There should not be a shortage of water supply in my neighborhood after watching the entire sixteen episodes of Prosecutor Princess- I’ve shed enough tears to sustain the demand.
Not that I was reduced to sobbing, uncontrollable tears, mind you. It was more that as the storyline progressed, my heartstrings and tear ducks were simply and unequivocally… pulled.
Prosecutor Princess is a story about the transformation of Ma Hye Ri, who blossomed from an innocent, naïve and priority out-of-sorts girl into a savvy and competent prosecutor. The process of her transformation was nothing short of fancy; the cases she was responsible for were not exorbitant; and the events that occurred in order to create the transformation were not mind-blowing. Yet as I watched her grow up, I feel so very attached to the storyline. I soon realized that the development of her character (as well as the rest of the cast) was what grabbed me, hooked me, reeled me in and absolutely will not let go.
But the plot has a twist. It is not a slow and sedentary progression in the plot where you watch Hye Ri become more and more responsible due to her case load. It is the suspense, the mystery of a man- Seo In Woo- who enters her life and forever changes it. What he has done, decided to do and inevitably followed through, changed the dynamic of the storyline. And that my friends, captured my heart.
It is easy to fall in love with the characters in this drama, to understand what ticked them, what made them smile. I have to take my hats off to the writers for creating such full characters. Which immediately forces me to contemplate on how much more lakorn writers must do to improve, but that’s an article for another time. Each has their own strength, targeting their niche market, I suppose.
Let’s briefly talk about the characters.
The Prosecutors: Ma, Jin, Yoon, Chief and two male side kicks. I’ve enjoyed their bickering , gossiping, honesty when they are together. I especially love the Chief as he was hilarious, always discriminating and blaming other countries for any shortcomings. Only child: those Chinese, always having only child, that’s why they’re so spoiled. There’s something about Japanese too. Gah, he was too entertaining. What will he say about Thailand?
The brother-in-law dilemma. It’s really not something anyone wants to be in. But Prosecutor Jin is in love with her dead sister’s husband (Prosecutor Yoon). He was her ideal man. She has loved him even when her sister was alive. Unfortunately he has no clue. We watch her internally struggle with this and waiting until she thinks he is ready. That is, until he notices someone else..
Our princess. She really epitomizes one. But she hadn’t always been like that. Her character, starting so simple and clichéd became so full and wholesome. We understand her background, what makes her tick and what drives her. All in all, I like our girl. I feel for our girl. And so I cheered for her when things finally work out to her advantage. Because like she said, “What she lacks in creativity, she makes up for in imitation.”
But no one else in this drama has compelled me as much as Mr. Mysterious Rich Guy, Lawyer Seo In Woo, most specifically the actor who played him: Park Shi Hoo.
Which leads me to some details on why I love Prosecutor Princess:
- For starters, Hye Ri’s and In Woo’s first encounter. Both booked the same hotel room, check. And end up sharing the room, check. He then walked in on her as she almost drowns while falling asleep in the bathtub and he sees her naked, check. We got ourselves conflict and attraction.
- Do you remember my review about Pathapee Leh Rak and that the main reason why I found the lakorn attractive is because the pr’ek is smart? Well, Seo In Woo is brilliant, cunning and completely too attractive for his own good. Those kinds of qualities can get you into trouble. Being too arrogant.. thinking that he will not be affected by his own scheme. Tsk tsk. Boy how that backfired.
- Which brings me to another reason why I love this particular male lead. He knows the secret to a girl’s heart, or like Hye Ri said to him, “he must have bought a book of ‘a 100 ways to win over a girl.” Either way, he should share that secret or book with the rest of the male leads in any drama. Seo In Woo’s character is just, dreamy: like a Superman who always appears when she needed him. Protects her, advises her and supports her. Even though he had ulterior motives, he had his reasons.
- And boy can he kiss. The passionate smooch between In Woo and Hye Ri will be etched in my memory as one of the most sincere (real) and on screen toe curling kiss to date! He had disappeared from her, leaving her to cope with the realization of the final case. She had been frantically looking for him. Needing to talk to him. To share with him the secret that she had learned. To tell him the feelings that she had discovered for him. But he was nowhere to be found. One day, when she noticed that he finally came back, her heart pumped loudly in her chest and she can finally breathe. But she knew she had to tell him. In Woo on the other hand, could not resist coming back when he should have stayed away. He knew he had hurt her and he will continue to hurt her. How much more angst can she go through? Then those words, coming out of her mouth.. telling him that she loved him. He’s a bastard. He knows it but he can’t help pulling her into his arms, lowering his head and kissing her with everything that he got. It was a beautiful scene indeed.
From beginning to end, Prosecutor Princess took me on an enjoyable, stressful and liberated ride about two people’s intertwined life and how they will make you feel. Do I recommend this drama? Oh yes.