The arc to the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice ~ Martin Luther King.
Another great episode. I'm glad this drama is nothing like its American counterpart, How to Get Away With Murder, about a law professor at a prestigious Philadelphia university who becomes entwined in a murder plot with five of her students. At its premise, it may sound similar, especially when one sees how both dramas explore the related murder through both flashback and flashforward sequences (the American had two murders), but that is where the similarities end. In the American version, the professor helps the students cover up the murders; Law School has the professor implicated in the murder. Not that Law School claimed to be a remake but that didn't stop many from comparing them. In that sense, I like that the Professor not only teaches the students how to become better versions of themselves but helps them to realize that the law is never white or black, but that despite its many shades and the many others who manipulate the system and that the arc to the moral universe may be long and arduous long, it will always be no matter what bend towards justice.
I loved how Professor Kim and Ye Seul's colleagues from school rallied around her when all the lawyers in the country turned away from her because of who she was against. But I knew one person would do anything to protect her, Professor Yang. So, I was not at all surprised to see him step in court as her defense lawyer, but I almost screamed for joy when he asked for a trial jury. Of course, he wouldn't be the best at what he does if he couldn't foresee that the judges and everyone else in that courtroom was bought. The injustice of it all is so clearly seen in Professor Yang's own trial. But in it all, I love Professor Yang's attitude of sticking to the truth even if the truth hurts him.
I am forever baffled by those who believe they are entitled to everything, even bought justice when they are the criminals. In that sense, I loved that Sol A told it to the Assemblyman exactly how it was -- the apple didn't really fall very far from the tree -- his son is but a reflection of him. The saddest thing is he doesn't even realize it or probably doesn't care, at least not about his son, but he does care about his appearance to the world. It's like they say entitlement is a delusion built on centeredness and laziness. The same goes for Yoo Seung Jae and Kang Sol B, for such intelligent people they made and continue to make the worst possible choices to justify their actions. I cannot get over how Kang Sol B insists she didn't plagiarize when it's clear she did. She's so invested in her own self-deception that the lies she's told have become her reality. It's like she couldn't survive through it otherwise. As they say, lie long enough, and eventually, you'll believe yourself.
I understand how crippling the pressures of society or even the ones people put on themselves to succeed, and especially in an environment such as Hankuk Law School, where only the brightest of the bright get admitted. But wouldn't that be incentive enough to work even harder to prove one's worth; it's with that in mind that I find Seung Jae's offenses the hardest to take. For someone as intelligent and as smart as he to resort to hacking and to steal exam papers just doesn't fit with the person he appeared to be; honest, dedicated, and good at what he does. If he could go to medical school and become a doctor, he could surely do it as a lawyer without resorting to cheating, couldn't he; I wonder what made him turn to such a criminal act and at law school nonetheless. It is so true when they say everything in one's life reflects the choices one makes. Watch Episode 9 here.