"Why Her" is about corporate greed, ruthless power, and revenge. TK Law Firm is the setting for one of the most corrupt and toxic work environments and one truly entertaining evil villain. It stars Seo Hyun Jin as Oh Soo Jae, literally another Miss Oh (lol), and the "Her" in question in the title. I loved her cold, clever, poker-faced lawyer character, who seems pretty ruthless but is living with some painful demons. She truly is one of my favorite actresses in KDramaland and this drama showcases a lot of her talent well. However, I am not the biggest fan of dramas with major corruption plots, and although this drama does attempt to incorporate some romance as well, the underdog fighting against a major corporate power trope started to drag and the mystery behind it all was too confusing for too long. The writing is a bit messy, but with such strong performances, I stayed invested till the end.

Seo Hyun Jin is matched with Hwang In Youp as Gong Chan. He is clearly enamored with Lawyer Oh but it takes a further dive into their pasts to learn why that is. I liked their characters and their story. I loved the idea of accepting each other, flaws and all, but I admit the two didn't have much chemistry. For me, it wasn't the age gap or the teacher-student scenario that made this couple not work that well. It was more the lack of excitement between the two besides comforting each other. Scenes that should have caused butterflies felt forced. They honestly felt more like siblings, and if this drama removed romance from the plot completely it wouldn't have made any difference for me.

Although there are great side characters and ensemble performances the true male lead of this drama is Heo Joon Ho as
Choi Tae Gook. He is so excellent at being THE WORST human. He could have easily been played over the top but Choi Tae Gook had depth and range. Even minor things about his character, like his snacking all the time, made his performance so impressive. Still, even his evildoings started feeling repetitive until the last few episodes. I think it took a little too long to reveal the past, which made me wonder how intense this would have been as a movie instead of being dragged out for 16 episodes. There were just too many meeting and plotting scenes that slowed down the pace. There were also so many side characters. Some got too much screen time (like petty coworkers) and others not enough (like Gong Chan's cute hyungs).

Would I watch this drama again? Probably not. I kept watching to first learn how ambitious Lawyer Oh rose to her position and then to see how her power play with Choi Tae Gook would resolve... they really were perfect rivals! I was bored by who owned what and who backed who and only slightly interested in the unresolved murder plots. There were no moments I would want to rewatch, and although a second viewing may make some things much clearer that I may have missed the first time, I would be tempted to skip too many scenes.

Overall if you like law and crime melodramas then this one is worth watching. If you like flawed powerful women leads then this drama delivers. If you want romance you will likely be disappointed. The student lawyer scenes definitely gave me "How to get away with Murder" vibes, and there are some Olivia Pope sensibilities in the way Soo Jae "handles" every situation. I at first expected a strong woman in a male-dominated field storyline but by the first episode, we see that things are far deeper and nastier. What or who would you sacrifice or compromise to secure and protect your own power? That's the main question. Soo Jae goes through so much in this drama with such composure that I couldn’t decide if that made her cool or tragic. Probably both. I laughed, cried, and cheered her on even when her methods were questionable. If you are a fan of Seo Hyun Jin this is worth watching for her performance, but I wish the corruption plot wasn't needlessly complicated and the love story was stronger. I'm glad I watched although I understand why this drama kinda flew under the radar. If you adjust your expectations, embrace Tae Gook's snacking and drinking prowess, Soo Jae's resting b*@$# face, and Gong Chan's puppy dog eyes as they all play this game of mental chess, there's still a lot to keep you entertained. Oh Soo Jae's evolution and Choi Tae Gook's impending reckoning are the whys that make this drama worth watching and why I will still recommend this drama despite its flaws. Why her? A complicated and interesting female lead character... that's why.