Clare Henney: Thoughts on Marry Him If You Dare

Sixteen episodes of Marry Him If You Dare. The show is over. I’m again left to wonder where I will see my favorite actress Yoon Eun Hye again. I had to wait an entire year after the end of her drama I Miss You before Marry Him If You Dare came out and now that this one is over, I’m hoping I only have at the most one year before I see her on TV again. Next time, however, I hope that she will be in a better show. Marry Him If you Dare was marketed as a romantic comedy about a woman’s future self coming back to change her destiny in the present. Sadly, it didn’t fulfill that promise because it ended up being a drama with some time travel complications and a love triangle that went nowhere. At first I thought that this would be about trying to change the past but having destiny take control of everything in the end with the two leads ending up together. Near the middle I wondered if the whole parallel universe thing would mean that Mi Rae would end up with Se Joo in this version/universe. But the way it ended? After everything that happened? I just didn’t see the point. It just left viewers wondering who she will end up with. After being emotionally invested in all the characters and to leave it open-ended like that, it was disappointing for viewers like me (not that I blame the writers for that one: there were so many people shipping for Se Joo and Mi Rae even if he wasn’t the male lead so I think they didn’t want to disappoint the viewers they had). I was not happy with how the show went on. I felt that it lacked direction and that it didn’t give enough of what the people expected from the caliber of actors that are in the show. I think that’s the reason why ratings were bad for this one. If they had something solid to work with instead of being all over the place, the writers could have made better use of the 16 episodes to build up to the conclusion instead of making it end the way it did. I felt there were several moments that weren’t even needed. I thought maybe if they had more episodes they could have worked this out but considering how it wasn’t going anywhere I doubt it. I love YEH but I felt that her character was not given much to work with in this one compared to I Miss You. Lee Dong Gun’s character Kim Shin felt a bit one dimensional — it was sad because this is supposed to be his comeback role on TV. Yes, Kim Shin had his moments but for the most part he seemed too cold to be someone a girl would fall for. Jung Yong Hwa’s role as Se Joo was charming and I know a lot of fans like me wished that Mi Rae liked him instead. I also loved Han Chae Ah who played So Yoo Kyung: the role seemed as one dimensional as Kim Shin at first but ended up with more character than Mi Rae did. To be fair, the show had good actors. The leads and supporting actors all gave memorable performances. The soundtrack was also very good (and something I’d love to have a copy of). I just wish that the material could have been written better. I would love to see Jung Yong Hwa and Yoon Eun Hye work together in a future project. I felt that they had a lot of chemistry on and off screen and this is something that they should exploit considering how many fans were hoping Mi Rae would truly fall for Se Joo. I used to love Lee Dong Gun but I felt like Yong Hwa was better in this one as far as being a male lead is concerned.

I’m sad to see the show go, but relieved at the same time that YEH can move on to other and hopefully better projects. [Please do something with Yong Hwa! A song, a video, a movie, another show… just do something! Please!]

Time to play the waiting game for another project. Can’t wait!

Photo Source: KBS