Overview
Woo Young-woo is an autistic lawyer who is raised by her single father. She grows up with one friend at school, Dong Geu-ra-mi, an oddball girl who protects her from school bullies. She graduates at the top of her law school class at Seoul National University. Because she is autistic, law firms refuse to hire her. However, through a connection of her father’s, she obtains her first job at Hanbada, a large Seoul law firm. Attorney Woo’s intelligence and photographic memory help her to become an excellent lawyer, as she is able to recall laws and everything she reads, sees, or hears perfectly.
Being different from neurotypical peers, her manner of communication is initially seen as odd and awkward, and her strong emotional intelligence remains unrecognized. But as the series progresses, many of the people she meets, such as her supervising lawyer, Jung Myung-seok, her law school classmate and peer, Choi Su-yeon, and legal support staffer Lee Jun-ho adjust to her as she learns her craft as a rookie attorney. But she also encounters people who are prejudiced against her and others with disabilities, including her colleague Kwon Min-woo, who often tries to sabotage her.
Many of the legal cases in the series involve finely balanced legal issues and sometimes difficult ethical questions. Attorney Woo’s approach is often unique and helps resolve cases in unexpected ways. One storyline about Young-woo’s parents runs through the series and involves the rivalry between two major law firms, both chaired by female attorneys, Han Seon-young, CEO of Hanbada, and Tae Soo-mi, CEO of Taesan. Another storyline focuses on Attorney Woo’s budding romance with Lee Jun-ho.
Another theme that runs through the series is Young-woo’s special interest in whales. Her tendency to analogize situations she faces in her professional and private life with the lives and characteristics of whales and dolphins often surprises and confounds the people who surround her. Her eureka moments often coincide with fantasizing about marine animals.
Queer Plotline Timeline
- Season 1, Episode 2 “ The Wedding Dress That Slipped Off” – The father of a bride sues a hotel for a wedding that ended in a humiliating disaster.
Characters
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