The world of K-Dramas is a huge one. Each series shares a unique story that makes it stand out. I have watched my fair share of dramas, and usually find my favorites by checking out what's popular. Either that or by following the projects of my favorite Korean actors and actresses. One series that recently stood out for me is the crime procedural Partners for Justice. With its intriguing plotlines and diverse characters, it is a show that made me binge its two seasons. As a fan of both Korean dramas and crime procedurals, I couldn't resist! Join me on this journey as I review this suspense-filled drama in this post!
Binge-watching series (should we still call them TV series if it is not on TV?) has been the norm for me lately. I tend to watch them in the mornings when I work out. I have been watching Netflix often lately because they have a lot of Korean dramas for me to stream. This is how I recently discovered the Korean drama Partners for Justice. It popped up as one of my suggested shows and I decided to try watching it. I ended up watching and finishing the series. Two seasons of it!
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| Image credit: HB Entertainment |
Plot
The show is a crime procedural that revolves around Eun Sol. She is a newcomer prosecutor who solves cases with the help of forensic doctor Baek Beom. Throughout the series, they help each other to solve crimes and put the guilty to justice.
Review
I am the type who watches K-Dramas of the romance and drama category so watching a Korean crime drama was new to me. I have seen Criminal Minds Korea, but that was more of a US franchise show. Partners for Justice is my first crime-themed drama from Korea.
It was interesting to watch the dynamic of the two leads. The young prosecutor combined with the grumpy older doctor is an interesting combination. Seeing them pair up was amusing, especially since the doctor was often reluctant to do so.
I enjoyed the combination of these two characters. The actors who played them had great chemistry and I enjoyed every minute of them together. I also enjoyed the great supporting cast for both seasons 1 and 2. It made their show both exciting and fun to watch.
Ensemble casts don't usually work well in K-Dramas. Too many supporting roles and their background stories are common in K-Dramas but they can be a hit or miss. Sometimes they can take away time from the main plot, but sometimes they can enhance it. For this show, it was the latter.
Baek Beom reminded me so much of the US character House. He is a brilliant doctor who does not get along well with other people. He speaks his mind even if it disappoints the people around him.
I like having lead characters like this who tend to go against the norm of being super likable people. Having Baek Bom as the main character was new and I enjoyed seeing him as the male lead. It was too bad that audiences did not have time to explore his personality more. Despite the story development, the show did not flesh this character out well. It seemed to me that there was still more to him than meets the eye that the viewers did not get to see. I do not know if the writers meant for it to be that way or if this is something that the actor wanted to portray.
I was a little curious about Baek Beom and Eun Sol’s dynamic throughout the two seasons. I felt like they were being set up to be a couple. There were times it seemed they were in a will-they-or-won’t-they relationship. That would have been interesting considering the age gap and the contrasting personalities. It's too bad the writers did not see it through. It was like the writers started something but changed their minds by the end of it. It made me wonder what the writers’ real intention was with the moments these two had together.
If there is one thing that I did not like about this show it is that there are so many scenes with blurred-out parts. I'm assuming this was because of how conservative/strict Korean broadcast regulations are. As a crime and medical drama, I already expected the show to have a bit of blood, body parts, and dead people. But what I did not expect was to see everything blurred out in the scenes that featured them. That was new to me. I am not so much annoyed as I am weirded out by the whole thing. For me, the show would have been better off not showing those scenes if they were going to blur them out anyway. It would have been better for them to show the scene from a different angle than blurring everything.
In the two seasons of Partners for Justice I admired how the writers were able to blend in its various elements. The stories of the lead and background characters and the cases they were on were gripping. I enjoyed watching every episode. I also enjoyed seeing the corruption story play out and how they had to overcome it to do their jobs.
The combination of stories was so balanced that I did not mind them coming together in one show. The pacing was also fast, so I did not have to drag or force myself to finish the two seasons right away.
It is rare for K-Dramas to have a second season, so I was happy and surprised to find out that this show had one. It was only disappointing to see that there were cast members from season 1 who were no longer in the show in season 2.
As much as there were characters who annoyed me, I still missed them in season 2. I realized that they grew on me when one of them appeared near the end of season 2. It was only a guest role but I let out a bit of a scream of excitement when I saw him. That part made me so happy, and I was grinning the entire time that I was watching this character on screen.
Another thing that I enjoyed in season 2 was the mysterious killer storyline. This revolved around a character with a disassociative personality disorder. I enjoyed watching the season because of the reveal at the end involving that character. Realizing that the story was not at all what I had assumed or expected it turned me into a fan. It made me want to watch everything all over again!
Where are they now?
Jung Jae Young (Baek Beom)
He moved on to other projects on film and TV. His latest projects have been the series On the Verge of Insanity in 2021 and the film Noryang in 2023. Somehow after this show, he will always be Baekbom to me.
Jeong Yu Mi (Eun Sol)
After playing Eun Sol, she moved on to other film and TV projects. Her name is also connected to a web series called Queen Wu reportedly coming soon in 2024.
Park Eun Seok (Kang Hyun)
After Partners for Justice, he continued to work in TV, the most notable being The Penthouse: War in Life. He has also gone to theater, playing the lead role in the play Faust in 2023.
Oh Man Seok (Do Ji-han)
Man Seok, an acting veteran, has done various TV shows and films since the series. His latest work has been on stage with the musical The Seagull from 2022-2023.
No Min Woo (Jang Chul / Dr. K)
A musician before he went into acting, Min Woo has been back in music with his band Midnight Romance since 2020. He has been on other TV shows and dabbled in theater. His most recent role has been playing Death in the musical Elisabeth in 2022.
What Now?
The ending of the season teased a future storyline for a group of characters. It is too bad that there was no season 3. I wish they could have at least gotten a spin-off. The stories teased at the end of the series would have been fascinating to follow. They did not even need the leads to make that happen, it's too bad that they did not continue the story from there.
For fans of crime dramas, this is one K-drama that I recommend watching. You'd have to watch it with subtitles because it has no English audio, but it's still a good show. Partners for Justice has a great ensemble cast and interesting plots. It has a fast pace that keeps you watching and is something worth the watch. Blurred-out scenes aside, this was an entertaining show. I would love to see more Korean dramas like this in the future.
Is anyone else familiar with this show? If you are, let me know what you think about it in the comments! If you watched this because of my recommendation, share your thoughts in the comments too! I'm excited to know what other people think of it!
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