Familiar Wife (2018)
10/10
Great lead actors, good plot, good investment of your time
16 August 2019
To all divorced men: if you could go back in time before you met your ex and avoid starting that il-fated relationship, would you do it? And what if you encountered said ex later in your new reality and found her to be vibrant, beautiful, vital, and exciting - the epitome of that woman you thought you were marrying earlier in your first life - what would you do? Would you leave her alone? Would you try to strike up a new relationship and avoid the problems you perhaps caused in the old reality? What if, by some rift in the space-time continuum, your paths crossed and she came on to you? Would you spurn her? Would you feel some sense of responsibility and watch out for her? Would you tell her you two are not meant to be?

These are the questions Cha Joo-Hyuk (Ji Seong) must wrestle with when he chooses to go back in time and erase the marriage he had with Seo Woo-Jin (Han Ji Min). The moral of the story is best summed up by Seo Woo Jin when she responds to Cha Joo-Hyuk's confession: "There are no one-sided relationships." Couples should give each other second chances and try to make the best of things.

Some reviewers complained that the plot got boring after episode 12, which admittedly is the emotional peak of the series. I don't think they quite got the gist of the last four episodes, wherein the two go back in time once more, only this time at Seo Woo-Jin's behest. Now Cha Joo-Hyuk is really in a bind. He knows that, without him, Seo Woo-Jin has a great life, even though she feels something is missing. Should he take the safe route and keep her away or let her back in, take the chance and try to do better?

I recently saw One Spring Night with Han Ji Min and really liked her craft. I searched for other dramas with her in it and found this one which is even better (heads up Netflix). IMHO she is a top shelf Korean female actor and she acquits herself nicely in this series.

I had never seen Ji Seong before but I am very impressed with his acting. I will keep an eye out for more of his work.

If you like K-dramas, Familiar Wife will be a good investment of your time.
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