Drama Rating: 8/10 Neck Score: A++
I love how all the unlikely relationships develop. At the start, no one likes Jung Geum Ja because she is unlike any of them. She does things her way, which is admittedly pretty unethical or at least underhanded. But everyone in this show is an onion and I like all the onions a lot. What makes all the difference is that for all her quirky and lowbrow ways, she actually cares about her clients and people (although most people don't see that at first), which is something that the elite lawyers might not be able to always say. She also has a way of pulling people's strengths out of them and playing to their strengths. She does things her way, but she also helps people know what their own way is too, and what they are capable of outside of their rigid structure of what the elite and prestigious S&K law office dictates. I wouldn't say that by the end everyone is fully converted to Geum Ja's ways at the end, but they've definitely redefined what their version of a lawyer does.
Since we've got a morally gray female lead and a differently morally gray male lead, obviously the villain needs to be so black that they are completely despicable. This will make the grayness of all the characters more palatable. I'd say that worked for me. The villain was one we loved to hate, and I thought he did a great job being so reasonable that as we slowly discovered his evil ways it was shocking, so it was pretty beautifully done. Like you knew he was bad news from the start, but you had no idea how bad. Also, other people who were introduced as being potentially worse ended up looking like woolly baa lambs in comparison. But really, it was a foil for all the gray. No one was a pure white. This show was basically about how nothing is black and white, especially when it comes to the law and crime, etc. It was a commentary as to what power and money does, and what can be done to counter it when not the one with the power and money. So yes, you have to look at it from different perspectives, and be okay with a lot of morally gray things, overlooking some pretty not okay stuff to look at it from a different perspective.
But what you really are watching the show for, besides it's commentary on corruption and morality, is just for the chemistry, and I don't just mean the wonderfully spicy chemistry between Kim Hye Soo and Joo Ji Hoon (which is off the charts btw). Seriously, are they fighting or flirting... or both? All of the time? But the general cast chemistry is also amazing. Everyone worked together so well. I loved seeing the relationships develop. Especially the main couple, who seamlessly went from lovers to "enemies" to fremenies to "lovers" again. I say lovers with the quotes because just like the morality of the show, it's somewhat ambiguous. Jung Geum Ja doesn't like to pin things down like that, but Yoon Hee Jae isn't really going to let her get away from him, which I think she likes. It does seem like most of the show there is an imbalance of power (in her favor) but I think he figures out his own strengths through it and they are pretty equal at the end, in their own way.
PS, the ending is really satisfying and made me super happy. It was also hilarious. I basically loved the show in all its crazy messed-up-ness. Also, for a law/crime drama, it had a good variety of crimes/cases. Everything from divorce to abuse to murder. Not too much of one over the other, which was refreshing. So, watch it, it's fun. I hope it turns you into a Kim Hye Soo fan (if Signal or her other shows didn't already) because she is a freaking goddess.
