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  • Last Online: Oct 2, 2023
  • Location: Sapporo, Hokkaido
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dead lilies

Sapporo, Hokkaido

dead lilies

Sapporo, Hokkaido
The Best Partner chinese drama review
Ongoing 10/42
The Best Partner
2 people found this review helpful
by dead lilies
Nov 21, 2022
10 of 42 episodes seen
Ongoing
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.5

Underrated, hilarious legal drama

I stumbled upon this drama by accident and I'm glad I did, because this entertained me and made me laugh a lot more than I expected. This drama does not have a major plot that aims to take down an "ultimate" villain, but it does have several "villains" that the lawyers deal with. It does not have a ridiculous, far-fetched painful backstory that tortures the male lead. It does not have over-the-top unrealistic plot devices that portray lawyers as superheroes or super rebels against the organisation that gave them a job. Rather, this drama is made up of realistic everyday life cases that stack up for the lawyers to work through. It is a workplace slice-of-life drama ala a legal firm setting.

The male lead is Luo Bin (portrayed by Jin Dong), a lawyer who finds almost everything other than work and winning cases a colossal waste of time. He is the ace of Quan Jing. Dai Xi (portrayed by Lan Ying Ying) is a genius at law - she knows the law like the back of her hand, but lacks a formal qualification. Because of an incident during her law school years, she dropped out and never obtained her degree. Like 9/10 dramas out there, male and female leads do not get along at the beginning, but they eventually begin to respect and understand each other's point of view, and grow together in their profession. There were some playful moments between the leads, but it didn't achieve the outcome I would have liked. The drama also takes us on rides into their personal lives, their past experiences, their families, romances, and the little things that mould the characters into who they are. If this drama has a Season 2, I would definitely watch it -- but I doubt it. In my opinion, this drama is way better than Suits (both the English and South Korean version) and many other legal dramas out there .

Dialogues are fast-paced, the actors and actresses are impressive at their roles, and the "friendship" between Luo Bin and He Sai can be hilarious and enraging at the same time - depending on whose side you choose to take. This drama is for those who are truly interested in knowing about how the law works in the real world. It examines the thought processes and ethical side of different lawyers, and how the lawyers choose to use the law to defend their clients. The law can be used to defend the rich and powerful, or it can be used to help the poor and vulnerable.

As the lawyers grow as people, their empathy and mindsets influence the way they choose to defend their clients. This is a drama that made me laugh a lot and I cannot stress that enough. That being said, I find it a pity that the drama has many subtitling issues. Many things have been lost in translation, and some subtitles are just outright wrong.

The drama also suffers from several scriptwriting hiccups. Most of the cases involved their friends and family, so it was as if almost every single character in the drama has come in trouble of the law and their only options were either Quan Jing (the main law firm in the drama) or Long Ke (the rival law firm in the same building). It's unrealistic. The female lead, Dai Xi, having been employed without a degree and having to hide that fact from HR for all 42 episodes of the show - is also unrealistic. The male lead, Luo Bin, who had been the drama's most "normal" and consistent character, acted inconsistently in the final episode. But of course, that inconsistency was waved away and quickly explained in passing. I just feel hat the final two episodes leave much to be desired.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend this drama. If you understand Chinese, and if intellectual, realistic legal dramas are your cup of tea, I definitely recommend this.

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