Notable Actors/Actresses
Park Hyung-sik: Jung Yi-hyun
Overview
Story: A viral infection is turning humans into blood-sucking zombies. Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun are quarantined in a condominium with its residents. However, there’s something worse than zombies lurking in this condo.Breakdown: Drama is about 20% romantic, 80% “zombies”, but in both regards, drama runs rather unconventionally.
Short Verdict: As a helpless and superficial romantic, I am all for the romance, and the healing beauty of my leads. The less the romance, the more I craved. The thrilling action/zombie elements and infuriating antagonists kept my blood pressure high but not through the roof. I had a blast!
Subtle Romance
If you want a lot of kisses and dramatic confessions, take your exit now.
The romance is so organic. I couldn’t believe I was watching a zombie drama. They ask nothing of each other, but give everything to each other. Their love is subtle. It’s in the background. It’s in their presence. It’s in their companionship, not just during the lockdown, but throughout their friendship. The one picture they have together is the one she’s in handcuffs. Talk about romantic. But it really is! The moments they touch whether it’s holding hands or hugging, quenches a thirst I never knew I had, and once I realize I had a thirst for it, I was even thirstier. I might just be infected by these two (;
Bom ah~ and Hyun ah~ calling each other melts my heart each time. I wish I could watch Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun save the world, and stare at each other all day, but I do appreciate that it’s only 12 episodes. Just perfect.
I almost forgot this drama started with the quintessential trope of romcoms: a fake marriage. Yoon Sae-bom married Jung Yi-hyun for a house and he turned it into a home – where Jung Yi-hyun is, is where her home is.
Bom ah~ and Hyun ah~ calling each other melts my heart each time. I wish I could watch Yoon Sae-bom and Jung Yi-hyun save the world, and stare at each other all day, but I do appreciate that it’s only 12 episodes. Just perfect.
I almost forgot this drama started with the quintessential trope of romcoms: a fake marriage. Yoon Sae-bom married Jung Yi-hyun for a house and he turned it into a home – where Jung Yi-hyun is, is where her home is.
Appalling Zombified Humans
If you want a traditional zombie apocalyptic drama, nope, this isn’t it either.Underlying the thriller zombie premise, it’s better to say that our drama is one that explores human psychology of the worst kinds of existence: the rotten and degenerate human beings. The focus on humans is why I think Happiness is a “zombie” drama for those who aren’t zombie-lovers.
Happiness has just enough zombie scenes that I find thrilling and not gory for the sake of gory. I was glued to the screen, begging the zombies to stay clear of the people I love, and go infect the rotten ones. It’s been a long time since I’ve wished death upon characters. I hated Kim Jung-kook (the idiotic police officer) the most. If only humanity could have bred out his stupidity before he existed. I was so mad at this imbecile.
Not every side character is appalling. I love the scenes between Yoon Sae-bom and Lee Ji-soo near the end – unexpected friendship with unexpected comedy. I also grew to like Han Tae-seok. I think I can forgive him. I hope he gets his happiness, really.
The story isn’t without its flaws. I could disregard most things because I was emotionally invested, but no matter how much I love this, I still can’t understand the motives of the residents. The simple explanation is that they’re all psychotic. The annoying explanation is that they’re all psychotic. They’re characters conveniently designed to be revolting. The good thing is I had fun hating them.
[Off topic: I am curious how this compares to Sweet Home, which by Ep4, I have concluded it’s just not for me. I get the impression that it’s the better zombie apocalyptic drama. However, other than the zombie element, do these two really make a good/useful comparison?]
Actors
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