“Miss Hammurabi” Episode 3 And 4 Recap And Review
This is a drama that keeps on giving. Again, I am pleasantly surprised; I’ve fallen in love with the drama.
Out of all the dramas that are currently airing, this was the one I was least excited about.
Related: “Miss Hammurabi” Episode 1 And 2 Recap And Review
I am very shocked that it turned out to be better than I had expected, and this makes me very happy.
Because, if you have been following my blog then you know well that I have been disappointed with the first half of 2018. I had higher expectations of 2018 kdramas, it seems like the more I watch the pickier I become. Although I’m still not 100% convinced with L’s acting still, it does not mean that I do not to enjoy him in this drama.
I really believe that he suits his role in the drama well, he’s been giving it his all. As time goes by, I fall more and more in love with his character.
The short recap of the 3rd and the 4th episode.
Since episode 3 and 4 deal with completely different topics, I’ll split them two.
Episode 3 recap
Episode 3 was an amazing one, this episode dealt with the incredible rise of cases involving #MeToo movement and its replications as well as its effects on every party involved.
In episode 3 an intern accuses someone at her firm of sexually harassing her, using his phone; he sends her some very disgusting explicit messages. He tries to lure her in and uses his status to get what he wants.
Every female at the company she works in stands up against her, they make her out to be a sensitive intern who isn’t cut for corporate job. Our judges are torn whether those texts are enough to have the company fire that superior or not.
With witnesses’ testimony and the not-totally-bad but not-totally-okay text messages, the intern’s case is almost overturned. The lawyer of the plaintiff almost wins the case; the defense attorney of the intern isn’t even trying.
Our judges take it upon themselves to find clauses within law that allows them to re-investigate and question a specific employee one last time. With slight pressure and some wise words from our judges she caves in and admits that they were told they needed to lie.
She also reveals that she was too harassed by him, she talks about the sacrifices she made in order to get into such a large company. The intern ends up winning the case.
Episode 4
Episode 4 dealt with work, peer pressure and pressure to excel.
Presiding judge Sung is a hardworking judge, who doesn’t mind doing whatever it takes kissing up to the asses of those above him to cover up his shortcomings. He steals his speeches from others and pressures judge Eun Ji, a woman who works under him, to do better!
The episode takes aim at the superiority, in-humane working conditions that public service Korean workers have to go through in order to survive.
Presiding Judge Sung is an asshole to be specific. Yet, his actions make sense. He does what he has to do in order to survive, he is not doing anything bad or harming but he abuses his power; this is because he’s lacking and not as-smart as the other presiding judges around him.
In the process of trying to make ends meet and get promoted despite his obvious shortcomings, he hurts a fellow judge, Judge Eun Ji.
He is inconsiderate of women, belittles them and doesn’t allow Judge Eun Ji to take rest. He pressures her to stay and pull all-nighters to solve more cases. She is pregnant but terrified of telling him because it might ruin her career.
Judge Ba Reun tries to raise questions about Presiding judge Sung’s cheating to the upper management; he gets told off and sent back to his place. The upper management uses excuses and points out that Judge Ba Reun shouldn’t be so judgmental, reporting such a thing will hurt him and make him out to be the bad guy.
He also gets told that he should work better to control Judge Cha O Reum, since she’s making a commission and bringing down judge’s reputation with her reckless very emotional actions.
With the continuous pressure Judge Eun Ji is placed in, she ends up with a miscarriage. Of course, Judge Park doesn’t keep her mouth shut. She starts a petition to discipline presiding Judge Sung because he violated Judge’s association rights.
She ignores presiding judge Han authority and proceeds to beg people to sign the petition.
By the end of it, Judge Ba Reun finds a better more elegant and powerful way to punish Presiding judge Sung.
The review
Cha O Reum can be very annoying and difficult to like, at times I hate her methods, but she’s doing the ‘right thing’ using the wrong way, she can’t handle watching someone suffers so badly.
She is a badass, the way she explained sexual harassment to her judge friends at the fish market was just amazing. Men don’t understand how uncomfortable and scary these things can be, they call us sensitive but if they were to walk in our own shoes, they’ll understand where we’re coming from.
This drama is a like a head-on attack on the way Koreans treat each other. How toxic the preferential seniority treatment in the Korean culture really is.
I sensed it before, but now I’m convinced that the judge who wrote this drama is trying his best to tackle one of the worst issues surrounding Korean culture.
Younger employees are forced to treat their seniors very nicely even when they’re doing Very Bad Things all because they’re older than them or they have better position than them.
This is a general problem that also exist in other Asian countries such as China and Japan. The culture of ‘you have to respect your Elder even when they’re speaking nonsense’ baffles me.
It’s a very annoying problem that I think a lot of Koreans suffer from. Yet, when you grow older you act the same even if you think that it sucks deep down inside, it’s like a vicious never-ending cycle.
The woman who had a miscarriage broke my heart. When its such a delicate thing, you’re carrying a human being inside you, you should be more careful.
Her actions probably make sense if she’s suffering from depression because of the strict rules and intense competition.
She can’t keep up and it’s sad because she spent so much of her time studying so hard to become a judge, this case is something that I’m torn with, if I were to be objective, I can’t side with the employee fully on this one, because by the end of it, people will ask ‘if she couldn’t handle it, she should’ve quit!’
This is what I like about this drama, the way each story is tackled. Its impressive to say the least, the writer judge encourages you to consider all sides to each story, all the aspects.
I understand the mentality of ‘you should respect your elders,’ but to me respect is earned not simply given, having said that doesn’t mean that I go around disrespecting everyone around me.
This also does not mean that I necessarily keep my mouth shut whenever an elder speaks in front of me something that really doesn’t make any sense or something that affects me and those around me badly using his status and age as an excuse for being a dick.
So in a way, I also resemble Judge Cha O Reum. I can’t shut my mouth when someone’s being a dick, but if I knew the law, I think I would’ve chosen my battles better than the way she does.
The way she goes about fighting is wrong it’s like she’s digging her own grave simply because she cannot control her emotions, she has a long way to go and sometimes her actions annoys me but I also find myself applauding her sincerity and the way she stands up for those who need it most.
Having said that it doesn’t being that I don’t understand why people hate her. Even when we know deep down inside that she’s not seeking attention or recognition for her actions, we still find her annoying, so imagine how people who do not know of her character would feel.
Ahjussi Sung Dong Ill is just brilliant in his role. I especially love the way he handles situations and how considerate he is deep down inside.
I also love Judge Ba Reun’s character. He is the true silent hero of this drama. He is your average male; he’s insecure and has fears yet tries his best to live diligently.
The way he stands up for Cha O Reum and the way he defends her is too darn cute. The way their relationship will develop in the near future will be something that I look forward to.
The third and fourth episodes were very entertaining and very serious at the same time they were some sweet light moments, but it focused on two controversial debatable matters that every Korean deals with.
The 3rd and 4th episodes viewership ratings were outstanding; the 3rd episode reached 5% nationwide which is the drama personal best so far. The numbers are great for a cable channel.
I feel like the drama will end up breaking more and more records if the drama script continues to be this entertaining and this raw.
I also feel like people of all ages will appreciate the social problems the drama brings up. It’s not a fantasy nor a sci-fi but about average people with average problems. These problems make all the difference to those affected by it.
Out of the majority of the dramas airing at the moment, I feel like this is one of the best dramas, many fellow Kdrama fans share my opinion.
So what did you guys think of the third and fourth episodes? Did you like it? Did it live up to your expectations?
Let’s discuss in the comments section below. Also, let me know if you’d like me to continue recapping and reviewing this drama.