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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Woman who Married Three Times" Episode 17

 

This drama is, surprisingly enough, still a pretty sad one. It's not like anything particularly depressing has been happening lately. Some of it is just unambiguously good comedy. We get to look at 3 date nights, all completely different in tone, and the comparison is quite humorous. The entire sequence comes off as an instructional guide as to why the kind of thing you choose to watch on a date is really important in terms of the feelings it inspires.

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One of those feelings, though, is regret. And I think this is where the emphasis of the previous episodes is seeping in. "The Woman who Married Three Times" has been dealing with sad stuff so long that just about everything still feels a little depressing, simply because the viewer knows all too well who these people are and what kinds of problems they've had to deal with, both in the past and in the future. While this episode mostly avoids too much heavy conflict, we close with a clear reminder regarding an as-yet unresolved plot thread.

It may have been slow getting here, but I really love the cathartic direction "The Woman who Married Three Times" has taken, and the kind of hyper-awareness the drama's writing seems to promote. At one point Seul-gi has a bit of an accident- minor stuff overall. But the poor girl is absolutely terrified that if she gives the wrong information to the wrong person, other people that Seul-gi loves will feel the consequences of it.

There's an astonishing degree of strategic thinking among the characters that's just plain discomforting. They're all in such messy situations, and for the most part it's their own fault. But they lie paralyzed trying to think of the best answers without ever really being sure that what they're doing is right. Tae-won's love for Seul-gi feels all the more emotional because he'll do everything possible for his daughter. It's a striking contrast to ever other relationship in the drama, where loved ones simply won't go that far.

Again, though, there isn't anything wrong with this. People make mistakes and have to muddle through life. I don't know- indeed, nobody knows whether the decision Eun-soo makes this episode is the best one for the long term. It enhances the legitimacy of the situation that no obvious correct answers present themselves. Everyone's just kind of stuck in a state of wait and see. It might not be satisfying, but then, that's a lot of what living life is- enduring ambivalency in the hopes it will lead to happiness.

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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