It's Okay, That's Love

It’s Okay, That’s Love

7.5/10

It's Okay, That's Love

Genre:                           Episodes: 16                          Year: 2014

Comedy

Romance

Melodrama

Synopsis:

A psychiatry doctor and a mystery writer meet on the set of a television show, and a heated discussion ensues from their differing opinions on human behaviour. Some time later, while the writer, Jang Jae Yeol, has his house renovated, he moves into a house he owns and rents out. His new roommates include a divorced psychiatrist, a man with tourettes, and Ji Hae Soo- the doctor from the television program. After living together for a time, it becomes apparent that both Jae Yeol and Hae Soo cary deep emotional scars from personal traumas in their childhoods.

Cast:

Jo In Sung (Jang Jae Yeol)

Gong Hyo Jin (Ji Hae Soo)

D.O (Han Kang Woo)

Lee Kwang Soo (Park Soo Kwang)

Sung Dong Il (Jo Dong Min)

Jin Kyung (Lee Young Jin)

Lee Sung Kyung (Oh So Nyeo)

Yang Ik Joon (Jang Jae Beom)

General Thoughts:

Well here’s a drama that will trample all over your heart- in the best kind of way. It’s the characters rather than the plot (which is minimal if existent at all) that really drives the drama along, with the interwoven relationships being the main focus of the series. The characters are constructed as an endearing bunch, their insecurities and flaws only making them more loveable and understandable- and that much easier to cheer for.

You loveable muppets

The writers did an excellent job at making a tangled mess of relationships that somehow made total sense. The true beauty of this drama is how every situation impacts every character. No one is a simple bystander in the drama- everyone is impacted by everything that happens, even if it’s as simple as having a character’s mood being brought down by another character’s sadness. The characters all interacted in a natural way in natural settings, which makes the story presented that much more believable.

Everything's fun when everyone's crazy

While the psychological aspects of the drama don’t even come close to actual science, the love created for the characters and their situations allows us to kind of forgive the less-than-scientific portions of the show. While simply wanting to overcome your mental illness doesn’t actually cure you, I was willing to believe that it was a significant form of treatment purely because my love for Jang Jae Yeol was so profound. That’s not how it really works, but if it’ll save Jae Yeol- sure, I’ll give it a pass in this series. It wasn’t only the beautiful construction of our characters that created such love, but of course the acting. Both our leads delivered stunning performances, especially Jo In Sung. The slow unravelling of Jae Yeol’s mind and world was presented beautifully by Jo In Sung- he was compelling in every scene and did wonders in portraying Jae Yeol’s damaged mind and all it’s resulting crazy. And of course, the flip side of that is D.O. Seeing as Kang Woo is a figment of Jae Yeol’s mind that represents his younger self, D.O’s acting also had a significant impact on the portrayal of Jae Yeol as a character. And boy did he do an astounding job. When it first became apparent that Kang Woo didn’t actually exist it was quite a twist- and mildly creepy. But D.O had done such a great job acting as this imaginary kid that it was hard to have no emotion for him as an individual. Also his sad face is just so sad. You feel compelled to help when D.O puts his sad face on.

These two really made the show what it was

Even though we as an audience know that Kang Woo isn’t actually real, we still feel pity for his situation and are saddened by his struggles. Which in turn makes us sad for Jae Yeol. Which makes us sad for Hae Soo. Which makes us sad for everyone else. See how all the characters are connected? While I didn’t always have a very strong grasp of Hae Soo’s character, Gong Hyo Jin is such a wonderful actress that it didn’t really matter that you don't always understand Hae Soo.

MAGIC

While at times I found her frustrating, in all the scenes that aimed to pack an emotional punch, Gong Hyo Jin was able to pull out all the stops and made us feel for her, her character, and her situation. I don’t know how- magic? The supporting cast all do a wonderful job to support our leads, and while no other characters really have story lines that are super exciting (except maybe Jae Beom), in the moments they are given on screen, they are able to deliver wonderfully likeable characters that make us care about their situation. Particularly Lee Kwang Soo, who was more adorable and likeable in this than anything I’ve seen him in before. While the music choices were questionable at times, the sweetly cheery soundtrack is enjoyable overall, as it leads you to believe our story will have a happy ending (which it did, thank God) and prevented the drama from becoming too bogged down in all it’s melo. My one small gripe is that I wished we’d got into our hero’s main story just a tad quicker, as his journey through his illness and the unravelling of his past is where the real heart of this drama lay.

A little forward momentum wouldn't have hurt anyone

I would have quite happily given up a few small arguments and a few scenes in Okinawa if it meant we would have arrived at the bulk of the series a little faster. It was just a tad frustrating to only be given the same pieces of the puzzle over and over- Kang Woo isn’t real, Jae Yeol picked up the knife, Jae Beom pulled the knife out from Step-Dad’s chest. There’s only so long we can keep being strung along with the same old tidbits.

What Was Great:

Crazy Chemistry:

Apparently Gong Hyo Jin can have amazing chemistry with anyone, because once more we have a pair of leads that sizzle. While it’s not always fireworks, the comfortable teasing and brutal honesty between Jae Yeol and Hae Soo was always enjoyable to watch.

Shh...just let it happen

It was clear that the two got on very well, and their characters offered a refreshing relationship. I’m endlessly glad that we weren’t given the cliche of Hae Soo being Jae Yeol’s psychiatrist, and that they were in a relationship before all his crazy was revealed. It added a new dynamic to the drama in that Jae Yeol’s mental illness was an unexpected complication in their relationship- Hae Soo didn’t go in with the knowledge that Jae Yeol’s trauma would become an issue in their relationship (unlike in other dramas- ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ for example), so it was harder for her to face the realisation and deal with the consequences that came from her boyfriend’s mental instability. The way they worked together was heartwarming, and Jae Yeol’s realisation that he needed to depend on someone other than himself was heart wrenching. As was every scene involving Kang Woo leading up to Jae Yeol’s hospitalisation. 

Dysfunctional Nuthouse:

We all love dysfunctional little groups of people- and this drama gives us the most dysfunctional of them all. We all gather pretty quickly that we have an adorable little made-up family of nut-jobs on our hands, and the results are just as delightful and hilarious as we were wanting.

Even Lee Kwang Soo got some Gong Hyo Jin chemistry going

Soo Kwang and Dong Min make for an adorable pair of meddlers, and their constant support of both Hae Soo and Jae Yeol is wonderful. Soo Kwang is always there to be the comforter, and one of my favourite scenes from the whole series was when he was looking out for Jae Yeol and gently explaining what living with a mental illness is like, before Jae Yeol was aware that he was sick. Dong Min was always ready to do whatever was best for all our roommates, even if it wasn’t exactly what our roommates wanted at the time. Similarly, Jae Yeol and Hae Soo looked after the others in the house (and their partners) as best and as lovingly as they could. Dysfunctional families filled with love are just the absolute best to watch.

Dysfunctional households are way more fun in K-Drama than they are in real life

Hero’s Progression:

The handling of Jae Yeol’s character was probably as good as it could have been. He starts off as an intriguing character, with much of his personality hidden from us viewers. Then just as we think we have a grasp on who he is- Boom. He’s a schizophrenic. One of the best parts of Jae Yeol being a schizophrenic meant that he then became an unreliable narrator for us.

Cue the unrelenting heartbreak

We had believed what he saw and heard was real, so it was a kick in the guts to learn that it hadn’t been real at all. It lead us to question what else Jae Yeol had conjured up himself, and what memories of his were real, and which were fake. It kept the storyline from becoming too transparent, but also managed to avoid making Jae Yeol seem like a total psycho. Because we’d seen Kang Woo and how Jae Yeol interacted with Kang Woo, it was a little bit easier for us to be more understanding of Jae Yeol’s situation. He sees Kang Woo so clearly (and has done so for three years). As we originally thought we could see Kang Woo, it was much easier to understand how Jae Yeol would have a difficult time recognising that Kang Woo didn’t actually exist. The way Jae Yeol’s behaviour became increasingly more self-destructive helped us to gain a better understanding of our hero, and also of the situation with his family. Jae Yeol’s slow unravelling ultimately made the most sense once we had all the pieces to the puzzle, but also helped clear up why he had such an optimistic view of his brother. Because his brother had never killed anyone- and had actually gone as far as to take the fall for Jae Yeol, only to be abandoned in the end.

Our hero's journey made perfect sense

Just as Jae Yeol’s gradual descent into his hallucinations made perfect sense, his gradual acceptance was handled just as delicately. While his acceptance and beginning stages of recovery actually happened in a very short space of time drama-wise (because time-skip, guys)  it still felt earned and hard-won. Jo In Sung did a wonderful job in portraying Jae Yeol’s schizophrenic state and his battle against his own mind. 

Representation of Mental Illness:

I’m not saying that schizophrenia was depicted accurately in this series. That’s not what I’m saying at all. In fact, I’d be more inclined to say the opposite. However, what was represented well was how mental illness is treated as a whole, and all the stigma surrounding mental health.

Apparently love makes all the crazy go away

Even Hae Soo’s panic attacks during physical intimacy were used as a way to question attitudes about mental health. While Hae Soo was having such a hard time struggling against her issues, and wanted to overcome them herself just as much as her family and friends wanted her to, she was constantly being told to just get over it, just do it, and just face her problem front on.

♫Can you feel the love your-mental-health-slipping-away tonight♫

The drama commented wonderfully on how mental illness is just like physical illness, in that just because a patient or those around them want them to be healthy, it doesn’t mean they will be. You can’t wish away a flu, and you can’t wish away panic attacks. While the overall theme presented was that positive thoughts and willingness on the patient’s behalf were something that could assist in helping a patient, the drama managed to avoid saying that mental health issues can be cured completely if one chooses to ‘just get over it’. In fact, the drama went as far as to say the opposite. It was simply that just as a man with a broken leg needs to seek a doctor’s help and receive medication and a cast, a man with schizophrenia needs to seek a doctor’s help and receive medication and therapy. Same, same. The drama beautifully demonstrated that just because mental illness can’t be seen, it doesn’t mean it’s less of an illness than any physical ailment. 

What Wasn’t:

Heroine’s Progression:

While Jae Yeol’s development was handled smoothly and accurately, Hae Soo’s development was a bit all over the place. Her panic attacks and fear of intimacy were justifiable and made sense, however it did feel as though the writers chose to rush over her recovery stage. Unlike Jae Yeol, who got an in depth, detailed look in on his mental issues, Hae Soo had her issues virtually ignored.

Unfortunately, our heroine's growth is rather stunted

We were given a brief scene to see where her fear came from, and a brief scene to see where her guilt came from, and that was pretty much it. Considering that her fear of intimacy played such an important role in the way Hae Soo lived her life, the way she was presented as conquering her issues was a little weak to say the least. Yes, Jae Yeol does a great job in understanding her and trying to help her, encouraging her to live more spontaneously rather than planning and worrying- but it also felt like too much of a quick-fix. Jae Yeol convinces her to date him. Jae Yeol convinces her to sleep with him. Suddenly her panic attacks at physical intimacy aren’t such a big deal. While her actions and emotions were understandable when relating to Jae Yeol and his illness, Hae Soo’s actions were too unexplained when it came to her own issues.

How it felt waiting for Hae Soo to make a little sense

Considering that the drama opted for character development and relationships over plot, I wish our heroine had been a tad more developed. Hae Soo’s family was also a group I didn’t quite understand. They all felt too selfish and didn’t seem to be looking out for Hae Soo at all. I could have done without the disapproving Mum and Unnie plot point.

Time Skips Galore:

The first time skip was understandable as we needed to have the introduction to Jae Beom and Kang Woo, and we need time to pass after the initial introduction to get to the bulk of the story.

Oh yay, another drama using time to cure our hero's issues

The last time skip can also be deemed passable, as it was really only a fan-service to us viewers to show how everyone was doing a year later- and give as all the cute, happy scenarios we wanted for our characters. The middle time skip…I’m less convinced about. I understand that our characters had reached a point where Jae Yeol needed time to come to terms with his mental health issues and address them, however I’m not so sure Hae Soo needed to be absent for that to happen. Perhaps if things had moved  little faster in the drama’s initial stages, it would have given us time to deal with Jae Yeol’s recovery and that time skip wouldn’t have been needed. Considering how much time we had to tell the story, the final wrap-up seemed a little rushed. I’m still confused as to why it was absolutely necessary to have Hae Soo go away on her holiday. No comprende. 

Re-watch?

Probably not. While I enjoyed the story and it’s characters, it wasn’t the most fast-paced drama out there. While the slow-burn of the drama was enough to keep it going the first time around, I’m not sure it would last for a second go. 

I never thought I'd say this- but if only the melo had kicked in a bit sooner