[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Woman who Married Three Times" Episode 3

The main conflict this time is that Seul-gi just has a sudden freakout about her indefinite, undefined living situation. As far as I can tell nothing actually provokes this- which is exactly what kids can do. There's not necessarily a reason for them to suddenly turn grumpy. It's just a thing that happens when, for whatever reason, they started thinking long-term and get apprehensive.

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What makes this more interesting in terms of the drama's broader plot is the way characters react to this. Seul-gi's scared because she doesn't know what's going on- in fact, none of the characters have any idea what's going on. The fact that this is a problem is only really internalized by Seul-gi, but what makes the situation sad is that this really should be a big deal for everyone. But since they're adults, it's much easier for them to just put the situation out of sight and mind.

I really liked the grandparents' immediate reaction in the wake of this apparent crisis. Grandma's panicking because the kid's panicking, and when Grandpa realizes what's going on, his thinking immediately jumps to medical emergency. It's a reasonable assumption considering the immediate context- but in the overall context no one's really taking the kid's feelings into account, and that makes for a fairly depressing situation. Even though the characaters in this drama are all adults, they really just don't seem to get it.

This is also well-reflected in the adult plots this time around. The way they mull around about the past and its possible influences on the present seems really fairly childish when considered in the context of their immediate, unsustainable living condition. We have this whole elaborate system where this huge cast of characaters just doesn't seem to want to talk to each other, like they're hoping the conflict will just quietly go away if they ignore it for long enough. So when they lash out, it's not so surprising.

And how does this reconcile with the softer, happier moments..? Well I'm not really sure yet. In all honesty "The Woman who Married Three Times" is still a fairly confusing drama to watch and it's difficult to tell how all the various events are supposed to relate to each other. Regardless, in this episode we at least get a decent hint of what the conflict actually is and what the characaters aren't doing to solve it. So the drama is moving forward in a more coherent direction, and hopefully this will last.

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.