I watched Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency with pleasure, and then I had a question so I watched it again, fast-forwarding through the parts I didn’t like and deemed irrelevant to my question. My question was this: in episode 12, our hero Ma Hun says that the love triangle he and Gaettong are in is his fault. But why? He explains in a series of confessions, widely spaced, that he should never have given her the original marriage proposal letter. But it was his first time being in love and he thought it wouldn’t matter! The delivery of the letter is in episode one — was this love at first sight? There is a second scene in which parts of their first meeting are replayed, so that seemed possible and yet not. Ma Hun is an incredibly astute person—how did he miss his own feelings? This was part of my confusion.
I think K-drama’s form is stunning for showing the development of a relationship. No question, Ma Hun falls for Gaettong from the beginning. He treats her with gruffness at first, in an effort to mask his feelings. He clearly fools himself, but his friends see what’s happening. And they help him — he is profoundly solicitous of her well-being and they alert him to her needs. Gaettong is hardy but faced with hardship and enemies. Not one to ask for help, she tries to soldier on. His kindness takes her breath away, and quickly wins her heart. Their friendship takes center stage in the drama, becoming a partnership of power. There are lots of hurdles — her ex wants her back and he’s the king, his father wants the throne and would kill anyone to get it — but these lovers are lucky, smiled on by fortune.
At the end of this research re-watch, I feel like I know the story, and understand Ma Hun’s love for Gaettong and hers for him. His love I would locate in his astute reading of her character as written in her face and his delight in her eccentric position in his rule-bound society. Her love is called forth by his constant solicitude, a concern she has never experienced before. Now, her ex also adores her so why didn’t he make the cut? Perhaps it’s as simple as the ex is a blacksmith, Ma Hun is a courtier. Gaettong never expected to have more in her life than hard work, but she is transported into a world in which she is prized above material goods. Her joy grows, her soul expands. She can’t fit in the old relationship and has to move on. She confesses first, taking a classic poem and rewriting the final line to express her feeling. Ma Hun is done, the blacksmith finished.
Great show — thanks, Flower Crew!
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