started off great, ending meh
As stated in the title, the drama started off really intense and I was really excited how the plot unfolds.I liked the characters and they were portrayed really well. They had depth and how the characters developed in the course of the drama was also nice.
However the storyline in the last 5ish episodes was dragged too much, I ended up skipping a lot of parts and got bored a little bit - which is sad, as the plot itself was nice. I’m a sucker for revenge dramas!
Since I didn’t like the last part of the drama, I wouldn’t rewatch it unfortunately.
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I’ve fallen a bit out of drama romcoms over the years – in the past it was the genre that I watched the most but now it’s sageuks. But despite that, I’ve enjoyed Park Min Young in romcoms so often over the years, and her warm and easygoing on-screen demeanor tends to draw me well into the characters she’s portraying.
Marry My Husband focuses largely on her character, Kang Ji Won, and her quest for revenge and a better life that fills her with more passion and hopefully a better ending – which is a very engaging and compelling story to fallow, and I think the drama does a great job of making us feel for her. Even if it goes a little into too much victim complex and the characters tend to be a little too naïve at times.
Many of the secondary characters and their side stories were also very entertaining or interesting – which I think is essential in this kind of office drama. Both the blossoming friendships in the office, but also villains would completely steal the show for me. Some of the characters are horrible people, like Ji Won’s ex-friend and husband, but the drama manages to illustrate well how subtle they are and how they manage to use people. The actors and script made them very interesting to watch while you’re praying for their downfall. They feel like complex, multifaceted characters who can look funny or fascinating on the outside like many abusers are. But even though some of it felt a bit over the top at times.
For some time, it seemed that romance wasn’t a priority in the story, which doesn’t pick up until well around the second half of the drama. But I thought it was a very wise decision while everything else is being set up. It gives the drama time to highlight the emotional abuse Kang Ji Won is dealing with and trying to break away from so she can live. But all these different side stories also give us a little break from the romance that starts to drag on a little towards the end.
To me, romance is actually the weakest part of the drama, and it could just be because I don’t think Yoo Ji Hyuk is a particularly interesting character. I thought he was a little dull and I don’t think Na In Woo is a particularly charming actor on screen. He’s just fine. he’s tall and handsome, yet often he feels like he is just there, like a beautiful blank canvas, for a good majority of the drama. The rest of the cast was doing such a good job with their characters and sometimes made his scenes a little stiff in comparison, for me.
He did slowly start to make sense to me as a person and romantic partner when Ji won started falling for him and you get to fall in love with her – which is what the best romance films tend to do in my opinion. You fall in love with the characters and through the characters. But there were parts where I found his scenes, when no one else was with him, a bit full and just not that interesting. Like his backstory and past felt a bit too much of a kdrama cliché for me.
Overall, I found Marry My Husband a gripping and interesting story full of emotions that was far gloomier than I expected from such a romcom drama. But that didn’t hurt the story at all. There were interesting characters that you could hate and lovable characters you could root for, and a fair number of stakes to make the story exciting. The narrative flows well and doesn’t drag on too much, which is a bit of a bane for many romcom kdrama, especially towards the end, even if it did turn a bit too melodramatic and clichéd at times at times.
What caught my attention most about Marry My Husband was its use of comedy for the villains of drama. We are often made to laugh at them but not with them, and humor is also used to show how they could seem good and fascinating on the surface. It shows their insecurities and inferiority feelings and why they hold on to other people and drag them down because of them, but also how they manage to deceive the people around them. The way Ji Won saw them before she had another chance to live and gain clarity. That and Ji Won’s revenge was what really gripped me all throughout this drama – Ji Won’s on-screen revenge was often a certain cathartic release for the viewer, in a good way.
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This review may contain spoilers
Just some thoughts...
There are already plenty of reviews for this drama, so instead of an actual review, I'll just write some thoughts that may or may not ever be read. Just because. LOL--Is it really really good acting, or do I actually, truly, hate the mom??? Also, I hate that she never understood that she was the cause of her son's moral deficiencies.
--The plot twist. I wasn't expecting a plot twist. How was I not expecting a plot twist?? I was truly surprised. And honestly, it was informational only....they would have been fine without it. But it did give some justification to the motive.
--I never did understand the relationship between Yu Ji Hyuk (ML) and Lee Suk Joon (Lawyer/HR). I got a sense that there was a familial relationship, but I was never sure.
--Yu Hee Yeon was adorable! It's nice to have a genuinely good character occasionally. Not to mention, intelligent and helpful, with no ulterior motives.
--Poor Baek Eun Ho. He was so clueless throughout the entire thing. I felt so sorry for him.
--Yu Ra's bodyguard/driver/secretary.....he looked so betrayed in the last episode. Not to mention his reluctance to murder people. His role was pivotal in saving some lives. I thought he deserved a better ending than to be left standing in the parking lot.
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Thank you for picking up my trash
This was a watch and a half! I mostly really enjoyed the drama, but I feel there are certain little plot holes or events with no real conclusions left in the end. I loved how clearly they differentiated between the scenes of their first lives and their second lives. Seeing there were a lot of flashbacks or parallel scenes, that was something I liked.Kang Ji Won was both on a path of revenge and path of self-discovery. She used to be very meek, someone who was living in the shadow of her best friend. Yet things changed once she died. At first, there was a lot of little acts of rebellion which soon grew into something bigger. Ji Won realized that the only way to be happy and to be free of those who hurt her is to change. Change herself and change her faith. They really worked on showing her a good person, someone who hurt when she caused pain to others, even when it was well deserved. She grew into that person. She became more confident, stronger and someone who stood up for both herself and others. But in the final stages of her revenge, it was like she lost all the good parts of herself. I am not sure how I feel about that. In a way, she showed that she really had had enough of it, that she will not let herself fall victim again. But in a different way, I hated how this meant she had no empathy, no her good-person attitude in those scenes.
Park Min Hwan has no redeeming qualities. The man never learns. He is selfish and self-centered, he doesn’t care about anything or anyone except for himself. And money. That might be his one and only love, and he is willing to do anything to get it. In both timelines. He never shows regret and is not capable of having feelings for anyone. Even his “feelings” for Ji Won were never real, he simply found it convenient to have her around. He never appreciated her when he had her. But once she became unattainable, unavailable, he wanted. Not because he loved her but because he refused to admit defeat or admit that she can be happy without him.
Jung Soo Min is another character that has no redeeming qualities. To put it simply, she was obsessed with Ji Won. To her, it was either she has Ji Won or no one has her. Her only way of achieving that was to isolate her, tie her to herself. In a way, Soo Min was jealous of Ji Won, but I think it was mostly her need to better than her while making sure Ji Won is always there to lift her confidence up. Soo Min, similar to Min Hwan, only ever truly cared about herself and her status in the world. I must say that Song Ha Yoon, the actress who played Soo Min, did an amazing job. She made us hate the character, but it was easy to see how much work she put into portraying Soo Min in the way that she did.
Yoo Ji Hyuk was a confusing character to me. What exactly was his point? Look, I’m a sucker for a good romance plot but I just wasn’t feeling him suddenly realizing he wants to be with Ji Won. He spent most of the series playing her errand boy, doing everything and anything she asked for or needed. She needed money to execute her revenge (and some extra support at work), so they threw in a rich manager who would do all that for her. And while it might be cute to some extent, I found it a bit annoying by the end. I feel like there was a lot more potential for plot development related to Ji Hyuk that just wasn’t explored properly.
I have similar feelings about some other characters. Like Oh Yoo Ra who I found absolutely unnecessary. I get that they wanted to throw another ex into the mix, but her whole wannabe gangster attitude towards everything and everyone was just not it.
Seeing it’s 2024, can we please agree to stop with the makeovers where everyone just loses their glasses? It’s stupid and annoying cliché. Glasses are hot and there is nothing wrong with people deciding to wear glasses instead of choosing an alternative.
There were other scenes and characters that made very little sense to me, but I don’t feel like getting into it. So, why am I still rating this drama so high? Because I loved it. It kept me hooked from start to finish and it had some absolutely amazing scenes, characters and acting. The good outweighs the bad for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
The second chance aspect of the story intertwined with revenge was a refreshing and original concept for me. I found it captivating and entertaining, despite having seen some snippets on YouTube shorts and Instagram. I was hooked from episode 1 to 11, eagerly watching every moment without skipping a second. However, as the story progressed into episodes 12, 13, and 14 with the introduction of Oh Yu ra, I started to anticipate a twist.
When the second half of episode 11 began, I sensed that something significant was about to unfold, especially considering there were still several episodes left until the finale. It's uncommon for a Kdrama to have six episodes of pure bliss without any major plot developments. As a result, I found myself selectively watching scenes where the main leads were on screen.
Initially, I was unsure about Oh Yu ra's role in the story, but her reckless behavior on a busy street in episode 14 hinted at her significance. It became evident that she served as a sacrificial lamb for the male lead's journey, though I couldn't help but feel she was somewhat unnecessary, perhaps due to her annoying demeanor.
Furthermore, the characterization of the male lead's grandfather left me a bit puzzled. While it was clear he cared deeply for his grandson, his inconsistent stance on his love life confused me. There were moments where he seemed supportive, yet others where he appeared to contradict himself.
Nevertheless, I must commend Park Min Young's outstanding performance in this series, and Song Ha Yoon's transformation from sweet Seol Hee into the evil character Jung Soo Min. Additionally, it was refreshing to see Lee Yi Kyung and Na In Woo for the first time. Lee Yi Kyung's depiction of the dumb and lazy character was spot-on, while Na In Woo's portrayal of the cold, expressionless persona suited the role perfectly.
Overall, the series was enjoyable from episodes 1 to 11, as well as episodes 15 and 16. The unique blend of revenge with the concept of second chances kept me engaged throughout. It made me reflect on the idea of having second chances in life, leaving me wishing for such opportunities in real life.
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Disappointing
Badly written characters galore. This drama’s now topping the dramas I’ve watched with most number of unbelievable characters. Honestly, every few minutes I was thinking: ”Nobody would react this way”, or “There’s no one with such incoherent personality” or “Nobody would say that in that situation” and so on. Most of them were badly written. Even side characters like manager Mr. Kim or the FL’s mother, who also had the worst acting (among a lot of bad acting with few exceptions, like the 5 main roles and the FL’s father).I don’t want to go into the script and its unrealistic sub-plots, some of which were perfect for a parody, like the rich ex-girlfriend turned psycho and willing to lose it all to kill the FL….yeah right.
I finished because I wanted to know the MC love story, and gave it 5/10 which is my lowest rating, because I only liked the ML character and the OST, sadly, because Park Min Young is one of my favorite K-actress.
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Serie tratta da un manga..bellissimo!
Serie tratta da un manga (e si vede per i diversi intrecci che ci sono), ma resa molto reale e adattata bene. Super consigliata soprattutto per i personaggi cattivi, una recitazione meravigliosa, quasi oscurano i protagonisti! Ho apprezzato moltissimo anche l’originalità della trama, nonostante ci sia qualche cliche. Le coppie secondarie mi sono piaciute molto anche se speravo fossero sviluppate di più. Tra i protagonisti c’è molto feeling e lei è pazzesca come sempre, adoro la sua recitazione.Was this review helpful to you?
2nd chance time travel
what I loved about this drama is the step by step explanation on why a narcissist behaves the way he(she) behaves.this drama touched me in a very personal way. I had a toxic relationship that took the wrong slide in 2013, and ended in 2020. I dreamed so much about a time traveling offering me a second chance to handle my ex. after the break up, I realized that my ex is a narcissist. I started learning what this is and how it impacts your relationship with them, and most importantly, what you can do to help (heal) them, or to save yourself.
there are a lot of dramas out there staging narcissistic relationships, but this one was the more informational in my eyes. probably because I finally am able to recognize narcissism when I come across it, and I learned enough about this to know what kind of manipulations they usually use, and how it works.
so for me this drama was like "you know kung-fu? show me!"
and it came to my mind that I probably watched a lot of dramas, and series, and movies about narcissists, without appreciating all the variations of their personalities. with this drama, I did. and I really enjoyed the role play of soomin, the SFL, the big villain of the drama. she was awesome! and I think that it must be very enjoyable to rewatch the show, knowing how this will end, and really appreciate her slow transformation.
there are a lot more things that could have been done, which is why I gave a 8.5/10. but, that's a very nice essay on narcissism, almost a school case.
when to watch? the story is a little complex, keep it for a relaxed week-end.
audience: not under 15, there is a lot of violence (words, physical, psychological)
enjoy !
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Lee Yi Kyung was the biggest highlight.
Before starting to analyse the drama itself, I would like to praise the art director and visual effects team who created and made the beautiful scene of the petals dancing with the air in the art gallery, contrasting with the gigantic painting. It was one of the most beautiful and touching things I have ever seen in a drama. Everything there fit together: the couple, the painting, the colours, the lighting; everything worked very well.Regarding the drama, the success in terms of audience and ratings was deserved, but I don't think it needed to have 16 episodes. I believe that in 10 to 12 episodes, we would have had a more robust story, without too much dragging. I confess that from episode 11 onwards, I noticed a more sluggish plot, with the clear intention of saving the main decisive events for the last two episodes. The secondary and tertiary couples had no development at all, which is a shame. Nevertheless, it was a good drama that had an extremely interesting synopsis. I liked it.
I would like to give an honourable and positive mention to Lee Yi-kyung's performance, which was exceptional and above average in portraying the comical and heartless scoundrel Min-Hwan. On the other hand, a not so positive mention goes to BoA, who had more facial expressions than actual acting. In my opinion, her character did not add anything significant.
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This review may contain spoilers
Very good pace of action
Very good movie. I recommend! fans of dramas about changing one's fate and second chances will be pleased. A film very similar to "Perfect marriage revenge". Very good acting - maybe PMY cries a little too much, but overall it's ok. The chemistry between the main characters is visible and full of tenderness. My greatest appreciation was gained by the second couple, Lee Yi Kyung and Song Ha Yoon. they were amazing.. aggression, hatred, jealousy - all this could be seen in their eyes.. Song Ha Yoon outdid herself in the final scene with madness in her eyes. and you also have a sweet ending... I don't know if it's too sweet. :)Was this review helpful to you?
The last half of the show started to drag a bit due to the pointless introduction of Oh Yura but other than that, this show kept me entertained.
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Great in the first half, rapidly slips off in the second
Its just fine. Park Min-young looks pretty and does a decent job while the male lead did not manage to impress. The main villains, however, (Song Ha-yoon and Lee Yi-kyung) did SUCH a good job- they carried the show single handedly. The psychological manipulation and desperation was portrayed so well, especially by Song Ha-yoon. Apart from that, the side characters were cute and nice, but couldn't hold my interest for long. Overall, it's an okay drama- watch it on a lazy weekend.Was this review helpful to you?
