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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Woman who Married Three Times" Episode 4

Up until now I haven't really been paying much attention to the house of the rich in-laws, mostly because it's been difficult relating anything the rich in-laws do with the rest of the story. This episode gives us an interesting few scenes in this house, that goes a long way to explaining why this drama features so many dramatic communication breakdowns. Class plays a subtle but unmistakable role here in damaging efforts at conversation.

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Take a look at the chairs in those house, the ones the rich in-laws are always sitting in. Those are some of the most intimidating, ridiculous chairs I've ever seen. They look like they belong in a throne room. These chairs themselves make a strong statement- but the people who sit in these chairs are so accustomed to this luxury it doesn't even occur to them just how strange these luxury seats look to anyone who doesn't live in their household.

When the conversation takes a turn for the serious, and the in-laws want to impose their will on the interloper, the effect is unmistakable. The funny part is that I don't think they're intentionally trying to bully anyone. That's just the way it's always been in their household, and they're not used to people talking back to them so, well, that's where they are. The use of the sets here is a very interesting way of humanizing these characters without downplaying the pretty clear role they've played in the dissolution of a marriage.

Likewise, the more normal family clearly has problems of their own in terms of starting angry fights for no reason. They may have good reason to be upset but lashing out at each other doesn't improve the situation. It's no wonder that Seul-gi is so hostile to everyone. The poor little girl doesn't seem to have any concept of a familial relationship that doesn't involve lots of violent disagreement.

The emotions that "The Woman who Married Three Times" are extremely raw and cold- conflicts aren't really resolved so much as they are temporarily ignored. The storyline is still very dense and it can be difficult to focus on all the parts at once- even tiring a lot of the time, really. But I honestly really appreciate this level of emotional bluntness. The drama makes a more genuine emotional connection by going into the hard realities of these complicated family relationships then it would be by getting too overly optimistic. We're seeing these people in much the same way Seul-gi is- they're important people to be sure, but having to watch them like this is painful and frustrating with no clear resolution in sight.

Review by William Schwartz

"The Woman who Married Three Times" is directed by Son Jeong-hyeon and written by Kim Su-hyun and features Lee Ji-ah, Uhm Ji-won, Song Chang-eui and Ha Seok-jin.

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