Kdrama: Marriage Contract
Jan. 15th, 2017 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaSo this weekend I marathoned through Marriage Contract. I wasn’t planning on doing so and yet here I am. I really enjoyed it.
A couple of thoughts:
+ I'm actually very happy that the series left things open ended which gave as positive an ending as is possible. Hye Soo is going to die and it will probably be sooner than later but her and Ji Hoon's decision to live each day to it's fullest is the better place to end it. I'm glad that the final shots were of them as a happy family.
+ Hye Soo is a really lovely woman. I loved how warm and caring she was. I love when the male lead falls first and Ji Hoon fell so hard and I loved watching it. Their relationship was wonderful to watch.
+ Hye Soo and Eun Sung’s relationship was the true centre of the show. Gorgeously portrayed and in every minute of their interactions you feel the love they have for each other.
+ I also loved Eun Sung/Ji Hoon. I love that he actually loves Eun Sung before falling for Hye Soo. The progression of their relationship was wonderful to watch. I love how happy they are just to be around each other.
+ I absolutely adore the Hye Soo/Joo Yeon friendship more than I can possibly say. It was one of the best and most fully realised female friendship I’ve seen in a kdrama. I was not expecting them to get as much time devoted to their relationship as we got. I love so much how clear their love and respect and understanding for each other was. I love how affectionate they were and how much fun they had together.
+ Eun Sung is utterly adorable and her relationships with everyone were wonderful. I love how she drew everyone in. Her scenes with her two grandmothers were lovely.
+ I was a little surprised that Hye Soo didn't consider Ji Hoon's proposal more seriously. Yes, after she died Eun Sung would have aunt Joo Yeon and her grandmother but wouldn't adding a father to that support pile be even better? She saw just how much Eun Sung and Ji Hoon loved each other, and it was very much a two-way street, and he's rich so he could easily provide for Eun Sung for life. So wouldn't accepting his offer and lining up a loving father to care for Eun Sung after her death (ignorning that she loves him too) have been the smarter choice?
+ I was surprised that Mi Ran turning down the surgery wasn’t connected to her wanting to prevent Ji Hoon from living his life for his father too. That seemed the obvious place to go. She left after Ji Hoon said goodbye for the final time and while that was wonderfully a major part of her decision I really thought her 'saving' her son should have been as well.
+ I loved the scene where Hae Soo stands up to the loan shark and destroys the affidavits. It felt very satisfying.
+ I loved that Ji Hoon bought a house for them but my favourite part was him being sure to point out that it was close to Joo Yeon's place. Also - I loved the quiet way at the end of the last episode that he was adding handrails to the house for her.
+ I liked Ho Joon. His friendship with Ji Hoon and his deep loyalty to him was the highlight of the character but I also enjoyed how flustered he'd get and his hard work in dealing with Ji Hoon's ever-growing mess.
+ Na Yoon mostly felt pointless? She added a little conflict but overall she didn't have much of a presence. I did love her final scene with Jung Hoon where she confidently smacked him down.
+ I felt really bad for Seon Yeong. She could have easily been an evil step-mother character but she wasn't. She did appear to have tried to do her best for Ji Hoon and didn't play obvious favourites with her sons (unlike her husband.) So I'm sad for her that they apparently weren't ever that close. I wish there had been more closure in their relationship.
Most of my sympathy for her is with Jung Hoon and her husband, both of whom are genuinely terrible people. I'm glad for her that she finally left her husband but sadly I can't really get on board for it being over Jung Hoon. He's just so terrible! Yes, she doesn't know the full extent of how terrible her son is but ugh. Seong Gook wasn't wrong when he told her that Jung Hoon would never do for her what Ji Hoon did for Mi Ran. Hell, it would never even cross his mind. So I mostly feel like she got a raw deal here.
+ I would almost feel sorry for Seong Gook - his eldest is a terrible person (general attitude, his implied behaviour with the secretaries) and more important for Seong Gook a terrible business person - except Jung Hoon is undoubtedly the way he is in large part because of his father. I can't find it in me to be all that sympathetic for Jung Hoon - such. a. terrible. person - but his overwhelming insecurity and arrogance has an obvious source. Actually it feels like a fitting punishment for Seong Gook who himself is a pretty hateful person.
A couple of thoughts:
+ I'm actually very happy that the series left things open ended which gave as positive an ending as is possible. Hye Soo is going to die and it will probably be sooner than later but her and Ji Hoon's decision to live each day to it's fullest is the better place to end it. I'm glad that the final shots were of them as a happy family.
+ Hye Soo is a really lovely woman. I loved how warm and caring she was. I love when the male lead falls first and Ji Hoon fell so hard and I loved watching it. Their relationship was wonderful to watch.
+ Hye Soo and Eun Sung’s relationship was the true centre of the show. Gorgeously portrayed and in every minute of their interactions you feel the love they have for each other.
+ I also loved Eun Sung/Ji Hoon. I love that he actually loves Eun Sung before falling for Hye Soo. The progression of their relationship was wonderful to watch. I love how happy they are just to be around each other.
+ I absolutely adore the Hye Soo/Joo Yeon friendship more than I can possibly say. It was one of the best and most fully realised female friendship I’ve seen in a kdrama. I was not expecting them to get as much time devoted to their relationship as we got. I love so much how clear their love and respect and understanding for each other was. I love how affectionate they were and how much fun they had together.
+ Eun Sung is utterly adorable and her relationships with everyone were wonderful. I love how she drew everyone in. Her scenes with her two grandmothers were lovely.
+ I was a little surprised that Hye Soo didn't consider Ji Hoon's proposal more seriously. Yes, after she died Eun Sung would have aunt Joo Yeon and her grandmother but wouldn't adding a father to that support pile be even better? She saw just how much Eun Sung and Ji Hoon loved each other, and it was very much a two-way street, and he's rich so he could easily provide for Eun Sung for life. So wouldn't accepting his offer and lining up a loving father to care for Eun Sung after her death (ignorning that she loves him too) have been the smarter choice?
+ I was surprised that Mi Ran turning down the surgery wasn’t connected to her wanting to prevent Ji Hoon from living his life for his father too. That seemed the obvious place to go. She left after Ji Hoon said goodbye for the final time and while that was wonderfully a major part of her decision I really thought her 'saving' her son should have been as well.
+ I loved the scene where Hae Soo stands up to the loan shark and destroys the affidavits. It felt very satisfying.
+ I loved that Ji Hoon bought a house for them but my favourite part was him being sure to point out that it was close to Joo Yeon's place. Also - I loved the quiet way at the end of the last episode that he was adding handrails to the house for her.
+ I liked Ho Joon. His friendship with Ji Hoon and his deep loyalty to him was the highlight of the character but I also enjoyed how flustered he'd get and his hard work in dealing with Ji Hoon's ever-growing mess.
+ Na Yoon mostly felt pointless? She added a little conflict but overall she didn't have much of a presence. I did love her final scene with Jung Hoon where she confidently smacked him down.
+ I felt really bad for Seon Yeong. She could have easily been an evil step-mother character but she wasn't. She did appear to have tried to do her best for Ji Hoon and didn't play obvious favourites with her sons (unlike her husband.) So I'm sad for her that they apparently weren't ever that close. I wish there had been more closure in their relationship.
Most of my sympathy for her is with Jung Hoon and her husband, both of whom are genuinely terrible people. I'm glad for her that she finally left her husband but sadly I can't really get on board for it being over Jung Hoon. He's just so terrible! Yes, she doesn't know the full extent of how terrible her son is but ugh. Seong Gook wasn't wrong when he told her that Jung Hoon would never do for her what Ji Hoon did for Mi Ran. Hell, it would never even cross his mind. So I mostly feel like she got a raw deal here.
+ I would almost feel sorry for Seong Gook - his eldest is a terrible person (general attitude, his implied behaviour with the secretaries) and more important for Seong Gook a terrible business person - except Jung Hoon is undoubtedly the way he is in large part because of his father. I can't find it in me to be all that sympathetic for Jung Hoon - such. a. terrible. person - but his overwhelming insecurity and arrogance has an obvious source. Actually it feels like a fitting punishment for Seong Gook who himself is a pretty hateful person.
