My Dear Seo Ban
Episode 4 of Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) Season 3 starts with Seo-Ban finding out how Won died. He too pays his respect at the funeral, dropping to his knees and bowing deeply. He actually knew Won from before, too, given she was helping him. Ga-Bon and A-Mi show up as well, and they urge Won’s in-laws t let them help raise the baby. They’re obviously worried that Hye-Ryung is going to encroach and try to raise her. Meanwhile, Yu-Shin heads in to give Dong-Ma some food but when he hugs her, she lingers a little longer than usual and a sly smile crosses her face. God this storyline is so creepy. However, A-Mi arrives just in time and the pair end up having another big fight, right in front of an exasperated Yu-Shin. The topic is Ki-Rim again, but eventually it’s too much for Dong-Ma and she screams for him to leave. As the funeral takes place and most of our characters attend, Si-Eun and “My dear Seo-Ban” (the cute nickname she gives him) go on their picnic together to celebrate Ban’s birthday. They eat seaweed soup and Seo-Ban admits that all those times he used to treat the team, he was using it as an excuse to get close to Si-Eun. It’s really sweet, and their chat soon turns to children. He wants to play basketball with U-Ram, which Si-Eun smiles warmly too. He also shows her a picture of himself as a child as well, which Si-Eun gushes over. Seo-Ban’s brother has a birthday present dropped by but it’s all a ploy to see who he’s dating. Eventually Si-Eun and Seo-Ban part ways, with Ban giving his gift to Si-Eun instead. He also tells her that her food is basically like home to him and he can tell this came from the heart. That night though, the girls throw a surprise birthday party for him, where they even have a cake too. While Hye-Ryung wishes that Seo-Ban will marry her, the truth is he actually wishes for Si-Eun to be by his side forever. Unfortunately Hye-Ryung is very hands-on with Seo-Ban, even trying to put on his tie she’s bought for him. Seo-Ban immediately points out that he likes Si-Eun and that they’ve known each other for a long time. He puts Si-Eun on the spot though and decides they should officially date starting from right now. Hye-Ryung is shocked and calls out Si-Eun, calling her unbelievable for hiding his from her. Meanwhile, Dong-Ma contemplates whether to try and exorcise Ki-Rim from her apartment or not. Ki-Rim has turned vengeful and smacks her upside the head. But no, this isn’t a tense or thrilling moment, it’s checks notes played for laughs. Again, there’s nothing funny about domestic violence. Eventually though Dong-Ma does drop to her knees and start praying for forgiveness, pointing out she’d never been unfaithful and that she stuck with him for 40 years, which should count for something. While Hye-Ryung heads over to see Pi-Young, venting about the Si-Eun and Seo-Ban situation, Ki-Rim possesses Seo-Ban at the swimming pool and approaches Dong-Ma. It seems like he’s going to kiss her but before we find out, the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
So the KI-Rim domestic abuse soon turns into a possession, as Ki-Rim seemingly forgives his wide and decides to try and kiss her. Or throw her in the pool, it’s hard to tell. However, this is likely to cause some contrived drama if someone at the swimming pool notices them together, especially given what’s going on with Si-Eun. That would be a shame to be honest because Seo-Ban and Si-Eun’s relationship is easily the best part of this whole show. Their scenes together work so well and it’s nice to actually see their relationship develop over time. Unfortunately this looks like it’s going to be completely squashed in the wake of this new development. At the same time,Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) continues to juggle its various characters with the main males – Hae-Ryung and Sa-Hyun – given absolutely nothing to do and wasted in most scenes. In fact, the show itself is still struggling to justify why its needed 3 seasons to reach this point, with a lot of bizarre twists and tonal shifts that don’t always make a lot of sense. Some of this stems from the editing which has been bad since season 1 and is just as awful here. Seeing Won’s funeral broken up by snippets of Seo-Ban’s date gives a real sense of tonal whiplash, with the show jumping between light-hearted and poignant so rapidly that it neuters both scenes. However, the ending hints that we’ve got a dramatic chapter to come next week, leaving everything hanging precariously in the balance.
