"Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho" Episode 12 recap

If things were serious in the last episode, they are deadly dangerous in episode twelve of "Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho". Our villain is finally showing his biggest tricks, although they are interestingly very similar to his past ones and hopefully full of errors. Deul-ho is in deep water and what remains to be seen is who will aid and who will hinder him. Eun-jo will have a lot on her hands and so will Ji-wook.
Hong Yoon-gi's (Park Choong-seon) case is unique in conclusion. The drama does not spend time on the potential moral dilemma of Deul-ho (Park Shin-yang) in settling his client's grievances, but losing a chance to get Chairman Jeong (Jeong Won-joong). I do understand that Lee Myeong-joon provides an alternative route, but it is still good to see Deul-ho not even getting tempted to settle. While he should have expected what is currently happening, it is a relief to see that he does learn from past mistakes for the most part.

"Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho" has always been a feel-good show and this makes the outcome of this case refreshing. No heroic fellow citizens and victims rush to help this time around and there are no perfect solutions. The only reason why Yoon-gi's case succeeds is because Deul-ho has dirt on the Chairman. Justice is not always pretty and not always achieved through the law. This is why Deul-ho needs to be a freak of the system.
We finally see a little spark of sass in Eun-jo (Kang So-ra) and while not a lot, it is something. Her reaction to Tae-jeong (Jo Han-cheol), who is looking less menacing this time around is priceless. I was kind of disappointed that the incident of throwing wine at Michael Jeong (Lee Jae-woo) was in her imagination, even if I understood that she could not realistically assault someone. I wonder if she will start changing more now.

Speaking of changing, our antagonists keep getting reshuffled and everything is unsure. This is not a complaint, but a compliment. I love the show for making me doubt, hope and therefore fear. Sin-woo (Kang Shin-il) seems willing to play dirty again, but how much? Hae-kyeong (Park Sol-mi) is still a mystery. How involved was she back then? We clearly still have a love line with Deul-ho and I want answers.
Yeong-il (Kim Kap-soo) is panicking and might do things he will regret. Deul-ho's words got to him, but will it help or make things worse? Ji-wook (Ryoo Soo-yeong) is in a very difficult spot. He genuinely wants his father to succeed and he is willing to manipulate for it, but he has not gone too far yet. I hope his father will set him free. Ji-wook, the world needs you and your hair.
"Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho" is directed by Lee Jung-seob, written by Lee Hyang-hee and features Park Shin-yang, Kang So-ra, Ryoo Soo-yeong and Park Sol-mi.
Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink