It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

A New KDrama Classic

“It’s Ok to Not Be OK” is nothing that I expected it to be. It’s a mix of psychological thriller, comedy, romance, and melodrama but with the theme of a beautifully told dark fairytale. There are no magical creatures or supernatural events, but there are 3 unique and memorable characters who make this story feel larger than life. Seo Ye Ji, Kim Soo Hyun, Oh Jung Se give brilliant performances. From the very first episode, when I still wasn’t sure what to expect, all three had character introductions that were epic, and let me know right away that this drama would not disappoint. For all 16 episodes, I remained impressed. These three have such strong chemistry together that any flaws in the story were easily overlooked, and it just kept getting better with each episode.

I’ll start my specific praise for the cast with See Ye Ji as Ko Moon Young. She is perfection in this role down to her flawless outfits and eye glitter. Her sinister smile, soft deep voice, and unapologetic confidence made her likable villainous demeanor seem effortless, but she is just as great at showing vulnerability and pain, and over the top silliness as well. Moon Young might be a controversial choice as a strong female lead, but from her very first scene, I knew she would become one of my all-time favorite KDrama characters. I want to be Ye Ji when I grow up and I’m already very grown! I also love the idea of a cynical children’s author. It’s as if this role was made just for her. I was not familiar with her as a lead before this drama, but now I’m definitely her fan. She is perfectly matched with Kim Soo Hyun, as Moon Gang Tae. I already loved him in “You Who Came from the Stars” where he plays a similar poker-faced and responsible character matched with a strong and unpredictable sexy lead, but in this drama, he gets to show way more range (and be human lol). As Moon Gang Tae he is charming and heartbreaking. I think his matured boyish good looks make him also seem perfectly cast as a young man forced to be responsible at an early age, who is somewhat naive and over his head but also wise beyond his years. I also loved the contrast of him being unsophisticated while she was always fashion-forward and elegant. Their very first moments together are already exciting and super hot without anything happening but close talking and intense looks. I kept calling their specific chemistry “sexy dysfunction” because in real life this super-empath and borderline sociopath match would be toxic AF, but in KDramaland they challenged each other exactly the way they needed to, and I loved rooting for them no matter what. Let’s also face the fact that they look gorgeous together. Maybe there were too many wrist grabs, but when they are done so well are there really too many? The love story drives this storyline for sure, in many ways, but it’s really the love story of a trio including Oh Jung Se as Moon Sang Te. It’s hard for me to pick a real favorite out of the three but Oh Jung Se really gave a performance worthy of his own paragraph of praise for sure!

There are a lot of actors who have done a great job playing characters with disabilities or disorders, and I was afraid that his role would just be used to add cheesy melodrama, but I was so wrong. To not award him for this performance would be a serious crime. Sang Tae was the character most likely to make me cry for sure but he was also the character most likely to make me laugh literally out loud and cheer. The brother-bond with Gang Tae warmed and broke my heart so many times. His bonding, rivalry, and banter with Ko Moon Young were some of my favorite moments in the whole drama. In many ways, this character is the glue that makes this story so strong. With a cast this amazing it’s hard to pick a breakout favorite, but I think anyone who watches will agree that this performance is one of the best in a drama period.

Besides the Main Trio, the rest of the cast is also great, although at times easily overshadowed. One of my favorites, Kim Mi Kyung, is among the cast, and she is always great as some version of the best Mom. She’s also in another drama I started watching at the same time (“Was Is Love?”) playing a very similar role and I’m still never tired of seeing her. I loved Gang Tae’s loyal BFF (so adorkable), The endearing Hospital Director, The Patients, Park Jin Joo being weird and quirky as usual, Gang Young Nam as the head nurse, as well as the amazing younger actors in the flashback scenes… There are no weak links in the cast, and even seemingly minor characters are important to the story. Kim Joo Heon and Park Kyu Young were also characters I loved although I admit their storyline did feel a little too much like filler at certain points. It’s hard to say too much without giving something away but none of the problems I had with characters were based on performance. There was a great overall ensemble cast feel that was awesome and didn’t have to rely on dragging out love triangles or overblown rivalries. For a story with such a heavy fairytale feel it also felt very genuine.

I did give the story a 10 score because I loved it so much, but I admit that some parts could have been stronger. Some of the backstories, I felt, were revealed and resolved too easily. The story does focus more on relationships than details, and I was absolutely satisfied with that. Don’t get scared off by the psychiatric hospital setting if that’s not your thing, it’s more about the characters and their self-discovery, not treatment and many of those parts are relatable and inspiring. I also loved that every episode had a specific fairy tale theme. It was a great way to foreshadow some things without giving anything away. The direction was also so beautifully done, incorporating picturesque scenes, and storybook-style imagery. The direction helped tie all the various genre elements together so seamlessly. I also felt like great care was taken in how even minor scenes were shot. It’s the director who did “Jealousy Incarnate”, an all-time rewatchable favorite of mine. The way animation was incorporated was so good too, and never overdone. The way the mystery was solved was underwhelming, but the actual ending episode was so moving, bringing earlier images and scenes full circle into the story (I loved the illustrations!). I was afraid that the end would be disappointing but it ended up being better than I even imagined it could be, while still being simple and true to the story. Every question I had wasn’t answered but the ones that mattered to me were, so everything felt resolved. I was definitely dehydrated from all the happy tears too.

Would I watch this again? Many times. The story is so well told, with characters I already miss, and it probably is a little more entertaining at the start knowing the whole story ahead of time. Since the mystery isn’t the strongest part of this drama nothing is really lost knowing what comes next, and I can enjoy certain performances in earlier scenes differently. There’s also plenty of rewindable moments with Soo Hyun and Ye Ji playing so well off of each other. This is one of those dramas that I will end up watching multiple times… Like Sang Tae watching Dooly. (lol)

The only area I didn’t give a perfect 10 was music. Don’t get me wrong, the music is great in general and well incorporated, but there was no memorable song that could justify a 10 from me, besides the “OK” hospital’s sing-along song which was cute.

Overall this drama easily has become one of my all-time KDrama favorites, which I would have never guessed from the cast and description. This drama definitely deserves its high ratings. If you’re looking for an original story without necessarily reinventing the drama-wheel, this one qualifies for sure. If you want to fall in love with characters and see them grow and evolve in a satisfying way this drama specializes in that. It’s not too dark or too lighthearted and has enough elements to please many different drama moods. I laughed and cried so much. I didn’t know eating porridge could be so emotional or that deer could be so hilarious. I love the themes of choosing your own happiness, defining your own family, and empowerment and freedom through self-expression and self-determination. This drama itself echoes Ko Moon Young’s perspective on fairytales… they exist not as escapism but so we can face reality, and like a children’s fairytale book I wanted to read (or watch) it again as soon as it was done. I rarely give all 10s and this one came extremely close! This is definitely a new KDrama Classic.

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