Happiness (2021)

Plays Like a Bad American Horror Movie!

If this series had been a comedy, I probably would have laughed more and also in more of the right places. Unfortunately, it’s not a comedy. It plays like a bad American horror movie where the sheer level of stupidity that dominates the characters is the primary source for the laughter; the absolutely clueless and absurdity is not to be underestimated. If you've ever seen an American horror movie, you know how often characters make really dumb decisions, and when they're killed off, you just shake your head because their own stupidity did them in.

A disease has broken out the causes the infected to attack and bite the victim in order to satiate their unquenching thirst. However, once bitten, the victim becomes infected. It’s like a cross between a vampire and a zombie. However, unlike Train to Busan, this series as virtually no suspense whatsoever.

Yoon Sae Bom is a member of an elite anti-terrorist unit. She’s sassy, capable, and has dreams and aspirations of moving into a nice new apartment complex; a complex that requires the applicant to have enough “points” to qualify (recommendations, marriage, etc.). She marries her childhood friend, Jung Yi Hyun, a detective who had aspirations of becoming a professional baseball player. They marry for the convenience of being co-owners of the apartment. However, we already know that Jung Yi Hyun has loved Yoon Sae Bom since they were in high school together. Yeah, we already know where this is going.

Yoon Sae Bom quickly finds out just how shady the residents are in the apartment complex. There is really nobody good. And this is what she dreamed of, eh? We have a doctor who’s killed his wife. A seemingly affluent woman who wants to be the resident business leader of the complex. Power and money become the sole driving force of nearly every resident. This doesn’t even change when the complex comes under quarantine due to the disease. Soon, residents are fighting over food, water, or any means of trying to get ahead. Oh, and we also have a serial killer among the residents, as if everything else wasn’t quite enough. How so many “bad eggs” can all be in one place at the same time is like rolling “snake eyes” in Vegas twelve times in a row.

The lockdown aspect was intriguing until we find out that the infected only reach a “ravenous state” for about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, a military colonel is trying to find a cure without letting the higher-ups know about it, as he’s afraid that they will use their perpetual greed to control the cure, and the colonel’s wife is one of the infected.

Yoon Sae Bom and Jung Yi Hyun try their best (well, not really!) to control the crazies and the situation. Ironically enough, for two people in law enforcement, they consistently make horrible decisions.
First, we have Dr. Oh Joo Hyeong who’s being arrested for the murder of his wife just as the lockdown takes place. However, instead of taking him into custody and at least locking him in a room, he’s given free reign to move around. Of course, knowing that he’s likely facing a prison sentence, he does everything in his power to subvert and plot against Yoon Sae Bom and Jung Yi Hyun. And each time they stop him, he’s STILL given a license to move about freely. Talk about stupid! This was one of the comedic elements that wasn’t really funny. I was simply laughing at how inept and pathetic our two main characters were.

Next, we have “Andrew” the serial killer. It’s funny that neither of our two leads suspect him for anything, given that he never shows his face which is constantly hidden behind a mask, and that the face on the ID card is scraped up so that you can see the photo. Now, it’s understandable that this story takes place on the cusp of COVID. It’s already been scientifically proven that masks do not have very much of an effect in preventing you from catching a disease. It’s more of a suggestion which is why so many people still believe that they do. However, given that Andrew goes to great lengths to hide his face, especially when eating or drinking, you would think that this might be a “red flag” to our two veteran members of law enforcement (three if you count Jung Yi Hyun’s cowardly, inept partner, Kim Jeong Gook who can only whine, cry, and complain at every turn).

We also have Oh Yeon Ok, the woman attempting to become the elected representative who is more worried about losing her position than anything else. She frequently goes into frantic rages when it becomes clear that she’s willing to do anything (even commit murder) to be elected. Bae Hae Seon plays her a bit over-the-top, and our two resident cops allow her to walk all over them rather than take charge of the situation. Instead, they try to be political rather than act like officers, which makes everything even worse.

The first six or seven episodes are quite good when the viewer is trying to figure out everything that is going on, but when the infected all but disappear, and the focus shifts to the residents and their power plays, the whole script falls apart, and we no longer really care what happens to most of them.


The last episode attempts to drag things out with an absolutely pathetic ending; all done for effect, of course. Jung Yi Hyun has been shot and taken captive by Andrew after Jung Yi Hyun somehow fails to disarm him (who knew a kid without any fighting skills could out-fight a cop who’s shown his hand-to-hand prowess up until now?). Jung Yi Hyun is on the ground being held up by Andrew but only covering his lower half. Yoon Sae Bom has a clear shot at Andrew. Instead, she shoots herself in the arm in order to get the infected Andrew to transform. Talk about making a really dumb choice! He staggers toward her, allowing Jung Yi Hyun (who has reclaimed the gun) to shoot Andrew in the head. Never mind that he’s already weak and also ignoring the fact the Yoon Sae Bom still has her own gun but shoots anyway, even though she’s in the direct line of fire. Talk about being lucky!

Yoon Sae Bom and Jung Yi Hyun are about as believable as cops as Donald Trump is of being president. Yes, that’s how bad these two were. It's sad that this is a wasted effort because both characters are likable and I like that Yoon Sae Bom is a strong woman who is no wallflower by any stretch of the imagination.

I was glad that this series only went 12 episodes. It should have been cut down to half that. The writer should be drummed out of the business for breaking one of the most basic and cardinal rules: never change a character for the sake of moving the plot. In other words, never make a character do something they would never do just to make the plot work. Yoon Sae Bom and Jung Yi Hyun make so many bad decisions, it’s a wonder they live to tell the tale. Well, when you have a writer who can make it happen, then that’s the blessing of it!


What’s sad is that most of the performances were pretty good, despite having some of the most depraved and sick people occupying one apartment complex (and no, I’m obviously not talking about the infected). These people should have been quarantined long before any disease entered the picture. Frankly, this series should be quarantined to the basement shelves too.

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Sadness

The drama began on a promising note, depicting the inception of their journey with great detail. However, as the plot unfolded, the emergence of the disease became the central focus, leading to relentless battles with infected individuals until the final episodes where the cure was discovered, concluding the story. While I was eager to witness the chemistry between the leads, their interactions were disappointingly sparse. Nevertheless, both the lead actors and actress delivered exceptional performances. Despite their efforts, I failed to find any joy throughout the entirety of the drama, ultimately deeming it dull and unengaging.

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De “happiness” não tem nada!

Estou numa onda muito dark novamente.

Tive conhecimento deste k-drama através dos famosos ‘reels’ do instagram, e o dito cujo não me avisou que ia sofrer muito do coração e que não era um k-drama de sábado à tarde! É uma mistura de “Maze Runner” com “All Of Us Are Dead” é muito ‘emotional damage’. Recomendo!

Já para não falar em caras conhecidas, como Bae Haeseon e Park Hyungsik, que me surpreenderam imenso com as personagens que lhes foram atribuídas. E outras caras, como Baek Hyunjin e Park Hyungsoo, que vieram de “The Devil Judge” e fizeram um melhor trabalho (na minha opinião).

Props: para a Song Jiwoo, que foi a personagem mais cute que eu já vi e o meu coração apertava sempre que pensava que lhe ia acontecer alguma coisa.
Conclusão: os male leads tiraram-me do serio várias vezes, apetecia-me enxerga-los a todos de porrada. Mas foi sem dúvida o melhor k-drama deste mês (de março, data assistida).

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Crazy how many unlikeable characters can fit into a drama

I honestly don't know how many times I've tried to watch this drama and always dropped it around ep 2 or 3 because of the boring atmosphere, the slow pace, the unbearable and bossy FL and the weak and annoying ML. Didn't like both of them, especially since both were abusing their power as members of the police/special force unit so often. They were acting sometimes so reckless, know-it-all and stupid that it was hard to imagine that both went through a professional training and are actually civil servants who were bound by law. Later I learned that the male actor has a huge fan base. Well this explains the extreme high rating.

Now I tried to watch this drama again since I needed badly something to watch and this time I completed it. I guess for every drama you just need to be in the right mood.

It was overall a good drama, rated it with 7.5. If you love survival stuff and you are a zombie veteran like me you will also like this new approach on a zombie apocalypse. New that it doesn't focus so much on gore and explicit themes. Sometimes the pace was so slow that it felt like a slice of life drama. So not your typical action filled thriller. Unfortunately there were many plot holes, infuriating and unbelievable scenes (like when the stupid FL jumps into a truck full of zombies and doesn't get bitten at all?!), dumb descisions and dubious and weird motives (like the secret behind Andrew's identity was so disappointing and didn't fit all). And like always you would wonder why the villains were so slow and not killing the hero and heroine asap... The music also didn't fit always and the ending was so rushed and disappointing and with many unanswered questions. Wish they would have focused on Han Tae Seok instead of that cringey scene in the epilogue.

The acting was overall good, but weak from the FL (her facial expressions weren't really strong). The ML did a decent job especially in the last episode when he showed his more vulnerable side. Both didn't have much chemistry. The acting of the side characters, though many of them were really dumb, was excellent, especially the crazy house represent and the doctor. Overall a well done thriller with a couple of scary scenes (like the truck scene or when the FL was stuck in the bathroom) but many many unlikeable characters. Even the child was annoying.
Most likeable characters: the brother and the sister.
Well appreciated: no dumb drunken scene.

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Good start but getting worse

As usual, I didn’t read anything or watch trailer before watching this show. I only knew it was a survival genre, a bit similar to Sweet Home. I didn’t even know casting.

Things of first episodes I’ve enjoyed the most:
- Han Hyo Joo as FL : for a long time I wanted to watch a drama she stars. Her acting skills are very good ! Even if she looks nice and sweet, she portrays a strong/badass character very well !
- Park Hyung Sik as ML : even if I didn’t like Dr Slump, I think is a great actor (loved him in Soundtrack #1)
- High level of action and intensity from the beginning/first episode of the show. It’s been a while first episodes of a drama hooked me that much.

But from ep4 action level lowered. There was more resident relationship scenes than survival (residents vs infected) scenes.
The show is mainly focused on manipulations, lies and plots… almost every man for himself.
It shown the worst side of human nature/behavior (I really don’t like this kind of drama, it is hard for me to watch this. I’ve almost gave up at ep10…but only 2 episodes left so I kept watching).
To finish, the « Andrew » twist is from my point of view a total nonsense ! And the 2 last episodes have been rushed (so predictable/cliché)

This is sooo disappointing because I really expected « action/survival » drama (safe vs infected) and I haven’t got :(

About leads chemistry, it is very good. FL and ML portray lead couple in a very natural way (one of the best couple I’ve seen among a lot of dramas).

A few songs of OST are good enough to be added to a playlist.

To summarize, I’ve watched this show, it is not one of my favorite and I won’t rewatch it…

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Muy recomendable!!!

Thriller psicológico, zombis, tensión, momentos dark, secundarios de lujo, claustrofobia y toques de romanticismo gracias a una pareja protagonista con mucha química: fl con mucho girl power y ml maravilloso: el novio marido pareja que todas querríamos tener!!!! Todo esto es Happiness, una historia con buenas dosis de adrenalina y tensión donde lo que da más miedo al final no son los zombis sino la maldad humana. Y aún así, dentro de toda esta oscuridad, de lo ruines y despreciables que puedan ser algunas personas, hay otras que son luz, que son bondad y es en éstas donde encontramos nuestra felicidad, nuestra "Happiness". A destacar una OST muy original con canciones con mucho mensaje que envuelven y complementan una serie bastante redonda. La recomiendo muchísimo!!

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Chef's kiss

I don't usually write reviews because I haven't really found a drama that is worth the time put into it but damn happiness is truly a master piece. I loved everything about it from the plot, to the execution and even the cast
Unlike most kdramas a lot of the plot wasn't so predictable and it wasn't an overly romantic and long drama. I loved the fact that even though some episodes where slow paced and had little action it didn't feel dragged or boring in any way
I hardly watch horror or zombie thrillers because I'm prone to having nightmares but happiness is a series that i would rewatch again and again no matter how much I get scarred. The antagonist perfectly executed their role so much that anytime i see them in other dramas i can't help but hate them. Most of them were truly narcissist and self-centered to the core. And please don't get me started with the main leads from the Mal's deep love for her to her slow and steady falling for him. It was also rare to see a badass female lead who wasn't overly self-righteous and knows how to play the bad guy. The ML was also good at not allowing his character to be overshadowed by the FL. And last but not the list the little girl who lived with the main leads . It was so touching to see that even though she was scared and sad to be away from her parents she tried so hard to remain though so that she wouldn't be a burden. So all in all it was a perfectly executed piece.

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A New Light Shed on the Eternal Search for Happiness

* On a starting note:
You would wonder why I gave an overall score of 9 when I rated the story 7.5! My numbers don't add up because this work is just as complex.
* "Happiness" is a depressing apocalyptic take on the classic Search for Happiness, I thought it would be another survival story but it was so much more.
I would say the story is the weakest factor this drama has, while the acting, twists, and characters are one of the best I've seen taking into consideration it's a 12 episodes show.

* After the Ending note:
I feel dizzy.. like I know it's a 12 episodes drama but dang I wanted it to last longer.. guess the producers did everything they could to cook such a deep show in only 12 episodes.
Even with all the plotholes, I still rated this a solid 9/10 for the drama, characters, and development! It's been a while since I got this immersed on a show! I even was waiting for someone to jumpscare me until the very end of the credits ?? cuz I was already so traumatized over all the jumpscares.
My favorite part is how much you would see from each character and the development of many - be it for the bad or the good-! The twists were quite good too! The acting was superb that almost every character had its own light. I sobbed a few times and was fumming at others.
I liked that this time it wasn't poor people are good, rich people are bad, this time the drama adapted the reality approach that a person cannot be judged until you have lived with them!
People's true nature isn't something easily discovered nor judged. This is the core charm of Happiness for me.
And of course another charm was showing us what is the real HAPPINESS whithout mentioning it once in the drama!
This work kinda reminds me of webtoon I've read years ago called DeadDays, I can't remember the details but I totally get the dejavu.

* just wanted to end this saying that you will be left thinking and appreciating the Happiness you have in your life through the misery of HAPPINESS

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I know I'm very late in watching this drama but it's been on my list since it aired and I finally watched it. AND I LOVED IT!
It has a capturing start and without wasting time on background stories, the drama jumps right into the main plotline. It shows the imperfection of humans in such an amazing way. How greediness and selfishness comes to surface when you are put into such situations.
Yet the two main leads show us the true meaning of being selfless and living for others. The male lead is so gentle but good at his job ad the female lead show she cares about herself first but we find that she also puts herself last. Although mostly all of the residents are bad in one way or another, the main leads don't hold a grudge against them and help them and do their best for everyone until the end.
Even though this drama isn't focused on romance, I love the way main leads portray their love without any words. Also them being married makes everything ten times better in my opinion.
A lot of the scenes did have my at the edge of my seat. It wasn't exactly gory but it was enough to make you jump.
In the end I really thought that Yi Hyun died because I had not seen any spoilers thankfully. I couldn't have been any more happier for the happy ending.
One thing I really hoped to see was what happened to Han Tae Seok and his wife in the end. I understand showing the cure would stretch things too far but to see his ending would have been nice because I actually liked him.
Overall I enjoyed the drama and would recommend it 100%

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