One Dollar Lawyer: Episode 12 (Final)
by missvictrix
Though curtailed in length and confused in tone, One Dollar Lawyer completes its run and tries its hardest to not only tie up loose ends, but keep doing what it once did well. And while the ends are indeed tied, unfortunately all the hullabaloo behind the scenes has really shown in the drama’s production, and I’m left not entirely sure what it is I just watched.
EPISODE 12 WEECAP
Jumping right in where we left off, Ji-hoon and Mari visit Min-cheol in his swanky office. It’s meant to threaten him — and it does — but Ji-hoon acts like a doofus. Though he notices the stacks of cash on the desk, he winds up leaving the encounter with a stack of blank paper for his printer. Such is Ji-hoon.
Our wacky team of three reconnoiter at Ji-hoon’s fancy apartment home. Say what?! Yes, it’s our finale, and we’ve finally got eyes on where (and how) Ji-hoon lives. Moo-jang doesn’t fail to point this out, and I love the self-reference here. It’s as if the drama is saying, “I know we never showed you this properly, so here ya go, we’ll make a joke of it.”
While the team goes over their plans, Mari stares blankly at the photo of Grandpa Baek on Ji-hoon’s investigation wall-window. He quickly tears it down and says her grandpa is innocent — which leads to her surprise that he knows who she is, and Ji-hoon’s apt reply: “Did you think I was dumb?”
To further convince us that Grandpa Baek is A-OK, we get a flashback to a recent conversation with him and Ji-hoon where he says that he wants Mari to be part of a world where the outcome isn’t already decided (i.e., each case rigged by corruption and blackmail).
This becomes important later, because in a nice moment, he secretly helps Mari hack Baek Law Firm’s own database to find the incriminating information for which Joo-young once lost her life. Mari finds it, secures it, and shares it with Ji-hoon and it’s exactly the evidence they need regarding all the JQ Group nonsense.
Meanwhile (and a little earlier), we spend much of the episode with Ji-hoon and Min-cheol. First, our team sets on a hilarious mission to make him and Ji-hoon look chummy, which is about the most ridiculous plan out there. But it works, and when Evil CEO finds out, he kicks Min-cheol to the curb. Except our team — and our lovely Prosecutor Na and Min-hyuk — are there to get as much information and aid out of Min-cheol as they can.
Then, what we totally expect to happen happens. Min-cheol looks like he’s screwed over Ji-hoon and the gang, and Ji-hoon looks like he’s about to get shot by Evil CEO during The Ultimate Showdown. But really, Ji-hoon and the prosecution are already several steps ahead. The whole scheme has been planned in order to get a nice tidy confession out of the CEO, which happens just as soon as his hubris gets the better of him (convenient, but buyable). Now, Evil CEO can rot in jail for ordering the murder of Joo-young, among his other crimes.
Although this final plot arc is supposed to be the culmination of all of Ji-hoon’s tragic backstory, it’s blown through so fast that not even the sudden time-jump of last week can help it. It’s not bad or badly played, but it is predictable. In fact, the only thing I found compelling about it was when Ji-hoon was talking to Prosecutor Na about his risky mission. She says he could die, and he says he already did… when Joo-young died.
At this point, I’m feeling bad for this cast. They are pouring all they’ve got into these scripts, but the rewrites and ostensible chaos behind the scenes are worse than the elephant in the room; they pretty much kill whatever this drama had going for it about six or seven episodes ago. Sadly, it’s not the first drama this has happened to, nor the last.
Interestingly, as our drama wraps up and delivers justice, it’s also determined to end with a little heart, and a load of comedy. Our team argues over the 1,000 won fee, but Ji-hoon insists they keep it. And then we see him in action — much like we opened the drama — swooping in in all his oddball glory to save clients in dire straits.
All in all, this ending was a very valiant attempt to bring the drama back to its roots, but to simultaneously tie up the loose ends of the overarching storyline. It does both those things, but unfortunately, it’s not enough to hide the nonsense going on backstage. So, while I have to give a hearty applause for the production’s attempt to make the best of a worst case scenario, I’m also left a little salty. I kinda want my 1,000 won back.
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One Dollar Lawyer: Episode 12 (Final)
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily
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