Divorce Attorney Shin – K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

Forgiveness

Episode 4 of Divorce Attorney Shin starts with Sung-han showing up at the office and finding Seo-jin already there. She apologizes for her brazen attitude before regarding getting a job but is serious about wanting to work there.

Sung-han though is pretty chill, which is stark contrast to Hyeong-geun, who shows up with coffee for everyone – including Seo-jin. He’s still completely fanboying over her though.

Yu-seok’s subordinate (whom we later learn is called Choi-jun) feeds along the information about Sung-han’s latest case involving Ae-ran. As for Ae-ran. she talks to Sung-han about her woes, including how Byeong-cheol always takes her mother in law’s side. If it wasn’t for her, it’s likely that the pair wouldn’t have so many problems with their marriage.

Even worse though, her mother-in-law is about to sue and press charges for the “assault”. Sung-han decides to do a counter-charge and sue her for defamation. Specifically, they’re going to lie about the assault. Sung-han decides they should pretend the kids didn’t see anything and that the grandma is making the whole thing up.

This helps get the case laid out, but before they solidify anything, Seo-jin is initiated into the workplace by heading to the familiar noodle shop we’ve seen the guys attend. Sung-han confirms that when she’s fully onboard with them, she’ll be visiting these places a lot more.

The boys head out after for an impromptu camping trip. Flashbacks help to show that these three have been together for a long time, with both Hyeong-geun and Jeong-sik there when Ju-hwa passed and Sung-han needing comforting.

Keumhwa Law Firm get involved in the Ae-ran case. Yu-seok visits Byeong-cheol and convinces him to play ball. He even offers his services free of charge as well. Emboldened, Byeong-cheol heads home and confronts his wife, but she’s also feeling confident now and decides to follow through with the defamation, as this case turns sour.

Things also turn sour with Gi-yeong too, with his step-mum deciding that they need to sever ties with Sung-han completely. Her husband agrees and decides they should let him meet Sung-han one last time to say their goodbyes. Unfortunately. Gi-yeong believes this is a turning point and looks forward to seeing his uncle, who is also excited for them to meet, unaware of what ramifications this may have in the future.

Hyeong-geun receives some devastating news back at the office. Between his shyness with working opposite Seo-jin’s desk, he also receives a message from Ji-eun who reveals that she’s pregnant, which explains why she wants to put an end to their marriage so hastily. As a result, Hyeong-geun heads to the noodle shop and decides to get extra portions to try and fulfill the emptiness in his heart.

Sung-han ends up speaking to Byeong-cheol in confidence that night, right as Ae-ran leaves the room. He points out that his mother-in-law has been a complete menace and that’s why all of this is happening. However, when he mentions Keumhwa Law Firm, Byeong-cheol decides to follow through with fighting against his wife.

The case goes ahead the next day, with Keumhwa on one side and Sung-han’s firm on the other, representing their clients. Arguments are heard on both sides, with Ae-ran made out to be selfish with a single-minded desire to  gain assets.

As for Sung-han, he understands where Ae-ran is coming from and she refuses to lie and admits the truth to everyone, that she hit her mother-in-law and has been angry all her life.

Byeong-cheol is up next and he hands over a USB recorder, which confirms that the building belongs to him and not his mother-in-law. He even has a notarized statement to confirm this as well.

Byeong-cheol admits that his wife must be so tired, and she can’t stop sobbing when it’s handed over. Outside, Sung-han admits that he’s saw romance between them and decided toleave it up to Byeong-cheol to see where his loyalties lie. I

n choosing his wife to have part of the building, Byeong-cheol confronts his mother-in-law, and after clearing the air, Ae-ram drops to her knees in front of the grandma and begs for forgiveness. In return, her mother-in-law shows humility and thanks Ae-ran for the food, claiming it’s delicious and thanking her for looking after her all these years. If it wasn’t for Ae-ran, she knows she never would have had the life she’s lived and would be in a nursing home by now.

Meanwhile, Choi-jun decides to quit working for Keumhwa and shows up at Sung-han’s law firm, wanting to apply for a job. Choi-jun is met with a direct rejection, even though he’s handed in his notice already at the rival firm. Sung-han has already made his mind up. That is, until our Youtuber uses the video of Sung-han playing the piano as leverage, promising to delete them if he’s signed up as a lawyer.

When Sung-han finds out that it was Choi-jun who recorded and uploaded it, he’s absolutely livid.

The Episode Review

Divorce Attorney Shin returns with a decent follow-up to this whole Ae-ran situation, with the case resolved in an amicable way and with her marriage still intact.

Part of this comes from Byeong-cheol finally growing a pair and standing up to his mother-in-law, who in turn learns some humility and apologizes to Ae-ran. Hopefully their relationship will be repaired and grow from here on out.

Meanwhile, we learn more about Hyeong-Geun’s situation and his wife, and exactly why she wants a divorce so badly, while Sung-han’s history is still a mystery at this point beyond those snippets of Ju-hwa’s funeral.

There are plenty of moving parts in this and for the most part they all work reasonably well to keep things interesting. The humour is still a bit of a problem though, and mostly from the way it jarringly whiplashes between silly slapstick and more melodramatic scenes. With all that being said though, Divorce Attorney Shin is a decent weekend offering and it’ll be interesting to see what next week has in store for us.