REVIEW: ‘My Happy Marriage’ Season 2 Episode 9 — “Dream Tidings”

My Happy Marriage Season 2 Episode 9, “Dream Tidings,” sees the danger posed by Usui (Yûya Uchida) grow. As demons begin to appear in greater numbers, Miyo (Reina Ueda, Shin Megami Tensei V) is faced with a startling revelation concerning her recent dreams and a plot to kill Kiyoka (Kaito Ishikawa). But it may already be too late, as the wheels of Usui’s plans are already turning.

Things pick up quickly throughout this episode. Following three main path lines, we learn that Usui is on the move, pushing three distinct threats. Pursuing military, political, and supernatural fronts, it looks like the defenders will be quickly overwhelmed, especially since they still don’t know everything that is going on.

This level of coordination instills a greater degree of discipline and planning than the Gifted Communion has previously shown. My Happy Marriage Season 2 Episode 9 makes it clear that it isn’t just Usui and a bunch of fanatics at his back. He has skilled, dedicated allies, some very high up in the government. Watching all these moves begin to play out creates a rapidly increasing air of danger as the narrative progresses.

Brief scenes throughout the narrative help keep the multi-angled attack clear. Rotating through a handful of plots further delivers the feeling that everything is happening in real time. Even as we see Kiyoka and his comrades begin to unravel one strand of the plot, another is already tightening around them. At the center of it all is Miyo.

Usui shows his hand in My Happy Marriage Season 2 Episode 9.

When Miyo dreams again of her mother and Usui, she learns she hasn’t been witnessing visions of the past but Usui’s dreams. He has drawn her into his mind and intends to awaken her full power for his use. But before he can do that, he must remove his greatest obstacle, Kiyoka.

The dream sequence is easily the visual highlight of My Happy Marriage Season 2 Episode 9. As always, the visual presentation does a great job of amplifying Miyo’s unsettling experience in the dreaming world. The moment twists out of her control due to Usui’s influence, leaving Miyo terrified. After all, if you aren’t even safe in your dreams, can you be safe anywhere?

The confrontation that awaits Miyo in the waking world is the most brutal the series has done. When a demon-possessed Communion member assaults Miyo, things look grim. Even though Hazuki (Yôko Hikasa, Dragon Ball DAIMA) tries to protect Miyo, she soon crumbles to the spiritual powers of Miyo’s attacker. Isolated, Miyo finds herself in the creature’s grip, the life being squeezed out of her. All the while, Usui is in her head, demanding she summon Kiyoka so he can kill him.

The outcome of Usui’s demands is predictable but awesome nonetheless. As has happened repeatedly in the series, Miyo’s inner strength surpasses everything her assailant expected, as she refuses to give in to Usui’s wishes.

Kiyoka hits his lowest of lows, but hope may be on the horizon.

This force of will speaks highly of Miyo but also illuminates the limits of Usui’s intelligence. Despite his shrewdness, Usui clearly succumbs to the age-old weakness of arrogance. He is consumed with the concept of awakening Miyo’s power so he can wield it through her, yet he can’t even control her when she doesn’t have this godlike ability. How does he expect things will go better for him once she does?

Unfortunately, Miyo’s courage is all for not, as Hazuki had already sent for Kiyoka, not realizing the plan was targeting him all along. While Kiyoka makes a brave showing in defense of his fiancé, he is laid low when a pair of bullets from Arata (Ryohei Kimura) take him by surprise.

Despite being made aware of the betrayal’s likelihood, this moment still hits hard. The shock crashing into both Kiyoka and Miyo makes the most of the plot point, forcefully selling the cruelty of the betrayal. The moment gains an extra level of emotional impact when it’s revealed that Kiyoka is to be taken into custody on trumped-up treason charges.

Before Kiyoka can be taken away, Arata permits him one last kindness. Given a moment with Miyo, Kiyoka tells her he loves her. The words are a relief to Kiyoka, as not saying them would be torture for him. However, hearing the long-desired confession from her love under such circumstances creates an indescribable pain for her. Ueda delivers Miyo’s pain at this moment amazingly, pushing her voice performance to its limits, augmenting the character’s pain, and ending the episode on a tragic note.

My Happy Marriage Season 2 Episode 9 brings its heroes setbacks and heartbreak. With everything in disarray, recovering from the damage done seems insurmountable. But as the old saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And as this episode once again displays, no will is a match for Miyo’s.

My Happy Marriage Season 2 Episode 9 is streaming now on Netflix.

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