Marry You – K-drama Episode 1 Recap & Review

Episode 1

Marry You episode 1 begins with an introduction to Jung Ha-na. She’s single by choice, indifferent to anything related to marriage, and doesn’t think it’s a necessity, unlike the older generations. We learn that she’s a civil servant whose dream is to retire and move to the Mediterranean—a dream for which she needs to hold on to her stable job.

But the job doesn’t come without hardships, as Ha-na finds herself on the receiving end of an angry citizen’s outrage over sanitation issues in their area. They hurl stinking water at her while her boss quickly leaves to avoid assuming responsibility.

Later, Ha-na confronts the team leader, calling him cowardly, which leads to her being shipped off to a newly formed marriage boost project that the mayor initiated to gain the approval of young voters for his re-election.

This is when we are introduced to Bong Cheol-hui, an island bachelor featured in a documentary. He’s unable to get married because he takes care of his young niece and nephew.

The mayor sees this as the perfect opportunity for the marriage boost project. Ha-na is selected to head the project after the mayor learns she once worked for a matchmaking agency. In a flashback, it’s revealed that Ha-na was instructed to hide the flaws of prospective partners to increase matchmaking rates.

When she did, one of the clients ended up in the hospital due to domestic abuse. Later, when Ha-na visited her fiancé’s house, she discovered him with another woman, realizing he had been cheating on her. From that day onward, Ha-na refused to have anything to do with marriage.

Now, she’s in a dilemma about her job but ultimately decides to accept the mayor’s offer, negotiating that if she successfully facilitates Bong Cheol-hui’s matchmaking, she’ll be transferred to a different department. The next day, she arrives at the island, where we see Bong Cheol-hui helping neighbors and taking care of his wards.

Unable to find him, an island elder helps her contact the Chief, and she eventually meets Cheol-hui, whom she initially assumes to be a gangster due to his appearance. She tries to convince him to apply for the project, but Cheol-hui isn’t interested in marriage, revealing that the documentary’s producer added that angle to make it more appealing.

However, he lets Ha-na stay at his house, where the two form an unlikely friendship. Ha-na shares her past experiences with marriage, confesses her real motive of wanting a transfer, and asks Cheol-hui to reconsider. Meanwhile, we learn that Ha-na’s former fiancé, Choi Gi-jun, personally volunteers to join the marriage boost project.

The next day, Ha-na returns to work after requesting Cheol-hui to reconsider. Cheol-hui ultimately decides to send in his application, arriving at Ha-na’s office just as Gi-jun also arrives. He submits his application to Ha-na and leaves.

Gi-jun calls out to Ha-na, and she’s displeased to see him. Overwhelmed by three years of trauma she endured because of him, she slaps him. Cheol-hui witnesses this and comes back, thinking Ha-na is in trouble. She suddenly tells Gi-jun that she’s getting married to Cheol-hui.

The Episode Review

Marry You takes a refreshing look at marriage and individual autonomy. The first episode is quite entertaining, especially with the classic Lee Yi-kyung humor. However, it feels like much of the screen presence is dominated by Yi-kyung, leaving Ha-na’s responses feeling static most of the time. Either she’s overly smiley with Yi-kyung unnecessarily, or she’s at the complete opposite extreme with Gi-jun, as we saw by the sudden slap.

From the first episode, we get the sense that Marry You might have some great comedic moments, but at the same time, many other instances feel quite tropey. Regardless, I’m intrigued to see where this story goes!