This review may contain spoilers
"Happiness" is a drama about a group of people trapped inside an apartment complex, trying to survive an outbreak of an unknown virus.Sae Bom and Yi Hyun have been best friends since they were teenagers and this friendship has continued even after they became adults. In order to get an apartment in the most famous place in the city, the two get married only on paper to have priority access. It all seems like a dream come true and Yi Hyun plans to confess his feelings for Sae Bom, taking advantage of the opportunity of now being married, but everything changes completely when a psychotic outbreak causes people to attack each other for no apparent reason. An infected person is released in the condominium and begins to infect others. Sae Bom and Yi Hyun, along with other residents, enter a battle for survival... the problem is that the infected are not the only danger.
Do you know what message this drama conveys?! Human beings are the real monsters.
When watching this drama, it was impossible not to make comparisons with the movie "The Mist", because both have a very similar setting and narrative. They are about people who are trapped together during a situation that is out of control, in the case of the drama, an outbreak of a virus that turns people into a mix of vampires and zombies. But the biggest problem they have to overcome in reality is not the infected, but the people who are by their side.
There are so many horrible things that happen, that it makes you rethink before trusting anyone, because in the beginning everyone was nice, but as soon as things started to get worse, their true faces began to appear. The killer doctor and the so-called "representative" of the building, it is easy to identify that they are sociopaths, so everything they did during the drama was no surprise, but some characters surprised me. The son of that older couple telling everyone that his mother was infected and then stealing all the food?! Bastard. The worst of all was when they all joined up with the killer to force Yi Hyun and Sae Bom to turn the power back on. People are really the worst.
Yi Hyun and Sae Bom are absolutely adorable. I wasn't expecting romance, but the drama is full of moments between them, the couple is the central basis of the story and everything else is secondary. Every time Yi Hyun saved Sae Bom, it was a confession of his love. The scene where Sae Bom finds out that Yi Hyun is infected is amazing, her expression when she sees him holding the door and seeing that none of the infected wanted him, not even at that moment did she give up on him.
And when she returns to the apartment looking for Yi Hyun, that kiss was incredible, a scene that showed both the love between them, as well as the way Sae Bom trusts Yi Hyun, since he was infected at that moment.
This was one of the best dramas I've ever watched, it has everything. Great characters, a very well constructed narrative and impeccable development.
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How to prepare the zombie apocalypse movie
How to prepare the zombie apocalypse movie and series:In the name of Allah
little girl
Lover and beloved, as many as necessary
pregnant woman (very important)
Selfless central character
A strong man
One who is cheerful and witty in any situation
A lucky villain never dies
A kind character who is oppressed
An unlucky selfish person
And an old lady preferably
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Found it almost as good as Moving. Not the typical zombie plot.
The most badass female lead. Awesome chemistry. ML is also good. I really found all of the characters having real depth. The bad ones made me really hate them and the good ones, root for them. There might have been plot holes but I didn't notice them at all because I was really immersed in the story.Was this review helpful to you?
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Well, by God, couldn't they have filmed a whole episode for the ending as usual? How is it that in doramas about sissy pussy, they devote a whole episode, practically nothing to the ending, and here there are so many omissions, and they spoiled my entire impression of the dorama with such an ending. At the end I was just like "what? What do you mean everything? What about that one, and that one, and what about them? "But that one and that one didn't show symptoms either, do they also have antibodies?" It feels like they just pulled the plug and told them to get off this drama as soon as possible. Sorry, I'm indignant because overall I really liked the drama. It was really gripping from the first episode. I rarely watch zombie movies, but this one had such a scary but pleasant tension that I just wanted to keep watching. However, these infected are like vampires, because they drink blood, and when their thirst is quenched, they calm down. It's strange that the director didn't immediately call them "vampires" (I'm kidding, if that were the case, the atmosphere would have been different). The acting is certainly top-notch. The plot is also just a bomb, it made my stomach twist. Eh... but the ending... it really let me down. It's a shame... Was this review helpful to you?
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The series is really about stupid characters wanting to get rich
Watched the Train to Busan and Kingdom, thought it would be at least good but this was so so bad.The writers were probably having a competition to see who could write the worst and stupidest character because there was not one decent character in the series. The smartest character in the series was probably the old lady that got a scratch on her back ( she kept an eye on her symptoms, gathered information and laid low ) other than her the rest are complete idiots.
Yoon Sae Bom is one of the worst characters I've seen in a long time, if she was in charge of finding a cure and keeping the ,,infected,, isolated from the healthy people in the general population most people would be infected in a few days. If she did not have ,,plot armor,, she would die in ep. 3.
There is no tension, characters keep their backs to open doors, they never keep their guard up, look worried that an ,,infected,, might be behind a corner, getting sick is even seen as a solution to fixing problems. Characters are more concerned with getting rich rather than keeping themselves safe.
As an action series it fails so hard, the main characters do not act as trained professionals, the ,,stunts,, are too obvious, they try to make scenes dramatic but they look silly.
There is no romance, the main leads are very cute but have no chemistry, their ,,love story,, never develops but we are told they love each other . Watch ,, Containment,, made in 2016 if you want to see a couple that has so much chemistry when they never even touch each other, that is how it is done but even that series is not great.
Would have been a lot better as a movie ( a mediocre movie ), I regret watching all of it, should have dropped it after ep 3 but had the morbid curiosity to see how bad the series really was.
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If conforming to madness is a way to achieve happiness, you can give this a try.
/ Actual Rating: 7.5/10/- I find it a long drag determining the turn of events between the chaos and the development of the characters during their lockdown. The writers probably cannot figure out where they will put the plot twists especially with the "psychopath stereotype" fiasco it had at the latter part of the show. I seemingly thought I will have the suspense of what I had with Money Heist Korea (might just be the intro similarities).
/- Nevertheless, they missed the opportunity to develop Kim Se Hoon's character. Poor guy.
/- Lastly, Lee Bo Ram had the chillest role on the rooftop.
P. S. Commendable if this was filmed at the height of the emerging CoVID-19. They did a great job with the normalcy of the setting.
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Badass leads, sloppy writing, wasted potential.
This is a zombie-ish series with two badass mature leads—FL is an anti-terrorist specialist, and ML is a cop. Together, they make an insane duo for a zombie-themed plot. The twist? There’s a drug that turns people into zombies, but after a while, they just… turn back to normal. Instead of eating people, they drink blood like vampires. Kinda gives All of Us Are Dead vibes, but with adults.Now, onto the good stuff. The leads have insane chemistry, and their action scenes? Fire. They’re not perfect, which makes them more human, but at the same time… they make some questionable choices. Like, FL is a trained anti-terrorist officer, yet she casually opens a truck full of zombies in episode 2 to save one person. Then she touches blood on the wall like it’s some mystery substance—girl, you’re a cop, do you really need to sniff it to confirm?!
The side characters? Straight-up annoying.
The lawyer? Only cares about money.
That rep woman? Acting like it's an election.
The two cleaners? Just as irritating as everyone else.
The doctor? Absolute trash—cheated, killed his wife, and basically got half the people killed.
The biggest problem? The writing. This is a zombie series with adults, but the characters act dumber than high schoolers. Like, come on, they’re professionals, not some clueless teenagers. The final twist? A letdown. The so-called biggest villain is just some serial killer? And the ending? Suddenly, everyone’s immune and cured within a year? Yeah, right. COVID was harder to contain than this so-called zombie rabies.
This show had so much potential, but the writing killed it. Fun watch, but don’t expect logic.
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Don’t Analyze It, Just Watch It
Residents of an apartment building must band together to survive a deadly virus that is spreading throughout the city.The ML fell in love with the FL in a very memorable moment in high school (iykyk). They remained close friends into adulthood, where he’s now a smart and honest detective and she’s a special agent with quick wits and reflexes…and another special quality as well - she’s immune to the virus!
She shocks him when she requests he marry her to help her win a spot in the newly constructed apartment buildings - thus begins their cohabitation. Smack dab in the middle of a horrible outbreak with deadly consequences.
As they work together to protect one another and their fellow residents, they also must uncover who the murderer is hiding amongst them. Can they keep each other safe amidst the chaos and mayhem surrounding them? Or will an ultimate sacrifice have to be made to protect the “greater good”?
I loved this. Not my normal genre, but I’m a fan of the ML so I gave it a shot and boy, am I glad I did! The leads have amazing chemistry and the story/pacing are done really well. So many great support characters and enough humor and cute/sweet moments for a romance junkie like me 😉 So even though it’s not about a love story, it’s still totally about a love story. Watch it and you’ll know what I mean!
** Side Note: I do NOT like scary shows, but this didn’t at all bother me. If you’re leery, though, maybe just keep a light on 😁**
_________\\__________//________
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The leads make this show
More Zombie content, except now it's… also weirdly a love story. Contrary to other Korean Zombie stuff there isn't much action.And it's just strange. These stories don't usually go like this. Basically, it's a kdrama with a Zombie backdrop. There, let's go with that.
I'm not surprised in the slightest that this was lovely. It was directed by Ahn Gil-ho who was also behind the camera for The Glory, another favorite of mine.
It's a show that keeps you guessing for most of its runtime, lots of twists and unpredictable turns, and although there are a few plot contrivances, and annoying characters, they were never too much for me. I enjoyed how varied and chaotic the characters were, and well, I really liked the leads, who make the show.
Han Hyo-joo in a military uniform… damn girl! What a looker. She's so on point in this. Great leads, in fact. They form a sort of power couple (with Park Hyung-sik playing the other half) and us following their story as they deal with all the bullshit happening around them in the middle of a virus apocalypse is why this show works.
Gonna have to watch Moving now because I need more Han Hyo-joo in my life. She's like a stoic but equally as intense variant of Jun Ji-hyun.
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Zombie like genre peak kdrama 9/10
Happiness 9/10 - 2021plot - disease which makes people mad wanting to drink blood of noninfected appears. This drama is story about infected closed in one place. And military trying to stop spreading of disease + looking for cure
even though its not zombie drama its alot alike one only difference. Zombie states turns on and off by time. Will rate this drama like it was zombie one.
In such case its peak drama. Second good zombie type movie I have seen from koreans right after Train to Busan 1.
Even though this drama happens mostly in one skyscraper it can be quite chaotic since at each floor is always something happening and camera goes from place to place.
Action, Thriller, Love story, zombie type all in one.
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Curiosity 'almost' killed the cat
- This is what comes to mind when I think about the female lead of this drama, though a badass through and through.The way the healthy relationship of the lead couple is portrayed is pragmatic and sweet.
Slow-burn romance, talented cast and gripping storyline are the plus points of this survival thriller. I really liked how the infected switched between their normal selves and the infected ones.
Kudos to the writer and director, for putting together different shades and executing them perfectly.
Who knows? maybe this kind of drama foreshadows what might be waiting for us in our near future. ;)
PS: now I'm scared of taking any pill for sometime.
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Similar to Squid Game
Dark, Psychological and touching at times. I wish we had more happy episodes, but someone got infected, or died or something like that in every episode and each episode was stressful. But, nonetheless, a good and unique drama.One thing that might have made the drama even better are romantic melodies. There were so many heart-warming moments between the main leads, between families and even between strangers. If only they were accompanied by fitting music, they would have had way more impact.
There were a few creepy, dark BGM songs, a few which were good, played seldom anyway.
A few of the inconsistencies I noticed are:
1. Why didn't they prepare animal for the infected to attack? Would they not have been interested in animal blood because they can't pass the virus on to them?
2. How come their doors worked when they didn't lock it & no electricity?
3. Why didn't the health service under Han Tae Seok use shielded/anti-missile cars to travel to Yoon Sae-Bom's area? I think they would have been safe against zombies and could have easily retrieved her/protected her since she was so important.
4. Did Andrew like the boyish girl? Why did he give her food? Why did he give the cleaning lady he later killed an apple? IF he's a serial killer, than what was the point of those acts?
5. Maybe the biggest inconsistency is that no character mentioned even the word "zombie", but only used the terms "infected", "sick" or "mad person disease". Let's be honest, people would definitely associate them to zombies in real life.
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