Hae-Ryun’s Poisoned Mind
Episode 10 of Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) Season 3 starts with Hye-Ryung leaving the bedroom and facing Sa-Hyun. Of course, this is actually Song Won possessing her and somehow she manages to telepathically project a whole bunch of memories into Sa-Hyun’s head. The scene is a little confusing, but Sa-Hyun hypnotically decides they should work out together. Hye-Ryung (as Song Won) is encouraged to eat with Sa-Hyun first, who’s now all happy with his ex being there. It’s not confirmed but it would appear that he can only see the ghost form inside Hye-Ryung. Eventually they head out together. However, they’re stopped by Moon-Ho, who complains about a bad back from sleeping on the hard floor. So naturally, the pair head out to help him buy a bed. This charade continues through the episode, as the two parents try to make Sa-Hyun and Hye-Ryung a romantic item again, unaware that Hye-Ryung is being possessed by Song-Won’s ghost. Meanwhile, Ji-A joins Dong-Ma and Pi-Young as they head out together, discussing the beauty of Switzerland. Dong-Ma jokes about them all leaving together and going but Pi-Young talks them out of it. Eventually Ji-A blurts out that her mum should get married to Dong-Ma, commenting that they look great together. So what changed her mind? Well it was actually the moments where Dong-Ma cooked for them and didn’t try to be overly chatty and show off… even though he invited them over to a massive barbecue and a home cooked meal at his house, complete with a maid there. When Pi-Young sees Dong-Ma again, he encourages her to speed up quitting her job. Elsewhere, Si-Eun and the kids reflect back on meeting Seo-Ban’s father and how well-mannered he is. As they set to work making sweet potatoes in the microwave, their father, Hae-Ryun, rings. While they exhibit concern over what this may mean, it pales compared to the concern A-Mi has regarding Dong-Mi. She’s clearly not been herself and A-Mi is worried that the old woman may be losing her mind. Eventually she relays these concerns onto Yu-Shin, but he’s busy feeling self-conscious about his own body, following a trip to the swimming pool. Meanwhile, jealous Hae-Ryun watches Seo-Ban and Si-Eun leave his old house and immediately confronts his kids about the current dynamic. In fact, he tells them they’re going to live with him, convincing the pair that Seo-Ban is two-faced and doesn’t actually care about them. Hae-Ryun demands they tell Si-Eun about this and decides he’ll take them both in and they can stay with their mother one time a week, using Seo-Ban’s presence as a bargaining chip. Unfortunately U-Ram is convinced that their dad is right, and that they’ll feel uncomfortable about Seo-Ban living with them. For now, there’s a big dinner ahead, which includes Si-Eun and Seo-Ban joined by Pi-Young and Dong-Ma. With the four all sitting together, they discuss their relationships. Dong-Ma calls Pi-Ypung “cutie”, while Seo-Ban tellingly says “If he ever mistreats you, let me know right away.” In reply, Dn-Ma tells Si-Eun that Seo-Ban is boring but urges her to treat him well. When Si-Eun gets home, she’s sat down by her kids who both decide that they’re going to take up Hae-Ryun’s offer and go and live with him. They believe this is best for them both, as Hyang-Ki does a complete 180 on her character traits and decides to leave with her father. Despite liking Ban, Hyang-Ki admits that her dad is more comfortable and implores her mum to be at peace with their decision. In order to sort this, Hyang-Ki decides to give Si-Eun and Ban a few months for the “honeymoon phase”. Being forced into this position, Si-Eun is made to choose between marriage or the kids. The evil Hae-Ryun knows she’ll pick the kids, turning this into a disgusting bit of blackmail. Eventually Si-Eun settles on trying to keep everything as it is and encouraging them to “use the wisdom they have to create the results they want.” Si-Eun gushes over her children, telling them they’re amazing and that this is just another hurdle they need to overcome. She wants them to stay strong and stick it out living with her. That night, Ban ends up ringing, drunk. He needs somewhere to stay and encourages Si-Eun to let him stay over. After contemplating this for a few seconds, Si-Eun agrees but gently suggests he give her 10 minutes before he does. While all this is going on, Dong-Ma gets Ji-A a new dog and the duo head out with Pi-Young to buy dog treats and accessories. Hye-Ryung – still possessed by Song-Won – decides they should get back together again, which Sa-Ryun happily accepts. As the episode closes out, we cut back to D0ng-Ma, who happens to be with his father. He wants to know how old Pi-Young is. Shocker!
The Episode Review
So we’re over halfway through this series now and there’s been some really random storylines and subplots this year. The show has always been a soapy nonsensical mess but the early animations in this episode were just laughable. I get that they’re trying to portray Hye-Ryung as Song-Won now but her character has just been absolutely butchered by the writer. In fact, the same could be said for many of the characters here, including Hyang-Ki who all of a sudden is a cheerleader for her father. That one’s bizarre, given how vehemently she’s been on Si-Eun’s side this whole time since the affair. These little character changes have arguably made season 3 the worst of the bunch and it’s obviously not helped by the new actors either, who feel ill-fitting compared to their previous iterations. I mean Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) is certainly unpredictable but that’s not enough to keep this one from slipping into mediocrity (at best). And if there’s nothing going on with Dong-Ma I’d be very surprised, especially his weird behaviour and Seo-Ban’s telling “if he mistreats you, let me know” comment. We’ll have to wait and see though.
