The songs featured during the recap: “Better than Birthday” by O3ohn, both the lyrical and instrumental versions.
Joanna and Sung-Hee share highlights from their recent trips to Vancouver/Victoria and Chicago.
The Korean expression “속도위반 결혼” which literally means “speeding marriage” and refers to a shotgun wedding.
Woo Young Woo’s internal and external struggles as someone on the autism spectrum defending a client with a different manifestation of the condition.
The complex and emotional case involving brothers Sang Hun and Jeong Hun, and the sad truths revealed through Sang Hun’s diary.
The attorneys’ use of Pengsoo, a beloved Korean character, to connect with the defendant Jeong Hun.
The misinterpretation of Jeong Hun’s words during the incident: “죽는다, 하지마” – “Die, don’t do it!”
The shocking reveal that Sang Hun likely died by suicide and Jeong Hun was trying to save him.
The damaging societal pressures on Korean students, and the toll it takes on mental health.
Chairman Kim’s devastating reaction to learning of his elder son’s depression and suicide attempts—and his harsh treatment of Woo Young Woo.
Attorney Jung’s growth in how he values and defends Woo Young Woo, including risking his role in the case to support her.
Woo Young Woo’s decision to resign from Hanbada, believing her autism made her a liability in court.
The cultural impact of Hans Asperger’s legacy and why many now use the term ASD instead of Asperger syndrome.
Reactions from the autism community in Korea and abroad to the show’s portrayal of neurodiverse individuals.
What Joanna and Sung-Hee are watching now, including Resident Playbook, Our Unwritten Seoul, Squid Game, Kpop Demon Hunters, and Lost in Starlight.
References
A Review of the Netflix Series Extraordinary Attorney Woo - Autism Spectrum News
In South Korea, a Hit Show Brings Autism Into the Spotlight - The New York Times
Is 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' helping or hurting the autism community?
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Welcome back Sunghee!
ReplyDelete*I think this is the best episode of the series thematically.
This episode tried to establish the concept of spectrum. First by spelling it out, then by demonstrating that. It introduces a character, almost on the other side of that spectrum.
The writer tried to tackle, arguably, one of the series biggest weaknesses. The frequent media stereotypes that Autistic people are geniuses. Here, we have an Autistic character who requires great deal of care.
It is a difficult balance between challenging an audience very prejudiced against any kind of special need without over-romanticising the Autism. Concentrating only on the difficult end of spectrum is also problematic.
They simply can’t cover everything, and they must entertain as well. So, I think they did very good job in this episode.
But, the episode also touched on so many other things such as quantifying different lives ( a question that is debated everywhere). WYW reading those comments was very touching scene. PEB did really good job (nobody has as expressive eyes as IU though). I was particularly impressed by how she was holding the mouse. Good attention to details.
The whole episode was really a cry against discrimination.
On the lighter side, PEB rap was epic! I lost the count of how many times I re-watched it. I wonder how many takes they needed to film that lol.
* Few comments on the podcast:
I was planning to take about Attorney Jung assigning the case to WYW because of Autism, but you ladies covered it pretty well.
The actor playing the annoying other attorney. While I agree with Joanna that he didn’t do anything special in Tangerine for the award, I didn’t begrudged him that. I have seen him in a lot of dramas, and in most of them he is the punching bag, or the butt of jokes. So, I was happy for him to get something :)
Dating in the workplace: I don’t prefer it, but I am not against it. At the end of the day, this used to be (and in many places still it is) one of the most common ways how people get into relationships/marriages. I think it largely depend on the circumstances. The only situation I would be completely against it if one reports to the other. They can have relationship by all means, but one has to switch position.
But, more importantly, “Grey’s Anatomy” would have finished after 1 episode if it wasn’t for all these doctors dating each other lool. Now, it is most likely will go on until we are all dead (I stopped after 3 seasons) lol.
I knew Peng-so was a cartoon character, but it was fun to hear from Sunghee its entire backstory!
Finally, the series is for South Korea. And, it matters more its impact there.
* I am not watching any Kdrama at the moment, but reading “The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness” by Shin Kyung-sook (my 8th South Korean novel. Pachinko is not included. I am only counting translated work) I am about 65% in, and it is certainly my favourite so far. The story is interesting, and the language is beautiful, and lyrical. I am really enjoying it.
Hi Seven Seas. Thank you for your comments. It seems episode 3 had a real impact on a lot of viewers. It was a hard episode to watch, between seeing Jeong Hun be accused of his brother's murder, and Woo Young Woo's decision to leave Hanbada.
DeleteI totally agree with you that Park Run Bin did a masterful job in this role.
Thank you for the book recommendation. I'll recommend it to my book club. We just finished reading Crying in H Mart, which I give a 6 or 7. Currently reading The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister; it is very, very good so far.
I can't wait to see you during the meet and greet!
Loved the nuance and performances in this show and episode. It broke my heart when Young Woo quit the firm, but in her place, I would have done the same. Feeling that you are more of a liability than an asset in your job is intolerable for anyone with personal pride, regardless of how fair or unfair the situation is.
ReplyDeleteSeven Seas, I agree with what you said above regarding the Baeksang award for Choi Dae Hoon, the overwrought attorney here. Firstly, in WLGYT he aged decades convincingly, and grew reluctantly from a total jerk into a less total jerk, subtle but noteworthy.
And in CLOY he was also pivotal as Se Ri’s whiny, immature but less dastardly brother. He managed the difficult feat of playing an unlikeable but redeemable character both times, so I’m fine with his award.
I should mention that me and my grandniece, out of the whole family, share a characteristic of autism, which is hypersensitivity to sound and light. A nearby loud leafblower, to both of us, feels like a physical attack from someone with an assault rifle. It’s wired in, so there’s only coping strategies to endure it, though it always feels the same. Young Woo’s responses to these things are so realistic, cringing and crouching while the rational side argues that no one is trying to murder you. She does this so well.
I also agree with Seven Seas that this episode is the best so far, maybe ofbthe whole series. And the more whales the better!
Ellen, thank you for your comments.
DeleteI had totally forgotten that Choi Dae Hoon was Yoon Se Ri's younger brother! Thanks for reminding me. I guess he does indeed play dastardly males! But you're right. in Tangerines and CLOY, he has a redemption arc!
Thank you for sharing your sensitivity to sound and light. When I was a Committee Chair for a Cub Scout Pack, we had scouts on the spectrum. I attended some training and learned to alert parents when a meeting was going to be extra noisy or chaotic. For example, our Halloween meeting was always crazy, between the music, the freeze dance, the rotation between game stations, the candy, yada, hada. Most parents and scouts on the spectrum skipped that meeting and it was totally understandable. I had a headache after those fun, but crazy, meetings!
I agree with Seven Seas and Ellen that this is probably the best episode of the series. Certainly, in terms of raising awareness and educating people about the concept that autism exists on a spectrum. I understand there are mixed reactions in the autism community regarding this episode with some lauding it and others finding it problematic. That being said, I think this subject is always going to garner mixed reactions, if for no other reason that because autistic people are on a spectrum, there is no way to exactly portray an autistic person. I have heard that a common criticism of autistic people in popular culture is that they often feature characters that have a genius like talent such as WYW and Moon Sang-tae’s artistic ability in It’s Ok to Not be Okay. It puts an unrealistic expectation on autistic people that they will have a genius like ability as a sort of “trade off” for their autistic disability.
ReplyDeleteAs for the pressures that are put on South Korean kids to achieve academically, I feel so sorry for these kids. I see it also here in the US, often times (but not exclusively) with the kids of Asian immigrant parents. Traditional Confucian values likely play a large part in this. I often say that understanding or relating to how ingrained these values are in Korean society is one of the biggest challenges for western viewers in understanding K Dramas. Obviously, there are a lot positive aspects about Confucian values, but you often see the problematic side of it; for example, in this episode where the father is valuing the reputation of his dead son over his living son.
I’ve already commented on how the legal plotlines in this show seem unrealistic to me as an Extraordinary Attorney myself (and yes, I am going to continue referring to myself as that even if the original Korean translation Strange Attorney Malcolm is more accurate!) I am also currently watching another legal K Drama – Law in the City on Viki. It also has serious issues with its legal plot lines. What I will give both these shows credit for is that they do a pretty good job of presenting cases or situations that are ethically challenging to the attorney. One of the most common ones is the attorney’s ethical obligation to represent the actual client – not the one that is paying the bills. We see this both in this episode and the episode with the wedding dress, and I think they do a pretty good job with it. These situations would actually make pretty good questions for a legal ethics exam.
Extraordinary Attorney Malcolm! Thank you for your comments!
DeleteYou remind me that Rain Man was another movie that portrayed an autistic man who was brilliant. We all know that autistic people, like the rest of the population, can be brilliant and not so brilliant, and everything in between!
I have a rising senior in college. My husband and I tried really hard to not kill him with academic pressure. He refused to apply to the top schools, the Ivy League schools, etc., and that was just fine by us. He's doing incredibly at a VA state school. We are so lucky in VA to have amazing state schools.
You'll have to keep us posed on Law in the City. I'm not a big Lee Jong Suk fan, but I can be convinced otherwise. I think he's too pretty and I thought he was meh in Romance is a Bonus Book, couldn't even finish the drama.
There are LOTS of legal plot lines that are unrealistic in this show, but hey, it's a TV drama.
Joanna and Malcolm, I watched Trauma Code after the ML won best actor, and I loved it, knowing in advance that plenty of dramatic license would be taken with some scenes, as with this show in the courtroom. I saw an interview with Ju Ji-Hoon on this aspect. He said his goal with his crazy scene in the first episode, where he jumps out of a helicopter with the other doctor on his back and rapels onto a ledge on a steep cliff, was the toughest. He said even though it is completely absurd, he wanted the audience to think, well, if anyone could actually do this, it would be this guy!
DeleteEllen, I loved Trauma Code. Sung Hee couldn't handle the unrealistic medicine, but I thought it was great. I am a big fan of Ju Ji Hoon after seeing him in Kingdom. He's also great in Light Shop.
DeleteTrauma Code is to medicine what Extraordinary Attorney Woo is to law!
DeleteLong interview with English CC with Ju Ji Hoon on his recent projects and their development.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/khMfdlFM3cU?si=u4-njYdLjhBKtEti
And then there’s this, which argues in support of show’s approach:
Deletehttps://www.koreaherald.com/article/10416460
I don't believe this show would ever have been made in America -- too many ways to trip up and incur the wrath of the severely online masses, so it's easier to pass on such a project. (Of course, now it's a worldwide hit, so an American version is already in the works!)
ReplyDeleteI remember watching just the first part of episode three, and thinking "maybe this one's a bit too much?" I'm so glad I came back to it, because it's really quite extraordinary, as others have mentioned. By the end of the episode, I knew I was in for the long haul, Team Woo/Oo all the way!