Bof bof
Cette série parle d'une épidémie de zombies et de ce que vivent les gens d'un immeubles tout en étant confinés à l'intérieur. Je trouve l'histoire de fond très intéressante, mais ça traine un peu ; j'ai apprécié le jeu des acteurs, mais j'ai vraiment trouvé qu'il manquait d'action et que c'était très lent ; j'ai eu du mal à finir de regarder cette série, je me suis souvent ennuyée. Si il y a une saison 2, j'espère que ça bougera un peu plus. Et puis, l'origine de cette épidémie n'est pas très claire... Bref, c'est moyen d'après moi.Cet avis était-il utile?
Un drama prenant et palpitant
Je dois l'avouer d'entrée de jeu, je fonctionne au coup de cœur, et j'ai littéralement adoré Happiness, même s'il n'est évidemment pas parfait.J'écris ce review 1 an après avoir regardé Happiness pour le première fois, parce que j'ai totalement l'intention de le regarder à nouveau ! (ce qui répond à la question "what's the rewatch value?")
Voici ce qu'a noté la moi du passé, à chaud, après avoir fini le dernier épisode de la série.
"Je termine à l’instant l’épisode 12. J’ai tellement de choses à dire... et en même temps si peu. Devant ce drama j’ai crié, stressé, pleuré, et globalement je suis sortie de chaque épisode vidée de toute mon énergie. Ce drama m’a pris beaucoup, je me suis perdue dedans. Il est génial, et horrible à la fois. J’ai adoré autant que j’ai détesté.
On verra plus tard ce que j’en pense, quand j’aurais digéré ce que je viens de voir. Là pour l’instant je vais aller fixer le vide un moment, et essayer de trouver un sens à ma vie.
Si je devais vraiment écrire une critique classique comme je fais d’habitude je dirais que les acteurs sont incroyables, le scénario est juste abusé, et d’un point de vue de la réalisation je n’y connais rien mais pour moi c’est parfait. 9,5/10 (parce que trop éprouvant pour être 10/10, je ne pourrais pas le revoir avant un bon moment). Aller, bisous."
Maintenant que je m’apprête à le regarder à nouveau, je suis évidemment prête psychologiquement pour le scénario, pour les personnages qu'on a envie de tuer tout le long tellement ils sont chiants, pour les plot twists et retournements de situation... et je suis convaincue que ce sera bien moins éprouvant pour mes nerfs ! Je suis aussi consciente qu'avec cette deuxième visualisation, je vais sans doute beaucoup plus voir les facilités scénaristiques et les trous dans l'intrigue. Mais je suis bon public, facilement satisfaite, et je sais que je vais passer un bon moment, et c'est tout ce que je demande !
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Une satire social intense et effrayante
En voilà un drama qui a enfin ravit nos exigences du moment : intense poursuite de "zombie" sans dégouliner de scène gore, une romance adorable qui n'a pas du tout empiété sur l'histoire, une action musclée mais bien pesée.Non, vraiment, les détracteurs pourraient grincer des dents faute d'hémoglobines à gogo ou de mort stupides ou encore de pseudo sacrifice pour l'humanité.
Enfin, un drama d'infection à la "zombie" que nous avons pu voir en famille (oui, oui parfois, c'est sympa de regarder ce type de truc avec ses ados) : une censure de certaines actions (j'entend d'ici les grognements des mécontents, mais c'est appréciable quand on est en famille), pas de grossièreté toutes les deux répliques (j'exagère un peu, j'avoue), pas d'ambiance glauque et malsaine (oui, je parle de toi "All of us are dead").
Bref, 12 épisodes qui nous aura fait rire, crisper d'angoisse, "shipper" pour nos deux protagonistes, hurler de déception quand x meurt, et même une petite larme à la fin.
Alors, oui, ce n'est pas le drama du siècle. Oui, ce n'est pas à proprement parler un drama de zombie. Oui, n'attendez pas d'avoir de grosse sueur ou de sursauter de terreur (je doute fort que l'on puisse encore...).
Amateur de sensation forte, vous risquez fort d'être déçu.
Si par contre,
- Vous aimez les femmes fortes! Yoon Sae Bom est symboliquement la femme forte par excellence. Sa profession, élite de l'anti-terrorisme, rien que cela tout même, aurait pu nous rebuter (j'ai dû mal avec les femmes fortes et qui manient le sarcasme avec brio tout en laissant fuser des répliques arrogantes, je ne trouve pas que cela leur sied aussi tant que cela). Or, Yoon Sae Bom est affublée d'un fort (mauvais) caractère et d'une curiosité excessive et problématique (dixit son dossier hahaha) lui permettant de garder les idées claires quelque soit la situation (face surtout à la puanteur de certains personnages), mais aussi d'un humour décapant dont j'ai adoré savourer chacune de ses répliques. Sa capacité physique n'est pas étonnante au vu de sa spécialité, mais cela fait toujours plaisir de voir une femme se battant avec classe et férocité, ne rechignant pas à dire qu'elle a mal ou qu'elle a besoin d'aide. Pas de complexe d'infériorité, pas de traumatisme d'enfance, pas de revendication, un brin rebelle, mais un personnage qui a su aussi faire preuve d'une humanité rare et d'un dévouement altruiste sans borne. Zéro frustration avec elle, nous la suivons avec plaisir, soutenons ses choix et décisions et c'est un sentiment qui se raréfie ces dernières années.
Han Hyo Joo signe ici son retour après "w", 5 ans pff sans l'avoir vu sur petit écran (nan, ne venez pas me parler de "dramaland 2" par pitié...) n'ayant que principalement jouée que sur grand écran dont le très récent "the pirates 2".
- Vous aimez les lead masculins séduisants à l'humour bien caustique! Jung Yi Hyun m'a fait craquer, et cela faisait bien longtemps pour un K-drama. Un humour à toute épreuve, des poings fermes et parfois spontanés sertie d'un sourire de gamin pris en faute, il n'en fallait pas plus pour le suivre jusqu'au bout du monde. Loin d'être un lead en retrait par rapport à Sae Bom, Yi Hyun est un homme d'un caractère trempé doté d'une volonté de fer et d'une droiture insoudoyable. Sa force principale réside en sa présence rassurante, en ses décisions assumés et bien sur ses capacités physiques. Zéro frustration avec lui aussi. Pas de complexe ou de sentiment négatif. Pas de traumatisme ou de relation suffocante. Pas étouffant ou de jalousie infantile. Un personnage qu'on aimerait en voir plus souvent à dramaland.
- Vous aimez les duos de choc! Je ne vais pas vous le cacher, la qualité principale du drama repose sur l'alchimie de ce duo. Ici point de conflit ou de quiproquo qui amènerait ce couple à se séparer. Leur force est donc l'extraordinaire complicité qui les lie depuis leur adolescence. La scène de leur "rencontre" est symbolique, car elle représente un peu ce que ce futur leur réserve, cette confiance immuable qui sera la leur. Si la romance n'a pas une place prépondérante, elle reste le moteur de ce couple, elle sera leur force, leur volonté à survivre, jusqu'à ce don de soi typique des amoureux transi. Leurs interactions ponctuées de tendresse et de confidence étaient non seulement un havre de paix pour leur eux mais aussi pour le spectateur que nous étions. Grâce à leur synergie, l'ambiance de ce drama qui aurait pu tomber facilement dans le glauque et le violent était parfois étrangement apaisante et hors du temps. Toutes ces petites attentions l'un envers l'autre, ces petites touches qui dévoilaient ce qu'eux même ne voyaient pas ont été une oasis. Par ce que ce couple est tout cela, nous avons croisé les doigts jusqu'au bout, pour leur bonheur. Cela n'arrive pas souvent croyez-moi....
- Vous aimez les satires sociales! Si ce drama semble traiter d'un virus rendant les gens hors de contrôle, c'est avant tout une histoire sur l'être humain. Sur nos désirs profonds. Sur ce qui nous rendrait complet. Cette définition de bonheur qui diffère selon chacun.
Et ce n'est parfois ni joli, ni rassurant.
La progression de ce virus est à l'image de l'évolution de l'âme humaine dans une situation d'urgence où le chacun pour soi règne en maître. Certains personnages nous font rapidement découvrir le mauvais en eux dès le départ et d'autres ne se dévoileront qu'au fur et à mesure que la tension progresse, que le doute s'installe. Que ce que nous désirons soit à portée de main.
Ironiquement ici, ce n'est pas le virus dont il faudrait se méfier.
Le virus ne sert que d'exutoire pour certains protagonistes, une façon pour eux d'exprimer le pire de l'humanité. Et je vous assure que c'est pleinement réussi. Lentement mais sûrement, la folie des hommes parait évidente, et le pire des vices fait petit à petit surface. Avec un naturel désarmant.
Nous en sommes venus à détester certains protagonistes, souhaitant ardemment leur mort (je sais, ce n'est pas bien...).
Il y a d'ailleurs une moralité derrière tout cela, une moralité d'actualité, angoissante : les infectées ne sont au final pas ceux que nous devrions le plus craindre. Dans une situation apocalyptique, il est fort à parier que ces mêmes personnes tuant père et mère afin de se nourrir étaient déjà autour de nous, des proches, des amis, des voisins...ou nous-même.
Déprimant? Que nenni, une leçon d'une certaine façon.
Je vous rassure, en dehors de ces antagonistes, il y a aussi ceux qui nous font encore croire en l'humanité.
Le lieutenant Han Tae Seok, personnage complexe que nous avons adoré dés le départ. Ses raisons bien évidentes et oh si compréhensibles n'en ont pas fait un homme dépourvu de coeur prêt à l'extinction de l'Homme coûte que coûte. Bien au contraire, des décisions difficiles à prendre, impopulaires, mais toujours assumés. J'ai aimé la droiture de ce personnage, de son dévouement envers son épouse et surtout sa prise de position assumée quelqu'elle soit, que nous soyons ou non en accord avec. Je regrette de ne pas savoir réellement ce qu'il lui arrive à la fin....Tout comme pour l'agent Kim Jeong Gook, ses faiblesses loin d'en faire un personnage à détester nous l'ont rendu proche et nous a permis de nous poser cette question : qu'aurions nous réellement fait dans cette situation?
Cette fable nous démontre que la volonté de l'humain, cette conscience si chère à nos philosophes est aussi ce qui a permis à ces personnages à ne pas céder à la facilité, à rester profondément humain.
Une mention spéciale pour l'OST! Une OST, composée par le prolifique Kim Tae Seong, qui colle parfaitement à l'ambiance du drama et qui a apporté un vrai plus! Que cela soit au niveau des chansons ou des musiques, vraiment, un super travail a été fait.
En conclusion, un drama que nous avons adoré, de l'épisode 1 à 12, sans aucun temps mort et qui au-delà d'un virus potentiellement dangereux pour l'humanité nous conte avant tout la fable de l'homme face à lui même : le meilleur comme le pire.
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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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Sae Bom & Yi Hyun's fight for Happiness
or should I say — "watching them together is our Happiness"This drama brings out many versions of humans. It shows how layered this society is… I met a mix variety of people here, those who will help others selflessly, those who may save themselves first selfishly, those who think money is God & everything can be bought even in case of emergency… There are those few confused characters too who are in a great dilemma that if they should help or not…
The drama also depicts that Class discrimination between people from upper & lower class can survive even in such chaos… so the more I started to love the leads, the more HATE I had in my mind for those extra mean characters… by hate I mean I wanted them to just die... If you want to watch this, you need enough patience for annoying side characters.
Han Hyo Joo (as ~ Yoon Sae Bom) is an anti-terrorism trainer & someone who is selfless & fearless. She is kinda reckless at times but she is straightforward. I loved the way she kicks, I was like "Oh my God, that was so smooth!" Definitely a very good Strong female lead. But she doesn't falls under the category of Smart female leads for me cause her decisions were all hasty, without consideration.
Park Hyung Sik (as ~ Jung Yi Hyun) is a detective & a former baseball player who has courage and knows when to use his cop & sportsman skills. He is righteous & strong. PHS has definitely got good action skills. That car slide scene is something I saw repeatedly again and again. He is good at no matter what role he plays. Happiness as Hyung Sik's comeback drama is perfect.
The chemistry of the leads is like so pure. They understand & support each other. They are like one team. No forced romantic moments considering a total action-thriller drama. So, No exaggeration of romance. Just a simple couple who pretended to be a couple but actually love each other a lot deep in heart. Their bond is just precious. I wish these two get more chances of cooperation cause look at them, they look so good together…!! And I'll stop fangirling now haha.
Jo Woo Jim (as ~ Han Tae Seok) is a military informant who wants to help everyone. He plays the hard cold guy role in front of everyone but is actually very caring at heart. There has to be someone who takes the tough decisions & be bad, he chose himself for that. There's one scene when I just screamed that "Oh God, HE IS SO COOL"…… well, there's PHS Oppa in this drama so shouldn't I just cheer up for him more but No, Character-wise, I loved Han Tae Seok more…
Keeping us hooked up… This isn't draggy at all… just a simple zombie drama that goes "little" in-depth with the characters but from the enjoyment point of view, I was personally enjoying watching it. It wasn't very scary in terms of visuals but it did make me nervous about what is going to happen next.
I think I am gonna miss the rooftop of this drama, I just feel very attached to it, I wonder what's so special about that place… then, my only complain here was that I wish they gave more background story for the characters first so that we can connect to them…
Overall, I loved this drama and just that it's thriller and I basically know all the facts now, so I won't rewatch this but what a nice ride this was… Give it a try if it suits your drama taste…
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What is Happiness? just feeling of joy or satisfaction of getting what we seek for?
Happiness is irony... title suggests something, drama itself never really follows the same path. Thinking about it, happiness is a vague concept... maybe like love. So not for everyone but the enjoyment, characters, the story provides might give happiness, not all-time but little glipms. It wasn't on my radar... honestly I jumped on the train without even reading synopsis or tags just for HHJ and PHS. And yes I was tricked as zombies were the last thing I was expecting from 'Happiness.'It's not horror...at least I wasn't scared, there aren't many jumps scary moments as I found zombies a little funny (or it's just me who's weirdo). The story is pretty basic which doesn't give 'HELL! what happened?' moments, as most of the part I found pretty predictable even the biggest 'twist' I saw that coming miles away, so in the department of suspense, it's not that great. There are soooo many irritating, dumb characters (more than likable characters)... annoy you to death, will make you want to strangle, punch, kick their ass (well don't worry about this department our FL is master in it). Leads aren't 'perfect' so their decisions aren't always right, sometimes very reckless, they make a lot of mistakes. These are some shortcomings of the drama, if you have less endurance for any of these this isn't for you.
Happiness serves many very classic drama tropes, with done right! Lacking in some departments it gives more than what was promised manages to surprise even with cliches. With very less likable characters.. it makes you get emotionally invested in them, rooting for them, getting charmed by them.
The romance was the last thing I was expecting... honestly I'm no fan of forced romance in thrillers when it's just there for nothing other than a drag. But I'm completely sold for this couple... Gosh, the way they look at each other, their caring gaze, holding hands, hugs, I'm satisfied more than enough... I don't need big proposals, confessions, kisses, them just doing anything, talking with each other, fighting with zombies together being normal is satisfactory. And them being so natural... is the chemistry that I seek even in rom-coms.
As I said leads aren't perfect, they have their limitations/shortcomings. Sae Bom comes as very cool at the start, I loved her in prior episodes.. but then her characterizations aren't according to her profession as much I love strong female leads who can fight well... I get a little irritated by actions without consequences and the 'I think I'm doing always right' attitude. Even though I love her coolness and personality but, indeed, it's not true to what she should do as special forces are well-trained, very disciplined... so recklessness is the last thing you expect from 'special force officer' coz for god's sake they are trained for sensitive, life-endangering situations.
I loved her in action scenes, at a times she was more practical than Yi Hyun which was needed.. and yeah she's cool throughout. Yi Hyun is an almost ideal guy sweet, nice, sticking to morals, loving husband.. who can become a bad cop for his wife. He's so precious.. he's the lead guy where you won't get SLS (oops sorry I forgot it's a thriller, not romance). But he's being just being morally right wasn't always pleasant (that gave me 'Boy you don't have to be nice always' moments)... I loved when he gets angry and does things that viewers crave (satisfactory).
I'll admit I'm charmed by Han Tae Seok who's undoubtedly my fav character of the series, I have a soft corner for grey characters and he's total badass he's that person who doesn't give f*ck to right or wrong.. but still do things right, the only guy who can situation in the right way. He's interesting charming, with a good foundation of back story and with desperation.
might not be the greatest thriller... but it's satisfactory, entertaining, and keeps you on the edge of the seat even with the ordinary plot but interesting characters giving you happiness.
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Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Not what the synopsis promised
We go into this drama with the promise of a world that focuses on the aspect of a new strain of virus spreading throughout the city with a social aspect between apartment levels. While the concept of it was unique, the execution of it was lack luster. The first two or three episodes start really strong, with the primary focus on the development of the virus. But then we move to the apartment, where you'd think there would be some sort of focus on the economical differences between apartment levels and how it affects surviving the spread of the virus, but it has little to nothing to do with the actual show.We get a brief explanation that the floors 5 and below are public rentals, and that the ones above are for the people who paid for the apartment themselves. That's the end of the socio economical difference and plot, there's not dive into the extent of the difference between levels, there's no detail into any sort of survival advantage or perks that the higher levels get, no surprising twist as a result of the socioeconomically difference. I guess the higher level people get free access to the gym, and have a justification to incessantly complain that they should get more during resource division because they're rich. Again, very disappointed that they made this a point in the synopsis as it has no impact on the plot whatsoever.
Now that we've also shifted into the apartment scenes, we also seem to leave the entire zombie apocalypses as an after thought. All the residents are now trapped in their apartments as if to exemplify them vs the impending zombie doom. This quickly devolves into a 8 episode long slice of life drama where we constantly see random slice of life everyone's life (these slices never change either, it's always the same point) from the lawyer cheating on his wife with the woman who is constantly looking for a passcode to access the doctor's crypto currency all the way to the 3 person family where the mother is infected but is hiding it from everyone. We spend an annoying amount of time focused on the mother who tries to hide her infection as well. Which amounts to the promise of zombie goodness we had expected of this series. So basically nothing. We spend almost an entire episodes worth of time following this woman expecting her to turn and perhaps kill her family and start an outbreak into the apartment, but no she is basically written out from the entire show. It's like she never existed. The family goes on to live in the apartment barely attending the resident meetings that occur every episode as if nothing was wrong. I guess the son gets scared and eventually stays with other residents, but that's it. As for the apartment vs the zombie infested complex, that pretty much gets slept on as well. Nothing happens, nobody really tries to break in, it's like the rest of the zombies in their complex don't exist. We get one seen where one zombie gets in and "infects" on person and then we proceed again as if the entire zombie complex doesn't exist again. Just the discussion of locking up the person who got bit.
Then we have the researcher who obviously is trying to save his wife by developing a cure, but tries to pretend he's in it for the money. Literally fooling nobody, so when he finally shows that he's a good person at the end, it comes as no surprise to anyone. The writers also found it necessary to make illogical/unnecessary drama to make this cure. E.G. the researcher trying to deceive the main characters into getting blood transfusions and suddenly turning G.I. Joe to infiltrate the complex to extract the main character for the cure, but then saying nah it's okay you stay here. When a simple, "hey can we draw you blood, it could save the world," would be equally effective and then the entire drama would just be over.
There's a lot of time consuming, illogical, and boring build up and that always amounts to nothing. That pretty much sums up the entirety of the series. A bunch of half plots that ping pong back and forth that result into no progression. It's as if the plots were just there for the sake of being there. Another, minimum word count scenario where writers wrote the series to be a 2 hour movie, but were then told to extend it to 12 episodes so they just kind of filled in the gaps the night before and called it a wrap.
Overall this drama was meh at best and just every where all the time. It lacked any sort of identity. They just kind of threw out an interesting plot premise, added a strong and attractive cast, and proceeded to just cross their fingers. Now here we are (as of this review) with a score of 9.0 with a story that almost anyone could write so I guess the plan was successful. I can't wait for another drama to be overrated so that we continue the cycle of pumping out the next brain dead story with an attractive cast.
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Find Your Happy Place
Contrary to the title, this isn’t a fluffy dramedy/rom-com that’s filled with rainbows, sunshine and lots of happy folks with warm smiles and joyous laughter. Well, not exactly. Happiness is about the onset of a zombie outbreak. At first glance, the story appears to be the antithesis of happiness but there’s more than meets the eye. Different viewers would have their own takeaways from this drama but personally for me, my interpretation of “happiness” in this context lies in cherishing what you have amidst the chaos that threatens to take away that which you hold dear, and those whom you so love. For this very reason, this surprising gem became a sort of happy place for me as I began to develop a fondness for the drama and the characters in it, despite the macabre premise.The director of Stranger, one of my all time favourite dramas, Ahn Gil Ho helms this production. The plot is based on the original screenplay by Han Sang Woon. Of his previous works, I’ve only seen The Good Wife which is a decent adaptation of the original US series. The drama is set in the near future that makes references to the post-Covid pandemic. Principal photography took place primarily at the extensive e Pyunhansang apartment complex in Gyeonggi province’s Okjeong city, which is used as the fictional Seyang Forest Le Ciel apartments in the drama.
Happiness focuses on a couple who find themselves under lockdown in their brand new apartment complex during the zombie outbreak, termed “Madness Epidemic” by the authorities. The ML is a Violent Crimes detective of the Seyang Police Station while the FL is a Special Operation Unit (SOU) police squad and counter-terrorism operative. Central to the plot is how these two individuals work with a shadowy governmental agency, Disaster and Crisis Response Center, led by a very mysterious SML, who coordinates the military in the zombie crisis containment and medical researchers’ efforts in finding a cure for the epidemic.
In addition to the character study into the best and (mostly) worst of human nature in the face of impending doom, the narrative contains elements of social commentary and presents a somewhat satirical depiction of a deeply hierarchical society, particularly through the class distinctions between the affluent owners living in the upper levels and the general public in rental housing of the lower levels of the apartments. Themes of apocalyptic dystopia and high-level corruption while tropes concerning childhood connection, contract marriage, and friends to lovers are all present in this drama, among others which I won’t mention further to avoid spoiling. Additionally, jump scares feature quite a fair bit in a number of scenes.
For what appears to be a moderately budgeted drama, I have no major complaints in terms of the production values, design and quality. The fight choreography is quite impressive and so too the presence of the military elements and use of firearms in the action sequences. The makeup for the zombies, including blood and gore, appear well rendered. As most of the story takes place at the apartment complex, there isn’t a sense of the scale of the outbreak, which purportedly occurs nationwide and also across the world. This means there are no massive numbers of extras posing as zombies and running riot all over the place, like scenes in Train to Busan or the sageuk-zombie fusion, Kingdom.
Generally I’m quite pleased with how the story is presented, in terms of the plot development and pacing, sequencing of events in a linear fashion and with minimal disruptions to the timeline i.e. lack of excessive flashbacks of backstories and jumping between different time periods. While there are some similarities with another apocalyptic drama, Sweet Home, the notable differences being the apartment building here is much bigger and the action also takes place outside the building but within the expansive complex that houses several apartment towers. The sheer number of people involved as far as the inhabitants are concerned as well as the external forces outside the complex are much higher. I would say the atmosphere in the drama isn’t as bleak or toxic but instead rather pleasant, were it not for the pesky zombies.
A majority of the characters are quirky and out-of-the-box, which is part of the drama’s charms. I have come to love all three leads and certain supporting characters, in particular a certain little girl. Other characters are those that I either despise or feel perturbed by, but that is testament to the characterization. Most of the supporting characters get their fair share of screen time and story arc. Some characters, however, such as the female soldier who assists the SML in his endeavours and the FL’s colleague in the SOU, unfortunately do not get fleshed out for our benefit. The bureaucrats and chaebols connected to the zombie outbreak also do not make their presence significantly felt until the tail end of the drama, which appears more as an afterthought rather than any crucial aspect of the storytelling.
As far as the acting is concerned, this is where Happiness shines through. The ML Jung Yi Hyun is played by Park Hyung Sik who returns in his first drama appearance since being discharged from military service. Since I last saw him in Suits, he retains that exact same boyish charm and projects the level-headed calm and sensible persona that we have come to expect of his characters. Along with a strapping physique, he certainly looks the part of a violent crimes detective. Han Hyo Joo, who plays the FL Yoon Sae Bom, also makes a return to the small screen this year after last appearing in W in 2016. Among all the lead characters, the FL is quite possibly the most offbeat of them all. Fearless, daring, streetwise and without a care about authoritative structures or social constructs, this is an independent woman who knows what she wants and how to achieve it. She might appear nonchalant and apathetic at times but deep down she has a clear distinction between right and wrong, and has a strong sense of protectiveness over those whom she deeply cares for. All these qualities are magnificently portrayed by Han Hyo Joo.
These two characters are the best part of this drama for me. They’re not perfect, far from it in fact. Their occasional catastrophic decision making counts among other seemingly ridiculous flaws which manifest over time but still I couldn’t help but root for them to overcome all the challenges and dangers that come their way. Their dynamics are top quality where every interaction, even inaction at times, between them truly is a joy to behold.
The SML is played by Jo Woo Jin, no stranger to the industry who has appeared in many renowned drama and film productions over the years. It is a blessing indeed for us viewers that he graces this drama with his presence. The role of the extremely grey and layered Han Tae Seok suits this man to a T, where his understatedly nuanced performance breathes life into the character to further elevate the drama.
Among the supporting cast, special mention has to go to Baek Hyun Jin. This is the third time I’ve seen him this year, after Taxi Driver and The Devil Judge. Known affectionately as the “U-data guy” for his OTT portrayal of a psychotic CEO in Taxi Driver, this actor simply excels in portraying antagonistic roles. In this drama, his character of Oh Joo Hyung is much more subdued in comparison with his previous roles but still does not detract from the lowkey villainous vibes that he consistently imbues into his acting. Bae Hae Seon is another one who has had a prolific year after appearances in Inspector Koo, Hometown CCC, and Great Shaman GDS, of those I’ve seen. She plays the hubristic and self-important “Queen Bee” of the apartment complex, Oh Yeon Ok. Her portrayal here is angsty yet amusing at the same time. Prolific child actress, 9-year old Song Ji Woo who plays Park Seo Yoon, the sickly little girl living on the 5th floor certainly deserves mention for her efforts in the drama.
Happiness introduced me to a number of new musicians who enhanced the production with their evocative music. Joe Layne with the very fitting opening theme and an emotional English-language track, while SAAY, Isaac Hong and Jemma contributed a song each. The original score is composed by multiple award-winning Kim Tae Seong who has form with this genre, having worked on numerous suspense-thriller productions over the past decade.
Eureka (Opening theme) and What Lies Ahead - Joe Layne (조레인)
Pain - Isaac Hong (홍이삭)
Nobody Knows - SAAY (쎄이)
ENIGMA - Jemma (젬마)
IMHO, Happiness is definitely one of the biggest surprises of the year, as far as K-dramas are concerned. It’s not as big budgeted and extensively promoted as some of the more well-known productions and the horror theme involving zombies may have turned off some viewers from trying this one out. But I’m glad I gave this a go and what a fulfilling, entertaining and worthwhile viewing experience it has been. If you can overcome your fear of zombies, do give this drama a chance and, who knows, you might end up being pleasantly surprised as well.
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Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
The whole thing was just * and can either be realistic because of how the desease flew considering the plot itself, but the implementation of each parts/scenes which just made the drama too complex to believe and understand that there's a lot of questions need to be addressed about what and how are things even settled in just 2 weeks. What makes the drama more unrealistic is... I'd better count them instead. Firstly, I've observed that the situation outside is too normal knowing that those people seems to having no problem at all and no fear you could expect them to be in the mid of a very serious desease. Secondly, how did they even handled the situation when the drugs has to spread, and I would've believed if the virus occurred in various places since the virus started with a capsule of drug supplement and no idea of where, which, or who are the people took the drugs . Thirdly, the drama seems to only focused in one setting and lacks details. Which is why maybe some of the viewers came with such negative opinions.Overall, I didn't enjoyed watching the whole thing. The concept was interesting, the cast are also impressive, but the story and the flow of the whole scene was something that did not meet our expectations.
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Good Premise but Bad Story Building
To be honest, I picked watching Happiness because both of the main actor, Park Hyung Shik and Han Hyo Joo. They have a great acting and I enjoy their past work. Though, I couldn't help but got disappointed by the stories and the character building this drama has.Happiness actually has a good unique premise. It is a zombie themed drama that pour slice of life scenarios into it. It has a great opening that is linked to our current pandemic situation. This drama started by how people overcome and get used to the virus and continued on their daily life. But, a good premise need a good execution.
A story need a character to let it flow. What disappointed me the most, how poor written the characters are. Happiness has two main lead that is a former highschool mates. Both Sae Bom and Yi Hyun are shown as a strong selfless characters with no weakness. Is it wrong for them to act like that? Of course not. But as a viewer, we never get a glimpse of understanding on how both the leads grow into the person they are. There is no introduction of their past and they just suddenly show both leads as a cool detective and officer. I actually expect the drama to give background stories for the leads even if for a bit so there can be a character development and we can connect to the character growth, but nothing until the last episode.
This goes for the supporting roles as well. Each resident have different background and that can be a great foundation for the stories. But again, there is no a scene of process of building the character with depth and they are shown as frustated selfish characters just because they are trapped in quarantine. They give us a poor written villain over other poor written villain over other else poor written villain and stuck them up in one place.
How about the apocalypse setting? At first I am truly interested with the setting and I actually link the virus outbreak in the drama with the title of 'Happiness'. I thought the 'Happiness' emotion might be related on how the infected could bear the virus, but again there is no explanation. They don't give any scenes about the virus, the illegal drug, or even the symptoms.
In fact, Happiness actually casted many great actor and actress that played well with the acting that can make you stay to watch and that is my reason to finish this series. But, there is a lot of scene that against the flow of logic established by the story's plot. If you are not bothered by illogical, unlikely or impossible events, you can begin watching this drama.
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Happiness: the state of being happy or the struggle to become happy?
We have numerous different definitions and interpretations for the term 'happiness' and we incorporate different definitions depending upon the situations or scenarios. For this drama, the most appropriate definition that comes to my mind was stated by Steve Maraboli that says, "Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them." Don't you think it resonates with the entire drama?The basic concept of Happiness (해피니스)is apocalypse and we are having more of it these days, no? But what makes this drama stand out is a different approach of showcasing human behaviour during crisis, more than the apocalyptic situation. Yes, that's how you have to perceive and watch the entire thing keeping that in your mind. Otherwise you gonna hate this drama if you have come here to see thrilling monster apocalyptic consequences, utter dystopia and plenty of gore elements.
Happiness is about the happenings inside an apartment building that's been quarantined due to the spread of a deadly new virus, along with other apartments of the complex it belongs to. The virus has the ability to invade the infectee's brain and gain control over it by which the diseased develops monstrous symptoms and crave for blood. There's simply no cure to the virus since it's completely new and, nor is there a way to control the contagiousness. The drama is entirely about community survival because the residents belonging to different class who are stuck in the building, has to patiently wait until the restrictions are lifted. Meanwhile they have to avoid getting infected by any means as well as solve conflicts like fight for food, water, other accessories, finding network and most importantly save themselves from each other. This seems like a better synopsis.
Yoon Sae Bom (Han Hyo Joo), an SOU cop is highly decisive, righteous and straightforward as a person. She never tolerates injustice and always ready to counter any challenging situation. Jung Yi Hyun (Park Hyung Sik) is violent crime detective who never fails to get to the root of any incident and is good at dealing with any kind of unforseen event. Sae Bom & Yi Hyun have been friends since highschool and maintain a healthy friendship through mutual care and admiration. Han Tae Seok (Jo Woo Jin) an ex-military agent has the topmost hand as a pharmaceutical company executive and constantly strive to defeat the virus.
Ahn Gil Ho & Han Sang Won, PD & Jakka of the drama respectively, are very familiar names in the Kdrama industry with a good record of dramas as their accomplished works and this drama is probably the 2nd from this duo, together. Given the concept & context of the drama, the execution and screenplay management is done well, in overall. The writer deserves applause for bringing forward a different approach in apocalyptic story. Sure we have seen plenty of apocalypse but some are more about the survival against the crisis and others are balanced between along with human problems. But let me repeat that Happiness is more about the later. It's a great idea to showcase the human behaviour during the current pandemic that the audience could greatly relate to.
We have got many actors in the drama who are more or less familiar and are good at acting. I am afraid i will end up mentioning all of their names, I will just say that Lee Joon Hyuk playing Detective Kim Jung Gook (Yi Hyun's supervisor) and Park Joo Hee as Lieutenant Lee Ji Soo (Tae Suk's assistant), are my favourites. Acting department did pretty well here but i don't think it had any character with significant scope to showcase their skills.
The plot development is quite good, I wasn't actually amazed by it but sure, it's something to look forward to. It isn't really constantly gripping or something that makes you to seat at the edge except for the last few episodes, ngl. I am in fact pleased how the mood wasn't drawn to be intense and heavy, throughout. There were instances of kindness, humanity, love and care, all of these incorporated at appropriate spaces. There is no crude amount of romance between the leads here, even though they're considered couple, rather, to me, it felt like a slowburn development that was invisibly progeesing through mutual care. However, chemistry between them as best friends or even partners is superb, you are gonna love it. The first 2 episodes are not that great to keep you hooked, so i suggest you to try the next 2. Also, personally, I was with the wrong impression about the concept, so I struggled a bit initially. But it's a matter of time I changed my perceptions and to my cooperation, the show came to me in a different light. The progression is nice and the last 3 episodes are makes you anxious about the further consequences. Those are the best episodes no matter how much frustrated I had become.
There are few aspects that could have been better. I understand what the drama is about but meanwhile, they could have explained more about the virus, the restricted drug, the symptoms, which could have made it even more interesting. They could have thrown some more light on the character dynamics of the the individuals stuck in the apartment, with some background settings; Ik it would have demanded more run-time, so I'm not complaining. The sound production makes it look lame which is not the case. I am not fan of Han Hyo Joo's acting, nor do I hate her but I had hard time resonating with her character Sae Bom at particular instances here. Her behaviour sometimes didn't at all feel like that of an SOU cop. Also, Hyung Sik's acting plus voice felt unfamiliar to me since it's his comeback drama. Anyways, the sole reason I was here was the cast and I am pleased with whatever I was offered through this project.
The drama has only 2 OSTs and loved both of them. "What Lies Ahead" by Joe Layne is a country song which has trenchant values, defining the title of the drama. It's all about the anticipations and strategies about one's future, requires to achieve real happiness but little did they know that Happiness comes with hardships. "Pain" by Isaac Hong is a track that yearns to escape from pain, that has trapped them witnin an infinity loop. Other than these 2, Happiness also features several tracks from Joe Layne as background scores at several instances. I am honestly not satisfied with the sound production. Given the premise, Happiness could have produced and utilised some good instrumentals as it's background score or even theme songs but they got very of them composed. In fact, those few are good yet underutilised. This influences the screenplay in a way that the drama feels slow, when it actually isn't.
Since 90% of the runtime takes place witnin the apartment, there ain't much scope for cinematography but the CGI involving the virus infected individuals and their behaviours was upto the par.
Again, Happiness is a live-action drama of human psychology and their socio-cultural behaviour during crisis, or let's simply relate it to the current pandemic. The world has changed a lot since the outbreak of a deadly virus. Despite the difference in our status or classes of different categories, we all were exposed to similar threats of health as well as livelihood. And that's how we got to see how people respond differently to the same situation. People were scared, sceptical and inundated by informations and mental health of a large group of people went into shambles, adding financial problems to the lump of other crisis. Some were craving even for a single meal wheras as some were dealing with it sitting at home, as if nothing has happened. The pandemic in fact lengthened the difference between rich and poor even more. We witnessed people fighting over something like toilet paper. On contrary, we also got to ser different group of people coming forward to help each other and pledging to overcome the crisis together. Human psyche is inherently flawed, beset by biases that distort information. It is seen as incapable of dealing with complexity, probability, and uncertainty, and tending to panic in a crisis. This is everything you'll get to see in Happiness.
The entire piece is thrilling and awes you with its suspense at several points but it might not feel compelling which is okay because it's more important that you understand the undeaying messages which the show wanted to convey.
Overally, Happiness is a good drama which experimentally shows the social science pov of human behaviour and the underlying psychology. Please keep in mind that it's 10% apocalypse and 90% about demeanor of so called social animals, namely human beings. It's definitely worth the one time watch and I would surely recommend to give this a go, at least for Park Hyung Sik.
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Absolutely genius drama
I just wanted to write this review because there are many people try to hate this drama without even watching it to the last and they say a strong FL is reckless and stupid. Why is that? That is her character flaw she grew up in a unhappy household. So that is why she is like that. She is a person who act frist and think second. You people probably didn't read any articles and any interviews before this drama released. That is why you never really understand about where she coming from. There are so many hidden things in this drama so watch it frist and then write reviews and rate.About episode 3
There are many people talking about why yoon sae bom open the bathroom door without thinking? So this is my explanation. Firstly she took the responsibility to talk to that infected person that is why she slowly opened that bathroom door and talked to that women slowly but the husband of that woman pushed her into the bahtroom and closed the door so in that situation she was facing a crisis .so she had to do something to protect her self from that woman. So that is why she opened that door and she know she can control that woman. . That is why she follow up the woman after released her.The infected woman only went after her husband because of anger. And other thing they are talking about is "main leads know exactly what happening and they don't want others to know about it", but that is completely wrong.From the beginning they have signed a secrecy declaration that is why they can't reveal anything to public. Please give attention to the minor details before talking about this drama. Director and script writer knew people will not give much attention to the minor details that is exactly why they added that minor details.
There will be so many plot twists in this drama. Watch the drama until the end and then judge.
Director and the script writer are geniuses and the actors are considered as best actors never let disappointed people. So don't be disappointed with only three episodes
Lastly i have to say don't judge a book by its cover
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