My Happy Marriage S2 Ep 8

This week was another (thankfully) slower episode that had a combination of wholesome moments, and ominous build-ups of what’s to come. The first few minutes of the episode was focusing on political talks with the council ministers. There’s a clear division between those who harbour disdain over the power of supernaturals, versus those on the side who favour the gifts, but are not necessarily aligned with Takahito. Talk about a real headache to deal with.

Miyo and Arata had a moment where they had to deal with instance with the Minister of Education showing up uninvited, under the pretense of “his driver got lost” (bullshit). And if that wasn’t already rude enough, his reason for showing up was to bribe Miyo into using her powers on him. Then when Arata turned him down on her behalf, he had the audacity to call the Usuba’s Monsters. Fortunately Takahito’s “Hawk-Eyes” Takakura showed up to send him away, but not before the driver took a minute to “apologize” by whispering into Arata’s ears, ‘thanking him for his hard work’. Which begs the question: Arata, what the hell are you cooking?

Apart from that dumb minister and sus driver, we did get a wholesome ladies night with Hazuki as the host, Miyo, Yurie, Kaoruko (by call) and Prince Takahiko who went along with being ‘Princess Takako’ for the gathering. As a classic staple, the topic of love came up when Hazuki excitedly was teasing Kaoruko about how she feels about Godou. Talk about awkward, considering she seemed to be only one completely oblivious to the fact the one Kaoruko liked was Kiyoka, not Godou. Oof!!  I’m pretty sure that was the reason why Kaoruko just kept drinking until she was drunk. To shut Hazuki down from teasing her further, she made the point that she wants to step away from love for a bit– and honestly that’s definitely for the best considering she’s in the process of letting go of her feelings for Kiyoka she had hung onto for so long.

But Kaoruko also brought up an important subject for their discussion: Love is scary. It was something Miyo resonated with. She’s scared of becoming strongly attached to someone, and how falling in love will change her. As we were reminded during their visit to the shrine in last week’s episode, Miyo has been trapped under a rock for almost twenty years. It wasn’t until she was sent off to be married to Kiyoka that she finally took her first step outside on her own. So it’s only natural that she’s still getting used to what it feels like to be loved, and of course is feeling uncertain about what it feels like to be in love.

That was where Hazuki stepped in to share her past regrets of divorcing Okaito. They were in love, but because she failed to tell him how important he was to her, they couldn’t save their marriage. So she wanted Miyo to know how important it is to communicate how she feels, and focus on strengthening the bond she shares with her loved one. Hazuki doesn’t want to see Miyo suffer from the same mistakes of not expressing her feelings sooner or when it matters most.

Either way, the reminder of how ‘life is short’ was sure a foreboding moment when we know the future has already been set into motion. We were reminded of this when Takahito and Miyo had a brief private conversation about the nature and the loneliness that comes with shouldering the weight of their powers. But that wasn’t the main reason why he wanted to talk to Miyo. He had come to deliver a warning in way that only Miyo could understand: Cherry blossoms disturbed the snow will bring the nightfall.

In other words, Usui’s expected to strike the next time it snows, and there will be a great crisis.

The premonition scares Miyo, but it appears it was not enough to help her remember, nor immediately connect the dots to the dream she had back in the first episode of this season. For the moment, Miyo seems to have largely forgotten the vision of Kiyoka standing in the darkness, with snow blowing around him as he apologizes to her with a face that looks likes he wants to cry. When it finally snows, that’s when Usui will strike, and knowing that with certainty thanks to Takahito’s powers is what’s putting Miyo on the edge.

Finally, we did have a wholesome moment with Kiyoka and Miyo. They had a cute debate about gets the bed after Takahito decided to ensure that they share the bed during their stay. Seeing Miyo be pouty is actually quite adorable. They of course eventually agreed to share it since neither of them were going to allow the other to sleep on the floor. We once again saw Kiyoka trying to help Miyo relax and feel more comfortable talking about her feelings. He really wants to hear more about how she feels for him, but he knows that he really can’t push her to do it. She has to be the one to choose to open up.

And Miyo is trying, albeit very slowly, but she is making progress. She’s comfortable enough to express she has no regrets being his fiancée, and she managed to muster up her courage to ask him has he ever felt the feeling of love before. That itself can be considered a big win. In turn, while she’s still trying to figure out her own feelings, Kiyoka was able to share his thoughts towards love. He reflected on how deliberately acted insensitive towards others, perhaps because he was scared of facing them properly. Miyo can relate to that to some extent, of how she too has farmed a wall around herself in order to prevent herself from getting hurt further.

But now it’s different, Kiyoka knows he’s not the same as how he used to be, he has changed, and what he wants in life have changed as well. He told Miyo that he wants to fall deeper in love with no one else but her. Like god damn! This is a shining example of how love can positively change a person. Kiyoka went from being “no to love and marriage” to now laying his heart bare to Miyo, dropping her some of the most romantic lines- and if that wasn’t enough, he’s patient enough to tell her he’ll be wait for her! KIYOKA, YOU’RE THE MAN!

There’s actually more I’d like to add, but I’m going to wait and see if it gets brought up in the upcoming episodes before I expand on it further. Until then, that’s all I have to say for now so I’ll see you guys next week!