Divorce Attorney Shin (Season 1 Finale), Episodes 9, 10, 11 & 12 Recap & Ending Explained: Latest episodes of “Divorce Attorney Shin,” currently streaming on Netflix, once again balances the drama of divorces with mellow (and humorous) moments of friendships between the central characters. With the final two episodes of this season coming in this weekend, the series has been a pleasantly breezy and easy-going viewing so far. Here’s hoping for a fitting finale next week.
Divorce Attorney Shin (Season 1 Finale), Episodes 9, 10, 11 & 12 Recap:
Sung-Han’s Victory
The Ma Chun-Seok (Choi Jae-Sup) case brings another victory for Shin Sung-Han (Cho Seung-Woo). The case pitted him directly against Park Yu-Seok (Jeon Bae-Su) of Keum Hwa Law Firm, which in turn puts Sung-Han in a straight fight against his enemy, Jin Yeong-Ju (Noh Susanna). Sung-Han asked for a DNA test in the last episode. The result has come and it shows that Dinh Thi Hoa (Huong) lied about who the father is.
In addition to that, Sung-Han gets Thi Hoa to admit the lies about her injuries in cross-examination. With that Sung-Han manages to clear Chun-Seok’s name. Chun-Seok and his mother still miss Thi Hoa and, especially, the toddler. Chun-Seok always had an inkling that the baby was not his, but it never stopped him from loving the little child. After the case, Chun-Seok decides not to sue Thi Hoa for slander. Much to the joy of his 87-year-old mother, he brings the baby, along with Thi Hoa, home.
Choi Jun and Seo-Jin’s Victory
Choi Jun (Han Eun-Sung) and Lee Seo-Jin (Han Hye-Jin) have been looking into the case of Min-Jeong (Lee Yoon Soo). The Schizophrenic girl has been subjected to treachery in her marriage. In the last episode, it became clear that her husband, Hyeon-Tae (Im Ji-Kyu) only pretends to care for her. He has accused Min-Jeong and her parents of lying about her condition and duping him.
However, to the contrary, Min-Jeong accuses Hyeon-Tae of being the cheating spouse. He has apparently hidden his previous relationships. Hyeon-Tae seems to use Min-Jeong’s condition for vested interests. He gets to lord it over Min-Jeong’s parents with the claim that only he could do this ‘sacrifice’ to marry her. In the mediation room, Choi Jun exposes Hyeon-Tae with the video of Hyeon-Tae enjoying himself on his mobile phone immediately after finding out that his wife almost died.
Choi Jun and Seo-Jin also looked into a Schizophrenic support group before coming to the mediation. Choi-Jun presents the findings that Hyeon-Tae has been a regular of the support group, with the pretext of having a schizophrenic sister. In reality, Hyeon-Tae does not have any sisters, and he joined this group well before meeting Min-Jeong. This proved Hyeon-Tae had been aware of Min-Jeong’s condition when he met her. Not only that, he had been preparing for it.
Choi Jun wins the case but also comes to blows with Hyeon-Tae in the mediation room. Much to the dismay of his boss, Sung-Han.
Return of Grandma in Grandma’s Noodle Shop
So-Yeon (Kang Mal-Geum) has been managing the beloved Grandma’s noodle shop, which is frequented by our gang. So-Yeon’s mother, who used to be the previous owner, has been ill. She finally returns with a heartwarming reception from Sung-Han, Hyeong-Geun (Kim Sung-Kyun), and Jeong-Sik (Jung Moon-Sung).
On the other hand, So-Yeon, who was shown to be interested in the now-single Hyeong-Geun, shows clear indications that she likes Hyeong-Geun. Something that is not missed by either Sung-Han or Jeong-Sik. Encouraged by them, Hyeong-Geun and So-Yeon manage to go on a date. But the date, a camping trip, is interrupted by the innocently inquisitive Sung-Han and Jeong-Sik. The moments involving the three friends and their lives have been one of the strong suits of the show. Fans would love these particular moments in the latest two episodes.
As indicated in the last episode, Dinh Thi Hoa seemed to lie about Chun-Seok’s violent attack. Sung-Han already figured that Chun-Seok could not have hit Dinh Thi Hoa with his right hand, at least not with the effort required to break her hand. This is due to the fact that strenuous work has impaired Chun-Seok’s right hand. It is not medically possible for him to break someone’s hand with his right hand.
When Sung-Han asks Thi Hoa which hand Chun-Seok used to hit her, she claims it was right. This is the ammunition Sung-Han needed. He immediately pulls all the medical records and debunks that. This proves to be the key factor and Thi Hoa sees no other way but to admit the truth. That she and her then-boyfriend arranged everything, to the extent that her boyfriend hit her hand with a weapon to break it.
How does Sung-Han plan to win the Ma Geum Hee Case?
Sung-Han’s next case is the one he has prepared all of lawyer life for. His sister, Ju-Hwa’s mysterious death has been the trigger for Sung-Han to switch professions, from piano virtuoso to a divorce lawyer. The loss in the Chun-Seok case has been detrimental for both Yu-Seok and Yeong-Ju. Yeong-Ju threatens Yu-Seok. Yeong-Ju herself gets threatened by her father-in-law, the chairman of Daenam Electronics, Chang-Jin.
Chang-Jin’s wife, the mother-in-law of Yeong-Ju, Ma Geum-Hee, on the other hand, has filed for divorce. Her lawyer for the case is Sung-Han. Sung-Han goes against the six lawyers of a firm. Sung-Han hits them with the notebook of all detailed descriptions of Chairman Chang-Jin’s affairs. Geum-Hee had the notebook because she paid a plethora of women to avoid the scandal in Chang-Jin’s life.
Geum-Hee, via Sung-Han, demands twenty percent of the property. She feels that her contribution, especially a plot of land, has been instrumental in Daena’s success.
What we can expect in the final two episodes?
The final episodes would be focusing on Geum-Hee’s divorce case. In turn, it would also be the much-anticipated clash between Sung-Han and Yeong-Ju, who might have played a role in Ju-Hwa’s death. Since Ju-Hwa’s son, Sung-Han’s nephew, Gi-Yeong asks Sung-Han to ‘defend’ him, we can expect things to get even more heated.
Also, the romantic angle between Sung-Han and Seo-Jin might be explored. Seo-Jin tastes success through her online channel. Her continued battle to change public perception about her would seem to continue though.
“Divorce Attorney Shin,” streaming on Netflix, closes out as it started. With plenty of humor, male bonding melodrama, and a lot of swag from the charismatic, eponymous lawyer, portrayed by Cho Seung-Woo. The twelve episodes are filled with multiple intriguing divorce cases, with a central arc of retribution. However, it is the idle, mellow, humorous, and heartfelt moments between these high points of drama that take the series to a poignantly satisfying finale.
Sung-Han Settles In the Ma Geum-Hui Case
The penultimate episode starts with Ma Geum-Hui’s (Cha Hwa-Yeon) divorce, overseen by Sun-Han (Cho Seung-Woo). Initially, Sung-Han tried to drop the case. Because he felt that Ma Geum-Hui, the mother-in-law of Sung-Han’s late sister, Ju-Hwa, was not entirely truthful in her reasons. She demanded fifty percent of the wealth from her husband, the chairman of Daenam Electronics, Seo Chang-Jin (Lee Ho-Jae). But, Geum-Hui had been aloof about money. She had also distributed her share of wealth via many charitable trusts.
That is what makes Jin Yeong-Ju (Noh Susanna) wonder about Geum-Hui’s real intention. It does not take much time to figure that out. Geum-Hui, who loved Ju-Hwa as a daughter, was trying to protect her grandson Gi-Yeong. She demanded much of the share so that she could transfer it to Gi-Yeong, for she feared Yeong-Ju might cut her stepson away. Upon finding this, Sung-Han mediates with Chairman Chang-Jin. He explains that Ma Geum-Hui is only trying to protect her grandson. If Chang-Jin writes the share to Gi-Yeong, then divorce is not necessary.
Battle for Gi-Yeong Custody
However, Sung-Han soon finds some new information that completely changes his strategy. The chauffeur of the Seo family, Mr. Jung (Kim Kwang-Sik), who drove Gi-Yeong all his life notices Gi-Yeong’s episodes of depression. Especially multiple occasions of binge eating. But, when Mr. Jung reports this to Yeong-Ju, she fires him.
Jung meets Sung-Han and lets him know about this. Sung-Han sees no option but to ask for the custody of his nephew, Gi-Yeong. It is a difficult case as Sung-Han needs to ask for parental rights termination. This puts him against Jeong-Guk (Kim Tae-Hyang), Ju-Hwa’s ex-husband and Gi-Yeong’s father.
Joon-Hui Case
The pair of Choi Jun (Han Eun-Sung) and Lee Seo-Jin (Han Hye-Jin) concentrate on providing justice to the young girl known as Joon-Hui (Kim Soo-Hyung). Joon-Hui’s hateful comments on Seo-Jin’s channel brought her to the attention. Seo-Jin and Choi Jun find that Joon-Hui lives with her grandmother. Her birth mother left her for a life with her new husband. Her birth mother has also used the family recipe, provided by the grandma, to open a franchise. Despite that, Joon-Hui’s mother never sent a penny for Joon-Hui.
Choi Jun figures that it would be difficult to make the mother pay for the child care, as childcare cases take a long time to resolve. Choi Jun takes another approach. He tries to attack the franchise by saying they copied Grandma’s recipe. Choi Jun was able to induce fear in the hearts of the scheming couple, who know very well that without Grandma’s original recipe, they would not have had that success. As a result, the mother agrees to pay for child care, if Choi Jun leaves the franchise alone.
Divorce Attorney Shin (Season 1 Finale), Episode 12 Ending, Explained:
How Did Sung-Han Win the Custody?
In the Gi-Yeong case, Sung-Han tries to prove that Gi-Yeong is not residing in an emotionally safe environment. He shows CCTV footage of Gi-Yeong running away from school to avoid the new chauffeur appointed by Yeong-Ju. Sung-Han also shows the distressing footage of Gi-Yeong binge eating. He also brings up the topic of Ju-Hwa’s death. However Park Yu-Seok (Jeon Bae-Su), on the stand, denies providing Ju-Hwa’s mental health records to the attorneys of Jeong-Guk.
It is however Jeong-Guk who changes the game. Jeong-Guk finds, from her mother, Geum-Hui, the exact unkind words his current wife, Yeong-Ju said to Ju-Hwa. These words were the direct trigger for Ju-Hwa, who was already in tatters. As a result, Ju-Hwa got too distressed to notice the van driving towards her and got killed. Jeong-Guk, upon learning this, decides to let of Gi-Yeong. He goes to the stand and confesses to receiving mental health records of Ju-Hwa from Park Yu-Seok only. This makes Yu-Seok guilty of breaching his client’s trust, as well as of perjury.
Comeuppance of Yeong-Ju and Yu-Seok
Apart from losing to Sung-Han, Yeong-Ju finds the already distant Jeong-Guk becoming even more distant. She also loses her prestigious position at Keum Hwa law firm as Chairman Chang-Jin had warned that she would lose if she could not defeat Sung-Han.
Yu-Seok, who was promised a lucrative cafe franchise, also gets nothing as Yeong-Ju pulls out from that deal. Yu-Seok also would face punishment for perjury.
Seo-jin’s Comeback and Hyeong-Geun Romance
The series ties up all the loose ends. Seo-Jin returns to her old radio job. She also shuts down an incessant troll. Hyeong-Geun’s (Kim Sung-Kyun) romance with Noodle shop owner Kim So-Yeon (Kang Mal-Geum) also blossoms. So-Yeon plans to take a two-month-long trip to Europe. She asks Hyeong-Geun to accompany her. Hyeong-Geun agrees.
Will there be a season 2 of Divorce Attorney Shin?
K-Dramas are often known to wrap up within one single season. The seasons might be long with more than an hour per episode, but the general trend is to complete the story in one season unless planned otherwise. However, there have been some instances where shows were renewed to return with their beloved characters.
“Divorce Attorney Shin” has completed all the arcs it set out with from the first two episodes. And it has completed those arcs well. Sung-Han has got his revenge and custody of his nephew. Seo-Jin gets her old Radio job back. Hyeong-Geun plans to take a trip to Europe with his newfound romantic zeal. The ending with the trio of Sung-Han, Hyeong-Geun, and Jeong-Sik (Jung Moon-Sung) gazing into the horizon could not have been better. It does seem a little unnecessary to further the story-lines.
Having said that, the world of Sung-Han is endearing and no fan of this series would mind another peek at it. Maybe fan pressure could get another season. After all, there is no dearth of bad marriages.
