Good Enough
Korean Drama "Happiness" is a dystopian drama that feels, nevertheless, close to home. The drama doesn't focus too much on the horror aspect, with the zombie-like disease, that could have been easily overused with loads of gory scenes and bloodbath.Rather, the drama opted for a more character-centric story, with the focus being maintained on the neighbors and their dynamics when a crisis hits home. The addition of the corporation mystery, along with the family drama, were all a nice touch that added more twists to the main plot.
However, the drama missed making the conclusion clear, or more dramatic. Everything was actually too conveniently solved when everyone was straggling to come to a conclusion all throughout the drama. Also, the drama felt like it was missing something, like the story needed something more to leave a bigger impact.
Nonetheless, the performances were great and aided the entertainment value of the drama a lot. The CGI were also well made.
So, overall, 6.5 out of 10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good start
This started out well, with a stylish opening sequence, a less common take on a monster theme, and a cool FL (Han Hyo Joo, who I almost didn't recognize - I didn't like her much in W, but she's great here), who continues to be cool all the way through! - and doesn't turn into a crying fainting jelly, as so many of them do. It is a fairly silly plot with many holes, but hey, it's a monster show, I can hand-wave that if the pace is good enough to glide me over them. Unfortunately, the storytelling in the middle fell rather flat. There are a lot of side-characters - naturally, as it's the story of the apartment block - but none of them felt compelling: no solid arcs, just randomness and dead ends, and too much time given to the least interesting and most annoying of them. (actually that was almost all of them! and they killed off 15th floor guy, who I kinda liked) The spurious melodrama with these unappealing goons messed with the momentum enough for me to get bored and abandon it on-hold for months before finally finishing it. It does pick up towards the end: the last two eps were better, and the finale tied up some of the essentials, including the romance arc, but that felt unsatisfying to me and I would have liked to have known what happened to other characters.Still worth watching, but I'd keep the skip button handy.
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Featuring Baek Hyun Jin's insanely dramatic shrieks
Before I talk about the show, let's talk about Baek Hyun Jin and his screams/hollers/shrieks... that little dude is part Velociraptor, right? He makes noises I have never heard a human make on screen or off. It's massively entertaining and only sometimes obnoxious. I've seen him do it a few times in other dramas, but Happiness provided him with a great many opportunities to implement his raptor shriek, and it fit very well with his character's cowardly evil personality.Happiness was ok. It was, for me, just a tad over acceptable but not epic. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are a lot of minor inconsistencies, plot holes, and confusing logic leaps. There are some elements I just cannot wrap my head around the logic of....like why was this apparently government boss dude the literally only guy in charge of the whole outbreak. I can't think of any government that would work that way, there would be lots of officials involved in an operation of this scale. Also why did the relationship develop between the detective and this military boss dude, that part really seemed to stretch the bounds of logic for me. Why too, if the side character brother also had antibodies was his wound purple and diseased looking where the FL's wound was not, where they multiple times in the script bring up the color of the wound's surrounding area as an indicator of infection.
The direction crew did a really terrible job with consistency, so many shots will have the actors holding a prop in their hand from on angle, but when it cuts over to the next angle the prop is gone or in the wrong hand or different. It's pretty jarring and there are multiple examples of this in every single episode. The attention to detail in this Kdrama was pretty bad, and those things break immersion which definitely reduces my impression of a drama.
The acting was pretty good, there were a few sort of one-note bland characters and it was a little disappointing that they didn't delve into any of the backstory on side characters at all, which made it difficult to connect with them emotionally. The ML and FL had good synergy. The FL especially did an awesome job representing her character's personality consistently, so you truly believed her as a character. The action scenes were pretty well done for the most part, though there seemed to be some inconsistency around when a lead could attack a gun holding person vs when they just stood there at gun/knife point. There was a really awesome scene the ML does (or his stunt double probably) where he in one swift move drops to the ground and grapples the preacher zombie's leg, spinning around it to take him down, it was pretty badass.
Overall, it was a pretty good show, though the lack of consistency in the script and directing limited the potential of the actors. Even so, 90% of this drama takes place in hallways, and it's pretty impressive that you can keep people immersed well enough that they remain watching with such dull scenery.
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finding happiness
The chemistry between park hyungsik and han hyojoo was unbelievable and something I didn't know we needed :') The thriller with slight romance has a parallel to Sweet Home, the genres are pretty similar: neighbors in an apartment complex transitioning into the infected. I was really impressed with the chemistry and duality of the power couple though-- the plot didn't have a lot of romantic scenes, but their compatibility was insane and there was definitely chemistry w/o even portraying skinship. This power couple was probably one of the best I've seen;; she's hot headed and aggressive but smart, while he's calm, rational, and logical. They balance eachother out perfectly :))Superb acting from ALL casts; the variety and diversity of characters was really a breath of fresh air that I needed; there weren't many cliches and each episode was pretty unpredictable. The cinematography and OST was done extremely well; the soundtrack fit perfectly with the overall vibe.
I'm slightly salty that the residents who were incredibly twisted and made selfish choices weren't ever properly punished/got what they deserved but the ending makes up for everything :') iykyk
One of the best dramas I've binged in a while; I guarantee it's worth the watch (unless you're not into horror/thrillers)
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Zzzz
First of all if u are looking for some intense zombie drama this might not be good for uSo lets start with the story the story was okk like nothing extraordinary
for the first few ep it was interesting but after that it was tedious and boring like there is something that i still don't understand
Like suppose you are in an apartment filled with zombies like everbody is dying the world is collapsing and u are just there being sassy
Doesn't makes sense right that is exactly what is happening in that drama like i understand they wanted to make our main leads sassy and not afraid of anything type but still it somehow looks unreal
Like how are we supposed to feel horrified or scared if the people in the drama was not feeling it Like that doesn't mean that They are not good actors all of them are amazing actors but i think they are not being used correctly
Not only the main lead but everyone else is also just so ignorent of the whole situation they are ramdomly living there life fighting over food and random stuffs ...
I understand maybe the show makers what to show the greedy side of the humanity but this is exactly not how you do this
The zombie scenes were also fine nothing phenomenal
There were literally times when i was just waiting for some action and zombies
There is nothing special about the characters like u really don't understand them and u just don't feel connected to anyone of them
So the only reason i completed this drama was because of the main leads
Their chemistry Was AMAZING !!!
So overall i would have easily dropped this drama Because there is nothing captivating about this series
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The perfect drama to end 2021 with!
I am in cloud nine right now as I've just finished the final episode a minute ago, while having this drama as one of my most anticipated airing dramas every week.An apocalypse drama; especially a zombie one is already typical in the drama industry, but it's still one of my favorite genre which is why I chose to follow this one while airing. But what made Happiness so good and stand out on its own way? The theme that this drama wants to bring out can be seen first and foremost from its title itself, the title that made viewers always questioning, "Where is the happiness in this drama? There's only misery and chaos." But I think that's really the point that they want to bring. I realized this during the rooftop scene when they were eating together, that despite the chaos that is happening, it feels better and bearable because they are with the people they loved.
And then the message pulled through even till the end; we have the rude son who finally realized his parents are the most precious people he should care for, we have siblings reconciling with each other after going through the hardship together, we have a parent holding out for the sake of her daughter and of course, we have a platonic husband and wife who realizes they love each other more than they thought they did. From all these events it shows how people, no matter how tough and dreadful the obstacle is, can still obtain happiness where they are.
In term of the plot, I feel like it could have been better but after the finale I think this drama deserve nothing less than a 9/10 despite their flaws. The less logical part was the fact that they didn't really show other residents of the block attending meeting etc and it's just those few same familiar faces all over again, not even some background characters with no dialogue to make it seems more 'merrier' as a big apartment complex.
However, apart from the "Happiness" message that they convey, what I adore most about this drama is the portrayal of some of the characters. Those that come first are of course our power couple, Sae Beom and Yi Hyun who above anything else in this world, would continuously only prioritize each other no matter what. Their relationship is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen and the way they love each other so selflessly is very precious. Tae Seok is another character that I really adore, he was such a morally grey character that you can't really sort him out, yet you know exactly what is his goal and he did everything he could; despite having to go against the rule and moral for his loved ones. I kind of find the similarity between the three of them, which is why I think they work really well together because they all prioritized the people they loved above anything else; even above saving the world. Also special mention Na Soo Min who is the character I dislike at the start but can't help to adore at the end when he tried his best to protect his sister from being infected (and him in the last episode with the gear on are especially adorable)
The drama might appear a little slow in the beginning especially if you watch it for the action-packed anticipation, but I really love the slow pace development on each episode which made the story less dramatic and less over the top compared to other drama, which is actually the perfect portrayal of the way human can still live normally despite the chaos that happened in their life, just like how we continued living with the virus that is still with us till now
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I enjoyed the show so much?
ok now i will be super real with u so basically i enjoyed the show i have always been fan of zombie dramas and this one was also soo good.REASONS I LOVE THIS SHOW :-1.new story i have seen plenty of zombie drama and to be honest this one is so unique and new.
2.Chemistry of male and female lead was fire?.
3.Strong female lead??
4.Villains were too annoying i hate them so much as i should..this proves that how good it was.
5.I loved some comedic parts ?.
6.intersting supporting casts all were so suspisious
7.love how it was not a typical zombie drama
8.Ost was so good.
9.Bond between sae bom and that kid was so adorable??.
10.Happy ending???
so these are reasons i loved the drama so much i dont care if people did not like it not everyone has same taste.
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Happiness is a must watch for all the Kdrama enthusiasts♡
I have no words for this drama! It was just Insanely well written, with an epic cast, tons of twists and a huge roller coaster of emotions. I myself got anxious around the last few episodes but this drama never failed to keep me hooked. The evil seemed very evil, the good seemed very good until we all got to see their hidden sides. This story also helps you to have a totally different prospective of humans in general. How most of them are the scariest even when they are 'normal' and how the ones who got the disease were far more innocent than them.The greed, the urge to be on the top and the need to survive is all these normal humans need to forget all humanity and be worse than those who actually were turned. The drama will open your eyes towards a different world and will make you realize how everyone turns selfish in a matter of seconds. You will realize that the only ones rooting for you and worried for you is family. No matter just how much far you have gone, you suffer with family and you survive with family.
All the characters did their jobs effortlessly. They pulled you in so hard that there are times you want to get into the screen and slap the careless ones or throw the troublemakers out the window, sometimes you will want to get in there and protect someone, other times you would want to scream in someone else's face.
The actors have done a mind blowing job and proved that Noone could have done it better than them. Park Hyung-Sik shines throughout. His expressions, his words, his actions, his aggression, his adorable smile, his bravery and smartness, makes you fall head over heels for him or deeper for those who already adore and love the man.
Han Hyo-joo plays a very important part throughout as a female lead. As a person who loves strong and independent female characters, I respect her role tremendously. She kept the drama and our dear man safe and sane from the very start. Their chemistry was so on point that they will make you blush with even the slightest of proximity between them. It's a treat to watch the two of them together in this beautiful drama. Not to mention Joe Woo-jin who plays, Han Tae-seok. His charisma, the power he holds and his way of handling situations was just my cup of tea. Man had my attention all the way.
Also much much credits should be given to the supporting casts too. Every single character was relevant and unique in its own way. The director and crew did a superb job with the cast.
The sets were interesting and very well chosen. Every single one of it gave full justice to the ongoing scenes. Coming to the plot, don't take this drama as a repeated one or something you won't be surprised to watch. Trust me when I say this, but it will give you the greatest shocks in the most unpredictable times and leave you on the edge, all anxious but excited at the same time. It had enough plot twists to not let you get bored anytime. The 12 episode journey will leave you in a storm full of emotions and when it gets over you would have to take a deep breath to recollect yourselves. I am genuinely impressed by the story telling skills of the director and writer, Mr. Ann Gil-ho. He gave us a full package to have all to ourselves and just let go into his creation of Happiness.
And don't even get me started on the songs. This is something very common in all the kdramas, their choice of bg songs always being perfect. That one tune which is especially reserved for our dear couple and their soft scenes or the one which gives you a feeling of peace even though there is nothing to be at peace for are just so soothing for the ears.
Everything, the cast, the plot, the songs, the drama, the emotions, the settings and the dialogues was just supremely satisfying. You might feel the ending was a bit rushed, but trust me, it's the best as it is. Enough to calm your anxious heart down but at the same time leaving you longing for more.
All in all, Happiness is a must watch. I binge watched it in two days and it was more than worth the time. I am elated I gave it a shot after a few months of its release because I was surely not disappointed.
Do give it a chance to take you on a breathtaking journey full of deep sentiments and an ocean of emotions, cause Jung Yi Hyun and Yoon Sae Bom are coming to steal your hearts. Which by the way, they will surely succeed in doing.
Go find your true happiness. It lies somewhere close to you, waiting to be discovered.
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!!!!!please watch this drama!!!!!
Ok,so i have seen so many dramas in the last 4 years i can not even keep up with them lol anyway and this has to be for some very odd reason my favourite/one of my favourite kdramas of all i have seen,the drama itself does have some plots here and there and it is quite easy to watch and to go thru,i am going to be honest...u will hate a lot of the characters but i have watched and rewatched this drama a lot of times and i always recommend it to everyone and i really liked the main leads like gurl they slayyy and they just match so damn well like ahhhhh u know what i mean,u will know after u watch the drama so please watch it. on another point the ost is quite nice for a short drama too like the songs are sad,yes but like so damn good and not overly played in weird moments so it is quite nice to hear them too.the acting is of course chefs kiss ^^ and the story in my opinion is ok/decent honestly,i do understand that some people did not like the drama because of its annoying characters but it is ok in my opinion,i have seen worse but still prepare yourself mentally ;))Was this review helpful to you?
Subjectively 10, objectively 8
Okay, my two fave actors made comeback with this one. I liked the idea of making a zombiesque disease an epidemic. It started so well. I liked the vibe of it with fake marriage and school mates connections and character detailing. I also got jumpscares and goosebumps in the initial episodes. I loved how serious the disease was portrayed. But second-half become less of a thriller vibe and more of logistics issues. If the motive of the drama was to make the viewer find it relatable and happy then that was achieved greatly. But it failed to express itself wholly with a bunch of blank spots like how they resolve everything in such a short time, why were some people able to control the thirst, etc. Maybe I wanted to see more zombies and bloodiness in the latter half but oddly the leads were "lucky". I felt sad and irony for the hazmat suit guy. I wasn't much interested in the other characters like the lawyer or doctor or the cleaners as they felt filler content but the actors did an insane job especially the representative lady and doctor. The intro theme music was so good. I thought of saving it and rewatching later but the second half changed my mind.Happiness indeed, but lacks something to make the feeling stronger.
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Rushed ending—Happiness is best for what it COULD have been
Before completing, I had tried to watch Happiness twice before but just couldn't get into it. Once when it was airing, and another after—but the first 2 episodes were just too high a barrier. I'm glad I finally pushed through to the end—and I think at its core Happiness's high rating is in large aprt due to its potential.When I think about happiness, I appreicate the concept and what it wanted to achieve—the execution however was lacklustre—not TERRIBLE, but not absolutely amazing.
❌ THE BAD:
❌-- The poor characterization and backstories of the leads
I love that Happiness has a slow burn romance that's a subplot and not the main focus of the story. The thing is, when its a slow burn you need to have leads with strong back stories and characterizations for the viewers to condstantly turn over in their head for why these two people are so compatible, and what about their personalities has been keeping them from getting together right now.
Sae Beom and Yi Hyun are great characters, but the flashback to high school provides little info on their characters—and barely any of Yi Hyun's home life or backstory is ever explored. He seemed too perfect, besides his baseball injury. I wish there had been more core memories of their flashbacks besides Sae Beom pushing him off a building—(also, is Yi Hyun human? How can you not even get angry or terrified when someone pushes you off a building? At least see him get upset or shocked at Sae Beom—instead of being instantly smitten with her ?)
They've been friends for YEARS, are you telling me there are no other important moments they've shared over their decade-long friendship? How and why have they built such trust till now? What is Yi Hyun's reason (well, we sort of learn this, but it feels a bit shallow). What are Sae Beom's reasons? What conflict have they had that they overcame and brought them closer together? We need to see their bond! I wish they fleshed out their past and their characters BEFORE all of this happened more.
❌-- Terrible supporting characters that hang around way too long
I think we can all agree that some of these supporting characters needed to be out of the picture since yesterday. I think Happiness would have really benefited from having a more morally grey character in Yi Hyun—he had potential in a few scenes where he snapped and would really threaten or hurt the doctor guy. He always spoke about being the bad cop, but he was still pretty lukewarm. I wish Yi Hyun was more flawed and less perfect, and that a bit of karmic justice could take these villains OUT! (where's the white truck of death when you need one)
❌--Han Hyo Joo
Han Hyo Joo is stunning and beautiful to look at—but in W and now in Happiness I have a hard time believing her chemistry with any of her co-stars. I think she's a bit stiff when it comes to romance and really letting go and selling the believability with her chemistry. This might just be me lmao but that's what I think—she didn't add much 3-dimensionality or uniqueness to Sae Beom, and idt it's just how the character was written.
❌ -- Longer than it needed to be.
Idt happiness made use of its 12 episodes. Idt it needed anymore, I think the episodes in the middle could have been merged. Some stuff get drawn out for way too long—scenes are repeated, it's just screen time where not much things of importance are happening. Either they needed more families to follow the lives of, or they needed to cut their scenes down!
❌ -- The ending
The last 20 minutes of the final episode are way too rushed? Like hello? We needed at least an extra 30 minutes of screen time after the episode ended to actually flesh out and explain what the hell just happened! I know this isn't a romance kdrama, but right when everything was getting good it ended ;-; We need an explanation for how the solution came about, the aftermath, a proper epilogue that's not like 2 minutes long!
✅ THE GOOD:
✅-- the concept of the story
Again, I think Happiness is great in theory. Hopefully another show comes along that remakes this or does something completely new but of a similar premise or formula. This is like a sweet home meets Reset (don't ask how this reminds me of Reset, it just does).
✅ --The actor for the doctor
My god Baek Hyun Jin does an amazing job of absolutely getting on my nerves! When he was writhing in pain on the floor? Absolutely pathetic this actor does an amazing job of making viewers want to reach through the screen and just punch him lmao
✅--OST
Idt there's even a proper song I heard being sang, but I like the opening credits and I think the sound design was well-done enough since it's never bothered me.
✅-- Park Hyung Sik
I think he did the stunts himself?! Apparently he actually knows taekwondo (or so I've heard). I appreciated the fight scenes and the added level of immersion. He also bulked up for this role—a lot of people were calling him fat, but when you bulk up in muscle some of that fat's going to go to your face, it all just depends on your body! I think people were giving him too much shit, he still looks handsome and I appreciate his dedication to actually looking like a baseball player. Do you think we'd all believe he's a hulking, strong baseball player if he was still skinny like in Strong woman do bong soon? Go back and watch clips of him back then. Imagine him doing his current stunts with that same physique. Humans change and get older and he looks more mature now. Let's be realistic here.
? Anyways, I liked Happiness because of what it could have been if it had just tweaked and improved a few things. I think as it is now, it's probably about 50% of it's full potential. But I'm glad it has such a high rating, hopefully dramaland sees that stuff like this will do well and make more similar productions!
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I appreciate how this drama gave off a raw, natural, and cozy sanctuary despite the somewhat horrific subject matter. It is obvious that the drama was not made with a very high budget. There were no uses of CGIs neither extremely exaggerated editing. I really like to commend the make-up department here for doing such a good job. The action choreography was also deserving of credits.
Even the romance and drama here were not overly exaggerated. The romance was more subtle, mature, and responsible rather than being too fluffy and cheesy, which was reasonable considering the subject matter and context of the situation they are in. Unlike most KDramas also where it becomes more melodramatic and makjang during the later episodes, this stayed true to its perfect balance of thriller, suspense, and drama.
The Seyang Forest Apartments symbolizes or represents happiness. The poster alone shows that this apartment is central to the setting and overall plot of Happiness. From the very first episode, we can already see that Sae-bom has always been looking forward to having her own apartment. For her, this would be her ultimate happiness because she wanted to change the ugly memories of her chaotic home with a much better and peaceful one. During the lockdown and pandemic, we can see the hindrances to one’s happiness in this apartment. There are the class disparities (numerous floors and ladders going up and down), egoistic and selfish nature motivated by one’s survival (different rooms in the apartment), external factors such as the pandemic, itself (being locked inside the apartment). Due to these, Sae-bom was even threatened to be kicked out of their apartment—her happiness. But, just like what a natural human instinct to do, she disagreed and fought for her happiness.
The last episode’s title was Happiness Is With You. Indeed, it wasn’t the house, itself, or the fact that one can have a shelter to sleep on that makes a happy home. It was evident on what happened to the Seyang Apartments. Happiness is in the communal spirit; the collective motivation to do and grow better together. If only most were able to put down their pride and prejudice, the apartment wouldn’t have turned so chaotic.
I would have given this show a perfect score if not for the last two episodes. The ending also seemed rushed to me. The message of the apartment and happiness were given more focus that the other details outside the apartment were overlooked. I wanted more elaboration regarding the causes of the disease or whether the pill was really the beginning of it all. There was also no explanation or just a more subtle clue about what happened to the corrupt and higher officials. In addition, the martial law part bothered me a bit. For some, it may come off as a propaganda or perhaps, it just shows a lot about the reality of how most of our government reacts during these kinds of situations which was really lacking and unhelpful.
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