[Feb 7] “Queen of Divorce” Episode 3: Rating & Recap

The drama “Queen of Divorce” has been breaking its own record for 3 episodes in a row. Nielsen Korea reported that the 3rd episode of the JTBC drama achieved a 5.8% rating nationwide, which is 0.9% higher than the previous episode’s 4.9%. The drama follows the adventures of Sa-ra Kim (Lee Ji Ah), the best “divorce problem solver” in Korea, and Dong Ki-joon (Kang Ki Young), a quirky lawyer, as they help cheated spouses get their rightful compensation.

“Queen of Divorce” episode 3 recap

Ki-joon joins Solution and meets Sa-ra again

Ki-joon shows up at Solution, and Dae-ki and Kang Bom are curious about his background. They discover a video of him punishing a car owner who parked illegally. Kang Bom thinks of Sa-ra and how much they have in common. Sa-ra, on the other hand, isn't happy to see Ki-joon and asks him why he is here. He offers to leave in three months if she still feels uncomfortable around him.

Sa-ra agrees to his proposal and returns to her work. But then Kang Bom runs to her and shows her an old social media post by a friend, where she and Ki-joon are smiling together. Sa-ra is shocked and quickly hides the printout, telling Kang Bom to delete the post.

Sa-ra takes on Joo-won's divorce case

They have a meeting about Lee Joo-won’s divorce case. She is the wife of the anchor who was accused of sexual assault. Ki-joon is amazed by how determined Sa-ra is to help Joo-won get a divorce and how the meeting goes. He has no time to adjust to the strange way the team works, so he just follows their lead.

He contacts a friend who gives him some information about the case and asks him to check on Yul-seong’s divorce case. Yul-seong, meanwhile, learns about Sa-ra and Ki-joon’s collaboration and tells his people to watch them. Sa-ra tries to see her son, but she waits in vain and is told to leave or the police will be called.

Jae-guk is attacked and Joo-won is suspected

The next day, the anchor Jang Jae-guk is attacked in his office and the news spreads. Everyone blames Joo-won and the victim Seo In-hee for this, but Sa-ra wants to know the truth from her client. Joo-won, however, denies any involvement and says she never went to his office.

Sa-ra looks for an alibi to back up her client, but she soon realizes that Joo-won lied to her. She drops the case and does not believe Joo-won when she says she did not enter his place. The next day, Joo-won tries to talk to In-hee, but she is rejected as In-hee holds her responsible for making a post in support of her husband.

Sa-ra and Ki-joon get closer

Sa-ra’s team is shocked that she is giving up on the case so easily, but she does not explain anything. Sa-ra keeps calling Yul-seong to see her son, but he does not answer. She decides to confront him in person. Ki-joon happens to drive by and decides to join them.

Yul-seong tells Sa-ra to drop the divorce case if she wants to see her son, but she is not impressed by his audacity. Ki-joon comes and takes Sa-ra with him, while Yul-seong cannot stop them. He takes her to dinner and they go to Jang-mi’s restaurant, where she calls them the Sa-Ki couple.

After the dinner, Sa-ra searches for her phone and accidentally gives the printout of their photo to Ki-joon. He asks her if she missed him in the past five years. Sa-ra can't say no, and that makes Ki-joon happy. Yul-seong, on the other hand, finds out that his new father-in-law is in legal trouble.

Sa-ra discovers the truth about Joo-won’s marriage

The next day, Sa-ra looks at her photo with Ki-joon and asks Kang Bom for photos from Joo-won’s phone. She sees the photos and realizes that something is wrong with Joo-won’s marriage. She questions Joo-won and learns that she was raped by her husband, which resulted in her pregnancy and forced marriage.

The video from the drone is a crucial piece of evidence for Sa-ra, but Joo-won doesn't want to expose it to the public for her daughter's sake. Sa-ra empathizes with Joo-won's situation and starts to search for alternative solutions. At the same time, Ki-joon spots a drone hovering over the crime scene on a news broadcast and realizes who is behind it. He and Sa-ra track down the owner of the drone and manage to get the footage after a frantic pursuit. The footage shows that Joo-won was innocent of hurting her husband, but it also reveals that In-hee never went inside the building.

Sa-ra’s friend reveals a secret from her past

Sa-ra's friend comes to visit her and is delighted to see that Ki-joon is working with her at Solution. She hopes that they will become a couple and spills some secrets about Sa-ra's past. She asks Sa-ra if she ever told Ki-joon that she was pregnant when she decided not to elope with him.

Sa-ra knows how Joo-won felt in her marriage because she also married Yul-seong out of the blue when she got pregnant. Ki-joon, on the other hand, doesn't know this and recalls how he waited for Sa-ra at the airport for hours. The next day, Sa-ra discovers that Chayul orchestrated Jae-guk's fake accident to cover up his wrongdoing.

Sa-ra doesn't waste any time and gets Joo-won on board with their next move. They confront In-soo and inform her about Joo-won's ordeal and the proof they have. They want In-soo to join them but they don't pressure her. Sa-ra makes it clear that this isn't about making up but about getting back at those who wronged them.

Meanwhile, Yul-seong's father-in-law becomes a hot topic in the news and Yul-seong tells his mother that he plans to run for office to achieve their objective. Later, Sa-ra and Ki-joon face Yul-seong and Lawyer Ma who is handling Jae-guk's case. They play a video of Jae-guk admitting his crimes in a fit of rage in front of his wife and In-soo which makes them back off.

"Queen of Divorce" episode 3 ending

Sa-ra informs them that the divorce settlement has a condition that Joo-won will keep his deeds a secret and with that, the case is closed and Sa-ra wins her first battle against Yul-seong. But Sa-ra is not content as she wants to put Yul-seong in jail. She and Ki-joon proceed to the next phase of their plan and secretly take Jae-guk to the hospital's rooftop.

There, Joo-won and In-soo surprise him and make him confess that he is lying about his injuries and leave with plans to get justice for In-soo. Jae-guk accuses Sa-ra of tearing apart a family but she tells him that he is the one to blame for not understanding his wife which led to this mess.

Joo-won is finally free from her marriage and Sa-ra celebrates her successful divorce. But she faces a new challenge when Yul-seong's new wife, Han Ji-in, shows up at her firm asking for help.

Takeaway: Episode 3 confirms that the main attraction of the show is the relationship between Sa-ra and Ki-joon. The divorce cases will get more interesting with Han Ji-in's arrival at Solution. The cases will likely be connected to Chayul as they are Sa-ra's main target. So we might see some similar patterns here and there. 

(Source: Nielsen Korea)