Have you seen Extraordinary Attorney Woo? Some of the characters have really great arcs. If you have seen it, who are your favorites, and why?
Hi!
Yes, I have and I loved it! I liked all the characters to be honest <3 Here are some thoughts on my faves...
THE HANBADA TRIO
These 3 are my absolute faves both in terms of individual characters and of their dynamic. I will talk about individuals later on, so let's now focus on their sibling dynamic.
They are a well written trio in how they are all different and complement each other. They follow the mind-heart-body pattern. To be more specific:
Young Woo is the mind - she is a genius and the one who knows the law the best. She always comes up with a whale an idea to solve the problem at hand by using intuition and creative thinking.
Su-Yeon is the heart - she is our "spring sunshine angel", after all :P She is a genuinelly sweet and kind person, who looks out for and helps Young Woo. She also challenges Min Woo to follow his heart.
Min Woo is the body - have you noticed how he is constantly shown eating? On a deeper note, though, he is a survivalist, who sees society and adulthood as a battlefield, as kill or be killed. This is a primary physical instinct. The body is also often not as much integrated as mind and heart are, which fits with Min Woo not being as close to the other 2 and joining them only at the very end.
At the same time, Young Woo is our protagonist, while Min Woo and Su-Yeon are used to explore different sides of her. Through this lens, they become:
Min Woo: mind, outside (job/society), challenge, rivalry
Su Yeon: heart, inside (personal relationship), nurture, friendship
In short, they are complementary when it comes to Young Woo's arc, which is why they are also such a good fit together. They reconcile all the series's opposite themes.
Let's focus on their thematic importance on WYW's arc by exploring some cases our protagonist shares with them.
Mind and heart
Wild Card vs Tactician and If I Were a Whale are episodes meant to be foiled. The former has Young Woo work alongside Min Woo, while the latter has her help out Su-Yeon. Both episodes are set up as a conflict between mind and heart.
Wild Card vs Tactician has Young Woo set up as the heart to Min Woo's mind. Their rivalry becomes a way to explore 2 different ways to approach a case. Do you pursue the truth (heart) or do you protect the client's interests (mind)?
If I Were a Whale starts with Attorney Jung asking Young Woo to calm Su-Yeon down. He thinks the young attorney is being too passionate about the client and wants Young Woo to be the mind to Su-Yeon's heart.
What's interesting is that in both episodes the set-up dynamic doesn't play as it is expected to. To be more precise, Young Woo ends up being more "tactical" than Min Woo and more emotional than Su-Yeon. On the one hand she takes a witness, who is clearly lying and gives him instructions on how to be convincing. On the other hand she decides her client should get a lenient sentence because she is a good mother. In other words she doesn't play the heart or mind to the other 2 in a complementary way. Rather, Min Woo and Su-Yeon manage to bring out extreme sides of Young Woo. This also highlights our protagonist's shortcomings.
In Wild Card vs Tactician, Young Woo wins in the sense she isn't overshadowed by Min Woo. However, she still gives in to his mindset and betrays the truth. In the end, the true conflict was never the one with her colleague, but the one within herself. Which kind of attorney does she want to become? An honest one or a competent one?
In If I Were a Whale, Young Woo wins morally in the sense that she manages to convey her feelings to the judge, who finds the way to help YW's client. However, she does so outside of the law and of her role as an attorney. In a sense, she and Su-Yeon fail as attorneys because they miss the very obvious solution to their client's problem. They lose themselves in overly complicated theories without drawing attention to the fact their client has confessed, which in itself shows she is repentant.
Children and Lovers
The Pied Piper and Holding Hands Can Wait can be similarly foiled. The first deals with society, while the second with personal relationships. Min Woo gets focus in the first, while Su-Yeon in the second.
The Pied Piper explores how society warps children by teaching them to "give up on the world". This applies to Min Woo, who is cinical and focused on politics. Surely, he is meant to be read as a victim of the same system criticized in the episode. This is why he is confronted by Attorney Jung and called out on his behavior. For all his claiming to be an adult, he keeps behaving as a child and asks an authority figure for punishments and rewards. At the same time, he clearly shows his most childish side this episode, when he jokes with the kids and is eventually entertained by the client's antics.
Holding Hands Can Wait delves into romantic relationships and asks important questions. What is love? Is it enough that a person thinks they are in love? Or what others and society think matter as well? And what does it mean for an autistic person? Su-Yeon parallels the protagonist of the case. She looks for a good person, but ends up falling for a crook only interested in her money. This is very similar to Shin's situation. However, Shin has a handicap, while Su-Yeon does not. So, Shin is stripped of her agency, while Su-Yeon has the chance to "fall in love with a bad boy". But then, what is the difference? Or is there even a difference at all?
In both episodes Young Woo finds herself in the same position. She wants to help a person the law can't help. Bang Gu-ppon doesn't want a reduced sentence and Shin doesn't want her bastard boyfriend to go to prison. Both want to be recognized as people by the system, even if it means the law would side against them. This means Young Woo must protect who they are and their agency, if she wants to help them. She succeeds with Bang Gu-ppon, but fails with Shin.
At the same time, both stories focus on a mother misunderstanding their child. Both Bang Gu-ppon and Shin are deep down trying to communicate with their mothers. They want their moms to recognize them and to accept they aren't crazy or strange, but adults in their own rights.
This is just what deep down Young Woo wants:
Young Woo to Tae Su-Mi: "Don't you recognize me?"
Deep down, Young Woo's arc is a coming of age story that has her turn from child to adult. This is true also for the other young attorneys (plus Jun-Ho), who accompany her in this journey.
WOO YOUNG WOO (2nd FAVE AND 2nd BEST ARC)
Young Woo is great because she is an autistic character whose arc is not (only) about her handicap. Sure, autism is a part of her, as it is her incredible intelligence. However, her story is broader and so it can be universal.
Her arc is about growing up, which means becoming independent from parents, so the mid-climax and the final climax are about Young Woo facing her estranged mother, Tae Su Mi.
In the first climax (A Tale About Sodeok-Dong), Young Woo meets her mother for the first time and enters a conflict with her father. She struggles to become independent only to realize independence is not something that is easy to pintpoint:
Young Woo to Tae Su Mi: "I wanna be a full-out adult, so I was ready to leave my current position at Hanbada and be independent from my dad. But there is not point in leaving my dad in order to join a law firm, where the CEO is my mother."
Changing law firms won't solve her problems and if she really wants to grow, she must learn not to run, but to live her life with all its contradictions.
The 2 episodes-case also sets up Young Woo as the Hackberry Tree:
"Have you ever seen a more beautiful tree, despite not being a national monument?"
Society might not see Young Woo as important, but she is still beautiful and worthy of protection. This idea grows within our protagonist until it blooms in all its beauty in the ending:
Young Woo to Tae Su Mi: "I think my life is unusual, peculiar, but it has value. It's a beautiful life."
This is the moment Young Woo grows and affirms who she is to her mother. Poignantly, their confrontation is not really about Tae Su Mi and Young Woo's mother-daughter's bond. The narrative is very clear about it. Tae Su Mi has not been a mother for Young Woo and this can't be changed. However, she can be a good parent to her son:
Young Woo to Tae Su Mi: "You have not been a good mother to me, but you can still be a good mother to Choi Sang-Hyeon."
Young Woo here does not act as a child asking her parent to love her, but as a big sister who looks out for her little brother. She plays the part of the adult and shows she is strong enough.
The second climax has also Young Woo face a case without Attorney Jung. She finds herself without her mentor, which pushes her to grow even more. Given all this, it fits she gets her contract renewed in the end, which shows her becoming a full-fledged Attorney.
So, the finale has Young Woo affirm her maturity both as a person and as an Attorney. I also find it very nice the title is referenced directly by Attorney Jung:
Attorney Jung: "I'm also curious about what you will do next and that's because you are not an ordinary Attorney."
In the very first episode, Jung calls her extraordinary because of her autism and promptly apologizes. However, in the very last episode he affirms once again she is not ordinary. What's beautiful is that he is not talking about her autism or her intelligence. He means she is extraordinary as a person. He doesn't pity her for the Asperger syndrome, nor admires her because of her genius. He is proud of her because of her heart, which is exactly what catches Jung's attention in their very first case:
Young Woo to Attorney Jung: "The defendand lives on the pension of her husband. The residence from which they collect rent is in her husband's name. Therefore, if the attempted murder is recognized, the defendant will be in a huge financial crisis after her husband passes. She won't be able to receive the pension or to inherit the house. Therefore, I'll try to get her probation for bodily injuries and not for attempted murder."
Young Woo is extraordinary because she manages to bloom in her own person and is always loyal to herself and who she wants to become.
MIN WOO KWON (FAVE AND BEST ARC)
Min Woo is the character who is challenged to change the most and his development is very thightly written, which is an automatic plus for me. Just like Young Woo, he is a kid, who wants to grow, but mistakenly believes growing up means becoming cinical.
This is why we keep seeing opposite sides of him, that really seems impossible to reconcile. On the one hand he is obnoxious, tactical and unfair. On the other hand he is a decent friend to Su-Yeon and Jun-Ho, he lives in a modest apartment and works hard for his parents' sake. This duality is well conveyed through his looks. At work he puts his hair up, while at home he wears it down in a simpler way. It is because he puts on a persona while working. However, his real self appears here and there through the cracks.
The struggle between Min Woo's 2 sides is explored through 2 different plot-lines:
The work plot-line, where he tries to best and ultimately to sabotage Young Woo. He keeps spiraling by thinking only politics and tactics can make him a successful adult. Ironically, he keeps pushing himself in worse situations and never gets a win.
The romantic plotline with Su-Yeon, which takes flight in Jeju. This is not by chance because Jeju is more than anything a holiday. So, there Min Woo can show a more relaxed and kinder self, who impresses Su-Yeon.
All of this comes together in the last case, where Min Woo has to choose between his mind and his heart, between tactics and love. Not only that, he also has to choose between Attorney Jung and Attorney Jang, aka his 2 mentors.
Attorney Jung is a lawyer, who tries to reconcile the interests of the client with the social good. He doesn't always succeed, but he tries and his performance in Jeju shows what an expert lawyer can do. This is what both Min Woo and Young Woo should learn to do. He is who Min Woo may become if he grows as a lawyer.
Attorney Jang is a lawyer, who has reached his current position through politics and networking. It is implied his talent is mostly in charming others, rather than in being a good lawyer. On paper, he is the mentor Min Woo has wanted for the whole series. He is someone, who is tactical, who can't stand Young Woo and who favors Min Woo over his colleagues. And yet, once Min Woo has to work with him, he can't stand it. Jang is arrogant, incompetent and would push his mentees under a bus to save himself. He is who Min Woo may become if he fails to grow and doesn't change.
Min Woo's finale is to choose between Su-Yeon (heart) and Jang (mind) and he is finally able to follow his heart for once:
Su-Yeon: "Can't you for once act as a fool? For a colleague. For something you think it's right"
He acts as an idiot and by doing so, he is recognized for the first time by an authority figure. The Judge is impressed by Min-Woo's statement and smiles. Min-Woo and Su-Yeon win the case and that is the first case they win as adults.
Similarly, Min Woo eventually refusing Tae-Su Mi's request to have Young Woo leave Hanbada seems to gain him Tae Su Mi's favor much more than his clumsy attempt to blackmail her:
Min Woo: "I'm stopping here"
Tae Su Mi: "Why?"
Min Woo: "From now on... I think I'll try living as a fool"
Both smile.
By the end of the season, Min Woo starts to realize that he must follow his heart and act more like a fool, if he really wants to grow up.
SU-YEON CHOI (3rd FAVE)
Su-Yeon is a Queen and deserves the world. Her arc revolves around romantic subplots, but at its heart there is this message:
Seeing isn't everything. There is more.
Su-Yeon's growth lies in discovering there is much hidden under the surface, both when it comes to herself and to others. It is not by chance what sparks her friendship with Young Woo is this moment:
Here, Su-Yeon simply wants to be humored and to be called cute or a beauty. However, Young Woo gives her a deeper answer and praises Su-Yeon for her heart. It is her heart, which makes Su-Yeon beautiful, rather than her looks.
This theme of discovering the true heart of herself and others is at the centre of her quest to find "a good person". She starts by having a crush on Jun-Ho, who is the man of her dreams, but lets go of him, when she realizes he has feelings for Young Woo. At this point, she dates a bunch of men, she doesn't really like until she finds someone, who is perfect on paper. He is handsome, he treats her gently and is romantic. Little problem, he is actually a fraud, only interested in her money.
Here comes Min-Woo, who forces Su-Yeon to see complexity. If you notice, Su-Yeon and Min-Woo's interactions in Jeju are basically a mix of all her past love experiences.
On the one hand Min-Woo is surprisingly kind. He helps Su-Yeon with her bags, he goes with her to buy drinks and so on. It is important Min-Woo reveals himself as an inversion of Su-Yeon's previous scumbag boyfriend. The latter wears a kind persona to hide his rotten self, while Min-Woo fakes to be cinical, when he is actually quite kind deep down. So, we have the scumbag buying flowers and offering drinks to manipulate Su-Yeon. Min-Woo instead offers Su-Yeon a beer and buys flower with no malice at all.
On the other hand Min-Woo also challenges Su-Yeon by having her look at her privilege. When she goes on blind dates, Su-Yeon is annoyed people keep asking her about money and are impressed by her father. This is fair, but Min-Woo also points to her she doesn't have to be worried about money only because she is rich. Someone like him doesn't really have this luxury and she should be conscious of that.
In general, their relationship has a lot of potential and I am looking forward to see it bloom in a possible 2nd season.
JUNG MYUNG-SEOK (3rd BEST ARC)
Attorney's Jung arc is about finding a balance between worklife and personal life. He sacrificed everything to his work and when he discovers himself ill, he starts re-evaluating his choices.
However, his arc is not as simple as... I should give up working to truly live. The point is Attorney Jung loves his work and has grown into a formidable lawyer. He is so formidable he even manages to symbolically solve the ideological conflict between Young-Woo and Min-Woo on which kind of lawyer one should become. Attorney Jung proves to them sometimes it is possible to work for the good of both the law firm and of the people. As Young Woo states:
Young Woo: It's worth working so hard over the years to the poing of getting stomach cancer
Attorney Jung: Really? So all this time was really worth it?
Young Woo: Yes, I think it was.
It means no matter what Jung's life has value because he has managed to touch many people. First of all, his 3 mentees, who immediately imitate him by helping the noodle restaurant's owner. The scene is meant to be Attorney Jung's climax because he sees how much they have all grown and that they are shaping up to be good attorneys, each in their own way.
Jung's ending is ambiguous. Will he choose Hanbada or his ex wife? Will he choose mind or heart? Society or personal relationships? As you can see, this dychotomy is everywhere throughout the story.
JOON-HO LEE (A PUPPY)
I like Joon-Ho, but a little bit less than the others. His major conflict is about his relationship with Young Woo. Still, it is interesting because the nature of the conflict evolves with time
Initially, Joon-ho is focused on himself and his own insecurities. He clearly likes Young Woo, but is unsure on how to approach the matter. Once again Su-yeon and Min-woo help him by offering opposite advices. Su-yeon invites Jun-ho to be serious about the relationship, while Min-woo gives him the push to risk it all.
After Joon-ho and Young Woo end up together, he immediately has to face society's opposition to his relationship. This opposition escalates from just a bunch of university friends to Joon-ho's own sister.
Finally, the focus shifts on Young Woo, who challenges him to accept all of her. Not just her positive sides, but also her flaws in all their complexity. The resolution between the 2 is beautiful and it enforces their relationship is true love and not "compassion" or a "lesser degree love", like others say.
Young Woo and Joon-Ho love each other and have discussed their relationship, what they expect to ti and the compromises they are ready to do for it like 2 adults. Hence it is love.
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