Beyond Yoo Yeon-seok’s spellbinding performance as “Shin Ilang,” the wholesome chemistry of the “Shin Ilang Family” is winning hearts.
Park Kyung-hwa (played by Kim Mi-kyung) is the tough-but-solid mom who scolds her son Shin Ilang (Yoo Yeon-seok) for being “too soft,” even brandishing a butcher’s knife for a reality check―then turns around and tells him, “Do everything you want,” whenever his spirits dip. His sister Shin Sarang (Son Yeo-eun) still dotes on her little brother, and brother-in-law Yoon Bong-soo (Jeon Seok-ho) backs him no matter what―and cracks everyone up with his many bit-part acting chops. The family even rushed to court to cheer on Ilang’s first trial, adding laughs. When Park Kyung-hwa learned her son can see spirits, the scene overlapped with a flashback of her late prosecutor husband’s shamanic ritual―dropping a fresh layer of mystery.
Riding that momentum, "Phantom Lawyer" grabbed both crowns―ratings and buzz―by Episode 2. It hit a per-minute peak of 11.3%, taking No. 1 among Friday-Saturday dramas, and also ranked No. 1 on Netflix’s Today’s Top 10 in Korea for series (as of March 17). According to Good Data Corporation’s FUNdex for Week 2 of March (released on March 17), the show ranked No. 1 in TV drama buzz, with Yoo Yeon-seok at No. 3 in cast buzz―proving its content power. Online communities are praising its fresh premise―a lawyer who sees ghosts―beautifully blended with human touch.
Episode 3, airing Friday the 20th, will see brother-in-law Yoon Bong-soo become Shin Ilang’s “official shadow.”
Lately, Ilang has been talking to himself, nailing case clues out of nowhere, and suddenly slipping into a rough dialect like a gangster―worrying his family with behavior that’s nothing like before. In newly released stills, Park Kyung-hwa and Father Mateo (Jung Seung-gil) stand quietly behind Yoon Bong-soo as he prays in a cathedral. Park Kyung-hwa asks Yoon Bong-soo to look after her son, who can see ghosts. Though ghosts terrify him, Yoon Bong-soo loves his brother-in-law―so he joins "Phantom Lawyer" as office manager, kicking off a tear-jerking “bro-in-law care” arc.
Another still shows a rooftop meetup at the Okcheon Building with Ilang, Yoon Bong-soo, and Father Mateo. In the last episode, that rooftop was where Ilang bid a final farewell to the spirit of Lee Kang-poong (Heo Sung-tae), whose wrongful death he helped resolve―making it a key location in the "Phantom Lawyer" universe. Now, the ghost-seeing lawyer Shin Ilang, his ghost-fearing brother-in-law Yoon Bong-soo, and ex-shaman-turned-priest Father Mateo will unite as the “Shin Ilangz.”
The production team shared, “This week, the people who learn Ilang’s secret start teaming up in their own ways to help him. After the warm family chemistry of the ‘Shin Ilang Family,’ look forward to the ‘Shin Ilangz’―ghost-seeing Ilang, his protective brother-in-law Yoon Bong-soo, and ally Father Mateo―bringing a comic but rock-solid partnership.”
"Phantom Lawyer" airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)
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