The Law Café is a 2022 Legal drama that does an excellent job of storytelling involving some brilliantly well-written characters. It weaves together an enchanting tale of enduring friendships, and the feeling of community all the while making sure to keep the audiences hooked with some clever legal battles.
No of Episodes – 16
You can watch this Romance drama here.
The Law Café: Plot Overview
The Law Café show revolves around the lawyer Kim Yu-ri (played by Lee Se-young) – a fiery and loud personality who can’t watch injustice happen. However, her fierceness also translates into an impulsive personality.
She leaves her job to fulfil her life-long aspiration to open a ‘Law Café’ that offers legal counsel at the price of a coffee. There she runs into Kim Jeong-ho (played by Lee Seung-gi), a former prosecutor and an ex-friend. Jeong-ho had suddenly disappeared from her life a few years ago only for their paths to cross again.
Soon they start working together to resolve the case of the week. At the same time, we as the audience join Kim Yu-ri in slowly but surely figuring out the exact reason for his abrupt disappearance in the past.
Strong Female Characters
The Law Café show is my all-time favourite when it comes to brilliantly written female characters that are strong in their own rights. Especially outside of the usual physical strength trope. Furthermore, the creators have ensured the women are not paragons of virtue, making them even more relatable.
Kim Yu-ri is shown as this mother bear sort of character who absolutely can’t stand any hurt to anyone she holds dear. She roars loudly and anytime she does, it is such a joy to watch. To see this diminutive woman dress down grown men despite her fear, is absolutely amazing.
The best part is that it’s not just the female lead who portrays strength. Even the side characters are strong when needed and pretty remarkable in their own ways, no matter how long or short their screen stint is. This show has done a marvellous job of ‘Show, don’t tell’ with all their character’s personality traits.
Romance and Relationships
This is the one of the few times when the ‘Opposites Attract’ expression works really well. The male lead hems and haws while the female lead rushes in head first. On one hand, the male lead gets stuck in analysis paralysis because he uses his brain so much. In contrast, the female lead has the finesse of a battering ram sometimes. However, once they start working together, they balance each other out perfectly.
They have also used the cliché of Noble Idiot but it doesn’t feel forced for even a second throughout the show. It makes sense given the context of the story and explains a lot of decisions being made by the both of them. Yet every detail still manages to be novel. Not to mention the great acting by the actors makes for a very believable romance, prompting us as viewers to root for them.
The second couple is a long-time established one and it is visible in the small interactions and gestures. They work great together and the way this story smashes stereotypes, is no joke.
Thought-Provoking Moments
The Law Café series is absolutely jam-packed with thought provoking moments without being preachy. The premise itself of making legal advice accessible to everyone is unique. But on top of that, the series also touches on loss, bullying, the failure of the legal system, obsession, etc., in a very humane manner.
Protagonists also make mistakes that are so very real. They are allowed to learn and grow from them too. Amidst all of this, it manages to drop some really good gems of wisdom including my favourite – ‘In times of anger, one should know where to direct the anger.’
This show is the perfect balance of sweet and salty and spicy and sour.
Background Score & Pacing
The background score is fantastic and leaves the viewers humming along. It also manages to convey the emotions perfectly and amplify them in the right moments. For anyone wanting to try the playlist, check it out on Spotify. You might find it pretty fun to work along to this music.
The drama keeps a solid pacing throughout. It is played out in a non-linear way with ‘The Office’ sort of talking to the camera moments and flashbacks thrown in that works really well with the overall story telling.
The Law Café Review – Final Thoughts
10/10. Highly recommend The Law Café series.
Having said that, please do check it out. It’s a really great watch that does well on so many aspects. Plus it also has definite rewatch value. After a very long time, I have watched something where I not only rooted for the main characters, but I also aspired to be like them in some small way.