Drama Digest
Two lawyers battle it out against each other to fulfill their ambitions in the cutthroat business of advocacy. Both lawyers are hired by high-class clientele which means they live above the paygrade of an average person in contemporary Korea. They frequently log heads to attain success in their business. Geum Ja is a cutthroat lawyer who crosses borders on lawlessness (the irony), brash behavior nicknamed ‘the Hyena’ in her circles for her survival instincts in the competitive environment. Yoon Hee Jae is the rival she frequently butts heads with. He is the complete opposite of her when it comes to dealing with his clientele. Confident in his skills as a lawyer he believes he has no reason to overstep rules and regulations to attain success. Despite this, we witness Jae get the rug pulled from under his feet in several sequences by Geum Ja. With both of them opposites of each other in their work ethics, we get a drama called ‘Hyena’
The Feel-Good Part
The very first thing that Hyena gets right about being a K drama is the female lead. Geum Ja is almost a breath of freshness in a plethora of characters who are written as submissive and naïve, squeaky. Outspoken, and competitive we see her as someone who does not hold herself back in an environment that is extremely competitive. This drama breaks down the conventions we see in k dramas early on instilling newfound respect for our main female lead. What makes her more powerful on the screen is, that in the process of making her competitive and strong the writers did not shy away from creating an opponent equally matched to her. Too many times, films, and dramas miss how to properly write a strong female character because the girls boss their way into it. the male character is not put down just to uplift the female lead. Her grit is shown through the equally matched, angsty situations between them. There are scenes where both of them have to collaborate on cases together, the drama gets points for portraying angst and chemistry.
The Disappointing Factor
Sometimes the plot just falls flat on its face and doesn’t click all too well for the larger picture the makers are trying to portray. Many of the side characters stay true to their position as side characters. No development is seen for them spare maybe one or two of them. They came across as if they were plot props instead of active side characters adding to the story. But this is easy to ignore if you want to only focus on the main two leads and their quarrels, and angsty situation. Which is basically what the drama has to offer in terms of entertainment. There are mixed reactions to this drama understandably because sometimes the episodes are a straight snooze fest. Especially at the start. Cliched entry into the plot, for an average viewer, would be a sign to turn off their device and do something productive.
In-Depth Analysis
Hee Jae our male lead is a golden boy, mentored by the best of the best in the industry, he goes through all the problems relying on his skills alone. Geum Ja resorts to using underhanded tactics to resolve issues she has. Her only goal in this entire business is attaining money and more money. As they both rival for the best cases things take a turn when they face each other in the court. A few twists and turns in the plot wherein things get rounded off smoothly when they have to join forces on a case. Subplots are used to propel the backgrounds of our main characters. Three big legal cases are of importance in this drama, who are significantly more emphasized than other smaller cases shown.
Star Power
Kim Hye Soo and Ju Ji Hoon are the main cast of this drama. The former has acted in the drama Signal 2016 as well and has won awards for the same.
Overall Opinion
Hyena is a fun-to-watch drama. It only has 1 season and is fairly easy to finish as well. There are amazing individual moments for the characters, plus a new perspective for a female character from the run-of-the-mill characters in K dramas. If anything, the chemistry between the main leads is off the charts. The plot even though cliched at the start does grow on you after some point in the duration of the drama. The show on its own does not have much to its credits but it’s a good watch nevertheless.
