The last time I reviewed 'We Got Married', I had labeled it as a very 'cruel' show. Two strangers meet, they fall in love, they split up - that was the premise of 'We Got Married' as a program. And much heartache would ensue for the viewers invested in the faux 'marriage'.

Recently, though, that's changed quite a bit. The couples now all live together in the 'We Got Married' village, which calls for more interactions between the couples, and even more story lines and relationships to branch out on. Along with that, the editing and general pacing of the show has gone through a subtle overhaul, as well.

To put it simply, 'We Got Married' has transformed into something that strongly resembles a sitcom. For example, let's take the episode that was broadcast two weeks ago:

Lee Joon and Kwanghee are the hilarious dynamic duo, while Julien Kang and acts as a foil to their wild antics. Meanwhile, there is a conflict (who dropped the jajangmyun noodles?) that gets cleanly sorted out by the episode's end (it was Lee Joon and Oh Yeon Seo!), carried out against a background of a wider story (election of the village leaders).

The girls, meanwhile, have their own conversation, mingling together on the sofa. This is a scene that viewers would have never gotten to see on the old 'We Got Married', and in some ways, it feels much more realistic - this is what actually happens in a real-life marriage, instead of being sequestered by themselves.

Of course, the whole proceeding is punctuated by moments of hilarity and smaller snippets of various side stories.

Personally, this feels much fresher and newer than the stale and tired "here's a mission card, and this is the couple-y thing you have to do today" of episodes past. And it seems to be working - the ratings, while not soaring through the roof quite yet, are still miles above what it had used to be just a month ago.



If there's one thing 'We Got Married' has lost, though, it's the emphasis on a 'true' love story. The program has traditionally tried to avoid any mention or acknowledgement of its synthetic premise, with much care being taken to avoid showing the cameramen, or staff members, or the outside world in particular - the couples were always in a fantasy world, populated by people 'in the know' (for example, Seohyun's manager or Nichkhun's fellow 2PM members).

That kind of thing has been dialed down significantly in the re-boot of 'We Got Married'. In the episode two weeks ago (to use an example), the three couples get together to put on a talent show, in a scenario highly reminiscent of a traditional variety studio setting. Also, for what may be perhaps the first time in 'We Got Married' history, they break the fourth wall: as an offhand remark, Kwanghee mentions they've been getting high ratings recently. This kind of fantasy-breaking would not have been allowed in the previous iterations of the program, but that standard appears to have changed. The new 'We Got Married' is much more of a traditional variety show than its predecessor.

Of course, there's still vestiges of the old 'We Got Married' left; especially on the most recent episode, where the couples were much more segregated and apart. However, even here, bits and pieces of other couples' lives intrude on those of the others, lending to that 'sitcom' vibe that I described earlier.

From a first look, it looks like we'll be in for quite a ride with the new 'We Got Married' - albeit a ride with much less love story, and much more situational comedy. The direction that 'We Got Married' has placed itself in is quite promising; now, let's see if it can capitalize on the new opportunities and regain its previous success.

'This week's highlights' will return next week.

 

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