The Remarried Empress is a popular Webtoon manhwa following Navier, who is considered to be the perfect empress. When her husband suddenly demands a divorce because he wishes to marry his mistress, Navier struggles with losing her position as empress, which she had been raised for and dreamed of being since she was little. With her world shifting before her eyes, she pivots and proposes her remarriage to a different emperor.
This story is a good gateway comic into this trope. Instead of trying to win over her husband and oust the mistress, she finds herself a better man. Remarried Empress is also a bit unique because, unlike many other manhwas with this trope, it is not a time reversal or an isekai (a subgenre of fantasy where a person or a group of people get transported to or reincarnated in another world, a video game, or a book). The isekai where the main character ends up in a book they previously read is one of the more popular isekais and Navier isn’t aware of a novel plot, hasn’t gone back in time, and has no knowledge of a previous world. I also enjoyed the banter between Navier and her new male lead. This webtoon was very satisfying in the way she dealt with her previous marriage.
Another webcomic with this trope is The Villainess Turns the Hourglass. It follows Aria, the new stepdaughter of a count. When her mother marries the count, Aria finds herself thrust into a life filled with luxury and temptation, and unknowingly falls into her stepsister’s traps. Consequently, she gets labeled as a villainess and hanged for her crimes. Aria then wakes up in the past and realizes she’s been given a second chance. Aria, now armed with a magical hourglass, decides that the best path forward is to expose her stepsisters’ true character and take everything she holds dear by becoming a better villainess.
What I love about this story is that it is heavily focused on revenge in the beginning, which complicates Aria’s interactions with the potential male leads. While the initial male lead character isn’t horrible to Aria, he doesn’t have the capability to match her cunning prowess. He also doesn’t prioritize her and allows himself to be swept along by her stepsister. For me, it was really satisfying to see a new male lead sweep in and not only keep up with her but truly support her. Moreover, we get to see Aria overcome her past mistakes and see her emotions in a more raw sense.
Additionally, An Extra Stole the Male Leads follows a girl who wakes in the novel she was reading as Selonia, the daughter of the duke, a healer, and one of the four saviors set to battle the demon king. After Selonia and the three other saviors—a paladin, a dragon, and a duke—defeat the demon king, she falls unconscious. When she wakes up three months later, the three other saviors are enamored with a strange girl, Grace, whom she’s never heard of, and one by one break their vows of protection and love. To make matters worse, the demon king, who has lost his memory, suddenly shows up in human form and saves her. Unable to tell anyone that he’s the demon king, Selonia must find a way to defeat him and figure out why her former friends and lovers are now hopelessly in love with Grace.
I love how in this manhwa, Selonia looks into Grace but isn’t necessarily trying to win back the male leads. She is confused and angry at first, but doesn’t throw herself at them. She lets them go and starts gathering information. And when she’s looking into Grace, it is not because she’s jealous, but because she’s hurt and wants to know why the other saviors suddenly changed. I also appreciate her complicated feelings regarding the demon king. I like how she slowly begins to care for him more.
Overall, these manhwas depict a trope that I feel should be more popular because more often than not, the girl stays with the trashy men and tries to “fix” them. They propose the notion that trash is not recyclable and that we can do better than a guy who doesn’t prioritize us, dumps us for someone prettier, or who just uses us. We need more heroines who find better male leads.
Natalia Williams, Pine Reads Review Writer