Prosecutor Princess is a breeze to watch with its zippy and addictive pacing - which, luckily for us, never draws to a slow crawl during its third act (like most romantic comedies will inevitably do). The romantic story line keeps you on your toes, for a good 8 episodes, as the drama never really establishes *who* our main guy is: will she fall for the heroic Prosecutor Yoon who is still mourning over is dead wife, or the nice and funny - but mysterious,and ever-so-slightly creepy - Lawyer Seo? Who knows? (OK, the poster knows ). The legal stuff is fun to watch, but the main mystery, whilst interesting at first, is too much of a tease. Trust me when I tell you that you’ll be yelling at your screen every time you see Mysterious Nice Guy Lawyer Seo and his BFF Jenny Ahn talking about their mysterious plans. It’s so frustrating when the audience isn’t omniscient and you get characters talking in code, and the big revelation doesn’t occur until the 11th (or was it 12th?) episode! By the time it was revealed, I wasn’t too interested in the matter as well. However, where Prosecutor Princess lacks in its plot, it makes up for with its rich array of characters. Our leading lady Ma Hye Ri - played by the delightful Kim So Yeon - starts off as a book-smart and trusting self-centred, selfish, uncaring and vain woman who matures into one of both book intelligence and life intelligence. She learns how to understand people better which allows her to become a much more capable Prosecutor because whilst she knew the law like the back of her hand, she applied it in an inflexible and unsympathetic manner - only looking at the evidence, not the truth. I guess in that regard, the main plot does very well, because it develops her and leads her to look for the truth behind the mystery (which she wouldn’t have been able to do in the first five episodes). Of course, her growth comes with the help of Lawyer Seo (Park Shi Hoo) who mentors her - from the side lines - whilst also being a friend that she really needs. He’s arguably the most complex and intricate characters of them all. Granted, he’s a bit of a stalker with a hidden agenda (and the drama really makes a point of that, and not in that “aw, cute” way). Like Hye Ri, he’s got childlike innocence in him - although it has been somewhat scarred. I feel like my words aren’t doing his character enough justice, but Park Shi Hoo hits the nail on the head with his performance of a multi-faceted Lawyer Seo who struggles to reconcile his true feelings with his desire for justice. The supporting cast are well fleshed out too. We have our second main leads, Prosecutor Yoon and Prosecutor Jin, who aren’t your typical K-Drama second main leads that are desperately attempting to vie for the attention of the main girl/guy or the second main girl/guy. Jin is refreshing: she’s cute and kind, but she’s also incredibly shy and feels insecure about the feelings she harbors for Prosecutor Yoon. Whilst she initially reprimands Hye Ri for her air-head ways, they come to form this cute hoobae/sunbae relationship that allows both characters to rub off on one another. The two Prosecutors also serve up some nice little breathers when PP starts getting angst-y and intense. I shouldn’t forget to mention our third female lead - Lawyer Jenny Ahn - who is Lawyer Seo’s female bestie. She’s a bit of a frosty bitch, but that’s probably because she sees everything from an objective stand point and just wants to get the job done. I didn’t feel that she was romantically interested in Lawyer Seo, but that she maintained the desire to keep her best friend on the track he initially started on before everything became one big botched up mess because of ‘feelings’ (which I don’t think she really understands). She thinks with the mind of an Attorney out for justice and petty things such as ‘love’ hinders that said justice. You simply cannot hate her, though, because whilst she’s harsh (and at times I royal bitch), she’s always right and she’s usually just being a bitch when she’s pissed that secrets are being kept from her by Lawyer Seo when she’s meant to be his right-hand (wo)man. The shows charm is the main couple though. Even if, at first, you aren’t entirely sure who she’ll end up with, Lawyer Seo and Ma Hye Ri have brilliant chemistry and nuance. You *want* this couple to get together. The writer doesn’t employ constant angst and bickering to strengthen the pair’s relationship (any bickering is purely playful), but instead has them help each other. They have a mutual understanding of one another and know one another’s true qualities. Whilst Hye Ri can’t read Seo like he can read her (due to his omniscient presence) she feels a sincerity behind his words and trusts him. Another great thing about this pairing is that you never feel that one side is putting in more love than they other: there are no power games at play here. The love equal, on both sides, which allows for the two to help each other grow and develop as people. It might seem like Lawyer Seo is pulling all the strings in the grand scheme of things, but that certainly isn’t the case when it comes to love these two share. They’re fun as friends, but they’re even more special as a couple. I praise the ending for being one of resolution and closure, but I do condemn it for having a run-up that includes the favourite K-Drama trope of noble idiocy. Thankfully, the noble idiocy didn’t last long and was gone in the space of 30 minutes; however, I would have preferred for it to have never occurred entirely (because noble idiocy makes two appearances in two different contexts, in order to give the couple some sort of “hurdle” they need to climb over together or whatever it is). To conclude, it is the noble idiocy and thinly spread out mystery that prevents PP from getting an objective 8 from me. But in my heart of hearts, it’s probably my favourite rom-com (so far).