Season 1 Review
Strangers Again is a legal romantic drama that tells the story of divorce lawyers struggling to understand the meaning of love. These attorneys understand the causes of divorce and represent their clients perfectly in divorce courts. However, understanding love is a rocky climb for our heroes.
The drama tells the story of former lovers Oh Ha-ra and Goo Eun-beom. Both are excellent lawyers who met in college and married after ten years of dating. However, they divorced after three years of marriage due to Eun-Beom’s alleged cheating. The pair drift apart until fate brings Eun-beom back into Ha-ra’s life, where they become colleagues.
Their interactions prove that they still have strong feelings for each other, but will they get a second chance at love, or will working together rekindle their past grievances, making them even more estranged?
The second couple consists of lawyer Kang Bi-chwi and lawyer Kwon Si-wook, who have extremely different personalities. While Bi-chwi has a progressive belief in equal rights in marriage and an equal division of duties and chores, Si-wook is a traditional conservative who believes that the man is the head of the house and the woman is the obedient helper. Although they are constantly in conflict, they define the literal meaning of opposites. Will they be able to overcome extreme differences and find a chance at love?
The script had the potential to evoke strong emotions with its foundation of flawed characters depicting the daily struggles of marriage. Among the characters were successful lawyers whose love life was a mess that brought together the complexities of love, life and career. However, the story of the lead pair is underdeveloped and unnatural. Who in his right mind would introduce his ex-wife, whom he still has feelings for, to his friends and mediate in their love affairs?
Although the mental struggles Eun-beom fights are revealed in later episodes, her characterization seems illogical and makes no sense in everyday life.
The first leads were poorly written without significant development throughout the series. In contrast, the trajectory of the second main story is interesting, thought-provoking, thrilling, challenging and effortlessly the better romance to watch in the series. Their characters evolve from the irritatingly traditional conservative ‘oppa’ and the ultra-progressive ‘noona’ to relatable characters whose love blossoms through improved communication, understanding compromise in relationships and enduring mistakes.
The hyperrealism, especially in Oh Ha-ra and Eun-beom’s stories, does little to enhance their stories. But their story has a satisfying ending, that’s one thing at least.
An extremely talented cast, armed with amazing office chemistry, lightened up an otherwise muddled plot line. The entire cast, including the supporting players, comes together to show the challenges married couples face in real life and how difficult it is for couples to decide to divorce rather than stay to work out their differences.
Sometimes it is difficult for a couple to stay together no matter how much they are in love, other times the love is strong enough to manage various personality differences and have a successful marriage. Regardless, leaving or staying is a personal choice, as seen in many of the divorce cases the team tackles and through the lens of a character’s personal life.
Strangers Again is a fun show and an eye-opening show about some of the problems people face in marriage. If you want a light, legit K-drama with a touch of romance, check this out.