Good Partner: Episodes 10-11

by quirkycase

Confidence, in ourselves and in who we believe others to be, is the name of the game this week. Divorce cases often bring the unexpected, leaving many of our characters’ confidence shaken as they are forced to adapt to unforeseen scenarios. Not everyone is struggling, though. One of our lawyers is hitting her stride and starting to feel sure of herself for the first time.

 
EPISODES 10-11

Oh how far Ji-sang has fallen. His selfishness has truly cost him everything, and it’s only just hitting him. Not even Sara is on his side anymore now that she recognizes he never loved her. As she’s coming to that realization, she has a miscarriage and puts an end to their relationship once and for all. While Sara has been truly terrible, it’s a tragic end that no one deserves. But her sobered demeanor suggests there’s hope that, having been through a relationship like this, she’ll learn from it.

Ji-sang can handle just about anything else, but he is stunned when he learns Jae-hee chose her mom. At first, as always, he blames everyone but himself. However, even he can’t pretend he’s not at fault when Jae-hee tells him she’s known about the affair for a year and kept quiet to protect her mom. Still, he begs her to live with him and is distraught when Jae-hee cries that losing her is his punishment – she knows nothing else would be enough.

His love for Jae-hee finally wins out and he takes full responsibility for his mistakes, recognizing that it’s no one’s fault but his own that he’s losing her. He agrees to end the suit quickly and not make things harder for her and her mom.

No matter how unlikable Ji-sang is, watching Jae-hee sob as she grieves losing her once unshakable relationship with her father is heartbreaking. He does exactly as Jae-hee asks and cedes custody to Eun-kyung, agreeing to a settlement. And what do you know, he finally apologizes to Eun-kyung. And just like that, they’re divorced. I assumed the divorce would go to trial, but I’m glad that we didn’t drag it out any further.

I love that, from this case, Eun-kyung learned to be a better mom and Ji-sang is learning to accept responsibility, but the divorce cases so far have all ended positively with couples unequivocally better off afterward. I’d love to see some cases that deal with more complex fallout or murkier results where divorce doesn’t result in more enlightened parents or happier individuals. Yuri does mention that many people regret divorces, so I’m hopeful we’ll get to see some of those cases too.

We do, however, get a case this week where divorce may not be the best option for the couple. In an all-too-familiar tale, a woman is at her wits end after being taken for granted by her family for decades. All she wants is to have her own identity and live for herself now that her children are grown. Her family acts like she’s being unreasonable, likely so they won’t have to start doing things for themselves for once. But the threat of divorce and presence of attorneys make them hear her out.

In the end, they come to a compromise both husband and wife are happy with: a trial period of two years where they live apart and work to repair their relationship. All else fails, they’ll divorce. In this instance, it’s clear the husband and wife do still care about each other, so trying to fix the relationship makes sense. What the woman truly wanted was to be heard and seen for who she is, not what she can do for her family. So long as her husband is willing to do that, they can both be happy as they are.

Eun-kyung is dealing with her own related but almost opposite predicament where she also has lost herself – however, she struggles with the feeling that she’s not needed by anyone. With her incredible record as an attorney, you’d think she’d be secure in her career at the very least. That’s before throwing an unreasonable man in the mix.

The CEO decides now is the time to push Eun-kyung out. Sure, she may have been his most successful lawyer for many of her past 17 years at the firm, but he doesn’t like that her personal life is messy. Not only that, but he’s thinking of dissolving the entire divorce team. Whatever his official reasons, I’d wager he’s threatened by Eun-kyung’s success and how she’s the face of the firm; Woo-jin is the one who is supposed to lead the firm down the line, not Eun-kyung.

With Eun-kyung on forced leave (as a prelude to forced resignation), Yuri takes on her first case without her mentor as backup. It’s a case of brazen fraud where a couple schemes to file adultery suits by having the wife seduce young men while pretending to be single. It’s a well-oiled operation, suggesting they’ve done it many times. They set the man up and then demand money to cancel the suit.

In an ethically questionable move, Yuri has Eun-ho go on a dating app to meet the wife and see how it plays out. Sure enough, the husband is there at their first date taking photos of his wife with Eun-ho. It’s enough to catch the couple red-handed, and they quickly withdraw their suit rather than face court. Yuri beams when Woo-jin compliments her on winning her first case solo – with a solid assist from Eun-ho – but she does miss being able to share this with Eun-kyung.

Elsewhere, Eun-kyung makes the best of her time off and takes Jae-hee on vacation while trying not to think about her uncertain future. They both pretend like there’s no hole where Ji-sang used to be, but Eun-kyung feels inadequate at every turn. She doesn’t know Jae-hee’s food preferences or that she has a sensitive stomach, and she sees the way Jae-hee sadly watches fathers play with their children. Then, they have a bad fall on a tandem bike and Jae-hee gets hurt. That opens the floodgates. In the hospital, all Jae-hee wants is her dad, and all Eun-kyung can do is hold Jae-hee while she wails about how much she misses him.

It’s telling that Eun-kyung calls Yuri when she needs a sounding board, showing how close the women have become. She can barely hold back tears as she admits she feels useless at home and work. While Eun-kyung falls apart, Woo-jin might just be on the rise. We end the week as he approaches his father/uncle and asks for the firm.

Woo-jin has been nothing but loyal and kind thus far, so I would be surprised if he suddenly turns to the dark side and helps push Eun-kyung out. It’s possible, but it’s also possible he has something else up his sleeve. Either way, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Eun-kyung who is really going through it on all fronts.

She and Jae-hee are both trying so hard to move forward and be there for each other, but Jae-hee is still just a kid who misses her dad. No matter how hard Eun-kyung tries, the hard truth is that she doesn’t know Jae-hee as well as Ji-sang does yet. That hospital scene was rough, seeing Jae-hee’s mature façade crumble to reveal the hurt child beneath and Eun-kyung realizing that Jae-hee’s instinct is still to run to her dad when she’s in pain. I’m sure they’ll figure it out in time, but for now, it’s a difficult transition. Like Eun-kyung has said before, divorce is not the end but a beginning.

 
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