Suits: Episode 3

by LollyPip

Things are looking up for Yeon-woo as he starts to get the hang of this whole lawyer thing. But the situation is still tenuous as he hides the fact that he’s not a real lawyer, even while drawing attention to himself with his instinctive abilities. It’s too easy to make a mistake and bring it all crashing down, especially if he lets himself get too confident.

 
EPISODE 3: “There always lies a dark side behind the face of truth. Therefore…”

Kang-seok sits in front of a committee, being questioned about a case in which the victim had repeatedly expressed fear of the perpetrator’s revenge. Kang-seok is accused of setting them free anyway, and he calmly affirms that it’s true.

Yeon-woo’s sexual harassment witness is blindsided by the opposition’s lawyer and refuses to testify. In the elevator on his way back to the office, Yeon-woo gets a text from his friend Chul-soon’s girlfriend warning that Chul-soon’s attackers know where he is, and he suddenly recognizes one of the men in the elevator with him.

As soon as the doors open, Yeon-woo tries to lose them. He approaches Kang-seok, who stops him, sees that he’s being followed, and asks, “Who are you?” Yeon-woo takes off at a run, and the thugs chase after him.

Yeon-woo leads them up to the roof, and they find him standing right at the edge. He says that if they leave now, he’ll bring them the briefcase tonight, but if not, there’s no difference between dying at their hands or jumping off the building right now. Ha, the thugs are incredulous: “Are you threatening us with your own life?”

Pointing out that if he dies, they’ll be murder suspects, Yeon-woo prepares to jump. But a group of security guards show up right on time, having been called by Ji-na, who saw Yeon-woo being chased.

After the thugs are led away, Ji-na quips, not unkindly, that she knew there was a reason she disliked Yeon-woo when they first met. She finally tells him that he splashed muddy water on her at the subway station, but she says they don’t know each other well enough for her to ask him why those men were chasing him.

Kang-seok is angry that Yeon-woo didn’t get rid of the briefcase, and he says it’s a sign of his not being committed to this job, just like how he failed to look into their witness’s background. He thinks Yeon-woo was planning to sell the drugs if the job didn’t work out, and Yeon-woo admits it.

He adds that he couldn’t trust Kang-seok, but that he wanted to see if this opportunity was legitimate. He clarifies that he’s committed to the job, but that he was buying time to leave his past behind.

When Kang-seok barks at him to get out, Yeon-woo sighs that this is what happens every time he gets an opportunity. He adds that Geun-shik would have fired him anyway, mentioning how he fired a lawyer in front of him just to make a point. But Kang-seok says that Geun-shik pretends to fire a fake attorney every year just to scare the new associates.

This makes Kang-seok pause, remembering the sneering chairman who arrived with the lawyer to question their witness. But he returns his attention to Yeon-woo and tells him to quit if he wants, but that it’s pathetic to blame him or Geun-shik.

Yeon-woo spends the afternoon considering his options, then heads back to the office to leave his employee badge on his desk. As he’s leaving, Kang-seok’s voice calls out, “Your hand was the problem, not the dice. You keep throwing the dice when the rules are different. That’s why you keep going backwards.” He says he can’t offer Yeon-woo certainty, because it’s up to him what game he’ll play, and with what rules.

Yeon-woo retrieves the briefcase from the subway locker, unaware that Jae-hee, Kang-seok’s informant, is following him and reporting back to Kang-seok. He goes home to change into casual clothes and makes a call.

Meanwhile, Kang-seok visits the witness, Eun-young, who refuses to speak to him. He accuses her of never having intended to testify, because she was never sexually harassed. He holds out a copy of her bank statement, which shows she received a large wire transfer recently. He starts to walk away, and Eun-young screams after him that she’s a victim, too.

At the thugs’ hideout, Yeon-woo drops the bags of drugs on the ground, pours gasoline over them, and holds up a lighter. He tells them to let Chul-soon go or the drugs will be ashes. The drug lord chuckles that this is how you make a threat, as someone plucks the lighter from Yeon-woo’s fingers.

It’s Kang-seok, who tells Yeon-woo that if he wants to be a lawyer, he needs to make threats like a lawyer. He tells the thugs that they’ll be charged with manufacture and sale of drugs. The thugs laugh at his weak threat, but he says that that was legal advice, and that now he’ll start threatening them.

He shows them their pictures, caught on camera at his firm. He tells them that Joon-pyo, the junkie son of a rich father, is his client, but that the police would much rather arrest the drug lords who supply him. The thug leader laughs that they don’t even know who he is, which is Yeon-woo’s cue to rattle off his personal details, heh.

Knowing he’s in a bad position, the drug lord tells them to take Chul-soon and go. But Kang-seok says he must not understand how threats work, and hands Yeon-woo back the lighter. Yeon-woo flips the lighter into the pile of drugs as Kang-seok says that he can’t ignore a crime scene, and the drug lord loses his mind to see the valuable drugs going up in smoke.

Before they leave, Kang-seok tells the drug lord that he should hire him so that he can’t testify against him. The drug lord rushes him, but Kang-seok deftly twists his arm behind his back and warns that he has one minute to decide before the cops arrive.

When it’s all over, Kang-seok gives Yeon-woo credit for rolling his dice and not giving up. But he says this is still a game that will only send him backwards, reminding him that he needs to choose the game and set the rules. He gives Yeon-woo the pro bono case paperwork and tells him that if he shows up in court tomorrow, he’ll take that as Yeon-woo’s decision to keep working for him.

Chul-soon wants to know how Yeon-woo became a lawyer in the last few days, but Yeon-woo stays very quiet. Finally he lifts his head, gives Chul-soon a calm look, and punches him in the face.

When they stop fighting, Yeon-woo asks Chul-soon what about the drug delivery was a “good opportunity,” and asks what happens when Chul-soon’s girlfriend, Se-hee, finds out he’s selling drugs. They hear a noise, and see Se-hee standing a few feet away, looking confused and horrified.

Yeon-woo gives her a look full of regret, then tells Chul-soon, “Let’s not see each other anymore. Never call me again.”

He goes to visit his grandmother, telling her that his face got busted falling off his bike. He complains of being exhausted, and she says she felt that way when his parents passed away and her fear of raising him alone was worse than the pain of losing them.

She admits she was scared Yeon-woo would turn out badly, but that she doesn’t feel that way now. Yeon-woo tells her that he finally broke off his friendship with Chul-soon, and instead of scolding him, she sympathizes that ending a relationship, even a bad one, is hard to do.

In the morning, Yeon-woo shows up to court and apologizes to Kang-seok for disappointing him. Before court starts, Yeon-woo informs the opposition that they know they paid Eun-young to perjure herself, but Chairman Yoo sneers that this isn’t his first court case so he knows that nobody’s been perjured yet because there’s been no trial.

As Kang-seok watches with interest, Yeon-woo tells Chairman Yoo the same thing Kang-seok told the drug lord: “You’re running away with your fists full of crime, so you’ll always be greeted by all the bad deeds you’ve committed.”

Further, he tells Chairman Yoo’s lawyer that he’s broken the law and will be reported to the bar association. On top of all that, Yeon-woo tells Chairman Yoo that they’ll be prosecuting him for using a fake witness to obstruct a lawyer’s business, which carries a prison sentence if found guilty. He lets them both know that Kang-seok will be handling the cases against them, and that he’s never lost a case.

They ask what Kang-seok wants, so Yeon-woo outlines their demands: to pay the original plaintiff an amount equal to her daughter’s educational costs, including college tuition, and reinstate her job. But the plaintiff says she never wants to see Chairman Yoo again, so Kang-seok demands an astronomical sum to compensate her for emotional injury and sexual harassment.

The grand total is equivalent to about half a million dollars, and although Chairman Yoo looks ready to explode, he agrees. But Yeon-woo adds one more thing — an apology, because an apology would show that he truly repents. Chairman Yoo reluctantly offers an apology and signs the papers.

After the chairman storms out, the plaintiff tells Yeon-woo that he seemed like a real attorney, and he practically blushes. He goes to Kang-seok for a fist-bump, but Kang-seok just stares at him like What? and asks when he’s going to get a real suit, ha. He tells Yeon-woo to be in his office in thirty minutes, and if he’s even one minute late, he’ll assume he quits.

Despite biking his fastest, Yeon-woo is nearly three minutes late, and he begs Da-ham to save him. She fibs to Kang-seok that he was only forty-eight seconds late, and Yeon-woo gives her the cutest thanks behind Kang-seok’s back.

As they walk, Kang-seok explains that the CEO of Soonhan Corporation, which sells red pepper paste, has been a VVIP client since their firm was established. Hee, Kang-seok even sings the company’s commercial jingle, and Yeon-woo gapes at him, “Did you just act??”

Kang-seok says defensively that he’s a good actor, and that acting helps a lawyer understand their opponent during a trial. He tells Yeon-woo to memorize Soonhan’s proposal for a new factory in the U.S. By tomorrow, and write up a contract.

Yeon-woo says he doesn’t know how to write a contract and asks Kang-seok to teach him, but Kang-seok whines that he has hundreds of things to do and tells Yeon-woo to figure it out.

He goes to see Ha-yeon, who hands over another case, a divorce between CEO Song and Director Nam from Seoju Airlines. Kang-seok correctly guesses that Ha-yeon took a divorce case because it looks like it will offer a lot of marketing opportunity.

She says that she just wants to make sure that Kang & Ham is still the best when it becomes Choi & Kang, flattering Kang-seok into agreeing to take the case. When Kang-seok asks who the opposition’s lawyer is, Ha-yeon says a bit too casually that she’s not sure, then quickly changes the subject.

She asks when he’ll bring Yeon-woo to meet her, and he gives the same answer she gave her superior when asked to introduce Kang-seok: “I’ll wait until he breaks out of the egg himself. If I break him out now, he’ll just look like scrambled eggs.”

Yeon-woo goes to see Ji-na to ask for help writing the contract, sheepishly adding that he also wants to repay her for all of her help lately, including on the roof. She offers to help him again, and he promises to take her to dinner as thanks.

Geun-shik asks if Kang-seok will get his promotion now that he won the pro bono case, quipping that nobody ever died of disappointment. Kang-seok lets him know that he’s aware that Geun-shik played his firing prank on Yeon-woo, and he warns that if Geun-shik tries anything like that again, he’ll learn exactly how people die of disappointment.

Ha-yeon tells Geun-shik that she chose Kang-seok for the divorce case, and he acts like a child pouting that Mommy loves his brother best. He goes to the hallway to record a dramatic message about how humiliated he is.

He sees Yeon-woo coming out of Ji-na’s office and informs him that there’s a policy against dating at the firm. Yeon-woo tries to explain that he was just asking for help, but Geun-shik cuts him off and invites him to dinner to discuss his “dark history.”

Ha-yeon and Kang-seok are waiting, along with an army of reporters, when CEO Song arrives for a meeting to discuss the divorce. Her husband, Director Nam, used to be Kang-seok’s client, and he’s refusing to grant the divorce CEO Song wants.

When his lawyer arrives, Kang-seok’s eyes go wide to see Ju-hee, a former classmate and colleague. It’s obvious that Ha-yeon knew about this, and Kang-seok angrily demands to speak with Ju-hee privately.

Geun-shik shows up to take Yeon-woo to dinner wearing a massive gold chain and drops matching bejeweled hats on the desk, ha. When Yeon-woo says he’s busy, Geun-shik spins his chair away from his computer to see what he’s working on. He sends the file to another associate and tells him to finish it before morning, and informs Yeon-woo that dinner is an order.

But Yeon-woo still refuses to go, revealing that he knows Geun-shik faked firing a lawyer to scare him. But the security guard who posed as the lawyer happened to be on the roof a few days ago, and told Geun-shik about Yeon-woo being chased by thugs. So Yeon-woo is forced to wear the blinged-out hat and go with Geun-shik, instead of having dinner with Ji-na.

Kang-seok tells Ju-hee to drop the divorce case, but she refuses. He says that he’ll drop the case because he never wants to see her again, and she asks why.

Kang-seok retorts that as soon as she learned that Kang & Ham would be taking the case, Ju-hee knew he’d be the one assigned to it. He tells her she’ll never win, and she asks coquettishly if he’s worried about her. Kang-seok says that both sides will lose, but Ju-hee is determined to win this time.

Kang-seok remembers her saying those same words years ago, promising a terrified assault victim that she would win her case. She’d sworn to protect the victim, but later, Kang-seok had been angry with her for making such a promise.

He notes that Ju-hee still uses every possible means to achieve her goals, but it doesn’t sound like a compliment. She asks sharply when he started caring about his opponent, so he says that as soon as they walk out the door, they’re opponents and nothing more. Before they go, he asks how she’s been, but Ju-hee just says that bad memories last longer than good ones, asking which side he thinks she’s on.

Geun-shik takes Yeon-woo to a club, where he points out a rapper named BewhY who’s there tonight. He tells Yeon-woo that he can’t drink (“I have a pure liver!” LOL), so it’s Yeon-woo’s task to drink with BewhY and convince him to be Geun-shik’s client.

Back with their clients, Kang-seok states firmly that CEO Song has no interest in discussing reconciliation, no matter how sincerely Director Nam claims to want to protect his family. Ju-hee claims to want to avoid a trial, but when Kang-seok says that this meeting is an attempt to avoid it, she ends the meeting and says that they’ve presented enough of an image for the media.

At the firm, Kang-seok asks Ha-yeon why she didn’t tell him about Ju-hee representing Director Nam. She asks if he still has feelings for Ju-hee, and when he denies it, she offers tauntingly to give the case to Geun-shik. Kang-seok only asks if she would really be okay with Geun-shik on it.

Cut to: Geun-shik at the club, dressed in gold chain and hat over his suit, dancing badly while making “call me” gestures at BewhY, HA. Yeon-woo pretends to be just another drunken fan and approaches BewhY in the men’s room, getting his attention by singing one of his lesser-known songs.

BewhY asks how Yeon-woo remembers a song he only sang once on a radio show five years ago, so Yeon-woo tells him about his perfect memory. BewhY tests Yeon-woo’s memory with his raps, and before long, he’s inviting Yeon-woo on stage to perform with him. They look like they’re having a blast, and in his excitement, Geun-shik pounds a shot and passes out in seconds.

In the morning, Kang-seok learns that even Da-ham knew that Ju-hee was working the divorce case, but she says cheekily that she didn’t want to ruin the surprise. Have I mentioned that I love her? Yeon-woo runs in late after his night of drunk rapping, and when he ends up sharing an elevator with Ha-yeon, he tries unsuccessfully to hide his alcohol breath as he answers her questions.

He drags himself to his cubicle, and the associate who was told to write his contract brings him the finished work. Yeon-woo takes it up to Kang-seok’s office, presenting it with a little rap performance for flourish, and Kang-seok is all, “Have you lost your mind?” Hee.

He looks over the contract, then accuses Yeon-woo of pawning his work off on someone else to go drinking. The associate deliberately made a mess of it, but when Yeon-woo tries to explain, Kang-seok just calls Da-ham to get him the contract he wrote and call his car, and not to let Yeon-woo into his office until he calls for him.

Yeon-woo again tries to say that Geun-shik overpowered him, but Kang-seok doesn’t accept his excuse. He says that he just got rid of his junkie friend, and now Geun-shik is calling the shots, wondering who Yeon-woo will give his leash to next. Yeon-woo goes downstairs to confront the associate, but he sees how hard they’re all working, and instead he goes back up to burst into Geun-shik’s office.

Geun-shik happens to be in the middle of a meeting with Ha-yeon and BewhY, who greets Yeon-woo happily. He tells Ha-yeon that he’s only here because of Yeon-woo, unfortunately calling him “fake lawyer.” Geun-shik asks why, and Yeon-woo stammers, unable to think of an answer.

 
COMMENTS

I thought it was interesting, at the beginning of the episode, that Yeon-woo seemed ready to jump off the building rather than face the drug lords, because that moment seemed to me the first time that we really felt how bleak his life must be. He’s told Kang-seok that his life is pretty empty and that nothing ever works out for him, but he’s so dispassionate that until now, I haven’t truly felt it. But the fact that he seemed genuinely willing to just end it all says a lot. I don’t think Yeon-woo is depressed — he just seems very weary to me, exhausted from constantly having his hopes dashed every time something looks like it may work out, but doesn’t. I can see how he would accept death as a way to stop the constant disappointment in his existence. I thought it was very interesting that, when the security guards showed up and saved him, Yeon-woo almost seemed disappointed that he no longer had an excuse to jump.

We don’t know much about Yeon-woo on a personal level, but I actually like that, because I have a feeling that peeling away his layers will be an interesting experience. All we know is that his parents died at some point, and that he feels guilty for something and thinks this job could help him make amends for whatever it is. Otherwise, we know he’s got the ability to recall anything he reads, which has given him a bit of a superiority complex. But I love the way Kang-seok is teaching Yeon-woo that he can memorize every book in the world, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to apply his knowledge to real life. I think that it’s possible that Yeon-woo’s inability to make his opportunities work out is because he incorrectly believes that his ability has made him lazy when it comes to dealing with people. Intelligence isn’t the ability to recall random facts, it’s the ability to apply them, which he seems to have a great deal of difficulty with. I hope he stops fighting Kang-seok’s teachings soon, and starts to listen, because I think that’s how Yeon-woo will learn to make his opportunities work out.

I think that my favorite relationship in Suits is Yeon-woo’s relationship with his grandmother. We’ve only gotten small scenes with them together, but every moment they spend together seems so full of emotion, and you can tell that they love each other very much. It seems as though they’ve only had each other for a long time, and it’s wonderful that they don’t hold back their caring for each other, either in words or in physical affection. I love how they’re constantly touching each other, as if to reaffirm that they’re there for each other. It makes me worried that Grandma may take a turn for the worse, but I hope that Yeon-woo gets a chance to improve their situation before anything happens, and prove to his grandmother that he did, in fact, turn out well.

I have a feeling that Yeon-woo’s relationship with Ji-na will also be adorable as it develops, because I’m already enjoying the low-key colleagues-and-maybe-friends thing they have going on. It’s nice to see a possible romance that doesn’t start with one party being instantly smitten, because I like the slow burn of two people getting to like each other as people, letting things turning more serious naturally. I don’t think there’s anything romantic between Yeon-woo and Ji-na yet, though they’d have to be blind not to notice how attractive they are, but for now I’m happy with the chemistry they share as just coworkers who are helping each other. We don’t have to jump right into love for a couple to have chemistry, so it’s fun to explore the early stages as the show is doing now.

This episode seemed lighter than the first week, which I actually preferred to the dark tone of the first two episodes. The serious tone and lighter humor felt a bit mismatched before, but now it all feels smoother and more natural. This episode was the funniest so far, though the humor never distracted from the serious subject matter and always felt balanced. Also, the main thing that bothered me about the show at first — Kang-seok’s disturbing lack of morals when he wants to win — didn’t show up in this episode, which made me feel better about him as a mentor for Yeon-woo. I like Yeon-woo’s sense of fair play and his strong moral compass, and while I don’t mind his learning how to use his genius memory to find all the loopholes and use them to the best advantage of his clients, I don’t want him learning that it’s okay to break the rules just to win.

 
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