Waverlyroot

You too are giving my abs a laugh workout.
1. To add insult to injury, was it absolutely necessary to make him nude? Actor-nim, why, why, why?
2. Spot on.

From the peerless Lmangla on Soompi:

"grandpa finds that the swimming pool gives him strength and extends his ghostly abilities. he was highly disappointed that he tried to slap stepmom in her sleep but was unable to. does the swimming pool have some sort of ancient hidden power? aliens? never mind. but he is not being pervy -- he is gaining muscle power for the right moment. (writer's logic and vehemently slaps members on fan forums for calling old man "pervy")"

My abs are getting a great workout from laughing so hard.

I think the writer has a problem with pacing, but I commend her for keeping us guessing about how all 9 of the main characters will end up. Is there redemption for HR? Several episodes ago we were all hoping she would end up with Seo Ban's brother.

Good point!

Duh - thanks! :)

and this gold nugget from Lmangla:

"to be honest, I am not invested in any of these characters and skipping episodes here and there. I actually tuned in to ep 12 to see what random stupidity ghost grandpa will do and whether stepmom was going to attack ami. :lol: I have seen arguments that pack a punch in daily dramas that were less than 5 minutes. instead, we got a PhD dissertation that went on for an hour for some reason here. if I had known it was just going to be an unreal argument that felt like it was between 2 robots like @agenth put it, I would have skipped this one. shrug."

Just dying here.

While Googling to see if there is indeed a season 3, I came across this excellent post by Lmangla on Soompi's forum:

"the few times that this argument felt actually real and human was when he brought up her mom. and frankly she needed those jabs and to hear from someone close to her how she lost out on her relationship with her mother. while her anger at not having contact with her dad was understandable, she blamed her mom for all sorts of unrelated nonsense. like not knowing how to cook and having to learn from some neighbour lady or something. ugh, that has nothing to do with whether you are a child of divorce... so it is good that she is learning and will let jia see her dad.. but at the same, she needs to stop obsessing about perfection, creating this image etc. I won't be surprised if in the end, the 40s couple reconcile (since we had an entire episode of him asking her to stay for on and on and on.... ) but they are more real and less putting up this 'perfect' act -- basically more like 30s parents who snipe and annoy each other one moment and sweet the next."

Agree with almost everything. Don't think that they will be getting back together but loved how Lmangla said that Pi Young needed to hear some jabs because nobody else would have told her some hard truths.

You and me both. What was the actor thinking, agreeing to that? And what's with the selective solidity? He can swim through the man but grab a woman?

Hmm - interesting thought. Like he had an internally rehearsed speech for every thing she said instead of really trying to understand her anger and hurt.

@Love movies
I SO agree with you!

In an earlier post, I agreed with someone who said that Pi Young was a Stepford wife. Smug and superficial, more excited about Jia's latest accomplishment or a new bag than anything real. That's not an excuse to start an affair with a much younger woman, but I wondered if he missed simple, innocent conversations like those with A Mi. The conversations that Pi Young and Yu Shin had before the latest episodes were like lines from a stagey drama, "witty" banter affirming how perfect the other one was.

I just finished World of the Married while waiting for this weekend, and will now try VIP.

Love it. Self-reflection needed indeed!
Maybe he does end up with A Mi. Maybe Dong Mi poisons her.

There was an ounce of truth in what he said about comparing her to the other wives. Pi Young was too wrapped up in being perfect. Maybe the divorce will help HER to self-reflect, be kinder to herself and others (she doesn't strike me or others as compassionate, only competent), be loved for who she is and not for what she does.

And now the three of them will be locked in mortal combat.

Isn't this emblematic of the entire series? Life, relationships aren't black and white. People hesitate, change minds, have hope and lose hope. It would be too neat and tidy if all the wives got happy endings and all the cheaters and their mates were punished. I don't think this is that kind of makjang - there are plenty of those already.

This is an honest and realistic exploration of what happens when one partner leaves the marriage emotionally and/or physically. Sa Hun's parents seem to have emerged stronger. Not everyone will get the ending you or I think she/he deserves.

Why did he give her the ring and why did she accept? It's up to our own interpretation. I thought it was a lovely parting gift. You think it was a tacit agreement that they would end up together someday. Maybe he felt guilty that he didn't divorce HR after all. Maybe subconsciously she wanted something to show the world that she wasn't a failure in romance and having that ring was validation.

Yes, it upset HR greatly and she demanded that he get it back. But that sign of defiance is what I liked about him. But it remains a mystery why he doesn't pull the plug on his marriage, as you and I keep wanting him to do.

The ten main characters (husband, wife, girlfriend plus Dong Mi) in this drama are flawed, and some are more likeable than others. Song Won takes responsibility for her mistake and she is more attractive as a human being than the others, at least to me, Seo Ban, Sa Hun and his parents.

Until the past couple of episodes, Pi Young was pretty insufferable, but she has paid dearly for it and now I respect her for cutting him off and standing her ground.

I don't know what the purpose of the ring is - did he imply that they would end up together? Could it just be a token of his love for her? If so, what is wrong with accepting it? They do have a special relationship. Marriage may not be in the works, but they will always have a bond because of the baby.

She didn't know how crazy Hye Ryung is until the restaurant scene, so she wasn't blaming everything on HR and seemed genuinely remorseful. But all bets were off after the scene, and she probably lost a lot of respect for SPH after that too.

I don't think that Hye Ryung is a reason not to meet him or teach him. It's not as though the Chinese lessons would have been held in the studio. The friend who introduced them is more important to her than HR. I would have been curious myself.

I am studying to become a therapist, and I agree that communication is the key to all relationships. But as I re-watched snippets of an episode in Season 1 because someone said Song Won was lying about the department store scene, I was reminded of why he was attracted to her and she to him. She said Sa Hun was evolved and civilized. He felt the same way about her. This was not animal attraction or falling out of love with HR and falling for the next woman who came along. They were - at least for a while - soul mates. He could have communicated that to HR, and she would not have understood.

It is said that by the time couples end up in therapy it is too late for most. I don't think the point of the drama is to explore the communication problems or microaggressions (and not so microaggressions) that rip and tear at the marriage but to explore what happens when you meet someone on another plane, and you realize that your life is devoid of depth and joy and your partner is so blithely unaware of that.

Song Won is my favorite character. I agree that how they ended up having sex is ridiculous, but it's a plot device that gets her to cross the boundary she had set. She was NOT trying to seduce him to steal him away from BHR.

The pregnancy is what got the ball rolling for changes to Sa Hun's marriage and later his parents'.

Loved your comments, as always.

1. Had not considered that - thanks for introducing me to the term. But now that you mention it, I do agree that of all the wives, her arc has been disappointing.
2. Lol. He is boring and unattractive. And the writer should have moved his story along earlier and faster.
3. Yuck. She deserves better.
4. Sorry, but what is MCP? Master Class Predator? Had another LMAO moment when you described the driver.

Great comment. Shi Eun's rebound should NOT be Seo Ban. And truly, all three of them could heal without men, but yes, let's give them a much better future relationship.

Someone commented on how emotionless Yu Shin is (and I agreed). I forget that Seo Ban is also affectless. I never found him attractive, whereas as Yu Shin can be. He is creepy and time is running out for the writer to explain why he and his brother are doing here.