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Pierce Conran

This article contains spoilers.
2/5 stars
There are dashes of action and mystery, and generous sprinkles of legal matters along the way, but in the end The Law Cafe never veers far from its romantic comedy format – and a lame and old-fashioned one at that.
After dithering most of the season, Law Cafe operator Kim Yu-ri (Lee Se-young) finally makes the decision we all knew she would make in the finale: she accepts her landlord Kim Jung-ho’s (Lee Seung-gi) marriage proposal.


To his great surprise, she initially rebuffs him when he pops the question. With furrowed brows and a matter-of-fact tone in her voice, she expresses practical concerns about getting married: how can they be sure that they would remain together?
Then she has a heart-to-heart with her mother, who delivers the pearl of wisdom that being in a relationship means experiencing all that life has to offer together – the good and the bad.
The Law Cafe midseason recap: legal romcom K-drama disappoints
After this epiphany, she marches over to Jung-ho with her signature determination and explains the same point to him. Even if they eventually break up and are sad, she wants to experience that with him. Now it’s her turn to propose to Jung-ho.
A few scenes later she heads over to prison to unload on the recently incarcerated Lee Pyun-woong (Jo Han-chul), the villainous former CEO of Dohan Construction. Now it’s poor Pyun-woong’s turn to listen to her pontificate, this time about her views on the law.
Owing to her father’s unfair treatment – he was scapegoated by Dohan following a devastating fire decades earlier – she hated the law. But after educating herself she came to respect the complicated decision-making that often goes into legal rulings. Now she just hates people like Pyun-woong, who only seek “easy answers”.

Her tedious monologues give the impression that Yu-ri is a steadfast character who figures things out for herself, but that is far from the truth. Despite her outward determination, Yu-ri spends most of the time as a damsel in distress, giving Jung-ho endless opportunities to be the dashing hero.
Any hint of agency she shows during the series is quickly stamped out. No matter what problem she faces, Jung-ho always has to step in to fix her mess. The show initially presents her as a talented lawyer, but all her cases at the Law Cafe need Jung-ho’s guiding hand.
When Jung-ho is asked what he likes about Yu-ri shortly after they start dating, his answer is telling: “She’s pretty.” Beyond her looks, it’s indeed a little hard to understand what he sees in her.

He seems to spend all his time doting on, and helping, her – and she rewards him by being rude and demanding. She doesn’t need to do anything to earn or maintain his affection.
We discover just how much Jung-ho has been pining after her when it is revealed that, while in college, the pair walked by the Law Cafe building and she mused about opening her law practice in a building like it someday.
Jung-ho went on to buy the building and later rented out the first floor to her, even though she didn’t recognise the location until much later.
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Yu-ri is far from the only negative female stereotype in the show. The storyline features a deranged woman who stalks Jung-ho’s other tenant, therapist Park Woo-jin (Kim Nam-hee), and threatens to kill herself when he doesn’t return her affections.
There’s also the mother who can’t process the sexual harassment she endured at work and becomes a drunk in front of her very young daughter. She is the second mother in the show to become a danger to her daughter at home after emotional trauma.
Then you have Jung-ho’s mother, Lee Yeon-joo (Lee Mi-sook), who frequently gets dead drunk and is sometimes carried off in the background as an afterthought. Yu-ri is never too far behind, having embarrassed herself several times in front of Jung-ho after long drinking sessions.

Outdated gender norms aside, ultimately The Law Cafe’s biggest problem is how stale and recycled all its components are. Tuning in is a bit like stepping into a cafe that’s been closed for a week, its comforting aroma a distant memory and its shelves lined with leftover and dried-out pastries.
Every beat in the story is a cliché and even the jokes have all been done 1,000 times before. Perhaps that explains why the show is so old-fashioned. Modelled after older K-drama hits, it imports all their familiar codes, as well as their regressive gender archetypes.
Throw in loud and boxy fashion, cardboard-cut-out supporting characters and drab production values, and The Law Cafe feels very passé. There is never any attempt to add something new to the formula, and that laziness infects the whole show.

The Law Cafe is streaming on Viu.


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K-drama review: The Law Cafe – Lee Seung-gi, Lee Se-young can’t save tired romcom that recycles outdated stereotypes

Lee Se-young (front) and Lee Seung-gi in a still from The Law Cafe.

Lee Se-young as Kim Yu-ri (left) and Lee Seung-gi as Kim Jung-ho in a still from The Law Cafe.

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Lee Se-young as Kim Yu-ri in a still from The Law Cafe.

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The Law Cafe stars Lee Se-young as Kim Yu-ri and centres on her relationship with her landlord, played by Lee Seung-gi
The series, modelled on previous K-drama hits, is full of sexual stereotypes, with a damsel in distress forever being rescued by a knight in shining armour


The Law Cafe is modelled on successful older K-dramas, but its storylines are drab, its plot clichéd and its characters stereotypical. The whole series feels like a lazy cop-out.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

Review | K-drama review: The Law Cafe – Lee Seung-gi, Lee Se-young can’t save tired romcom that recycles outdated stereotypes

The Law Cafe stars Lee Se-young as Kim Yu-ri and centres on her relationship with her landlord, played by Lee Seung-gi The series, modelled on previous K-drama hits, is full of sexual stereotypes, with a damsel in distress forever being rescued by a knight in shining armour

The Law Cafe stars Lee Se-young as Kim Yu-ri and centres on her relationship with her landlord, played by Lee Seung-gi

The series, modelled on previous K-drama hits, is full of sexual stereotypes, with a damsel in distress forever being rescued by a knight in shining armour