Five Stars

1. joining the "joke" but no one laughed
- Scene: first meeting with the client

Well … been there. But I think many, if not all, have been in that situation even neurotypicals, probably more often with introverts in particular. This is not an autistic quirk per se but it just happens far more frequently with autistics than neurotypicals/introverts. And if you paid attention, Young Woo was observing them and trying to find a moment to join them and when she did …

2. Court scene #1:

2.a: Young Woo spotted the differences quickly.

- Is it possible Young Woo spotted the differences that fast? Yes.
- Is it possible Young Woo spotted the little differences? Yes.

We are not talking about "spot-the-difference", this is about spotting the little things. An example, since I develop sites, if there is something I want to center, it bothers me a lot if it is. I can still see an object is not "centered", if it is off by a pixel or two it is not(!) centered at all! I hate that. Eventually, I found a way to "fool" myself so I no longer waste time trying to achieve true center. (note: 'perfectionism' is under OCD which is common in autistics)

I used to be good at spot-the-difference games too but I'm not as fast as Young Woo in this episode; and being good at it is not an autistic-only skill. Hence I said it is about spotting the little things.

2.b: Started arguing only to realized there's a flaw in her argument.

After she spotted the little differences, she stood up and started her argument only to pause later because she realized the flaw and salvage the situation.

I can't speak for other autistics on this one but it generally happens when we get 'excited', we react faster than our internal analysation. It is common for autistics to play different scenarios and branches in our mind but when we get 'excited' the risk of missing a scenario increases, like what happened to Attorney Woo. If she did not get excited at that moment, I have no doubt she would have seen in her mind her argument is not fool proof.


3. Attorney Woo Young Woo: Looking straight into the other person's eyes is the most difficult thing in the world for someone with autism.

YEAH! I was waiting for them to address this. Finally! However, it is important to remember (1) the degree this is affecting an autistic; and (2) how to cope with it.

One way of coping it, and I think I talked about this before, is to "look between their eyebrows" (as her friend suggested) or the bridge of the nose. We appear looking at you in the eyes but we are not.

There are different reasons why this is the most difficult thing for autistics, some reasons are (a) it's like opening your soul to the other people; the other way of that is (b) autistics 'feel' it is rude to look into the soul of another person; (c) it is painful; or (d) no reason at all, it's just is hard.

Now, since this episode is about "detecting lies", it's important to note that detecting lies through the eyes will not work with autistics. Good luck. No matter how hard we try to look directly into your eyes, we will break contact. For some it is easier if one is wearing eyeglasses or sunglasses, for some it still won't make a difference (regardless if both of them are wearing sunglasses). It depends but yeah, we all struggle with it.

Here's one way I can cope with it: I try to find the colour of your eyes. That distracts me though, so there is a chance I'll miss what in the world you were saying. Another method I use is watching your iris grow or shrink, again, it distracts me because I'm focusing on something else. Much better if I just look elsewhere and listen, that way I can "hear" you.


4. Attorney Kwon used the word "handicap" and even claimed that he has no choice but to shoulder certain things. Even related it "volunteer work".

Yeah, definitely insulting and common. This is not about being "politically correct", it is about the inaccuracy of that word, and how it is usually used. Even parents who accepted their child's autism would not be happy if you use that word.


5. They talked about signs of lying.

Careful when using these "signs" on autistics. More likely than not it won't work, you'll just get the wrong assessment.


6. Woo Young Woo: "People with autism are easily fooled and are not able to lie."

I'm not sure if the translation was correct but the part "are not able to lie" is not exactly true. Autistics are capable of lying, the difference is we hate it far more than neurotypicals so we avoid it at all costs. We just hate it.

Here's an example: if we agreed on a certain time and you told me "I'm already here, I'll be arriving in 10 minutes"; and then you sent another similar message, I know you're lying and if I fail to control myself, I'll make a big fuss about it. Especially true if I know the route you're taking and the road situation.

What makes it worse is you're late. We also hate lates. Again, we are capable of being late but we avoid it. This should give you a clue, if you know someone is autistic and they're regularly late, find out the reason instead of punishing them. A good example of this is episode 5 when Young Woo was not able to explain what "[bank] cassettes" are. It is not related to being late per se rather the reason behind it when you know an autistic wouldn't make that mistake. In Young Woo's case, it's unusual for her not to be able to answer that question considering her performance … it should've been a sign something was wrong.

So yeah, neurotypicals, if you know or suspect someone is autistic, try to find the reason first. Actually, it doesn't only apply to autistics, it applies to everyone. If you know a person wouldn't do certain things, say being late or failing an exam, find out why first before reprimanding or punishing them.


6.a: "I have to make a conscious effort at all times to not be fooled by lies."

Definitely true. We explain it this way: we have a checklist of things in our mind. And Young Woo explained it this way (paraphrasing) "I keep forgetting it". The list is just so long, and we also have yet another list for other social stuff, that yeah, we forget some things and it is also draining us.


6.b: "These stories help." "They help me understand you."

Why I'm sharing. If it won't help me anymore, at least those autistic kids will benefit from it, maybe when they get older there will be less discrimination, prejudice, and stigma because we shared our own stories.

And this is why I see "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" as an autism advocacy, as a story about autistics (as a representation) in a world not made for them instead of any particular autistic (representation).

7. Asking the first question that bothered her with no brakes.

It bothered her if Joon Ho likes her so the first question she asked in that scene was that … no brakes!

Yeah, that's us. But it's something that we can learn not to do.

8. Young Woo repeating the information about how to detect lies through movements while walking.

This is true as well. Not every autistic do it similarly, reciting it to oneself, it can happen silently in our minds.

9. Young Woo finding it very hard to go with the lie.

Scenes: In the office of the client and at court.

As I've mentioned earlier, we are capable of lying--especially if there is an acceptable logic behind it--but we hate it and avoid it at all costs. In Young Woo's case, she found an acceptable reason, she wanted to win the case but she was never okay with it. Unfortunately, in this particular case, the acceptable reason she found was her being used only. Her client understood her and knew how he can get her to side with him--like faking his accident and setting up an actor [who we don't even know if is really his employee]--which I think Young Woo also realised.

This is the other 'danger' or 'disadvantage' of disclosing our condition. If someone understands how a mind of an autistic works, they can use it against us.

10. Young Woo being honest about what she thinks of her friend.

Ahh this. Autistics are commonly misunderstood on this one. People think we don't have emotions, empathy, sympathy, are self-centered, and so on. But as I've explained time and again, we process and express things differently.

This scene at the cafeteria is one good example of it. Her college friend and colleague never thought of Young Woo other than a classmate and a colleague, she was even annoyed at her at times. She probably assumed Young Woo did not appreciate her helping her (defending her from bullies; opening bottle caps, etc.)

This is where autistics shine. We DO pay attention and remember, and we hold dear those good things about a person especially if it was to help us or help others. We don't say it. You usually will not see us express it. But once we do express it, once you ask us about it, you'll hear it in a way no other people in your life has ever expressed something to you. In Young Woo's case, her very descriptive metaphors and she even expounded it very beautifully.

Trust me. We DO pay attention and we remember.

Read More

My least favourite episode of this series yet

Where’s my whales? Cmon there wasn’t any whale in actual episode! Kidding aside it was good character building episode for young woo but at the same time it was different from first four episodes because first four episodes were wholesome while this one simply wasn’t! First of all case here wasn’t much gripping plus episode was lacking in normal amount of humour we got in first four. Watching Young woo taking a route to become winning attorney rather than being righteous attorney was just uncomfortable! That rival lawyer guy is just such a jerk, I don’t know how young woo’s friend has crush on such jerk! And I know seeing this is Kdrama he will come around as a good guy but it doesn’t change the fact that still I want to punch him once ! And way too less screen time for Jun ho and senior attorney both my favourite characters barring Young woo herself! At least we saw some bonding moments between young woo and female attorney. But looking at the preview of episode 6 young woo is going to get jealous of her closeness with junho in next episode

Read More

The law is a weapon, not a fact. Episode 5 review

[I'll keep it a buck fifty and spoiler-free ish.]Episode 5 of EAO begins like the past 4 episodes. The client, case and issue that needs to be resolved are introduced first; this provides context for the audience and also shows how this law drama tackles all kinds of cases. (A typical, recurring theme in kdramas or any show featuring legal jargon and lawyers, is criminal law and a focus on corruption and/or criminal activity. However, EAO has shown a broad range of cases from civil law, property law and criminal.) The case for Episode 5 discusses copyright and patent issues between two rival companies in the ATM business. This alone appears quite mundane but the show tackles it well and all of the specifics are discussed in a general detail for the audience to follow along on. What I liked about this Episode was that it truly brought out how ostracised Youngwoo was in the presence of people who wouldn't be (or didn't have the time or luxury to be) patient with her. Attorney Kwon is assigned to this case with Youngwoo and although a supporting character, his interactions in the first ten minutes of the drama make clear his feelings towards Youngwoo due to her autism and viewing her as a "competition" because of how successful she was in the previous case.This is something to expect since we've seen prior interactions where Youngwoo is frowned and looked down open but this Episode is the hammer in the nail for it because of Youngwoo's actions. She tries to hand over her business card to the client like Kwon but ends up sliding it awkwardly over the table. When the client gives out mulberry juice, she struggles to open the cap and Joon Ho does it for her. Admittedly, the case for this episode is handled quickly given the true intentions of the client, and while it seems like a very "boring" case, I think the takeaway from this episode was on a much larger scale. Youngwoo learns more about herself, all while making mistakes along the way. This case served as a way to strength her ideals and to also give an insight into how difficult the truth can be. Attorney Kwon remains his (discriminatory) self, calling autism a disability and then a handicap. (You should always confer with someone who has ASD and ask them how they would like their diagnosis to be referred to. A 'disability' might fit one person, or insult another. A 'handicap' is outright discriminatory because it reinforces the stereotype that autistic people are incompetent, inferior and weak.)What is most important about this episode is that it furthers the direction of the plot-ish. Joon Ho is startled by Youngwoo's outright proclamation, making him question his relationship with her, even though it is in it's infancy. The law is a weapon in court and Youngwoo realises this, that her client cannot always be innocent. Soo-yeon gets to know what Youngwoo thinks of her. And the side plot starts to flourish.The side plot being Tae Soo Mi, a supporting character who is the head of the rival law firm Taesun, and her screentime only really comes through towards the end of the episodes. We're slowly getting piece things together but I can only hope this show makes it work. Don't let us down, Yoo In Shik!

Read More