I do think that she displays some of the same mannerisms as Attorney Woo, and it doesn’t always make sense for the character. If it’s a choice, I don’t quite understand it. If it isn’t, well, she isn’t the only skilled actor to fall into that trap.

I’ve been reading the same kinds of comments here and on MyDramalist, and I’m not really seeing it either. I think some of it is because Attorney Woo was her last drama, so there will inevitably be some subconscious comparing of both characters.

The situation/character/dialogue are different so she doesn’t act exactly the same, but I can see that she’s bringing back some of Woo’s characteristics to portrait the adult-child Mo Ka.

I wouldn’t say they can’t be separated tho. That’s a bit much, haha.

As someone who has been critical of PEB’s performance so far, I want to make it clear that it’s not because I think she’s repeating the same mannerisms that she used to portray Attorney Woo. (What I previously said is that I feel like she is combining some of the ticks of that performance with those she relied on for “Age of Youth”). Actors–even the greatest of them–all have a style complete with gestures, facial expressions, and line delivery that remain the same across performances and PEB is no exception. The problem for me is that there doesn’t seem to be an internal logic to her choices in this role, which could be due to lack of direction or poor direction overall and not her fault, per se. But regardless, I don’t understand the choices that she’s making here and I can’t quite get a grasp of who Mok-ha is because the acting seems to be exaggerated or one-note or confusing. I guess we could chalk the infantile reactions, the emotional immaturity, the odd voice inflection, and the flailing gestures up to the fact that Mok-ha lived by herself on an island for 15 years, but really, we could chalk up *anything* she does to that. Why these specific iterations of this character in those moments? Usually PEB’s performances give us a glimpse of the internal logic and emotional landscape of the characters she plays, but in this case, it seems empty and gimmicky.

And look, even on her worst day, PEB is still a great actress, so I don’t want to trash her too much here. I’m just not feeling this particular performance right now, and I hope that changes. As I said before, though, her singing is excellent!