My Happy Marriage Season 2

Episode 24

Even if there are two episodes left rather than one, getting to the finale is going to require some substantial streamlining of the source material. That's already happened once this season, and I wasn't upset about it; seeing Kiyoka's mother pick on Miyo is no great loss. And really, if large chunks of volume seven of the light novels is skipped over in favor of just getting to the happy ending, I daresay that will be all right, too. Although it hasn't always been my opinion, sometimes substantial changes do need to be made in the transition from book to screen, and what works on the page just drags in a different format. That said, I really would like to see the end of volume seven animated, and since volume eight is short stories, the options are limited.

I will admit that it does feel like this episode is sprinting along through the source material, though. Again, I do think it had to be done: we spent most of season one watching Miyo prepare for this moment, so having her be bogged down by lingering anxieties and Kiyoka's mother wouldn't be a great use of the story's time. What we need now is proof that Miyo has grown as a person and a maiden of dream-sight, evidence that Cinderella has entered the palace under her own power. And I do think we get that. Since fully awakening her ability, Miyo is busy proving just why the Usuba habit of producing dream-sight maidens is so revered and feared. Miyo is basically exhibiting a similar power as that which Prince Takaihito, crown prince of the nation, uses. She dreams of how to get into buildings, where to push on doors to break them, and who needs to do what to pull off Kiyoka's escape. If she was more like Usui, the nation, and possibly the world, would be in serious danger. And that goes double if Usui got her to team up with him.

It should make us wonder how much of Usui's goal really is to “save Miyo.” Arata, in a particularly vitriolic exchange with the imprisoned Kiyoka, sneers that his goal was always to protect Miyo, but Usui, having failed to do the same for Sumi, seems more likely the driving force. Arata may genuinely think he's doing what's best for his cousin and family, but Usui has been corrupted far beyond that point. He claims he wants Miyo because she “should have been his daughter,” but now that we've seen the scope of her full abilities, that's really not holding water. He wants Miyo to prove that the Usuba/Usui clan is more powerful than even the royal family. It's a power trip, pure and simple.

That's very different from Miyo coming into her power. Miyo's abilities awoke based on her love for Kiyoka, and that's the way she'll use them. She has no interest in taking over the country or the world; she just wants her fiancé and her friends and family to be safe. The hair ribbon she puts on is her badge of intent, saying exactly what she's doing all of this for, and even Kiyoka's awful mom (I remember her name; I just won't give her the satisfaction of using it) recognizes that. Miyo's driven by her regret at not returning Kiyoka's “I love you,” but also her determination not to lose the person who made her belong.

It's the mutual confession at the end of this episode that made me bump it up to a four. While there are a lot of very good themes and moments, they do go by a little too fast. But what have we been watching this series for if not to see Miyo and Kiyoka finally get their happy ending? We're not quite there yet, but the hug this week is close enough to make it all feel worth it.

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