It is better than my expectation for a romcom

Just completed this on xmas 2023, and it is better than my expectations for a romcom.
Consider this if you are looking for a drama to watch this year end - easy watch that has happy endings!

While the FL's disease/spell is far-fetched (the fantasy part), the cameos of her new identities convey meaningful messages on loving someone beyond outer appearance, dealing with unexpected happenings/ lemons in life, and embracing new identities to help others. There are heart-felt reflective moments in this romcom with a dash of fantasy.

Love the FL's performance and the exceptional friendship she have with her two buddies, and the romance of the second couple is predictably good - I kinda know and hope the second couple will get together and indeed they did.

Actually watched this drama for the ML Lee Min Ki, but was kinda disappointed. His deadpan look from Because This is My First Life (2017) seemed to have followed him in this drama. He was funny with that deadpan look in Behind Your Touch (2023), and while it was still convincing in First Life, it backfired in this drama, even though he is suffering from Prosopagnosia.

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If NIF is a gem, NIF2 is a hidden gem that outshines when uncovered

A drama that I should have watched immediately after I completed NIF in 2021.

My gripe with NIF is the slow pace (i.e. story pace is slow and everyone speaks, walks and moves slowly, as they should be in royal palace settings) and character-story arcs that did not engage nor move me. Thus, I made a terrible mistake of not continuing with NIF2 immediately, but watched only recently, 2 years later, because all other c-historical dramas that I could find were simply unwatchable (after sampling a few episodes per drama).

NIF2 retains the style of NIF, telling the story of the third (grand) generation of Mei Chang Su. But the pace is faster, with more martial fight scenes and war scenes. Viewers get more engaged with the leads, and I was touched and moved to tears periodically by the stories and deep honor and bonds of the Chang Lin family (the two brothers and their father, and I would add also big brother’s wife), for one another and for their country and people. It was an emotional yet gratifying watch, as the Chang Lin family remains unswayed by insinuations and attacks on their loyalty.

Solid performance from all including the supporting cast. I’m especially impressed by Liu Hao Ran. Born Oct 1997, he was only 20 years young when the drama first aired in Dec 2017. As the main protagonist, his role’s transition from a frivolous pugilist protected by his family to a stoic military commander, shouldering the responsibilities of his beloved deceased brother, and to being finally enlightened, and putting down the burdens and living his true self, is naturally evident.

What could be better? The antagonist’s story and motives could be strengthened. Greed for wealth and power was mentioned to cause the antagonist’s father to forget one’s original intention and heart. The antagonist understood his father’s crime and was at peace. He trusted no one and never readily agreed to work with anyone. Left alone without his parents, he swayed between right and wrong, trying to get a foothold. So was it his sense of insecurities that led him down the doomed path? Or was the key intent of the antagonist's lack of solid motive, only to accentuate the honor-sacrifice-trials-tribulations of the main protagonist who is also his peer?

Do one need to watch NIF before watching NIF2? No, there’s no need, as the story focuses some 50 years later on the third generation. But having watched NIF will help you understand NIF2 better, plus there are smart references to NIF, especially the one in the last second episode, when you thought the story was ending, and all references to NIF would have already appeared at the start, or at most up to the first-half or second-thirds of the series.

Heard that there would be NIF3, and yes, I’m looking forward to NIF3 if it happens.

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Restored part of my faith on doctors and the healthcare system

Hong Kong has always done well in professional medical dramas. I have enjoyed Big White Duel 2 and was excited to hear about the filming of the sequel back in 2020. Finally had the chance to watch it recently, and it was better than the prequel, imho. It has a big story on medical reform, with medical emergencies (some based on real incidents) and societal issues weaved in the main arc on medical reform, and a big cast that delivered. It restored part of my faith on doctors and the healthcare system, following a recent nasty personal experience.

The cast returned to the set to continue their care for the patients, and at the same time, fight against authorities to implement medical reform - this time on getting the Hong Kong SAR Government to fully open the Drug Formulary, so that the full list of prescriptive drugs can be subsidized and be affordable by the patients. Doing so will benefit patients of rare diseases as the drugs are usually exorbitant (as the R&D cost is shared by fewer patients) and not subsidized (as the tight public medical budget prioritises drugs for common diseases to benefit more patients).

It is heartening to see the squad of 6 doctors always putting the patients in the first place – with doctor delaying treatment so as not to disrupt the medical reform plan, doctor getting infected / injured while saving patients and doctors risking being fired to operate on patients - and backing each other up. Unity is strength – Yay!

The acting and the chemistry of the squad of 6 doctors are great. They are one big family caring and backing each other in both their professional and personal lives.

The OST Wish reminds me of the OST Can You Hear Me in the prequel – Both are moving ballads that blended well with the scenes in the respective dramas to bring out the emotional, heartwarming and heartbreaking moments in the drama. Here's the OST medley by Kayee Tam (singer of prequel OST) https://youtu.be/C0URUvejhlg

Rewatch Value? It’s a drama that I am prepared to rewatch with relatives and friends new to the drama, but can be quite emotional heavy to watch again on my own.

What could have been better? To me, it is quite a stretch for YT to be able to recover fully and continue to be a neurosurgeon. Could it be good begets good, or that miracle does happen?

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Grandmaster of bromance and beach/village healing dramas

Watched this drama more than a decade ago, and had wanted to rewatch it before doing a proper review about a year ago. But couldn’t find a watchable version. Finally found a watchable version and watched it (complete with the drama special) within a few days, so here’s my drama review.

= In short =

A timeless drama that’s really easy to watch, and absolutely bingeable over a weekend - it’s fun, silly and hilarious, yet heartwarming and healing, with a simple plot (that offers deep meanings for the reflective viewers at different life stages), superb OSTs that weaved flawlessly throughout the drama and five charming leads. Plus it is just 12 episodes at ~50mins per episode.

This is also probably the Grandmaster of bromance (i.e. simple, pure, deep friendship between two guys, and nothing else) and beach/village healing dramas. Be absolutely charmed by the two male leads’ unlikely deep and pure friendship, and longing for a “Does it matter, it’s summer now” beach vacation this summer to heal the mind and soul.

*Trivia: This drama was so successful when it first aired that it led to a craze for Beach Boys-style summer beach vacation and fashion then and also had a 2.5h drama special sequel Beach Boys Special (1998) with the same cast. Well, perhaps (just saying) this drama inspired the Uniqlo casual wear trend!

= In details =

* Story: The drama is on 2 city guys who were both lost in their own lives, escaping to a beach B&B homestay, building deep friendships with each other and the homestay folks and finding purpose, meaning and direction in their lives from the homestay folks and visitors. Each of the 5 charming leads (the 2 city guys and the 3 homestay folks) have their own backstories, for which they eventually find closure.

The drama reflects the longingness and hesitations of young adults, to chase dreams and real happiness and find their own oceans, that are especially relevant today. Plus every episode offers quotable quote(s) and life lesson(s).. these quotes/lessons are usually accompanied by the piano piece of the theme song “Forever”. For example: Episode 1: The ocean connects people from near and afar. Episode 2: Simple is best. Episode 3: I don’t want to be pushed around by anyone. When I want to come back, I will, even when no one asks me to..

(When MDL article issue is fixed, I have plans to do an editorial review to better introduce the drama and the 5 leads. Do keep a lookout)

* Acting/Cast: The role portrayals and chemistry of these 5 leads are flawless. Whether you are a school student, a working adult, or a retiree, you can easily resonate with one or more lead(s)/characters in this drama and marvel how nice it would be to be one of the fivesome in the drama.

* Music: The OSTs blend perfectly into the drama are also absolutely replayable on one’s playlist. Check out ”Forever” (all three versions), “Sing a Love Song For Me” and “Bright Lights Big City”, just to name a few.

* Rewatch Value: Timeless and highly rewatchable – you can expect to have the same enjoyment of the hilarious, silly, fun moments and at the same time be inspired differently watching it at different stages of your life.

What could have been improved:
1. There’s one thing I absolutely dislike about this drama - it is the numerous scenes of the adults smoking away. Perhaps it is the Japanese way of life?
2. The 2.5h drama special is a disservice to the original drama series. The story in this special is both a waste of: (1) The character developments built up in the original series, and (2) The return of the original cast and OSTs. I was absolutely disappointed and also pissed with the two male leads in the drama special, just like Makoto in the special drama.

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My best drama of 2022

It is not only my best drama of 2022, but it is also the drama that got me out of my drama slump, and a drama I regretted not watching it earlier in 2022, but only in March 2023.

I was hesitant to watch sageuk, as I am not familiar with Korean actors and in sageuk, everyone (especially those in the palace) looked the same, with the same hairstyle, make-up and clothes. And as I have difficulty differentiating who’s who, I often cannot catch the story. Also I was watching AoS then and deliberately postponed watching this drama to after I have finished watching AoS2, so as not to mix up the characters. Alas, AoS2 took a while for me, despite my enjoyment for AoS1.. that's for another review.

Under the Queen’s Umbrella has almost all of what I looked for in a drama – a drama with strong values (on relationships, honor, justice, equality and good vs evil), embodied within a solid story and plot, spiced with intrigue, power struggle, kinship, a little romance, and honed with good acting, and breath-taking and meaningful cinematography. This is an award-worthy drama from the story/plot, values embodied, acting to cinematography.

Watch this drama and you will experience:
* A mother’s unwavering love and courage for her kids, a Queen’s big love for the neglected “step” son, and abused and belittled commoners, a Queen’s honorable advice for her King, and a Queen’s tenacity to fight higher evil, stand up for justice and protect the weak.
* The four Grand Princes’ brotherly bonds with one another and, in particular, Grand Prince Sung Nam’s bond and courage to look for cure for his elder brother and become powerful to protect his brother’s family.
* Honorable fights and wins, amidst power struggles and plot twists, to uphold equality, justice and right the wrong.

While I’m glad Moon Sang Min was awarded Best New Actor at Baeksang Arts Award 2023, I was still pissed that Kim Hye Soo was snubbed of her acting award, and the drama was snubbed for nominations in Best Drama nor Best Screenplay.

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For national park enthusiasts, with a dash of spiritual fantasy

Loved this drama for portraying the daily work of rangers at national parks, and the charms of Jirisan, but having mixed feelings on the spiritual fantasy part of the ML’s soul remaining on Jirisan.

I enjoyed hiking and have done some hiking at national parks before, and of course visited the parks’ visitor centres at the start of the hike for hiking permits (if needed), and to meet our hiking guides. But I have never thought what the daily work of park rangers comprised of, nor have I seen any show on the daily work of park rangers.

Thus, this drama is an eye opener for me. The park rangers don’t just man the information counters at the park’s visitor centre, but are also involved in the education of visitors on park safety and conservation, check that the amenities in the park are weather-worthy, warning signs of impending heavy rain, snow are put up clearly, patrolling, and the arduous work of evacuation and rescue operations.

I enjoyed those parts of the drama on the natural disasters and rescue operations of trapped or injured hikers - those are done meticulously, portraying the perilous rescue operations in the midst of extreme weather conditions, not falling behind western movies on disaster rescue operations.

The mystery part involving the murder cases on the mountain adds to the mystery of nature and Jirisan. But, gotta deduct 0.5 point for the spiritual fantasy part of the ML’s soul remaining on Jirisan. For me, the spiritual fantasy part dented the credibility of the dangers of Mother Nature at Jirisan and the arduous rescue operations. I strongly feel that using a more credible way to crack the murder case would serve better for an otherwise enjoyable disaster docu drama of movie film-quality.

p/s:
1) I hope I will have the opportunity to hike Jirisan and witness its majestic sunrise one day.
2) Love the two leads, especially the FL Seo Yi Kang, and only realised recently they were both casted in Kingdom - another fave drama of mine.

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Docu-series of a 2016 international rescue operation, showcasing the tenacity of man-kind

My very first Thai drama which I watched last year, and it was also the last drama I watched with my number one drama buddy – my mom.

This Thai documentary drama re-enacts the highly reported, arduous, and miraculous rescue operations for a group of Thai boys and their football coach who were trapped in a cave in June - July 2016, the tenacity of the trapped group to stay alive, and the rescuers to save the trapped group out of the complex, dark and submerged cave system.

It is a drama I used to encourage mom, and which mom embodied, and it will always remind me of mom’s tenacity and perseverance to fight to the end. And for this, the subjective rating is invaluable.

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“People die when they are forgotten by their loved ones” and euthanasia topic broached

Watched this last Sep and penned some thoughts then. Wasn’t able to do a proper review then due to personal matters. Doing this review now incorporating my own personal experience.

Watched this for Ji Sung after watching his stunning performance in The Devil Judge, and was glad I did not miss this drama. So this time as Dr Cha Yo Han instead of Judge Kang Yo Han (Is Yo Han a common name?), Ji Sung charms as both the Head of a hospital’s pain management and treatment center and a CIPA patient (a person diagnosed with Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis – a rare inherited disease where the patient cannot feel pain and temperature, nor sweat). He was first seen diagnosing and treating inmates while serving time in prison for administering euthanasia on a terminal patient without consent, and then heading a team of doctors at a hospital’s pain management and treatment center. Being a CIPA patient himself where there is no known treatment, he seeks to find treatment for himself and CIPA patients like him.

Besides discussions on medical ethics and professionalism as with most medical dramas, this medical drama also spotlights a variety of rare diseases e.g. CIPA, that are often hard to diagnose, and euthanasia. It broaches the sensitive topic of euthanasia, from the perspectives of the patients (to want to be able to continue living and staying with loved ones vs not being able to have quality life and to end one’s sufferings and not be a burden to loved ones), their loved ones (conflict between hoping earnestly for miracles, and torture of seeing loved ones suffer), and doctors (conflict between saving lives and allowing patients to have quality lives). It is hard pulling off a loved one’s life support system even when the chance of recovery is practically nil..

Some quotable quotes I penned down then, that are especially poignant now, having gone through similar experience:

* People die when they are forgotten by their loved ones.
* The ultimate goals of medicine is to make people happy. And simply reducing pain or prolonging life through medicine does not guarantee people’s happiness.

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A drama that deserves more love

Watched this following a friend's recommendation, after a disappointing watch of Extraordinary Attorney Woo (EAW), and this certainly deserves more love.

Perhaps as a medical drama, the story of the autistic protagonist here is much more realistic than EAW. Through the growth and development of the autistic protagonist, Park Shi On (by Joo Won) to overcome struggles and gain acceptance and recognition from his colleagues, mentors, bosses, patients and their families, with his pure dream to be a good doctor, a good pediatric surgeon, there are also growth and development of the other three main roles, especially his mentor Kim Do Han (by Joo Sang Wook, who also played Jang Gang in Alchemy of Souls).

Plus medical emergencies of adorable kids that are guaranteed to strike a chord and more, and life lessons on dreams and love between siblings, colleagues and lovers.

Be charmed by the performance of Joo Won, Joo Sang Wook, Moon Chae Won and the children (young Park Shi On and the young patients).

Btw, this drama was so good that it had resulted in an American remake and a Japanese remake.

* What is a doctor to you? It’s the last hope. Even if everyone else gives up on a patient, a doctor must take care of the patient until the end.

* Then what is a patient to you? A friend that I must part with. I must treat patients like a friend and make sure they stay healthy even after leaving me, so they never come see me again.

* All doctors who think hard about what makes a good doctor are good doctors. And those people are all good people.

* There’s no qualification in loving someone. Instead.. If you genuinely and unconditionally love someone, you become qualified to care for that person. It’s a qualification only you possess.

* I know you’re sad that you can’t fulfill your dream. But you know what’s good about dreams? That you can have another dream. Just like you dream every night, you can have another dream. You don’t give up on your dreams, you just get new ones. Look. The ball from your first hit. You can make new firsts again. Whatever that is, you have to give that to me too.

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Jack of all tropes, King of none

A result of a sloppy job of putting together the good genes (tropes) of recent kdramas. And contrary to reviews and comments that this is not a court room drama, to me, this is a 100% court room drama laced with autism-cuteness.

1. This drama replicates the success of earlier dramas such as Move to Heaven, Good Doctor etc by having a lead with autism in a profession. However, the autism aspect is perhaps more to inject elements of autism-cuteness into the drama, as the protagonist’s (WYW) struggles in her life and profession are only superficially dealt with. If WYW needs to count before getting into a new space such as stepping into the lift, a room, why doesn't the drama at least show how she steps into the subway train that she takes to work every day (during rush hours)? I mean there are a number of scenes of her on the train, not? In addition, her mentor and her female colleague warm up to her all too soon.

2. The episodic court cases and court scenes are similar to those in Juvenile Justice, but the court cases are all over the place, varying from criminal cases to civil cases and family cases, and are neither intriguing nor thought provoking. Towards the end, I actually only recalled the two cases that involve autistic clients.

3. The last bit on WYW’s mother is every bit the trope of recent dramas where parents prioritised their career (key public appointment) over his/her child (Juvenile Justice, The Devil Judge, Beyond Evil).

4. The relationships are not fleshed out: The ML appears to be purely included as the love interest for the FL to give the drama a romance arc - the ML is 2D and it is not clear why he falls for the FL, other than the FL's cuteness. In addition, the FL’s relationships with her father, friends and colleagues are also only superficially portrayed. I had expected some tears from watching a drama with autistic lead, but completed the drama without a drop of tears.

5. Attorney Jung is great, and I enjoyed his performance and the many sides of him - as a legal professional, as a mentor to the rookies, singing for the seniors and poking fun of his name for the juniors and the casual live-the-moment vibe in Jeju. But assigning all 3 rookies to him without other colleagues with some experience in his team is only possible in dramaland.

In short, it is only as entertaining as a rom-com, and it lacks originality and the depth and realism related to court cases and autism to be a critical production.

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Neither disappointed nor impressed

I have enjoyed many medical dramas, and am thus looking forward to watch this drama. I won’t say I’m disappointed, nor would I say I’m impressed with this drama.

Most medical dramas touched me at some point or another, but this drama did not. Perhaps due to lack of stronger backstories for the coma patients (where was the walnut man’s son?), and backstories of the other docs and staff at the hospital (e.g. the cleaner Ms Kim (any particular reason why Tess possessed her time and again?), and the doctor who defended the 2ML (Seung Tak) when the rest mocked at him?)).

Different from most sentiments, I thought the first 5-6 episodes are slower and repetitive (possessing humans and saving lives), compared to the last 5-6 episodes, with the unveiling of some backstories of coma patients, the MLs and their budding mentorship-friendship (reminds me of similar mentorship-friendship between the MLs in HK medical drama The Last Breakthrough - btw this is an underrated gem not-to-be-missed), the 1ML (Young Min) reflecting on when to really stop saving patients and the 2ML (Seung Tak) learning to be a real surgeon.

It would have been better if there are stronger backstories of the coma patients, and a "reunion” of the MLs with the patients who awoke from their coma.

Random musings:

1. Certain side profile of Rain in the drama resembles Lee Joon Gi. How about a drama with both of them as brothers?
2. Why did both 2ML and 2FL not have fathers, and were doted by their respective grandfathers?
3. Wasn’t the motorcyclist who banged into Rain shown to be a menacing dark ghost emanating black smokes, peering at the Leads from behind doors in one episode and Tess remarking him to spell troubles, but he turned out to be a harmless coma ghost who just need help from the Leads to recover from his coma?
4. Why was the backstory of the guy coma patient featured only 4-5 episodes after the backstory of the lady was featured and the lady recovered and discharged from the hospital – common sense would have the leads find out the backstory of each coma patients at about the same time, to help them out of their coma. It almost seemed like the guy coma patient has been totally forgotten, and added in as an afterthought.
5. Is skin slitting with a surgical knife a common shot to mark the start of surgery? Similar to Kids Lives Matter with the mechanical skin-slitting start of surgery scene, there are numerous bloody and heart thumping surgical scenes through this drama.

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If you enjoyed this drama, you will enjoy Douluo Continent

Started this drama seeing Leo Wu (Nirvana in Fire, The Long Ballad), Li Qin (Princess Agents) and Xiao Zhan (The Untamed, Douluo Continent) in the cast, having enjoyed their respective performance in other dramas.

First impression is the similarity with Douluo Continent, training in academy and levelling up RPG Final Fantasy*-style to be the best fighter in Douqi / Douluo Continent. This similarity with Douluo Continent waned off soon as the drama progressed to focus only on the protagonist’s (Leo Wu) journey to become stronger, find his family’s killer and return peace to the Douqi Continent.

I prefer Douluo Continent for a story not just on the protagonist, but also on his six interesting team mates and their three teachers, each with their unique personalities, backstories and relationships, and their strong friendships and teamwork as a formidable team, winning battles and thwarting devious plans.

Random musings:

1. *The protagonist Xiao Yan is the live version of the protagonist Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, with his heavy sword resting on his shoulder and the unusual short hairdo for a male in historical costume. See pic here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/whatever_weus/feeds/vYdj5Sx

2. Just 3 years, Leo Wu had certainly grown from kiddish Fei Liu in Nirvana in Fire (2015) to a more matured but no less determined and skillful Xiao Yan.

3. Xiao Zhan had a support role in this drama where the father of the protagonist is also called Xiao Zhan (萧战), with a different Xiao but the same intonation.

4. Li Qin's character reminded me so much of Miss He He in Sword Snow Stride - the lady who rode on a panda and carrying a sunflower.. hmmm

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Perfect lead characters whom many of us hope to be and be with

It’s hard not to like this drama. It’s a cocktail of wuxia chivalry x political power scheming, topped with two perfect leads, Hei Feng Xi and Bai Feng Xi, whom many of us hope to be and be with: Gorgeous, smart, chivalrous, skilled in martial arts, and of royal blood or noble background, fighting evil to bring peace to their people.

While i thought Yang Yang and Zhao Lu Si befitted their roles, Zhao Lu Si wowed me more with her versatile acting – from the damsel in distress Princess in The Long Ballad to the sassy kickass Princess in Who Rules the World. Oh, and not to forget Xuan Lu also transformed from the best, gentle and kind martial sister in The Untamed to the best, hardy and no-nonsense general here.

It’s a one season drama that is not overly difficult for a rewatch when i need to relive being a perfect being with my perfect half.

What i felt could be improved
1) Hei Feng Xi is too perfect to be real – how can anyone not bear any grudge against his father who has never cared for his mother and him?
2) The two near-death experiences of Bai Feng Xi is so overdone. I get that the first is really so that Hei Feng Xi can also recover and regain his martial skills, but while the destruction of the cannons is necessary, using one’s life to save the other and the mane of white hair on a face that has not aged a single day are too over-cliched.
3) Ending scene with little Hei Feng Bai Xi cutting in the main leads’ brow moment would have provided a perfect ending for the perfect lead couple.

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I'm late but glad that i did not miss this gem

I started watching this drama recently thinking it was recommended by a fellow MDL mate, but just couldn’t trace back who recommended to convey thanks, as this is a gem that I would have otherwise missed.

Story: The story is multi-dimensional – [mysterious background of the protagonist] x [demolishing slavery] x [spies & intelligence] x [political scheming and war fighting between states] x ["mulan" style female general] – and thus little dull, filler moments. Lots of majestic stunt scenes in martial fights, spy training, navigating secret caverns with booby traps and war fighting/city gate defending. The cinematography and costumes are also commendable, though the CGI can certainly be better.

Cast/Acting: This is my first drama starring Zhao Li Ying and she is deserving of her stardom. Sadly though, there is lack of character growth for the protagonist she played. And for the ML Yu Wen Yue, I only got a strong Nirvana in Fire (2015) Lin Shu/Mei Chang Shu aura/vibe – from the dressing, hairdo to being afraid of cold. The characters that really wowed me are the second ML and FL. Shawn Dou aced the portrayal of Yan Xun, making him the drama’s antagonist many hate to love, and secretly wishing he will turn good by the end of this series, and then hopefully again in the grand finale (in Season 2 if it ever happens). This is also my first drama starring Shawn Dou and I will be looking out for his other dramas. Li Qin surprised me too – she did not impress at all as the FL Chicken Drumstick Lady in Joy of Life (2019) which i watched last year.

What can be improved: While there is attention to details such as using ancient Chinese handwriting style in letters / edict in the drama, I really cannot understand why the dyed hair for the two leads.

Add-ons: Did you notice how the commercials blended into the drama, that you only realized those were commercials after 5-10 seconds into the drama? Two very good examples are in episode 56 of 58.

Costume cdrama cliches?
1. Calling FL as “奇女子” (extraordinary woman): First saw in Prince of Lan Ling (2013), then in The Long Ballad (2021), then in this drama.
2. Naming kids as “平安” (Peace): First saw in Prince of Lan Ling (2013) (Prince of Lan Ling’s son is named “Ping An”), then in this drama.

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Certainly not just another me-too zombie production

From a 2h zombie movie on a train in “Train to Busan”, expanded to a 12h drama at a sprawling high school campus in “All of Us are Dead”, I was wondering if there will still be novelty in another 12h zombie drama in “Happiness”, other than staying alive in a zombies-flooded apartment (vs a monster-flooded apartment in “Sweet Home”). I was proven wrong as I enjoyed “Happiness” as much as I enjoyed prior contemporary zombie productions.

Using zombies or mad person disease as the backdrop, the drama smartly weaved in current topic of inherent danger of fast tracked (and thus not as fully tested) medicines/vaccines developed to curb disease pandemic, together with humanity, social class, contract marriage and psychopath in an intense, action-packed drama.

The drama conveys that happiness is not mere material gains (such as possession of bitcoins, jewellery, being the apartment representative), but to be able to love and be loved (such as the two leads, the girl and her mom, the siblings), and such happiness is the motivation needed to stay sane and fight adversities, zombies and psychopath.

This is my first drama starring Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyung Sik and I really enjoyed their performance and their on-screen chemistry, and will be on the lookout for their future works, and perhaps also watch some of their past works.

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