My Happy Marriage

Episode 8

We are starting to get to the bottom of things. This second storyline in My Happy Marriage is, in a sense, our reminder that there's life after “and they lived happily ever after.” Two lives, as it happens – Miyo's after her freedom from the Saimori family and her mother's after her marriage into it. That latter seems to be building up to be much more significant than it first appeared. We knew there was something suspicious (or at least counted as such) about Sumi Saimori's maiden name, Sumi Usuba. The Usuba family has unusual psychological gifts, both sought after and feared. Now, as Kiyoka is trying to find out more about his betrothed's mother, things are getting even more mysterious. Apparently, the only record of Sumi Usuba is her marriage to Saimori. Since she presumably didn't just pop into being, that raises many potentially troubling questions.

One is whether the Usubas are still around, just living under a different name or in hiding. Clearly, the Saimoris found Sumi somehow, so there must be people who know how to reach the Usubas. The chances of those people being high up in society seem pretty good, which may tie in with the young man with the glasses we first saw last week. Arata, as his name turns out to be, is being carefully inserted into Kiyoka's work life, and the reason for that isn't entirely apparent. It does appear to be at the behest of the emperor, but by the time we really meet Arata this week, it looks like he may have some personal motives of his own. His too-casual posture and fake off-the-cuff comments about Kiyoka being engaged and how he, Arata, would also like to settle down soon feel very pointed in a way that's not entirely comfortable. Major props to the animation for capturing the deliberate way he shifts in his chair in Kiyoka's office; it beautifully shows just how calculated everything he says and does is.

The next big question is what any of this has to do with the opened grave, which freed more Grotesqueries than have been seen in a long while to prey on people. Does it seem suspicious that this happened just as Miyo resurfaced in the public (or at least imperial) consciousness? I'd say at least a little, if only because it coincides with Arata being sent to pester Kiyoka and the crown prince having some sort of vision. It's all just a little too convenient, and that's not a great sign, especially when we consider Miyo dreaming about something Kiyoka is currently experiencing and Arata's creepy moment under the sakura tree at the end.

It all throws an unfortunate wrench into Miyo's forward progress. Hazuki's lessons in modern etiquette are difficult for her, and I imagine she feels very exposed to the Western dress Hazuki gives her. I love the attention to detail here, such as how Western dresses require a different gait and stride and that a knife and fork require your hands to do two different things simultaneously. Hazuki's brown dress is about twenty years out of date (it looks more like it belongs in the 1940s), but I can forgive that since everything else is so nicely done.

Miyo is learning a lot now that she's coming into life after the first fairy tale ended. The next tale is getting ready to pull her in; this time, the princess may need to understand how to save herself.

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My Happy Marriage is currently streaming on Netflix.