Why Her?
Starring: Seo Hyun Jin, Hwang In Yeob, Heo Joon Ho, Bae In Hyuk, Jo Young Jin, Kim Sun Hyuk
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Law, Melodrama, Mystery, Romance
Country: South Korea
Director: Park Soo Jin
Screenwriter: Kim Ji Eun
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: N/A
Who I Watched It For: Hwang In Yeop
The youngest partner at one of the nation’s most prestigious law offices, Oh Soo Jae has already proven she has what it takes to be one of the country’s best lawyers. Driven by her self-righteous principles and a never-ending desire to win, Soo Jae is well on her way to becoming one of TK Law Firm’s top attorneys. But when one of her cases takes an unexpected turn, Soo Jae is forced to watch as all of her hard work comes crumbling down around her. Demoted at work, Soo Jae is forced to take on the role of adjunct professor at a local law school. Determined to win back her position within the firm, Soo Jae does her best to settle into her new role but the sting of demotion still lingers. Only after meeting Gong Chan, a university student whose path frequently crosses with Soo Jae, does that sting begin to lessen. Despite carrying the burdens of a painful past, Gong Chan’s warm heart remains strong, especially as his affection for Soo Jae grows.
Obviously smitten with Soo Jae, Gong Chan stays by her side, even as she struggles to find a way back into the firm’s good graces. Will her determination and Gong Chan’s support be enough to restore her position, or will the powers that be continue to push her down?
Hwang In Yeop is the main reason this drama was on my radar. I really enjoyed his character and his acting in True Beauty so when I saw that he was starring in a new drama, I put it on my watch list. I was excited to see him in a role where he was the main lead. This drama was plot heavy but I really enjoyed the character development between the two main leads. It’s not my favorite drama of the year or anything but I enjoyed it a great deal any way.
The Story
This story follows our main female lead, Oh Soo Jae, who is a lawyer at one of the top law firms in Korea. When we first meet Soo Jae, it’s obvious that she’s working on adding more accomplishments to her already impressive resume but it isn’t easy for her. She’s gone through so much in her life and she’s worked hard to get where she is but being where she is comes with a lot of shit. She’s at the very center of everything that this show has to offer. She’s surrounded by so much corruption and is trying her best for redemption and each episode presented case after case after case that made reaching for the things she wanted so much harder.
The bad guys needed to be brought down because they were some serious bad guys and Soo Jae proved with every passing episode that she was the one to bring them down. When a case she’s working on goes bad, she’s sent to work as a law professor and that is where she meets our male main lead, Gong Chan. Gong Chan is a victim of the bad guys and when things heat up between Soo Jae and Gong Chan, we find out that there’s a deeper connection where the two of them are concerned. Things really take off when they start working together at the school clinic. They have the same enemy and though Soo Jae thinks she needs to take them down on her own, I was glad that she had a team that was ready to have her back against them.
Main Male Lead
Hwang In Yeop won me over in True Beauty so I was excited to see him tackle another role, a main lead role at that. Gong Chan’s story was an interesting one and it was one of my favorite things about the beginning of this drama. I wanted to see how he tackled all the wrongs that were done to him but there were times when I thought the story moved his part of the story really slowly. I also thought the way that his story was told was stilted and weird.
There were times when I didn’t buy that Gong Chan was mad. I wished he was a lot more mad than he showed. I liked how steadfast he was in his love for Soo Jae and I loved that he was a good person, with a good heart no matter how different his life turned out (through no fault of his own). My heart hurt for the things that he went through and when he finally gets the justice for everything he went through, I was relieved for him. I just wished that a lot of the way that things were handled where he was concerned, was handled differently. I still love me some Hwang In Yeop though.
Main Female Lead
Soo Jae is the main character in this drama and I thought she handled her role really well. She was a bad ass in the courtroom and I liked that thought she came off cold and reserved, she was fair and she was caring in her own reserved way. She was always thinking one step ahead of everyone else and it wasn’t hard to see why she was at the top of her game. She worked really hard to get there and suffered even harder on her way to the top. She wasn’t always at the top and the way that she fought her way up there and continued to fight at every turn was exhausting for me to watch so I’d imagine it was even more exhausting for her.
Second Lead
This is the second show that I’ve watched this actor in and I liked this guy a lot more in this drama than I did in the other one (My Roommates a Gumiho). Growing up in the family that he did, it wasn’t hard to see why he wanted to break away from those toxic pieces of shit but even as much as I admired him for that, I still didn’t want him to end up with the girl. I liked that he tried his best to protect everyone around him but his bratty attitude toward the main male lead wasn’t a good look for him and the more he balked at their romance and their feelings for each other, the more I was good on him.
The Cast
There are a lot of familiar faces in this drama and because of that, I thought I’d enjoy it a lot more. My favorite characters were everyone from the school. The team of law students that helped Soo Jae with the cases from the clinic. I loved how they each had a different role on the team and I really enjoyed the way that they all worked together.
The antagonists did their jobs well because I hated their asses. All of them. The way that they used their powers for evil, not giving one damn who was hurt in the process and sending innocent people to prison for things that they, themselves did make me mad and I stayed mad for a lot of the show. I especially hate Choi Tae Gook and Choi Joo Wan. Ugh, just saying their names in my head makes me mad. Haha. Anyway, everyone played their roles well.
Final Thoughts
This drama starts off really strong. I was invested in what happened with both Oh Soo Jae and Gong Chan. I came to love their people and the team that they both worked on. Though I don’t normally enjoy the student/teacher relationship, the way that this relationship came about soothed that beast for me so I wasn’t too annoyed about it.
The overall story being told here was emotionally driven and I liked that. Lots of revenge and bad guys that needed taking down and who better to take them down but Oh Soo Jae? I can’t say that I completely loved the entire show since there were chunks of the show that dragged for me and the story writing itself left me wanting more. The ending was satisfying and I’m not at all mad that I watched it.
Final Rating
3 out of 5
