If you are into law, this show is a must-watch for you. So Beyond the Bar follows the story of Kang Hyo-Min, a fresh professional in the field of law. As a student, she had created a lot of news about herself by winning a legal mock trial competition with her sheer knowledge and confidence. She arrives late at an interview, but when finally given an opportunity to sit, she is the best amongst the lot. And that is visible by the way she answers the panelist. On the other hand, we have Yun Seok Hun, a senior partner at Yullim Law Firm, who works in the litigation department. When the department choices were taking place, no one was willing to choose the litigation department, thanks to Yun, who sternly told all the fresher’s to expect zero bonus and long working hours. But Kang isn’t scared and becomes the only person who willingly opts for the department. But this is where we see a clash of personality between Yun and Kang. Though both have a lot of respect for each other, their thoughts and ideologies are different. When it comes to Kang, she aces her first assignment. She is well-versed in the laws and is regular at the shareholders' meetings. Amongst her peers, she is better, which also catches the eyes of Yun.
Yun is a respectable partner. He is known for his punctuality and work ethic. His colleagues respect him a lot for this. But one thing is that he is a tough cookie. He doesn’t show his emotions much, or let’s say rarely. Most of the time in the first episode, I saw him with a poker face, and you can’t have small talk with him. So now you know what I meant when I said that they have contrasting personalities.
One good thing about the show is that it manages to grab your attention with the plot. Two contrasting personalities are always fun to watch because of the small clashes that they have with each other. But one thing that I wasn’t a big fan of is how they portrayed the legal part. Being a law drama, the audience should be prepared to watch a lot of legal terms and provisions being rattled off. Sadly, so far in the first episode, it hasn’t been made easy for a layman to understand. Some people with a legal background can easily understand them, regardless of which country’s law they have studied. But as a layman, this can in turn become boring to watch. Besides this, the plot and the investigation that they are about to undertake are highly intriguing.
So all in all, the first episode was a good watch. I liked it, and it will be exciting to see what the drama unfolds and brings to the table. Even though there are minor flaws in the show, they can be easily ignored as long as the plot is interesting to watch.
Final Score- [7/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Choudhuri
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times