THE SHORT VERDICT:

If you’re looking for something that goes down quite light, but still has a bit of substance to it, this little show could be worth putting on your list.

In a nutshell, this is basically kinda-sorta like Dr. Romantic – just make it law, rather than medicine.

So if you loved Dr. Romantic and Han Seok Kyu in it (Open Threads for Season 1 here!), then this show is pretty likely one that you’d be able to enjoy, coz it’s basically like getting Kim Sabu back, just in a different area of expertise. 😁

No, this is not brilliant, but it does scratch that Dr. Romantic sort of itch quite nicely.

THE LONG VERDICT:

I feel like someone in Dramaland must know that there’s a section of viewers that just really enjoys this particular flavor of Han Seok Kyu, where he plays on the gruff, schleppy yet brilliantly competent side of things, because that is this show’s biggest draw – at least in my opinion.

It’s not Show’s only draw, though.

If you like underdog stories, found family stories, healing stories or even a bit of mystery-thriller, I feel like this little drama would have something for you.

Yes, on paper, that does sound a bit all over the place, but to Show’s credit, I do think that it works decently well.

OST TRACK: IN MY WAY

If you’ve been around the blog for a bit, you’d likely know that this is where I usually post a show’s OST album, to go with the review. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate an OST album for this show.

Instead, here’s the key track In My Way, which I feel like I heard a lot, during my watch. I feel like it’s got  abit of a cowboy western vibe to it, which I think suits the slightly rogue flavor of Master Shin and his ways.

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

First I’ll talk about how to manage your expectations going into this one, and what viewing lens would be most helpful.

After that, I talk about stuff I liked on a more macro level, before I give the spotlight to selected characters and relationships, in a separate section. Finally, I spend some time talking about my thoughts on the penultimate and finale episodes.

If you’re interested in my blow-by-blow reactions, &/or all the various Patreon members’ comments during the course of our watch, you might like to check out my episode notes on Patreon here.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. A manhwa/cartoon lens is useful

Our premise is quite irreverent and slightly off-the-wall, so I find that a bit of a cartoon lens works really well, to smooth over any rough edges in terms of the logic.

2. Be prepared for a slightly rogue protagonist

Master Shin’s ways lean unconventional, and knowing to expect that, helps. The above-mentioned cartoon lens also helps.

3. There is some romance in this

I thought I’d mention that there’s a secondary plot involving a small romance between Bae Hyeong Seong’s and Lee Re’s characters, so you can adjust your expectations accordingly.

STUFF I LIKED

The premise

Honestly, my favorite thing in this show, that had me engaged and entertained the most, was getting to see Master Shin (Han Seok Kyu) do his negotiator thing while helping people, and generally being extremely competent, without so much as batting an eye.

It’s the Kim Sabu effect, and I really enjoyed that.

I also really liked the slightly off-the-wall set-up, with Philip (Bae Hyeon Seong) learning Master Shin’s ways while providing assistance, both in terms of legal know-how, and chicken shop logistics, and Si On (Lee Re) providing street smarts, connections – and chicken delivery services.

I found it all quite fun. 😁

The cases of the week

I found myself liking the cases of the week quite well, as a general rule.

I felt that the cases added variety and interest to our story, while giving Master Shin the time and space to showcase his expertise and competence, which I found very enjoyable.

I also appreciate that writer-nim manages to bring out a good amount of emotional resonance and poignance in most of the cases, despite each case mostly only taking up an episode or so of screen time. I thought this was nicely done.

Here are just a couple of examples, to illustrate what I mean.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. I found the whole bomber case in episode 3 very absorbing, and I found it pretty trippy throughout, that Master Shin’s negotiating on behalf of the bomber, but at the same time, is working to find a peaceable solution, where both the bomber and hostage end up rescued.

I also loved the detail, that Master Shin’s such an old hand, that the police representative, Jang Yeong Su, would actually be acquainted with him.

That dynamic, where he’s working on behalf of the bomber, but at the same time, with the police, really appealed to me. 😁

E5-6. As for the case that Judge Kim (Kim Sang Ho) asks Master Shin to take care of, this episode, I feel bad for Seung Mu (Lee Jong Hyun), the son who’s being set up and used by his own mother.

That’s crazy to me, that someone would abandon their child, and then reconcile with them – but only to use him for crime.

She’s literally throwing him under the bus here, and the big question that I asked myself, while watching, is how she’s so confident that he wouldn’t take his own life, because he couldn’t find a way out of the desperate situation she’d put him in?

..And then, we see that he really has attempted suicide. Sigh. 😔

Poor guy. I think that the reason he believes his lying mother, is partly because he really is innocent and naive, but at the same time, I do think that he desperately wants to believe that his mom’s not a bad person, which is why he keeps believing the lies that she tells him.

E7-8. It’s one of those very bittersweet poignant things, where it’s good to see Seung Mu gain the strength that he needs, to stop being used, but it’s also sad to know how painful it must be for him, to have to accept that his mother had never meant a word of any of the promises that she’d made to him. 🥹

[END SPOILER]

When Show is surprising

I was pleasantly surprised that Show tends to be at least a little bit unpredictable, in terms of narrative turns. Often, Show would take a story turn that I didn’t expect – when I least expected it too.

That definitely helped add a sense of freshness to my watch experience.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. In these episodes, it was established that the TV network was absolutely not interested in offering an apology to the salted seafood merchants, but with the way things play out, the TV network ends up getting to do an exposé on the real estate scam related to the maggot incident – and includes a proper apology to the merchants, as part of the exposé.

Plus, there’s the way episode 2 ends, as well.

With the way things were shaping up, with the police going after that guy who’d kidnapped the Mayor of Yongdan City, and with Master Shin digging around and finding indications that the guy could have built a makeshift bomb, it had looked to me, that Master Shin would negotiate with the kidnapper, for the Mayor’s safety.

So what a twist, that instead, Master Shin comes out to meet the police, and instead states that he will be negotiating on behalf of the kidnapper.

Say, what?? I definitely hadn’t seen that coming. 👀

Which, of course, makes me really curious to tune in next week, to see how this all came about.

E3-4. It’s actually brilliant, the way Master Shin resolves the entire situation.

The way he manages to save the bomber and send him and his mother away to start new lives, while also making the explosion happen, thus making it look like the bomber had died in the blast – and even making sure there’s a plausible reason why no remains can be found, thus triggering the investigation that the bomber had wanted in the first place.

[END SPOILER]

When Show is funny

Sometimes, Show would surprise me by being genuinely funny, and at these points, I found myself chuckling very happily indeed.

Here are two examples from our opening episodes.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. Honestly, I couldn’t help but giggle at the way the chicken shop sign morphs into, “I was supposed to become a judge.. but I became an employee at a fried chicken restaurant.”

There’s something really hapless about it, which amuses me. 😁

I was also amused that Philip gets assigned to deliver chicken to a livestreamer dude, who gets him to greet his audience – and then, because Philip’s so handsome, the phone starts ringing off the hook with new orders, at the chicken shop. 🤭

Too bad for the new customers wanting to get a close-up look at Philip, coz it’s Master Shin’s part-timer Si On who shows up with their chicken.

This sudden fame for Philip felt really random, and tickled my funny bone for how random it was. 😁

[END SPOILER]

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The focus on Master Shin’s backstory

Roundabout halfway through our little story, Show starts to shift its focus quite a bit, onto Master Shin’s personal story.

While I typically am all for context and understanding our characters’ backstories, I did find it a bit of a downer on my watch experience, because of how heavy Master Shin’s story is.

I’d thought that I’d signed up for this bright, breezy, easy little show, where I’d get to see very competent people solve various problems from week to week, and I had not been prepared for this narrative turn.

I do feel that Show struggles a bit, to balance this backstory, with the ongoing cases of the week, and I struggled for a bit, with my personal engagement with the show,

Happily, this does get better, because Show gets better at balancing it all, and I also got more into the groove of things, that we would be focusing a chunk of time, each episode, on Master Shin’s personal story.

The romance

In principle, I liked the idea of a budding romance between Philip and Si On, coz I thought they would make a cute couple.

That said, there were times when I felt like Show was spending too much time on the romance, like randomly creating opportunities for Philip and Si On to spend time together, when we’d be in the thick of a case of the week.

In that sense, sometimes (not all the time!) I felt like the romance thread was a bit fillery and distracting, even though I thought they made a pretty cute couple.

The side characters

I did like the idea of our core crew having a little community to which they belonged, but I have to admit that I felt quite indifferent towards the side characters, like Boss Kwon and Boss Jang (Woo Hyun and Jo Hyun Sik, above) – which is why they’re here, in the neutral zone.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

When Show feels fillery

There was a particular stretch in our story where I felt like the arc was particularly weak, to the point where I considered dropping this show.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. In episode 5, we have that whole election thing, and I have to admit, it all landed as quite filler-esque, to my eyes.

It just.. didn’t seem like a very good use or showcase of Master Shin’s expertise, and I found myself not enjoying the episode very much.

[END SPOILER]

Happily, Show did recover for me, in the following episodes, which is why I’m writing this review. 😁

When Show stretches logic too much

I know I said upfront, that a cartoon lens is handy with this show, and that inherently implies logic stretches, but I have to admit that sometimes, the logic stretches got a bit much for me.

They weren’t deal-breakers, but they did dampen my enjoyment of my watch, somewhat.

Here are a couple of examples.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. First, there’s the way Si On and Philip are able to get a room that quickly that they’d be able to get into the same elevator as the criminal couple, and then, even more unbelievably, that they’d actually get the room next door to the criminal couple, in an attempt to eavesdrop on them.

And, as if to add insult to injury, it feels like nothing comes out of this stealth stalking, because Si On and Philip basically learn nothing, from this whole hotel mission. 🤦🏻‍♀️

E7-8. Although I’m quite entertained by the way Master Shin pulls that huge bluff on Oh Mi Sook and her partner in crime, Lee Min Cheol, I have to say, I’m not too clear on how the whole thing works.

Because, if the white powder that he’d force-fed them had been effervescent vitamins, then what had caused them both to pass out? Was it just conveniently fear..?

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON SELECTED CHARACTERS / RELATIONSHIPS

Han Seok Kyu as Master Shin

I signed up for this show because I felt like this would give me more Han Seok Kyu in the vein of Kim Sabu, and that’s exactly what Show gave me.

Watching Master Shin was literally like seeing Kim Sabu at work, my friends.

The unshakable sense of calm, the nerves of steel under pressure, the unassuming slipshod appearance, topped off by an impressive well of knowledge and experience; it’s all there, and in spades.

And we get to see Master Shin use his impressive negotiating skills, both in smaller incidental cases in the neighborhood, as well as bigger cases as well.

Maybe this might not appeal to everyone, but as a fan of the Dr. Romantic dramas (reviews for Seasons 2 & 3 here and here!), this worked for me really, really well. 😁

Here’s a small collection of thoughts around Master Shin, from my watch.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. Master Shin’s ways definitely lean on the unconventional side of things.

We learn that right away in episode 1, when he even joins the suicidal dude in terms of making a ruckus.

And we also see that unconventional approach at work, when he tackles the mediation case of the salted seafood merchants against the television network, even going undercover at the realtors, to get intel on the real estate situation of the various shops involved.

E3-4. Show gives us a chunk of Master Shin’s backstory at the top of episode 3, and it’s such a heartbreaking story, truly.

I can’t even imagine how Master Shin must have felt, upon rescuing that little girl, only to find out that his own son had died during that exact window of time, as a result of a failed negotiation. 💔

What a nightmare it must have been, for him to question if he would have been able to save his son, if he hadn’t been so busy negotiating with someone else, for the release of that little girl.

I can imagine that all the regrets and what if’s must have, along with the unspeakable grief of a parent losing their child, combined to paralyze him, which is why we see him just curled up on the floor of his apartment like that, because nothing else mattered anymore.

We’re not told specifically, but it’s not hard to guess that his marriage must have broken down as well, because we can already see that his then-wife had blamed him for not answering the phone, when she’d called him so desperately, to save their son. 💔

With this context in place, I can see why Master Shin wouldn’t want to continue his work as a master negotiator.

In fact, I’m impressed, honestly, that he would even take on these cases that his judge friend keeps pushing at him.

I can also see why Master Shin would empathize so hard, with the bomber’s mother.

The poor lady’s already lost one son to cancer, and if the bomber ends up dying, that would mean that she would lose both her children, and have to suffer the pain and grief of these losses, for the rest of her life.

I’m very glad that Master Shin’s resolution of the case entailed no casualties, and I’m hoping that perhaps the act of helping this mother not lose her remaining son, would perhaps heal his broken heart, a little bit. 🥹

E5-6. It is absolutely poignant, the way Master Shin takes that time, once a year, to just indulge his grief, and spend time with the memories of his son.

That moment when Judge Kim sits with him and says that he misses Jun, and Master Shin just outright bursts into tears, really hit me in the heart, because it definitely feels like Master Shin has needed to shed those tears, but has held them in, all these years. 🥺

E5-6. When Show reveals that Jun had loved those packets of chocolate milk, I’m hit with a whole new layer of poignance, to realize that Master Shin’s been buying those packets of chocolate milk every single day, not because he likes them, but in honor of his son. 🥹

[END SPOILER]

Bae Hyeon Seong as Philip

I have a soft spot for Bae Hyeon Seong, especially after recently watching him in Family By Choice (review here!), so I was thrilled to see him cast as Master Shin’s young puppy, essentially. 😁

I love the idea of Bae Hyeon Seong playing a young judge, and getting wear glasses and a sharp suit (so handsome! 🤩🤩) – and then getting sent to work with Master Shin in his fried chicken shop, of all places, heh.

I enjoyed watching Philip learn from Master Shin, and expand his knowledge and understanding of the world beyond his books, but I also liked having Philip occasionally spew legal jargon, when the occasion calls for it.

I did think that we could have gotten more focus on Philip’s personal growth and journey, but the truth is, this is more Master Shin’s story than Philip’s.

Master Shin and Philip

Master Shin and Philip are very different both in terms of sensibility and approach, so this does give our set-up a bit of a buddy cop vibe, which I found quite fun.

Their interactions mostly lean gruff and rather bickery, particularly with Philip disagreeing with Master Shin’s ways quite a bit of the time, but it’s clear that they both grow reluctantly fond of each other, over the course of our story, and I enjoyed that very much.

Lee Re as Si On

I like Lee Re as an actress, so I liked Si On in principle, and felt sympathetic in terms of her struggles.

That said, I have to admit that I didn’t really feel very connected to Si On as a character, though I appreciated that Show gives screen time to her backstory, as well as her journey towards bettering her circumstances.

Master Shin and Si On

This is a relationship that doesn’t really get a lot of screen time, but I appreciated the glimpses that we got, that Master Shin and Si On care about each other a lot, and are like family to each other.

Philip and Si On

I was not opposed to this loveline in principle, because I do like the idea of a hyper-aware, discombobulated Bae Hyeon Seong, and I felt like a loveline would give me at least some of that. 😁

And it does give me that, and yet, I also found myself feeling like this loveline detracted from our main narrative, sometimes.

[SPOILER ALERT]

In our opening episodes, I have to admit that I didn’t like it so much, that Si On’s shown to kick Philip in the shins, and twice at that, when she barely knows him, and simply wants him to step aside.

I thought that was rather too much, and I didn’t like that hint of violence very much.

However, a cartoon lens does help to smooth over that rough edge quite effectively, because that kind of thing is the exact kind of stuff that we see in cartoons (I know, coz my nephew keeps watching those cartoons in my living room 😅).

Thankfully, this shin-kicking kind of violence from Si On to Philip does become a thing of the past, as they get used to working together, and eventually, they settle into a friendlier kind of dynamic, without the violence.

Philip’s crush on Si On develops quickly, and is very obvious and very cute. 😁

The way he literally sees a halo glow around her when she talks to him, and gets all entranced, is adorable. 😍

And then that beat, where he imagines them flying into the sky on her scooter, all slo-mo and magical, is quite cute too.

This did pique my interest to see how this loveline would develop, but somehow, this loveline also kind of started landing more like filler to me, in the later stretch of my watch.

[END SPOILER]

Overall, I found this loveline to be on the cute and harmless side of things, though not exactly essential to our story.

Our core crew

I did enjoy the idea of Master Shin, Philip and Si On becoming an intact team, and working together to solve problems, with each of them contributing their own unique set of knowledge and experience.

[SPOILER ALERT]

When Si On runs into Choi Yong Min (Lee Byung Hun), the guy who’d used to bully her in high school, I really like that both Master Shin and Philip feel compelled to protect Si On, even though she doesn’t tell them about this at first, most likely because she doesn’t want to be a burden.

Out of this entire arc, the thing I love the most, is Master Shin’s fierce mother hen energy, in being determined to make Choi Yong Min pay for trying to harm his people; it’s like he’s willing to go to literal war, if that’s what it takes to protect his chicks. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Master Shin and Detective Choi

Detective Choi (Kim Sung Oh) is introduced pretty early in our story as a friend of the squad, though it quickly becomes clear that he has some kind of history with Master Shin.

[SPOILER ALERT]

We don’t learn the specifics of that history until a little later, and once it becomes clear that the connection between Master Shin and Detective Choi is one of guilt, where Detective Choi feels continually in Master Shin’s debt, for failing to save his son, their connection takes on a very poignant tone, to my eyes.

Their connection is so complicated, and I found it very touching to see that underneath all of the guilt and pain, that these two men do have a sincere regard and compassion for each other. Quite beautiful, don’t you think? 🥲

[END SPOILER]

I’d say that this was possibly the most poignant and complex relationship in the whole show, for me.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODES [SPOILERS]

E9-10. We’re almost at the finish line, and things are definitely heating up on the personal mystery front – and I think that’s why I have mixed feelings about my watch. 😅

On the hand, I’m curious to know the truth, and I care enough about our characters, to want to support their quest for the truth.

On the other hand, this really isn’t the flavor of drama that I thought I’d signed up for, so it’s a little hard-going for me, as a result. 😅

I’d expected Show to be snappier and breezier, with Master Shin tackling cases of the week, along with his little team, and instead, we’re dealing with serial murders and a big mastermind behind it all, and, well, that’s not my favorite thing. 😅

We do get a little bit of screen time dedicated to a case of the week, as we wrap up the gym employment fraud case, and I appreciate the sentiment, that Philip has become a lot more like Master Shin, in the way he thinks about and approaches things.

I think those scenes of Philip and Master Shin both negotiating at the same time, Philip with Doo Dong Seok, and Master Shin with Charles Hong, really makes that point; they have kinda become like two peas in a pod.

Of course, I was rather tickled that Master Shin basically got his thug friends to just walk into the gym and steal all the equipment, ahead of the secondhand dealers who were supposed to take them.

And, yay that the gym employees receive the salaries that they’re owed.

It’s obvious, though, that this little case is just a little side dish, when it comes to this week’s episodes.

Speaking of side dishes, another one is around Si On taking her GED exam, with everyone’s support.

It’s pretty heartwarming, that everyone in the little neighborhood cares enough to prepare little gifts and tokens for Si On, to wish her well on her exams.

And it’s also nice to see that Philip is concerned too, but chooses to have faith in Si On.

The main dish, these episodes, is really this whole thing around Yoon Dong Hee, and his connection with Lee Heo Jun.

I have to give it to Show; I kept going back and forth on whether or not I felt Lee Heo Jun was a trustworthy character or not.

One minute, I’d think he was suspicious, and the next, I’d be quite convinced that he was innocent and harmless, particularly in the moments when he’d show concern for Detective Choi, or converse with Master Shin.

And so, it really was a bit of a twist for me, when Show reveals, at the end of episode 9, that Lee Heo Jun is, indeed, the mastermind behind Yoon Dong Hee after all.

Woah. 😲 Even though I’d had my suspicions, I have to admit that I hadn’t quite seen that coming, because just before this, we see Lee Heo Jun speaking quite sympathetically, with Master Shin, about the loss of his son.

That begs so many questions, the main one being, why Lee Heo Jun would have ordered Yoon Dong Hee to kill Master Shin’s son?

And, I’m also curious to know more about Lee Heo Jun and his murderous tendencies. Had he always been murderous, and then found a convenient puppet in Yoon Dong Hee?

I am pleased, though, that Master Shin and Detective Choi are sharp enough to find Lee Heo Jun suspicious, even though Lee Heo Jun’s done a decent job of presenting himself as an innocent bystander.

On a related note, I was suitably surprised to find that the whole reason Kim Yong Woo was so hung up on looking for his daughter, had nothing to do with an actual fixation on her, but everything to do with wanting to get back that USB that he’d planted in her teddy bear, which contained evidence that he could use to blackmail someone for money.

I was also surprised to learn that the person Kim Yong Woo had been blackmailing, had been none other than Lee Heo Jun, and the evidence in the USB, was about Lee Heo Jun commissioning Yoon Dong Hee to commit murder.

I must not be very well-versed in thriller-mystery drama tropes, because on hindsight, I feel like these connections are very kdrama-esque, with a small drama world where everyone is pretty interconnected.

Maybe if you’re more of a thriller-mystery drama connoisseur than I am, you might’ve seen these reveals coming from a mile away, but I didn’t. 😅

I did kind of see it coming, though, that Kim Yong Woo likely wouldn’t survive our story, given that the person he’s trying to blackmail, has already committed so many murders, via Yoon Dong Hee, and is extremely determined not to be blackmailed by Kim Yong Woo.

I do think that the odds were stacked against Kim Yong Woo, especially with Yoon Dong Hee being so determined not to disappoint Lee Heo Jun again, so I wasn’t very surprised at all, when he got run over.

How smart, though, of Master Shin, to set a trap for Yoon Dong Hee, by dangling that tidbit at Lee Heo Jun, that he’s in possession of the original USB.

Of course, that makes Master Shin Yoon Dong Hee’s next target – which is how Master Shin manages to be ready and lying in wait, to knock Yoon Dong Hee out, when Yoon Dong Hee comes sneaking into his home.

I highly doubt that Master Shin would actually kill Yong Dong Hee, even though he’s been talking about doing so, because this is a kdrama after all.

I feel like Show’s still got quite a bit to cover in our finale week, and lots of answers to serve up, so here’s hoping that everything gets wrapped up satisfactorily.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

E11-12. Well. Honestly, that went down a lot easier than I’d been anticipating, given that I’d felt like we had a lot to wrap up on the whole murder front, in this finale.

But, lo and behold, I actually found myself breezing through this finale quite happily.

I do think that a lot of the credit goes to Show for wrapping up the murder arc quite quickly and efficiently, while taking a bit of a creative angle about it.

At least, it felt creative to me, because I had not been expecting Master Shin to come up with that plan, where the police all get involved – but to their understanding, it’s Yoon Dong Hee who’s taken Master Shin hostage instead of the other way around.

I feel like this alone buoyed my enjoyment of the murder arc wrap-up.

Thanks to this fundamental twist, the rest of it pretty much flows quite easily, from Detective Choi baiting Lee Heo Jun by saying they need a psychiatrist who knows Yoon Dong Hee’s medical condition on-site, to Master Shin recording the conversation between Lee Heo Jun and Yoon Dong Hee, once Yoon Dong Hee realizes that Lee Heo Jun’s not there to help him, but to get rid of him.

Happily, we don’t get mired in the investigative or court details of the case (like whether or not the recording of the conversation is admissible as evidence in court), and Lee Heo Jun gets convicted of his crimes and put in jail.

And then, it feels like Lee Heo Jun has it coming, when Yoon Dong Hee eventually takes revenge on him and kills him.

The thing that I liked the most about the wrap-up of this murder arc, is that all our characters come together for Master Shin’s sake, and everyone does their part, to ensure that Lee Heo Jun is caught for his crimes.

That sense of familial community was very enjoyable to me. 🥲

I’d imagined that we’d have to spend most of these final episodes on this arc, but all in all, it takes up less than an episode, leaving room for our characters to process everything, and go back to a more normal way of life, and I liked that a lot.

Of course, there’s a very poignant thread running through this, and that is Master Shin processing all this, in the light of the loss of his son, and it honestly really hit me in the heart, when he sits with Judge Kim, and takes a drink of that chocolate milk which he’s been buying daily ever since Jun died, and muses, “So that’s what it tastes like.”

Oof. Somehow, the thought that he’s been buying this milk every day, and then not drinking it (and very possibly offering it to Jun instead), really lands with a great deal of pathos, for me, as did that highlight reel at the end of episode 11, where we see the various home video clips, of Master Shin and his family, in happier days. 🥹🥹

I’m really glad that we get to see that Master Shin takes a trip to the US to see his wife / ex-wife (I realize that we don’t actually know the status of their relationship; only that she’s no longer there, after Jun’s death), and it’s good to hear from him afterwards, that he finally apologizes to her, for everything that’s happened.

It does feel like Master Shin’s reached the closure that he’s been looking for, all these years, and I do feel that this is the closest that we could possibly get, to a happy ending for this arc.

..Which is why I feel that it’s a good thing, that we get to see how life settles into a new normal, for our characters.

I thought it was a fun touch to have everyone attend Boss Jang’s wedding, and then having Master Shin use some of his negotiation skills to get the two families to agree on how to split everything (finances, time and duties) between the couple and the two families.

And then, of course, there’s the thing where Judge Kim works to formalize the Conflict Mediation Task Force, which he’s been piloting all along, with the cases that he’s been bringing to Master Shin.

Ahhh. Finally, it all makes sense, and I also finally understand why Judge Kim had assigned Philip, such a bright young star of his batch, to work in a chicken shop alongside Master Shin.

It is kind of nice to see Philip get to go back to working at the court house which is where he’d intended to work in the first place, but I have to confess that I do miss the old days, of Philip working in the chicken shop with Master Shin.

But I get that the idea here, is that our crew is growing, each in their own ways, with Si On deciding to become a police officer, and Philip “graduating” from Master Shin’s chicken shop to become more of a sunbae now.

As we close out our story, there’s a new newbie in town, with that new recruit coming to work for Master Shin, and I do like this sense of new beginnings, and that our crew will continue to work alongside one another, just in slightly different roles.

So yes, change is constant, but the relationships remain, and I find myself most comforted by that beat, where Si On tells Master Shin that he’ll be the one to walk her down the aisle, when she gets married.

That makes me feel like Master Shin’s gained a child, and in the context of how he’d lost his child, this feels like the universe’s way of making it up to him, a little bit. 🥹

All in all, a very warm and hopeful note on which to leave Master Shin and his little hodgepodge found family. 🥰

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Gruff on the surface, but warm and healing on the inside.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of Shin’s Project is Love’s Ambition [China].

You can check out my episode 1-2 notes on Love’s Ambition on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +Love’s Ambition [China]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +Romantics Anonymous [Japan]

VIP (US$15): +Would You Marry Me? [Korea]