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It's Okay to Not Be Okay korean drama review
Completed
It's Okay to Not Be Okay
71 people found this review helpful
by michelleoc
Oct 10, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 5.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

A lot loved it, me, not so much

After all the hype, I thought I'd give this one a try. I'll be honest, I have difficulty watching shows about mental illness, but I especially have a hard time watching shows in which mental illness is not addressed. I felt that either the writers really dropped the ball on this, or just grabbed onto something that would further the storyline.

The cinematography was beautiful. I loved the different camera angles, looking up, looking down, etc. Costuming was lovely, especially for Seo Ye Ji (think IU in Hotel Del Luna).

Oh Jung Tae as Moon Sang Tae - his portrayal of autism was wonderful, even down to the smallest movements of his fingers. I don't follow Korean award shows, but he deserves an award for his performance.

Kim Soo Hyun as Moon Gang Tae - his performance was very understated and powerful. There were times that I could almost feel his exhaustion with his life. His love for his brother was lovely to watch. As an actor Kim Soo Hyun tends to always play parts where he doesn't have much facial expression, and this time it really worked for him. He was able to convey so much with just his eyes, and when he cries? My breaking heart!

Here's where my problem with the show came in: Seo Ye Ji as Ko Moon Young. They allude to antisocial personality disorder, but I didn't find anything redeeming about her character, and she wasn't able to bring anything to the table to make her likeable. She was displaying classic sociopathic tendencies ("I want that") that were very scary. I get that we are all broken in some way, but I didn't buy that he could love someone that messed up, especially with the all-consuming job of being responsible for his brother. When she got the haircut, I think that's when we were supposed to see a change in her, but by that point I wasn't able to get back from my dislike. What about counseling? What about medication?

The twist with the mom was interesting, but very implausible.

I did like the ending, and I liked how the autistic brother was able to bring so much to the table to build a family with the other two.
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