Miss Hammurabi (2018)

This drama.. Ohhh boy.. It is very good. It talks about things and topics that needs more attention. In this drama there were enough of serious and comedic scenes non of them overpowered each other, what made the watching more enjoyable.

Story:
I liked how the story doesn’t have focus on romance but to the problems that any person can live through in their lives.

Characters:
I loved the fact that L finally got a main role in this drama and he proved his talent in acting. He had to play a serious and close- hearted character whom he did great! He was so cute that sometimes my UWU screamed so loud that I was even surprised.
Go Ah Ra’s character was the reason I fell in love with this drama. And how later on in drama her past was told and what she did go through as a teen.
Chemistry between characters was good too. How everyone tried to understand and help each other.
What I appreciated was the fact that Im Ba Reun confessing his feelings to Par Cho Oh Reum didn’t make things awkward between the characters, but let them understand the situation that is happening and bordering the characters.
Second lead character relationship was adorable too. How they interacted to each other.
I felt attached to every character in this drama.

Music:
OST was REALLY good. It didn't bother to stay focused on the scenes, but it felt more like the music completed them. It gave the right feeling to the scenes.

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I don't care what anyone else has to say because this show is a master piece. Those of you that take drama's so technical are wild because it's honestly a TV show so I'm sorry if they don't follow common laws and everything is over the top and dramatic; it's a KOREAN DRAMA. I had a hard time with L's acting at first but it definitely picked up but Go Ara was phenomenal with her emotions and so was Sung Dong. Every character in this show played an amazing part and I was obsessed from the very first episode. This show took real life issues and turned them into situations where we all wish we could help. Someone has been or seen a situation like this and this show tackled it because in real life we really can't tackle it sometimes and that's why people suffer. That's why there are so many abuse, molestation and etc cases. This show was high in emotion because every episode teared me up and usually I rush a a show but I couldn't even imagine rushing this one because every single second was so important to me and the basis of the story. So I'm sorry to those of you that have an opinion about not liking it, to each their own, but if you want a funny, intense, emotion wringing drama with the basis of connection between characters, this is the one for you and trust me, I've seen a lot of drama's and guess what, this is also A DRAMA.

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if it weren't so damn over-the-top with emotions, it'd be a good drama. but the female lead's character was too emotional and should not have been a judge at all. If the melodramatics were omitted, I'd give this drama an 8, actually. Good writing and the legal cases are compelling and relevant, but again, the emotional part of the lead was too much and made me sick of her.

The acting of the other two leads was alright. The older actor--I always enjoy him! I like the characters that he plays in dramas.
The young lead's acting is alright. Not bad, not good. Decent.

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Despite the poor acting of Go Ara, drama is exceptionally good.
The visual side is extremely sophisticated. On the wall in judges` room there is a painting of Goya and some variation on the theme of "Dance" by Henri Matisse. The script is outstanding and dialogues are intelligent. Anyone who is looking for a wise story and a wise commentary on life will find it here.
Thanks to the fact that drama is based on the novel of Moon Yoo Seok, it has a depth of character and thoughtful problems. It asks the question of what a justice is, what is the power of public opinion and money? And a very important one: is always a poor the victim?

Judges:
Judge Park, played by Go Ara – she could have played uncompromising heroine better.
Judge Im, played by Kim Myung Soo – his acting is really good. He plays the character who is straightforward, confident, and in control of the feelings, but at the same time seeking the truth about himself, about his true motivations.
Young judges have a great chemistry, I can even say that drama is full of electrifying romance, although they barely talking to each other and keep the distance between themselves almost all the time.
Sung Dong Il is my favorite actor. His judge Han is so warm and family man, but on the other hand very emotional, who instantly fights for justice.
Go Ara is holding back from hysterical sobbing, (perhaps the director prohibited it and he even jokes about her constant crying, when he recommends her to take eye drops). I may only hope that Kim Myung Soo will not learn bad acting from her.

The mood of “Miss Hammurabi”:
The characters are very natural and this is a big advantage of the drama. The ajummas in the market are portrayed very well, thanks to a few scenes we can feel their loneliness, moving warmth and straight humor. Filming is natural, full of bright and bland sepia and I like the soundtrack.

I give 8 for acting because of the only one expression of Go Ara`s face (who always looks like she is about to cry in a moment), but 10 for the whole, because it's a very good drama!

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Written by a real judge

I was not surprised to find out the drama was written by a real judge (but how do they have the time?). The work culture felt very realistic although it's not like I know a judge's workplace, especially in Korea.

I was on an L appreciation binge when I decided to try tackle this drama again for the 3rd time. I'm glad I finally got to the end. It has an exciting start with the juxtaposition of L & Go Ara's characters but there's a few episodes in the middle where it's not exciting enough with either the characters or the cases/drama but then it picks up again and finishes strongly. Apart from the first episode, the last few were the best episodes. Also I got to the end of the slow-burn romance and to me it seems people have been throwing that term around lately for slice-of-life dramas but this one really was a slow-burn romance, I kind of forgot about it until it appeared again it was that slow. The drama gives slice-of-life vibes but it's completely unrelatable, how many people are judges?

This drama aimed to tackle many issues in society today and luckily was able to tackle issues in the workplace, civil law and criminal law in one go. They don't explain this until the end of the drama but the name Hammurabi derives from the Code (Law) of Hammurabi which was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator and have a presumption of innocence, according to Wiki. The Miss in the name refers to Go Ara's character which I found interesting since Im Ba-reun (L) is really the main character. But she was a very exciting character, one that doesn't stop to think or consider, sometimes taking things too far in one direction and forgetting about the balance of the other direction. Which Im Ba-reun had to then drag her back from and try find that middle ground. This drama is the perfect example of compromise, change, and trying to see the both sides to every story.

It was interesting though how in their highlighting of how terrible the sexualisation of women is in the workplace they disregarded it happening to men (just one man really). However while I found the female character who intentionally flirted and gave mixed signals then got offended an odd character (if she was real I'd be annoyed no matter how hot she is, really, what does she think would happen?) she did help strengthen them highlighting the issue of sexual harassment of women (at the detriment to the man?). Also I found the rich vs poor mentality in this a bit too much, it certainly highlighted it as an issue but the mentality was so strong, or really it was Go Ara's character that had such a strong mentality.

I really loved the 3 main characters, the juxtaposition between them were what made this drama. It was as serious as Sung Dong-il and Go Ara could get but they were still hilarious, especially together. L as Im Ba-reun's indifferent distaste for other people narration was so appealing. His uncaring indifference of just dealing with society. Although I think if he was real he'd be depressed.Honestly though what really got me through the drama was L in a suit, he got me through all those middling boring moments. L's improved so much in his acting skills.

I looooove the OSTs, most are in my playlist. Most importantly I love how at the end of every episode, matter how sad I was feeling, it would play "It's alright, It's alright...it'll all be fine, someday." and that comforted me so much.

There's so many good quotes from this drama but I'm going to end with:
"When wearing this judge's gown you should erase your face but not your mind. I couldn't see it, if I'd tried to see with my heart I could've seen it. " - L
Followed by:
"After 30 years here I still don't know what's right or wrong. Please become a judge who listens. Before you make a judgement listen carefully to others." - Chief Judge Han's mentor

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Actually I waited till the end of the drama to watch it and I'm glad I did. From my experience of watching dramas I've got to say the past few years the cable networks of Korea are doing a better job at producing high quality stories that actually make sense rather than nonsensical romance stories only. From this sentence itself you can figure out that there's very little romance in this story.

First of all I shall tell my biggest complaint for this drama. That is that Sung Dong Il didn't get more screen time. His character was the most entertaining and obviously he's under the section main cast but compared to the other two he has little screentime.
Also another thing I don't understand how people say L's acting isn't memorable. After watching many, many, MANY dramas of his I've got to say his acting skills have improved 500X times. His character made more sense to me. The story is set in such a way that we don't completely fall for him cuz he sometimes is more tight assed. For me his character was refreshing. Another thins is I swear the female lead sometimes got on my nerves so much. Why can't she think before acting and after doing that and gets all sad.
Another fact was that I knew I saw him in some drama but wan't sure. Who am I talking about? L's best friend at work I mean. later I figured he was the king in the drama Faith with Lee Min Ho

Would I give this another rewatch value? Definitely yes

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Right intentions, bad execution

This drama takes a bit to grow on you. I am a fan of the legal genre and was pleasantly surprised/excited to watch one from the judges' point of view. Note, you may not be able to binge-watch because the FL can be annoying at times. It's a decent drama with a novel perspective (a judge's work) so it's better to take it slow to give it a chance.
I loved the FL's character initially. She's feisty and quite the moral crusader. However, it tends to get frustrating because she is full of contradictions. She's all about fairness but is always biased even if it's in the side of the weak/oppressed. She's a judge for godsake. She's supposed to be impartial. I hate it when she makes up her mind about the guilt of the defendant when it comes to workplace harrassment but conveniently supports defendants who are drug addicts and alcoholics. She's also a bit full of herself. In my opinion, she doesn't deserve to be a judge; she's better suited to be a public defender or a lawyer or a philanthropist. Also, what's with all the crying?! I get it, many of the petitioners have sad stories. Some of the crying made sense. But this girl cries all the freaking time! Can you imagine being a defendant in front of a judge who so blatantly shows that they're on the side of prosecution/petitioner?! She also cries like a petulant child stubbornly insisting on her moral high ground even when her superiors/seniors try to calmly explain what the law can and cannot be, and what judges, as the upholders of law can and cannot do. I get wanting to change the system. That doesn't mean smashing it into smithereens at the risk of hurting others. You cannot jeopardize the many to save one. And lady, you're a judge! You should know that the most!!
This drama focuses on harrassment quite a bit. Talking about workplace harrassment, I agree with the power dynamics and the unfairness. Work environments are toxic for many. However, not all sexual harrasment allegations are true! My point is, the probability of an allegation being untrue may be negligible, but it is not zero. That should matter, especially to a judge! Your verdict is going to impact someone's life! You can't seriously go in assuming their guilt! A layperson can have the luxury of judging the accused devoid of proof but a judge cannot forget that all are equal before law and are innocent until proven guilty!!!!
I find it funny that she's always right! And only whatever she does is right. I mean, come on! How can you have a show where a judge with preconceived notions is never wrong?!
As much as the FL is frustrating, the ML is cute. Hats off to the presiding judge's patience for tolerating the FL.
Apart from the above rant, the drama is pretty engaging (annoyance aside). The romance is nothing noteworthy or worth mentioning. (It is a legal drama after all).
Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed as the premise was promising but the execution was flawed. It started with a bang and then kind of became floppy. They could have made the drama so much more wholesome if only the FL wasn't on her high horse all the freaking time.

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One of the best law dramas

I have seen some law dramas before too. Prosecutor, lawyer dramas, but the main point was the love in them, and now this judicial one.

Everyone has their own opinion and taste about dramas. It is a stupid thing from me that I just like rom-com dramas where they focus on the love stories, but this is me.
This is mine:

Honestly, I didn't want to start this drama. Law dramas aren't for me, just when love has a big part of the stories. I really love rom-com dramas. So, it was hard to me to start this drama, but I said to myself "for Kim Myung So, and for his good acting, maybe, it is worth to watch".
When I finished the first episode, I just sat in front of my PC and thinking about this three eccentric people. I almost dropped the show, but yet I gave it a second chance.

I can say, if you like law or business dramas, watch this drama. It delves into the law, and the romance becomes secondary. There are many-many funny scenes. The scenes of the court hearings are very special. Heart wrenching, funny, and you can feel anger, antipathy for some people.
We can see the judges fight with their own feelings and hard time in the court hearings. But they can't and mustn't do anything.

Then, a quite special woman, Park Cha Oh Reum arrived for the 44th Civil Affairs Department, and she disrupts the office life with her own point of view. But, she isn't alone. Chief Judge Han is a "miracle beetle" too. He is my favourite character. Strict, indulgent, helpful, and above all he is so funny. This not at all common, I think. Yes, I haven't ever meet with a judge, but this is so special to me.

Something about OSTs: Where I had to cried, I almost cry because of the sad scenes and music.

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I have to start out by saying that this is one of the BEST DRAMAS I have ever seen in my life. Period. The plot is incredibly refreshing and unique, and the drama does a great job of subverting viewers' expectations again and again--but in the best way possible. If you're looking for a great drama that will make you laugh, cry, and think about a number of important issues in society, then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this drama!

STORY: The story/plot starts off seeming fairly stereotypical/in line with many typical K-drama tropes. However, by the 2nd and 3rd episodes it proves to be much different from, and much more realistic than, most K-dramas. As has already been stated, the story was written by a real judge who works at the Seoul Central District Court, which alone sets it apart from other legal dramas/K-dramas in general, and makes the personalities and perspectives of the main characters more realistic, believable, and empathetic. I, personally, don't have much interest in legal/crime stories. However, this drama focuses more on ordinary, everyday, human issues in society (i.e., sexism, sexual harassment, workplace bullying, classism, exploitation, etc.) that everyday people face and can empathize with/understand. The dialogue in this drama is very smart, witty, moving, and memorable. I loved the back-and-forth philosophical debates between the 3 main judges wherein they try to find out the truth and serve justice to the best of their abilities. And, while other people had some issues with it, I appreciated the subtle love story between Oh Reum and Ba Reun--I found it to be very realistic and refreshing, and I liked that it strayed away from most (but not all) of the classic K-drama rom-com tropes.

ACTING/CAST: I have to admit, I was a little wary of watching this drama due to the cast and I waited quite a while before finally watching it due to my reservations about it. I am NOT a fan of Go Ara, I thought she did okay in Reply 1994, but she is by no means one of my favorite actresses. Likewise, I was a bit prejudiced about L (Kim Myung Soo), since he is an idol-actor and I had never seen him act in any other dramas before, so I wasn't sure if his acting would be convincing or good. However, this drama put all my fears to rest. While a lot of people are bashing Go Ara's acting, she did OKAY, in my opinion. Her acting isn't great, and she definitely had some weak acting moments here and there (especially during the flashbacks to their school days), but her acting isn't terrible and it did not keep me from enjoying this drama at all. Kim Myung Soo, on the other hand, completely exceeded my expectations--he does a PHENOMENAL job in this drama. I absolutely LOVED his character, Im Ba Reun, and Myung Soo completely embodies this character from beginning to end. Needless to say, I became an L-fan after watching this drama, that's how good he is. Sung Dong Il and Ryu Deok Hwan are also EXCELLENT actors--their characters are super funny and likeable, and their acting was completely natural and convincing. The only reason I give the acting in this drama 8.5/10 is primarily because of some of the weak acting moments by Go Ara and some of the supporting cast. But Myung Soo, Dong Il, and Deok Hwan absolutely KILL IT in this drama.

MUSIC: The music in this drama is FANTASTIC and super on-point. I immediately downloaded all of the songs right after I finished this drama. It's super good.

REWATCH VALUE: I've already rewatched this series once from beginning to end (even though I don't usually rewatch dramas), and I've rewatched certain parts of it numerous times. You will definitely want to rewatch the touching scenes between the main characters (especially between Oh Reum and Ba Reun) again and again. There are so many moving scenes in this drama that will tug at your heartstrings and warm your heart.

OVERALL: This is drama is AMAZING. It is hands-down one of the best dramas I've ever seen and I'm shocked that it's not getting more attention/better reviews. It has some minor acting/writing flaws here and there (but most K-dramas do), but overall it is a beautiful, refreshing, unique, and heartwarming drama. Please watch it!

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O que dizer sobre essa maravilha de Kdrama?

Nem sei porque demorei tanto tempo para ver esse Kdrama, mesmo depois de ler vários comentários positivos sobre ele e receber algumas indicações, outros dramas sempre passavam na frente. E, a vibe certa pra assistir um drama jurídico demorou tanto a chegar que pensei que ele tinha virado só mais um drama no meio de uma multidão de dramas da minha lista que talvez eu assistiria algum dia.

Não importa quanto tempo levou quando finalmente comecei assistir me apaixonei pela história. Desde o primeiro episódio me senti tão animada ao ponto de querer maratonar o drama todo sem nem olhar para o lado.

Sim. eu já estava assistindo vários outros dramas naquele momento, mas quando comecei: Miss Hamurabi, ignorei os outros e foquei só nele. Só por ai você já pode imaginar que esse drama ganhou muitos créditos comigo.

Mais do que achar os casos jurídicos interessantes, amei ver como os casos inspiravam o crescimento dos personagens. Temos aqui uma juíza recém nomeada, muito enérgica, empolgada e emotiva que lida com cada um dos casos não como uma mera aplicadora das leis, mas que leva em conta o contexto geral para trazer justiça aos envolvidos.

É bem interessante ver o contraste existente entre ela e o juiz Im Ba Reun. Enquanto ela embarca de cabeça em cada caso a fim de tomar uma decisão justa e sempre procura modificar as coisas que acredita estarem erradas no arcaico sistema judiciário. O juiz da direita que trabalha no mesmo gabinete, é o seu exato oposto, suas visões de mundo não coincidem, seus posicionamentos se chocam em diversos momentos. A impressão que temos dele é que ele não acredita mais no sistema e prefere agir metodicamente replicando exatamente os dispositivos legais com total imparcialidade, do que levar em conta as particularidades de cada caso.

Gostei muito de ver como o caráter e a humanidade dela conseguem plantar uma sementinha de esperança e mudança em cada uma das pessoas a sua volta. Podemos dizer que ela é o tipo de pessoa que não apenas passa despercebida em algum lugar, mas que provoca mudanças onde quer que esteja.

Não se iluda com a esperança do aparecimento de um romance nesse drama porque esse não é o foco da história.

O mistério sobre o que a secretaria Lee Do Yeon fazia a noite me deixou curiosa por um bom tempo e acabei me surpreendendo com sua história de vida. Sequer suspeitei de algo do tipo. Gostei bastante dessa personagem e do juiz Jung Bo Wang também. Os dois tinham um bom entrosamento.

ATUAÇÕES E OST

As atuações foram convincentes. Esta foi a primeira vez que assisti um drama com a Go Ah Ra e com o L e embora tenha sentido falta de mais expressividade da parte dela, no final das contas acabei relevando isso já que ela pelo menos entregou o que o papel exigia. Sobre ele, nem preciso dizer que me apaixonei por esse ser.

Tenho que dizer que a OST desse drama é maravilhosa e combinou perfeitamente com o drama. Amei a música Someday, Somehow - U-mb5. Me bastou escutar uma vez para sentir uma imensa vontade de correr no youtube pra escutar mais e mais.

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It's been a while since I watched this drama, but I guess I have to specifically write a review for this because this drama will always have a place in my heart.
Never have I watched a Kdrama to have tackled issues in its plot head on. I mean, those are sensitive issues and it is no joke if you include those in the story.
If you are looking for a cheesy romantic drama, skip this because the story means real business in showing issues of the society.
I love how the writer could inject humor to maintain the "happy mood" of the story, while sticking in its story about problems and issues.
I really love the dialogues and realizations, that is why I made a special review just for this drama.
Hope that a lot more people could appreaciate this kind of story.

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Miss Hammurabi is not exactly a law drama. It has cases and it is about judges, but it focuses more on the characters than the plot. Those characters are interesting, with rich backgrounds, that usually explain the way they act in the current time of the drama. Through the show, we learn more about them and more about their lives, as they start to develop relationships with one another. In the end, we get friendship, romance, strong office dynamics and a nice conclusion. So, it is inevitable that the performances were good as well. Go Ara has a way to express deep emotions in her every drama, and L has finally grown to a mature actor with flawless performances. So overall, 6,5 out of 10.

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