First Impression: Why Her?

Drama Profile

Title: Why Her? (English title) / Why Oh Soo-Jae? (literal title)
Main Cast: Seo Hyun-jin, Hwang In-youp, Bae In-hyuk, Heo Jun-ho
Writer: Kim Ji-eun
PD: Park Soo-jin (While You Were Sleeping, Doctors, Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 1)
Timeslot: Friday and Saturday / 22:00 (KST)
Network: SBS, Viu
Episodes: 16
Genre: Legal

Plot Synopsis:

A coldhearted and conceited star lawyer is pushed out of her law firm into becoming an adjunct professor at a law school because of an unexpected incident.

Grumpy’s First Impression

Ahh, I have a new OTP to watch out for! This year is a challenging one for all romance suckers out there. We are blessed with so many drama couples of impressive chemistries, which is a good dilemma!

I didn’t expect Why Her to be on the heavy side though, but given that this is a Seo Hyun-jin-starrer, it just feels right that she is the sole star of the drama. She shines brightly as the alpha lawyer-turned-professor, Oh Soo-jae. Why her? I ask myself. Well, she’s THE Seo Hyun-jin, that’s it. Acting goddess and key visual, that’s what she is. She is carrying the weight of the drama on her shoulders, and the two younger male leads are just icing on the cake.

Oh Soo-jae (Seo Hyun-jin) is the youngest and first female partner of the prestigious TK Law Firm. She rose from the ranks due to her tenacity and competency. Even though she did not go to college, she managed to enter the firm after working as a public defender. From being an associate, she now works as a partner with the highest earnings for the company. Her generated income for the firm is more than the combined worth of all the male partners, which is an undeniable achievement given the cutthroat environment in the legal world. She eats mockery and maltreatment for breakfast – and chews out the egoistic lawyers who are insecure about her success. We meet Soo-jae at a time when she’s at her peak – and is bound to become the firm’s next managing partner.

But everything Soo-jae worked hard for went downhill after her ill-fated meeting with a rape victim. The defendant is her client, and during the pre-arraignment meeting, Soo-jae degraded the female complainant and pushed her to the limit. That same night, the poor victim fell to her death right from the TK Law Firm’s office building to Soo-jae’s horror. Because of the very public suicide, Soo-jae’s office enemies used it against her. She was demoted from the managing partner position and was forced to take a break from work and teach as an adjunct law professor for one semester.

I like how the character stories are decently intertwined in the drama. Not over the top, but just the right amount of convenience to make their world a bit smaller. When Soo-jae was a public defender, she handled the case of Kim Dong-gu (Lee Yoo-jin), who was framed for the brutal murder of his step-sister. Soo-jae lost the case, and Dong-gu was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Soo-jae realized that to gain influence, they need power so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones. The two lost communication since then, but a year later, Dong-gu was acquitted following the arrest of the real killer. However, his step-sister’s body has yet to be found. Dong-gu changed his legal name to Gong Chan (Hwang In-yeop) and now lives with his former cellmates-turned-found family.

It’s absurd how Soo-jae doesn’t recognize Chan after their fateful connection – did she just selectively forget this case when she transitioned into a full-blown hyena in the legal field? Or we can just attribute the change of identity (or just plain actors) to puberty? Anyhow, I can forgive the writer for this.

The two meet again as a professor and a student at the Seojung University law school. I love that Chan is straightforward with his feelings. After all, he has been waiting for them to meet again. The main challenge for him, though, is to break the wall Soo-jae built to protect herself. Since she is currently at a crucial transition phase in her life, I am curious how their love line will play out.

What excites me most is the new law school squad that we will root for in this series! The composition of these university friends is a bit uncanny (aside from Chan, we have a police detective, a former idol, a chaebol son, and a former TK employee). Exciting, right?