Name: Divorce Attorney Shin season 1 episode 11
Director: Lee Jae-hoon
Released: 2023-04-08T23:48:17

In the eleventh episode of Divorce Attorney Shin, new developments convince Sung-han to drop Ms. Ma’s case, and Seo-jin gets the opportunity to return to her old job. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

A flashback reveals that right before Ju-hwa’s accident, Yeong-ju called her and threatened to get Gi-yeong disinherited if Ju-hwa did not stay out of Gi-yeong’s life. Ju-hwa did not want any money; she just wanted her son.

Yeong-ju asks her to stop studying law, as it would not help her. If she does not, Yeong-ju will make sure that Gi-yeong suffers. After the phone call, a shaken Ju-hwa crossed the road without looking and was hit by a car.

In the present, Gi-yeong asks Sung-han if Yeong-ju kicked Ju-hwa out; he heard this from others at school. He wishes to go to Germany with Sung-han and study there.

He tells Sung-han that he no longer has anyone by his side, as Yeong-ju has changed all his classes and even his trusted driver, Mr. Jung. Gi-yeong never feels happy at home; he used to be the most comfortable in the car with Mr. Jung, but now he has been fired.

Sung-han apologizes to him because he assumed Gi-yeong was happy. He assures him that he will find a place for him where he will be comfortable as well as the people who will make him comfortable.

Despite Yeong-ju’s wishes, Sung-han takes him to the ramen restaurant for dinner, where everyone makes Gi-yeong smile. Sung-han then drops a reluctant Gi-yeong home. Sung-han does not return to his own house immediately, as he visits places related to Ju-hwa to think.

Jeong-sik and Hyeong-geun come to keep Sung-han company. On the other hand, Mr. Jung informs Ms. Ma that Gi-yeong has not been doing well. He could not talk to Jeong-guk about it, and Yeong-ju is not doing anything to help Gi-yeong.

Seo-jin and Choi Jun visit the restaurant of the grandmother of the teenage girl, Jun-hui, who was bullying Seo-jin online. The woman tells them that Jun-hui’s parents fought all the time, and then her mother ran away with a younger man; Jun-hui’s father also passed away because of that.

Her mother runs a restaurant with her husband and does not pay child support because she claims that her husband owns the restaurant and that she does not earn anything. Jun-hui had to drop out of school because of that.

Her old grandmother has to take care of her. Choi Jun tells her that she can get child support for Jun-hui from her mother even if her mother does not earn, and her grandmother implores them to help her with it.

Yeong-ju confronts Yu-seok about going to Jeong-sik’s office, and he reminds her that they committed a crime together. Yu-seok gave her Ju-hwa’s medical records and betrayed his client. He now demands a store in a nice spot, as he knows that Mr. Seo’s coffee franchise has been doing well.

Sung-han meets Ms. Ma and tells her that he is dropping her case because he knows that something is going on that he has not been able to figure out. When he took Ms. Ma’s case, Yeong-ju started making changes to Gi-yeong’s life.

He has already negotiated with Chairman Seo’s lawyers, and they have decided to give her 27%. They both knew that she would not be able to get 50%, but it is still more than what she first demanded. Ms. Ma wants him to see this through, but he refuses.

Seo-jin and Choi Jun discuss with Hyeong-geun that they are taking a pro bono case. Choi Jun will be handling Jun-hui’s case. Meanwhile, Sung-han has been studying relentlessly to find a case where a child’s uncle won his custody, but he has not been able to do so.

Seo-jin speaks to him and asks him why he left being a pianist to become an attorney. She then comforts him by saying that he found a way to help her get Hyeon-u’s custody, so he will be able to find a way for Gi-yeong to be happy, as that is what he wants the most.

Ms. Ma wants Jeong-guk to let Gi-yeong stay with Sung-han and to apologize to Ju-hwa. This makes Yeong-ju ask Ms. Ma why she hates her. Ms. Ma points out that Yeong-ju has tried too hard to be with Jeong-guk.

She is beyond desperate; her hostility and insecurity make Ms. Ma uncomfortable. It turns out that Yeong-ju has known Jeong-guk since they were children, and he would never have divorced Ju-hwa if it was not for Ms. Ma.

On top of that, Ms. Ma is aware of Yeong-ju and Ju-hwa’s phone conversation before Ju-hwa’s death. This surprises Jeong-guk, who has no knowledge of it, but he still asks his mother to stay out of his business.

Seo-jin’s old boss visits her and tells her that she can be a radio host again. She is not getting the morning slot, but he convinced the higher-ups to give her the 4 pm slot. Seo-jin likes the idea, but she is yet to give him her answer.

Hyeong-geun and Ms. Kim’s relationship is going strong. She asks him why he took so long to divorce his wife, and he admits that he was a lousy husband for a long time.

She wants to know if his ex-wife is happy now so that Ms. Kim can be happy with him without feeling guilty. Hyeong-geun holds her hand and takes her home with him to let her know that she can indeed be happy with him.

Mr. Jung meets Sung-han and informs him that Gi-yeong has been eating and throwing up a lot. He told Yeong-ju about it, but she never took him to a doctor. She has never taken him to see a doctor, not even when he was growing sad and depressed.

Hyeong-geun tries to help out a stressed Sung-han by reading with him, and Jeong-sik tries to help in his own way by following Gi-yeong’s car around. This results in him getting arrested.

Jeong-sik and Sung-han go to get him, and Sung-han apologizes to Yeong-ju on his behalf. She wishes to speak to Sung-han privately. When they are alone, she asks him why is he so obsessed with Gi-yeong.

She accuses him of desiring Gi-yeong’s inheritance. She thinks that he coaxed a woman like Ms. Ma, who donated everything she owned, into demanding 27% of the shares.

When she speaks cruelly about Ju-hwa, he asks her what did she say to Ju-hwa that led to her death. Yeong-ju gets angry and screams at him because she wants to know why everyone is acting like Ju-hwa’s death was her fault.

Sung-han figures out that Ms. Ma wants those shares for Gi-yeong because she must have heard Ju-hwa and Yeong-ju’s last conversation; she wants to secure his future before Yeong-ju takes away his share of the inheritance.

She hired Sung-han because she was always afraid to fight, but she needed someone like him who was fearless and motivated enough to fight Yeong-ju.

Sung-han wants to know why Ms. Ma is going to extreme lengths to protect Gi-yeong, and she tells him that it is because he is Ju-hwa’s son. Ju-hwa was like a daughter Ms. Ma never had.

She understood everything that was going on with Ms. Ma but never asked her about it. The two women were there for each other in good and bad times.

Sung-han returns to his friends, and instead of yelling at Hyeong-geun, he comforts him. The three of them then visit Gi-yeong. Sung-han now has a strategy for his two clients.

Sung-han tells Gi-yeong that he is going to fight his case and do his best to get him away from his suffocating home, much to Yeong-ju’s dismay.

Review

Platonic relationships have been an important part of this show. The nature of Ju-hwa and Ms. Ma’s relationship is finally revealed. It was unexpected and yet it made so much sense; Ms. Ma is now more loyal to Ju-hwa, who is dead but was once there for her, than she is to her own blood.
The ending of the episode sees Sung-han directly challenging Yeong-ju. What is interesting is that Yeong-ju is more powerful but stands alone, while Sung-han has his three loyal friends beside him who will do anything for him.
Furthermore, Yeong-ju’s past actions are now haunting her. She tries to reject the guilt, but she cannot get rid of her insecurity because even after Ju-hwa’s death, she was never able to take her place in every way possible.
This episode brings the audience closer to the conclusion of the stories of various characters before the finale. Additionally, a lot of questions about the past get answered, preparing the scene for the final battle in court.