First Day On The Job
Woo Young-Woo is the only lawyer in her small town who doesn’t follow the traditional legal system. Instead, she specializes in suing people who have wronged her. She’s a “duck lawyer,” and her clients are always the ducks that she sees walking around her town.
When Young-Woo was five, she was diagnosed with autism. This explains why she is quiet and reserved. She has Asperger’s Syndrome and when her father gets into an altercation with her neighbour, Young-Woo suddenly speaks up and recites criminal laws. She is an absolute genius. ..
Netflix’s new series Attorney Woo is off to a great start with its unique take on the legal profession. The show follows young-Woo, who loves whales and everything in her house that includes them, as she tries to make a name for herself in the legal field. This series is reminiscent of Atypical, another Netflix series that tackled this and just like that series, Woo gets off to a bright start.
Fast forward to the present, Young-Woo has finished her breakfast and is getting ready for work. She’s been given instructions by her father, including not speaking about whales in the office. She’s the first autistic attorney and even finished first place with honours at law school. ..
commuting by train can be a calming experience for some, as they can listen to the sounds of nature while travelling. For one woman, this meant listening to whale noises on her way to work. The sound of the whales helped her to relax and even imagine that she was travelling with them. ..
When Young-Woo arrives, she meets Jun-Ho who greets her cheerfully in the lobby and brings her along to Attorney Jung Myeong-Seok’s office. ..
Young-Woo meets Myeong-Seok, along with his associates too. After brief introductions, Myeong-Seok takes Young-Woo’s application to CEO Han where he’s surprised by her accepting Young-Woo despite her being autistic. He’s clearly flustered when Han challenges his ideals and fixed way of thinking.
Han agrees to let Young-Woo go if she can’t handle a case Myeong-Seok is going to give her. So our flustered attorney heads back and gives Young-Woo her first case. ..
This elderly woman has an old husband with dementia. Whilst he is mouthing off, she hit him in the head with an iron. However, the iron resembles a whale so Young-Woo changes the subject and rattles off a big ol’ monologue about how much she loves sperm whales.
When Young-Woo does focus again, we see what transpired between the old lady, Yeong-Ran and her husband. Their argument led to her striking him with an iron and as a result, she’s charged with attempted murder given it has taken him 12 weeks to recover. So what should Young-Woo be doing? Well, that falls to getting Yeong-Ran probation on her charges.
Yeong-Ran heads into the office and is introduced to Attorney Woo, but she’s quite taken aback by the fact she has ASD. Attorney Woo asks Yeong-Ran if she’s been able to find any help with her condition, and Yeong-Ran tells her that she’s not sure how to phrase it in a way that won’t make her sound like a burden.
When Yeong-Ran does warm up a little, realizing that Woo was the little girl from the past, Young-Woo begins asking about their living arrangement. Now, it seems Yeong-Ran’s husband was actually a section chief but he’s now retired. They’ve been living off their pension and the house is actually in her husband’s name.
Off the back of this, Young-Woo conducts an Attorney Statement of Opinion including a not guilty plea for Yeong-Ran’s attempted murder. Myeong-Seok is shocked at the outcome she’s come to. ..
Woo fights her case, bringing up how this is a civil case and how the murder would have actually put Yeong-Ran at a bigger disadvantage given she can’t inherit the house or anything else from him. So although she can’t fight against the physical assault, Young-Woo wants to change the cause of death to inflicting bodily injury instead. ..
Myeong-Seok is impressed with Young-Woo and apologizes for bluntly mentioning “ordinary attorneys” in front of her. “It’s okay, I’m not ordinary.” She says before leaving.
Young-Woo is on her way to the hospital, but she needs to go with Jun-Ho in order to do so. In the lobby, Young-Woo rattles off the pros and cons of revolving doors to him. Jun-Ho brings up her interesting name and helps her out the revolving doors too. ..
Yeong-Ran is at the hospital watching over her husband, who’s still recovering. He happens to be the same man who got hot and bothered at her father during the past flashbacks. The guy is shocked at “that jerk’s daughter” arriving and everything escalates into a messy ordeal.
Just before they leave for the day, Meyong-Seok encourages Young-Woo to work on her speaking for when this goes to court.
Eventually, the case begins but Woo Young-Woo freezes leading Myeong-Seok to speak for her. It’s very much touch and go, with poor Young-Woo struggling to get her words out. When Woo’s sister and father show up though, she gains the courage to begin her opening statement. Woo begins by telling the court that she is on the autism spectrum.
The prosecution comes on strong, firing rapid questions at Yeong-Ran and backing her into a corner. She’s teary eyed and apologizes, meaning the defence too need to up their game and begin an interrogation of their own. The prosecution has the upper hand in this questioning session as they continue to bombard Yeong-Ran with questions. The defence needs to step up their game if they want to win this case. ..
Young-Woo questions Mr Park, with Myeong-Seok encouraging her to get cursed at by the old man to show off his prickly character. As she steps up, Mr Park immediately begins lashing out, cursing at Young-Woo, claiming the defence are all in cahoots together.
When court rejoins, Young-Woo starts her statement but there’s a problem. Mr Park has actually died on his way to the hospital. Young-Woo blames herself for what’s happened. Jun-Ho is there for her though and encourages Young-Woo to talk about whales when they’re together to calm her mind. ..
This article also has the negative effect of helping Yoing-Woo focus on the less important parts of the case, including how Mr Park actually already had a headache prior to the iron strike. It appears that his brain hemorrhage occurred prior to this.
If the doctor has not found any fractures or wounds from the iron, then Yeong-Ran is not in the wrong here.
In a courtroom setting, Young-Woo brings up the iron strike and its potential impact on Yeong-Ran’s health. Ultimately, this leads to a favourable outcome for her, as the doctor determines that the brain hemorrhage was not caused by the strike. This clears all charges against Yeong-Ran and she is acquitted.
That night, Han shows up to see Gwang-Ho, Young-Woo’s father, as it seems the pair have history.
The Episode Review
The first episode of Extraordinary Attorney Woo was a lot of fun. It looked like it could be a promising drama going forward, with an interesting story line and strong characters.
Netflix’s new series, “Atypical,” is set to explore autism in a way that feels like an extension of the popular series, “Atypical.” I’m excited to be a fly on the wall for a conversation about whales and penguins with Sam and Young-Woo! ..
The show has a nice balance of comedy and drama, and Park Eun Bin’s acting is really good! I’ve been a fan of hers for a while and she’s doing a great job with the character. This one looks like it could be a winner, leaving everything wide open for tomorrow’s follow-up. ..
