While waiting for the casting news of Seo Yea-Ji, I decided to watch some of her previous drama. I knew Seo Yea-Ji from the popular Korean drama It's Okay to Not Be Okay and she was phenomenal in that drama. Therefore, I decided to watch Lawless Lawyer first which was broadcasted in 2018. She partnered with Lee Joon-Gi in this drama which make her more popular in Korea. We all know Lee Joon-Gi previous drama such as Moon-Lovers: Scarlet Heart so I was excited to see their parings in this drama too.
Trailer
Lawless Lawyer
Plot: Lawyer Bong Sang Pil (Lee Joon-Gi) establishes his own firm and hires a problematic attorney, Ha Jae Yi (Seo Yea-Ji). They work together to fight injustice while searching for clues pointing out to his mother's murderer.
My thoughts
The drama started off with a nice introduction of the characters and their acting was pretty impressive. The narrative took us to the background stories of Bong Sang Pil and Ha Jae Yi. I like the way Lee-Joon-Gi portray his struggles with his childhood trauma and the pain that he carried to adulthood. He witnessed his mother who was a righteous lawyer being stabbed to death in front of him when he was a child. He remembers his mother final words to him is not to trust anybody here and to leave their hometown to look for his uncle. She instructed him never ever come back again. Bong Sang Pil is a brave boy since he was young, and he vowed to become stronger when he grows up to seek revenge on the criminals. Seo Yea-Ji acted as Ha Jae Yi, she is feminist and a fiery lawyer who will stand up for justice even to the extent of offending her superior. She is very trusting towards people she thought she could trust but we see a growth in her character when she interacted with Bong Sang Pil. I like her freshness and bubbly image in this drama, and she has a simple down-to-earth styling in this drama. She has a badass attitude here when she fights back during dangerous situation. Her decisiveness and strong attitude are something that I admire about her character in this drama. Her childhood stories interlink with Bong Song Pil story and that is the way the scriptwriter wants to make that connection for their future love line.
Honestly, the drama was sort of unrealistic and exaggerated at times. It was also illogical in terms of political complication and the scriptwriter simply forced certain things together just to keep the story going towards the end. I actually enjoyed the first few episodes more because while there were light-hearted moments, there were also a clear explanation of the motive and objectives. The storyline was engaging enough for me to look forward to the next episode. While some slapstick comedy falls flat at times in this drama, it was still quite interesting to watch. On the other hand, I was quite bored with Choi Min-Soo portrayal of Ahn Oh-Joo. It is not that he is a bad actor, I think he is charismatic in a mafia way, but his wicked facial expressions and tongue in cheek gets boring the more I see him onscreen.
Lee Hye-Young acting as the Judge Cha Moon-Sook was good, but I think the story should have kept us viewers in suspends when it comes to the main villain. The sayings, "do not judge a book by cover" can be applied to Cha Moon-Sook. She is just pure evil in this drama, and Lee Hye-Young nailed the character at ease. The storyline was slightly above average in my opinion because I do like some action thrillers scenes. However, there is a lack of romance scene in this drama which i can understand because the focus is on justice and revenge. Lee Joon-Gi is a good actor but his pairing with Seo Yea-Ji looks more like siblings' love. They have some scenes together hinting of their brooming romance, but it does not gel well with the whole concept of the drama. The writers are forcing the love line towards the end which was a little cringe. They are certainly great partners in social justice, but they are not very convincing to me as life partners.
Trailer
Eve
Plot: When Lee La-El (Seo Yea Ji) was little, her father died unexpectedly. Powerful people were responsible for his death. Her family was destroyed soon after. Lee La-El decided to take revenge, and she prepared for the next 13 years. Her target is Kang Yoon-Kyum (Park Byun-Eun), who runs the LG group. Lee La-El implements her plan with the help of Seo Eun-Pyeong (lee Sang-Yeob).
My thoughts
Please note that the first two episodes of Eve have 19+ (NC16) rating which means the drama is only for matured audiences because of some sexual scenes. This drama also received a bad review because of those excessive sex scenes. In my opinion, Seo Yea-Ji act as a temptress, therefore it is natural that they include some bedroom scenes and some sexual suggestive movements. I was actually quite blown away by Seo Yea Ji appearance when she first showed up in the drama. She has that seductive look on her face and it does not seem forced at all. It is almost like she has mastered the art of seduction with her every moments and subtle expressions. However, I don't feel the chemistry between Park Byun Eun and Seo Yea-Ji. Some reviews says that it is because of Park Byun Eun lack of facial expressions. In my opinion, it is because he is trying to suppress his feelings since he is married to a wealthy chaebol family and has a daughter. However, the lack of expressions probably leads to many people commenting that they do not have any chemistry. On the other hand, Lee Sang Yeob looks more compatible with Seo Yea Ji. His character Seo Eun-Pyeong has always been protective of Lee La-El. He suffered the second lead syndrome which makes us pity his love for Lee La-El since we know that she will eventually falls for Kang Yon-Kyum and not him.
I actually enjoyed the drama but towards the end, it gets a little draggy and i was only looking forward to the lead actresses fighting with each other. We see how mad and bitter they were when they confronted each other. Yoo Sun portrayal of Han So-Ra was crazy and scary at the same time. Her facial expressions goes over the top at times but her explosive acting skills was one factor that motivated me to continue watching this drama. I would go as far as saying the female leads are the only ones that carried the drama on their shoulders. The storyline was a flop towards the ending which i don't intend to give any spoilers. It was just a typical way to end a drama which leave me with one question, " Is this supposed to be a revenge drama or a love drama?" It swayed away from the revenge plot which was the scriptwriter initial objective and head towards a bitter romance in the midway. In the end, it does not leave a great impression on the viewers as they failed to excel in any of these concept. I am fangirling Seo Yea Ji clothes and makeup styles here which show off her beauty. In order to show my support for actress Seo Yea Ji, I watched the drama again in Netflix but the storyline leave much to be desired since they do have a promising premiere.
Trailer
Save Me
Plot: Four young men come to the rescue of a former classmate whose family has been suck into the clutches of a religious cult and its charismatic leader. Han Sang-hwan (Ok Taec-yeon) is the only son of a corrupt politician, who tries to save Sang-mi from the cult. Baek Jung-Ki (Jo Sung-ha) is the charismatic leader of the cult. He is called the spiritual father. Suk Dong-chul (Woo Do-hwan) is a friend of Sang-hwan, who has the most fighting skills out of the group.
My thoughts
This is an amazing drama! If you have not watch it, I would highly recommend it. However, this drama is not for people who are faint-hearted because there were many violent scenes and it touches on sensitive topic. The first episode actually drew me into their storytelling by showing us how the people in this town were brainwashed by the influential cult leader Suk Dong-Chul. He and his accomplices were so wicked and manipulative that I felt frustrated when the people in this small town were believing what they said even when it was morally wrong. I am sure the director and scriptwriter did their research on this topic, thus they were able to deliver the storyline realistically. While watching the drama, I felt so emotional for Sang Mi and her brother. They are really good kids, especially Sang-mi who is pure at heart but they were targeted the moment they move into this town. The most memorable scene is when Sang-mi family went to the chapel to meet the spiritual father and he laid his filthy hand on Sang-mi. I like the shocked expression of Seo Yea Ji and she really look traumatized by what he did. It is like a family of lambs being ushered into a lion den. It was clear that Suk Dong-Chul has set his eyes on Sang-mi and intend to make her his spiritual wife!
I like the friendship of the four friends because they were righteous and willing to fight when the situation calls for it. Ok Tac-yeon is the main hero of the drama and he did a decent job in this drama. In my opinion, he is better at comedic scene than emotional scene. However, he did pretty well in this drama especially when his conflict with his friend Suk Dong-chul arises. There was a point when I hated him for "betraying" Dong-chul which caused him to be in jail. However, I do understand why he make that decision. I am glad that they managed to work things out and became friends again after his release. On the other hand, I really like Woo Dong-hwan acting here as he deals with emotional scenes much better. His grandmother death was such a huge blow to him and his father was missing at the same time. That makes my heartache for him because he had to go through so much at a young age. This drama is pretty heavy but it carries the message across clearly which warns us against false teachings. I can understand when Seo Yea Ji said that she was depressed when she filmed this drama. The theme of drama was really dark and it is like a never ending nightmares and people are still falling for such scheme to the point where they became obsessed. The ironic part is that it took four young men and a lady to fight the villains and save the whole town, while the adults are not there to protect their children.
Trailer
It's Okay To Not Be Okay
Plot: A road to emotional healing opens up for an antisocial children's book author and an employee in a psychiatric hospital. Moon Gang-Tae (Kim Soo Hyun) is an orphaned caregiver working at Ok psychiatric Hospital. He struggles with self-esteem as a result of his past experiences and avoids having close relationships with anyone other than his autistic older brother Moon Sang-Tae ( Oh Jung-Se). Ko Moon-Young (Seo Yea Ji) is a popular children's book writer with antisocial personality disorder.
My thoughts
It's Okay To Not be Okay is the popular Korean drama that propel Seo Yea-Ji into stardom and solidified her status as a leading lady in Korean drama. It was a breakthrough drama which not only make Seo Yea-Ji a household name, she also became well known internationally due to the success of this drama. In every drama which features actor Kim Soo Hyun it will always be well-known internationally. This is an opportunity for Seo Yea Ji to show her acting chop to the world and her acting was phenomenal. The most memorable scene was when she stood in the rain, while holding on to the high heels. She was so happy that someone really cares for her when she was emotionally wounded, that was probably the point when her character really falls for Moon Gang Tae. There were also many iconic scenes and dialogue in this drama. Seo Yea-Ji is so gorgeous in all the designer clothes, hairstyles and makeup. She is the only fashion queen that can pull off all these beautiful style.
I would like to praise Oh Jung-Se for his acting skills because it is really difficult to portray a person with special needs and he was so good in this drama! He definitely deserved to receive the best supporting actor award. Kim Soo Hyun took on this drama after he finish his military service and he knows that Seo Yea-Ji and Oh Jung-Se characters in the drama will outshine his character. However, he decided to support them in their acting and choose to give them the limelight. He said that he used to consider roles solely for himself but for this drama, he chose to take a step back. As what he had emphasize on - this is a human healing drama! I am sure It's Okay To Not Be Okay has a special place in his heart and he also mentioned many times that he was touched by the script. The troublemaker trio has amazing chemistry and it is really a masterpiece not to be missed!
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