Wouldn’t say I’m back in my K-drama era, but I can say I’m nearly there. I missed the actors, the language, the plot and the twists that are second nature when it comes to K-drama. I’m not a fan of hype so even though there were a lot of reviews about this series, I got it because of the theme which is the kind I fancy watching. It was kind of obvious from the title so I got the memo immediately and loved it.
Perfect Marriage Revenge
This series was released in 2023. It has twelve episodes, as opposed to sixteen episodes which is more common with Korean drama, hence, you can already tell that it will be fast-paced. And also stars known actors like Jung Yoo Min and Lee Mi Sook. For those who are conversant with K-drama, these names may be familiar.
Summary of The Plot
The story begins with a painter, who has just finished an exquisite portrait of a family. This is our protagonist, Yi Joo and after making a few calls, she proceeds to take it to a gallery where her Mom and sister run. It is from this encounter that we figure out the kind of life Yi Joo lives. She is an adopted child of her parents and is treated with disdain by her Step-mom and sister. We also find out that Yi Joo is married but unfortunately, her husband is in love with her younger sister, Yoo Ra.
The situation is quite pitiful for Yi Joo who spends her entire life trying to please her family to no avail. Then on her way back from the museum after being framed by her Step-mom and also discovering her husband’s feelings for her sister, she gets involved in an accident and eventually dies after listening to her Step-mom’s mindless gloating by her hospital bed.
Yi-Joo wakes up to realize that she has been taken back in time to exactly one year before this incident and interestingly, there's a count down too. Armed with the knowledge of the future and the truth about her Step-mom and husband, she vows to take revenge against all of them, and to that end, she makes a marriage contract with Do Guk. Can love blossom between these two despite the circumstances, can she get her revenge and most of all, will she do it before the time is up?
Review and Rating
I was immediately hooked in the first episode of this story so that’s a huge point to the creators. I could count on one hand the number of K-dramas I’ve watched that have me hooked in the first episode and still have fingers left. It’s not something that happens a lot, and mostly the heat starts from the second, sometimes even the third episode. Perfect Marriage Revenge delivered on this score so kudos to them.
I also loved the acting of the main leads. They interpreted and portrayed their roles impeccably, especially Jung Yoo Min who acted the role of the protagonist, To Joo. She was exquisite in her acting and you could feel every emotion she went through. Her joy, pain, anger...it all felt real because she made them feel real. I also enjoyed the chemistry she had with the male lead. Many lead characters may interpret their roles but if they lack chemistry, it would have a bland taste to it. Theirs, while not the best, was still just right, so points to them for that as well.
And now to the bad parts. The first for me would be the humour. If you’re an avid watcher of K-drama, you’d know that one thing that is rarely lacking in their films is humour. There’s usually lots of it, even in series with a serious theme. As someone who is always looking forward to those funny scenes, I was extremely dissatisfied seeing that they couldn’t bring the humour to life.
Also, while the plot was okay, the scene-by-scene acting was not. The supporting characters went over the top with their acting and were often far too dramatic than what was required in certain scenes. The villains were far too simplistic and a bit monotonous. For a revenge story, the comebacks and suspense should have set us on edge the entire time, but it turned out drap because there were too many happy scenes and the villains just weren’t villainy enough.
And then, the ending. It was kind of underwhelming. But then again, that’s something I find common with K-dramas. Inability to land smoothly. So, it’s either rushed or underdone and in this case, it was the latter, plus the villains’ end wasn’t clear enough. It was a tad disappointing generally but I’ll give it 7/10, simply because of the good parts to it and the fact that it successfully reignited my passion for K-dramas. There’s another hyped one with a revenge theme as well. I hope I enjoy it more.
Jhymi🖤
Thumbnail image from IMDB
