Marry My Husband (2024) 내 남편과 결혼해줘
Directed by Park Won-gook, starring Park Min-young and Na In-woo.
Directed by Park Won-gook, starring Park Min-young and Na In-woo.
Watched 1 - 8 September 2024 — 16 episodes (DRAMACOOL)
*Finished this time-travel/revenge story slash healing drama yesterday and totally enjoyed it. Can understand the love of my sisters for this series since it's compelling and has a convincing romance. The leads Park Min-young as Kang Ji-won and Na In-woo as Yoo Ji-hyuk have good chemistry and make their relationship believable. I love to see them feel safe with each other and how they trust and support one another.
*I liked that the secret of the main couple (they both died and woke up ten years earlier in 2013) was revealed around episode 7, that they knew about each other's situation, and that we didn't have to wait more episodes for it be out in the open. I love the fact that Ji-won's father was the one to send Ji-hyuk back in the past as a gift for his daughter (hence the heart mark on Ji-hyuk's chest).
*Love the cat story. It starts with Ji-won and Ji-hyuk taking care of the scrawny kitten during their college days and Ji-hyuk saves the cat from getting run over by a car. In 2013 Ji-won is so happy when she sees the pet at Ji-hyuk's place, and he gives her the passcode to his apartment so she can visit any time.
*I love the concept of averting fate, and passing your fate on to someone else. The similar storylines between Ji-won and her co-worker Ju-ran become evident (both being victims, acting submissively, having a cheating husband, getting cancer), and I first feared for Ju-ran's life because of the illness. Fortunately taking someone else's fate doesn't mean the outcome has to be the same.
*I like the fact that Ji-won wants to do things on her own, with her own strength, yet still feeling supported by Ji-hyuk. Betrayed by her husband and best friend, it's only natural to see Ji-won heartbroken over lost friendships and relationships. I also liked that she not only remembers the bad memories but also the good ones.
*Both Lee Yi-kyung (seen him in Welcome to Waikiki) as Park Min-hwan and Song Ha-yoon as Jeong Su-min give great and nuanced performances, almost stealing the limelight from the main couple. Su-min gets really unhinged and evil. As a teen we see her seeking Ji-won's friendship, not for genuine reasons, and it was never a healthy friendship to begin with. Min-hwan is menacing and pathetic but also a dope. Lee Yi-kyung has great comedic timing and uses it to great effect to show the dorky side of his character.
*I love the concept of averting fate, and passing your fate on to someone else. The similar storylines between Ji-won and her co-worker Ju-ran become evident (both being victims, acting submissively, having a cheating husband, getting cancer), and I first feared for Ju-ran's life because of the illness. Fortunately taking someone else's fate doesn't mean the outcome has to be the same.
*I like the fact that Ji-won wants to do things on her own, with her own strength, yet still feeling supported by Ji-hyuk. Betrayed by her husband and best friend, it's only natural to see Ji-won heartbroken over lost friendships and relationships. I also liked that she not only remembers the bad memories but also the good ones.
*Both Lee Yi-kyung (seen him in Welcome to Waikiki) as Park Min-hwan and Song Ha-yoon as Jeong Su-min give great and nuanced performances, almost stealing the limelight from the main couple. Su-min gets really unhinged and evil. As a teen we see her seeking Ji-won's friendship, not for genuine reasons, and it was never a healthy friendship to begin with. Min-hwan is menacing and pathetic but also a dope. Lee Yi-kyung has great comedic timing and uses it to great effect to show the dorky side of his character.
*The womance between Ji-won, Ju-ran and Hui-yeon (Ji-hyuk's sister) is heartwarming. I love how Ji-won empowers Ju-ran to stand up for herself and not to be a pushover. I also love all the physical little nods of encouragement and understanding between the characters.
*I was hoping Hui-yeon and the restaurant chef (Lee Gi-kwang as Baek Eun-ho) would get together so he could bake her cakes all day, haha. You could actually predict they would become an item, but I would have liked to see their romance develop gradually and naturally. Not something the script dictates. Eun-ho was so into Ji-won that I needed to see why he suddenly fell for Hui-yeon.
*In that respect the relationship between Yang Ju-ran (played by Gong Min-jung, recently seen her in One Dollar Lawyer) and Lee Suk-jun (played by Ha Do-kwon, seen him in Hot Stove League — I really like this actor) is much better depicted. Though their romance is never confirmed, it's obvious they have a personal interest in each other which borders more on the romantic side than the friendship kind. It's understandable they don't move fast because Ju-ran first needs to come to terms with her broken marriage and surviving cancer. I guess Suk-jun is giving her all the space she needs. She's the one who wants to buy him dinner in the end. I'm convinced they will have their romance and she certainly deserves to be with a man who respects her and treats her well. I really like Suk-jun as a character. He is a decent person and I love the scene where he tells the chairman, Ji-hyuk's granddad, how Ji-hyuk changed because of Ji-won, and Suk-jun looks happy telling the chairman that Ji-hyuk now really seems to live for the first time.
*I found the last few episodes a bit convoluted, plot-wise, and it could have something to do with the inclusion of Oh Yu-ra, Ji-hyuk's ex-fiancée, and making her a villainous character. I just didn't understand her character at all.
*I read online that some reviewers were bothered by the moral ambiguity of Ji-won and Ji-hyuk, coaxing the villainous characters into bad behaviour and thus sealing their fate. But they are bad characters and would dig their own graves anyway, so I wasn't really bothered by the main couple's actions. Still, I have to admit that humiliating Min-hwan and Jeong Su-min to such a great extent evoked feelings of pity for them on my part (at times).
*I read online that some reviewers were bothered by the moral ambiguity of Ji-won and Ji-hyuk, coaxing the villainous characters into bad behaviour and thus sealing their fate. But they are bad characters and would dig their own graves anyway, so I wasn't really bothered by the main couple's actions. Still, I have to admit that humiliating Min-hwan and Jeong Su-min to such a great extent evoked feelings of pity for them on my part (at times).
*Show gives us a satisfying final episode. Love the celebratory dinner at Ji-won’s apartment with our three couples. Hui-yeon makes a remark about Suk-jun joining them and it's funny how he emphasises that he's not there for Ju-ran, while it's obvious he is. Too bad we didn't get to see more of Ju-ran and Suk-jun's relationship in 2023. We could certainly have used less of Yu-ra and more of them.
*With things eventually resolved (Su-min in prison and Yu-ra dead), there's enough time for lovey-dovey moments in the final episode. Since romance plays an important role in this show, it's only fair to viewers and fans to conclude with a happy ending. And they go all the way! A wedding, a happy family with twin sons, and we finally come full circle to the date in 2023 where our heroine gets killed. But now she's alive and well and it's a happy day for our OTP!
*"I want to be solid land." — Ji-hyuk
*Also love the OST!
(Photo is a screenshot taken by me.)
*Also love the OST!
(Photo is a screenshot taken by me.)