Review: Hyena (2020)

Yoon Hee Jae is a top lawyer at Song & Kim who works for the richest 1% of the society. While doing his laundry at a laundromat near his office, he meets the mysterious yet beautiful Kim Hee Sun, and they fall in love. With a smooth-sailing career and a sweet love life on top, what can possibly go wrong for Yoon Hee Jae? Well, everything... especially when the lover you thought you have ends up being your rival in court.

Image via SBS.

Hyena is a 2020 South Korean television series broadcast by SBS for a Friday and Saturday runtime at 22:00. It features two elite lawyers working for the richest 1% of the society—one who is likened to a hyena for doing all that it takes to win a case, and another one who is likened to a hound for using his skills to support the highest in the land. Sounds vague and uninteresting? I thought so too... but I was glad to be proven otherwise.

❀ RAVES ❀ »•»

1) On-Fire Chemistry. Chemistry is 100% lit in this drama. Even with the minimal romantic interactions, Ju Ji Hoon and Kim Hye Soo's pairing are shoot-to-the-sky fantastic it'll keep you coming back for more. True enough, I think Ju Ji Hoon and Kim Hye Soo's team up (apart from Geum Ja being the badass that she was) was the real highlight and strength of the show. Hee Jae and Geum Ja were fantastic as a duo. There was never a dull moment with these two on screen, and their banters, as well as their romance and their growth, were among the many good things that made Hyena a worthwhile watch from start to finish. I really didn't expect the two to click as good as this even if I loved Kim Hye Soo a lot in Signal. The age gap was probably one factor but once you begin to watch, that gap isn't even that much noticeable. That's how great their chemistry was.

Among my favorite scenes were Geum Ja's concern over Hee Jae in Episode 12 and 13. Whenever Hee Jae asks her of her true feelings especially towards him, she just brushes it off and focuses on other important things. But in these episodes, it was obvious that she was concerned. She isn't really that open when it comes to expressing her feelings verbally, but it is pretty evident in her actions. Episodes 12 and 13 were clear manifestations of that.

2) Unique Storyline. Basing on the synopsis alone, Hyena started off as something not that striking nor intriguing for me. I didn't know what to expect nor where the show would eventually be heading, so I got totally blown with how the first episode panned out. The succeeding episodes after that were all intelligently done too. The court room scenes weren't exactly a strong point, but I love the brilliant writing of this drama and the plot's heavy focus on the characters (especially the main leads), their motives, as well as their maturity (or lack thereof, for Hee Jae, sometimes). Kim Hye Soo and Ju Ji Hoon's banter were amusing to watch. Rather than a sour feeling after all those fight, the chemistry between these two was so strong their banters will instead leave you with butterflies in your stomach (except for the initial ones), and was among the many reasons that Hyena's unique plot worked oh so well. It's also a good thing that the side characters never really got brushed off along the process, and that throughout the course of the show, a lot of them has developed the same way the main leads had blossomed in the end.

I love Episode 1 and how it did romance straight from the get-go of the show. It got me curious, because as far as the synopsis and the teasers were concerned, Kim Hye Soo and Ju Ji Hoon were supposed to be rivals pitting against each other. Initially, I wasn't sure what the show intended to deliver with Episode 1 because as I remember, the last I watched which dealt with romance as early as this was Descendants of the Sun; but that wasn't exactly in the same genre as Hyena. Truth be told, it wasn't in the same genre as by the end of the episode, not only did Yoon Hee Jae got fooled—so were the viewers. That was how the leads' rivalry began, as well as how my love for the show began. Well played, show. Well played.

Also...

I never really expected Na Yi Joon to be a part of the gang because initially, he had little skills and only did the small tasks for Guem Ja's team. He was the most gullible and the most prone to tricks too (such as in Episode 6 when Hee Jae was testing Son Jin-su's gaslighting tendencies). But at the end of the journey with Geum Ja as the mentor, he learned to adapt and do field work on his own. I think this was exemplified well in his search for the room service guy who delivered Seo Jeong-hwa's drinks in Episode 16. His growth as a side character was among Hyena's many charms, and as mentioned, it was really nice to see side characters like him develop and perform the same way the main leads had blossomed in the end.

3) Balanced Elements. Hyena had just the right dose of comedy, mystery, banters, drama, as well as cases to keep the viewers engaged throughout its run. I find some of the cases shown sort of not into my liking (probably because I was never really a fan of Geum Ja's "strategies" during the initial episodes), but how the mystery was built up and how comedy was inserted in between balances this out somehow. The banters as well as the romance-not-romance between Geum Ja and Hee Jae was a plus plus plus.

One of the golden comedic acts in the drama was Ga Gi Hyeok's funeral procession for his dead phone at the hallway of Song & Kim. How and why Hee Jae threw his phone in a fit was already amusing in its own, but the added procession was something else. He was even shushed by Hyeon-ah along the way and it was hilarious.

4) Powerful Women. Women in this drama sure slays, and dang, do they slay well. Geum Ja was really a breath of fresh air among the usual female leads we see in dramas as not only was she strong—she was also smart and resourceful. She was badass and can definitely stand in the battlefield on her own, yet at the same time, she was also very much human. She wasn't the strikingly beautiful type of female lead but was pretty nonetheless. And Kim Hye Soo... Kim Hye Soo portrayed Geum Ja to a T! I'm not even sure if I'd be enjoying the show as much as I did if Song Hye Kyo played Geum Ja instead. Nothing against her, I think she has chemistry with Ju Ji Hoon, but I'm not sure if she'd be able to handle a character as strong and badass as Geum Ja is. If it's Jun Ji Hyun, she probably can carry Geum Ja well... but then again, I'm not entirely sure either.

Kim Hye Soo's portrayal of Geum Ja was the most badass during the final stretch of Hyena, as her face-off with Song Pil-jung reflected a lot of her character's strength. The way Geum Ja handled herself in Episode 13, sipping tea while confronting Attorney Song, exuded bravado and guts that made her character stand out even more. No wonder Hee Jae is smitten.

Here's another one:

I love how Geum Ja simply told Hyeon-ah to "give it her best shot" when Hyeon-ah asked her if she wouldn't be bothered because of her feelings for Hee Jae. She didn't even bat an eye because she was so sure of herself and where she stands in Hee Jae's life. Neither did Hyeon-ah bat an eye, she just smiled it off even if she knows there's something going on between our leads (I'm pretty sure Hyeon-ah knows something, given her initial statement). Now this is the kind of rivalry we need in K-Dramaland—a friendly competition. The kind which brings the best in one another, instead of the kind that brings each other down.

Apart from Geum Ja, there's also Attorney Boo Hyeon-ah. Not only was she pretty, but she's also extremely talented. I was wary of her in the initial episodes because most of the time, the next female in the drama who has feelings for the main lead ends up either in ties with the antagonist or an antagonist herself. I'm so glad Hyeon-ah didn't fall in either of these categories. 

I love Hyeon-ah's confidence and how she became understanding of Geum Ja and Geum Ja's ways in the latter part of the show. How she reacted with that fist bump after being asked by Geum Ja if she didn't like the strategies they did to make Gnosis sell their rights to AP EON spoke volumes of her respect and acknowledgement to our hyena. Just the same, how she showed up in Episode 14 together with the rest of their colleagues so as to give updates to their team leader even if that team leader has already been fired from the firm says a lot about her character (as well as the other lawyers' character). She knows when it is time to call it off, and knows the type of people she should be loyal with.

5) Ju Ji Hoon as a Living Meme. Ju Ji Hoon was amazing as Haewonmak in Along with the Gods, probably because I liked seeing him play a goofball as he did play serious. And although Yoon Hee Jae was a character that has his own doze of seriousness in him, he also had this goofy, child-like yet egotistic attitude which Ju Ji Hoon was able to play really really well. The facial expressions he have for whatever occasion there was were gold, and I just couldn't get enough of the kid in him and his antics.

❀ RANTS ❀ »•»

1) Business Law. I love law. I love dramas that stimulate the brain such as those that take it out in the courtroom. However, although I loved Hyena straight from Episode 1, I never really liked how and why both Geum Ja and Hee Jae (mostly Geum Ja) had to resort to such "lowly" measures just so they could kiss all those VIPs' asses and represent them in court during the next few episodes of the show. I know I've read in the synopsis that the leads, as elite lawyers pitting against each other, have no morality whatsoever and are focused solely on earning money and winning a case; but seeing it compared to reading it was an entirely different thing to process. Only later did I understand that those scenarios were needed to learn more about the characters and understand their motivations, because even if those didn't really sit well with me as I watched, it made our hyena's team-up more solid and made their growth, as well as their success, all the more satisfying in the end. Yeah, I just didn't really liked the initial process.

2) Loose Threads. Up until the last episode, I still was not entirely sure of Song Pil-jung's reasons for sticking with her wife who was in a coma even though they're already divorced on paper, as what his sister-in-law narrated. Basing on Kim Min-joo's statements, I'm pretty sure Attorney Song intended to leave her wife that way. Whatever the reason was I think wasn't clearly explained. But I'm guessing it had to do something about Song Pil-jung's dirty tricks because it kept on being revealed that some of the things that he did/used were under his wife's name. Also, I felt that Song Pil-jung fell short in character during the last two episodes. I mean...

I know Attorney Song was shady. He had it coming because of Lee Geung-young's character in Vagabond, but I never expected he'd be super wicked and would stoop as low as he did in Hyena. Yet at the end of the big reveal, the cold and calculating image he had built up seemed to have flown out of the window when he killed Seo Jeong-hwa. Just as Geum Ja explained, he could have just left Seo Jeong-hwa alone to die—that way he'd still get his ways with Issume and at the same time, be absolved of a murder charge. But he chose the easy way out and killed Seo Jeong-hwa with his own hands. It didn't seem plausible given how cautious and calculating he is. But at the same time, it did seem plausible given how greedy and restlessly eager he is. So, yeah... What am I talking about again?

❀ RULING ❀ »•»

One of the best dramas that aired this 2020, Hyena is a refreshing and engaging watch that deviated from the typical romcom and legal dramas out there. The satire was gold in this drama, the romance was sizzling and the show, overall amazing. 100% a superb watch.

TAGS: Hyena, Ju Ji Hoon, K-Drama, K-Drama Reviews, Kim Hye Soo, Lee Kyoung Young   Edit