in regards to her love life… however, wondering if it was factual that people with autism would be that sensitive to the people around them as the character always say “i’m someone who lives in my own world and only think about myself” or something along the line.

overall, was a pretty good watch

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