REVIEW: ‘Divorce Attorney Shin,’ Episodes 3-4

Intrigue and charm set the mood for Divorce Attorney Shin by the end of episodes 1 and 2. The quirky, lovable friendship between Shin (Cho Seung-woo) and his two closest friends, Jang Hyeon-geun (Kim Seong-gyoon) and Jo Jeong-sik (Moon-Sun Jung), provided a comedic respite from the tougher moments like Lee Seo-jin’s (Hye-jin Han) case. As episode 2 came to a close, it dangled more questions for viewers. Shin was a professional pianist? Who are Ju-hwa and Gi-yeong to Shin? What will become of Park Ae-Ran’s situation with her overbearing and belittling mother-in-law? It begins to unravel in Divorce Attorney Shin Episodes 3-4 and I’m still here for it. 

An overly hungover Shin wakes to a viral video of himself from his drunken night prior with Jang Hyeon-geun, busking his professional talents as a pianist. Shin is extremely distraught and bothered. Worried he will be recognized, he begins to work towards trying to contact the user to take down the video. By the end of episode 4, the two cross paths, and a negotiation is proposed that might bind them a while longer much to Shin’s disliking.  

At the firm, Shin and Jang Hyeon-geun start to feel overwhelmed by the increase in clientele. Desperate for a job Lee Seo-jin ultimately ends up at Shin’s firm. Briefly, we see a parallel between Shin and Lee Seo-Jin. Both share a level of renown in their professional fields. There’s a drawback that comes with being famous and a struggle to exist in society as someone outside of their former selves.

Peering a bit further into Shin’s past through a dream, viewers can now place Ju-hwa as Shin’s sister and Gi-yeong as his nephew. The sudden death of Ju-hwa and the separation from Gi-yeong begin to tell why Shin decided to quit piano and pursue law. Specifically divorce cases. Shin’s relationship with Gi-yeong is threatened as another force tries to pull them apart and this fuels Shin further to seek justice.

Time is not an uncommon way to move a story forward and episodes 3-4 use this approach.  It does it well enough that it doesn’t feel misplaced. It properly builds our understanding and compassion for our characters, giving us just enough at the right moment. The use of flashbacks like Shin’s dream hints at the cause of his sister’s death. It gives a crumb of detail that starts to thread to the cases we’ve seen so far. From the dream, Shin comments about it to his friends prompting a flashback to a mourning Shin. It mirrors the three then at that moment to the funeral in a way that both explains Shin’s motivations and the closeness in friendship shared with Jang Hyeon-geun and Jo Jeong-sik.

Above all, time can hold other forms. It can be a former lover sitting before you trying to move forward or, conversationally a revisit to a past. It doesn’t always appear as a flashback and can be properly placed in the present. Divorce Attorney Shin episodes 3-4 show the audience that escaping our past is tougher than we think and time reveals truths.

Divorce Attorney Shin Episodes 3-4 are now available on Netflix, with new episodes airing on Saturdays and Sundays.