Beyond the Bar makes a better case for itself in Episode 2, which is kind of fitting when you think about it. It’s still a legal drama about a brilliant but socially awkward young lawyer, which rings the Extraordinary Attorney Woo bell, and it’s still invariably going to morph into an opposites-attract romance, which is a K-Drama inevitability. But it’s also making a conscious effort to really dig into the psychology of its characters and their relationships, both through direct action and clever analogy (anyone for tea?)
The case of the week format also works, as it did in the premiere. This follow-up begins with a man causing carnage at a fertility clinic and the clinic suing for damages, which occupies the specific plot focus of the episode, but it’s also careful to highlight individual character scenes like Hyo-min and her boyfriend breaking up over something remarkably trivial — who’d have thought it? — and Seok-hoon having weekend visitation with his dog, Hash, from a previous relationship. It’s important for us to see these things because they’re illuminating on both fronts, especially for Seok-hoon, whose work shtick is constantly coming across like an emotionless robot.
And, as I said, the case itself is very interesting. The saboteur, Park Ki-beom, is ticked off for very understandable reasons. Having donated his sperm because he was diagnosed with cancer and forced to undergo surgery that might leave him infertile, he still clung to hope that he and his wife could have a child after a car accident left her burned. But no such luck — the clinic lost his sample, and now he’s unable to provide another.
You get to see some of Hyo-min’s awkwardness in pushing Ki-beom to describe the case in clear terms in front of her, which he’s reluctant to do given the intimate nature of the details. But is this awkwardness? I suppose so, but it’s not so much about her social ineptitude as her professional aptitude. She’s just determinedly, unflinchingly good at her job. And while it probably doesn’t take a legal eagle to see that Ki-beom is the victim here and deserves compensation, that isn’t really the point either.
It’s nice to see Hyo-min get one over on the fiancé in a professional context, but it’s nicer to see Seok-hoon recognise her value and also console her, in his own way, by reassuring her of that value. It’s a nice metaphor, the idea that tea gets stronger when it’s exposed to hot water, which applies to Hyo-min’s career but also her relationship in the opposite way. If the innate strength isn’t there, the slightest obstacle will prove insurmountable.
It isn’t always that easy, of course, and Seok-hoon himself seems to be proof of that. He has strength and determination in spades, and yet his relationship didn’t last — still unclear about why — and he’s generally disliked around the office, his absolutely unflappable demeanour and legendary productivity being off-putting, instead of Hyo-min’s get-it-done resilience being charming. This is what makes him an interesting character, and his dynamic with Hyo-min more intriguing.
It isn’t wildly different from the premiere then, granted, but Beyond the Bar Episode 2 is a better hour that accomplishes more and feels surer of itself in doing so. The legal cases are definitely intriguing, but it’s very much looking like the characters are going to be the real draw of this series.
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