There’s a whole genre of kdrama that I’m unfamiliar with…by choice. It’s the kdrama with revenge, retribution, and reparation (or the 3 R’s). Examples of this genre include “Vicenzo” (2021), “Remarriage and Desires” (2022) and “Perfect Marriage Revenge” (2023).

I’ve avoided these 3 R’s kdramas because, as much as the comeuppance of the villains is delicious to watch (oooh, the schadenfreude!), it’s difficult for me to stop raising objection over the ethics, morality, or legal issues involved in a vengeance plot.

But this is the beginning of 2024.

Now’s as good a time as any to dip into new things. I promise to give the heroine of “Marry My Husband” the benefit of the doubt. I’ll hold my tongue if she acts occasionally spiteful and dodgy. But I’m telling y’all now, I’ll ditch the show should she cross that discernable line between good and evil.

In a nutshell, the reason for her revenge is that her husband accidentally kills her when she discovers his tryst with her best friend. She dies in 2023, only to wake up and find herself transported back in time, to 2013, when she was still dating her future hubby, and working with him and her bestie in the same company.

Naturally, the hubby and bestie (should I call her “frenemy”?) are painted all black without a single redeeming feature.

But I can’t hate them. I’ll explain why.

Let’s look at the main villain: the hubby. He’s told that JiWon has stage 4 gastric cancer, and that the prognosis isn’t good. So, his mother rushes over to their home to commiserate…

With him, of all people!

Mother-in-law: Awww. You poor thing! My poor son. Why did you have to marry her? This is why you have to pick people carefully.
Hubby: I thought things were looking up. How could I be so unlucky!

See that? Their conversation had me in stitches. Especially when I discovered that JiWon could hear them talking about her the whole time because she was right beside them.

Obviously, we’re being set up to see the evil MIL tropes (e.g., spoiled her son rotten and believes her son married beneath him) and to scorn the hubby (e.g., how is it that HE calls himself the unlucky one when it’s JiWon who’s diagnosed with cancer??)

Hubby: (worriedly) Mom! If JiWon has cancer, who will make my meals?!

The MIL smacked him. I thought she was smacking him for his lack of consideration, but I was wrong.

MIL: You’re too nice! Why would you worry about that? People need to work to overcome illness. Technology is advanced these days. She’ll be fine. (turning to look at JiWon) Right? Don’t think about telling your company. Work until you can. Don’t think about acting emotionally just because you’re sick. It’s a nuisance!
Hubby: (petulantly) Can’t they just zap it out?
MIL: It’ll be fine. We have technology anyway. Cancer is no big deal nowadays.

This is when I determined that this revenge kdrama is meant to be a farce. It isn’t supposed to be taken seriously. It makes sense to me now why the comedic actor Lee YiKyung plays the husband. Only he could make the hubby look repulsive and hilarious at the same time.

Next, there’s the pillow talk between the hubby and bestie. I know that the conversation made viewers see red, but I was laughing at how ridiculous these two villains were.

The setting: they’re in bed…in the heroine JiWon’s marital bed, no less.

Bestie: (cooing) But I think you’re really smart, babe. How did you think of cancer insurance?
Hubby: Her dad died of cancer. She kept getting thinner. So I thought it was time so I took out a policy.
Bestie: Amazing. You did a good job. Was it a billion won?
Hubby: Yeah. If she dies. I already got the diagnostic insurance and bought you that designer bag. I put the rest in stocks to buy you a better bag.
Bestie: Aww. You’re so sweet. Let’s buy a house when JiWon dies.
Hubby: That’s nice. But this bitch is holding out longer than I thought. I even didn’t tell her to go to a doctor after I took out the policy.
Bestie: She’s persistent. Maybe I’ll take her out for some air and push her off somewhere.
Hubby: No! What if you fall too?
Bestie: Why not? I can push her gently. No one would know.
Hubby: What the hell has she been eating? Why is she so tenacious? You should eat whatever she ate.
Bestie: I don’t need to. I’m already strong.

Do you see what I mean? Who talks like this in real life? How can they be so warped? Have they no sense of decency? Have they lost their marbles? A designer bag?

On a sidenote, though. I think the foreshadowing’s there. It’ll be revealed in the next episode that the Bestie is a picky eater. Karma is heading her way. She’ll end up with the stage 4 gastric cancer.

Once I understood the true nature of these villains, it became easy for me to watch the show, laugh at their antics, and cheer on JiWon.

In my opinion, this kdrama isn’t your run-of-the-mill revenge story where the lead is thirsty for payback. Instead, in this kdrama, the heroine JiWon’s primary concern is to AVOID repeating the same mistakes. The plot is about a do-over, rather than a straight-up 3 R’s (revenge, retribution, and reparation).

For instance, JiWon doesn’t want to remarry her former hubby so she’s foisting him on her bestie. At any rate, they’ll end up having an affair in 2023 so why not just push them to begin their liaison early. By bringing the two closer together in 2013, he’s out of her life for good. Hence, the title, “Marry My Husband.”

Also, in her previous life, she apparently snubbed her boss (Na InWoo’s character). She was oblivious to the fact that he hovered around her and most likely, hid a secret crush on her.

Sidenote: I wouldn’t be surprised if Na InWoo’s character was a time-traveler like her, too. He seems to be preternaturally aware of her mishaps and works to prevent them from repeating. Take for example this scene in Episode 2 when they crossed paths in the lobby. He looked like he was waiting for her to tell him something. Perhaps in the past, they exchanged a few words out there.

JiWon: Mr. Yu!
Boss: Yes.
JiWon: You asked me if I was free on Sunday. If it’s urgent, I’ll come to work.
Boss: Didn’t you have plans?

He knew very well that she had plans. Earlier, he called up the restaurant to check on the correct time of the reservation. He KNEW that she was attending a high school reunion there. Inquiring minds want to know: how did he know about the class reunion if he wasn’t a time-traveller himself?

JiWon: I do. But it’s not important. Work comes first. I think that’s right.
Boss: (looking worried) You come first, Ms. Kang.

Meaning, she was more important than work. He wanted her to prioritize herself – and her happiness — before anything else.

JiWon: (confused) Well…to be honest, I was debating whether I wanted to go.
Boss: Go. Your answer will differ depending on the situation, but just try it this time.

Now, this is cryptic. It seems to me as if he was giving her heads-up about some momentous decision that would happen on Sunday and that things would be different from what it had been in her past life.

Boss: (continuing) You can go. Just remember that you owe me.

THAT last remark is headscratcher. Did he mean that he already paved the way for her behind-the-scenes, and that she was somehow indebted to him? Did he expect a payback?

JiWon: (confused) What?!
Boss: (exeunt)

That’s why I say that despite this kdrama being billed as a revenge plot, it’ll be interesting to watch her do over her bad decisions in the previous life and start all over with a better man at her side. The cab driver in Episode 1 already gave her a prediction of things to come in this new life.

Driver: You need to follow your path until the very end to know for sure. (making a detour)
JiWon: Excuse me. This isn’t the way.
Driver: I’ll take you down a good path. Just trust me.

He drove through a long tunnel and down a street lined with blooming cherry blossom trees. She was mesmerized.

Driver: See? I told you. The path you know isn’t the only one. There are other paths. That path could be better.

When they arrived at their destination, she paid the driver, but he returned it.

Driver: This is my last day as a taxi driver. Take it. Think of it as an allowance from your dad. You’ll gain your energy in no time. You’ll be running around, making big money. You’ll meet someone who would die for you and have a good life.

Ha! I hope he didn’t mean Na In Woo’s character/the boss would LITERALLY die for her.

All around her, the cherry blossom petals continued to swirl. Obviously, the floating petals signified that a new life was about to blossom for her.

Driver: Come on now. (still extending the money out to her) You’re hurting this old man’s arm.

She took it and he drove away with one last hand wave.

Gotta run myself. Will write more when I have time.