Episodes 1 and 2 of Beyond the Bar have already premiered, and they certainly have interesting things to say. The first episode didn't really grab me, but after finishing the second, I understand where it's going, and it seems to have some similarities with What's Wrong With Attorney Woo. Obviously, Hyo-Min isn't autistic, but she's socially awkward for her own reasons, which makes her equally endearing. However, I think it's too early to say the series are similar, although the feeling is somewhat familiar. Beyond the Bar is also about law, and Korean dramas often get extremely emotional when dealing with topics that require extreme reactions. That said, let's jump straight into episodes 1 and 2.
Episode 1 of Beyond the Bar begins with Hyo-Min, a young lawyer, trying to get her first job. She's a little late for her interview because she missed the subway station where she was supposed to get off. She's an honest young woman who graduated at the top of her class, but despite that, her tardiness is a big problem. Still, she's lucky enough to be admitted to the interview. As you can imagine, she's already fantastic at her job and gets the position right away.
Stars: Lee Jin-wook, Jung Chae-yeon, Lee Hak-joo
Then, when it comes time to choose a team, she chooses Litigation, the one group no one wants to choose because it's led by Yoon Seok-Hoon, our main leader. Seok-Hoon is very strict with the rules, but he's also very good at what he does, which keeps him as a partner at Yullim. Everyone has to perform on stage, which is very awkward. To incentivize new recruits, each team has to give a speech, and Seok-Hoon's is the worst because it offers no incentive to the kids. So, obviously, Hyo-Min is the only one who volunteers to join that team. The team is expanded with people who were extras on the teams they previously chose.
Jin-woo, Seok-hoon's partner, gives the other guys a hard time because they didn't choose to litigate, while Hyo-min gets the best treatment. We also meet Heo Min-jeong, a partner, but she's already over 40 and has the aura of someone with a lot of power. I expect we'll see a friendship blossom between her and Hyo-min later in the series.
However, Hyo-min is no ordinary lawyer. We learn this not because of her impeccable work, but because her boyfriend decides to boast about being the daughter of a presiding judge and a professor at SNU Law School, the largest law school in Korea. Her first case is with Gangdon City Gas Consulting. She attends a shareholders' meeting to gather information and learns about a sharp drop in sales a few years ago at a particular location. She quickly realizes that someone is stealing gasoline and that the company is losing money because of it. She takes two days off to do fieldwork and returns to the company, where she's almost fired for not telling anyone what she was doing and showing up to work without drying her hair. But she fights back, and when she shows her evidence, Seok-hoon has no choice but to go along with it. During the trial, he presents his case quite vehemently, despite the judge telling him it's not necessary more than once. I guess this is something to keep in mind for later, but he wins the case, making it clear that he has the potential to do great things. I guess it's a nepo baby that really works. Meanwhile, it seems Seok-hoon's wife/partner has died, and he's grieving for her.
Episode 2 of Beyond the Bar opens with a man wreaking havoc at the Hoseon fertility clinic. The clinic ends up suing him for damages. Meanwhile, Seok-hoon goes to see his dog, Hash, and it seems like it's just a weekend thing. In the video we saw of him and his partner, this dog was a puppy. So it's definitely been at least a year since he passed away (or left him), if not longer. Hyo-Min, on the other hand, decides to tell her partner something just as he proposes to her. In the previous episode, she seemed uncomfortable with him using her as a trophy, and instead of telling her it was a misunderstanding, he tells her straight up that she should be okay with him mentioning her background, parents, etc., because it's part of the process when you like someone and it passes on to your children. The "children" part is very important here, and that's probably why it prompts Hyo-Min to tell him what she says next.
It turns out Hyo-Min has a twin sister named Hyo-Ju who has a hereditary hearing impairment. As children, Hyo-Ju was sent to live with Hyo-min's aunt and uncle because they didn't have children of their own and were also hard of hearing. For Hyo-Min's parents, it made more sense for the deaf girl to live with deaf parents, so they sent her away. Obviously, when her boyfriend finds out about this story, he decides to leave her. She's not as perfect as he thought.
In Park Ki-Beom's case, he's furious at the fertility clinic because they lost his sperm. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't mean anything, as they could simply repeat the process. However, in Park's case, the sperm is lost forever because he is now infertile. The main reason he underwent the procedure was because he and his wife desperately wanted a child.
His wife suffered burns after a car accident, which left scars on her face. But, upon seeing his niece, she began to change and heal a little, as he started thinking that he, too, could have a baby who looked like her. To top it all off, Park learned that he had cancer and would need surgery, which could leave him sterile. Park chose the best clinic for sperm donation, hoping for the best treatment, but instead, the clinic didn't even bother to apologize, let alone compensate him. When Park has to tell the team all this, he asks if it can just be the men, since they're talking about male genitalia, etc.
While Hyo-Min initially leaves the room to reassure the client, she later asks him to see her and tells him that, as a law student, she's heard much worse when discussing sexual assault cases. She then reassures him by using some words that would otherwise be considered taboo, but are legal terms related to sexuality. Hyo-Min achieves a breakthrough, and the case is then presented to the court, where it becomes clear that Park was mistreated by the clinic and that he deserves compensation, not the other way around.
Eventually, Seok-Hoon asks for 100 million won in compensation, and the other team (i.e., Sung-Chan, Hyo-Min's boyfriend) agrees, as long as they remove him from the news. But despite his excellent work, no one at the firm likes Seok-hoon, as he's not a "rainmaker" or someone who lands big clients. He's also good at his job and doesn't let himself get carried away. However, it seems his superior, Na-yeon, was dismissed from the film for a similar situation.
At the end of episode 2 of Beyond the Bar, Seok-hoon finds Hyo-min, absorbed in the pantry, having just scolded Sung-chan for going on blind dates with other people without even saying a word to her. He never broke up with her or responded to her words. Seok-hoon offers her a cup of tea. The episode's title is "Hot Water Is the Proof of Tea and Love." Seok-hoon and Hyo-min discuss Park's case and how great it was for him to support his wife so vehemently.
Seok-hoon undoubtedly comforts Hyo-min. Before saying goodbye, he tells her she did a good job on the Park case. You never know the strength of tea just by looking at the tea bag. You only know it when you touch it with hot water. I guess Seok-hoon is the warm water in this case, and Hyo-min is the tea bag, right? I guess they'll make a great team from now on.
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