Happiness (2021)

sometimes ‘sane’ people are the actual monsters.

this is not your average “fighting monsters” drama, infact it's actually not about it at all. at first i was vary about watching this thinking it'd be just another zombie apocalypse with no explanation as to why it began or how it'll end but still decided to give it a try.
IT IS DIFFERENT. when i started watching it all of my concerns were proven false. and this is NOT a zombie apocalypse drama too btw. it's about how even with sick people around, people with a healthy body prove to be more dangerous. the show had all the different kind of people you do meet atleast once in your life as characters, when u watch some characters and their decisions, you feel like asking yourself “what would I have done in this situation?”
there are some very well shot action scenes and touching emotional scenes that do make you want to want to change their situations only hoping for the better.
every single episode was like a well fit puzzle piece and as the drama progresses the characters’ real faces also start showing up. like i said in the beginning, this drama is all about “are sane people any better than the monsters?”
unlike other apocalypse/pandemic dramas where you're never really told how things began or how it is ever going to be stopped, happiness had answers for EACH AND EVERYTHING. when the drama is done it'll not leave you wondering about anything because everything is cleared in there.
the main duo's chemistry is soo good, whether it be action scenes, emotional scenes, scenes where they fight for each other and for what's right, their characters always match up with each other's chemistry. even the little girl showed more maturity than some “aDuLtS” showing it's not always age proving how mature one is.
overall, i did not regret watching this at all and i will rewatch it in a few months because it's just THAT GOOD. edit : did re-watch it haha.

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The title threw me off but overall SO UNDERRATED!

Perfect quick paced mini-series with a lot of action, sweet sweet romance build (nothing intense but just the RIGHT amount from beginning to end) and a roller coaster of emotions.

Truly love how this drama depicts MENTAL, PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SPIRITUAL abuse, trauma, fortitude etc!! Really loved how it also showed the importance of family, love, trust vs betrayal, hatred, and desperation!

Also loved ALL the cast + characters, really befitting, and honestly such a charismatic female lead and loved Han Tae Seok!!

The chemistry between the two leads were absolutely adorable, charismatic, yet such a sweet romance (nothing cringey or lovey dovey sorts).

Overall, if you're looking for a quick, straightforward drama this is IT! However, be prepared!! :)

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Had me on the edge of my seat!

Gah! This was such a great show! I of course decided to watch this for Mr. Park Hyung Sik, I love him and was dying to watch his latest show, and I have to say he didn’t disappoint! If you are on the fence about watching this just take the leap! It’s not a normal role for Park Hyungsik, and that all the more exciting, he really killed it! Happiness was Amazing! It’s Thrilling, keeps you on the edge of your seat, will put you in all the feels! I would go from heart pounding scared to raging mad and then swoooooooon!!! The entire cast really did a wonderful job! This is definitely one of the best zombie/outbreak shows I’ve seen yet!

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Happiness is subjective.... and not a Horror.

A dark and tense drama surrounding a virus outbreak coming hot on the heels of a real one that the world's just recovered from.
Unfortunately, it's the greed and wealth of a powerful character that is partially to blame and they would never be held accountable; that's made clear early on. Perhaps because I've watched a few dramas recently, where the wealthy get away with so much, that I was a little disappointed by that aspect of the plot.
There are some truly awful characters in this and rather like Sweet Home, the different residents of the swanky new complex of apartments and shops, have their true characters brought to light, as the area is locked down.
Some really stupid decisions are made by some, like unbelievably so, but they move the drama forward and provide the tense scenes that work so well.
I loved the main couple/characters and thought Park Hyun-sik and Han Hyo-joo worked very well together. Their chemistry was natural and they made a realistic friends-to-couple pair.
She is tough, no nonsense and quite hard hearted when she feels it's necessary, whereas he is a little softer (though by no means weak) and more the archetypal good cop.
There was a fair bit of blood, but not ridiculous amounts. I personally wasn't moved to tears at any point, by any of the scenes though.
How some of the infected died and others didn't, from either being stabbed, bludgeoned or shot, was a little odd to me. I couldn't work that out at all.
The sets in the apartment blocks and their underground parking, were suitably claustrophobic and provided some jumpy moments... one never knew what or who was behind closed doors, opening lifts and lurking on stairwells.
To be honest, I wouldn't call this a horror drama, but a thriller, personally.
Overall a satisfying watch. It was great having PHS back leading a drama, and one of this genre at that.
Really liked the sound track, especially Isaac Hong's contribution. The minute he opens his mouth, I melt.

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Happiness while trying to achieve happiness(?)

I honestly love this drama so much. idk why people hate it lol. I also don't know why they titled this happiness but I have a little idea about it. This drama is really good for me because on how they presented it to be somewhat realistic and engaging. There's a lot of annoying characters but I managed to watch it still AHHAHA. The cast really did a great job on their roles and my emotions through watching this was a roller coaster, excitement, happiness, anger, annoyance and many more. I love the couple's chemistry because on how it's so natural and just pure bliss and it gives me butterflies :D
The plot was really good and quite realistic on what causes these people to become zombies and go back to their normal form after sometime. I think that people may find this boring or cliche but for me, this is very good already lol. The storyline was presented in a good way and there acting was on point. I feel like I need a season 2 for this sooo bad cuz we barely had the couple's screen time T_T. The title.... idk 'bout this AAHHAHA. It's more like pain T-T
But I feel like they named this 'Happiness' because despite the difficulties that they had while trying to protect everybody in the apartment, they still had happiness being with each other. And finally, they achieved happiness in the end. I really recommend this drama. It's worth watching and you will never get bored.

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No complaints!

I’ve been quite obsessed with Zombie plots lately and when I found out about this I just knew I would enjoy it and I was RIGHT!!!

Really I have no complaints about this show. Nothing lacked and nothing was too much. The characters that were frustrating were there to keep things interesting and they sure as hell did so. The characters that I hated in the early episodes I started to like them ONLY A LITTLE BIT!! I still dislike the doctor and the building representative but they both were hilarious at times and I honestly didn’t hate them as much as I did towards the end. I’m just glad the lawyer and the mistress ended up having a sad ending LOL, deserved!!!! I hope Lawyers ex wife gets the happiness she deserves in the end.

But episode 12 scared me so much?! Why’d they make it seem like Yihyun died ?! But then he showed up fine ? I’m not complaining but it did scare me, I’m just happy they had their happy ending in the end!

I wish they showed the other detective and if he survived and Seoyoons mom if she is doing well. Also the chiefs wife and if she survived…I’m assuming that their child passed away but I wouldve still wanted to know about the side characters endings. Very good and thrilling show!!

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Every episode will get you hooked.

I don't write neither rate a drama if it's not good, even if the casts are my favourites. So my presence here is a proof that Happiness is an absolutely excellent drama. I am a very-hard-to-please kdrama and cdrama watcher, I don't even hesitate to drop a series if it's not to my liking. Yet, Happiness got me hooked every single episode. The writer just knows how to get the viewers to look forward to the next episode T^T.

I am never a fan of zombie plots, I only watched this drama because Hyungsik and Hyojoo are one of my favourites. But like I said, if I don't like the plot or the flow of the story, I immediately drop it. But Happiness exceeded my expectation and turned out to be an excellent drama. And the fact that it was an ongoing kdrama when I started to watch it but never did I ever get tired of waiting every week for new episodes release, is such an amazing feat for an impatient person like me. Happiness is that good. The excitement from the first ep is still there until the last episode, it never withered, just got stronger. The chemistry of the lead couple is top tier, and they all portrayed their roles well, even the side characters. There wasn't even any cringey scenes, just real, pure, and non-toxic love between the two leads which anyone would ask for. There weren't many sweet moments emphasized, but their small gestures towards each other is waaay far more better than those accidental kisses in cringey dramas. They sure made my heart flutter every single ep, despite the zombies and all, lmao. Yes, I want what they have T^T.

Aside from the excellent casts, I'd like to praise the writer too for showing how people can get so greedy and cruel even in the midst of the pandemic, how there are still good people despite the mediocrity of the situation and circumstances.

And can we talk about how the osts are so good? Man, they fit the theme of the drama too well! Listening to them makes me miss Yihyun and Saebom more T^T.

To be honest, although I am satisfied with the ending, I wish they showed how the other casts are doing after all those happenings. I still have a lot of questions that the drama didn't answer, like what was Saebom hospitalised for that made her behind for two years in highschool, how did Yihyun's knee get injured that made him quit baseball, did Saebom and her mom finally meet, what happened to Boram, the writer, and his brother after the pandemic, what happened to the lawyer and the gold digging mistress, etc. I heard it was supposed to have 16 eps but was shorten to 12, so maybe that is why the ending is kinda incomplete. I hope they release all the deleted scenes if they've had already filmed it.

Overall, still 10. The drama is just too good to the extent that even if I deduct points for its incomplete ending, it'd still have 10 stars for me.

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Et si après la COVID, une autre maladie faisait son apparition ?!

L’histoire nous conte un monde où après la COVID, une autre maladie fait des ravages… La rage ! (Bon rien d’original là-dedans, les symptômes étant pour la plupart ceux que développent les chiens lors d’une contamination.)
Nous découvrons alors différentes personnes vivant dans un immeuble de standing. Malheureusement pour eux, une personne se voit contaminer… Ce qui engendre le confinement total de l’immeuble ! Si au début les gens, ayant encore l’espoir que la situation se régularise rapidement, restent raisonnables… La suite nous démontrera combien l’être humain mis dans des situations extrêmes devient ignoble…
Nous voilà donc avec notre lot de comportements plus destructeurs les uns que les autres… (Vous me direz, que la COVID a également montré certains de ces comportements ^^’)

Alors finalement, qu’ai-je aimé dans ce drama ?
► Le couple de héros : Bien que dans une situation extrême où on met sans cesse leur limite à l’épreuve, ils restent humains… (Ce qui n’est pas le cas de presque la totalité des habitants de l’immeuble ^^’)
► La maladie est « simple » : J’entend par là, le fait qu’on ait repris la plupart des symptômes relier à la maladie d’origine. De ce fait, cette maladie semble pouvoir exister, ce qui donne une autre dimension à l’histoire.
► Aucune explication « mystique » : Pour une fois dans ce genre d’histoire, (Je pense notamment à « Sweet Home » & « Dark Hole ») la cause de tout est l’être humain lui-même…
►► Au final, c’est la simplicité de ce drama qui m’a conquise ! Cette histoire nous montre un panel d’émotions différentes mais également de nombreuses actions qui peuvent nous sembler répréhensibles… Cependant, qui sommes nous pour juger de comment les autres vivent ce genre de situation ?! (Tant que cela reste légal bien entendu x’D !!)

La fin, bien qu’étant un « Happy End », me laisse un certain goût d’inachevé… Il est vrai que pour une fois, nous avons la cause de cette maladie, la raison de sa propagation ainsi que son antidote… (ENFIN !!! Dans ce genre de drama nous avons rarement des explications… Cela reste souvent vague.) Mais, nous ne savons pas ce qui arrive aux différents habitants de l’immeuble… [C’est vrai qu’on sait pour les héros ainsi que les « méchants » mais nous ne voyons pas la finalité des autres… De plus, j’ai du mal à comprendre comment Jung Yi-Hyun a pu survivre… (Vous me direz, ce ne sont que des détails…)]

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Does personal happiness always mean making others unhappy?

I wanted to watch Happiness originally when it came out but it took some time before I actually got to it. And to be honest I don't regret it. This is a drama for binge-watching for sure. And before I go more into why, let me tell you, this review says 8.5 but my personal rating is 10. This drama is definitely not for everyone, a lot of people might even drop it. But let me tell you more...

What is old/what is new: The story sounds like your typical zombie post-virus infection story with people turning out to be the real monsters and turning against each other. There are a lot of those dramas and movies going around, in that regard the drama is very cliche. What makes the drama stand out is mainly the characters, relationships and the disease itself.

Unusual relationships: The main leads are in quite the unusual relationship and I do have to say I absolutely loved that they weren't your usual lovey-dovey couple who have to face crisis or bickering strangers who become each other's savior. First and foremost they are friends, they trust each other and they even trust in each other's abilities. And at the same time they care for each other in a loving and pure way. It's just such a fresh breeze compared to all the overly dramatic love story lines.
There are many other interesting relationships and characters in the drama, some expected, some unexpected and despite the obvious "villains" you will end up liking some of the characters you might have disliked in the beginning. There is just no chance to hate them and their character development is astonishing.

Character consistency: One thing I absolutely hate in dramas is if characters aren't consistent. If it's part of their character development and their change makes sense, then fine, but if it's just a 180º from their usual actions, it's just unnatural. Happiness does a good job at this. There is character development but at the same time all characters are consistent in what they want and what is most important to them. You get to understand their motivations and how they think and you understand how they arrive where they are at the end of the journey.

The disease: One of the most interesting aspects of this is the disease itself. Not like other zombie dramas, the focus of the story is not just on surviving but also healing. The characters never really forget that there might be a cure out there. And if there is a cure, is it really reasonable to kill a person who is infected? The cure is definitely a key focus and plays a big role.

The moral dilemma: For me there are two big questions in this drama, one being the typical "What actions are reasonable when someone is trying to survive in an apocalypse?" and the other unusual one is "Does my happiness always mean making someone else miserable?" Everyone in the drama tries to achieve their own happiness, in whichever way possible, but at the same time some find it in themselves to overcome their own selfishness. I love how the leads never really make it a "will we act in everyone's best interest" or "will we act in our best interest" but they clearly thought their and the other people's happiness didn't have to exclude one another. An interesting take on humanity and happiness...

Watch if...
you like romantic (as in it touches your heart) but not too lovey-dovey couples, zombie shows, mystery solving shows, fast-paced shows.
Do not watch if...
you love romantic dramas (or rom-coms), are easily scared of zombies and blood or if you expect this to be an absolutely mind-blowing drama. If you don't like it after 2 episodes, don't continue watching.

Is it a must-watch? No. Is it worth the time watching? Yes.
This drama is definitely a nice break from all the usual dramas, shining with their character design and acting (which honestly is top-notch on all sides) and gives you quality drama time. I hope you enjoy!

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A masterpiece

Done watching another gem. This drama deserves more hype and recognition and it's definitely 10/10.

You will love all the scenes, moments, OSTs, and places in this drama. All the characters — even the ones who have less screen time, and minor roles will make you feel something, it's either love, hate, pity, annoyed, or mad, EVERYTHING. Everybody suits their own roles from the kid, to the grocery girl, to the writer and his brother, even the old couple in the apartment. They really have a great casting for this drama. Even the OSTs will add to your emotions. You will really get thrilled, cry, sad, frustrated and even the butterflies. I believe that all the characters did a great job. A little sad that this only has 12 episodes, I really want to see more about the disease and the love story of the both main characters but I guess 12 episodes are enough to tell the story of this drama.

This drama is lovely and I recommend for all of you to watch it 'cause it's worth it.

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