It's Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 14
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I really loved this show through the first 12 episodes. Among the many reasons was how it flipped a lot of tropes upside down (having the FL be a socio-path that you actually loved and sympathized for being one of the biggest flips). But this whole 'mommy-dearest-returns-from-the-dead' arc is just stupid and not credible. On top of that, the heavy reliance on lack of communication (not answering phones or text messages, staring speechlessly without talking, etc., etc. ) and 'white lies' between the various protagonists is just so annoying. Not informing everyone of 'Nurse Park' being a psychopath is just absurd irresponsibility on the part of Gang-Tae & the Director.. Not telling his brother is one thing. Not telling those around him who to be protecting him from is insane. And the FL & ML not talking to each other very much in order to 'protect the other' is just so stupid and cliche'. Basically the plot became utter trash in this episode.This episode has dragged out long stretches in scenes with nobody actually talking or doing anything. Blatantly just filling up screen time now to drag this out. All those complaints about the plot said, I can't fault the cast or crew as the actors especially are really delivering on some powerful scenes. The scene with Sang-Tae spoon-feeding Mun-Yeong porridge got me so choked up. Both Seo Yea Ji and Oh Jung Se are just phenomenal.
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It's Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 13
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This episode was overall very good. Much better than the prior couple with good progression of all the characters ... but they now have this fairly contrived evil-mom-returns sub-arc looming over everthing. I get it, it will add a couple of extra episodes to the series in order to resolve. And I guess that makes money. But it feels very gimmicky. The obvious open question now is whether the nurse is a psycho fan who is pretending to be the mom (like the patient) or if she really is the mom, somehow having survived and come back. If they try to play it off as the latter, that's going to destroy any credibility because there is just no physical way she could have survived both the fall (cracked her head open with massive blood loss) AND being dropped with weights to the bottom of the lake. So it has to be just a psycho doppelgänger. Which would make it once again a bit of sub-plot recycling which has already happened a lot in this series.
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It's Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 12
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The 'mom twist' wasn't really all that surprising but felt really contrived. More disappointed with the ML's regressive response to it. It feels like he's going in circles as a character. Every time you think. he's showing progress towards being mentally healthy he retreats back behind his wall of self-absorbed martyrdom. To be honest, while I understand that a big part of this story is supposed to be about his growth towards mental health, to this point the series, he is just NOT a likable character. He shows flashes of goodness but most often is just an insensitive self-absorbed jerk. And I especially hate the stupid plot trope of "I won't reveal this dark secret to her in order to protect her". It's such a stupid over-used dumb plot device.
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It's Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 11
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Gang-Tae finally seems to have been able to understand and move past contrived guilt and instead to rational responsibility as a reason to care for his brother. The latter state of mind allows him room to also be responsible to others and, most importantly, to himself. Loved the scene where he talks to Sang-Tae about what it really means to be a family by using the example of the cartoon character Gil-dong's inclusiveness. His years of learned skills working with patients and his understanding of his brother are on full display as he walks through this conversation. This episode is perhaps my favorite so far because it is crystalizing real growth in several characters. Obviously Gang-Tae, but also Sang-Tae, Ju-Ri , Sang-In and Jae-Soo. Oh, and I have to give another shout for how much I love the character of Kang Sun Deok . She's just the best mom.
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It's Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 10
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I get it. He's clearly got his own deeply ingrained mental issues due to the trauma of how his mother put so much responsibility on him. But man, he is just so frustratingly self-destructive and oblivious to how his penchant for self-flagellation harms others as well as himself. At any rate, as irritating as he is, I can't fault the performance of the actor or the fact that it is a necessary aspect of the plot. On the flip side, my favorite character of this drama is officially Kang Sun Deok, Ju Ri's mom. She is just wonderful. She is the mom that both Moon Gang Tae and Ko Mun Yeong should have had. Then perhaps maybe both wouldn't be so traumatized and scarred.
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It's Okay to Not Be Okay Episode 9
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On one hand, this episode was a roller coaster emotionally. One minute you are thrilled to see romantic progress ... then frustrated as it once again slams against the walls of the ML's gigantic emotional issues.And on the other hand, it feels like a merry-go-round that keeps circling tighter and tighter as the story keeps covering the same territory in ever tighter circles. It's also clear that at this point the character with the most painful, hindering disability is the ML. He's so damaged that he has put himself in a tiny box, unable to really live. His entire existence depends on giving everything of himself to his brother due to the contrived guilt and obligation that he has put upon himself. As a result, he has nurtured a gigantic martyr complex to go along with his solid-stone emotional walls all which surround a growing core of resentment, self-pity, anger and, yes, also the potential for love and happiness.The show's plot for ML has been a sequence of sub-arcs in which the ML takes at first tiny and then bigger and bigger steps outside the box, but each time he has either run back inside in fear or something has happened to shove him back in. This episode seemed to encapsulate more than one such cycle, ending in the traumatic scene at the end.
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Qingchuan's Veil of Vengeance Episode 3
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This episode advances the plot quite a bit and also includes some pretty good action sequences including a scene were Mo Qingchuan finally shows what she's capable of, though at a heavy cost.
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A lot of focus by commenters is on Han Ting's failure to disclose his conflict of interest when he invested in Star Technology. This was likely a case of securities fraud. A lot of folks are either defending Han Ting as not needing to tell or ripping him for not telling. But the larger mistake by Han Ting, other than deceiving Ji Xing all this time, is the answer he gave her when she asked if he lover her. He said it depends on what you mean by love. She said love was something that you would fight for and that, when you lost it, made you feel like your world was ending. Han Ting said that to him, 'suitability' and a list of characteristics that might have well defined a transactional partnership were more important. This was a devastatingly awful answer and it showed that Ji Xing and Han Ting were worlds apart in understanding what love is. Han Ting makes the mistake of thinking of love as transactional. That it is a matter of give and take in measure. Ji Xing understands that it is not so. And while she gives him several chances to come clean about his deception and to show understanding of what he's done, he refuses. Indeed, he insults her and yells at her. He demonstrates clearly that he does not understand that love is not transactional. This extreme difference in mindset actually makes him "too scary" for Ji Xing. And so she has to leave him. Only by experiencing life without his love (her) will Han Ting learn that she is right.
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The presentation of the Han Ting character is puzzling. Superficially, based on both how other characters act towards him and the fact that the plot never has negative consequences for him, he is presented as a Gary Sue - perfect and capable. Able to solve any problem and with no flaws. But at the same time he has objectively done some not-so-great things. He spent over half his time constantly insulting and criticizing the FL - often over mistakes that she hadn't actually made! He bullied her in a completely inappropriate scene based on partial information that wasn't completely true - and even if it was, his behavior was inappropriate. He has again and again acted nearly as arrogant and elitist as his disgusting grandfather. And now in this episode he stomps all over HER business priorities in order to handle a Star Tech issue HIS way - even though SHE is supposed to be autonomously in charge of Star Tech. He is constantly exerting control over her in even the smallest things - even how she does her signature!!! Up until now, he has not faced ANY negative consequences for any of these misbehaviors. Is this because the writers are tacitly approving of his behavior? Is it all okay because he's rich & handsome? Or will his flaws finally eventually come to light and make him have to face changing the way he approaches the world? His tactic of buying off a troublemaker looks like it was recorded by someone. That might finally show that his way isn't always the best way.
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'Giving this episode a higher rating just because they finally got through an episode without Han Ting insulting Ji Xing. And this episode had some great scenes with Lu LIang's mom again who is so far my favorite character. On the downside for this episode, it's still dragging out the Zhizhuo-is-an-idiot" sub-plot. How long are they going to keep having him act like a 5th grader and falling prey to obvious scams and just plain acting stupid? It's not really funny and is mostly pathetic and sad to see in someone who should be acting like an adult.
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So this episode ends with the ML still not apparently understanding that how he acted towards Ji Xing at the start of the episode was seriously wrong. That it was insulting and physically intimidating her. That he has acted like an arrogant bully. And that maybe he didn't have all the information to justify how he acted so angry with her. Because he didn't have all the information. Yes, she made a mistake by not immediately correcting any misunderstandings pumped up by Li Li - but Ji Xing wasn't actually present when Li Li pumped up her relationship with Han Ting. So she was caught way off guard. Now, once she realized, she should have corrected things. But that mistake in no way shape or form justifies being insulted and bullied the way Han Ting did. Frankly, his character so far is ridiculous. He is not a likable character at all because he is so elitist and condescending. He is _constantly_ insulting the FL and I don't see how anyone thinks a normal, self-respecting woman would be attracted to that. As I said in my last review, just re-imagine him doing and saying all the things that he does if he was not handsome. If he was some dumpy, creepy-looking guy, how would you feel about his actions? Now, the ML did have some staring-into-space moments where maybe, just maybe, he is introspecting and questioning his own behavior. But up to the end of this episode he is still consistently a jerk.
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This series is brutal at tugging your heartstrings and this episode brings more tears. This one really hurts because Rong was so young and, well, the baby.
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This episode packed in a LOT of action, romance and ... tragedy. As Yanxi and his men race to secure all their prisoners for transport, the bad guys have schemes going on to stop him. The main clues are in Hua Zhi's hands. There is a romantic re-union for Yanxi and Hua Zhi as they once again survive danger. But tragedy still strikes as Hua Zhi looses her beloved sister.
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This episode was fine ... up until the last scene. In the final scene, the male lead, Han Ting, based on incomplete and scant info, is mad at Ji Xing for (apparently) using his name (without his permission) to help smooth a transaction. Now, it's perfectly reasonable for him to not want her to do that and to give her firm instructions on why she should not have done that and how to avoid doing such in the future. But instead, he cornered her up against a wall, physically intimidated her with his presence and insulted her in several ways. This was absurdly unprofessional and basically a textbook case of a workplace superior bullying a subordinate. But the writers of this show seem to be selling the scene as 'hot' and 'romantic'? Well here is a simple test. Re-imagine that scene with some other actor who is .. not handsome. Like the creepy Zhu Lai character from earlier episodes who slapped the FL on the butt. Imagine this same exact scene with that character doing and saying exactly the same things as Han Ting did. In that version, I'm pretty sure no one would be looking at the scene as anything but abusive, insulting and professionally inappropriate. Bad behavior is not okay just because someone is 'hot and sexy'. And the show should not let the Han Ting character off the hook for this. He should be shown to realize his mistake and apologize. Otherwise, are they saying that's okay for the male lead to be an arrogant bully?.
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This episode started of with still more heartbreaking, emotional scenes. Watching Shaoyao say her good-byes to Grandmother was so wrenching. Lu Yu Xiao's performance as Shaoyao has been nothing short of amazing. The episode also included some revenge by the fam against 1st Daughter, who was publicly humiliated and formally booted from the family by Hua Zhi in a dramatic, commanding public proclamation. And finally, finally, Go YanXi is freed from his confinement and, after a stop to visit his scumbag father, finally returns to Hua Zhi. Their reunion is really cool. No over-the top dramatics. No misunderstanding-fueled anger. They simply talk like real human adults! My god, it is so refreshing to see the leads behave like rational adults in a romance-drama!!!!
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