‘Lawless Lawyer’…A half-decent political drama, that leaves you wanting much much more.
In most law or lawyer centric dramas, it’s mostly a showdown between the prosecutor and the defense attorney, wherein sometimes the protagonist would play the role of the prosecutor who brings criminals to justice (with a glimmer of politics at play) or plays the defense attorney, who helps defend the innocent and finds the real culprit of the crime (with a glimmer of whodunnit). In Lawless Lawyer, Lee Joon Gi plays lawyer Bong Sang Pil, who has now returned to his (fictional) hometown of Kiseong, after eighteen years, equipped with the knowledge of law (and some badass fighting skills) to bring to light the corruption that plagues the city and to prosecute the perpetrators of his mother’s murder. The twist here is that his opponent in this battle is the Judge — Judge Cha Moon Sook (played magnificently by Lee Hye Young). As a judge preceding over all the major trials in the city, Moon Sook has the power to veer the judgment towards what she deems fit, by rejecting or accepting pieces of evidence, witnesses, and possessing the right people at the top positions to do her bidding. Look at how she is introduced to us. Prior to her introduction, we watch a sexist judge finding a victim of long term domestic violence, guilty for her husband’s murder, citing that it was her fault for running away from home. Then, in the next scene, with a very similar case, Moon Sook finds the victim innocent, and in her statement empathizes with her, as she too, as a woman knows the struggles of living in a patriarchal society. Such judgments have given her an almost cult-like status, cementing her as the most powerful and revered person of the city and people (as we see in Ha Jae Yi’s (Seo Ye Ji) father) blindly trust and follow her. That’s why it’s not an exaggeration when she keeps referring to the courtroom as her courtroom, where she wields the power that can save or destroy someone’s life, and it is fitting that Sang Pil wants to bring her to justice in her own courtroom, and contrary to the title, by only using the law.
The biggest misconception to clear first is that Lawless Lawyer is not an investigative drama, but a political one. By the first three episodes, Sang Pil’s motivations (derived from his past), his connection to Jae Yi, and who exactly committed and aided in his mother’s murder and the various supporting characters that work for Moon Sook are well established. So, it becomes more of how Sang Pil to bring down Moon Sook, has to join forces with people who were accomplices in his mother’s murder. Parallelly, Moon Sook, who now eyes the position of the Chief Judge at the Supreme Court, works to clear any tracks that might lead back to her involvement in the heinous crimes and corruption scandals, she had committed or been part of.
I love watching female antagonists — not the one of the chaebol variety — but women in powerful positions like Moon Sook, who elevates the otherwise staple greedy (male) politician villain trope, and when played with such class by actors like Lee Hye Young, it isn’t shocking to find yourself rooting for her at times. Moon Sook hardly raises her voice or her temper level, and is always calm and collected and extremely cunning, making it an absolute necessity to have a protagonist who is almost as cunning and savvy as her to beat her. Unfortunately, this is where the show dwindles as Sang Pil is hardly a foil to her plans.
Throughout my viewing of Lawless Lawyer, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was amiss. Even with well-rounded characters and a steady screenplay, the show lacks the rush, the adrenaline you feel when a well written, smart villain is brought down to their knees. The problem is that Lawless Lawyer is never able to rise to that point of jubilation or shock, with each win or loss never building up the momentum required for the later episodes. All the plotting and planning that Sang Pil and Jae Yi do, come off as scattered attempts that rarely have any effect or impact on Moon Sook and soon turn into short subplots that occur separately with no coherence to the major plotline. This lack of connectedness hampers the show of a worthwhile viewing experience and refrains from showing us the gravitas of Moon Sook’s crimes. After a point, it felt like Moon Sook was pulling all the stops, while all Sang Pil does is react to the situation she completely orchestras, while uttering empty threats. (To put it in a rudimentary manner, Sang Pil’s feeble attempts hardly damages her HP — hit points). In comparison, the deteriorating relationship between Moon Sook and Mayor An Oh Ju (a fantastic Choi Min Soo) was quite engaging, along with the Seven’s (Moon Sook’s inner circle of loyalists) whole power play crumbling under their own greed.
There were also some moments that were deprived of their rich emotional impact, like the one where Jae Yi realizes about Moon Sook’s true identity, and afterwards, we get a very muted scene, which struck me as odd, as this girl considered Moon Sook as a mother figure and a mentor. The other instance was the ending, which was outright damp and rushed, hardly letting us register the moment. We again aren’t able to relish Sang Pil’s victory, nor are we able to sink into the betrayal of the public, as Moon Sook has been using their love and support to her advantage all these years.
Nevertheless, Lawless Lawyer isn’t unwatchable or terrible. Far from it, it is actually pretty entertaining, but with a solid start and some top-notch performances, I just wished it could have been just put together a little better.
