“Why Her?” is finally here and its as good as expected, if not better.

2022 has been a-okay when it comes to premiere episodes and more so dramas overall. Its become difficult to find a project that stands out from the get-go even when its a fast-paced story, however, “Why Her?” is here to prove me that there is still some hope left in 2022.

Lets discuss the drama.

Note: this article is a first-impression review, it doesn’t mean this is the writer’s final thoughts on the drama. This is a spoiler review.

The script

“Why Her?” is penned by a woman named Kim Ji Eun. According to mydramalist, she’s the same one who wrote “Lie After Lie.” I checked with NamuWiki and its the same screenwriter. For some reason, not every website I usually get my information at has written that down or linked her past works.

“Lie After Lie” was an interesting drama that felt a bit convoluted and stopped making sense despite a stellar start in about episode 10.

So….. I was happy watching the premiere, but now knowing who wrote it, I am still excited but a bit worried now. I hope my worries will die down soon.

Back to this script.

“Why Her?” has a very interesting story so far and a good set of characters. I think the characters introductions were done extremely well this time and I was immersed in the story faster than I had expected. I was surprised because I was sucked in faster than I thought I would. The screenwriter didn’t waste time and despite some jumps in between years, I think it was still mostly easy to follow and understand. I think she has built a solid foundation for what is yet to come.

I like the way Oh Soo Jae is written as a character, I’ll discuss more below on my thoughts on her, but I think this approach makes the entire drama more interesting.

She’s jaded in a way and can be inconsiderate. This makes room for a lot of potential growth that shall be engaging enough for people to keep tuning in besides the obvious tensions around the firm.

While I wasn’t expecting “Why Her?” to disappoint me much, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it this much either. If the drama stays at this pace and continue to be this interesting, I expect for it to surpass the 10% mark like its predecessor did.

The characters

I didn’t expect Oh Soo Jae’s character to be this brazen and unlikeable at first. I was shocked, but in a good way. I like the way she was written, I don’t like the character but gosh darn it, I like the way she’s written.

In her character description, it is said she has her own set of ‘self-righteous principles’ which I didn’t seem to catch in the premiere episodes. It seemed to be me that she’s jaded and has learned to set aside her morals to achieve success. The way she spoke to that woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted was appalling in my opinion. While in principle, it is true that Korean law isn’t on women’s side, the way she spoke to her, the way she threatened to ‘expose’ her and make her life a living hell was honestly shocking. Even more so since she’s a woman.

But in a way, it makes sense because she wouldn’t have been able to last in this company unless she was this brazen and ruthless.

I was especially astonished by how brazen she was when she confronted the lawyers who wanted her out of the company for the suicide of the woman we spoke about above. She actually says, ‘I am TK Law Firm and TK Law Firm is me,’ right there in front of its chairman. Is she THAT fearless or stupid? I can’t tell, but she’s like a bull that is heading directly towards a red cloth, we don’t know if she bump her head into a wall or a treasure yet.

I am surprised that she’s taking on the chairman so readily especially since he seems so well-connected and powerful, instead of trying to take him down or prove him wrong using less obvious tactics, she goes for the head. It could be that she has a lot of tricks up her sleeve considering how she’s acting.

It could also be that its an obvious misdirection on the screenwriter’s part and it turns out she had nothing to do with that woman’s death. Regardless, I was taken aback by how she behaved. I find her character very interesting.

Gong Chan seems like a nice man, I felt so bad for him when his parents just gave up on him like that. If this happened to me, I wouldn’t be able to get over it.

I was a bit shocked he just held her hand like that in that elevator especially since he thinks she didn’t recall who he was, and she was just sexually harassed by that man like two days ago. I spit my drink and screamed when I saw that…. Like dude… what makes you so different from him? Just because you said you liked her doesn’t mean you could do that my guy…

To me, it appears that Soo Jae remembered him judging by how she seemed a bit happy afterwards. But I found that scene contradictory considering the same message it was trying to set just the scene prior.

Choi Tae-Kook looked like a scary man at first but judging by how he just placed his son in the partners’ seat and how he’s treated by his sons, it seems he might not be as frightening as I thought…

Choi Yoon-Sang also looks interesting as a character.

The performances

First things first…. Who managed to cast Heo Jun-Ho, Kim Chang-Wan and Lee Kyoung-Young in the same project? Seriously? Who did that? The amount of epic older actors present in this project as well as established supporting characters is astonishing.

Also, why am I being followed by Cho Tae Sub… ehm.. I mean Lee Kyoung-Young wherever I go? The dude is everywhere.. he’s also in “Doctor Lawyer”…

Joking aside, I am so happy that Seo Hyun Jin took on such a role, she can be frightening at times and I love it. I loved her performance so much. She’s truly the heart of the show. Veteran actor Heo Jun-Ho delivers as always, he’s always so much fun to watch.

Hwang In Yeop has truly been able to showcase his growth at a stunning speed. I see a massive improvement in his acting abilities from “True Beauty” days. I would have never expected him to improve so much in such a short period of time. I am proud. He did so well in “The Sound of Magic” just recently and he’s doing well here too.

Bae In Hyuk is a rising charismatic star, I believe he has a lot of potential and can possibly grow beyond his wildest imaginations if he picks his roles correctly. This could be IT if the screenwriter gives him a good story for his character.

Its also nice seeing Kim Chang-Wan again. I love seeing him on screen.

Son Ji Hyun, who turned out to have been a former idol after I looked her up, is also doing well. On the opposite side, we have another idol, Jin Hyuk who still has a long way to go from the last time I’ve seen him act. Being opposite such talented actors can be a double-edged sword, I hope he can learn from them.

I like the casting for this drama for the most part.

Conclusions and comments on future episodes

“Why Her?” is up to a great start. I enjoyed the premiere a lot and my expectations for next week are now over the roof.

I have some ideas of what could be the past of some of the characters we’ve seen in the drama but I hope she surprises me. I trust Heo Jun-Ho and Seo Hyun Jin for the most part. They always pick interesting projects.

Fighting!

So these are my thoughts on the drama so far, so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.