The end is nigh!
I wanted to collect all the opening scenes when the title “Happiness” showed up and fortunately, somebody from tumblr had the same idea. Thanks to komunyoung’s tumblr.
gifs from komunyoung’s tumblr.
Let’s enjoy the show.
68 Comments On “Happiness: Eps 11 & 12 Open Thread”
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Kalimera Everyone!
Since my weekend will be busy. I won’t be able to watch Episode 11 as I used to.
So, I will refrain myself from coming over here for spoilers!
Let us enjoy the ending of this amazing story!
Yi Hyun & Sae Bom Hwaiting!
Thanks @pkml3! Great to have all the ‘Happiness’ openings, however the ‘Happiness’ at the ending was interesting too, since there were Episodes 7 and 8 where there was ‘real’ happiness with the ‘e’ turned the right way round, before matters took a turn.
You’re welcome, @GB. I read your post too late last night after I came home, so I woke up early today to work on them.
Yes. I was looking for that ending scenes too in Ep 7 and 8, with the inverted “e” but I think nobody (at least on tumblr) noticed it except the gals here on BoD. 🙂
Okay, back to bed for me. I don’t have to be in the office till later today. 🙂
Goodness! I just re-read my comment again and I realized that I haven’t written thank you @Packmule3! 🙁
🙂 You don’t really need to thank me. As cheesy as this may sound, the fact that you replied on the Open Thread is enough acknowledgement and “hat tip.”
I’m working on a BoD game for you all. Let me finish while the caffeine is strong in me.
@Packmule3 <3
I am having a hectic week and I am feeling drowsy at the moment. There are times, you think you have written something, when in reality you didn't. *sigh*
I will be waiting for the game them!
P.S. I would like a cup of tea for myself, but I want to go home for that. I have to buy some delicacies for myself. I think I earned it this week.
Someone mentioned a happy spoiler in the previous thread ? I need that !
For what it’s worth, I’m sure it’s a happy ending, @Arihsi. The writer has been consistent that the world is worth saving.
Anyway, I just fast-forwarded to the ending.
My Korean stinks but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was apologizing to his wife that he couldn’t propose properly to her, and promising her to do a real one when (not if??) they get out of this situation. Meanwhile she could listen this message of his, and take strength and courage from the knowledge that he liked her very very much.
😂😂 At least, that’s what I would say if I were in his shoes.
@pkml3 I did the same as you. FFDed here and there and to the end. YH sort of sacrificed himself on the roof with dear Andrew so we have to see how that pans out in the last episode.
I didn’t see the roof scene with Andrew, @GB. 🙂
I’ll watch it later. On way to my luncheon. It’s that time of the year again when I gain pounds because of all these parties/meetings.
I have to wait for the subs, I hope that can happen before my lunch break. Keeping fingers crossed we will see real happiness manifest.
Ohhh, and a love confession!!! Don’t wait for it to be a eulogy, this pandemic has at least taught us that. Tell her stat!
Looks like they will quickly wrap up this Andrew impostor character @GB. That’s good!
Thank you @pm3. Now I’m a bit relieved. All this misery for a sad ending would have been too much. Mind you, I hopped on this “ship” at ep 10. It speaks volumes that I can’t being myself to care about Jirisan’s ending.
The confession was so warm. She brings him in knowing full well that he is infected. That’s security of a relationship. I read somewhere that this drama is a refreshing change from the toxic rich guy-poor girl, “cold” guy – warm girl etc relationships that kdramas usually go for
Yes, got the subs for my lunch break watch and this is one heck of an episode. The line between good and evil are clearly drawn and evil includes those turning a blind eye to it.
I can’t hate Killer Oh enough! His character is simply contemptuous. And he said he is cream of society. Grrr. And apt rep lady is as much a killer like Andrew.
Cheering for lawyer’s wife when she made her choice. The cleaners taking a stand against Andrew at the last minute but was not successful. The vlogger still selfish and going to his car. We’ll see if he survives the zompire onslaught to his car.
The confessions on both sides are poignant. SB is YH’s happiness and so is he for her. I love this couple!!! Hoping really hard for HEA tomorrow!
Ep11
– Andrew (and the others – cleaning couple, Dermatologist and Rep Ahjumma) send YH and SB out to turn on the back up generator using girl as hostage.
– Dermatologist knew all along that Andrew was a murderer. Witnessed killing of old cleaning lady and Penthouse guy. Oh was the one who suggested pretending that they were killed by zompires by giving them a neck wound.
– Rep Ahjumma went along with Dermatologist and Andrew for the food. 🙄. Cleaning couple and lawyer also went along with it.
– Writer Na and lawyer wife still have their consciences intact. Little girl is passed on to the care of lawyer wife whilst SB/YH head out. SY is street smart enough to pack her backpack with smoke bombs (from the stuff that HTS sent them in the bag).
– YouTuber son volunteers to head out with YH/SB. Just when you think he’s suddenly grown a conscience, we find out that all he wanted to do was to get to his car and break out of the complex 😑
– YH and SB turn on the power and as expected, the zompires emerge and give chase. Zompires also try to get at YouTuber son who tries to start his car. YH and SB make it back. Last we see of YouTuber son is all the zompires clamoring over his car in the car park.
– Rep Ahjumma, Dermatologist and cleaning couple agree to a pact. Nothing happened in the complex as far as Andrew was concerned.
– YH and SB get back to the apartment complex and head up the lift. Door opens on 3rd floor and zompires attack. YH fends them off. SB grabs at YH to drag him back into the lift. She sees his scratch mark and the penny drops. She yanks him back into the lift anyway and the lift doors shut. The light in the lift keeps coming on and off. Depicting a watershed moment in their relationship. I like the conversation as YH pushes SB away.
YH – I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you. Sorry for breaking our promise. I always wanted to show you my best side. (He drops his head to hide his tears)
(SB takes steps towards him as the light keeps coming on and off in the lift. She places her right hand on his chest where the scratch is and he grabs her hand to stop her. She cups his face with her left hand tenderly to lift his face so that their eyes meet).
YH – don’t come so close. Whenever I see you, my heart beats faster and I get thirsty.
SB – so do I. Because I like you. (She pulls him in for a hug and weeps. YH hugs her back. They come apart as they reach the 15th floor – rooftop). Come with me. You’ll get better. I’ll make sure of that.
– Dermatologist tries to smother Det Hyung but fails and finds the Next pills in YH’s room.
– YH rescues Hyung and locks Rep Ahjumma in the bathroom. SB rescues SY and lawyer’s wife.
– Cleaning couple have a change of heart and cleaning man tries to take out Andrew. He gets stabbed.
– YH/SB rescue Det Hyung, SY, lawyer’s wife (who cuts off ties with her loser hubby) and BoRam to meet up with HTS to get out. Andrew meets them on the rooftop. YH uses one of the smoke/noise bombs on Andrew and buys them time. He ushers everyone out into the stairwell, locks it with handcuffs to be left on rooftop with Andrew. He turns and bites Andrew 😮.
– Dermatologist is knocked out with a golf club by mistress (the Next pills he is holding scatters across the floor) who is still trying to get at the passcode to his cryptocurrency. Lawyer comes into the apartment and looks shocked at the scene. Oh wakes up and crawls to the pills and pops one. Mistress grabs the club again and takes another swing at him. Lawyer looks stunned and they both try to decipher what the tattoo means.
– Rep Ahjumma breaks out of bathroom with the baseball bat, meets bloodied cleaning couple in the lift (where Andrew had stabbed them) and she asks where Andrew is. They tell him he’s on the rooftop. She presses 15 and heads up there…but not before she does her Rep duties by dutifully taking the toppled hand sanitizer and puts it back up on the hand rail 😂
– the rest head downstairs into the basement and all get into SB’s car? And she drives off and gets outside where HTS is. She asks for a gun so she can head back inside. He knocks her out with a tranquilizer.
– SB is back at the facility. HTS tells her about the cure. She insists that the world will have to wait. She’s going back for YH. He shows her his wife and tells her that her plasma stopped the outbursts and she needs another shot of it to be cured? He tells her that if the government gets their hands on her, she would be locked away in another facility with no access out. SB cuts a deal with HTS. She will help his wife and he needs to let her back into the complex to save YH. He hands over her mobile phone which he says YH had passed onto Det Hyung to give to her. She watches YH’s confession and desire to propose to her for real when they get out. She weeps.
Thank you for the recap @nrllee I’m loving this show… Majorly because it represents our responsibility towards our actions. We all witnessed it first hand during COVID, didn’t we ? The individual can do more damage than the disease (as evidenced by YH being able to control his behaviour to a great extent). I also loved @pm3’s analysis on the “diseased” being viewed as the lesser mortals by the commander or the World in general. As if they don’t deserve an equal chance to live. This also has been observed throughout the history of humankind whether it’s women, the marginalized, the migrated, the disabled, the mentally challenged… List goes on.
I’ve finally managed to watch Ep 11 once through. Thanks @nrllee for the recap. I thought the writing did very well to get YH infected before they had to head down to the electricity generator room. It ensured that he wouldn’t be attacked by the zompires and could protect SB better.
Yes, it was most heart warming that SB did not lose faith in YH even when she knew he was infected.
I’m thinking that Killer Oh took enough pills to become a strong zompire and get his wounds healed quickly. Despite been whacked twice, he’ll probably survive. Attorney Kook has seen the true colours of Sang Hee. Will he want to continue with her since she could turn on him in a second if money was to be had?
I do of course want YH to live and recover, however the question remains as to why Andrew didn’t kill him right away.
So once SB is gone, and YH is faced with a ‘monster’ murderer, he feels free to let the inner monster out. I expect him to heal pretty well from his wounds, but it’s the healing of his psyche after he bites another human being that will be the issue.
I agree. Because once they get a taste for blood it seems like it’s hard to revert back. Will he be able to control himself with SB when he comes back to retrieve him?
I can’t imagine writer giving us a tragic ending though. Especially with a drama named “Happiness”. So I have high hopes that we will get a happy ending 😂. It’s been a fun ride. I like the understated romance between our leads. I echo Goldilocks in saying, “it’s just right”.
I woke up one hour earlier to watch this before I go.
They broke my heart in the elevator scene and in the rooftop.
The last scene sealed it. What a profound way to love. They love each other so much.
In the preview Colonel said that Sae Bom’s antibodies are declining. I do hope they will be both okay in the end of tonight’s episode… 😢
@nrllee,
What happened the Old Lady? Is she still alive? Is it because she quarantined? Or did she bite her hubby too? How come nobody’s checking on them? Surely, they don’t have enough food or water since Useless Son stole their supply.
It would be interesting if they survived.
During Covid, the elderly were the most vulnerable to the illness. Yet the response of a handful of asshat governors was to order nursing homes to admit or re-admit sick individuals to these retirement homes. The disease spread quickly and claimed the lives of so many. Lessons learned? Identify and protect the vulnerable. Thankfully, and despite the misinformation, children are not the vulnerable ones. Although they can catch it, they have little or no symptoms. Kinda like SaeYoon in this drama. She could have been targeted by the zompires, but for the most part, she was safe. The adults were the zompires.
@pkml3
Yup, no sign of the elderly couple, this episode. They received a box of food from their son last episode. They’ve essentially been forgotten or ignored by everyone.
Thanks for the recap, @nrllee!
Can you do the same thing for Ep 12? 😂 I want to know when the blood starts gushing so I can stop eating or drinking beforehand. 🍷🍷🍷
@GB,
If you were going to list all the apartment dwellers according to their evil-ness, the top being the most evil, how will you rank them? I’m curious I know. 🙂
Evil People from most to least
@pkml3 I’d lump Killer Oh and Andrew together, with Rep Oh as a close second. It’s telling that the top names are all uninfected people. The true monsters are not the infected who drink blood but the uninfected who commit crimes in cold blood, whose attitudes totally lack love.
Killer Oh (Likely just infected himself with Next) who kills without remorse, as it suits him. Who colludes with Andrew and tries to corrupt others. Who tried to infect everyone. Unfortunately, with all the Next he took, he’ll survive the bashing that Sang Hee gave him.
Andrew (Uninfected) who chooses to kill, just because. A psychopath? There was no obvious reason for his killing the Cleaner. He just liked smashing in heads?
Rep Oh (Uninfected) for colluding with evil, for consistently choosing greed, over good.
Sang Hee (Uninfected) who uses any man as it suits, who acts out of greed, who does not balk at murder and is willing to commit it herself.
Attorney Kook (Uninfected) for only pretending to care as an ex-public defender, for immorality and colluding with Sang Hee, for giving in to greed and baser instincts.
Bratty Son (Uninfected) for putting himself first regardless of the harm that causes. For abandoning his parents.
Cleaner Husband (Uninfected) who was self-serving and willing to tolerate evil to get whatever he could. For dragging his wife into the pit of evil with him.
Cleaner Wife (Uninfected) for allowing herself to be led by her weak and greedy husband instead of attempting to lead him right.
Good People from least to best
Jung Kook (Uninfected) for thinking about himself first. Although he can’t be considered bad because he was cowardly, he was weak willed in the face of anyone more adamant than himself, failing to recognise the good in his long-time friends.
Yi Hun (Infected) I hope it’s just the disease acting and not YH who bit Andrew. In every other decision he put SB and others first.
Brother Na (Infected) was bad for appropriating his sister’s home, but he redeems himself because he refuses to turn into a monster. His love for family and sister trumped the virus.
Lee Bo Ram (Infected) who has more compassion for the elderly parents than their own son.
Dad Kim (Uninfected)
Sae Beom (With antibodies)
Mum Kim (Infected) continued (I believe) to be patient and non violent.
Shin So Yoon (Uninfected) able to stand up to her husband
Writer Na (Uninfected)
Seo Yoon (Uninfected)
Good one, @GB. I agree with your list. I’ll re-post it on the thread in a bit.
I agree with your list @GB! Trying to watch the raw ep 12 but the video is choppy with lots of stop and go. So I will wait a bit.
Yes @Janey… Are you trying dramacool ? I thought it was my internet… Very choppy video…
@Arishi – I’m watching Dramacool and finally we have a sub! I finished the raw and on my way to rewatch the one with sub.
spoiler: I was holding my breath at 1:07. Why did you do this, writers?!!! But not to worry, HEA is at the very end.
Very solid last 2 episodes and even though I will miss our power couple I’m overall satisfied with how the drama ended. Ending felt slightly disjointed though- we see SB’s colleague still confined in his room. His name is called, he turns around and what? To get a shot of the antidote that they’ve managed to develop? Dermatologist Oh and Rep Oh at court- looked like they were seated as a jury and not being charged, no further explanation there?
Also looks like the outside world was relatively controlled/normal (not SB’s imagination in ep11). So Le Ciel apartment had the most infected cases and were therefore quarantined into an experimental exercise? A plothole to me though is for the smarts of YH/SB it took them so long to figure out that Writer Na’s brother has antibodies.
The brutal truth of human nature was presented right to the end- those who value material gains such as wealth and power over ethics and empathy. I’m continuously bewildered by the choices of the residents after knowing the truth about Andrew. Why would they take sides with a serial killer instead of police force? Were they truly that naive to think that when this is all over, Andrew will escape without killing them all? They were all witnesses to him crimes after all and could testify against him, surely he’d be getting rid of them to cover his tracks? I think they’d have had a good chance of subduing Andrew if they united as a group- even SB said between YH and herself they could have had a chance to tackle him (Ep11, before being forced to turn on the emergency power generator).
I know I’ve said that our power couple’s relationship is so low key but admittedly was touched by their confession scenes- so endearing and true to their characterisation.
@GB
I’d put SB higher on the list. She gave the last shot of plasma to Seo Yoon’s mom before escaping the facility as she said SY didn’t have anyone left. She’s probably confident in herself and YH that he wouldn’t turn for the worst but it’s still a big risk to take knowing it’ll still take a while before they’re able to develop more serum from people with antibodies. I thought that was very courageous and self-sacrificial of her.
Re-watched episode 12 and it feels that the ending was rushed. Was this originally intended for 16 episodes instead of 12?
Episode 16 Opening credits shows us just lights and empty spaces where the infected people should be, then we start to see people as silhouettes, each in a different coloured space. To begin with, the infected people were just statistics to those who wanted to use them like the evil residents or people like HTS. But to SB and YH, everyone, even the worst criminal, was still a person.
Show tells us that people who’ve spent their lives being temperate, self disciplined and giving are able to weather the infection. Having loved ones to care about, helps. By contrast, those who are in the habit of being self-indulgent and grasping, often have a hard time or don’t even try to withstand the zompire thirst.
HTS himself admits : “I did all sorts of things to lower the number of the infected. Lockdowns, quarantines, killing. I have enough blood on my hands.” … “I only saw people as a measure of efficiency and numbers. But after seeing Yoon Sae Beom, I realised there was another way.”
Just as in the way Rep Oh only saw residents as the number who’d vote for her, or as politicians see citizens as a means to power.
SB gets out of the lab with help from HTS and Lt Lee. Her antibody count has fallen and there is only 1 good dose of vaccine left. HTS gives it to SB to bring with her. She chooses to give it to Seo Yoon’s mum so that SY would have at least 1 parent to care for her, believing that there are others with antibodies from whom a vaccine or cure could be made, for people like Yi Hyun.
Funny scene of Lt Lee asking SB to knock her out but not to hurt her face. She still got a black eye though.
Although baited, he refuses to attack and SB returns to him. He’s trying to recover from another episode of zompireness while SB pats his back.
Why YH stayed on. He says :”I need to watch the house until SB gets back. We went through a lot to get this place as a special provision for civil servants.”
But SB has come to know that the house on its own is not a home. SB to YH : “I realised you’re right, when you said that a home depends on whom you were with. I’ll stay with you from now on. Stay with me. Whatever you’re like, … I’m okay with everything.” She looks at him with love and kisses him properly. He returns the kiss in relief.
Rep Oh had witnessed YH biting Andrew. She’d tried to take Andrew’s gun, but Andrew was not dead. Rep Oh had then tried to kill Andrew by bashing him in the head. Seems that this is a tried and true method to NEVER cause death to any zompire.
Yi Hyun comes back to himself and with the help of the Na siblings goes around to locate Andrew and to warn the remaining residents about him.
Rep Oh looks pretty crazed as she blames YH for killing her husband, etc. YH chooses to understand her that she needs someone to hate.
Killer Oh who got bashed on the head by Sang Hee using his golf club (gee…where did she learn to do that?) wakes up on the floor and keeps popping pills but he does not get infected. He does, however recover fast.
Killer Oh bites Kook. Despite this (and I can’t believe it!) Sang Hee still wants to check on the laptop if they can put in password to the crypto currency account. It’s a farce with Sang Hee and Kook scream-running from Oh to Kook’s apartment.
Killer Oh can’t get Sang Hee but he does keep his laptop that she needs. As he is still the only doctor around, Cleaner Wife and Husband ask him for help. He gives them pain killers but cannot remove the knife in Husband as he’d bleed to death.
Killer Oh tells YH, that …”Just because I bit someone, would anyone charge me?” He does as much evil as he can get away with, without remorse. YH informs Oh that he is not infected because YH is holding back the urge to bite him LOL. Killer Oh’s plans seldom work out.
YH tells him that taking Next is not a guarantee for being infected. It seems that Killer Oh kept the Cleaner couple with him to ‘eat them’ as his packed meal LOLOL for when the infection kicked in (I am laughing so hard.)
Cleaner Wife hears about the healing effects of Next. She steals some from Killer Oh and husband eats them. His wound heals quickly. They switch from being needy patients to wanting to keep the apartment for themselves. It’s another farce in another failed attempt this time by Cleaner Husband, to stab Killer Oh. Killer Oh runs out for help to Sang Hee, promising money. You’d think Sang Hee would be wary of someone who’d just bitten her lover, but she goes to the door to ask how much Oh would give her (*eyeroll*)
YH checks on Elderly Couple who are fine. They are prepared to take their son back. “That’s what home is. You come home when things get tough.” YH finds Bratty Son inside his car. He’s been bitten. YH gets him to stay with family, which help a person to hold out longer and not show symptoms.
Oh gets himself locked up in the gym but he deliberately takes his laptop with him. Cleaner Couple are overjoyed that they get to stay in his apartment. Sang Hee can’t resist going down to the gym to get the laptop.
Once again Rep Oh who’s full of plotting comes around just in time before Sang Hee gets away with the laptop and the evil threesome hatch another plan. The 3 monsters are: Sang Hee, Killer Oh and Rep Oh. They set up a scene to get YH out of his house so that they can get rid of him. They try to get YH to bite by cutting Sang Hee to get her bleeding and push her onto YH. YH pushes Sang Hee into the stairwell and runs home to keep his thirst under control. Plan foiled again by self-control.
That’s when SB comes home after despatching Killer Oh with a good kick to the groin LOLOL.
End:
Brother Na has the antibodies too and a cure can be made.
Stupid: Avaricious Cleaner couple are evicted while trying to hold on to all Killer Oh’s things.
Stupidly pathetic: Rep Oh and Killer Oh are kept on the rooftop together. LOL Rep Oh keeps asking for assurance that SB would vote for her to be rep when she gets out of prison.
The Kim family is happy to be taken away by the military, for treatment.
Kook’s wife, Shin refuses to have anything to do with him.
Andrew who’s hiding in 1501 attacks YH but SB refuses to shoot Andrew. She shoots her own arm instead to distract Andrew with fresh blood. It’s YH who shoots Andrew to protect SB. He passes out quipping : “I told you I was going to be the bad cop. You be the good cop.”
1 year later the baddies are in court, Seo Yoon is fine and YH is happy as long as SB is with him.
Ep12 (Final)
– SB alone hooked up to machine that harvests her plasma. She watches YH’s video on her phone. She tries to call YH but no joy. The machine beeps (telling her it’s done) and she takes out the catheter. Peers outside the room and spots SY led away by suited up guards. She joins SY as SY tells her they are taking her to see her mom. SB tells her YH is still at the apartment. SY is happily singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as they head to her mother’s room. SB tells SY to wait outside first. SB walks into the room. SY’s mom in her right mind is chained to the bed but she hides the chains under her blanket. SY walks in and runs towards her mom. SB stops her from getting too close. SY’s mom tells SY she’s sick and will get better soon. SY’s mom says she doesn’t want SY to get sick before the surgery so she should stay away. She tells her to be strong for her surgery. SY tries a few times to move closer to her mom but SB holds her back. SY heads back outside the room. SY’s mom thanks SB for looking after SY and says SY will be getting the surgery thanks to her. She’s also thankful that she held out this far and it’s all thanks to SY’s letter (her husband is in a worse state). She admits she’s not sure how things will work out for her. Then she tells SB to leave now. She knew she was about to turn. SB walks out and then turns around to see the mom turn and lunging.
– HTS talking to Lawyer wife. He asks how many left in the complex are infected. She says if YH’s infected then 2 including the Writer’s brother. And she confirms 2 died since. HTS asks her to tell him everything she knows about the infected.
– SY and SB walk outside towards an ambulance to take SY to hospital. SB promises to visit her with YH. SY asks point blank if her mom is infected. She says just like how she will get better, her mom will too. SB agrees.
– HTS in his wife’s private suite. SB enters. HTS tells her she only held out this long to see SY and she would be moved to a freezer warehouse in a few days? 🙁. There are 2 syringes on the tray next to his wife. He takes 1 syringe of her plasma, puts it in a case and is about to give it to SB. He tells her her antibody count is falling and it’s the last effective shot and they need it for research (to amplify it for a cure). He tells her they are coming to take her to another facility. HTS helps her get out before they do. She’s given a uniform and walks right past the men sent to take her away. HTS injects the other syringe into his wife just as the men walk in. Man is he cool. He whips out his gun with the other hand as the commander yells, “Do you know what you’re doing?!” HTS, “You bet I do”…Swoon… 😊. He surrenders.
(Flashback – we see HTS giving her the uniform and telling SB how to get to the getaway car. She asks if he will be okay. He tells her he has a plan. )
– We see SB heading out and turns back. She gives the last dose to SY’s mom. 😮. Lady Lieutenant comes in and asks her what she will do now without the cure for YH. True to nature SB says she’s not that special and she believes there will be others with the antibodies. She says YH has her but SY has nobody (if her mom died). Lady Lieutenant gives SB her medic uniform to wear. SB makes it out of the facility. HTS had given her a new passport (?) in the glove compartment of her getaway car (and also a walkie talkie). She’s allowed back into the complex after showing it to the guards outside the complex. Don’t tell me how she didn’t get pulled up for a different name tag on Lady Lieutenant’s medic uniform? Whatever. She gets back into complex and tries to contact YH on the walkie-talkie. She confesses that he is special to her and vows to find him.
– Commander interrogates Lady Lieutenant about the whereabouts of SB. She tells him she thinks SB plans to go overseas with the cure. HTS interrupts and says she went back to the apartment for hubby. HTS says there’s someone else in the complex with antibodies? Who? Na’s brother? Old lady? He wants back in to bring back the cure.
– Na and brother (with the catcher’s helmet on and gloves) are seen heading to the basement. They’ve seen the news (now that electricity is back on) and everything is supposed to be fine outside. Brother says everyone but YH left. They hear knocking and let SB in. She asks if YH is still alive. The duo exchange looks and don’t answer.
(Flashback – One Day Ago)
– YH on rooftop after biting Andrew. Rep Ahjumma arrives on the rooftop and stands there petrified. YH reverts back to human and walks past her. Ahjumma tries to grab gun off an unconscious Andrew but he stops her.
– YH back downstairs to 501. Writer Na sees his bloodied form walking into his apartment. He collapses on the couch and looks up at the photo of SB/YH. He thinks he hears SB but it’s Na coming in to check on him. He tells her he just needs rest. She leaves.
– Oh wakes up and pops another pill on the floor whilst mistress and lawyer huddle trying to work out the passcode they had scribbled on a notebook. Doorbell rings and it’s cleaning lady who tells them her hubby’s been stabbed and they need a doctor (Oh). In the background we see Oh slowly rise to his feet. Mistress tells her Oh is not home and closes the door. As they head back to the lounge, Oh lunges and bites lawyer on the arm. Mistress and lawyer run out of the apartment, past cleaning couple. Oh opens the door? Huh? I thought zompires can’t do that? He doesn’t look like he’s turned, he’s just biting? 😮. Lawyer and mistress head back to 602 (lawyer’s apartment) and slam the door on Oh. We see cleaning lady peering round the corner and asking Oh if he’s alright? 😆. He’s standing there with a bloodied mouth and blood caked hair and that’s what she asks? 😆
– YH stirs. Na and brother are in the apartment. Brother says YH’s blood disgusts him but he doesn’t want it because he’s infected too. She demands to know if he wants her blood then. They notice that YH is waking up. Na tells YH that she put her brother in that get up (catcher’s helmet and rubber gloves) in case he has an outbreak (smart 😆). Brother hands YH some water and he takes a sip. YH asks if Brother is thirsty. He says it’s not as bad now and diabetes runs in his family. YH asks about SB. Na says she’s not in the apartment anymore along with SY and other detective. Brother says the news said that everything was fine outside and martial law had been lifted outside except for places in lockdown. YH tells them he bit Andrew and an infected murderer was even more dangerous than an uninfected one? They head to the rooftop together and find the baseball bat (left by Rep Ahjumma) and Andrew gone. YH picks up the bat and they head down to look for him.
(news report voiceover – the lockdown led to minimised infections. Looks like mad person’s disease will soon be preventable. A vaccine is being tested which is showing promise. Those who are infected are in quarantine until a cure is ready. Apartments in lockdown will remain so for a while)
– Oh in his apartment looking at himself in the mirror. Cleaning couple in his bedroom and lady is tending to stabbed hubby. Oh us about to pop another pill. Doorbell rings. It’s YH and writer duo. Oh tells him he’s tending to cleaning couple. He warns Oh never to let Andrew in. Oh tells him that mistress and lawyer had colluded to get rid of him. Na said they had just been to 602 and lawyer told them Oh but him. Oh admits to being infected too. YH tells him he’s not infected because he feels the urge to bite him 😂. Oh tells, “but I took the pill!” YH says just because you take the pill doesn’t always mean you get infected? YH walks into the apartment and talks to cleaning couple. Hubby still has the knife in him and Oh says if he pulls it out he will die and he only has a few days left in that condition. YH is barely able to control himself at the sight of hubby’s blood. YH says he will work out a way to get him out. YH takes a swing at Oh with a bat and asks if Oh kept the couple there as prey if he got thirsty. He spies the bottle of pills on the table. Oh admits to it. Scum to the end. 👎 YH leaves and Oh follows. Cleaning lady overheard their conversation about the pills. She comes out of the bedroom, grabs one out of the bottle and feeds it to her hubby to make his wounds heal. She asks if he loves her and if he would bite her? 😬. Okay this is so twisted I can’t even…🙄
– 302. YH and writer duo visit to check on old couple. Old man answers doorbell. With a towel wrapped around his neck? 😮. He says they are fine and asks about his YouTuber son. YH is shocked that he hasn’t returned and thinks maybe he left. YH warns him not to open the door to Andrew. Na wants to give the old couple their food (kind to the end 👍). They walk back to lift and door opens. Rep Ahjumma walks out with blood all over her. She warns writer duo to stay away from YH because he’s infected. Brother reminds her that he’s infected too? 😂. YH warns her that Andrew is still wandering around the building. Rep tells him Andrew is dead.
(Flashback to when Rep tried to get gun out of Andrew’s hand. She wrestled free and hits him with the bat, multiple times…🙄 Blood spatters onto her.)
(Back to present)
– YH asks Rep where Andrew’s body is? She accuses him of biting Andrew to death? Err…is she getting her facts mixed up? Or is she just trying to pin it on YH? She leaves in the lift despite YH telling her it’s not safe to be alone right now. Rep heads back up to the rooftop and sees that Andrew is not there. She returns to her apartment muttering that YH is trying to pin the murder on her.
– our trio head back to the basement and see that the door to the car park is open. YH spies YouTuber son’s car with blood on the outside. YH finds his bloodied form in the driver’s seat and asks when he got bitten. Son sobs. YH brings him back into the lobby. He tells writer brother that the son is better off back with family as he will hold out for longer (from developing symptoms) in their company.
– son rings doorbell of parents and his father grabs the towel off round his neck and wraps it around his son’s bitten wrist. Son apologizes. Father weeps and welcomes his prodigal son home. 😢. We still never get to see old lady? 🤔
– cleaner lady poring over jewelry of Oh’s deceased wife? Hubby looks much better? She’s about to pull the knife out but he asks for another pill? She scoops one out of her pocket and he downs it with a bottle of water. She’s about to pull the knife out and he says, “let’s take this house.” After all that he’s still hung up about $? Lady walks out of the bedroom. Oh is on couch shaking his bottle of pills. She lures Oh into the bedroom and hubby slashes Oh on the arm with the knife (that they pulled out). Oh escapes.
– mistress is still trying to work out the passcode. They can’t get access without Oh’s laptop. Lawyer is concerned about his arm wound. Oh rings the doorbell and wants to get in. Mistress refuses. Trio come back to try to clear up what’s happened with Oh and cleaners. Cleaning lady tells YH Oh gave her the pills to give to her hubby. Oh denies it. Cleaner lady doesn’t want him back in the apartment. YH decides to take Oh down to gym. Oh demands for his laptop before he leaves. Mistress and lawyer come out to foyer area and see them go. Lift door opens and Rep Ahjumma steps out. Oh and trio walk in and leave her on floor 6 with mistress and lawyer.
– cleaning couple poring over expensive watch’s and jewelry in Oh’s apartment. They plan to kill Oh and put the blame on the infected? Scum. Hubby pops another pill and mentions he feels really thirsty for some reason? Wife looks alarmed and steps away from him as he continues to pore over their spoils.
– YH and duo head back down to his apartment. He tells them he will keep looking for Andrew. Writer Na wants to help him but he tells her he doesn’t trust himself around her. He thinks her brother seems to be getting better but he’s (YH) just starting to show symptoms so he’s a threat. They head back to their apartment. YH cleans up his apartment and finds the walkie-talkie. And starts to talk to an imaginary SB as he stares at the photo on the wall. He asks if she’s okay and says he misses her.
(Back to present time with SB in car park basement with writer duo. They tell SB they are alive thanks to him and that he’s in the apartment. SB tells them to hang tight and not go outside yet but things are looking up for everyone outside).
– Mistress enters gym where Oh is Iocked up. She sneaks up to him and tries to get his laptop and he grabs her wrist. Rep Ahjumma comes in and says they should try to get rid of YH. She frees Oh and tells him they need to kill YH.
– YH tidying apartment. He hears a cry for help outside. Heads out with the baseball bat. Oh has mistress hostage with a knife who is holding his laptop? 😂 Rep Ahjumma is sitting slumped nearby. She urges Oh to kill all the uninfected people and blame it on the infected. YH says they are the monsters, not the infected. Oh slashes mistress and flicks the blood onto YH and asks if he’s thirsty. Oh shoves mistress into the arms of YH who is struggling to contain himself. He flings the bat at Oh and shoves mistress into the safety of the stairwell and runs back to his apartment. Rep is laughing hysterically at the scene playing out. YH gets inside and throws a blanket over his head. Oh gives chase and hits the door with the bat yelling, “don’t you love the smell of blood? don’t hold back!” YH under the blanket stares at the blood stains on his hand (mistress) and his eyes turn white. Rep Ahjumma is yelling hysterically, “why won’t anyone listen to me? It’s my apartment!”. SB emerges from the stairwell and Rep attacks her. Rep repeats, “I caught an infected person and I am still clean. I deserve to be Apartment rep!” SB replies, “Okay. I will vote for you after you get out of prison.” 😂. SB hears Oh yelling and trying to break down the door. She disarms him. Oh strikes a hulk pose…roaring…and SB kicks him in the ⚾️ ⚾️. She punches the code and heads inside. Sees covered YH on the couch trying his best not to turn. She rubs his back, “Hyun-ah, I am back.” And pulls the blanket off him. She continues as she strokes his back, “I realized when you said that a home depended on whom you were with. I will stay with you from now on. Stay with me”. YH calms and raises his head to look at her. SB, “whatever you’re like I am okay with everything”. SB pulls his face to hers and swoops for a kiss… 👍 Swoon… breaks away… YH wells up relieved… they exchange a smile and she kisses him again. ❤️❤️ this time deeper. They hug tight. Reunited.
– HTS and lady Lieutenant lead troops back towards the complex. She asks if he’s sure someone else has antibodies in the complex
(Flashback to HTS getting a statement from lawyer wife. She tells HTS that Na had told her that her brother’s wounds stayed the same. It didn’t get better or worse).
– (Back to present) lady Lieutenant is aghast that he based his assumption on a hunch. He said they never did have anything to rely on before either.
– Lawyer in his apartment reading his mobile msg. Mistress is ecstatic that she got the cryptocurrency. “I did it so that we could all be happy” she assured him. We hear her yelling from outside the apartment? He dials his wife and apologizes? This is done well, the voices overlap. Wife hangs up on him. 👍 he opens the door for mistress muttering, “something is better than nothing”. She walks in and he asks if she’s infected. (Yeah hon, I love you too). They huddle over the laptop and punch in the passcode and hug when they get in. Only to find that the cryptocurrency was losing value and it was in negative territory.
– Old couple and son. All 3 are sitting on the couch watching the news report a economic crisis. Finally we see old lady. Hubby is feeding her. They are optimistic that there will be a cure. Door knock and troops burst in and take them away. They are relieved as they leave together.
– Brother Na is stretchered out and he assures them he never bit anyone. HTS and Lieutenant check his neck wound and nod. Yup. He has antibodies. HTS calls it in. Commander is happy to get new antibody source and will take it from there. HTS says he will handle SB. He tells Lieutenant to take SB and YH back to the facility (dorm).
– Troops breaking into 601 (Oh’s apartment) where cleaner couple has dressed up with Oh and wife’s fancy clothes. They are screaming, “this is my house! No! I am taking everything with me!” as the soldiers drag them out. This is giving me Parasite vibes.
– Rooftop. SB and YH set up Oh and Rep in tent (like supermarket girl).
– YH and SB head down to 15th floor and decide that they shouldn’t just leave penthouse guy in the cupboard. And they should move him back into the penthouse. YH walks around the corner to open the penthouse door and is met with a gun (Andrew). They fight. A shot is fired. SB draws her firearm and runs round to see a slumped YH (he looks to be shot in the side) and a sneering Andrew who holds a gun to YH’s head. YH tells her to just shoot. She drops her gun and then unloads on her arm/hand? Blood drips from her arm. Andrew drops the gun and turns and lunges at her. YH grabs his gun and shoots him. SB runs to YH and cradles him. YH smiles, “I told you I was going to be a bad cop. You should stay as the good cop.” He fades out. SB sobs and screams his name as she hugs him tight.
– Courtroom. Rep Ahjumma and Oh to be tried.
– Dorm facility room. SB’s colleague staring out the window. Door opens as someone calls his name.
– Time lapse scenes (to depict time passing)
– SY running in apartment common area outside. She runs into arms of SB. She tells her she’s not tired at all. YH appears behind her and backhugs her. SY leaves them alone. Our couple walk and SB looks pensive. YH asks what she’s thinking about.
SB – last year. During the lockdown.
YH – it was hard wasn’t it?
SB – it was bearable with you. When did you start liking me?
YH – I told you I fell for you the first time I saw you. Why won’t you believe me? I knew you were my destiny. I said to myself you were the one!
SB – so you never gave up?
YH – why do you think I became a cop?
SB – you became a cop because of me?
YH – I thought about going to the States but I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said. You said our future had many options so I should take the plunge. Then you went with the SOu.
SB – hey I had no idea. So…are you happy now?
YH – of course! Only when I am with you. I am not happy otherwise.
SB – stop lying! (She drops his hand and breaks into a run) the first one there will be exempt from recycling duty for a week including the food garbage!
YH (gives chase) – I refuse to lose.
Happiness “e” flips back again. The right way.
@TheWanderer changing the list around is fine, of course. The ordering of the list is meant to keep being changed over time. I did it at the end of Ep 14/15, I think, therefore I’d not watched Ep 16 yet.
It’s just a starting list and everyone can use it and re-arrange the names to their hearts’ content. 🙂 I expect @pkml3 to use it as a base and add on lots more to it, especially after Episode 16.
Kalimera!
I just managed to finished “Happiness” and I have a smile on my face.
I loved every minute of its ride. They kept our interest until the end. They didn’t mess with it and I am so happy about it!
They measured it so well.
Episode 12’s Highlights:
When Sae Bom went to Yi Huyn and he was having an episode. Just being there for him and admitting her feelings was so beautiful. She completely calmed him down.
When Yi Hyun saved Sae Bom from Andrew and her wailing when he passed out.
I am glad that we’ve got our Happy Ending. I will always love this couple. Their healthy relationship said it all. I have a warmth in my heart and I will keep on smiling. <3 😀
P.S. I will return to read your comments and then comment so more.
Ella made an another fabulous FMV for #HyunBom❣️💯
Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/Wvyof2jNKtU
Kalimera,
Since yesterday I feel totally happy that I have watched this story.
It was a great ride, we got so many good moments and bad moments, but as @Packmule3 said before somewhere in the Happiness Threads, the Writernim had faith in our main leads and in the end they have found their Happiness.
After watching this, I feel there is Hope, even in the darkest hours and we should keep doing what we always do, live our lives with decency and kindness.
We can find Happiness, not in an apartment, but in a home where our loved one(s) is / are.
We can find Happiness by being kind, by being humane and have ethics.
We can find Happiness by staying true to ourselves and our beliefs.
We can find Happiness, if we have Faith.
And that is more than enough… <3
I watched some BTS clips of happiness. It’s most funny because there is a guy from their makeup department roaming behind everyone including YH (after he is shot/”turns”) with a plastic cup in his hand. This cup is filled with a suspicious red liquid aka fake blood. He keeps adding dribbles of it as needed. It’s so hilarious 😆
@Cleo @Arihsi
Isn’t it great that we can find so much to be happy about with Happiness? Heheheheh! Yes it was a Show to inspire hope in human nature even in the worst of temptations, and in how choosing good over evil will ultimately triumph.
@Arihsi, I enjoy BTS a great deal. I must go look for this show’s BTS too.
Here’s a link to the Soompi article on the casts’ words of farewell and a BTS video. Unsurprisingly, they feel a little sad at the end of this project.
There’s a scene in the BTS in the Soompi link that has YH looking at SB who’s in bed in the university dorm. We didn’t see that scene, did we? Maybe there were cut scenes of them in the dorm together.
This also has the kissing scene. They wiped their noses after LOL. And there was their running scene at the end … Park Hyung Shik deliberately ran faster than Han Hyo Joo LOLOL. That spoilt the shot of course.
Sorry, forgot to leave the Soompi link:
https://www.soompi.com/article/1503304wpp/watch-happiness-cast-enjoy-their-final-days-of-filming-and-bid-farewell-to-the-drama
My agapimeni @GB Unnie,
Yes we saw that scene in Episode 12. Yi Hyun was dreaming about Sae Bom but saw the Writer instead. Sae Bom thought itwas Yi Hyun to that dorm but it was Colonel Han.
I just found out about this Soompi link! Thank you for posting it first!
Happiness and #HyunBom gave me strength to be honest. We need to have a healthy relationship in our lives, even if it is with ourselves first.
The scene when YH imagined SB standing over him was right after he met Writer Na in the corridor after biting Andrew. He was all bloodied and Writer Na asked him if he was okay. He said he was and he walked in his condo to plop down on the sofa, under their high school portrait.
Writer Na followed him to check up on him. 🙂
@Cleopatra,
I share your approval of this show. It’s a good drama to end this year with. And it got me over my zombie 🧟♀️ avoidance.
I liked that Killer Oh and Representative Oh lived to face the punishment for their crimes. In their case, death would have been an easy way out for them.
But for Andrew, death was the right ending.
It’s always reaffirming when good triumphs over evil.
@pkml3 @Cleo… thanks. I got it. There were 2 scenes that mirror each other.
1 time it was SB in the dorm who looked up and thought she saw YH when actually it was HTS.
Another time it was YH who woke up and thought he saw SB but it was Writer Na.
Our couple kept wanting to see only each other when they opened their eyes. 🙂
Dear @Packmule3,
You are right. It is always reaffirming when good triumphs over evil.
I also liked that Killer Oh and Representantive Oh lived to face the consequences of their actions. I agree with you with Andrew that was the right ending for his character’s trajectory.
I started my k-drama year with “L.U.C.A The Beginning” to end it with “Happiness”.
Both had the same question, but they used their material in a very different way.
The question still remains: Who is truly a monster?
A human being OR a human with engineered DNA / an infected Zompire ?
I agree with @GB Unnie that in our case, the monsters were evil people and not those who got infected.
As for Zombies, per @Fern’s recommendation I started watching “The Zombie Detective” it takes times, but I am enjoying it so far.
It became available for us for a short period the zombie movie “The Train in Busan”. I want to watch this for Gong Yoo. I will not forget to have some popcorns with me, that I will spoil all over the place in order to mimick his actions in Goblin… LMAO!
I have found the Original Soundtrack of Happiness.
The background music we were listening to specific scenes are:
18. Unhappiness and 22. Humanism
Thanks @Cleo. I’m also trawling YouTube now for Happiness BTS, etc.
LOL your eating popcorn during Train to Busan. I think if I got myself popcorn for that show, I’d be giggling at all the scary parts.
@GB Unnie!
Yes it was a mirroring scene to show us their longing for each other!
The background music that played in their reunion in E12 was:
18. Unhappiness by Lim Mi Hyun and then 05. Portrait by Jon Layne
That’s why I want to do it. In order to giggle! I will also try to watch it with my brother in order to throw him the popcorn – LMAO!
@Cleo LMAO!!! If your brother has curly hair he may end up with popcorn curls LOLOL.
I’m listening to the OST now.
@GB I managed to find the BTS clips with Chinese subs as there isn’t English subs added to the YT clip yet. With the ending scene, apparently the script only have them walking together but they (or maybe SB?) decided to add the running bit in as they decided it couldn’t end with melo style haha.
Similar to the deleted scene in the early episode (3 or 4 maybe?) where SB called YH over to wipe his face, apparently the director asked them to add a bit more melo/sweetness to it but they struggled lol
I was hoping they’d expand a bit more on the vaccine in the end. Writer Na’s brother mentioned at the end that there’s diabetes in the family history (when YH asked if he was not thirsty), wonder if there’s some genetic factor in developing antibodies? We all thought that SB’s illness when she was little contributed to her immunity against the virus too but that wasn’t explained. Why was SB’s mom in hospital? So many questions, so little answers…
@GB Unnie,
No, he hasn’t…LOL!
I am listening to it as well. I have chosen specific tracks though.
I want to buy the soundtrack for my cd collection, but I haven’t seen it anywhere yet… 🙁
I found BTS clips with Chinese subs as the ones on YT don’t have English subs added yet. For the ending scene it says the script only had them walking but they did the ad-lib running. And SB says it can’t end with the melo style haha
I think it’s a bit of a pity that they didn’t expand further on the vaccine. Writer Na’s brother said there’s diabetes family history when YH asked if he was thirsty, so was that a hint? Also, we were guessing that SB’s illness when she was little may have contributed to her antibodies but that wasn’t further explored either. Why was SB’s mom in hospital/ full time care?
Also just remembered a scene where Rep Oh was alone in her unit after Reverend hubby died. The doorbell rang (or someone knocked) and she attended to the door? Then the scene cut off- was that the hubby? Or it was just used to show that she grieved her hubby so much and became half crazy afterwards?
Writer Na’s brother was also hospitalized for a year.
He missed school (college?) hence he was whining about having to call his colleagues “sun bae” when they were technically peers.
The focus wasn’t on finding the cure per se, but just that there’s an alternative cure other than SB.
As for doorbell ringing, no, it’s not the ghost of the dead hubby. 👻 I didn’t check the timeline but I’m guessing that it’s the moment when Killer Oh and Andrew contacted her to arrange their unholy alliance. 🙂
I assumed that SB’s mommy was at hospital for routine physical check up for senior citizens. I’ve to do a series of tests of my blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, mammogram, eyesight and hearing check, Pap smear, bone density, skin cancer, thyroid, diabetes, etc.
She didn’t sound sick or SB would have been concerned.
I’m glad that the writer didn’t expound on her mother’s health. It would have been a waste of time since that it wasn’t the core theme, and central focus of the drama. Too much backstory is an over-explanation. Besides, this drama doesn’t purport to document the pathology of the disease but the pathology of people living in closed quarters during a crisis.
I like that the story was streamlined 12 episodes. It shows the discipline of the writer and director. Other writers would have piled on extraneous side stories (and I’m side-eyeing “Jirisan” here) and extra actors. I must admit though, seeing that actor Lee Seung Jun (the general in Ep 12) was a happy surprise. I like the guy. 😂
@The Wanderer
I enjoy knowing of and watching ad libs. If the running away part was an ad lib, then it must have become a tiring one! The BTS of the run and what we saw in the Show were different, which means they had to run more than once! LOL. It might have been an ad lib they regretted.
I did think that the ending with the cutover to 1 year later was rather quick. It would have been nice to have seen SB with her mum to add closure to how she had avoided speaking much to her mum and felt guilty. In the round up, we only see Seo Yoon and none of the rest of the residents. We assume that Jung Kook recovered and is fine.
We do not know what happened to HTS or his wife and child either, but we assume that mum and baby are OK and HTS had to be court-martialed for crossing the line.
It’s strange though that SB’s colleague, Lee Seung Young is shown to be still in the facility and still not looking too well. So perhaps not everyone takes to the ‘cure’ as well as others, or the ones who were sick longer need a longer recovery time.
Perhaps if Show could have been 10 minutes longer, we’d have had more closure regarding these characters.
@pkml3 IKR, I was surprised that Lee Seung Joon made an appearance. After the actors in their 20s-30s, we should have an appreciation post for those in their 40s -50s, like Lee Seung Joon. I suppose he’s already considered to be an ahjusshi, together with Oh Jung Se. 🙂
No, @GB, I don’t think the extra 10 minutes would have sufficed. Viewers would still find something to nitpick. 🙂
Besides, how does one allocate time? We want to know:
how Writer Na’s relationship with her brother and nieces changed
how Writer Na’s brother fared during the blood tests
how Andrew became a psychopath and what happened to the people he murdered
what happened to the lawyer and his wife
what happened to the lawyer and the mistress
was the mistress punished for attempted murder
what about lawyer’s career? He was an accessory, should be disbarred.
what happened to the old lady and her grumpy husband
did the son finally gain fame as a YouTube and expert of zompire ness
What happened to the couple cleaners?
Could they face their son again after knowing they became greedy monsters n the end?
what happened to YH’s Hyung and the sick wife
Did the Hyung turn into a new leaf or become guilt-ridden and alcoholic, and lose his job
What happen to LtCol Han and his wife and baby
Can they live happily ever after his decisions on the zompire mess are exposed
What about SB’s mom
What about YH’s parents
See that? 😂 10 minutes wouldn’t be enough. Half an hour wouldn’t be enough.
So it’s best this way. Just end it without dwelling on the postmortem and assume that everything will right itself eventually. You see, for others, a year wouldn’t be enough to rehabilitate themselves, heal their spirits, or forget their bad actions during that time.
For SB and YH, a year was enough because they remained true to themselves.
I am liking 12 episode kdramas! I hope this becomes the trend.
I was really happy with Happiness. TBH, all I cared about are YH, SB and SY and to see their happy endings were satisfying to me already. Of course I cared that justice was served to Killer Oh and Building Rep for aiding and abetting a murderer for their own selfish agenda. I am not sure how to rehabilitate these 2.
Until the end, the humaneness and altruism of the OTP have been exemplary. SB giving the last serum to SY’s mom instead of to YH and trusting him that he will not turn zompire with her on his side. Her hesitation to use the gun as last resort to subdue Andrew. Her thinking that she is not special – that another person can have antibodies, too.
As for YH, he could have left the building even if he was infected especially knowing SB has antibodies. He could be first in line for treatment if he demanded. But he wanted to stop Andrew from killing further. When he sobered up from his zompire state, he realized that Andrew becoming a zompire is even more dangerous and continued looking for him. He had to shoot him at the end since Andrew was going after SB.
Lastly, I am loving the soundtrack! Thanks @Cleo for providing the link the full one. My favorite is “what Lies Ahead” by Joe Layne. It encompasses the show’s theme. Be good, believe, be the light – carry on, it’s going to be ok!
Here’s the lyrics.
Credit to Korean Lovey for the lyrics
Track List of Joe Layne – What Lies Ahead (Happiness OST Part 1)
I don’t know
what lies ahead in my life
But that’s ok
Like the thousands
of days I’ve spent
Will be ok
And I know I’ll keep going
Keep dreaming and keep loving
Not knowing what lies ahead
Ahead
Sometimes life gets so hard
Feels like there’s no one else
But myself against the world
The whole world
But I know
You can only
see the light in the dark
And I know
Miracles only
happen if you believe
So carry on like you’ve never fell
And love like
you’ve never been hurt
Carry on like you’ve never fell
Carry on
I think this show did a great job of “trimming the fat”. Although with these writers, I probably wouldn’t have minded seeing more, I much prefer the focus to be maintained vs jumping from place to place.
When I started the first week I finished wondering what the screenwriter had to say about society, human nature, government control, false news, etc…
The show didn’t get bogged down in science or extraneous characters. It was: what makes you happy? What are you willing to do and/or lose to achieve that happiness.
Money (mistress) fame (YouTuber) power (rep oh) becoming supernatural/watching people die (Andrew) etc…depending on the characters actual character, we got to see what people once thought made them happy find out it doesn’t, and how they change course, whether good or evil. The cleaning couple who turned greedy, the gym guy and the lawyer became worse while the brother who was mad at his sister over money and bitter about life actually became better, the cashier, the old man disappointed in his son realized he just wanted him home, saw him who always thought she wanted a home realized what she really always wanted was Hyun by her side. Maybe the writer used the doomsday prepper to show that no matter how prepared you are, sometimes death just comes for you??
Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed the show. I’ve been listening to Dancing with your Ghost and Pain and feeling thankful for a yellow sunshiney happy ending. Honestly had sae bom told hyun she was pregnant I probably would’ve burst from happiness.
Agree, @Janey.
Here I am watching “Jirisan” Ep 12 and I realized this is the reason I’m bored with this show: the writer just kept on rambling about irrelevant facts. I don’t give a tinker’s damn about the heroine’s first love, her last argument with her father, the flower Happiness that her father gave her, her father’s meeting with the hiker, her relationship with her grandma. All these backstories could have been crossed out, and the viewers would have still understood the plot. Grrr.
So hurray for “Happiness.” It was time well spent.
And I agree: the OTP rocked.
I liked that SB gave the last serum to SeYoon’s mom. That was admirable indeed. She knew she was choosing the more difficult route for her and YiHyun. But it was the right thing, the noble thing to do. She was giving up on YiHyun; instead she was going to go through all the hardship with him.
She was living up to the name she gave him on her phone. “I’m His Lifesaver” 😂
And the nice thing here is WE KNOW that given the same choice, YiHyun would have done the same thing too.
Heh! @pkml3… I was only interested in 10 more minutes on SB’s mum, HTS’s outcome and SB’s colleague. I can’t pretend to care much about the others whom we did not see at the 1 year later.
But it’s a nice way to put it, that 1 year is enough for those who retained their integrity.
@Janey, I agree that the example of SB and YH are to be upheld as a shining beacon. They offer the more humane alternative in situations where any are demonised. Thanks for the lyrics. Most appropriate for us who are still in the continuum of getting out of the pandemic and various other situations.
@birdie007, great summary of what makes us happy. Generally many of us could be highly mistaken! I like what you say about the Doomsday Se Hun. It sounds indeed like that could be the message. Be prepared, but know we are never invincible before death. If one did nothing to compromise one’s humanness, and died, might that be considered a ‘happy’ death?
@PM3, That’s why I dropped Jirisan but will lurk in the post to see the ending (I saw @GB posted her notes). I can’t pinpoint what matters most. Unfortunately, even the relationship of the 2 leads is vague so even less to emotionally root for.
Thanks @Birdie for the happiness reminder.
I will then add to my key message/learning. Be good, believe, be the light- carry on, it’s going to be ok and you will be happy!
Thank you all for being part of the Happiness journey!!!
YH said to doctor, building rep and mistress, “You guys are the monsters, not the infected people!”
My learnings from the show:
1. It taught us how to deal with a new disease. Being infected is not a sin.
2. It is OK to feel scare and unsure first, but the way to conquer is be there with the person. Embrace it sensibly.
3. Nothing is better than to be at home. The elderly couple demonstrates love and forgiveness for the prodigal son. The elderly dad has a no frill approach about his love for his wife and his son.
I found it touching when YH apologised to SB and saying he always wanted to show the best of him to her. SB said she would collapse if she loses him and she repetitively watching the video of YH. While I am drawn by TRSC, watching this realistic romance touches a special place in my heart.
Agree SB is admirable. Not only she gave the serum away, she also said she is not that special and tell HTS he will find another person with antibody. Such a clear mind. Not big headed. Also hope for human in general. Our body is good at fighting a new decease, and with love and persistency, there is always a way. 🙂
BTW, I cracked up seeing brother Na’s outfit. Wearing cleaning gloves with and a baseball face shield. 😀
Kalimera!
Just posted by tvN! A video with the most memorable scenes of #HyunBom! Enjoy!
Thank you @Cleo. I’ve been enjoying lots of BTS while I wait for the weekend. 🙂
@GB @packmule3 I echo GB’s sentiments on having additional screen time to cover off the remaining characters, really for closure than anything else. I suppose that means those characters were impactful enough for us to care that they do get their happy ending as well (for those who deserve it)?
A small observation: does this writer/director pair tend to feature strong female characters? Only because apart from YH and HTS, it seems like more female characters stand out compared to males. Both SB and SY’s dad weren’t mentioned much at all throughout the drama. The army doctor colonel is a pretty strong female character; writer Na and Bo Ram were decent characters through to the end.
I see that the overall ratings for the drama was pretty average (3-4%?) which is a shame for such a solid, high quality production. Is it because of the time slot (late nights Friday/Sat) or the zombie theme? Personally I’d have looked straight past this if it wasn’t for HHJ (my first time watching PHS and he’s impressed me) so I’m glad I decided to give it a chance and stuck to it. I will be recommending this to my circle of friends for sure 🙂
Don’t know how to embed YT videos here but there’s a new BTS released earlier today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC_mQddmn0o
And it’s interesting to see the set of the show:
https://youtu.be/VCXVAFwsdvs
SY is a budding child actress and I’m looking to see more of her in the future! I think HHJ and her got pretty close throughout the filming.
Hi @The Wanderer, the link you left us is to a private video, hence I can’t play it.
Here’s another YT link with SB and YH (or Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyung Shik) showing us the set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Yup_8BWdE
It was posted 5 days ago, it may not be the same thing.
Kalimera @GB Unnie and @The Wanderer,
TvN posted today this video:
@GB @cleopatra
Funny I can’t view both YT videos that you’ve shared (just says not available)! Maybe it’s a region thing?