Early Access: The Story of Park's Marriage Contract E1-2 (Patreon)

E1-2. Overall, I'd say that Show's off to a promising start, and I'm feeling pretty confident that this will work out to be a satisfying watch.

Honestly, I was a little thrown by the difference in tone between these first two episodes, but I figure that it makes sense, within the structure of the story.

In episode 1, we get the Joseon part of our story, where everything's being set up for our Joseon heroine, Yeon Woo, to suddenly find herself in modern Seoul.

I thought Show did a nice job of showing us the kind of personality she is, while also creating enough opportunity for her to develop sufficient feelings about her husband Tae Ha, before taking her - and us! - to modern Seoul.

I feel that this is important, because we need to understand the kind of person Yeon Woo is, in order to feel like her actions in modern Seoul make sense, and also, we need to feel that Yeon Woo has enough of an attachment to her husband, to want to cling to him, when she finds him upon arriving in modern Seoul.

And then of course, episode 2 is the continued set-up, where Yeon Woo and Tae Ha need to find their footing around each other, and get into a contract marriage, which is clearly essential to our story. 😁

Honestly, I prefer the slightly more retrained (though not without its comic bits) tone of episode 1, compared to the more OTT tone of episode 2, but that OTT tone makes sense for the fish out of water hijinks that we're getting, and also, I expect that this OTT quality will tone down after a bit, once Yeon Woo gets more acclimatized to modern day Seoul.

Getting into specifics, I love that right away in episode 1, we learn that Yeon Woo is a talented woman who values passion and independence. Like, wow, I like her already.

It's honestly really daring of her to jump through all the various hoops that she has, in order to make her clothing designs available to people.

I mean, she skips classes, dresses up like a mysterious top-tier gisaeng, and secretly takes customers in the backroom of a dress shop, where she's managed to make a deal with the owner, even though it's basically unheard of for women to get into business, during this time.

And then, she has to change back into her noble woman's attire, before sneaking back home without getting caught - and she's apparently been doing this regularly, for some time now.

I kinda love this boldly audacious quality about her.

And I love even more, that this is driven by passion for her craft, and a hope to travel to see the world, one day, even though this is wildly impractical thinking, for a Joseon noble lady.

Also, it's incredible to me, that Yeon Woo's figured out from a young age, that you shouldn't allow other people to put you in a cage, and that you can be happy without worrying about what other people think, which is essentially the message that she tells Tae Ha, in that childhood flashback that we see.

Plus, how about the way she goes out of her way to fend off potential marriages, by being the exact opposite of what would be considered a desirable Joseon noble daughter-in-law?

I just love this chutzpah about her. 🤩

Of course, as we see, the rumor mill is just as cruel during Joseon times as it is now, with everyone gossiping about her being a crazy old maid - and about Tae Ha being the Ugly Man of Jinsa Village; so ugly that he can't get himself a wife, even at the ripe old age of 28.

As cruel as those rumors are, it does allow Yeon Woo to interact with Tae Ha quite a few times, without ever considering the possibility that he might be the Ugly Man that she's been looking to help marry off - to prove her abilities as a designer of beautiful clothes, heh.

As much as I love that she has no idea who he is, I love just as much, the fact that he recognizes her right away, and is pleased to see her again.

It's not hard to see that he's felt that she's special, for a long time. Aw.

It's in his gaze, which is gentle around her, and it's also in the way that he smiles at the thought of her. And, it's also in the way he always seems pleasantly surprised by her exploits, rather than shocked or scandalized.

All of these things make me like him already.

And, I realize it's really helpful anchoring of his character, because Tae Ha in modern Seoul is a lot less forthcoming, and quite a lot colder than Ugly Man Tae Ha.

Because I've seen what Tae Ha's real heart is like, I find that it's much easier to take his less-than-gentle treatment of Yeon Woo, when we get to episode 2.

In my head, I'm just categorizing this as pre-enlightened Tae Ha, if you will, and I'm convinced that once he becomes properly smitten with our Yeon Woo, that we'll get more of that gentle caring aspect of him back.

I actually really like the idea of Yeon Woo and Tae Ha getting married, even though it is a very difficult decision for Yeon Woo to make.

And I do agree that it is a pity that she gives in to the idea that she must give up her dream, in order to honor her family.

That said, it is very true that her bold fashion designs, having offended the King, would put her family in serious danger. I can see why her father would get so strongly upset, and why Yeon Woo would make this choice, in order to keep her family safe.

Honestly, I would love it too, if this were a short story of, say, 2-3 episodes, where our two "old" singletons find themselves in an arranged marriage that, to their surprise, they actually really like the idea of, and once married, find their own way to be happy together, never mind what the rest of the world thinks of them.

I think I would eat that up, and then rewatch it, I like the sound of it that much.

But of course, in this story world, that is not to be, given Tae Ha's heart condition, ack.

It's honestly very noble and considerate of him, to tell Yeon Woo his secret, and cut their ribbons like that, in order to sever their matrimonial relationship - in order to set her free from the likelihood of becoming a widow.

Again, this kind of sweet, thoughtful behavior from Tae Ha, while we can see his heart  on his sleeve, beating for Yeon Woo in spite of himself, is just the thing to make me unreservedly want to camp out in his corner, rooting for him to have a happy ending.

It's honestly quite hilarious that Yeon Woo's response to his big confession, is to say that she's committed to this marriage even if it's short-lived, and can she have her wedding night right now, thank you. Hahahaha. 😁

Beyond the silly hijinks of the moment, I'm quite taken with that moment when Yeon Woo tells Tae Ha, with gentle seriousness, that she will beat the god of the underworld, and so not to worry.

This really feels like a proper husband-wife bonding sort of moment, which I feel is very important, given that we need to believe that Yeon Woo is bonded enough to Tae Ha, to have strong feelings for him even after arriving in modern Seoul.

I'm really quite impressed with Yeon Woo's quiet determination to do right by Tae Ha as his widow, even after he dies abruptly on their wedding night.

That really shows her loyalty and devotion, as well as her determination.

At first, I hadn't been sure who had been behind her kidnap and murder, but after seeing how scheming Tae Ha's mother, Hye Suk, is, in modern Seoul, I'm thinking that she was so incensed at Yeon Woo's lack of respect, and more importantly, so worried that Yeon Woo would reveal Tae Ha's secret to the world, that she had Yeon Woo kidnapped, and then thrown into the well in her own parents' home.

At least, I'm pretty sure that that's her parents' home, because the tree, from which she plucks that flowering branch, looks to be the same tree that we see her grandfather talking with her about, in the flashback to when she'd been a little girl.

As for our story set-up in modern day Seoul, it really feels like everyone is connected the exact same way, as compared to Joseon times.

Tae Ha is still Tae Ha, and his mother is still Hye Suk - that kind of thing.

Which is why I personally find it almost like a parallel universe kind of set-up - except there doesn't appear to be a modern-day Yeon Woo, in this equation.

It's narratively convenient, sure, but I find that I kinda like it, because this makes it easier for audiences to figure out who's who, and how they're connected, and what kind of personality they might have.

Of course, Show might play with that later, and toy with our perspectives that way, but for now, I'm pretty happy with this arrangement.

And of course, I'm pretty sure that this also means that Tae Ha also has a heart condition, in the present.

We're not told that this is the case, specifically, but all the signs point to it; the way he always wears a heart rate monitor; the way he says to Secretary Hong that there's a reason that he cannot get married.

But of course, we know that our Yeon Woo's going to win his heart, in spite of his best efforts not to develop feelings for her; this is what I'm here for, heh. 😁

And we do see that, right away, Tae Ha is affected by Yeon Woo, whether it's that moment in the water when he's momentarily entranced by her, or whether it's when she comes across all crazy, and he loses his patience.

Whatever it is, he can't seem to remain calm and cool in front of Yeon Woo, and it's surely Very Significant, since Show wastes no time in informing us, very helpfully, in that kdrama way, that Tae Ha's so logical and unruffled all the time, that he's like an android.

Another source of entertainment, in episode 2, is all of Yeon Woo's fish-out-of-water hijinks, which Lee Se Young pulls off with perfect comic timing.

I just love how much thought went into sifting out all of the little things that Yeon Woo wouldn't know, as a Joseon woman in a modern world.

I love how some of these gags surprised me, and felt like they came out of nowhere, because I hadn't thought of that aspect of things - and yet, make total sense, in the context of Yeon Woo being a Joseon woman.

Like the way she has no idea how to open a car door, and tries to climb in through the window, heh. And also, the way she treats a normal door like a sliding door, because all room doors in Joseon times were sliding doors. 😁

I do find it very entertaining, even though I normally don't prefer OTT styles of humor.

I did feel sorry for Yeon Woo after the fake wedding, though, because it really hadn't been explained clearly to her, what this was, and she really did seem to think that she was marrying Tae Ha again, in this new world.

Her genuine distress at how Tae Ha tries to cut her off right after the wedding, really got to me.

Which leads me to an important point: I do think that Yeon Woo's very genuine emotional reactions are grounding all these OTT hijinks for me, in a very important way.

The shock and hurt that she feels, being cast aside by Tae Ha; the wistful longing that she feels, as she sings that lullaby to herself, at the park, while thinking about her parents and the life that she'd left behind. All so affecting, I thought.

I feel like without her believable emotions grounding this for me, I would find the hijinks cheap, and feel less strongly connected to our story and characters.

It's her emotions that are keeping me engaged, and in a pretty solid manner, which is impressive, given that we're only 2 episodes into our story.

I do love that when Tae Ha goes to find Yeon Woo in a panic because he needs her to be his fake wife for longer than he'd anticipated, Yeon Woo reacts with immediate, instinctive disdain, and flatly refuses, even though she has no idea how to survive in this world, and doesn't have a place to stay.

I love how our girl's got a strong backbone, and isn't afraid to show it.

At the same time, I kinda love how we see that Yeon Woo can be a bit shameless in her shrewdness too, like the way she secures a place to stay, by telling Chairman Gramps that she won't be leaving for Italy so soon after all, heh. 😁

While all this is going on, can I just say, I'm very, very intrigued by the fact that Sa Wol somehow lands in modern Seoul too, and quite possibly by the same means that brought Yeon Woo to modern Seoul.

Did Sa Wol get thrown in a well too..?

As we close out episode 2, I'm relieved that Tae Ha shows up to protect Yeon Woo, because even though it's not clear what Hye Suk might do, it is clear that Hye Suk's not to be trusted, so I just feel better that Yeon Woo doesn't have to fend for herself in front of Hye Suk.

Also, I'm very intrigued by the reveal, that Chairman Gramps has that same portrait of Yeon Woo, that Joseon Tae Ha had once had, as a keepsake, under lock and key. How curious. I do wonder what that's about?

All in all, this felt like a very assured opening set of episodes, and I'm happily buckled in for the ride.

Next episode notes will be out on: Tuesday, 5 December 2023!

* This show will be covered on the Early Access (US$5) tier! *