Credit: Netflix

If you are done with the formula legal dramas on Netflix, it’s time to binge Phantom Lawyer because this show has got things you might never have imagined you’d encounter in a legal drama. Did you guess it yet? That element is ghosts. That’s right, the Korean industry has outdone itself with imagination this time by mixing law with ghosts, but it’ll make more sense if you read further.

The story starts with Shin I-rang (Yoo Yeon-seok), and this guy is already dealing with a bad start before his career even begins, because everywhere he goes people recognise his last name first, and that name comes with baggage. Apparently, his father was a disgraced prosecutor, and that reputation comes free with him in every interview, so before he can even prove himself, he is already getting turned down. Poor guy!

Naturally, after a point, he is done trying to convince people, because how many times can someone hear the same rejection and still act like it doesn’t bother them, right? So he opens his own small law office where he can run on his own terms. And that is exactly where things start getting weird, because the place he rents used to belong to a shaman. Now, obviously, that’s not going to come without problems.

Before you know it, Shin I-rang starts seeing ghosts. And it’s not like there’s just one ghost he has to deal with. Multiple spirits are showing up, and they are talking to him and expecting him to listen. At first, he is completely thrown, like any other normal person, because what do you even do in that situation? Again, he cannot even explain to anyone without sounding ridiculous.

Now you might wonder where this is going, so let us tell you that the story takes a turn when one of them asks for help. It turns out these ghosts aren’t just there for no reason. They have got unfinished issues from when they were alive with cases that went wrong and things that never got resolved. And now, they want I-rang to do something about it. That’s when it clicks for him, because suddenly he has access to information no other lawyer can get.

That’s where he gets really smart and starts using all that information to his advantage in the court. His first major win, especially a medical malpractice case, turns into a huge hit because now people are forced to take him seriously. They are all wondering how he pulled it off, and to further surprise everyone, he starts winning more cases that he shouldn’t even have access to.

That’s where Han Na-hyeon (Esom) comes in. She had already dismissed him once and didn’t see anything special, but now she is watching him win nearly impossible cases. Han is quite sharp and doesn’t just accept things without questioning them, so naturally, she starts paying attention.

And this is yet another twist that comes to the story where their dynamic gets interesting, because on one side you have someone who relies completely on logic, and on the other side you’ve got someone who relies on spirits. They don’t trust each other, but their paths keep crossing, especially when cases start overlapping.

So this was the major storyline, and on top of that, you get to see new cases with almost every episode, which doesn’t make the show boring. After a few episodes, you even stop questioning the ghost part anymore because now the focus shifts to the cases.

And yeah, once it gets going, you can already tell this isn’t going to follow a predictable path, because every time things start feeling normal, the show reminds you that it’s working on a completely different level.