Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) (2021)

Ugh (ft. slow and boring)

Cheating dramas are problematic. Without genuine reasons of cheating, it would be difficult to convince viewers to stay. This show gives silly reasons for why men cheat their good & hardworking wives and why women would yearn for company of married men.

Without the revenge track, it would be difficult to soothe the fewer viewers who had somehow managed to stay. That's not gonna happen in this one. Nah nah, not in this season, I don't give a rodent's posterior about the revenge, if at all, that happens in next season, if at all, that manages to air.

This show wastes time in talking about random things like golf, oriental medicine, dogs blah blah, in the first half of episodes and glorifying whatever "love"/lust emotions cheaters were feeling in the second half. By the time, it reaches the point of actual cheating, already 10 or 12 episodes are gone. Even good and realistic dialogues are made to lose their charm by saying again and again. Episodes after 5 or 6 can be finished in 15 minutes.

There were one or two things I liked. One, the kids of 50yr couple and 40yr couple. Their words and actions were so mature than their dads' (lol!). Two, the radio station scenes and the ladies' work dinners along with Seo Ban. Both the scenes had interesting dialogues especially Seo Ban's snarky replies.

I can only conclude that the writer has taken her audience for dummies, spoon feeding them; telling them in nagging dialogues instead of showing them with subtlety. She could have written a tighter screenplay excluding all irrelevant scenes. It could have been tiny bit interesting had she not made the mistresses so generic, so predictable.

In final episode, the hurried afterthought of adding new character and "new" links between characters was badly executed cliffhanger. By then, the drama is already an overkill. Although my curiosity is piqued, life is too short and I would rather spend my time watching something amazing.

It's a pity that this was well produced drama oozing extravagance. It's a pity that the music and OST was so good especially, Dead Inside and Memory. It's a pity it had good actors.

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A Screenwriting and Directing Masterpiece

It seems people want to criticize this series for being too honest. To me, it’s a depiction of the current social environment around us. Not the most appealing, but never the less, it’s there, and we’ve all seen it. Infidelity is a dirty word to one person and a taste of freedom to another. I think this series tells us that we all view relationships differently. Our thoughts, needs, and values are different. We even view love differently. The story I watched for sixteen episodes was a bitter look into the world of betrayal. It shows us how people justify their actions when faced with diversity in a relationship. It also shows us how fragile marriage can be when you don’t nurture it. It shows us how hateful and desperate people can be. It also shows us the ugly head of temptation. I think this series took a lot of thought and work to put together. It was a raw look at the emotional struggles of human beings trying to survive in a world that pulls them apart.

I thought the acting was perfect. There were two standouts for me. Lee Ga Ryong’s portrayal of Hye Ryung was just fantastic. Playing this type of character and making it seem real is not easy. Another one of my favorite parts was in episode 7 when Hyang Gi (Jeon Hye Won) told her dad what she thought about him divorcing her mom in no uncertain terms. She said everything her mom wanted to say, and it was priceless. Hye Won shined in this supporting role, and it left me with a favorable impression of her acting skills.

The music pulled everything together, and the subscripts were great. I enjoyed this because it was different. Is it worth watching? Cudos to Im Sung Han for her screenwriting and to Yoo Jung Joon for directing a masterpiece.

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