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Divorce Attorney Shin: Episodes 1-2
by lovepark
Once a pianist, now a divorce attorney, our titular hero navigates the courtroom instead of concert halls and helps people by using the law rather than music. While his peculiar background still remains a mystery, our hero clearly has a goal in mind and is charging forward with no plans to stop.
EPISODES 1-2
The show wastes no time in introducing its viewers to its eponymous hero SHIN SUNG-HAN (Jo Seung-woo). Though trained as a pianist, Sung-han left his music career behind to practice law in Korea, and while details are sparse for now, it is clear that something weighs heavily on his heart. Despite his strange background, Sung-han excels at what he does as demonstrated by the divorce case he wins within the first five minutes of the show’s opening.
After a quick peek into our lead’s life, the focus shifts to another character, radio host LEE SEO-JIN (Han Hye-jin). Whispers and stares plague her everywhere she goes, and we soon learn that she was caught having an affair. To make matters worse, the scumbag posted an illegal sex tape of her online, and now, her husband wants a divorce.
Thus, our two characters meet when Seo-jin seeks out Sung-han for help, but given the nature of her case, he declines. She asks him to reconsider and tells him that she only wants full custody of her son Hyun-woo. Hearing her reason changes something in Sung-han, and once he determines her resolve, he agrees to be her attorney.
As Sung-han digs deeper into Seo-jin’s situation, it becomes evident that her marriage was failing way before the affair. She recounts how her husband keeps track of her undergarments, leaves degrading notes all over the house for her to find, and forces her to send him photos of her location every thirty minutes. While Seo-jin is no saint, her husband is a grade-A asshole.
Despite the evidence against her husband, Seo-jin has also been a negligent parent, and the other attorney makes sure to paint her in the worst possible light. She explains how Hyun-woo hurt himself at school when Seo-jin forgot to show up for parent participation day, and emphasizes the fact that this was the same day her sex tape was filmed. The other attorney repeatedly hounds her for being part of an explicit video, but thankfully, Sung-han calls her out for secondary victimization and puts a stop to it for now.
With the first mediation ending on a standstill, Sung-han decides to meet with Hyun-woo and get his side of the story. He asks the little boy what has been bothering him the most lately, and Hyun-woo tells him that he wishes he could forget. He gets up to leave before explaining his answer, but his tense body language is enough for Sung-han to put the clues together.
That night, Hyun-woo has a seizure, and when his parents rush in to check on him, he grabs his dad’s phone and hurls it at the wall. After taking him to the hospital, Seo-jin calls Sung-han in tears and wonders if she is doing the right thing. She suggests dropping the case, but Sung-han makes it clear that he has every intention of winning.
In the courtroom, Sung-han puts the husband on the stand and asks him if he showed Hyun-woo the sex tape. Without an ounce of remorse, he shouts at Sung-han that he did show his son because he kept asking to live with his mom. (Hold on a second, I think I left my shovel in the other room.)
Wordlessly, Seo-jin lifts herself up on shaking legs and approaches her husband. Before the room can react, she slaps him across the face and screams until she passes out in Sung-han’s arms. Later that day, she wakes up in the hospital, and Sung-han tells her that they won.
Seo-jin returns home — her husband has moved out — and makes dinner for Hyun-woo as a way to make amends. Instead of his usual avoidance tactics, he actually sits down this time and asks his mom what will happen. She tells him that they will live together from now on and gets on her knees to apologize. Seeing his mom cry, Hyun-woo reaches out to her first and hugs her.
Rather than celebrate his hard-earned win, Sung-han sits alone in his apartment with a bottle of soju and a can of tuna. His only company is his memories, so he drowns them out with alcohol and trot music. As Sung-han attempts to brighten the mood, his doorbell rings, and he finds his friends JANG HYUNG-GEUN (Kim Sung-kyun) and JO JUNG-SHIK (Jung Moon-sung) waiting outside.
They bicker like old friends, nitpicking each other’s flaws and laughing over the silliest jokes. Scowling at Jung-han’s expensive speakers, Jung-shik berates him for only listening to trot and pulls out a karaoke microphone from his bag. Sung-han hides in embarrassment as his two friends get emotional while singing, but as the song reaches its climax, he jumps into the fray. Ha!
Now that the first case has finished, the show sets up its next divorce: a middle-aged woman who lives with a doormat husband and an abusive mother-in-law. Due to the husband’s failed business, the family had to move into the mother-in-law’s house, and the wife works multiple jobs to pay off their mortgage. While the wife endures all the verbal harassment her mother-in-law throws her way, she finally bursts when she witnesses her mother-in-law hitting her daughter, and she strikes back.
The consequences of her actions are saved for next week, but a bigger plot point brews around the corner. Over drinks with Hyung-geun, Sung-han tells him that he only needs one more win before he kills that jerk. The show does not reveal more than this, but Sung-han obviously has a score to settle.
As Sung-han walks home humming to himself, he stumbles across a piano on the street. Though he tries to walk past, he can’t help but stop and sit. He gently caresses the piano, and after a moment of hesitation, he starts to play.
With that, the episode comes to an end, and while I’m not entirely in love with the show, I definitely see sparks of potential. I enjoyed the performances all around, especially the three friends playing off of each other, and everyone in the main cast is quite charming. That being said, I’m not a fan of all the characters per se, but hopefully, I’ll warm up to them as the show continues.
While I still think Divorce Attorney Shin could be an interesting watch, I’m a bit hesitant about the future because of the writer. I’ve only seen one of her dramas, and it was pretty bad (no, it’s not the one that popped into your head). I have seen a good chunk of her movie credits, but that makes me even more confused. She has some movies I adored, but she also penned some of the worst movies I’ve seen. Maybe the blame/credit for those should solely be on the director, but she definitely has an interesting track record.
Despite my reservations, the biggest draw for me was always the cast, and on that front, the show delivered. Unsurprisingly, Jo Seung-woo is amazing, and if the drama needs him to sing every fifteen minutes, I won’t complain. In fact, I think we should have more trot scenes and friendly banter because those were my favorite parts. In general, I loved all of Sung-han’s interactions, and in spite of his secretive past, he’s an expressive character who is compassionate. Jo Seung-woo plays him with a lot of heart, and even if the show does go off the rails later on, I know the acting will still be superb.
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