It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

Very entertaining but not too much else

Quite a unique drama with some interesting themes. Seo Yeji is a stand out for me, her acting is brilliant and she plays her moody and dark character perfectly. Also very found of the support cast, all the character have their own interesting quirks and relationships, very likeable and funny as well.

What i don't like:
I'm 10 episodes in and the main story has started to unravel itself, but even still it's not that exciting. Kim Soo Hyun's character has to choose between love and his family, and is leaning towards the latter because he feels guilty. Not anything out of ordinary for kdramas.Why he feels guilty is what kind of annoys me, like dude, you were a dumb kid,

I'm also not a fan of the main relationship, i feel that there is a lack of chemistry between the leads. Seo Yeji's character kind of just forces herself onto him, and he basically does the bare minimum to reciprocate feelings. Pretty disappointed in the "met at childhood" trope that was used, kind of a cheap way to build the relationship from a character perspective.

Overall the relationship is odd, we've seen the male leads be the 'carer' of the female lead in a bunch of other kdramas before, but this one is taking it literally which is funny.

Regardless, i'm going to finish it because it is still fun to watch. But beyond that, there isn't a deeper level to this at the moment from i've seen. Maybe ill change my mind by the end.

Read More

This drama is difficult to review. Even though the story is very simple and unremarkable, it was strangely addictive. I found myself breezing through each episode and eager to watch the next.

It's certainly a drama for those who appreciate the journey and not only the outcome. What makes this drama work is the undeniable chemistry between not just the two romantic leads, but also the supporting cast. The level of acting is excellent. Every actor seemed to play their characters with ease, and the dialogue and interactions felt natural. I found Oh Jung Se's portrayal of Sang Tae particularly outstanding. He played an autistic character with so much respect and love, and was really endearing to watch. He captured the mannerisms so well, without it looking forced or mocking. The sentimental moments between him and Gang Tae (Kim Soo Hyun) moved me to tears, and it felt like they were truly brothers haunted by a troubled past. I congratulate Kim Soo Hyun's performance here as well. I also enjoyed the way Seo Ye Ji's played her character. She was regal and powerful, and carried her costumes with class!

What fell short was of course the story line. It was very one-dimensional and not fleshed out well. It took a backseat in the drama, and honestly made little difference to its overall appeal. I'm also growing tired of the overdone Kdrama trope where the main leads bond over a shared childhood trauma, or an intertwined destiny. I was hoping this drama would take a new approach to romance, but unfortunately it did not.

Overall, I still thought the drama was enjoyable to watch. It was visually enchanting, with a dark storybook feel to it that was unique and intriguing. I'm a huge fan of Kim Soo Hyun and hope to see more from him in the near future!

Read More

Mesmerizing

I started to watch this kdrama after it airs the 4th episode. I was so taken aback with the visuals; both the casts and the cinematography. I love how every episodes have their own sub-titles from fairy tales. It gives us a big picture of what the episode is going to be about. Also how they raise the awareness of mental health in a simple way and focusing on the patients and not only the main leads. The soundtracks are also to die for! Even the instrumental ones are so beautiful. So sad to think that this weekend this drama will be over. Definitely will have a post-drama syndrome and gonna rewatch this dozens times!

Read More

The autism representation sucks

As someone that actually has autism, I hate this. The way that the dissorder is represented is looking like they're mocking us and only take all the extreme parts of autism and just mix it with childhood trauma. i dropped at around ep9 because i can not handle the way she is treating him. it is just messy. i get that they want to represent the disorder but they also just need to do propper research. Autism is more than just meltdowns and special interests.

Read More

Ig it really is ok not to be ok

Not gonna lie It took me a lot of time to start watching This k-drama i found the Animations on the Start a little weird , but the more i watched it the more i liked it, it feels different and a lot of people wont like it but for the ones who want to try it i suggest since it became my fav k-drama till now.
I'm astounded with the cinematography, writing, and acting and If u spend a little bit u might start liking the little Animations it has.
For those who want to try i strongly advise you , the story is amazing and cute, but be careful when u Start watching you might not be able to stop

Read More

My obsession

I watched it in full a couple days after the last episode aired on August 9th and I'm probably on my 7th or 8th rewatch and I'm just now deciding to write a review. I don't understand how you can't fall in love. It made it hard to watch other kdramas after this - it sets the bar too high. The chemistry between KSH and SYJ is addictive. Fantastic acting. OJS and SYJ especially blew me away. Deserves every award. I truly did feel healed and continue to feel healed by this drama and just feel so thankful for its existence. What a gift. I actually initially looked into the drama because I enjoyed Park Kyu-Young's supporting role as Ji-yuul in Romance is a Bonus Book (her facial expressions are perfect) and it was so nice to see her reunite with Kang Ki-doong. Parts of the plot in the end do feel burdensome to watch, but I understand that it's meant to make it like a fairy tale and also to incorporate the kdrama/love hardships aspects. SYJ (my absolute obsession) had me bawling. She has so much range. I became enamored by her after this as so many others have and have delved into her collection of roles - currently halfway through Potato Star and over halfway through Moorim School and wow - she has chemistry with EVERYONE. But really, SYJ and KSH together are beyond words. Who doesn't want to see these two together in real life? What a blessing.

Read More

Go watch it right now!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the Best drama i have ever seen and this is also my firsg review for a drama....this drama deserves better...i seriously didnt want to complete this drama...i can rewatch it how many ever times and i still wont get bored!!!!!
If you want to watch it...dont give it a second though...just watch it...you will seriously thank me...the actors have done justice to the characters....
I have loved kim soo hyun from the drama "My love from another star"...
This drama will make you laugh, cry, smile, get butterflies in your stomach
And seo yea ji of course was sooooooo cool....
Enough of reading... gooooo and watch this drama nowwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!

Read More

It is a Romance drama, with mental health issues as a side dish

I've come full circle on IOTNBO. It was on my PTW prior to release, then got onto CW, then I put it on hold after ep 1.... watched 2 more eps and shifted it to dropped list. Ironically, due to the scandal that Seo Ye Ji is unfortunately pulled into, my curiosity on IOTNBO is reignited and I binged the remaining eps in 2 days. This is the first drama of Seo Ye Ji that I have watched, and I am mighty impressed!! I see why she is nominated for Best Actress now. And honestly, if not for Seo Ye Ji's performance, I might be rating this drama 7. Going to watch her Lawless Lawyer after this. So hey, not all scandals mean bad publicity! IMO, I can't see why she is wrong? It was a private conversation and it is unfair to pass judgement based on a small snippet of a long chat.... but I have digressed.

What I do not like

-- This drama has mental health as its packaging and romance + family at its core. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I would really prefer it to have been romance as its packaging and mental health + family at its core.
-- The pretentious beginning. If you have seen IOTNBO, even if you love it, please think over the 1st few eps.... it was really quite pretentious. The over-the-top scenes were just there to bait us into continue watching it. And that beautiful animation in ep 1, they never repeat that again.... The baiting intention was so clear.
-- The 'mystery'. By ep 10, I was guessing that the Head Nurse is the mother, and that patient, Ms Park, is only a pawn that she planted. I am quite disappointed that I had guessed correctly so early.
-- I do not understand why there is so much screaming and raised voices in this drama? Especially for the ML character. He is a normal man who is stressed-out from caring for his brother for the past 20 years, never having much personal time. So it should have been a gradual release of his stress and letting go, but the script had him from quiet and nice guy to screaming at all unexpected changes....
-- They never really explained on Jae Soo, why and how is he so attached to these 2 brothers? JS is not an orphan, so why is he not with his parents and why did his parents allowed him to give up on building a future for himself and just tag along the Moon brothers? Maybe this works in a webtoon but in drama, scriptwriter should have given his character some backstory. JS is like a poor extra character, who is just there.

What I like

-- The 2nd half. The drama dropped its pretentiousness and focused on telling the story (2nd half is much better than 1st half, imo).
-- I love the depiction of the sibling caregiver burden and struggles. This is quite accurately depicted.
-- FL's acting. Especially in ep 14, I took 1.5 hr to finish that ep as I was rewinding and re-watching some scenes. ML did well too, but FL was more outstanding.
-- I like the CP scenes, the chemistry between ML and FL was sizzling!! Although I would have prefer more scenes on the mental health issues in the hospital.
-- The 2nd couple. I like Joo Ri and Sang In's characters, they are well flashed out and the actors have a 'couple look', lol!

Read More

Ah! What a great comeback for Kim Soo Hyun! I'm glad that he took the offer of this drama because this drama was such a rollercoaster! This was said to be a healing drama and I agree! It was a very relatable drama and it also talked about mental health which I think is very important for everyone to know.

By reading the plot, I was thinking that it wasn't complicated until I've finished the drama and actually understood where the characters' personalities are coming from. The twist was really unexpected and if weren't for the fan theories that I saw on the net, I wouldn't have any idea what will happen! What I also liked about the plot was how it relates to the female lead's stories from the books she writes. The ending was really satisfying and the family and friendship aspects in the drama are just really heartwarming. It was very unusual in a good way and it tackles so much about overcoming your cruel past.

Going to the cast, they are all amazing. Kim Soo Hyun didn't disappoint, and Seo Ye Ji's acting was definitely amazing! My first drama of Seo Yeji was Save Me, and from that, I believed that her acting capabilities are beyond what I'll expect and I was right. The chemistry between Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji is oozing hot! But the one who made me feel different types of emotions was Oh Jung Se. Oh Jung Se's acting as Moon Sang-tae was definitely top-tier. He's one of the versatile actors and I know and I wasn't expecting how he nailed his character so much. My last drama of Oh Jung Se was Stove League and his portrayal from his character in that drama to his drama here, all I can say that he's just a great actor.

The music was really fitting to the whole drama! If it weren't for the music, I wouldn't have gotten goosebumps in some scenes that literally looked creepy for me.

All in all, I loved the drama and I really think that you can learn a lot of lessons from it! Also, it's okay to not be okay.

Read More

Overrated but good actors

I'm glad the actors were good, or I wouldn't have finished this series. The story was boring and the main lead lady was creepy.
Overall, I expected a lot because of the hype, but the series was a bit weird, too slow, way too sad and overdramatic... Luckily there were some cute moments that made it less heartbreaking.

My episode reviews:
Ep 1 was very strange
Ep 2 was even stranger...
Ep 3 got interesting because of the mental hospital
Ep 4 was weird and sad :(
Ep 5 was a bit cute with the sleepover :)
Ep 6 was interesting because of the spooky castle
Ep 7 was very dramatic
Ep 8 finally got romantic and cute, stockholm syndrome
Ep 9 started with a cute vacation, then it became too dramatic
Ep 10 was just sad :(
Ep 11 was very cuteeee :)
Ep 12 was plain rude! -_- overdramatic and then got too sad
Ep 13 was cutee then too dramatic
Ep 14 Sad. At this point I didn't wanna watch anymore
Ep 15 got psycho... and sad again :(
Ep 16 was actually a good episode and funny :)

I'd say if you want a better mental health drama, watch "It's okay, that's love"
And if you want a similar dark fairytale story but more interesting, I'd recommend "Black knight"

Read More