oongie
The Void
What a unique law drama! That's kind of a hard thing to say, since 2017 had an overdose of law...Witch's Court was such a roller coaster ride for me. It made me cry, laugh, and feel furious at the world. This kind of drama is pretty rare, as it is super close to reality.
Story: 7/10
If only, if only… The storyline of Witch’s Court is the only thing preventing me from giving this drama anything higher than an 8. In the beginning (first four episodes), the plot was perfect, and I was hanging onto my seat waiting each week for the next episodes. Unfortunately, the story switched gears to a discovering-the-truth-about-mom storyline and everything just got stuck there for around 6 episodes. Because of this, Witch’s Court became one of those makjang dramas about families and birth secrets that are like 50 episodes long… yuck. But in the last four episodes, the plot was super fast paced, and I went into the hanging-onto-my-chair mode again.
Acting/Cast: 10/10
I simply love Jung Ryeo Won, the female lead of this drama. From her smug smiles to those hair tosses, she played Ma Yi Deum, the main character, perfectly. Jung Ryeo Won’s crying and her way of expressing Ma Yi Deum’s emotions were also great. I cried along with her when she thought of her mom and felt her victory when winning the court cases.
Yoon Hyun Min, playing Yeo Jin Wook, did an excellent job as well acting as the softhearted prosecutor-partner of Ma Yi Deum.
Jun Kwang Ryul, playing the villain Jo Gap Soo, was amazing as well. His acting made me really hate the character, but also showed the villain having a bit of remorse at some times, making Gap Soo seem 10x more realistic.
Characters: 10/10
My favorite thing from this drama? The characters. Dedicating this entire paragraph to the female lead, I will be telling you why Ma Yi Deum (played by Jung Ryeo Won) is my favorite female lead of all time. Prosecutor Ma is not the usual female lead in a rom com. The one word I would use to describe her is imperfect. She might seem super crafty, but don’t hate her for what she does, since that’s probably what any of us would do in her situation. Her imperfections make her an extremely realistic character and set apart from all other female leads. She is also extremely intelligent and most likely to outsmart her opponents every time. There are a few times, however, when she loses her cool by letting her emotions get the better of herself. But this only shows that Ma does not act like the perfect female lead of every other drama, making me love this character even more. Jung Ryeo Won, the actress for Ma Yi Deum, simply cannot be replaced. I will never forget this character.
Though Yeo Jin Wook didn’t have much development, he did play an important role in this story. I actually felt as if this character was more of a supporting role... Also the romance was a bit choppy and was not developing throughout the drama. They had great romance and chemistry in the beginning, then it disappeared in the middle, and returned at the very end. They need a second season for the romance!!!
Music: 9/10
The OST not only suits this drama perfectly (sometimes I can predict when a certain song will start playing ;P), but it also brings the feeling and emotions to me when I am listening to the song.
Enjoyment level: 7/10
This drama really makes me uncomfortable because it shines light on the darkest corners of reality. But when Ma Yi Deum serves justice, there is just this incredible feeling of satisfaction that comes over me. Another moment when I felt huge satisfaction was when she went at Cho Gap Soo with the mop xD. Also the comedy of this drama is great! They even made a few serious parts funny (in a good way) and that lightened the overall feel of this drama.
Rewatch value: 6/10
Since the plot got a bit slow in the middle, I would probably not want to watch this show again. But I might want to rewatch it in an year or so.
~Conclusion~
This show breaks the rules of dramaland. Dramas are usually super unrealistic and have a load of cliches, but Witch’s Court breaks those kdrama norms by reminding us of reality. Yes, this show has made me extremely upset by presenting all the darkness of the world, but that just raises awareness and shows us that these things are real issues.
Recommendations: I would compare this drama to Save Me. While they are completely different plotwise, the meaning and message of the dramas have similarities. However, I would have to disclose the disclaimer that if you could not deal with the dark side of Witch’s Court, don’t watch Save Me. Save Me is extremely dark, and seems even darker than Witch’s Court since it has no comedy or romance.
Story: 7/10
If only, if only… The storyline of Witch’s Court is the only thing preventing me from giving this drama anything higher than an 8. In the beginning (first four episodes), the plot was perfect, and I was hanging onto my seat waiting each week for the next episodes. Unfortunately, the story switched gears to a discovering-the-truth-about-mom storyline and everything just got stuck there for around 6 episodes. Because of this, Witch’s Court became one of those makjang dramas about families and birth secrets that are like 50 episodes long… yuck. But in the last four episodes, the plot was super fast paced, and I went into the hanging-onto-my-chair mode again.
Acting/Cast: 10/10
I simply love Jung Ryeo Won, the female lead of this drama. From her smug smiles to those hair tosses, she played Ma Yi Deum, the main character, perfectly. Jung Ryeo Won’s crying and her way of expressing Ma Yi Deum’s emotions were also great. I cried along with her when she thought of her mom and felt her victory when winning the court cases.
Yoon Hyun Min, playing Yeo Jin Wook, did an excellent job as well acting as the softhearted prosecutor-partner of Ma Yi Deum.
Jun Kwang Ryul, playing the villain Jo Gap Soo, was amazing as well. His acting made me really hate the character, but also showed the villain having a bit of remorse at some times, making Gap Soo seem 10x more realistic.
Characters: 10/10
My favorite thing from this drama? The characters. Dedicating this entire paragraph to the female lead, I will be telling you why Ma Yi Deum (played by Jung Ryeo Won) is my favorite female lead of all time. Prosecutor Ma is not the usual female lead in a rom com. The one word I would use to describe her is imperfect. She might seem super crafty, but don’t hate her for what she does, since that’s probably what any of us would do in her situation. Her imperfections make her an extremely realistic character and set apart from all other female leads. She is also extremely intelligent and most likely to outsmart her opponents every time. There are a few times, however, when she loses her cool by letting her emotions get the better of herself. But this only shows that Ma does not act like the perfect female lead of every other drama, making me love this character even more. Jung Ryeo Won, the actress for Ma Yi Deum, simply cannot be replaced. I will never forget this character.
Though Yeo Jin Wook didn’t have much development, he did play an important role in this story. I actually felt as if this character was more of a supporting role... Also the romance was a bit choppy and was not developing throughout the drama. They had great romance and chemistry in the beginning, then it disappeared in the middle, and returned at the very end. They need a second season for the romance!!!
Music: 9/10
The OST not only suits this drama perfectly (sometimes I can predict when a certain song will start playing ;P), but it also brings the feeling and emotions to me when I am listening to the song.
Enjoyment level: 7/10
This drama really makes me uncomfortable because it shines light on the darkest corners of reality. But when Ma Yi Deum serves justice, there is just this incredible feeling of satisfaction that comes over me. Another moment when I felt huge satisfaction was when she went at Cho Gap Soo with the mop xD. Also the comedy of this drama is great! They even made a few serious parts funny (in a good way) and that lightened the overall feel of this drama.
Rewatch value: 6/10
Since the plot got a bit slow in the middle, I would probably not want to watch this show again. But I might want to rewatch it in an year or so.
~Conclusion~
This show breaks the rules of dramaland. Dramas are usually super unrealistic and have a load of cliches, but Witch’s Court breaks those kdrama norms by reminding us of reality. Yes, this show has made me extremely upset by presenting all the darkness of the world, but that just raises awareness and shows us that these things are real issues.
Recommendations: I would compare this drama to Save Me. While they are completely different plotwise, the meaning and message of the dramas have similarities. However, I would have to disclose the disclaimer that if you could not deal with the dark side of Witch’s Court, don’t watch Save Me. Save Me is extremely dark, and seems even darker than Witch’s Court since it has no comedy or romance.
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