Good Partner Review: How To Write Female Characters 101

SBS is no stranger to legal dramas. From Divorce Attorney in Love (2015) to Hyena (2020), from One Dollar Lawyer (2022) to the brand-new The Judge from Hell (2024), SBS has been constantly producing genre-blending legal dramas with varying degrees of success. Their latest endeavour, the realistic Good Partner, just ended its successful 16-episode run last Friday with an average nationwide rating of 15.2%.

Good Partner reached our screens thanks to Studio&NEW. According to The Korea Times, Studio&NEW “is known in the industry as a ‘training ground for legal professionals to debut as drama writers.’” They also produced jTBC’s Miss Hammurabi, written by a real-life judge and bearer of excellent ratings thanks to its humane and genuine approach to the Korean legal system. Written by real-life divorce attorney Choi Yu-na, Good Partner was a surprise hit for SBS — industry experts believe that its fame is also thanks to its authenticity.

Is authenticity the only reason why Good Partner is an excellent, successful drama? Definitely not. Let me tell you why.

Directed by Kim Ga-ram (from jTBC’s Nevertheless,), Good Partner tells the story of Cha Eun-gyeong (Jang Na-ra), an experienced and astute divorce lawyer at Daejeong Law Firm. She works alongside her long-time collaborator, Attorney Jung Woo-Jin (Kim Joon-han), and newcomer Jeon Eun-Ho (Pyo Ji-hoon). When a rookie attorney, Han Yoo-ri (Nam Ji-hyun), joins the divorce department, Attorney Cha is the one to train her. Yoo-ri is a justice-driven professional whose untrained eyes seem a bit too naive to Cha’s years of expertise. As they learn how to work together and let their strengths complement each other, Cha faces a crisis in her own marriage.

This review/analysis contains very mild spoilers. Read it at your own risk! Alternatively, pin our spoiler-free summary at the bottom!

Creating a Cohesive Tale Through Character Arcs

Good Partner enchants its audience slowly. As we follow Attorney Cha’s everyday life, the show unravels in an episodic manner, exploring the Korean legal system with its strengths and flaws and the many different shades of marriage. Beyond the cases they encounter, Good Partner makes use of several smaller narrative arcs that ignite change, growth, and emotionally heavier conflicts.

All dramatic arcs are perfectly paced and go from the inciting incident to resolution in a matter of a few episodes, which means that none of these plotlines overstays their welcome. What makes the show work as a cohesive narrative is the character arcs, which are developed throughout its 16 episodes and encourage us to keep coming back to the Good Partner universe.

Good Partner and the Idea of Marriage

The heart of the show lies in its discussion of marriage and the complexity of our lives. After all, marriage is anything but a black-and-white agreement between two people. More than love or passion, marriage is an intricate combination of different backgrounds, personalities, and responsibilities that may or may not work out. After all, the decisions we make as individuals reverberate in a relationship in a way that might not lead to the outcome we expect.

Good Partner explores all of these scenarios: women who feel that they’ve dedicated their lives to their families and lost themselves in the process, younger couples who have failed to communicate with each other, partners who dedicate their lives to raising children who aren’t even their own. From infidelity to abuse, from financial troubles to social issues, the show presents us with a colourful, dynamic set of guest characters who introduce their own unique, but resonant, lives to our protagonists.

These characters, whose tales equally move and anger us, are key players in our characters’ development arc, especially the novice Yoo-ri. Yoo-ri has such a limited view of reality when she starts the job that it’s maddening. She’s very firm in her own convictions, believing that her reality must be everyone else’s too. She’s kind and humane, but too naive to understand life isn’t as straightforward as she believes it to be. But, as she lets go of her prejudices and stubbornness, Yoo-ri grows not only as a lawyer but as a human being. By the end of the show, she’s learned how to use her kindness and strong sense of justice in an effective, helpful way while seeing the realities around her in a more mature, perceptive light.

Tackling Generational Conflicts

Good Partner is also a show about generational conflicts. These conflicts pop up not only in the way that different generations see and respond to marriage, but also at the office. From the CEO to the senior attorneys to the junior ones, they all see their careers and work culture differently. The bond that our four main characters — Cha, Jung, Jeong, and Han — create, despite their different perspectives, is provocative and entertaining to watch.

As the episodes progress, seniority seems to become less and less important as both sides learn from the other. Cha and Jung’s experience becomes a “safe haven” that Jeong and Han can rely on. On the other hand, their youthful, newer way of handling their careers (Jeong’s work-life balance, for instance) also inspires Cha and Jung to improve their own lives and sharpen their legal skills too.

And here starts the show’s biting social criticism. It begins with Korea’s heavy hierarchical system, but it goes much further.

The Core of Social Criticism in SBS’s Good Partner

Social criticism in Good Partner is present in every single episode. Through the show, you realise that Korea’s divorce system is old-fashioned and often harmful. If you come from a different sort of culture, it may be shocking, infuriating, and even, in some episodes, full-on heartbreaking.

First, divorce still carries a stigma that Attorney Cha tries to break bit by bit, through her conversations with her clients, her work, and her attitude. But the show does more than just tell its audience that there’s nothing shameful or wrong about divorce. Good Partner delivers a sucker punch in the magnificent episode 13: the whole system is broken, and it’s up to the common people to rebel against it.

Episode 13 is the epitome of social criticism in Good Partner. With a combination of a sharp script, perfect performances, and compelling directing, episode 13 might just be the very best of the show and one of the best of the entire year. In just one episode of a mere hour, Good Partner manages to consolidate its narrative structure and character arc while at the same time discussing current issues that can affect anyone, anywhere.

Let me illustrate how effective this episode is with an example. Through a marvellously well-directed sequence, in which Attorney Cha is being chased by an abusive husband, Cha is sometimes his wife, Ji-yeong, and sometimes herself. As we see the abuser running after different women in the same situation, Director Kim perfectly delivers the message that what Ji-yeong goes through is something that may happen to any of us. The scene becomes relatable and twice as heartbreaking.

Jang Na-ra as an Outstanding Cha Eun-gyeong

Jang Na-ra’s performance as Attorney Cha in episode 13 is nothing less than flawless. The strong, confident Attorney Cha seems, at times, fragile, scared, and disappointed in herself, exploring a side of her character that we only took glimpses of during flashbacks. It’s here, in episode 13, as she breaks down crying in her bathroom, that all those flashbacks make sense. They seem to gain extra emotional weight as you realise that the mighty, experienced professional that you see today still carries the young, kindhearted Cha inside, who wants to help others more than anything. And that innocent self falls apart as she isn’t able to save a woman in pain from an abusive relationship. Episode 13 carries the weight it does thanks to excellent character and narrative arcs that are progressively explored in all the episodes leading up to it.

That goes to show that the series not only has a solid script but also a superbly written female lead. An intriguing protagonist, the character of Cha Eun-gyeong is dissected throughout her divorce process — a justified melodramatic storyline that is skillfully developed, from the pre-divorce to its aftermath. But Attorney Cha is much more than that — and she won’t be defined by it.

We delve into the many layers of her personality during the show. She’s a successful, wise attorney, a warmhearted, stubborn woman, a clueless but well-intentioned mother, and a heartbroken wife. She’s imperfect and humane. She’s strong-headed but open to learning. She’s confident but wants to be needed by others. Cha blossoms in front of our eyes, as a professional, a woman, and a mother, as she experiences everything from joy to outrage, and Jang Na-ra nails this multifaceted character. Among Na-ra’s long filmography, Attorney Cha stands out as one of her best performances.

Good Partner(s): The Bonds Between Cha, Han, Jung, and Jeong

Attorney Cha’s friendship with Yoo-ri is irresistible. As they support, understand, and push each other to be their best selves, Cha and Yoo-ri make for one of the greatest female friendships in K-dramas. The always wonderful Nam Ji-hyun gives Yoo-ri youthful innocence and a bunch of quirks that make her unique. Contrast that with Na-ra’s intense, sophisticated delivery, and you get two characters that exude chemistry, visually and narratively.

Our two male protagonists, the lovely Woo-jin and the romantic Eun-ho, are gentle, generous, and just so lovable. They have enough depth to make for two independent, engaging characters. However, they allow Good Partner to be a fully female-led show — never overshadowing Attorney Cha and Yoo-ri but giving them the support and assistance they need.

That also means that romance is light and just enough to add a spark to the show (a wise decision for a divorce-centred series). The bond between Eun-gyeong and Woo-jin, as well as the one between Yoo-ri and Eun-ho, is a delight to watch, nevertheless.

A Quick Note on a Scene-Stealer

Last but definitely not least, we need to highlight the mind-blowing performance of Jeon Yu-na, who plays Attorney Cha’s daughter, Jae-hui. It’s clear why little Yu-na is a Baeksang Arts Awards winner: she delivered heart-wrenching scenes with impressive ease. Her Jae-hui is both innocent and mature, joyful and heartbroken, stoic and vulnerable. She responded to more experienced actors with equal screen presence, and you can’t help but cry and smile with her.

Should You Watch Good Partner?

Good Partner is an inquisitive, fascinating, and completely absorbing show that gives an excellent example of how to write female characters and how to offer social criticism with an authentic script — all the while weaving a dramatically sound narrative. I already miss Good Partner, and I’ll surely dip back into its universe every now and then.

You can watch Good Partner on:

No time to read the full review? Pin our summary!

Have you watched SBS’s Good Partner? What did you think of it? Share your ideas in the comments!