Love According to Law (2022)

si peu d'atout pour autant d'épisodes.

Décidément, si cela continue, cela sera une mauvaise année en ce qui concerne les Kdramas.....

Si le drama commence bien, très bien même..... Le concept de ce law café était vraiment intéressant et j'en attendais beaucoup. Tout comme l'équipe qui se forme au fur et à mesure autour de Kim Yu Ri. J'adore ce type d'histoire, botter le c*** des méchants avec intelligence et style. Et jusqu'à présent, je n'ai trouvé mon bonheur que chez les coréens avec notamment "Chief Kim", "Vincenzo" ou "Taxi driver". Alors quand je vois ce genre de synopsis, je saute à pieds joints sans hésitation.

Si l'héroïne détonne dès les premiers épisodes grâce à un caractère pétillant et atypique.... Drôle et flirtant outrageusement avec Jeong Ho, on rit aves bonheur. Ses mimiques et grain de folie sont un régal et on applaudit en croisant frénétiquement les doigts "pourvu que cela soit comme cela jusqu'au bout".

Et....c'est tout. Car il faut l'avouer, le seul atout de ce drama est elle. Rien d'autre. Et le pire? c'est que son caractère atypique, loufoque, pro-active et flirtant sans aucune honte disparait brutalement quelques épisodes plus tard pour nous délivrer, le genre de personnage plus classique et donc plus ennuyant. Son côté déjanté fait donc place à un personnage doutant de tout, se renfermant dans ses principes morales sans vraiment prendre en compte ceux des autres, se disputant comme une gamine de 16 ans avec son aimé, et n'en faisant qu'au final qu'à sa tête pour le bien de l'humanité. Alors, je n'ai rien contre cela, je vous rappelle que j'adore ce type d'histoire, mais ici, c'est tellement mal écrit, mal mise en scène que cela en est risible. Les cas n'ont de rapport que de mettre les mettre le plus souvent en lien avec le vilain de l'histoire. Alors je veux bien croire qu'il est méchant et blabla, mais je doute très fort que toute la Corée tourne autour de lui...Dans "Doctor Prisoner" le vilain est un médecin et le héros aussi, donc il fut logique que tout tourne autour. Dans "Falsify" c'est un journaliste contre un vilain à la tête des reporters. Logique donc que cela tourne autour de cela.... Bref, vous l'aurez compris, le scénario est pauvre et les scénaristes ont utilisés les subterfuges vu et revus un milliers de fois (Ah le fameux "hit and run" ou la violence scolaire). Une écriture facile et paresseuse donc. Par exemple, lorsque le psychiatre se retrouve confronté à une folle. Le passage où Jeong Ho a le temps d'aller, au même moment où le psy se retrouve devant la folle, au poste de police en taxi, d'engueuler Yu Ri, de se battre avec son oncle, pour se rendre compte après que le psy doit être en danger, de repartir en voiture vers la clinique, pour arriver juste à temps, celui de sauver le psy qui commençait tout juste à se battre lui aussi, après bien sûr 5 petites minutes de discussion....Ou bien cet épisode risible où Yu Ri se fait voler une preuve. On ne sait par quel miracle, on ne prend pas la peine de nous l'expliquer d'ailleurs, ils savent où se trouve la preuve, bidouille afin de la récupérer et "botter le c*" des méchants....mouais, j'en pleurerais presque. Car c'est comme cela jusqu'au bout.

Bref, une histoire bancale, mal écrite et surtout mal réalisée...

Et les méchants??? Ridicule, vénal, vicieux, obsédé sexuel, violents, bref, rien de nouveau. Mais sans aucun charme, d'intelligence ou de prestance.

Le deuxième défaut majeur de ce drama : les personnages. TOUT tourne autour de Yu Ri. C'est son histoire que l'on voit. Tous les autres, Jeong Ho y compris, ne servent que de faire-valoir. Jeong Ho qui ne sert à rien d'ailleurs.... Ses préoccupations ne tournent qu'autour d'elle : la sauver, la protéger, l'aider patati et patata. Il n'a aucune ambition, aucune envie particulière. Ses compétences ne sont pas exploiter et il n'est que le rabat joie du groupe. Lee Seung Gi, pourquoi?????

La romance??? Si, elle avait bien commencé, elle tourne très vite autour de chamailleries puérils, de dialogue fade, de romance mielleuse et maladroite. Leurs scènes de baiser et sensuel n'ont rien de transcendant et aucune alchimie n'en ressort. C'est juste des bisous pour nous montrer que ce sont deux adultes consentants dans un monde moderne et patati patata.... bref, zéro battement de coeur....

Le tout petit point positif? les petites animations rigolotes.

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A Light Hearted Rom-Com — but so much more!

It feels like a 2013 drama that was remodeled for a 2022 audience.

To sum it up in simple terms, The Law Cafe is a very unorthodox law drama with a sheer sense of community and heart at its core. Even though it seems like a rom com do not be fooled as it also has slice of life aspects, political intrigue and mystery.

I adored all the characters and the effort they put into their roles. Kim Yoo Ri and Jeong Ho’s story felt special but I enjoyed the incorporation of the clients stories at the law cafe even more so. In the earlier episodes, specifically the ones that covered child abuse and school bullying, really touched my heart. I appreciate all those young actors / and actresses because the emotions they evoked to truly bring the story to life was powerful. Lee Se Young nailed the part and brought across a true authenticity that you almost felt like you were in her shoes / witnessing real accounts.

I feel like it started off strong in the earlier episode but then fell off midway and towards the end. For me, the true essence of the law cafe lost its meaning after Yoo Ri and Jeong Ho entered a relationship. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy their moments and thought they were cute — it’s just that it felt super rushed. I understand that they had memories from 17 years ago and since college that was understood / implied offscreen but Jeong Ho being in love with her for so long and then feeling like she did not reciprocate his feelings was just a bit too much. Him then basically still going along with his proposal plans even though he knew her reasons for not wanting to get married, just put a little bit of a strain on the relationship dynamic for me. They eventually worked it out but I feel like the drama would’ve been more powerful without them being so close so that Pyun Woong had an angle to strike at. That is to say Yoo Ri was Jeong Ho’s weakness and vice versa. It was very predictable at that point as the villain knew that wounding / hurting one would result in action / serious measures taken from the other.

Jeong Ho’s character felt insufferable at times because he sucks at communicating. Had he told Yoo Ri the truth instead of dedicating his life to research and writing novellas all of this could have been avoided. Him continually trying to push Yoo Ri away and making her cry was also annoying especially when you hear him admit to the camera that he’s been in love with her for 17 years. In essence it seems like he dedicated his entire life to serving her and like she was his main focus. Kinda stalker-ish fr considering he knew her plans to set up a law cafe and bought that exact building… it’s almost like he laid the groundwork for her to come back to him (I guess everyone in that family shares some kind of psychotic tendencies) That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy Lee Seung Gi’s portrayal of Jeong Ho it’s just that his character arc could’ve had more substance. Through and through he was a silly character and it made you empathize or understand his reasoning a bit.

I really enjoyed the supporting cast. Eun Kang nailed the whole mysterious brooding just-released-from-prison / ex convict vibe which I just ate up. Honestly I’d like to see him as the lead in a drama. The ajumma’s were hilarious but kind of annoying sometimes. Honeybee / Bae Joon had that naive impressionable young person thing going on. I liked at the end how he was likened to Yoo Ri and shared a similar sense of spirit that she had when she first started working for Hwang & Gu Law Firm.

I loved the doctor (Woo Jin) I felt like he too liked a Yoo Ri from the get go… even before Jeong Ho expressed his feelings towards her and I felt sad that he had to restrain himself out of respect for Jeong Ho. I’m not a fan of triangles but I wish Woo Jin had gotten a fair chance or at least his own love interest. His story with his patient was so sad and I really felt sorry for him. A+ for Kim Nam Hee’s portrayal. His emotions translated well across the screen.

I want to also applaud Jo Han Chul’s acting as Lee Pyun Woong. I have enjoyed every drama I’ve seen him in but finally seeing him undertake the role as a psychotic villain was something else entirely. He made me hate him so much I just knew he was doing an awesome job. He did the role justice and was super convincing.

The final episode could have been wayyyy better but I think the fact that the ended with Jeong Ho and Yoo Ri’s wedding says enough. The fact that Yoo Ri got married in a bright red wedding dress just shows how “unorthodox” they wanted this show to be. The typhoon no less was a metaphor for their tumultuous relationship. Imo funny but also highly unnecessary. I literally found the supporting casts love stories more interesting — Do Jin Ki and Seo Yeon as well as Eun Kang and Song Hwa (not portrayed but implied) Those two couples left me wanting their dynamics to be explored.

Overall the drama is a solid 7 out of 10 for me. It wasn’t meant to be deep or intense so if you go into it just know you’re just there for a good time. There are important takeaways from each episode for sure (at least in the earlier episodes) and that’s what I appreciated about the drama. I didn’t think such a light hearted show would evoke so many different emotions but it was truly refreshing and left me entertained for the most part.

Watch this drama if you’re looking for something with a perfect mix of everything. Comedy, romance, drama, politics and a little bit of mystery / thriller.

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