[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Woman who Married Three Times" Episode 14

The drama continues with its tale of two families and the moral distinctions are getting increasingly troublesome and ambiguous. The happy points are, by far, the moments Tae-won spends with his daughter. He's a kind loving father- which only makes it all the more problematic to consider that he's also a newlywed with relatively little interest in his wife. While their relationship is basically mended for now, the long term prospects yet remain murky.

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As to our actual main character Eun-soo...this episode for the most part seems determined to explain why the weepy blend of conservatism she's demonstrated up until this point might actually have been the best option. Eun-soo's finally decided to take Hyeon-soo's advice to heart, but it soon becomes clear why asking her big sister for help has been Eun-Soo's go-to option to date. Hyeon-soo doesn't have to care about what anyone thinks, because that's how she lives her life.

Eun-soo, however, is stuck in the same house as her husband and his family for the foreseeable future. Most alarmingly, she still sleeps in the same bed as Joon-goo, even after they have this huge angry argument about his lying from which neither side is willing to budge. This episode makes for a pointed reminder about why couples usually sleep separately after a big fight. And it also begs the question why in this case Eun-soo and Joon-goo did not.

"The Woman who Married Three Times" appears to be trying to make a statement as to how certain kinds of marriage fantasies are inherently unrealistic. Eun-soo's first marriage was flawed because she failed to anticipate the hostile potential of Tae-won's family, focusing only on the kind person Tae-won was without taking into account his unwillingness to stick up for her against his family. It's genuinely sad watching Tae-won be a good father this episode, because he's really not a bad guy. Just one that's way too easily influenced by the worse elements of his family.

So in her second marriage Eun-soo sought out a confident guy who will stand up for her, and who has a supportive family. But as this episode so deftly demonstrates, there are numerous problems with this kind of personality that may well be even more difficult to resolve than the situation with Tae-won. Hyeon-soo's hostile attitude is looking better all the time if it keeps her away from messy situations like this. Unfortunately, Eun-soo is learning the hard way that she can't solve problems the same way her older sister does.

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.