The actors are cute enough for me to ignore the tiresome contrivances of the drama. I should have known to lower my expectations since this is adapted from a web novel.
For instance, I disliked the forced manner of getting the two main leads to meet each other.
Park Yeon Woo (YW) had successfully evaded all marriage arrangements with careful scheming. She absolutely had no plans of marrying. But on the day, she lost her business partners, she accidentally watched a street performance making fun of her old maid status. In the skit, she was dubbed infamously as the “craziest” spinster in Hanyang and was being off to the ugliest man in Hanyang.
She then left the show in a huff, not because she was offended by the jokes about her, but because she suddenly had a brainstorm to marry off this ugliest man and make him the “model” of her failing business.
YW: I will marry off the old bachelor Ugly Man of that house while he is wearing my clothes. If the word spreads that my clothes married off the most infamous old bachelor in Hanyang, my fame will endure.
Ugh! I hate hare-brained heroines. She was doing so well as an entrepreneurial heroine in a male-dominated business, but really? That’s her business plan? To me, she was acting out of character. If she outsmarted all the matchmakers, then I expected her to be just as deliberate and calculated in plotting her comeback. Instead, she just came up with this half-baked idea of getting the Ugly Man to wear his clothes.
Like, did she think through WHERE she was going to find this Ugly Man in this big manor when she didn’t know how he looked like, HOW she would ask this stranger to wear her fashion design, and WHY he would even consent to wear her bridal fashion when marriage was the last thing on his mind?
The set up for the main couple’s first meeting was so contrived and artificial that I knew instinctively that only a newbie screenwriter could have done such a faux pas.
What saved the meet-cute was the actor’s performance. He was believable as Kang TaeHa. He opened the door, bowling her over, in a true trope-y fashion.
He instantly recognized her as an old childhood acquaintance whose image he had drawn and kept hidden in his room.
YW: (brushing his hands off her) What are you doing?
TaeHa: I should be asking you that question. What were you doing here?
See that?
He asked because a) he recognized who she was, and b) he knew that her presence there was against protocols as they were engaged to be married. Recall that on a previous night, his mother had shown him the marriage contract drawn up to link their family with the illustrious Park family. She said that this marriage would greatly elevate their Kang family status since his grandfather and father were only in the lowest rank for scholars. He didn’t like it, but when he saw the name of his future wife his eyes widened in surprise. He agreed to be married because it was her.
YW: How could you open the door without making a sound! I got so scared.
TaeHa observed her clothes and knew that she was in disguise. That’s why he hid his smile. He knew that she was up to no good again. He continued with the pretense.
TaeHa: Oho! How dare a servant speak so impolitely to her master?
YW: A servant? Who are you calling a servant?
She then realized her mistake and apologized. Notice how TaeHa smiled at her.
She took her leave but he decided that he wasn’t done teasing her so he called her back.
TaeHa: Why were you wandering around?
YW: Just because…Honestly I was looking for the Ugly Man of this house…I was looking for the old bachelor.
TaeHa: (confused) Ugly Man? The young master of this house?
He was confused because as far as he knew, he was the bachelor in the house.
YW: Yes. He is the most well-known in the city.
TaeHa: (looking hurt)
YW: But who are you? Looking at your face, you do not seem to be the Ugly Young Master.
TaeHa: You do not know who I am?
He was asking her if she really didn’t remember him from their meeting a long time ago.
YW: Of course not. I met you for the first time today.
TaeHa looked like he was internally pouting here. She didn’t remember him and he couldn’t forget her. He even drew a picture of her as keepsake.
YW: In any case, I will be going now.
TaeHa: (trying to keep her longer at his side) I will take you…to that Ugly Young Master.
She followed him. But she grew doubtful when she didn’t see people around them.
YW: Where are we going? There aren’t many people here.
TaeHa: You will find out if you follow me.
YW: Are you really a friend of Ugly Young Master? You’re not lying to me, right?
TaeHa: Now that I think about it, I didn’t even ask for your name? What should I call you?
YW: (stuttering because she was lying) Sss-sa Wol.
Note: this is another contrivance that I disliked. Why was she acting so nervous now, like she never lied about her name before. Didn’t she fashion clothes for the rich and famous under an alias? Wasn’t she so brash and confident before? So, what happened to her?
TaeHa smiled again because he knew she was lying.
TaeHa: Sa Wol. Alright, Sa Wol. Young Master is not home, so come back another day. You will avoid people’s attention if you leave that way.
That was HIS reason for deceiving her. He was protecting her. He didn’t want her to be discovered so he was trying to lead her out of his residence discreetly.
YW: What are you saying? You said you would lead me to Young Master. What a fraud. Whatever! I am not leaving. I cannot leave.
TaeHa: (grabbing her wrist) If you go this way—
YW: Let go, you fraudster!
TaeHa: (attempting to reason with her) That is not it. Is Yeon Woo—
He was about to reveal that he knew her, but YW spotted her mother coming so her clamped his mouth with her hand and backed him up against the wall.
They thought that they escaped detection but then a broom accidentally fell. TaeHa’s mom returned to check the noise and TaeHa had to reveal himself.
Note his small movement to reassure YW not to worry. He was going to take care of the situation. This tells me that his relationship with his mother isn’t the same easy-going one as YW with her mother. Perhaps this isn’t his real mother?
His mom left after ordering him back to his room. (Huh? I thought that was weird. A grown man of 28 years being told by his mother to return to his room? Was this the first hint that TaeHa had a sickly constitution? That he couldn’t be outdoors for long?)
Then, YW’s maid came running to take her home. Her maid called her, “Oh Wol.”
Maid: My lady—Oh Wol! Oh Wol, what are you doing here?
TaeHa: (picking up on the mistake) Oh Wol?
He was openly teasing her. He knew that SHE knew that her lie was discovered. She had called him a fraudster when she was one, too. Pot, meet kettle.
And that’s how the male lead saved the show for me. I liked his playfulness, his willingness to go along with her hare-brained scheme, and his smile.
Things that got my attention:
1. The time loop
I suspect that there’s a time loop in the story because in that weird montage in Episode 2, we were shown things that DID NOT happen during the Joseon period.
Let me mention a few of them.
i. TaeHa getting a letter wrapped around an arrow
ii. Somebody handing a letter to someone
iii. YW dressed in white (mourning clothes?), fainting, with TaeHa holding her up by the shoulders.
iv. And a voice (most likely YW’s maid) saying, “If you’re with My Lady, you will end up like your past life.”
v. Another voice saying, “A fate that will repeat itself.”
Note: It’s interesting that YW’s maid also found her way to Seoul 2023. Was she thrown in the well, too?
Additionally, the meaning of her name implies that severing the bonds between them can’t be done carelessly.
In her own words.
YW: “Yeon” which means to connect. “Woo” which means to meet. “YeonWoo.” That is my name. How could the connections formed by people meeting be taken lightly? Not only that, our connection is that of a married couple. Do not take it lightly.
Fate has brought them together so it’s their fate to keep meeting and reconnecting even in different lifetimes, and difficult circumstances.
2. The extensive use of props
This is another thing that bugged me about this screenwriter: too many props to drive the story. In these two episodes, we were introduced to the painting of young YH, the pocket watch, the butterfly and crepe myrtle.
a. The painting that TaeHa drew of young YW ended up in his grandfather’s vault. TaeHa hid it in his room, away from his mother’s prying eyes. Somehow it found its way in his grandfather’s possession in 2023.
The painting showed the child YW with three important items: the pocket watch with a butterfly, the butterfly norigae, and the crepe myrtle flower.
b. YW dropped her pocket watch and TaeHa went to her house to return it. According to YW, her grandfather gave her the pocket watch.
It had never stopped working until she was thrown in the well. It dropped (again!) from her pocket and the glass shattered. I guess that’s supposed to mean that time stopped for her, and she’s trapped in some time loop.
c. YW’s fashion creation had butterflies on them. According to her mom, YW’s embroidery was distinct and she could recognize them anytime. I’m sure the butterflies are meant to symbolize YW’s deep yearning to fly off to some place she wanted without restrictions.
TaeHa: Do you like butterflies?
YW: I do like them, and I am also envious of them. Since they can go wherever they want with their wings.
Later, TaeHa seem to predict her departure to Seoul 2023.
TaeHa: Someday, you will become like that, like a butterfly. If you remember who you are in your heart, no matter where you are and what you become, the fact that you made such beautiful clothes will not change, Young Lady. I am sure you will fly to and land where you want. So, just for today, no– just be hurting only for now.
She probably ended up in Seoul 2023, because that was where her heart wanted to be: with TaeHa.
d. The crepe myrtle tree serves as a reminder that wherever she might find herself to be, she would always be loved by her family.
YW’s grandfather: YeonWoo, you are like that. You are so precious to your grandfather and your parents. Someone we have given all of our hearts to.
To me, it sounded like her grandfather expected her to end up in a different time dimension, and was biding her goodbye forever.
And just one cue, when she found herself in Seoul in 2023, there was a crepe myrtle tree beside the swimming pool.
I hope the use of props isn’t going to be gimmicky.
3. The art collection
I have to make a note of this. TaeHa’s stepmother is the current CEO of the SH Seoul; TaeHa is only the Vice Chairman.
However, I suspect that his grandfather is more interested in TaeHa finding the girl in the painting than he is in TaeHa running the company.
That’s why the old man ordered his daughter-in-law/TaeHa’s stepmother to hand over the arrangements of the exhibition to TaeHa. According to him, he planned that exhibition to be TaeHa’s wedding gift.
The stepmother was visibly upset.
However, let’s not forget that in the beginning of Episode 2, the stepmother went all the way to Busan to retrieve a butterfly painting (or tapestry?) from a man she called “President Yoo.” She wanted her aide to confirm its authenticity. She likely paid a big commission to acquire that artwork so she was understandably upset that TaeHa ended up getting the recognition.
Note: in the Viu translation, the name of the artwork is given. “It’s Flowers and Butterflies.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if YW was somehow connected to the work of art because of the flower and butterfly theme.
4. The Reversals
Some things were reversed in the new world that YW found herself in.
a. Back in Joseon, she didn’t recognize TaeHa and TaeHa recognized her first. In Seoul 2023, she recognized Taeha right away as her “dear husband,” but TaeHa didn’t recognize her.
b. Back in Joseon, YW’s mother said she had put off marrying her off because of her grandfather’s wishes. She said, “I let you be because of your deceased grandfather’s will. But I can no longer! Brace yourself because this is it!” In Seoul 2023, TaeHa’s grandfather pressured him to get married right away. He delayed his surgery until TaeHa got married.
c. Back in Joseon, YW lied about her name but TaeHa knew that she was Park YeonWoo. In Seoul 2023, YW knew TaeHa’s name before he even introduced himself. And this time around, YW have TaeHa her real name.
d. Back in Joseon, TaeHa was in love with her. He hung outside her house to give her the watch then followed her when she planned to run away. He also liked to tease her.
In Seoul 2023, TaeHa didn’t love her. He wanted her out of his sight as soon as he was done with the wedding. He had his assistant deal with her. And he insulted her.
e. Back in Joseon, TaeHa wanted to do the honorable thing and divorce her since his family deceived hers into marrying. In Seoul 2023, TaeHa wanted her to marry him and join him in his deception.
f. Back in Joseon, YW told Taeha not to worry about his heart ailment. She would beat even that god of the underworld for him.
In Seoul 2023, TaeHa told her that he would beat the god of the underworld. He would win so YW shouldn’t worry about anything. By “god of the underworld,” he meant his grandfather, of course.
g. Back in Joseon, TaeHa seemed intimidated by his mother. In Seoul 2023, he immediately put a stop to his stepmother’s intimidation of YW. He rushed into the room and grabbed her hand. He demanded what she was doing in “his” house. This implied that she wasn’t a welcome nor a regular guest at his place.
I’m sure there are more mirror-images out there but I have to stop now and move to my First Impressions on “My Demon.”
I was wondering if the butterflies(they hit us over the head with this image)might be referring to the butterfly effect as I believe it has in other time travel dramas. This made me think, like you, that the drama would intertwine the past and present stories.
Kalimera @Packmule3!
Thank you for writing your First Impressions. I really enjoyed the show. It made me laugh at times. For some unknown reason, the green eye Goddess is trying to help Park Yeon Woo and Kang Tae Ha to change their fate?
I wanted to add something I have written after watching the first two episodes on the original Thread, that I believe that Tae Ha in Joseon was poisoned to death by the evil stepmom.
Yes, he has a heart disease, but the timing was a bit weird, as long as HER reaction the next morning! I came to the conclusion after watching that flashback in Episode 2 that shows many lifetimes (?) or scenes from different time loops? I also rewatched Episode 1 with that specific scene to see If the stepmom’s attitude was weird. I think it really was!
About Yeon Woo’s maid, when she realized that something was wrong with the moon, before Her Lady was abducted, it was a signal that she would come with her in 2023.
Yes, I have read a theory that Yeon Woo was from the present day and somehow ended to the Joseon era. I don’t know if it is valid or that is said on the Webtoon, but it would make sense.
The butterfly / Nabi in ancient greek means the Soul / Psyche. It has been used to “It’s okay to not be okay” and I remember it since I have rewatched the series recently.
As for the crepe myrtle tree, I suppose the Hotel stands in the exact the same location with her House in Joseon that’s why the tree is there in the future as well?
As for the portrait of PYW that Tae Ha’s grandfather has kept to his vault, I think he went to it, AFTER he met his granddaughter in law, in TaeHa’s house and heard her name Park Yeon Woo / Vanessa.
Does the Haraboji know anything? Is there any written material that was left behind? I bet we will find out.
The “butterfly effect” could be one interpretation of the butterflies in the story. For now, I’m going with what JungWoo said to YW on the bridge. That’s she’s a butterfly and she’ll one day fly off to wherever it is that she wants to go to.
My problem with this drama is that it isn’t well-thought out. It should go without saying that the past and present should intertwine at the conclusion of the drama. But HOW WELL they’ll be woven together is questionable.
I’m like that Princess in “The Princess and the Pea.” Most viewers wouldn’t notice the incongruities (or the figurative “pea”) buried under a stack of comical scenes, charming visuals of the actors, and romantic tropes, but I would. They would bother me.
Take for instance, the groom covering his face at the wedding ceremony. That’s the first time I’ve seen that. If ever there was a face covered during the ceremony, it would have been the bride’s face. But in this drama, to keep the identity of the hero hidden till the end, his face was “conveniently” covered during the wedding.
Why am I bitching about a minor detail like this?
Because it shows an inconsistency in the male lead’s character. He said that he wanted to divorce her because “My family and I have deceived you and your family….I could die at any given moment.” Well, he wasn’t above deception himself, wasn’t he? when he unnecessarily covered his face to surprise the girl later.
As for his heart ailment, it comes and goes, doesn’t it? It isn’t consistent. When she walked down the stairs in her wedding finery and he saw her, his heart should have been thumping like mad. But why was his heart monitor only beeping like crazy when he was replaying the scene in his mind later? What gives?
Next, when he read his brother’s text message and he jumped up to go home, his heart rate should have been elevated. Then, when he was high-tailing it out of the garage, lost control of his car and crashed it, his heart should have been racing, too. (And how did he get to his house so quickly after crashing his car? Was it safe for him to drive??)
Do you see what I mean by the script isn’t well-thought out? On the surface, it looks hunky-dory. But when you start looking, REALLY looking, you’ll see how very amateurish it is.
Wait. Is this kdrama adapted directly from the webtoon without any modifications? If so, then the “theory” about Yeonwoo being originally from the modern world isn’t a “theory” but a SPOILER. lol.
It’s only a theory if you haven’t seen or read the ending. 🙂
BTW, that crepe myrtle? I’m sure the current location has something to do with its past location. But let me tell you something about crepe myrtles because we have six of them growing in the backyard. First, they grow fast. If it’s the same tree planted a century ago, it should be a giant of a tree already. Second, crepe myrtles don’t have a long lifespan. Maybe 50 years, tops.
Ugh. That’s why this kdrama bugs me. The writer seems kinda new at this and doesn’t do his/her research.
@Packmule3,
It is adapted from the Webtoon, but I don’t know if they will follow the plot as “Moving” did.
I also don’t know if that was a Spoiler, since I haven’t read the Webtoon and the poster didn’t say if he / she did as well.
Basically, I don’t know anything about crepe myrtles. I just information about it from you.
Regarding something you have written to @monmor above. I don’t think that TaeHa actually crushed his car. He was supposed to, but the green eyed Goddess intervened. That’s how I interepreted it, because at that time the moons were delving back into one in the Joseon era, and then in 2023 he came in one piece in his blue suit in time to stop his evil stepmother intimidating Yeon Woo.
You are right about the jakkanim being kinda new in the job, she is credited on asianwiki but not on MDL.I found on Han Cinema she wrote two other shows back in 2014, one of them was cancelled.
Here: https://asianwiki.com/The_Story_Of_Park%27s_Marriage_Contract
https://www.hancinema.net/korean_Go_Nam-jeong.php
After being spoiled a few times by people who have read a webtoon Or online novel I avoid m d l.
I only watched the first two episodes quickly to see if I might like to watch it currently with my over full schedule of Dramas. Now I feel like watching to see why I reacted the way I did.
What bugged me the most was the number of butterfly motifs Right at the beginning. No subtlety.
I think my somewhat negative reaction is partly due to the Number of similar dramas out there right now. I have watched a lot of these kinds of dramas as well in the past. I think my disappointment in DWY Is showing.
I did miss some of the potential mystery elements though Because I was watching so quickly and now that I read about those, I am more interested.
I haven’t looked at “demon” yet.
The old saying be careful what you wish for is apt here I think. 12 episodes can be too short. If indeed there are mysteries and time travel back and forth, it might be difficult to really fit this story into twelve episodes. I am enjoying “perfect marriage revenge”. But I think twelve episodes is going to be Too short.
QiHM Is so well done in sixteen episodes. I thought for sure. There were twenty and now I realize we are coming to an end of our rewatch. I posted somewhere else that I think sixteen to twenty episodes is the sweet spot for me anyway.
@MM Here you are! I wondered what happened to the gang who used to comment on Castaway Diva. It’s become silent except for me!!! You want to watch ‘My Demon’ as well? I started it… not sure I’ll continue.
@ GB I am accumulating episodes of “cast away diva”to watch all at the same time. I felt I was not giving it the attention It deserved with so many currently running dramas that interest me And so much good commentary to read On castaway diva. But I could not resist watching the first two episodes of park’s marriage contract.
Instead I have gone back to my old habits and I am binge watching” Under the power”.
Lol. I’ll join you in Castaway Diva soon, @GB. I’m avoiding it until I’ve finished writing my First Impressions for “My Demon” which should be out sometime today. “Castaway Diva” uses up so much gigabytes of the brains that I need to clear everything else stored in my memory before tackling the show.
I’ll watch Castaway Diva tonight.
Hello there @pkml3! It’s good to know that you’ll be watching more of Castaway Diva. I would like to know your first impressions of My Demon. I’m waiting for another couple of episodes to see if it grabs me a little more. 🙂
I am on a roll here with tropes and repeated scenes from other shows.
In under the power which I am currently watching. The groom wears a mask and there is at least some logical reason behind that And some build up.
Choco pies were hugely featured in “Thank you”.
Personally, the drama “we are breaking up now” Was the death knell for me of fashion related dramas. Why not talents related to architecture or engineering for example. I suppose that might not fit in the story But it could be made to.
And of course the chaebol and the reason he needs to get married.
I am Not a person who pans dramas usually. And I am not saying this is not worth watching it might well be. It has not started well for me