Doctor Lawyer (닥터 로이어) is a Korean law-drama TV series directed by Lee Yong-seok and stars So Ji-sub, Lim Soo-hyang and Shin Sung-rok, alongside other cast members. The series has 16 episodes and takes over MBC’s Friday-Saturday 10 PM KST timeslot previously occupied by Tomorrow. Doctor Lawyer episode 3 has a runtime of 60 minutes.
Disney+ describes the series as:
HAN YI-HAN, A GENIUS SURGEON’S LIFE TAKES A TURN WHEN HE BECOMES A LAWYER SPECIALISING IN MEDICAL CRIMES AFTER LOSING A PATIENT TO SURGICAL MALPRACTICE.
– Doctor Lawyer Episode 3 recap contains major spoilers –
It’s like karma just comes back to bite people when they least expect it, doesn’t it? Ki-tae realises that he’s in deep when his own lawyer wants him to take the blame for something that he didn’t do and go to jail for “just” 2 years. As his lawyer tells Director Gu that he has nothing to worry about, Yi-han goes to visit Ki-tae, completely shocking the latter.
It’s funny that Ki-tae acts like he’s seeing a ghost at first but later realises that Yi-han has come to help. The suave lawyer asks him what it feels like sitting in the same position as him all those years ago. Either way, he calls him an opportunist and a coward and tells him to accept that he committed perjury all those years ago and then he will help him get out of this case which can and will ruin his life. It was Yi-han who hatched the plan for his anaphylactic shock in court.
After a very dramatic rescue mission, Ki-tae is taken to the hospital and Yi-han gets another court date to bring in a witness and prove his client’s innocence. Outside the judge’s room, Yi-han has his first talk with Jin-gi after the devastating events 5 years ago. Yi-han tells Jin-gi that will take responsibility for the promise that he made 5 years ago and that Yi-han will see it to it. He also tells Seok-yeong that he doesn’t have to tell her anything when she asks him what he’s doing and why he’s a lawyer.
As talks surround Yi-han’s past in all spheres, considering this is a surprise resurface, Yi-han himself looks a bit gloomy, thinking back to his mother’s death. It’s so sad watching him lose everything over the course of three episodes. Anyway, he goes to meet Ki-tae and tells him that he will definitely get him out and the court scene was just the first step in that process.
Jin-gi, meanwhile, is giving a speech at a conference and is quite proud of all the achievements that he and his team have been able to undergo. Hyun-seong is now the head of the cardiothoracic department but is still as incompetent as ever. In the next scene, we meet our newest character who saves a passenger mid-flight – Jaden Lee, it seems like, is going to be an entertaining watch for us. Lee is a lobbyist and his reach goes very deep.
Coming back to the court drama, Yi-han brings the victim’s father to the stand as the witness. He testifies that Ki-tae didn’t treat his son properly which caused his death. But in a heartbreaking turn of events, it comes to light that the victim’s father used to physically abuse him, which caused the victim to eventually die. After a flurry of shocked expressions throughout the courtroom, the judge agrees to give the ruling the next day.
That night, after the court drama, Seok-yeong talks to the house help who provided vital information for the case while Ki-tae celebrates his impending release from jail. Meanwhile, Yi-han goes back home to his murder board, re-reading and reaffirming what he has to do to bring Seok-ju’s murder to justice. In between, he gets a call from the prison who tells him that Ki-tae has been killed in prison.
Doctor Lawyer Episode 3 Review
Yi-han, or should I say So Ji-sub’s cool demeanour is what makes watching Doctor Lawyer so thrilling. Even during the most mundane moments, the episodes are paced so well that you don’t feel bored. Plus, Ji-sub is just so easy and electrifying on-screen that you just want to keep on watching him. Doctor Lawyer episode 3 doesn’t have a lot of interactions between our star-crossed lovers but the tension between them is evident even in a packed courtroom. The death, in the end, was evident from the start, but still comes off as a shock.
On the other hand, Jaden Lee’s introduction is as dramatic as it gets and I hope his character is usually this melodramatic at all times. It will provide some great contrast to Yi-han’s otherwise cool character. The episode, as a whole, has been a treat to watch. Also, an otherwise information dump sort of episode, giving us a rundown of what everyone has been doing 5 years after the tragedy, it leaves clues here and there that there’s something more sinister going on.
But it got me wondering, why does Lee Kyoung-young always play the bad guys in shows? It was the same in Again My Life. So weird! Regardless, I am excited about the next episode and hope we get to watch some more of Jaden Lee!
Doctor Lawyer is streaming on Disney+.
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