I just finished Extraordinary Attorney Woo and I really enjoyed it. Loved it, actually. Though I also know that I come from a place wherein I am not autistic, know only a few people who are, and really can't comment on how good or bad the representation in the show is. I suspected as I watched that some of it was accurate and some of it very likely wasn't. This article has a pretty good analysis.
So...er, I should actually start over. The show is about an autistic attorney (Woo Young Woo, played by Park Eun Bin) who's basically a savant when it comes to law but struggles with reading people and emotions. She graduated at the top of her prestigious Seoul university, but has been looking for a job for 6 months. Unknown to her, there's a lot of background history/drama that comes into play where her father had been a law student before he dropped out to take care of her, her mother (spoiler alerts!!) abandoned her and is a top lawyer about to go up for a government position, and the head of a rival law firm knew both her father and mother...and offers Young Woo a job because she ultimately wants to use her to take down Tae Su-Mi (her mother). Whew.
Anyway, I honestly didn't care all that much about all the DRAMA parts. What I lived for was Young Woo's interactions with her co-workers and friends, her slow growth & yearning to grow, and her budding relationship with Lee Jun-Ho (played by Kang Tae-Oh, who I've liked in everything I've seen him in, even when he's a bad guy). It's also got Kang Ki-Young as one of the head lawyers and I love him too. So I kinda had to watch it.
Each episode tends to focus on a particular law case, though some stretch over more than one. In that way, it is quite episodic, but it definitely builds up the story bit by bit. It was good that things weren't always a "win" and that Young Woo's different abilities didn't always mean they prevailed either. She had challenges and was not easily accepted (some characters in particular took a lot longer than others). Jun-Ho was perfectly charming, though definitely their path to a relationship is a rocky one.
It looks like there will be a Season 2 (it was that well received), so I do look forward to that. Now that the family drama stuff was more or less resolved (sort of), maybe there can be a bit more on her personal relationships.
Am I glad I watched it? Yes, definitely. Will I watch it again? Entirely possible (maybe a re-watch before the next season).
