In Episode 9 of the anime “My Happy Marriage,” Season 1, Arata’s manipulative intentions become increasingly evident as he maneuvers to break up Kiyoko and Miyo, capitalizing on Kiyoko’s insecurities and doubts. The episode also sheds light on Miyo’s inner struggles and Hazuki’s past while the mysteries surrounding the Usuba clan unravel further. As the episode draws to a close, a critical decision is made that could reshape the characters’ future and introduce unexpected twists in the unfolding narrative.
This article contains spoilers.
My Happy Marriage (Season 1), Episode 9 “Drowning in Dreams” Recap:
The episode begins where it was left off. Arata is holding Miyo in his arms on the street. As soon as Arata asks her how she is doing, she gets back up and apologizes for inconveniencing him. Arata told her there was no need to apologize, and he was glad she wasn’t hurt. Miyo tells him it was because of her carelessness. Hazuki intervenes, thanks Arata, and tells Miyo they need to escape the sun. Arata asks Miyo to take care of herself and leaves. Yurie and Hazuki ask Miyo to take care of herself. Arata smiles and thinks aloud that she doesn’t know how special she is and needs to take care of herself.
Kiyoko comes rushing home and is worried sick and wonders why she would push herself so hard. Kiyoko informs Hazuki about the gift user, and Hazuki asks him what the probability of using these gifts remotely was. Kiyoko tells her that only a Usuba was capable of such magic, but he believes there should have been a crack in the barrier, and it wasn’t possible to do anything from outside. Kiyoko tells Hazuki that he was speculating that everything happening was because of her Usuba heritage. Hazuki is surprised by this revelation, and Kiyoko tells her there are enough clues to assume that.
Kiyoko tells Hazuki that Miyo was not born with the gift, but if she carried any Usuba blood, her body may have an adverse reaction. Hazuki cannot make sense of this. Kiyoko tells her that he was only able to come to these conclusions. He also informs her that Miyo knew nothing about her Usuba heritage. Kiyoko is upset as he knows Miyo won’t talk about this matter; she has been hiding her emotions a lot more lately. Hazuki consoles him, saying she probably didn’t want them to worry about her.
A man and a dog spotted the skeletal beings and were attacked by them. Godo informs about this to Kiyoko. He also informs him that the civilian is in a state of coma. Godo was sure it was grotesqueries (skeletal beings). He tells Kiyoko that they were way off in predicting the grotesqueries’ movements, and the imperial house could not handle this situation. Kiyoko is worried that these beings will reach the city center soon.
Miyo wakes up with another nightmare, and she hates dealing with nightmares every day. She is also very upset as she believes that she isn’t refined like Hazuki, and to add fuel to the fire, Hazuki has reduced her lesson duration after she collapsed. Kiyoko called Miyo to inform her he would be working late that day. She offers him lunch, but he refuses and asks her to rest. He checks on her health, and she assures him she is fine.
Godo informs Okaito about the situation, and Okaito gives them the bad news that the Ministry was slow in taking action. Kiyoko tells the group that the capital’s perimeter would be on guard under his command while Okaito would speak to the Ministry again. Miyo prepares a meal for Yurie and Hazuki, and Hazuki scolds her for working when she hasn’t recovered completely. Hazuki also tells her she was a terrible cook and could never make such a delicious meal. Yurie tells her that this weakness did not go well when she married. Hazuki tells them that she doesn’t like everything that has taken place in the past. Hazuki tells Miyo that she regretted the way her marriage had ended.
Hazuki tells Miyo that she got married at 17, and it was a political marriage. Her husband was kind, but doing basic chores was not her strength; the biggest challenge was that she didn’t get along with her husband’s family. Normally, her husband would comfort her, but one day, they both got emotional and had a big fight. After that, they decided to divorce, and after coming back to her parents’ home, she felt regret as she felt she hadn’t tried hard enough. Hazuki tells Miyo that she admired her as she knew of her weaknesses and faced them head-on. But she asks Miyo to prioritize her feelings so she does not regret anything. She asks Miyo how she envisioned her ideal life to be.
Miyo imagines being the perfect wife for Kiyoko and being refined like Hazuki, but she tells Hazuki that she hadn’t thought about it and the only thing she was sure of was to be by Kiyoko’s side. Hazuki calls Kiyoko a lucky man. Kiyoko gets leads from everyone named Sumi, which could lead him to get more information on the Usuba clan. He asks his investigator to continue looking for the Usuba clan.
Miyo asks Kiyoko if she can join him as he was sitting out watching the sky. Kiyoko apologized for not giving her time as he was busy with work. She tells him it was okay. Kiyoko asks her if she is okay and if something is bothering her, but Miyo tells him everything is okay but asks about Hazuki. He means that they have shared a good relationship but have different personalities. They could converse easily and always knew what the other person was thinking. Miyo thinks she didn’t have anyone like that to grow up with.
A still from My Happy Marriage Season 1 Episode 9.Kiyoko asks Miyo to sit close to him, holds her hand, and asks her to express her feelings even if it means she feels lonely. She says she is fine, but Kiyoko tells her he feels lonely. She finally admits that she felt lonely as well. He hugs her and tells her to express everything she feels. They are family now, which means being there for each other through thick and thin. Miyo tells herself that she needs to get strong to be there for a family despite Kiyoko being very kind.
Arata visits Kiyoko’s house. Miyo opens the door and is surprised to see him. Arata asks about her health, and he tells her he is here to see Kiyoko. Miyo informs him that Kiyoko was called into the office at the last minute, and Arata apologizes for not calling in advance. They exchange introductions, and Arata tells her that he knew of her and that the rumors about Kiyoko being cold must be true, and Miyo seems exhausted. He tells her she had to push herself because of Kiyoko’s neglect. Miyo refuses these rumors, but Arata insists that something is wrong with Kiyoko as he had let her suffer.
Miyo yells at Arata when he mentions her training to be a lady. As she screams, something goes off with her ear, and Arata apologizes. He tells her he has an offer for her role only she could fill. He gives her his card and asks her to contact him if interested. Miyo gets curious about the position. Meanwhile, Kiyoko and Godo are waiting for Arata at the office. Arata reaches the office and informs Kiyoko that he is free to act independently as he was granted permission from the Ministry.
My Happy Marriage (Season 1), Episode 9 “Drowning in Dreams” Ending, Explained:
Can Miyo and Kiyoko Overcome Arata’s Manipulation?
As Arata and Kiyoko leave, Arata informs Kiyoko about visiting his house. He tells him that Miyo is a wonderful woman, but he doesn’t like how he treats her. He tells him that she looked frail and they had crossed paths once before when she had collapsed on the street. Kiyoko was surprised by that and said he knew nothing about Miyo. He asks Kiyoko if treating Miyo like she is invisible is okay. Kiyoko is angered, but he doesn’t say anything.
Iwashimizu informs Kiyoko that only one Sumi didn’t have a birth certificate nor was associated with any household, and that was Sumi Tsuruki. Kiyoko realizes that this was Arata’s last name. Kiyoko rushes home and calls out to Miyo, but she is in the kitchen lost. She suddenly sees Kiyoko and welcomes him home. Kiyoko is in a foul mood and asks Miyo if he is so untrustworthy that she doesn’t want to lean on him. Miyo starts crying and tells him she doesn’t want to trouble him. In anger, he tells her that if this resulted from being educated, he should not have let her do it in the first place. Miyo is upset, and she faints.
Kiyoko beats himself up as he realizes he treated her exactly like the Saimoris did. As soon as Miyo faints, Arata’s visiting card falls, and Kiyoko picks it up angrily. The episode ends with Kiyoko taking Miyo to Arata to get more answers and ending Miyo’s suffering.
In this episode, we see Arata making his moves to break up the happy couple for his motives. He successfully brainwashed Kiyoko into making him believe he was a terrible person, especially to Miyo. Miyo’s curiosity does peak with Arata’s offer, but she does not take any action towards it. Kiyoko is closer to finding the truth about the Usuba clan as Iwashimizu informs him about someone named Sumi Tsuruki. Things will probably get difficult and ugly when Kiyoko reaches Arata’s place, as we don’t know what traps are set. But it could also be a good trigger for Miyo to be able to use her gifts that she isn’t aware of yet.
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My Happy Marriage (Season 1), Episode 9 Links: IMDb
My Happy Marriage (Season 1), Episode 9 Cast: Reina Ueda, Kaito Ishikawa, Ayane Sakura
Where to watch My Happy Marriage
