Okay, I’ll say it: I really really didn’t like Marry My Husband.

That’s not to say that it’s a drama without redeeming qualities. While I might have resorted to “hate-watching” at some point, Marry my Husband always felt addictive and binge-worthy. There was always something exciting going on. The over-the-top nature of this show certainly prevented it from feeling stale or boring. The acting performances were??? okay??? Probably??? Everyone does too much all the time but hey, that again works for what this was trying to be. The fashion choices also made me laugh at points (why did she wear a wedding dress to a class reunion???). That’s not a strength of this show, but at least I got great enjoyment out of it.

This is most definitely a Makjang drama and I knew that going in, which meant that the lack of realism was never going to be a factor in my review. Prolonged silliness was what I was signing up for. Still, Marry My Husband left a bad taste in my mouth for reasons I still find difficult to articulate. Is it wrong to dislike a story for feeling mean? Because personally, even though this show bent over backwards trying to make me loathe the villains, I still didn’t get much enjoyment out of them getting their karma. Ji-won transforms over the series from a victim into another vapid mean girl. That in itself is a topic worth exploring but I am not entirely sure if anyone in the writing-room even considered that my sympathy for the protagonist could only last that long. The message is less that cruelty is wrong, more that cruelty directed at the wrong people is wrong. The goofiness of the plot and insanity of everyone’s performance constantly clashed with the severity and realism of the presented issues. Setting another woman up with a man you know to be abusive is an incredibly hard sell. The show only could attempt said feat by making sure that their female antagonist didn’t feel like an actual woman. Su-min had to be comically evil so no one in the audience thought about the implications of the plot. But in doing so, they also robbed me of all the fun I could have had with such a story to begin with.

But okay, even though this drama really doesn’t want me to, let’s talk about the implications of Marry My Husband and Ji-won's mission. When Ji-won is facing domestic abuse, Marry My Husband rightfully recognizes her situation as pitiful. But when Su-min is presented with the same fate, it’s fine because ultimately Su-min is a lot less likable. She’s just getting what she deserves. Women are only victims when they haven’t done anything wrong.
“But Ji-won had to act this way because someone had to fill her place in her abusive relationship”- cool, in-universe this is totally true. But Marry My Husband doesn’t exist in a vacuum. This rule in its worldbuilding only exists, because the author decided to write it. No one made them do that. Even worse, this creates a cycle where abuse is a necessary evil. Someone has to be at the end of the stick. And we have to choose the least likable person who deserves it the most.

This show also has a very strange relationship with class, which I found very questionable. Most villains in Marry My Husband are lower class. This is not necessarily a problem but it sure is noticeable. And the one time there is a valid criticism of class society, it gets dismissed entirely because it comes from the least sympathetic guy in the entire show.

Also, even though this is a classic exercise in Girlbossism™ arguably too much of Ji-won's revenge was reliant on the aid of her rich chaebol boytoy who was just a dreadfully boring character. Booooo, I am throwing tomatoes.

Maybe this is my fault. Maybe I just wanted something from this drama that it was never interested in giving. One-dimensional villains that you can just hate certainly still can be fun. I loved the arguably similar The Glory for that exact reason. But even though she was pure evil, I had fun watching The Glory’s villain. Because I could recognize actual attempts to make her feel somewhat real instead of a straw woman.

When I voiced my concerns about this show, I was assured time and time again that it’s “not that deep”. This is just a silly Makjang drama. Its main purpose is to just entertain me. Granted, it did that. Against my better judgement, I sat through its insanity. But I ultimately am the one who decides if it’s that deep to me. You're free to take away from it whatever you want, but what if I'm dissatisfied with the surface level? Marry My Husband might not want me to ask the big questions. Well too bad because I am asking them anyway.