Further, the way these relationships came about seems a bit childish. Perhaps, this is how it happens. I wouldn’t know. Everyone got hot and heavy so quickly.
All in all, I think the drama is not great. I hope that the writer and director can redeem themselves in the next season, though I’m not sure I’d watch it.
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Love (Ft. Marriage and Divorce)
I think it can be safely said that S. Korea is a conservative country of timid nature, or at least that is what they like to present. Taking this as a fact, I can easily call this drama revolutionary, not in terms of story-telling, concept or development , but rather in the form of radical society re-formation - if I'm allowed that term.Love (Ft. Marriage and Divorce)'s writer has earned by deepest respect, because of how she tackled the concept of adultery in a very conservatives society, and managed to create a hit out of it without putting any classic kdrama troops in it - revenge, melodrama, sad backstories, excuses, makjang shit, nor Americanizing the genre by selling sex. Love (Ft. Marriage and Divorce) is a true kdrama but does not feel at all like one. No magic romance, no flashbacks, no sad back stories, no melo, no funny comic relief, no antagonist ect. Sounds boring? Yeah, i cannot argue with that. So if this sounds boring to you, you can really ignore this drama and move on with your life. However, if you think you are ready to watch something different and/or have gone through something similar in your life please do watch this, it's not profound but it's so well crafted that will, and i strongly believe it, win you over.
First things first. The drama doesn't glorify cheating husbands. It doesn't want to glorify adultery. What it wants to do is normalize the idea that infidelity is part of life -and it is, if we want to face it or not- and, at its very core, normalize divorce - which is also all around us (but maybe still a taboo is korea?). The drama basically conveys the message that making a mistake in choosing a partner, can happen, and that is ok. The question is what we do about that. And this is where the drama (could) become unbearable to watch. It's just too real. Too real for the average viewer, who wants to shut their mind off and watch a fairytale, to deal with. However it's so intense in the most soothing way. I was shocked at the amount of messages it relays in the form of everyday life situations. Could be considered a boring drama by most, but it targets mature audiences. At the very end I do believe, you need to have felt that (infidelity), to understand it, but it's a great way to learn about human relationships too.
Now, a little bit about the drama itself. It revolves around couples, married couples. At the center we get 3 couples (in their 30s, 40s and 50s) and as supporting characters we get 2 couples in their 60s+ and a single man. Basically this is a story about relationships, love and the marriage or divorce that could come out of it. One couple phases irreconcilable differences, one is the seemingly perfect couple with a perfect life, and the last one basically features male middle life crisis. As for the supporting cast, they show the other side of the spectrum in which marriage has seemingly succeeded but.... not that much - and then if married life sucks so much is the sworn single man actually happy?
Yes, brace yourselves, EVERYBODY is cheating or has been cheated on in reality or platonically. Does it really matter? No. The drama takes its story seriously, doesn't excuse what is happening, doesn't make it funny, or dramatic. It is solely character driven so do not expect any huge revelation mid way or any major back story to drop and wow you. What should wow you though is the characterization and character building.
The drama can be broken down in 2 parts. First 8 episodes, final 8 episodes. I could roughly say the first 8 episodes show what happens after the wife learns about their husband's questionable extramarital activities and the 2nd part how the husband gets there. However, the midway mark honestly made me sincerely reckon what happened in the writer's mind. Wouldn't be a stretch to say that it soft-reboots midway. At the same time it does feel like it was on purpose just to see the same thing from other perspectives. The drama isn't biased towards anybody, which was a magnificent way of story-development. It shows different sides of the same characters- layering them, and then it lets you understand and pick sides. I felt like the jury in a court room. I felt like a psychology major in couple's therapy 101. Magnificent development.
We get to see many different sides and stories of adultery. Reasons, thoughts behind it. Different examples, different perspectives. I loved how characters i liked or felt close to in the first half, i grew to detest in the 2nd and vice versa.
The drama made me evaluate several times what is wrong and what is actually worse than wrong. Made me think and rethink what I accept as "decent behavior" and obviously relays the message that things are way more complicated than "you cheated you a bad person, you can burn in hell" at the same time without excusing or glorifying a single thing. Simultaneously, I loved he constant play with the grey area of what is right and wrong. Cheating or getting in the middle of a couple is a bad thing, but does that automatically make you a bad person? Choosing a person to become your partner for life and then realizing you made a mistake. Is marriage a one time thing? Is it like jail? Are you forced to stay with that person forever because you married them, or you had children. And, is forcing yourself to stay with that person just because of all the aforementioned reasons, the recipe for a happy life? Deep shit right there.
I honestly applauded the drama in some subtle - or not- mainly female-targeted points like: take care of your self, strive for personal success, love yourself. It strays away from the classic expectations the korean (and not only) society has of women who basically revolve around family and housekeeping. Yas gurl, me approves.
I sincerely enjoyed some archetype cliches that were swapped here (dad is angry at a son cheating while mom is understand - we expect men to be more understanding of men cheating and women to not be. Women being the "man" of the relationship, caring and providing ect). There are no archetypes in real life and we shouldn't expect real people to act like that. There should be no exception based on gender
In its core i think the drama wants to change norm when it comes to marriage and relationships in general. I think this is something that the Korean general public needs to move from the "taboo" side to normal way of life. Yes cheating sucks, but could happen. What happens after that is what matters. The goal is for us to be happy and relationships don't always work the way we want them to. The drama deals with that in the best way possible. Totally worth the investment - just know what you are getting yourself into.
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WHAT IS WITH THIS ENDING
I should have read the reviews before bothering to watch this drama. One reason I hated this was because of cheating husbands. Makes me really ticked. I did keep watching because of all the hot Mls. I know what am I in high school again? I admit I skipped over lots of scenes but I hope someone can answer my question. What happened with the pregnant girlfriend? After his wife’s ulcer attack he said he would end it. Did Inskip too much and miss something? I hope someone can fill me in.With all the excellent actors in this drama it is a shame the story about cheating is so irritating.
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Some uncomfortable truths about cheating
Cheating on a spouse requires a certain amount of narcissism--an exaggerated sense of self-importance--and cheating doesn't "just happen" no matter how much cheaters want to justify basically ripping out the heart of the one they claim to love and wiping their ass with it. There is no excuse for cheating and many marriages do not survive a casual extra-marital hook-up much less an affair that lasts for any length of time which I think makes 'Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)' season one a difficult watch for some viewers because the subject matter may hit a little too close to home.Marriage is an extremely messy, complex relationship, especially where children are concerned because there are different expectations for husbands and wives and Korean culture is no different. But 'L(fMaD)' sn 1 misses an opportunity to fully examine the gender roles, double standards, and the damage a male-dominated patriarchal society continues to inflict on women in favor of men.
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messy plot, messy story and a messier editing.
while a cheating storyline seems to be an entertaining plot for this series, i couldn't force myself to continue watching this drama for more than 5 episodes, not saying the plot it's bad; but there's something about how they're telling the story that makes this drama impossible to keep watching after a few minutes into the episode.i couldn't even recognize when they were showing me a flashback. the editing felt like i was time-traveling back and forth; i even kept messing up two of the male leads because of this.
this drama falls into the ones that aren't worth watching because of bad editing and directing rather than bad acting or even storytelling
also, i would've liked if they made it seems like the reason for the divorces weren't all for their spouses cheating, like... get a little more creative there.
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Worth watching for the storyline
I am not an expert on acting, so I have really no comment on that other than I think the actors and actresses did a very good job portraying their characters.I watched the drama for the storyline. Honestly, the male characters were so infuriating, and two of the MCs were also infuriatingly helpless. I wanted to watch and see what would happen with them, would they forgive and forget or do (what I think) is the right thing. Season 1 does not really give a conclusion and you have to watch the second season to see where the storyline ends.
Overall, as angry as the characters made me the story is really good and I like that it follows more than 1-2 charcters.
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Slow Start, Have Now Lost the Will to Live
****MAJOR Spoilers from this point forward; If you have not watched all episodes for Seasons 1 and 2, you probably want to skip this review****This study in how marriages dissolve into divorce is taking a LONG time to get to the end. Basically, Season 1 felt long and drawn out, with an economy of new or compelling disclosures. Season 2 started out exponentially better; nearly every episode delivered something gripping. Unfortunately, a major concern was realized - the story continues without ANY closure to any of the story lines started in Season1! If I watch Season3 (and the way this drama is presented, the other 2 seasons will have been a HUGE waste of time unless there is a next season, or 20), I will wait until ALL the episodes have aired before watching. Otherwise, the premise behind this drama is compelling. It could have been fun to become 'addicted' to it. But stringing out the story lines without any hint of closure for such a long period of time has been a deal breaker. It is fine to finish up a storyline and *then* start a new twist. This is like a loose tooth that never drops out or gets pulled.
The outcomes for all three couples and the other women/girlfriends is STILL anxiously awaited. There have been some interesting developments along the way,. However, not a single plot line has been completed since Season1. This has been like watching a Chinese drama with 50+ episodes. But it is more maddening, because at least with the Chinese drama, you KNOW you are in for a long, LONG ride from the very beginning. This tease of 16 episodes each season has been frustratingly misleading. Like a rollercoaster ride that lasts too long, the thrill is GONE. Time for the cart to pull back into the station.
As far as progression of the story lines, each one in its own way is becoming less and less believeable. Really hope that the prologue for Season 3 is a series of daydreams; otherwise this KDrama will REALLY have jumped the shark (for non-US readers, please check the Urban Dictionary for referene).
Fun highlights of the drama include the mother-in-law and the mistress in a (mostly) open tug of wills. Their respective daydreams have been laugh-out-loud funny. It has also been humorous watching the three wives alternately attempt to bully and then cajole their sole male office mate, Ban, into sharing parts of his personal life. So far, their tactics have failed each time to achieve the results the ladies were expecting. Ban appears to be one sharp cookie, to his credit. Also quite entertaining is observing the "rebirth", if you will, of Pan Sa-Hyon's parents marriage. Ironically, their's is the relationship that - so far - seems to stand the best chance of being revived from the dead.
There are unfinished threads and loopholes galore. A truly perplexing case in point is the purpose of having the spirit of Shin Ki-Rim make appearances from time to time. Also, who was the person who (seemed to???) fall off the horse in an earlier episode (what happened? who was he? was he injured or killed)? Likewise, what was the purpose of having Ban meet with Son? The meeting seemed to go nowhere, and it is never mentioned again in the drama - however we see them together again in that shocker of a prologue for Season 3 (WTH?!?!?) With the exception of three of the main characters, the back story on the others is not fleshed out. We see them acting and reacting, but after all these episodes there should be deeper understanding of how their characters came to be in the places they are in now.
Regarding how realistic the various storylines are - the whole pregnancy thing with Boo Hye-Ryung, Pan Sa-Hyun and Song Won is a heck of a stretch. Given how upright and moral Song Won is, it is pretty unbelievable that she would ever have allowed a physical relationship to have happened between her and Pan Sa-Hyun. Actually, it would have been much more believable if Boo Hye-Ryung had played around and wound up accidentally pregnant. She supposedly has been diagnosed with fertility problems that she never shared with Pan Sa-Hyun. That right there is the perfect justification for a pregnancy resulting from a spontaneous, unprotected moment. And it would be in line with her devious, self-centered, conniving personality as well. That could have been a riveting dilemma: Should Pan Sa-Hyun stay with the adulterous wife who does not love him, and raised her illegitimate child as his own to keep his grandchild-crazy parents happy, or would he leave her to be with the older and most likely barren Song who he actually loves, and who loves him back?
Also, Dr Shin Yu-Shin is still a mystery. Considering that a HUGE amount of time was devoted in Episode 13 to address the reasons for his infidelity, it is just beyond comprehension how he would allow A-Mi to move into and remain in the same home that he, Sa Pi-Young and their young daughter Shin Ji-A shared. Even though Sa Pi-Young stated that she did not care one way or the other, it is jarring that Shin Yu-Shin still allowed A-Mi to move in. Does that mean that his soul-baring confessions, apologies, tear-shedding and promises that he loves and will continue to love Sa Pi-Young is all fake? It makes his supposed jealousy when he sees Pi-Young and Seo Ban together seem more like the regret of a dog that has lost his long-time bone, even though he has a shiny bright new one in his possession. - Well, 2 bones, if one counts the quasi-, tending-towards-incestuous feelings between himself and his step-mother. It only make sense if Yu-Shin is truly a bona fide nut job.
Lastly, all three of the main (and at least 2 supporting) male characters are adulterers, either explicitly or emotionally. Again, the writers missed a golden opportunity with the Boo Hye-Ryung character. Or they could even have taken the less obvious route, and had the mousy, lacking in self-awareness, long-suffering, but otherwise loyal and "satisfied" Lee Si-Eun slowly, unexpectedly enter into a relationship with mysterious and enigmatic Seo Ban.
Found after penning the original review that the main writer is a woman. This was a surprising discovery; many of the female perspectives in this drama don't seem realistic for either the wives or the girlfriends.
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This hits the spot! Its sooo realistic!
Just like others i dont get the bad reviews! This was a spot on drama about love, trust,decivement, and divorce! Personally i think the ankor lady got her revenge by lying on the press conference that the she took what she was offered in the divorce. ( dont get me wrong it was a lie to begin with! And i hate her for that! But then again how could her parents in law take in a woman their son cheated with so ealisy...just because she was carrying a baby...that is jus wrong in so many levels!!!!!HOWEVER;
I just dont get the ending though! Why is everybody marrying someone else in the end of season 2? Did i miss something?! Will there be a season 3?! Someone please enligten me!!
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if you watch this with your partner, you may end up arguing, fighting or worse!
The scriptwriter started with a good premise, the idea of interwoven rifts in several marriages, and asks some deep and revealing questions about love and marriage. However the reasons for relationship breakdowns in this story are ultimately trivial things, or reduced to unbelievably flawed characters.We don't discover until most of the way through the season, the perfect housewife that's secretly cruel to her mother for no justifiable reason; the devoted stepmother that slowly kills the husband off 40yrs so she can pursue her adopted stepson; the aloof wife who is unbelievably popular despite looking like Walmart trash-diving racoon and having zero real musical skill, somehow treats her amazing husband with nothing but venom; the A-list singer who has flocks of adoring fans, but decides to breakup an ideal family to get back at the ex-boyfriend who mistreated her, only to go back to the ex afterwards. Meanwhile three of the devoted housewives flirt daily with their radio station boss, even though he's a middle-aged playboy who dresses like kkangpae.
The second season has much of the same story slowly evolving, and we see the families and then secondary relationships begin to unravel.
Outstanding performance from Jeon Hye Won (playing Park Hyang Gi) who is supposedly a 20 yo daughter of divorcing parents, but in most scenes she's would have been far more appropriate if cast as one of the wives / experienced mistresses -- her dialogue was several times longer than either of her parents' characters and far more aggressive and angry than almost any other character, which is illogical for a young daughters' role.
A Golden Turd goes to Lee Hyo Choon for her performance as Mo Seo Hyang -- with almost zero dialogue, facial or bodily movement throughout the series, she managed to reprise Bernie from Weekend at Bernie's. Setting a record low bar for substandard acting in KDrama.
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Wives getting their justice
I wanted to stop watching but kept being dragged back with the hope that the wives were going to get their just rewards against the husband's and mistresses. Season 2 is just out but the writers and directors should bring in a Season 3 to smack down how the wives are being trampled on and that they get their justice against the mistresses and husbands. There needs to be a balance of decency given to the wives showing they still have what it takes to attract a man. I'm not saying that there should not be forgiveness but for a change I want to see these woman flash on a sexy side and have some steaminess so they take back their men and teach those evil snatching mistresses a thing or two that karma is a bitch.Was this review helpful to you?
I was really engage in the first part of the drama and I find it exciting but then the flashbacks happened. My heart ached so much with the confrontations, and I was crying alongside the characters and that was it. The flashbacks ended and I just known a season 2 would then happen, I was not aware at all. I was really motivated since it was nearing the 16th episode and I thought everything would be revealed but boy I was so wrong. Okay I will wait for the second season.
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