The Chair (2021)

One of several refreshing qualities in The Chair is that it puts the ostensible outsider immediately in a position of authority. The question for Dr Kim is not how she’ll gain power, but how she’ll wield it. ... But if anything lets The Chair down it’s that it rounds off too many of its sharp edges.

Enjoyable but uneven. ... It’s primarily a comedy, and a brisk one at that. So it often breezes through the kinds of cultural, social, and romantic mires that deserve a more thorough treatment.

Ji-Yoon is meant to be a flawed hero, and there’s a sense from the start that perhaps she’s not as ready to tackle this job as she wants to believe she is. Similarly, The Chair has goals it’s only sometimes equipped to achieve, even though its overall talent level keeps things interesting.

Both a breeze to watch, and a bit of a letdown. Like its protagonist, the series is too clever and well-intentioned to dislike. But in its determination to teach a lesson, it falls short of the brilliant art its characters have built their careers studying.

“The Chair” is entertaining in a knockabout way, if you don’t look too closely, and Oh is wonderful every minute she’s in it. But I found it frustratingly vague. ... Its attempt to honor multiple points of view, especially surrounding l’affaire Bill, feels more indecisive than incisive, more contradictory than complex. “What is this actually about?” you may wonder.

While it’s never less than a pleasant watch, The Chair struggles to resolve its own conflicting roles.