Happiness (2021)

A Critique of Chemistry, Logic, and Actions in the Series 'Happiness'

This is a zombie-ish series featuring two mature leads. The female lead is an anti-terrorist specialist, and the male lead is a police officer. They undeniably make the best partners when it comes to a zombie-themed storyline. In this narrative, there exists a drug capable of turning people into zombies. The unique twist is that these individuals revert to their normal selves after a certain period. This concept evokes a reminiscent vibe of "All of Us Are Dead," but instead of devouring people, they consume blood like vampires.

Our two leads embark on an investigation within a locked-down apartment, confronting a multitude of annoying characters. One aspect I adore about this series is the undeniable chemistry between the leads and their badass actions. Despite their competence, they are not without flaws. I criticize their actions due to their adult nature and the demands of their work. However, one aspect I find irksome, possibly owing to the writer's oversight, is the recurring tendency not to run upon encountering blood. Additionally, there's a scene where the female lead inexplicably opens a truck full of zombies, a move that seems illogical.

Nevertheless, what stands out is the intelligence of the characters, especially the male lead, who is both capable and smart. While the female lead has her flaws, her badassery shines through.

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The leads make this show

More Zombie content, except now it's… also weirdly a love story. Contrary to other Korean Zombie stuff there isn't much action.

And it's just strange. These stories don't usually go like this. Basically, it's a kdrama with a Zombie backdrop. There, let's go with that.

I'm not surprised in the slightest that this was lovely. It was directed by Ahn Gil-ho who was also behind the camera for The Glory, another favorite of mine.

It's a show that keeps you guessing for most of its runtime, lots of twists and unpredictable turns, and although there are a few plot contrivances, and annoying characters, they were never too much for me. I enjoyed how varied and chaotic the characters were, and well, I really liked the leads, who make the show.

Han Hyo-joo in a military uniform… damn girl! What a looker. She's so on point in this. Great leads, in fact. They form a sort of power couple (with Park Hyung-sik playing the other half) and us following their story as they deal with all the bullshit happening around them in the middle of a virus apocalypse is why this show works.

Gonna have to watch Moving now because I need more Han Hyo-joo in my life. She's like a stoic but equally as intense variant of Jun Ji-hyun.

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This is an excellent drama. It was action packed, but also had its slower moments so the audience has time to catch it's breath. The rush to tie up the storyline in the final episode was it's only drawback, in my opinion. Other than that, the story was thorough, well scripted, and well acted.

I love that neither mains are weak characters. (For instance, the strong ML isn't always having to rescue the weak FL.) Both are strong, physically and mentally, fighting against the bad guys WITH each other instead of one always fighting to save the other. When one goes out alone, the other pities their opponents. Yes, they do protect each other, but they also trust in each other's skills. [The takedown of the pastor is the best physical (wrestling? martial arts?) move I have ever seen....I rewatched that, like, 8ish times!]

I also love that the drama didn't depend on tropes in order to portray the mains falling for each other. There was no awkwardness, only a clear and obvious friendship that allowed itself to deepen naturally as time passed. (Granted, the ML developed feelings 10 years earlier, but his one-sided love was willing to wait for her.)

I was surprised that they never called the infection zombie-like. There was never one mention of zombies. But the infected people's actions and appearance was clearly within the zombie universe. I'm personally fine with that, as I like zombie stories, even though I am not the biggest fan of gore. Ya can't have one without the other though.

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Eu amei esse drama, o jeito que foi mostrado a relação entre a Sae Bom e o Yi Hyun crescendo e se tornando em amor é muito linda. Sério, eu amei a personalidade da Sae Bom de ser essa mulher forte e decidida, cara ela é incrível 🫶🏼. Apesar do drama se passar totalmente nos apartamentos e no laboratório do Sr. Han Tae-Seok, ele me prendeu em todos os episódios e eu sempre ficava ansiosa para o que iria acontecer na cena seguinte. Fiquei feliz e satisfeita que todos aqueles desgraçados dos moradores vão pagar por tudo que cometeram, mas por outro lado fiquei triste por que queria mais detalhes do final deles, principalmente da Bo-Ram, da Na Hyun e seu irmão Soo-min que também possuía os anticorpos para a doença. Ah e o casal de velhinhos com aquele idiota do filho deles, eu queria saber como eles ficaram depois, meio que dá para imaginar, porém eu queria que tivesse pelo menos uma cena mostrando por cima a atualidade deles. Enfim, dêem muito amor para Happiness porque esse drama é simplesmente incrível!

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Zombie like genre peak kdrama 9/10

Happiness 9/10 - 2021
plot - disease which makes people mad wanting to drink blood of noninfected appears. This drama is story about infected closed in one place. And military trying to stop spreading of disease + looking for cure

even though its not zombie drama its alot alike one only difference. Zombie states turns on and off by time. Will rate this drama like it was zombie one.

In such case its peak drama. Second good zombie type movie I have seen from koreans right after Train to Busan 1.

Even though this drama happens mostly in one skyscraper it can be quite chaotic since at each floor is always something happening and camera goes from place to place.
Action, Thriller, Love story, zombie type all in one.

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Curiosity 'almost' killed the cat

- This is what comes to mind when I think about the female lead of this drama, though a badass through and through.
The way the healthy relationship of the lead couple is portrayed is pragmatic and sweet.

Slow-burn romance, talented cast and gripping storyline are the plus points of this survival thriller. I really liked how the infected switched between their normal selves and the infected ones.
Kudos to the writer and director, for putting together different shades and executing them perfectly.

Who knows? maybe this kind of drama foreshadows what might be waiting for us in our near future. ;)
PS: now I'm scared of taking any pill for sometime.

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Similar to Squid Game

Dark, Psychological and touching at times. I wish we had more happy episodes, but someone got infected, or died or something like that in every episode and each episode was stressful. But, nonetheless, a good and unique drama.

One thing that might have made the drama even better are romantic melodies. There were so many heart-warming moments between the main leads, between families and even between strangers. If only they were accompanied by fitting music, they would have had way more impact.
There were a few creepy, dark BGM songs, a few which were good, played seldom anyway.

A few of the inconsistencies I noticed are:
1. Why didn't they prepare animal for the infected to attack? Would they not have been interested in animal blood because they can't pass the virus on to them?
2. How come their doors worked when they didn't lock it & no electricity?
3. Why didn't the health service under Han Tae Seok use shielded/anti-missile cars to travel to Yoon Sae-Bom's area? I think they would have been safe against zombies and could have easily retrieved her/protected her since she was so important.
4. Did Andrew like the boyish girl? Why did he give her food? Why did he give the cleaning lady he later killed an apple? IF he's a serial killer, than what was the point of those acts?
5. Maybe the biggest inconsistency is that no character mentioned even the word "zombie", but only used the terms "infected", "sick" or "mad person disease". Let's be honest, people would definitely associate them to zombies in real life.

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Neden bu kadar sahne kestiniz?

Oyunculuklar özellikle de çiftin uyumu mükemmeldi. Arkadaştan sevgiliye giden ilişkileri ise çok daha iyi işlenebilirdi, bir sürü kesilmiş sahneleri vardı. Sürekli kesilmiş sahne görmek sinirlerimi bozdu. Çiftin arasındaki kimyaya saygısızlık bu resmen. Bu iki uyumlu oyuncunun gayet doğal olan yakınlaşma sahneleri yerine apartman "sakinlerinin" daha hastalık kapmadan nasıl canavarca şeyler yaptıklarını izledik. Aldatmalar, hırsızlıklar, cinayetler bla bla.... Dizi daha iyi olabilirdi ama kötü de değildi. İyi olmasının sebebi ise benim için ilk kez senaryo değil oyunculardı. Başka oyuncular oynasa bu kadar beğenmezdim sanırım.

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Happiness (2021) - another zombie type drama. I like it but I think I was not as excited for this as with other zombie type dramas. Both leads are great and I am in awe with their acting, coming from a fan of Han Hyo Joo. As for the other actors in the drama, very good as well, I really felt hatred towards the "villains" in the drama. It’s a good watch but I have some disappointments with some of the characters. Some characters in the drama have not been given the justice to be a significant persona that is why I felt dismayed with their roles. The ending is fine with me. In between recommended and not.

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Great Potential, Sad Let Down

I had high hopes for Happiness. The premise of the show was exciting and unique for a K-drama. The lead actors were great, with fantastic chemistry and good supporting actors. However, the plot tanked this great project for me. There are many gaps in the story-telling that took me out of the drama too often. Characters would do these outlandish, reckless, and unrealistic things time and time again. The plot armor was aggravating. The main leads relationship is the only reason why I managed to finish the series but I don't recommend this to anyone unless you have nothing else to watch.

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What a great watch and a little more "slice-of-life" than the usual zombie type shows

Loved the interesting take on the zombie theme. I've gotten tired of watching a lot of shows and movies with zombies and they pale in comparison to KDramas with zombies, especially Happiness.

Depending on my mood, The pacing is what I always look for in starting and finishing a series. Glad the pacing for this show was incredible! From strategic action scenes to comedic relief to light romance, the journey of watching through episodes made it easy to digest. Every watch "session" with this drama had me feeling contented yet intensely curious on the next episode.

As someone who keeps up with politics, it feels refreshing to see a character in power doing their job and actually showing that he cares about the public and doing things for the good of society. Seriously, the main general's character was really satisfying to watch. He would be my favorite character but most the characters were impressive as well! All of them (yes, even the annoying ones) had great character development and really made the story come to life.

Of course ML and FL were incredible! Both actor and actress were so cute individually AND together, I can't--!! The annoying characters really had me annoyed yet the pacing kept my anger at bay soon after being given hints or reminders of their parts in the story.

Give it a try, hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
I can't get over it yet but that's when I know it's a work of art, when it lingers in my thoughts haha.

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