Ji-ah Lee, a divorced woman, will she get rid of the controversy over her acting skills?

Actress Lee Ji-ah left the arms of writer Kim Soon-ok after three years. Lee Ji-ah, who gained great popularity with the SBS 'Penthouse' series, but suffered an unexpected acting controversy with tvN's 'Pandora: Paradise of Manipulation', escapes from the finale and embarks on a new acting transformation.

JTBC side recently announced the lineup of the new drama 'Awesome Fixer' through an official position. Lee Ji-ah as the female lead and Kang Ki-young as the male lead. 'The Great Fixer' is a work that depicts the process of the best divorce solver in Korea putting an end to a client's troubled marriage instead.

Lee Ji-ah plays the role of Kim Sara, the team leader of the divorce settlement company 'Solution'. Sara Kim was the daughter-in-law of the country's top law firm, but loses everything overnight after being stabbed in the back by her husband. Afterwards, he lives as a divorce solver who punishes bad spouses and provides customized solutions for those who are unfair.

Lee Ji-ah, who plays a divorced woman, joins forces with Kang Ki-yeong (Dong Ki-jun), an advisory lawyer in 'Solution', to solve the clients' cases one by one. A love line where they feel subtle feelings of love for each other was also foreshadowed.

It is the first time in 5 years that Lee Ji-ah has appeared in a drama that is not the work of Kim Soon-ok. Since 2020, Jiah Lee has appeared in Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of 'Penthouse' and 'Pandora'. The 'Penthouse' series drew close to 30% viewer ratings and became a syndrome of popularity. However, it caused controversy with numerous extreme elements such as sadism, violence, and irritation, and was criticized for using accident videos for racial discrimination and glorifying suicide.

If 'Penthouse' was a last-minute drama to watch while swearing, 'Pandora' ended up as a failure of Kim Soon-ok's division with absurd developments. In particular, Lee Ji-ah, who played the title role in 'Pandora', lost 6 kg for the role of a killer weapon, but her awkward acting with no change in expression sparked controversy over her acting skills. Even in situations where she had to act out upheaval emotions such as confusion, anger, and sadness, Lee Ji-ah created awkwardness with her expressionless expression, which did not know her emotions from beginning to end.

Lee Ji-ah, who tasted sweetness with 'Penthouse' and bitter taste with 'Pandora'. As much as leaving Kim Soon-ok's arms and returning to a realistic drama rather than the last scene, I look forward to seeing if the controversy over her acting skills can be cleared away.

Reporter Tae Yuna, Ten Asia youyou@tenasia.co.kr