Revenge is a dish best served cold...like the cooling plotline of Marry My Husband

If you want to watch Marry My Husband chances are that you either are a fan of one or more of the actors or you enjoy a good revenge plotline (or both!). The drama starts out very heavy with a terminal diagnosis followed by an ultimate betrayal of trust and love. Sprinkle in some time travel and the stage is set for what one hopes is a salty revenge tale full of thrown water glasses, screaming at each other in public places, and tears. Lots of tears.

What you get is....some of that. And when you do get it, the drama is really good. For the first half of the drama I was very interested in Kang Ji Won's quest for revenge and her budding entaglement with Yoo Ji Hyuk. I appreciate the acting of Song Ha Yoon -- she really made me despise Jung Soo Min and her neverending craftiness. I also found the plot device of fate still having to play out (whether it plays out on Kang Ji Won or someone she knows) to be really well done and interesting as well. For the first half of the drama I found myself eagerly waiting for the next episodes to drop so I could find out what happened next in the quest for revenge.

But then the plot just...cools. I don't know of any better way to put it than the plot just cools down. I think it happens in earnest shortly after Kang Ji Won and Yoo Ji Hyuk realize they both have time traveled. The way that this is revealed (through BTS songs) was interesting, but then the pacing gets all funky. I found this change of pace to be a bit jarring - almost like a car stopping and stalling. The change in pacing threw me out of the story so much that I was no longer invested in their budding romance at all...which became the main plot point over the revenge. Some episodes there were a million things happening and other episodes weemed to drag on. I accidentally fell asleep during two of the episodes....oops. By the time BoA entered the drama portraying Oh Yoo Ra I was pretty much done with the story and ready for it to end.

By the time the drama was over I was definitely ready for it to end. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I think I did despite what I would call its flaws. Would I rewatch it? Nope.

Read More

Worth a binge watch with light expectations

What made this drama worth watching:
-->A fairly unique plot mechanism where the female lead turns into a dog if she kisses somebody.
--> Cha Eun Woo's acting is getting better -- still a little wooden, but I think he's definitely improving.
--> Enjoyable to watch it all in one go. I am not sure what I would have thought if I had watched it while it aired -- seems like it was on a slow release schedule which would make it drag. As a binge watch, though, it was paced well and kept my interest.
--> Enjoyed the dynamics of the characters at school and at home.
--> There was a healthy dose of humor scattered throughout...thankfully this drama didn't take itself too seriously.
--> The OST was enjoyable and fit the vibe of the drama well.
-->Lots of cute puppies -- always a plus!

What made this drama a little cringey:
--> Watching Cha Eun Woo trying to kiss a dog romantically was.....weird. Not too into that tbh.
--> I don't mind the historical fated lovers trope, but the flashbacks were many in this one. Probably too many.
--> Hae Na's uncle barking was fine at first...but then got pretty cringey. And was resolved without much explanation.
--> Last episode was a little bit of a filler episode. Cute overall, but not really necessary.

My final takeaway --
I'm glad I didn't get too discouraged with some of the negative reviews before diving into this one. Overall I really enjoyed it. I think it requires the viewer to be in the mood for a light and fluffy romcom. If you are looking for serious acting or a romance plot with depth...this is not your drama. This is something for when you need a little bit of the "warm fuzzies" in your life. Don't take it too seriously and enjoy it for what it is...a drama about a girl who turns into a dog.

Read More

Could have been worse...but could have been better. Two Reviews in One!

~~~This post has two reviews...my first review here that I did 6 episodes in:

Netflix labeled Queen of Tears as a comedy....but a comedy this definitely is not. I am enjoying QoT - the acting is excellent and the 'realness' of their struggles with love in marriage seems realistic. Sometimes you don't want a fluffy romcom...sometimes you want a more realistic slice of life. And, sure, we aren't all going to marry a chaebol, but we might have periods in our relationships that are more strained than other times.

I have not finished watching QoT yet, however, I popped into the reviews to give a heads up that Netflix lumps a lot of things into their 'mature themes' warning. While Netflix can't spell out everything you'll encounter while watching a show, watcher beware that not only is terminal cancer a theme, but pregnancy loss appears to be a theme as well. As someone who has dealt with pregnancy loss those scenes of tearing down the nursery and looking at the ultrasound pictures post-loss hit very hard. If I had known it was in the show I would have not watched it right now given recent events in my life.

Will I finish the drama? Absolutely -- despite this I am really enjoying it. I plan to update this review once I'm finished with the episodes. Just spreading the word that the category of 'mature themes' that Netflix puts on its shows covers a myriad of topics and some folks may want to choose the time in which they encounter themes like these.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And now that I'm finished, here's my final review:

I have such mixed feelings about Queen of Tears.

On the one hand Kim Soo Hyun's and Kim Ji Won's performances were excellent. They were probably the main reason I kept on schedule with this drama. But as much as I enjoyed their acting, I felt this drama suffered a bit during the second half of the show. I was really engaged at the beginning when Hae In was determining her diagnosis and the drama with her internal family politics against Baek Hyun Woo was going on.

(and here's where the spoilers start...)

But then the focus of the show shifted away from her family problems (and the family dynamics being a type of villain which I found really interesting) to traditional villains. And wow -- they sure lathered on the villain-hood really thick. Sinister glances, brooding expressions, evil henchmen...not much subtlety or texture to be found there. But whatever. Despite my whining, I enjoy a good "Muahahaha Villain" at times.

No, what got me was the usage of that tried and true kdrama trope -- the "a main character loses his/her memories" plotline. When Hae In discovered she could get surgery but, oh no! there was a side effect -- I thought, "please be more original than losing your memories...please be more original..." But alas and alack! It was not to be. We spent episodes on the angst of the decision as well as the amnesiac character being easily duped because...well...amnesia. I am so so so burned out on main characters losing their memories.

And once she gets the surgery there's not ONE more mention of cancer. Was she cured? We see her popping pills as part of "her treatment" once...but is she in remission? Did the uncurable cancer get cured? We fast forward from the surgery a month to see her going home to Seoul with no word on whether she's cured or not? Did I miss it? Even if it was one line and I did miss it...this was THE major plot point at the beginning of the drama. It needs some resolution. Obviously she lived a long life from the end of the episode montage, but we literally invested SO many episodes in the "Oh no - Cancer!" and "Will she or won't she get surgery?" only to write it all off the second she loses her memory? And while we're talking about unsatisfying loose strings, what happened to the secret fund? How long did Mol Seul Hee get put away for? How long was Da Hye away for?

Queen of Tears feels a bit like two dramas in one. The first half of the drama was an interesting glimpse into family politics/drama, a relationship in crisis, and how health troubles (including miscarriage) can impact a marriage. The second half of the drama was a little too trope-y for me leaving too many strings hanging around.

Do I recommend it? Sure...it was an enjoyable story despite my gripes over the repeated tropes. Will I rewatch it? Nah...I'm good.

Read More