Heartwarming / Extraordinary Attorney Woo

• Every time Young-woo has a moment of realization about the case and conceptualizes whales as a metaphor for the situation.
• Young-woo's relationship with her father, Gwang-ho. Despite struggling with single parenthood and raising a disabled child, Gwang-ho never once regretted his choice to be a single dad, and devoted his life to making sure she'd get a happy life. In turn, she loves her father very dearly, and while she does stifle under his overprotectiveness at times, she ultimately trusts him more than anyone.
• A subtle touch to Young-woo's characterization: before eating anything, she always checks it to make sure she knows what all the ingredients are and can remove any she dislikes... unless it was made for her by her father. She knows he'd never give her anything bad.
• Geu-ra-mi is Young-woo's Best Friend, and is fiercely loyal to her and endlessly supportive. Their first meeting had Geu-ra-mi threatening to throw a chair at anyone in class who kept picking on Young-woo. The next day, Young-woo waited outside of school for nearly an hour after first bell, waiting for Geu-ra-mi to turn up so they could walk in together. Why?
  Young-woo: I feel safe with you.
• The client in Episode 2 finally standing up to her controlling father, and coming out as a lesbian. She and her longtime secret girlfriend walk out of the courtroom Holding Hands, free to be themselves at long last.
• When asked by Su-yeon to give her a nickname, Young-woo chooses "Spring Sunshine" and proceeds to list all of the reasons why. How much of a bright, warm, kind, and sweet person Su-yeon is. Young-woo says it with such honesty and vulnerability that it honestly can make you break into tears. It's further cemented by Su-yeon's expression — surprised and holding back tears. As one fan put it, she gets reminded that there are better compliments than "you are beautiful" (all of the nicknames she suggests while Young-woo is thinking referenced her physical appearance).
• Jun-ho and Young-woo's romance is pure Sweet Dreams Fuel.
  • On their first meeting, he realizes she's having trouble with the revolving door and offers to go through with her, and he continues to do so every day.
  • He gets the Crush Blush upon seeing Young-woo try on a wedding dress. When she realizes this, she starts giggling, embarrassed but joyful.
  • He's the one person to not get annoyed by Young-woo infodumping about whales. In fact, he happily listens to her through all her ramblings, and finds it genuinely interesting.
  • On Geu-ra-mi's advice, he takes Young-woo to a beautiful spot by the water to watch the sunset. He suggests they go to an aquarium so she can see her beloved whales in person, but she vehemently disagrees, due to the animals often being abused in captivity. When she expresses a desire to see them in their natural habitat, however, Jun-ho suggests they could one day go together, and she seems happy with that idea.
  • Jun-ho offering Young-woo his coat when hers is torn and she has to look good for a client.
  • The two reflect on the difficulties of an interabled relationship, culminating in their First Kiss.
    Young-woo: Loving me is... hard.
    Jun-ho: Yes. It appears so.
    Young-woo: But... are you still going to?
    Jun-ho: Yes.
• Bang Gu-ppong earnestly speaking on the importance of children being allowed to play and have fun, not spends their whole lives studying and trying to meet their parents' expectations. He asks that the students he kidnapped/rescued to come see his verdict in court, so they can see he isn't afraid to go to jail for the cause, and that he has no regrets. All his so-called victims adore him, and he leads them in one final Battle Cry of his movement's motto, before receiving a Group Hug from the kids. Even better, when the judge tries to stop the kids from joining him, Young-woo jumps up and points out, if the kids are the victims of the crime here, they should be allowed to make a victim's statement—and joining in on the motto can absolutely be their statement.
  One: Children must play immediately.
  Two: Children must be healthy immediately.
  Three: Children must be happy immediately.
  • The whale moment in that episode is worth noting. Usually it's just a cut away to a whale breaking the surface of the waves and crashing back down again, but in this episode Young-woo visualises a whale swimming freely through the courtroom. It seems to represent the moment she can't win the case, but she can win another way for her client - stand up for the point he's trying to make in court.
• When the lottery winner's car crashes in episode 11, it's a horrifying scene where Young-woo has a meltdown due to the overstimulation, but boyfriend Jun-ho notices and holds her tight to reassure her. What seals it as a heartwarming moment is when he independently mentions that sometimes tight physical pressure can help reassure an overstimulated autistic person, suggesting he has looked into autism independently to help understand Young-woo better.
• Even though it doesn't work out and the date quickly devolves into Cringe Comedy, it is pretty cute that, upon hearing Su-yeon lament that she wants to date a good guy, Young-woo immediately thinks of Min-sik, and talks him up to Su-yeon, citing his friendliness, cooking skills, and chivalry.
• In the online mall data breach case, the programmer is implied to be autistic as well and simply better at masking; though he's soon harshly shut down by his partner, he immediately bonds with Young-woo and praises how brave she is for openly taking the time to do things that address her needs (specifically by pausing when entering the door).
• Despite not generally getting along with Young-woo, Min-woo still teams up with Su-yeon to shelter her as they struggle through the crowd after Attorney Jang abandons them to the reporters at the hospital.