Seo Hyun-jin’s “Why Her” and Park Eun-bin’s “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” are two different dramas with some similarities
SBS’s drama “Why Her” and ENA’s drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” are made in two different genres but they bear resemblances in some ways.
“Why Her” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” are dramas led by only one female protagonist whose job is to work at a law firm. Above all, the two dramas include the names of their characters in their titles and convey the message of the whole work. However, “Why Her” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” have different characteristics and different narrative methods, and especially, their worldviews are also not the same.
Oh Soo-jae (Seo Hyun-jin) of “Why Her” is a female lawyer who is discriminated against by people at TK law firm. She was raised as a scapegoat by Chairman Choi Tae-guk (Heo Jun-ho) and abandoned by Choi Tae-guk’s son Choi Joo-hwan (Ji Seung-hyun). The reality surrounding this character is a world where she cannot achieve anything unless she prepares and strengthens herself. Oh Soo-jae fights to win and pushes that desire to the end.
The viewers’ sympathy for Oh Soo-jae stems from their acceptance of her ambitious appearance. There is a real perception that if she doesn’t do such things, she will never survive in that world. In fact, Choi Tae-guk is the person who uses her appropriately and then throws her away relentlessly. He’s a man who doesn’t hesitate to commit a crime to achieve his goals. In this way, the viewers understand Oh Soo-jae’s strong will against the tough opponent because of the viciousness of that character who represents the heartless world.
On the other hand, Woo Young-woo of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is a lawyer with an autism spectrum disorder. She graduated from Seoul National University School of Law but was not hired by any law firm. She also suffered the tough reality but the drama does not emphasize this apart. And the law firm that accepted her has warm people who are completely different from those at TK law firm where Oh Soo-jae works.
Of course, like Kwon Min-woo (Joo Jong-hyuk), who considers Woo Young-woo a rival and accuses her of “unfair employment”, there are villains, but there are many more good characters, such as Choi Soo-yeon (Ha Yoon-kyung) – a nice colleague who is like a guardian to Woo Young-woo, reasonable and gentle boss Jung Myung-seok (Kang Ki-young), and Lee Joon-ho (Kang Tae-oh), who approaches Woo Young-woo’s charm hidden behind her disability. Thanks to them, Woo Young-woo has the opportunity to show her abilities to the fullest rather than having to fight against evils like Oh Soo-jae.
The fact that “Why Her” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” use completely different narrative methods is clearly revealed in the way the two works deal with “secrets behind the birth of its characters”. In “Why Her”, it was revealed that the daughter of Oh Soo-jae, who thought she had a miscarriage, was actually Choi Joo-hwan’s daughter, and the story of her daughter dying in a traffic accident is used as a device to trigger Oh Soo-jae’s anger to reach the limit.
However, it is really sad that Woo Young-woo in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” finds out that she is the daughter of Taesan law firm’s CEO Tae Soo-mi (Jin Kyung). The appearances of Tae Soo-mi, who can’t hold back their tears after learning the fact, and Woo Young-woo, who stays calm, show that even if they write the story under the theme of “the secret behind the birth”, they can only draw emotions from the viewers, rather than stimulations.
The characters are different and the narrative methods are also not the same, but the perception of reality in “Why Her” and “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” have some similarities. This is because there are such harsh realities, and to survive there, the characters have to fight hard or make good use of the given opportunities to bring changes to their lives
However, at this point, different perspectives emerge on what choices are needed to bring about changes in the world of the two works. In other words, “Why Her” is delivering the message that success can only be won through fights, while “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” is saying that community efforts are needed to give equal opportunities to all people even if they have disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder.
Perhaps, in reality, fighting as hard as Oh Soo-jae is the more realistic choice. However, many viewers want to see more of the world that is worth living through the fantasy-like story of Woo Young-woo. In addition, rather than believing that fighting giant powers like Oh Soo-jae will change the world, they want to see the hope that there are still people who make good choices in more common problems. This is the sentiment of the public wriggling in the deepest side of the recently created drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”.
Source: daum
