My Happy Marriage Season 2

Episodes 14-15

I think we can all agree that Miyo deserves a break from evil mothers. While it's true that the second half of season one was at least partially in a post-Saimori world for her, that sort of damage isn't easily healed, so when Fuyu, Kiyoka's mother, immediately starts out as a vicious, confrontational character, it's not hard to see why Miyo would just shrink right back into herself. After all, she's been here before and knows what to expect.

But does she truly retreat? While it may at first appear that way in the second episode of My Happy Marriage's new season, it's not necessarily the case. Yes, she puts the maid uniform on without any real objections, and yes, she commences cleaning as she was told. But there's a lightness to her movements that belies the apparent angst of the situation, and the reason behind it feels twofold. One is that this is a role that she's comfortable in, no matter how awful that sounds to us; if you've been beaten down often enough, there's a sort of grim comfort in people treating you in a way you can understand, even if that way is horrible. But more than that, I think Fuyu simply doesn't hold a candle to Miyo's stepmother and half-sister. Fuyu may be bullying her via her own concept of social position in an attempt to belittle Miyo's sense of self-worth, but the Saimori mère et fille actually tried to physically hurt Miyo. Fuyu is simply not up to the task of bringing a Miyo who survived her own childhood.

What's more remarkable across both episodes is the way that we can see Miyo demonstrate strength. It's more apparent in the second, when she simply holds her ground and her tongue, refusing to let Fuyu chip away at her. The fact that she doesn't bow even her head when she meets Fuyu in her chamber says a lot without words: Miyo is going to stay here and remain engaged to Kiyoka, and Fuyu cannot change that. The Miyo of last season wouldn't have been able to pull this off, terrified that she'd reach too high. The Miyo of this season is still shy and wounded, but she's learned that she's allowed to want and that she deserves better. In a sequence of episodes with lush, gorgeous backgrounds, an interesting fight, and plenty of details, the standout visual moment is simply a focus on Miyo's eyes, looking straight ahead.

Those visual details are key to helping us understand Fuyu, of course. She dresses in the style of the previous century, assuming that the story is more Taisho than Meiji in its setting; the magazine she's shown reading, along with the disconnect between her clothes and Hazuki's own, support that. Even if you don't know much about the Victorian and Edwardian eras versus the 1920s, it's obvious that women's clothing underwent an enormous change between them, with the '20s giving women a lot more freedom of movement in their new style. Fuyu's rigid adherence to the styles of the past tells us that she's unwilling to move forward, and the decorations in her home are similarly locked into the past, filled with 19th-century prints and bric-a-brac. The aforementioned magazine, likely a reference to Kinema Junpo, which began publication in 1919, shows that she may be willing to think about modernity, but it's not quite for her yet.

Kiyoka's father says that he's afraid that the expectations put on Fuyu as the wife of the Kudo family head made her the way she is. That's possible; it certainly hasn't endeared her to Kiyoka, who sees her as restrictive and vicious. There's a sense of gentle guilt in how the elder Kudo handles his wife that's interesting, and we may see it mirrored in how Kiyoka treats Miyo, especially now that Arata has popped back up to stop her using her Dream-Sight. Whatever happens this season, though, Miyo has grown through her experiences and shows every sign of continuing to do so. Even if it's just looking straight ahead, she's learning to overcome her past.

Rating: