Well, I've just gotten through episodes one thru ten of this drama, so I thought I would chime in with my thoughts, since I'm one-fifth of the way through the story. I'm calling this a review because I'm not really giving a blow-by-blow of the story, just an update of what's going on and what I'm thinking so far.
Basically, this is the story of Min Chae Won (Eugene), a woman who married a man whose mother is the worst of Korean mother-in-law stereotypes. From the moment she got married her EMIL (evil mother-in-law) sought to destroy their marriage. Right after the ceremony, EMIL told our heroine that she wouldn't last more than 3 years in the marriage. She forced her to sign a prenup *after* the wedding. She took Chae Won to the doctor to see if the guy could make it so that Chae Won *can't* have kids. She presented Chae Won with pictures and asked our heroine to help pick out her son's next wife. And the way that this woman berates Chae Won constantly... All I can say is "Wow."
Chae Won's husband, Kim Chul Kyu, isn't much better. A total mama's boy, he's easily manipulated by his mother's histrionics. He's unfeeling toward his wife's suffering and has even played around on her several times. It's really hard to believe that he's the same guy that played the ultra awesome father of Chan Young in 'The Heirs.' Often, when I'm watching scenes with him in it, I marvel at how these are such different characters and compliment Choi Won Young on his acting.
The final member of the household is Kim Joo Ri, a character that is so uneven in how they write her, I just don't even know how to describe her. She seems to feel bad for Chae Won, but at the same time, when EMIL plots against our heroine, Joo Ri does nothing. She's supposed to be lovelorn, but she's completely manipulative and selfish.
Now, you might wonder why Chae Won stays with such a nasty family, particularly after you find out that the husband can have violent outbursts, too, including one where he cut her neck with a broken wine glass. For the life of me, I couldn't tell you. She has a doting father who calls her His Princess and who would move heaven and earth for her. Her maternal grandparents are obviously attached to her, as well. And her upbringing seemed to lack nothing, family-wise, except a mother, who died when she was a girl. But she grew up unrich, living with her father and grandparents. They are eager to be in her life, but yet she stays with these horrid people. No clue as to what the woman might be thinking. Voiceovers tells us sometimes, but then all I can say is "What?"
As our story starts, basically Chae Won finally has had enough and tells EMIL that she's petitioning for divorce. Which you would think would thrill EMIL, except its timing and the fact that Chae Won has compiled a good list of abusive things that the family has done to her. This means that the news of the divorce would really be bad publicity for EMIL and her company. So what does EMIL do? Trick Chae Won into going to a mental institution, where EMIL has her committed against her will. At least until after the board meeting where they vote of Chul Kyu becoming CEO. Although I really don't think she was even going to bring Chae Won home then.
And why do I say Chul Kyu isn't much better? Because he finds out what his mother has done and goes along with it, drowning his guilt in the bottle instead of rescuing his wife. Joo Ri also finds out, later, but neither child defies their mother. And Joo Ri almost seems to enjoy how outlandish her mother is.
And where is our hero in all this? Lee Se Yoon (Lee Jung Jin) has recently returned from years of living in the U.S. He's still mourning the loss of his fiancee/wife (I wasn't quite clear as to whether they actually ever got married), who died in a car accident while Se Yoon was driving. His mother, Baek Sul Joo, never approved of the relationship, so it's taken him this long to get over it and forgive his mother of hating such a lovely woman. (We see she's a lovely woman in flashbacks.)
We first meet Se Yoon on his flight back from the U.S. where he sits next to a very beautiful older woman, Yang Choon Hee. Their bags accidentally get switched, but you could argue that fate was working anyway, because Choon Hee and Se Yoon's mother, Sul Joo, grew up in an orphanage together, a fact that Sul Joo is extremely touchy about.
As a sidebar, this is something that I don't get - what the big deal is over someone being adopted. My last Eugene drama ('Creating Destiny') made a big stink over her being adopted, to the extent that the previously doting future-MIL declared she would never approve of the marriage because they don't know where the girl came from! I just don't get it. But Sul Joo doesn't want her background being known. So she's really cagey about Choon Hee having any contact with any of her family. And some of the things she's done also makes me wonder if maybe, lo and behold, Se Yoon won't just turn out to be Choon Hee's child before it's said and done.
Our OTP (one, true pair) finally meet when he visits his 'hyung,' who works at the mental hospital. Chae Won is desperate, and acting crazy, as she accosts him in the bathroom and begs to use his phone. He turns her into the orderlies but her screaming that she's not crazy as she's dragged away sticks with him.
During his visit with his hyung, he asks about her and hyung asks about his ability to taste things, so I'm guessing the trauma of losing his beloved stole his sense of taste, so I'm just waiting for it to come back so Se Yoon realizes he's in love with Chae Won. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The next time they meet is after Chae Won has escaped from the hospital. She's running, in the rain, and slips, falls down a mountain, strikes her head and ends up lying unconscious in the middle of the road. And who should find her? Se Yoon, who is done with his trip to visit his hyung. He takes her to the hospital and what does she have when she wakes up? Amnesia, of course. The nurse calls Se Yoon her husband, so amnesiac Chae Won keeps calling Se Yoon honey, to Se Yoon's growing frustration, because he doesn't want to be involved with anyone's drama. He actually at first thinks she's faking her memory loss and that she's messing with him on purpose, but her distress is real enough.
Soon, though, Chae Won is reunited with her husband and EMIL. But EMIL's just enough off that Se Yoon's sucked into the drama. Especially after EMIL twists his emotional arm to come to lunch with them and feeds Chae Won kiwi juice. EMIL leaves and tells her photographer to follow them. Chae Won starts going into anaphylactic shock, so Se Yoon has to again rush her to the hospital and EMIL gets some great incriminating photographs. Even though nothing happened between them.
After the accident and getting his wife back, Chul Kyu turns over a new leaf and starts taking his wife's side against his mother. In retaliation, EMIL uses the photos to tell Chae Won that she was cheating on Chul Kyu and *that's* why EMIL is so evil to her. Chae Won is devastated that she would do such a thing and when EMIL tells Chul Kyu, he's even more upset. So much that he ends up punching Se Yoon in the face when he catches Se Yoon in the vacinity of his wife. And Chae Won rips into Se Yoon for being scum because he dumped her when she lost her memory. Even though she still doesn't have her memory back.
This insult leads Se Yoon to dig deeper, even exposing how EMIL had the mental hospital lie to Chae Won about ever being there. His hyung affirms this to Chae Won and points out that the most incriminating picture, where it looks like the couple are about to kiss, was Photoshopped and isn't a legitimate photo.
Eventually, though, because of things that the bad people do, Chae Won gets her memory back. But instead of then *leaving* the house, she stays with her now-doting and attentive non-mama's boy husband and under the roof of the verbally abusive EMIL. Which doesn't make sense to me or Se Yoon, especially after EMIL kicks Chae Won out of the house into the snow wearing no coat and only slippers.
By episode ten, Chae Won has thanked Se Yoon for all he's done for her and they've said their final 'goodbye.' So now we've got Se Yoon ending up in the same places as Chae Won and looking at her almost with longing, but not initiating interacting with her. Except for when he saw her at the supermarket.
There are lots of other characters. I mentioned Chul Kyu's sister. Coincidentally, she's carrying a torch for her sunbae, Se Yoon. By episode ten, she's been plotting to get him to move on with her and has confessed her 'love' (that she says has been there since before dead fiancee, Eun Sul, and which she will hold on until he's ready, he just needs to consider her first when he's ready to open his heart again). He's rebuffed her and, of course, she ended up in the hospital after collapsing at work (they work at the same company). He has no idea that she's related to Chae Won or that EMIL is her mother.
Most of the other characters I could care less about. And I find myself fast forwarding through scenes with them in it. Chae Won's father, a 30-year widower, has fallen in love with Choon Hee, who is a bar owner and a big flirt with all the local ahjusshis. He's competing with a guy who can sing opera but is complete self-absorbed, Kang Jin. Kang Jin's pianist is Chae Won's aunt, Uhm Ki Ok, who is still single and is going on blind dates.
The grandfather is getting on in years, so he's looking for one of his kids to take over the noodle factory that's been in the family for three generations. None of his kids wnat the job, until dad tells them that whoever inherits it will also inherit some land worth 100 million won. That brings them all running home.
And that pretty much sums up the action from the first ten episodes. The eldest son's wife got swindled and lost her money club's fortune, and ended up on TV while being arrested. This cost him his big promotion. While I *love* how the actress who plays his wife talks, her hideous lipstick makes it almost impossible to watch the scenes with her in it. The middle son is a lazy good-for-nothing who is actually divorced from his wife, but no one in the family knows. He's actually played by the guy who's playing Moo Song in the currently airing 'Empress Ki.' The pair annoy me. The only sister I find annoying, too.
And for the most part, half the time I'm annoyed with the heroine, because she's just being stupid. At one point Se Yoon said what I've been thinking: Why are you still living with these people?! And I constantly have to ask myself that. Park Won Sook is doing a great job as EMIL Bang Young Ja; she's playing her *really* nasty. But half the time, I want to shake Chae Won, especially when EMIL makes her cry *yet again.* By episode 11, Chae Won's sworn revenge, but she's not doing anything and taking just about as much crap as ever. Which makes me just roll my eyes and shake my head.
So why am I still watching? I'm holding out hope that the romance between our OTP will pay off and will make up for all the stupid stuff that I have to sit through in order to get there. I really could care less as to what Se Yoon's mother's deal is and why she gets so squirrely about whenever it comes to Choon Hee. I could care less about any of Chae Won's family members, except for her grandparents - who are very cool - and her Dad, just because he's a great dad. But his romantic antics with Choon Hee? So what. Make me roll my eyes...
We'll see if I make all the way through the drama, but the ratings for the drama steadily increased throughout its run, so maybe the extended family of characters will get less annoying and more enjoyable. I just wish Chae Won would get the divorce already, instead of working on exacting her revenge on EMIL.
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