Happiness (2021)

Good start but getting worse

As usual, I didn’t read anything or watch trailer before watching this show. I only knew it was a survival genre, a bit similar to Sweet Home. I didn’t even know casting.

Things of first episodes I’ve enjoyed the most:
- Han Hyo Joo as FL : for a long time I wanted to watch a drama she stars. Her acting skills are very good ! Even if she looks nice and sweet, she portrays a strong/badass character very well !
- Park Hyung Sik as ML : even if I didn’t like Dr Slump, I think is a great actor (loved him in Soundtrack #1)
- High level of action and intensity from the beginning/first episode of the show. It’s been a while first episodes of a drama hooked me that much.

But from ep4 action level lowered. There was more resident relationship scenes than survival (residents vs infected) scenes.
The show is mainly focused on manipulations, lies and plots… almost every man for himself.
It shown the worst side of human nature/behavior (I really don’t like this kind of drama, it is hard for me to watch this. I’ve almost gave up at ep10…but only 2 episodes left so I kept watching).
To finish, the « Andrew » twist is from my point of view a total nonsense ! And the 2 last episodes have been rushed (so predictable/cliché)

This is sooo disappointing because I really expected « action/survival » drama (safe vs infected) and I haven’t got :(

About leads chemistry, it is very good. FL and ML portray lead couple in a very natural way (one of the best couple I’ve seen among a lot of dramas).

A few songs of OST are good enough to be added to a playlist.

To summarize, I’ve watched this show, it is not one of my favorite and I won’t rewatch it…

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Good idea, awesome cast, weird execution

The characters:
I wanna start off by saying this is supposed to have a badass female lead, yet Yihyun is always saving her. Hes supposed to be more docile than Saebom, who is widely known as the hothead of the couple (and this is proven by things like his refusal to use a gun and the fear everyone has of her temperament), yet hes always upfront with his violence as a solution for every problem that arises. They talk about her temper and being afraid of what she could do to others but she literally doesnt even have the oppurtunity to show us that, it felt like a poor attempt at a strong independent FMC.
However the side characters made the show for me, i've never been so angry at a group of people before, they were all driven to insanity by their different vices and they showcased, brilliantly, human nature in a crisis situation.

The acting: INSANE. everyone in this ate their role up.

The message: the only thing left in this show was them literally showing us a IN BOLD LETTERS "sociopolitical anti-capitalistic critique of the world and human behaviour during the pandemic", and in the end they really didnt accomplish much with this.

The setting: the whole building layout made no sense, it felt empty and unnatural to me. the fact that there were only a handful of neighbours added to that strangeness, compared with the fact that we never get a good look at outside this apartement complex and how the world deals with the virus.

The plot: the big bad villian was awful, they could easily have defeated him earlier, it was unnecessary and annoying. The other residents succumbing to madness was a a much better plot that should have happened sooner, AND should have been the real threat.

Plotholes? : Soomin was also immune, but they dont explain why he could smell the different bloods and felt the urge to drink human blood but Saebom never did feel that and what was the actual cause of the production of those specific antibodies? beacause Saebom had an unspecified disease but Soomin had diabetes? they tell us about the 2 years she was in an hospital, even though that is hinted to be the reason she developed the antibodies.

The romance: barely there, dont watch this for the romance its a zombie drama, they are super cute tho.

The ending: lackluster. we had 0 resolution for most of the side charcters i was heavily attached to: the siblings, jungguk and his wife, seoyoon and her mom, the divorcees, han taeseok and his unborn child, etc etc etc

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Chef's kiss

I don't usually write reviews because I haven't really found a drama that is worth the time put into it but damn happiness is truly a master piece. I loved everything about it from the plot, to the execution and even the cast
Unlike most kdramas a lot of the plot wasn't so predictable and it wasn't an overly romantic and long drama. I loved the fact that even though some episodes where slow paced and had little action it didn't feel dragged or boring in any way
I hardly watch horror or zombie thrillers because I'm prone to having nightmares but happiness is a series that i would rewatch again and again no matter how much I get scarred. The antagonist perfectly executed their role so much that anytime i see them in other dramas i can't help but hate them. Most of them were truly narcissist and self-centered to the core. And please don't get me started with the main leads from the Mal's deep love for her to her slow and steady falling for him. It was also rare to see a badass female lead who wasn't overly self-righteous and knows how to play the bad guy. The ML was also good at not allowing his character to be overshadowed by the FL. And last but not the list the little girl who lived with the main leads . It was so touching to see that even though she was scared and sad to be away from her parents she tried so hard to remain though so that she wouldn't be a burden. So all in all it was a perfectly executed piece.

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A New Light Shed on the Eternal Search for Happiness

* On a starting note:
You would wonder why I gave an overall score of 9 when I rated the story 7.5! My numbers don't add up because this work is just as complex.
* "Happiness" is a depressing apocalyptic take on the classic Search for Happiness, I thought it would be another survival story but it was so much more.
I would say the story is the weakest factor this drama has, while the acting, twists, and characters are one of the best I've seen taking into consideration it's a 12 episodes show.

* After the Ending note:
I feel dizzy.. like I know it's a 12 episodes drama but dang I wanted it to last longer.. guess the producers did everything they could to cook such a deep show in only 12 episodes.
Even with all the plotholes, I still rated this a solid 9/10 for the drama, characters, and development! It's been a while since I got this immersed on a show! I even was waiting for someone to jumpscare me until the very end of the credits 😂😅 cuz I was already so traumatized over all the jumpscares.
My favorite part is how much you would see from each character and the development of many - be it for the bad or the good-! The twists were quite good too! The acting was superb that almost every character had its own light. I sobbed a few times and was fumming at others.
I liked that this time it wasn't poor people are good, rich people are bad, this time the drama adapted the reality approach that a person cannot be judged until you have lived with them!
People's true nature isn't something easily discovered nor judged. This is the core charm of Happiness for me.
And of course another charm was showing us what is the real HAPPINESS whithout mentioning it once in the drama!
This work kinda reminds me of webtoon I've read years ago called DeadDays, I can't remember the details but I totally get the dejavu.

* just wanted to end this saying that you will be left thinking and appreciating the Happiness you have in your life through the misery of HAPPINESS

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I know I'm very late in watching this drama but it's been on my list since it aired and I finally watched it. AND I LOVED IT!
It has a capturing start and without wasting time on background stories, the drama jumps right into the main plotline. It shows the imperfection of humans in such an amazing way. How greediness and selfishness comes to surface when you are put into such situations.
Yet the two main leads show us the true meaning of being selfless and living for others. The male lead is so gentle but good at his job ad the female lead show she cares about herself first but we find that she also puts herself last. Although mostly all of the residents are bad in one way or another, the main leads don't hold a grudge against them and help them and do their best for everyone until the end.
Even though this drama isn't focused on romance, I love the way main leads portray their love without any words. Also them being married makes everything ten times better in my opinion.
A lot of the scenes did have my at the edge of my seat. It wasn't exactly gory but it was enough to make you jump.
In the end I really thought that Yi Hyun died because I had not seen any spoilers thankfully. I couldn't have been any more happier for the happy ending.
One thing I really hoped to see was what happened to Han Tae Seok and his wife in the end. I understand showing the cure would stretch things too far but to see his ending would have been nice because I actually liked him.
Overall I enjoyed the drama and would recommend it 100%

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If you expect an AOTD like scene then it's not like what you expect

I love how they create new type of zombies that's fresh and not to common to watch . The story mainly goes around the apartment and the two main actors . What i remember the most is my anger to Mr Oh and you'll find it out in the drama. Also it's more on saving people and choosing the right thing to do . There's so many things that will happen in just a second and prepare to be shock every minute. I will also recommend you to prepare for the last scene how it make me go NOOOOOO ! Hehe i love the cast and over all they made a great job naking this drama (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

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The main couple is the best part

Oh dear. This one is so universally beloved on the internet that I’d been saving it for a long time; as a lover of the zombie genre (the fast ones) and of healthy, best-friends-to-lovers romance, I felt like this had everything I could ever want. In the end, though, I felt like it was just okay.

The best part of the show is the main couple — I loved every scene they had together, and I loved how much they communicated and supported each other through everything. But I felt like they were very underutilized.

Even though this drama is filed under Action and Thriller, there’s actually very little of each. Compared to most zombie outbreak shows, this one is relatively contained: for most of the episodes there’s one or two that pop up, but they’re fought off or pushed outside the building, and everyone retreats to their apartments and their food rations.

I don’t mind a bit more organization and government response, and Han Tae Seok is actually one of the most intriguing characters in the show, but I feel like the show needed to escalate much more to make the stakes feel higher and for us to see the main leads in a more raw and desperate state. We got a little bit towards the end, but it felt very late and the scale just never felt as big as it could’ve been.

Additionally, when the plot started expanding, there were a few unnecessary plot elements that were included. The “people are the real monsters” theme is very common and I enjoy it, but it didn’t quite feel cohesive. Sometimes the character decisions didn’t really make sense, and the “zombies” ended up being pretty underutilizedwith the final resolution being too quick as it jumped to the epilogue.

Ultimately, I think this is a very character-driven drama, which is good if you like that sort of thing. I think the side characters were all very well done and there’s adequate commentary through them about human greed and selfishness — I just wish the drama moved the plot forwards while it was doing all that.

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Amazing Drama!

To be fair, it's my first time ever watching a zombie apocalypse themed drama. I've never been interested in stuff like this but considering that, I quite enjoyed this drama. This drama made me feel mad yet sad. The characters made me furious because of their selfishness and instinct to betray others for the sake of their own life. I kept telling myself to understand where they're coming from because they're suffering too but I just couldn't. But they got their punishments and I'm happy. I thought the main guy was going to die, but thankfully he didn't. Overall, I enjoyed watching this and I totally recommend.

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Few Zombies

The story is about a woman who becomes the main character after getting a scratch from a zombie. The zombie origin is from drugs that have already been distributed all over the world. The woman then survives along with her boyfriend and the people who live in the apartment. But, the military locked the apartment to make sure that no one is come out. This is where the story becomes interesting.

Sadly there are not many zombies like swarm zombies. It's only a dozen of zombies that they have taken on this K-drama.

I thought that the ending is... Just watch it by yourself XD

It's recommended to those who like zombies but not the hardcore one :)

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Gripping Action with Sweet Romance

It took me two attempts to get invested in this show, but it grabbed me by the throat once it happened.

❤ OMG, the romance blew me away. It had it all - pining looks, hand holding, unrequited (or not so unrequited) love, forced proximity, and marriage of convenience. While the romance isn't the driving factor of the story, it certainly builds episode by episode as Sae Bom and Yi Hyun work together to keep the residents of the apartment building safe. The chemistry between them, their absolute loyalty to one one another, and their refusal to back down on fighting for the things they loved made them one of my all time favorite couple duos.

❤ There is some shady shit going down in the apartment building prior to the lockdown, all of which comes full circle as the resident secrets begins to unravel the longer the quarantine continues. Their are certainly some memorable characters and interactions. I will admit some of the storylines for secondary characters petered out by the last episode. It would have been nice to have some clarity on whether or not the characters in peril during the end of the lockdown made it back to the real world alive and unharmed.

❤ I have been really impressed with the expansion of zombie lore over the past year! First this show and now All of Us Are Dead are giving us some interesting zombie alternatives. Honestly, this was a terrifying premise as infected individuals switched between madness and sanity.

❤ The lockdown and quarantine elements of the show certainly paralleled the real world during the Covid-19 epidemic. It explores themes of isolation, fear, and panic as the residents are moved into lockdown. If you're someone with PTSD from Covid-19, perhaps this show isn't for you (at least at this time).

Watch if you like: 💖Slow burn romance | 🧟 Zombies / Undead | 👩 Engaging female lead
Find it: Viki (12 episodes)

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