Recap Korean Drama "Strangers Again (2023)" Episode 1-2

I know we’re only on Week 1, but I suspect this drama was perfectly cast. Kang So-ra shines as the talented, gorgeous, and successful attorney OH HA-RA who is secretly (or not so secretly) still a disaster after her husband cheated on her a few years back. Even in our first episodes, she strikes a great balance of fiery fury and genuine vulnerability.

Then, on the other side of the coin we have her ex-husband GU EUN-BUM (Jang Seung-jo), whom I would really love to hate in the role of unfaithful husband… but somehow can’t? He’s charming and puckish — hence our heroine’s dilemma. And the genius of this casting.

Also, by giving us only our heroine’s side of the story, there’s enough reasonable doubt to make us wonder what really caused this couple to divorce years ago — and the teasing out of their relationship in both the past and the present is where the meat of this story lies.

But first, we have to understand our heroine, the “goddess of litigation,” who’s living high on the hog — partly because she’s a brilliant attorney, partly because she gets a huge monthly alimony from her ex-husband. The drama paints the picture of this broken marriage for us over the course of the first episode, with enough hints of Ha-ra’s anger over adultery that it’s no surprise when it’s confirmed that that was what broke up her own marriage.

In a sharp contrast of circumstances, her ex-husband Eun-bum is down to his last 8000 won, desperately needs a job, and though we don’t see much into his circumstances yet, he definitely gives off the vibes of having been kicked in the pants by life. Or Ha-ra. Or perhaps both. She has no problem noting Eun-bum as “a penniless piece of sh*t and live witness of karma” lol. Her fury takes it one step past normal and into the extreme, and that’s part of where the drama gets its personality from (more on that later).

The firm where Ha-ra works is run by CEO Seo (Jeon Bae-soo) and CEO Hong (Gil Hae-yeon), both brilliant in their roles already. CEO Hong is the wise and firm hand that keeps their meetings from devolving in daily fisticuffs, and CEO Seo is the one that sleeps through meetings and seemingly has the ability to see right through people. He’s close with Eun-bum, takes pity on him, and hires him to the firm (admittedly while drunk lol). He even tells Eun-bum that he’s still in love with Ha-ra — and interestingly, Eun-bum doesn’t even try to deny it. (This is the closest we see into Eun-bum in our premiere week, and I’m hoping the camera turns to his side of things more as the drama progresses.)

But back to Ha-ra and her “frenzy button.” She’s furious that her bosses would even think of taking on her cheating ex-husband, but she’s also in the middle of a very high-profile divorce case that seems to be an impossible win. Ha-ra’s case involves a famous actor (cameo by Park Yong-woo) who’s seeking to divorce his wife (cameo by Jung Yumi) whom he suspects of having an affair. He also wants their prenup to be honored… for which there is yet no legal precedent in Korea.

Here’s where we get a taste of the drama’s structure, and the episodic legal aspect comes into play: each episode this week features a new case of Ha-ra’s, and much like we’ve seen in other character-driven yet “case of the week” dramas, the case pushes forward the plot, and shines light on a new aspect of our characters and their story. And I have to say, it was quite well done this week. The cases felt like they pushed the overarching plot forward, instead of the plot being build from the cases themselves.

As this first case is teased out, we see that Ha-ra really does need a hand, and Eun-bum offers to help her in exchange for “letting” him get hired at the firm, reminding her of their great synergy together in the past. And now it’s time for our first inkling that Ha-ra’s still got feelings for him despite everything — indeed, her high-spirited rancor seems to suggest that too — and she agrees to his deal.

The two are every bit as awesome a team as we might expect, and the case is won — and with the highest-record alimony the firm has ever secured for a client. But it’s not all celebration. The case also teases out the deep wound of betrayal that being cheated on causes — and this is the point where I knew I loved this drama. In the middle of being cheeky and loud, it also takes the time to give us thoughtful moments, and show the more raw emotions that are also at play.

Ha-ra’s actor client is more heartbroken than even after his win — since the adultery was proven — and we see him display the same wild anger that Ha-ra has towards her own unfaithful spouse. But we also see the wounds left behind, and when her client asks her how he can ever be happy after being betrayed like this, she also cracks, and we see that underneath her goddess-like fury is a deeply hurt woman just trying to find happiness again.

In addition to giving us this great balance of humor and pathos, the drama also has a lot of fun playing with the character of Eun-bum. The heart of the story naturally sits with Ha-ra — the wronged wife — but Eun-bum is far more than just our love-to-hate cheating husband.

He might be nervy and capable of preposterous things (like setting her up on a surprise blind date with his colleague), but we also get quick moments that show us there is much more to him than meets the eye. Whether it’s how he rises to protect Ha-ra from a skeevy attorney, is concerned for her safety in his junker of a car, or still has these moments of closeness with her that give us a glimmer of what their married life was like — there is definitely more to Eun-bum. But for now, he seems about 75% jerk. Even CEO Seo tells him angrily, “You have so many people to spit on your grave the grass will grow no problem!”

Eun-bum also feigns disinterest in Ha-ra’s personal life, and seems only motivated by wanting to get out of paying her the alimony — which is what leads to the aforementioned date setup. As it turns out, though, the colleague in question, MIN JAE-GYEOM (Mu Jin-sung), is actually a really nice guy. Every objection Ha-ra can muster against him he gently disproves. He even sees through her initial insincerity… which leads to true sincerity between them. Their relationship grows quickly, and by the end of Episode 2 they’re kissing and speaking in banmal.

Ha-ra’s case in Episode 2 also fires up her adultery frenzy button — but in this case we see her sympathizing with the husband who’s been cheated on (not her client!), while Eun-bum relates to the wife who was neglected enough to fall in love with someone else.

Make no mistake about it, these divorce cases are each complicated, mature, and there’s no simple solution for any of them. And that’s exactly the point the drama is trying to make. Though it’s Ha-ra’s job to litigate and win cases for her clients, we quickly see there is so much more going on than settlement agreements and admissible evidence. With matters of the heart, it’s always going to be messy.

Even though I already have adultery fatigue, I quite like the drama’s way of pulling us into the complexities of the cases not only for the clients, but how it affects our heroine’s own struggles and desire for happiness. The show makes no apologies for adultery, but it does paint well drawn pictures of couples that have been broken by infidelities, lies, and betrayal.

Perhaps that’s why the drama’s penchant for exaggerated imaginary scenes is so welcome and so fun. Whether it’s Ha-ra letting Eun-bum fall from a Cliff of Doom, the steak knife she wishes she could attack him with, or the tennis volleying as a metaphor for the way arguing a case functions in court, the drama needs this element to lighten the heavier themes, and I enjoyed the color it brought to the story overall.

The drama is definitely doing a lot — and in 12 episodes — but after our premiere week I’m left thinking that it knows exactly where it’s going. And I’m happy to watch as the story continues to tease out not only what happened between our couple in the past, but if there is any room for them to find happiness together once again.