Tag: fair warning

Um… is 11 an option? Because yeah.

I was trying to gush on and on about it, but my paragraphs of meagre words just didn’t seem to do this show justice. I’m fiercely protective of this show, though, because so many people dismissed it on the basic premise of a woman cheating on her husband, but that’s not the whole story, or the important story, or really the one you care about.

To quote myself:

While a one-line summation of the plot could be “a married woman has an affair with a carpenter,” the reality is there was so much more to it than that. In fact, the so-called “affair” was really not the main theme of the drama. This was not about a love triangle: This was about a woman (as portrayed by Lee Shi-young), who was the primary person keeping her family together — a family that didn’t even want her around, but also didn’t know how to survive without her. She humbly accepted all the tasks given her: caretaker of her paralyzed sister-in-law, primary bread-winner, maid, cook, chauffeur, and the general force of good-will and peace throughout her in-laws’ home. Even if it was difficult, she maintained a positive attitude — this was the life she had decided she wanted since she was young, and while it might not be as joy-filled and easy as she thought, it was still her choice and her life. Why be bitter about it?

[…]

In the end, this drama wasn’t about a woman considering having an affair. It was about family — the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was about the toils and tribulations we go through to keep family intact despite disasters and heartache. It was about how no one is perfect and everyone is just trying to get through each day as best they can. Relationships are hard — they’re weird and messy and often there’s no right or wrong answer, just the best answer for that person at that point in time.

I don’t want to spoil you on anything, but I had a lot to say about this show when it was airing, if you care to take a gander at the “Valid Love” tag.