First Impressions: C-Drama "Married" Is A Gripping Tale Of Betrayal, Revenge, And Redemption

What makes for a perfect marriage? It’s a subjective question, with everyone having their own opinions. However, in the Ning and Hu home of “Married,” both the wife and husband have very different expectations of their marriage as well as of each other. Ning Yue (Elvira Cai) is a former lawyer who has been married to the successful entrepreneur Hu Cheng (Feng Shao Feng). Parents to a son, Hu Cheng is keen they have another child, though Ning Yue needs time and is keen to get back to work. However, Ning Yue’s world falls apart when she discovers Hu Cheng has been cheating on her. She wants a divorce but realizes she does not have the means to sustain herself and her son, since Hu Cheng has taken control of everything in her life. As she embarks on a journey to get her life back, the most important question is, what are the stakes involved? Here’s what you can expect while watching the show.

Ning Yue, the perfect wife with a perfect life?

Ning Yue (Elvira Cai) has it all, or so it seems. She is beautiful, married to a successful man, is a mom to a cute son, and has a lovely home. A former lawyer, she has devoted herself to managing her home, raising her child, and seamlessly taking on the roles of wife, mother, and the charming hostess. But her husband Hu Cheng makes all the calls related to their life as well as how Ning Yue should dress. He insists she should only wear the cheongsam (a traditional Chinese dress) when the couple entertains. Ning Yue does not argue and obediently complies with his wishes. The once courtroom champion is now a shadow of her former independent self.

Hu Cheng has allowed her to take on odd assignments as a voluntary consultant, which basically entails in settling small civil cases. Though she keeps telling her husband that she wants to get a full time job, he insists that they should focus on getting pregnant with their second child, and she should be content with the part-time gig.

However, Ning Yue has always had a strong sense of purpose and social responsibility. These aspects come to the surface when she is approached to tackle a divorce case. The client in question is a woman who wants to leave her cheating husband, but her child doesn’t seem to agree with the mother’s decision. As Ning Yue requests the woman to get evidence, things start going horribly wrong. Not only is the confidential information leaked, with serious repercussions for the client, but Ning Yue’s reputation is tarnished, and she is publicly slammed. She loses the job she had applied for and also the organization she worked for has packed up.

Hu Cheng insists that Ning Yue forget about work and look after herself. He takes her to a hospital, citing his concern that the depression she had in the past seems to have resurfaced. He is concerned about Ning Yue, or so it seems, but Ning Yue feels suffocated and disenchanted. Is she one of those women who seems to take her life and entitlements for granted? That’s how she is made to feel when she overhears her new friends calling her stuck-up and ungrateful, especially when her husband does so much for her. But Ning Yue’s so-called perfect world comes crashing down when she discovers that Hu Cheng is having an affair at work and has been cheating on her with Tian Qiu Zi (Jia Nai).

The affair and Tian Qiu Zi’s possessiveness is the final jolt that shakes Ning Yue off her reverie. And beyond just the infidelity, there are several other startling revelations about Hu Cheng which shock Ning Yue. But to initiate divorce, Ning Yue needs to become financially independent as well as gather hardcore evidence against Hu Cheng, since he meticulously covers his tracks. Ning Yue reaches out to her lawyer friend from the past, who advises her and encourages her to find a job.

She decides to start afresh and takes on a trainee position under Qin Can (Xing Zhao Lin), the rookie lawyer she had trained long ago at her former firm. She sets the wheels in motion to end her marriage, but can Xing Yue afford expose the truth behind her perfect life? The stakes are high and so is the price.

Elvira Cai plays Ning Yue with ease. Her character’s dilemma of being the dedicated wife and doting mother who craves an identity beyond the roles she has is relatable. A moment when she silently cries as she shows her husband memories of the past is evocative and moving. Her simmering rage when she is betrayed and how she draws courage from within is also well articulated by the actor. Elvira Cai gives a nuanced and impactful performance as the submissive wife who seeks her power back.

Hu Cheng, the manipulative smooth operator

Hu Cheng is a complex, controlling, and manipulative man. On the surface, he comes across as a doting husband and father, but he is anything but that. He is scheming and unscrupulous, and he can destroy anyone, including his wife, if his line isn’t toed.

Hu Cheng is not too happy with Ning Yue insisting on getting back to work. He’s the one who leaks out the confidential information that Ning Yue has access too and launches a smear campaign against her, which costs her reputation and job. He sets up the organization where she works by funding it and also buys out the woman who approached Ning Yue to fight her case.

He also gaslights his wife every step of the way. He makes sure to tell her former employers that she suffers from chronic depression, is prone to violence, and is inept at keeping a job. Even though Ning Yue insists that she is not depressed, he commands her to take medication, showing his “concern.” He is obsessed that Ning Yue get pregnant again and focus on their home. He is insistent that she give up the thought on getting back to work. Insecure and possessive, he even tends to follow her and keep track on her every move.

But Hu Cheng leads a double life. He has a mistress and is having a torrid affair with Tian Qiu Zi, an investment banker. He has been seeing Tian Qui Zi for the past five years, around the time Ning Yue was pregnant with their son. But he smartly covers his tracks so that his wife doesn’t suspect his affair, and he indulges his mistress so that she is no where insecure of his life as a husband and father.

When he discovers that Ning Yue has got herself a job and is working with Qin Can, a lawyer he has had beef with in the past, Hu Cheng carefully plots his next move. But can Ning Yue and Qin Can outwit this crafty man?

Feng Shao Feng’s Hu Cheng is despicable. He has no scruples and is on an obsessive power trip. His insecurity comes from his inferiority complex, and he shows his supremacy by manipulating situations and people around him. Feng Shao Feng puts the good in playing bad with conviction, giving an earnest performance.

The world of the married

This show is all about the complex world of the married. As the cracks appear in Ning Yue and Hu Cheng’s relationship, it goes beyond infidelity and betrayal. It is a battle of the sexes. Hu Cheng’s misogynistic attitude stems from his childhood,and the patriarchal set-up of his own home.

It is at a class reunion where his classmates divulge on how Hu Cheng always felt socially inept because of his humble beginnings. Prone to lying and stealing in college, he had married a rich woman and divorced her soon after he set up his business. As his business succeeded, he courted Ning Yue, a bright lawyer who had been dealing with the loss of her father. But he has his own warped mindset on the role of the women in his life. He makes Ning Yue give up on her thriving career and makes sure she has no opportunities awaiting her. He demands complete obedience and is passive aggressive with her if she shows any rebellion. And yet, his mistress is an independent and successful career woman, and though he is happy to recommend her professionally, he keeps her at bay from his life as a family man.

On the other hand, Ning Yue is a content wife and mother. She loves Hu Cheng and is devastated when she learns that she has been constantly deceived by him throughout their marriage. Her plan and agenda is simple. She wants to get her life back. She plays on Tian Qui Zi’s insecurity and starts by defying Hu Cheng and his plans for her and their family.

But the question is, can she go through the divorce without it impacting her son, or should she stay put in this fractured relationship for the sake of her child? And can Hu Cheng redeem himself, or is he beyond redemption? As Ning Yue weighs in on her next move, there are several situations which unfold between the couple, forcing them to reweigh their decisions.

“Married” is a taut and engaging narrative, keeping one invested in the characters as they are caught in a complex web of secrets and lies.

Start watching “Married”:

Watch Now

Those in Southeast Asia can watch here! 

Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.

Currently watching: “Love Scout”