It's Okay, I didn't love it
This show tries to reconcile two ideas: Being a lighthearted romcom while dealing with the topic of mental illness. It ends up being mediocre at both.Starting with the romcom aspect: The actors are doing a good job and the story flows well, although there are a lot of story points that go nowhere. Some of the subplots I found uninteresting and the characters sometimes annoying. The soundtrack is good, untypically for kdramas there is actually western pop mixed in. The main story relies heavily on the before mentioned mental illness theme.
And this brings me to the second aspect: the mental illness. And this has multiple issues.
First, it is ubiquitous taking away from the impact: almost all characters either suffer from mental illness or are psychiatrists or both.
Second, a lot of those afflictions go nowhere and feel like a gimmick.
And the third and most problematic point: the show is staying incredibly lighthearted. People will talk about the issues and will cry a lot. But only once in the show I actually felt an impact from them. And that was from a short episode of a side character couple.
So in the end the drama fails at what it wants to do, but overall I still enjoyed watching it.
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What I liked:
- the transformation of Jae Yeol. Jo In Sung is the epitome of cool and it was amazing to watch how he played Jae Yeol as someone with ultimate swagger and later on as someone, who perhaps, could be seen as pitiful
- the chemistry among the roommates. loved how much they all cared so easily for each other.
- Jo In Sung and Gong Hyo jin. they make a beautiful, confident duo
What I disliked:
- poor resolution of secondary story lines. there are a LOT of interesting characters introduced along the way, don't expect any of their stories to get any satisfying resolution. everyone gets a quick line here or there, but nothing substantial or worthwhile.
- the transformation of hae soo. her story arc doesn't make a whole lot of sense. she and jae yeol are great together but she's not as likable in the end as she is in the beginning
Overall, really enjoyed the show as it was different from the standard meet-cute story of boy falls in love with girl.
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Once again, Gong Hyo Jin has showed us caliber acting alongside her onscreen pair, Jo In Sung. Both actors delivered powerhouse performances in the entire length of the series. I've been a fan of Gong Hyo Jin for her funny and loveable portrayal as the main lead of The Master Sun and she has done it once again here in It's Okay That's Love. The actress has that gift of making her co-stars shine in every drama she has appeared in.
Jo In Sung managed to draw us in with a convincing take on his character. The on screen chemistry was very good, you wished the pair dated off screen/in real life! The series had enough storyline to keep it moving in such a good pace, the dialogue superb and witty. It had made references to cult film favourite such as "Before Sunset/Before Midnight" which was a bonus! There wasn't a dull moment and I felt so sad after finishing it. This series has been quite a tearjerker and captured so much emotion. I just fell in love with this series and its characters that after two days I had to re-watch it again! This is truly a MUST SEE! You won't regret it. OST is also well recommended. Two thumbs up!
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- The story deals with topics regarding mental illness and manages to really dwelve into them; the writers did a great job of taking the matter seriously and presenting it in a profound way, you really feel the sincere approach on that front.
- The acting is absolutely superb from every single cast member; they all did a fantastic job and balanced out well both the comical and more serious aspects of the series. (+add to that, that Jo In Sung and Gong Hyo Jin have great chemistry; their scenes together was such a joy to watch.)
- The music was fantastically picked; there's not a single song that won't be stuck in your head after you finish watching it.
All in all, an absolute gem of a series that will take you for a ride and never let you down. A solid drama from start to finish that will truly stay in your heart and maybe teach you a couple things. I know it taught me!
I give it a 10 in every category - and I rarely give 10s, but it really doesn't deserve any less. A huge kudos to everyone that worked to create this, they all did an excellent job. Phenomenal series, simply put.
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Dissapointed
I'm fresh from the joyous experience that was "The Master's Sun" and the perfection that was Gong Hyo Jin's performance as the woman whose life was derailed once she started seeing dead people. This euphoria needed to be continued, I said. So, without further ado, I jumped on It's Okay, That's Love.Notwithstanding that it's a completely different story, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters and that is my baseline when watching these dramas. The writers should at the very least make them likable, especially with a subplot as heavy as mental health and PTSD. Even more so when the leads both have past trauma. All I got from this was an irrational FL with serious anger issues.
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Ahead of its time
This is the drama that made me a fan of Gong Hyo Jin forever. She fills the screen with confidence and skill in how she portrays her character. And the writers were ahead of their time, telling a story that speaks to the importance of mental and psychological health with depth and understanding. I recently rewatched it to see if I still felt the same way, and I still do, sort of.What I love about this drama is that all the characters are well developed and have meaningful interactions with each other. I also like that, even though some of the instigating events from the past are k-drama troupes, they are executed with minimal makjang. The past unravels in a way that makes sense and fuels satisfying dramatic revelations. The tears you shed are warranted and built up so that they really mean something to the viewer.
One of my favorite characters is played by Lee Kwang Soo. He brilliantly portrays a man with Tourettes. He gives his character dimension and heart.
There are a few things I noticed after re-watching that caused me to lower my rating. For one thing, Jae Yeol treats Hae Soo really poorly while pursuing her in their relationship. There is quite a bit of inappropriate physical contact that she does not consent to, as well as a huge lack of respect, which could be a trigger for some viewers. As a more mature person, it bothered me a lot more than the first time I watched it, which tells me how vulnerable younger people can be when they look to kdramas for models of romantic relationships. Also, there are too many repetitive hints and flashbacks to the past so by the time you get to a big revelation the impact is diminished. Lastly, the pacing is inconsistent. The drama spends a lot of time exploring the rocky relationship between the leads, and then suddenly busts out the dramatics really quickly about half way through and doesn't explore how the characters deal with the situation with as much depth as it could have.
In the end, I applaud the risks It's Okay That's Love took to address challenges of mental health, and the acting is superb. I highly dislike the inappropriate physical contact and mean interactions in the main couple's relationship though. Despite these inconsistencies, it was a leader in bringing important mental health issues to the drama world.
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This drama will surely leave something to think about behind because it's so intense.
The story was very well thought through because it starts so harmless and you think it's gonna be typical romance comedy drama.
Well yes, the fact that Ji Hae Soo is a psychiatrist is kind of the frame of the story, because there are people with mental illnesses, caused by trauma or something else.
She lives in this house with her mentor who is also a psychiatrist and another guy who has tourette. Then suddenly this charming author comes along to live with them and Hae Soo is faced with actual feelings which she's trying to avoid and it's quite lovely to witness.
So, a love story is starting to develop....and then ... around the episodes 9-11 this drama seriously punches you in the face and despite knowing all the sad backround stories, those things that are happening will make you really really really emotional.
I loved the cast, their acting was so fantastic! I loved every aspect about it. this is one of the few dramas I really never skipped any scenes because it might got boring or what so ever, every scene was so well played and was so so important for the characters development. I also really enjoyed the things that were going with the support roles and how they build a home for Hae Soo and try to support her in any way.
They music was wonderful as well, made some parts even more emotional.
As for it's story, I wouldn't rewatch it right away, but at some point - maybe.
Overall this is one of the best dramas I've ever seen. And it's so heartbreaking to see certain aspects of mental illness that are shown and you really can feel the despair and the struggle those characters show us.
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This review may contain spoilers
I still can't believe that I didn't want to watch this drama When i first saw it i didnt know it's male lead(jo in sung ) and thought that he was un attractive -can you belielve it so i decided not to watch it -stubid i know - but luckily one Day I wanted to watch a fun drama so I saw an ost mv then decided to watch It - maybe it was one of the best things i've ever done -
I watched the first episode and didn't really like it much but i knew that most Korean dramas start with a weak episode -it wasn't that weak though- so I gave it a second chance and thank God I did because it was one of the best dramas I have ever watched
It had it all, whatever you're looking for it has it
Looking for fun trust me you'll find it sometimes my cheek bones really hurt because of laughing so much
Looking for romance it had one of the best chemisty ever
Looking for drama or sadness you'll definitely find it sometimes I cried really hard-espically in the last episodes-
Looking for great ost it had it, the song you're my best friend stuck in my head for weeks (yea it's not korean so what)
Looking for mystery or surprises, oh you'll find it you'll never believe...... ah right no spoilers sorry
Looking for medical stuff, proplems in the past,..... etc.
My point is it has it, all you'll never regret watching, trust me
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The drama makes its premise known early and clearly in the first episode, revealing backstory, current situations, and character personalities in a concise and easy to follow manner. That alone sets this drama above many others I've seen. In particular knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the character's personalities in such a complete way was shocking to me. Kdrama notoriously loves to play with personality traits throughout a show, throwing what the audience may have thought to be an intrinsic characteristic away as soon as its no longer useful. Though the clarity of certain premises and traits was welcome I also enjoyed the ambiguity about which character was the one with the most serious 'problems'. Toying with this question was a major source of intrigue and stimulation for me as I watched the show; a nice mystery to solve. Usually either our male or female lead will be clearly at a disadvantage in comparison to each other by the first episode, but this drama instead presents two equally successful and capable adults with heretofore unexplored mental illnesses. The audience is thus forced to take both equally seriously and this prevents one side of our fated couple from being discredited too early on into the show.
This brings me to our characters. Some truly grated on me in the beginning, some I felt were too one dimensional, and some were just great right off the bat. First for the characters I had some issues with...Soo Kwang was simply too childish for my liking. I understand that his disability left him feeling socially awkward and frequently impeded his social interactions but I did not see any valid reason for him to be perverted all the time. He showed marginal growth towards the end of the series but his character still left me feeling uncomfortable. Jae Bum's character also frustrated me. I feel that the show really failed with him. Where there could have been a rational and introspective exploration into Jae Bum's journey to come to terms with his past and present there was only stagnation and irrationality. So Nyeo is another problem for me. As I've said before I do not like Lee Sung Kyung, but in every drama I try to stay objective and judge her only on the role she is currently playing. Once again she has let me down. Her constant use of annoying female character stereotypes in place of realistic personalities and decisions is disappointing at best and infuriating at worst. She was simply rude at times and her personality deficiencies could not be explained away by her mental illness.
Allow me to now speak about our leads as well as some of the more palatable supporting characters. First Hae Soo...she is an imperfect female lead. She has personal issues in droves, is sometimes too self involved, and can be stubborn like no one else. But all of these issues just serve to make her more real, more relatable. While the hard working, always cheery female lead trope is nice sometimes it's not exactly something most of us can see within ourselves. Hae Soo on the other hand is more than her good or bad qualities. I feel this is best seen in her relationship with her mother. She is an imperfect human, just like the rest of us. Her character's flaws are what allow her to be a better person at the end of the series than she was at the beginning. My favorite aspect of her, though, is her commitment to herself. She loves Jae Yeol, no doubt about it, but she is also not willing to sacrifice her own well-being and happiness for him. That is called a healthy relationship. Speaking of Jae Yeol he too is perfectly imperfect. He of course has a score of personal and interpersonal issues from his past to his present and beyond. He goes on a heartbreaking and difficult journey to becoming a better, healthier version of himself. He is charming and fun and completely devoted to Hae Soo, but just like his other half, he is committed to himself and his family above all. By the end of the drama he is still recognizable in his good qualities, his intrinsic personality, but his flaws have been transformed into sources of strength. I'll end this character analysis with Kang Woo. First, I would like to take this moment to praise Kyungsoo's acting. I thought the hype I had heard about his acting ability may have been over played by EXO fans but he stands on his own merit. His character made this drama for me. The raw emotions he portrayed, the way he always left you guessing, the way he could make anyone empathize with him was amazing. He mirrored the veteran actor's emotions and performances so well and was able to embody everything Kang Woo was meant to be. Kang Woo himself, though a problem for our male lead, was pitiable but also funny and lighthearted and sweet. He perfectly balanced the harsh scenes with the light.
Overall this drama was a whirlwind of emotion and plot. It tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you reeling. It was a beautiful exploration into the human condition and is a drama that everyone should watch at least once. This is the kind of television that makes its watcher grow as a person.
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