Divorce Attorney Shin: Episodes 9-10

by lovepark

Lots of developments this week as our divorce attorney wraps up his latest case and dives right into his next one which may prove to be his biggest battle yet. While our hero marches towards his goal, those around him also find themselves at new crossroads and must decide if they want to move forward as well.

 
EPISODES 9-10

The short story “Our Toes are Alike” by Kim Dong-in is about an infertile husband and his young wife. One day, she becomes pregnant, but the husband ignores the obvious signs of infidelity and chooses to believe that he is the father. Thus, he grasps at any sign of resemblance and points out that their toes are alike. (For those interested, here is a link to a translated version.)

Like the famous prose, the farmer finds himself in a similar situation, and Sung-han reveals to the court what the husband knew all along: he is not the biological father. As Sung-han unravels all of the wife’s lies, the final nail in the coffin is her cause of injury — she planned it with her boyfriend to frame her husband. With that, the media turns on the wife and asks Sung-han if he will sue her for slander. Glaring at the reporters, Sung-han points out that she was not the only one to smear his client’s reputation.

After winning the case, Sung-han goes camping with his friends, and they talk about the farmer and his wife. The others tell Jung-shik that the farmer bought an apartment for her and their son in a different city, but in the end, she returned to him.

In some ways, the case depicts a bittersweet conclusion reminiscent of the short story that, I will admit, is more hopeful than the original. However, I feel like the case was wrapped up a bit too neatly, and a lot of the social commentaries were left untouched. Maybe it’s merely a disconnect between my own preferences and the show’s message (I am not a huge fan of the short story), or maybe I’m missing some cultural context to fully understand the impact. Either way, I wish the show could have offered a more modern take on an old tale and fully utilized the potential of its case, especially with the Vietnamese wife.

The trio sit at the ramyun shop together with bright smiles since Granny (cameo by Kim Hae-sook) is back! She shows her love to her regulars by scolding them one by one, but her scathing remarks are worth the delicious food. While Sung-han and Jung-shik praise Granny’s noodles, only Hyung-geun offers So-yeon a compliment. In that moment, she sees Hyung-geun in a new light, quite literally. (How is Kang Mal-geum this cute!?)

While our adorable ramyun shop owner falls in love, Seo-jin and Jun investigate their own case and go to meet the schizophrenia support group the husband supposedly attended. However, the sight of strangers sends Seo-jin into a panic, and she makes up an excuse to leave. Jun has enough tact to realize what is happening, and later that day, he confides in Sung-han about Seo-jin.

Jun attends his first mediation after joining the team and proves his worth as a capable attorney. Despite his cheeky attitude, his arguments are solid, and he exposes the husband’s lies without breaking a sweat. With all the evidence laid out, the husband drops the act and shows his true colors as an ableist scam artist. He gets into a heated argument with Jun, and the two start fighting in the middle of the room with the mediator doing his best to break them apart.

News of Jun’s skirmish has already reached the office by the time he returns, and everyone treads carefully as they comfort their newest hire. Sung-han barges out of his office, and unlike the others, he berates the younger attorney for his actions. However, Sung-han means none of it as he goes on his usual spiel of good-looking people needing to be careful in this world, and Jun nods along.

Discovering her feelings for Hyung-geun, So-yeon finds herself at an impasse. Her dream has always been to open a macaron shop but that would mean closing the restaurant. She asks her pet turtle for advice, but when that turns out to be fruitless, she gets Hyung-geun’s number from Jun and asks the source of her doubts directly.

Hyung-geun comes out to meet her — even dressing up for the occasion — and listens to her questions sincerely. He tells her to pursue her dream even though he prefers ramyun, and So-yeon has her answer. As Hyung-geun does his best to fight off his drowsiness, she asks him another question: was his ex-wife his last love?

After that almost-but-not-quite confession, Hyung-geun runs to his friends who beat him up for telling So-yeon that she was his first love. They get more animated by the situation than the actual recipient and ignore him for the rest of the night as punishment for his dense reaction. Pfft.

The team celebrates winning the farmer’s case, and Jung-shik tags along since he helped investigate, too. The friends tease each other relentlessly as usual, and for the most part, everyone enjoys the party.

On her way home, Seo-jin gets accosted by a drunk man who brings up her video, and all her fears coming rushing back. Sung-han intervenes and scares the man away, but Seo-jin remains shell-shocked by the encounter. She asks to be left alone, but Sung-han tells her to be strong. He knows that it will be tough, but he reminds her that they have accomplished harder things before.

Reflecting on his words, Seo-jin goes out into the world the next day and picks up her son from school. They go shopping for his shoes at the store, and Hyun-woo asks if she is alright. He says that he feels happy to be out with her again, but Seo-jin confesses that she is still scared. However, she is willing to try and hugs her son.

Sung-han’s next case is his biggest yet: Lady Ma’s divorce. While the other side busies themselves for the upcoming mediation and media frenzy, Sung-han bickers over marinated crabs with Hyung-geun. Despite being at a disadvantage, Sung-han seems rather relaxed about the whole thing.

Harboring some worries, Lady Ma asks Sung-han if he is not afraid of the chairman’s team of lawyers. In response, he plays her Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and tells her the history behind the piece. He plans to take a similar approach and will do his best even with the odds stacked against him.

As Sung-han tries to find an angle to make a case for Lady Ma, she invites him out for lunch and hands him all the evidence he needs to win. She recorded the chairman’s affairs for nearly three decades and has notarized settlement agreements and voice recordings. Sung-han points out that even a newbie could win her case with this, but Lady Ma argues that no one but Sung-han would have the drive to see her case to the end.

Following her humiliating defeat to Sung-han, Young-ju is summoned to the chairman’s office where he reprimands her for her actions. Chairman Seo tosses the divorce papers from his wife onto the table and tells Young-ju to resign from her position. Before she leaves, he comments on how Ju-hwa was such a nice person while Young-ju, on the other hand, always seemed shameless.

In spite of the chairman’s sharp remarks, he keeps Young-ju by his side and sees her shamelessness as a perfect quality to fill the position of his spokesperson. He tells her that this confrontation with Sung-han is a transaction, not a battle. The outcome will not be decided between a winner and a loser, but by how much she can bargain on the chairman’s behalf.

Young-ju asks what she gains from this proposition, and the chairman laughs at her predictability. She demands her stepson’s shares as compensation, and the chairman agrees to give Young-ju her daughter’s shares. However, Chairman Seo asks what she will give in return if she fails, and Young-ju hesitates to answer. The chairman laughs again and tells Young-ju to stay in her place if she loses.

Meanwhile, Seo-jin decides to stop hiding and accepts the offer from her friend and old colleague, PD Bang, to start a streaming channel. The show does well with old fans coming back to support her, and PD Bang tells her that the world might not be so bad after all. As they take a stroll outside, PD Bang advises her to look up towards the sky once in a while, and Seo-jin looks around to fully appreciate her surroundings.

Though there are plenty of positive comments on the channel, there are also a lot of haters, and a particularly malicious troll keeps attacking Hyun-woo. Rather than run away, Seo-jin musters up the courage to face the commenter, but her heart sinks when a fourteen-year-old girl shows up.

Seo-jin tries to be understanding, but her compassion only angers the young girl more. She asks why someone like Seo-jin would go so far to protect her son while her own mother abandoned her to live with a rich husband. After the young girl stops crying, Seo-jin tells her to ask for help next time rather than leave hateful comments. She asks who will help her, and Seo-jin tells her that there are good adults in the world.

Taking a break from the case, Hyung-geun and So-yeon go on a cute camping date. He even decorates the campsite with lights and pulls out all the stops to impress her. The two of them have a wonderful time together, but in the middle of their date, Hyung-geun realizes that he misunderstood her when So-yeon mentions going back home tonight.

From the next site over, a lone tent starts shaking with laughter, and inside, we see Sung-han and Jung-shik peeping on their friend. As usual, Hyung-geun went to them for advice about this camping trip, and even though he told So-yeon that his friends were smart enough to not tag along, he grossly overestimated their maturity. However, Jung-shik’s bladder gets them caught, and Sung-han sheepishly tells the couple what a coincidence this is.

Sung-han meets with the chairman’s legal team for the first time, and after exchanging pleasantries, they get down to business. The other side denies the affair claims, so Sung-han hands them copies of the evidence from Lady Ma. He points out that this also proves the decades of work she did to protect the company, painting this not as tale of a spiteful wife but as the tireless efforts of a businessperson.

After the meeting, Sung-han paces around his office and worries about how smoothly things are progressing. A knock at the door interrupts his thoughts, and to his shock, his nephew walks in. Sung-han realizes that something is wrong after seeing his expression, and his nephew tears up as he asks his uncle for help.

The show is almost over, but it seems that Lady Ma’s case might not be the last hurdle Sung-han needs to overcome. With the sudden introduction of Gi-young at the end, this slight pivot might be the exact thing the show needed before its final act. One of the story’s selling points was Sung-han’s background and his motivation to switch careers so late into his life (which seems to be a drama-exclusive plot point). While the tragic end of his sister was the primary factor for Sung-han’s change and something the show will have to answer in its last two episodes, I think Gi-young’s cry for help might be the real reason for our hero’s journey. Rather than have the past motivate him, this allows Sung-han to have a present, tangible goal that also gives him the opportunity to grow.

In a previous episode, the show depicted Sung-han struggling with the loss of his family, and he fails to see a hopeful future. However, with Gi-young in the picture, Sung-han will have to step up and realize that he isn’t alone — his nephew needs him, too. It also follows the general tone of the show that leans more heavily towards reconciliation, since Sung-han’s goal then becomes saving his family instead of avenging them. Also, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the Seo household is toxic beyond repair from the cheating grandfather to the evil stepmother, and while I’m unsure of the possibility of this scenario, I hope Gi-young can escape and grow up in a loving home.

 
RELATED POSTS

• Premiere Watch: Divorce Attorney Shin
• Jo Seung-woo is an oddball lawyer in Divorce Attorney Shin
• Divorce Attorney Shin makes time for law and bromance
• Jo Seung-woo counsels Han Hye-jin as Divorce Attorney Shin
• Jo Seung-woo offers his services as Divorce Attorney Shin
• News bites: February 7, 2023
• News bites: November 26, 2022
• First look at Jo Seung-woo in JTBC’s Sacred Divorce