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Pierce Conran

This article contains mild spoilers.
Lead cast: Lee Jong-suk, Moon Ga-young, Kang You-seok
Latest Nielsen rating: 5.78 per cent
During the otherwise pleasant and routine slice-of-life legal drama Law and the City, one recent moment has stuck out like a sore thumb.
At the beginning of the show, landlord Kim Hyung-min (Yeom Hye-ran, When Life Gives You Tangerines) convinced the partners of the four different legal practices renting floors in her building to merge into one large legal group.
Ever since the moment she strutted into a cocktail bar in a flashy floor-length coat to pitch this idea to her tenants, there has been a hint of danger in her movements, even though her presence has largely been benevolent.


She dreamed of passing the bar, but instead she has a law firm named after her, since the newly formed group takes the name of her building, Hyungmin.
She brings cases of wrongful termination to the firm, sits in legal workshops with interns to learn about jurisprudence – the theory of law – and occasionally acts as a sort of agony aunt for the younger lawyers in the building.
Then, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, she goes to a fancy department store and brings back lavish holiday gifts for everyone in the firm, waltzing into the building flanked by men in suits carrying boxes.
Inside those boxes? Live lobsters.
These gifts are not extravagant – they are completely unheard of. It is possible that the writers merely included them as an eye-catching symbol of Hyung-min’s eccentricity and largesse, but it is a fun exercise to imagine what else they could symbolise.

While the recipients of the gifts are all obsequiously grateful, save for the rude partner Song Yu-deok (Lee Seo-hwan, Squid Game season two), who gets a humble gift of Spam, live lobsters are an exceptionally challenging gift.
Not only are they difficult to store and cook, but many people might find it hard to stomach the notion of killing a live creature.
Perhaps Hyung-min, though generous, is simply oblivious, not considering what kind of burden she is placing in the hands of the receivers of her unusual gift.
On the other hand, perhaps she knows exactly what she is doing. Being a good lawyer often means putting aside personal feelings and conflicts – she could be testing the moral flexibility of the new firm’s staff.
To what ends, we do not yet know, though it seems clear that Hyung-min does have an ulterior motive for setting up the firm that goes beyond a mere vicarious desire to be part of the legal profession.

Everything else in the show has been business as usual, with Lee Jong-suk encapsulating all the characteristics of the handsome and supercilious K-drama male lead as Ahn Joo-hyung.
Joo-hyung is a cool-headed lawyer who does not let his feelings get in the way of doing what needs to be done to help his clients win. But despite his demeanour, he can never fully bury his pesky conscience, especially following the arrival of fellow lawyer Kang Hee-ji (Moon Ga-young, True Beauty).
Hee-ji is also a very typical lead. She is a hard worker and remains bright in the face of adversity. She is also an orphan and, halfway through the show, she is made to deal with personal legal drama when her adoptive father, Kim Myung-ho (Kim Tae-hoon, Friendly Rivalry), is arrested for fraud.
Hee-ji and Joo-hyung knew each other before Hee-ji arrived at the firm, having enjoyed a brief romance while they were both staying in Hong Kong some years earlier.
They are not thrilled to see each other at first, but we soon learn that a series of misunderstandings causes both of them to think that the other had broken things off.

While Hee-ji and Joo-hyung slowly find their way back to each other, the three other colleagues who form their group also face personal challenges.
Cho Chang-won (Kang You-seok, When Life Gives You Tangerines) is forced to waste his time during demeaning visits to the jailed son of Yu-deok’s influential colleague.
Ha Sang-gi (Im Seong-jae, The Worst of Evil) is also humiliated when an anonymous online post accuses him of secretly being a corporate heir using his connections to get ahead. While the post is a fabrication, pride prevents Sang-gi from revealing his difficult upbringing.
Meanwhile, Bae Moon-jung (Ryoo Hye-young, The Nice Guy), the only married member of the quintet, unexpectedly becomes pregnant.

Her husband is delighted when he finds out, but the real problem arises when she goes to her boss Na Kyung-min (Park Hyoung-soo, The Art of Negotiation) to inquire about maternity leave. His response realises her fears – he expects her to quit.
While all the dealings within the quintet have been pleasant, none have been surprising, and this is unlikely to change in the final four episodes. We thus look to supporting character Hyung-min and her secret motivations to give Law and the City a bit of zing before it concludes.
Law and the City is streaming on Disney+.


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While Law and the City is watchable, little that is out of the ordinary has occurred. Perhaps one supporting character will surprise us yet


While Law and the City is watchable, little that is out of the ordinary has occurred. Perhaps one supporting character will surprise us yet.


Disney+ K-drama Law and the City midseason recap: legal drama is pleasant but unsurprising

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}While Law and the City is watchable, little that is out of the ordinary has occurred. Perhaps one supporting character will surprise us yet

While Law and the City is watchable, little that is out of the ordinary has occurred. Perhaps one supporting character will surprise us yet