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Marry My Husband: Episodes 3-4
by solstices
Signifying the start of her new life, our heroine reinvents herself with a new look and burgeoning assertiveness. She’s finally building a backbone, standing up for herself, and refusing to be treated like a doormat any longer, and it’s glorious to watch. Out with the old, in with the new!
EPISODES 3-4
In the midst of Min-hwan’s uncomfortably unwarranted advances, a timely chicken misdelivery engineered by Ji-hyuk gives Ji-won the opening to shove her lecherous boyfriend out the door. The close call gives Ji-won the incentive to change her door passcode, which means the next time Min-hwan and Soo-min come knocking, they find that they can no longer waltz into Ji-won’s space as they please.
Next on the schedule is the dreaded high school reunion, but before that, Hee-yeon invites Ji-won out for a meal and a makeover. Hee-yeon’s advice — to give a difficult situation her all so that she can leave it in the past with no lingering regret — strikes a chord with Ji-won, and at the salon, she asks for a drastic change as if she’s been reborn.
When Ji-won emerges with a stylish bob cut, elegant makeup, and a sophisticated dress, she can’t help but hold back tears in front of the mirror. I love that it’s Hee-yeon who gives Ji-won the fairy godmother magic — not only is it an uplifting act of female friendship, but it also serves as a direct contrast to Soo-min’s deliberately poor styling of Ji-won in the past.
With her newfound confidence, Ji-won turns heads at the reunion and flips the past timeline’s confrontation on its head. Not only does she reveal the truth about Soo-min’s gift of knockoff earrings, but she also demands the full story from her high school bullies. It turns out Soo-min had spun a tale of Ji-won coveting all the men she’d been interested in, including Min-hwan and Eun-ho.
Of course, thanks to Ji-hyuk’s intervention, Eun-ho is conveniently present to counter Soo-min’s lies. Not once had they ever dated, and needless to say, Ji-won hadn’t orchestrated their breakup. Aww, Eun-ho looks so happy to see Ji-won again, especially since she just admitted that she had a crush on him back then.
Ji-won runs off in mortification, and Eun-ho rushes after her to blurt out that he’d felt the same. He nervously apologizes for grabbing her hand to stop her, then tries to wipe her hand, only to realize that he’ll need to hold her hand again to clean it, hee. This confession is witnessed by Ji-hyuk, who notices Ji-won’s awkward discomfort and calls her to give her an excuse to leave.
That excuse turns out to be a professional platform showcase, where Ji-hyuk advocates for Ji-won’s capabilities while she smoothly puts a nasty power-tripping businessman in his place. Afterwards, Ji-hyuk treats her to coffee, and for the first time we see a reinvigorated Ji-won, who smiles freely and radiates a confident glow.
Ji-hyuk’s endearingly awkward nerdiness is on full display this week, from the way he keeps putting his foot in his mouth while trying to nudge Ji-won away from the disastrous path she once took, to the way he pours his worries out to his adorable pet cat. What he lacks in charisma, he more than makes up for with genuine sincerity.
After a bout of judo with his buddy, spurred by Ji-won’s offhand remark that she’d like to learn self-defense, a shower scene gives us an excuse to spot something unusual about our leading man. Ji-hyuk has a heart-shaped mark below his collarbone, just like the one Ji-won’s father used to draw! We finally see what happened in the original timeline: Ji-hyuk had attended Ji-won’s funeral, where Min-hwan and Soo-min had been apprehended for murder, and that’s where he’d overheard the gossip about Eun-ho and the high school reunion. On the way home, Ji-hyuk had gotten into an accident while swerving to avoid a cat, and then he’d woken up in his second chance at life. Now, he’s determined to protect Ji-won at any cost.
One of my favorite things about this show is the way it depicts Ji-won slowly overcoming her trauma. It’s a gradual process, and she still struggles with traumatic flashbacks from time to time, but she’s trying to work through it and that’s what matters most. Seeing Ji-won step out of her shell and rediscover herself is nothing short of empowering, and it’s why I’m willing to trust this drama and see where it takes us.
So far, Ji-hyuk is toeing the line between looking out for Ji-won and not imposing upon her agency, just like how he’s not making any overt advances out of respect for Ji-won’s relationship (since she’s still keeping up appearances with Min-hwan). Still, Ji-hyuk is very much an open book — the way he hilariously tripped over himself upon seeing Ji-won dressed up and smiling in the office! When Ji-hyuk tries to broach the topic, since he’d worn contacts upon Ji-won’s suggestion, Ji-won replies that she dressed up simply because she realized that it made her feel good about herself. Attagirl!
Also, I’m not quite sure how I feel about Eun-ho just yet. On one hand, he seems to have good intentions towards Ji-won, but on the other, he’s coming on a tad too strong. It feels like not only did he not outgrow his high school crush, but he also never quite grew up from it, either. No wonder he wears a fake couple ring to this day — which he uses to deflect what he thinks are Ji-hyuk’s advances, ha.
It’s obvious Soo-min drove a wedge between Eun-ho and Ji-won, inflicting a wound that Eun-ho still nurses to this day. Soo-min got a taste of comeuppance this week when Ji-won’s high school bullies turned on her instead, but given the way she immediately latched onto Min-hwan in the aftermath, it’s clear she hasn’t learned anything. Soo-min’s burning need to keep Ji-won in a position of inferiority, relative to herself, seems to be a product of deep-rooted insecurities. Rather than recognizing that they can both shine together, she believes that Ji-won has to look bad in order for her to look better.
It’s such a stark contrast to Hee-yeon, who wholeheartedly supports Ji-won every chance she gets. Society pits women against one another, but Hee-yeon refuses to buy into that toxic mindset. I love how unabashed she is about the things she loves, whether that’s designer brand shopping or crispy fried dumplings, and her bickering sibling relationship with Ji-hyuk is a hoot. Because they’re totally siblings, right? Someone please clear up Ji-won’s misunderstanding, stat!
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