It's Okay, That's Love (2014)

It's Okay, That's Love stands out among the kdrama ranks, and for good reason. I have never seen a kdrama that deals with such somber themes. I was particularly shocked by the respectful and serious manner various types of mental illnesses were treated in the show. Korea is not exactly at the forefront of social acceptance of mental illness, so I view this drama as nothing short of groundbreaking. The drama was refreshingly unique and mature. It handled its subject matter with care while balancing the need for entertainment, laughter, and romance.

The drama makes its premise known early and clearly in the first episode, revealing backstory, current situations, and character personalities in a concise and easy to follow manner. That alone sets this drama above many others I've seen. In particular knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the character's personalities in such a complete way was shocking to me. Kdrama notoriously loves to play with personality traits throughout a show, throwing what the audience may have thought to be an intrinsic characteristic away as soon as its no longer useful. Though the clarity of certain premises and traits was welcome I also enjoyed the ambiguity about which character was the one with the most serious 'problems'. Toying with this question was a major source of intrigue and stimulation for me as I watched the show; a nice mystery to solve. Usually either our male or female lead will be clearly at a disadvantage in comparison to each other by the first episode, but this drama instead presents two equally successful and capable adults with heretofore unexplored mental illnesses. The audience is thus forced to take both equally seriously and this prevents one side of our fated couple from being discredited too early on into the show.

This brings me to our characters. Some truly grated on me in the beginning, some I felt were too one dimensional, and some were just great right off the bat. First for the characters I had some issues with...Soo Kwang was simply too childish for my liking. I understand that his disability left him feeling socially awkward and frequently impeded his social interactions but I did not see any valid reason for him to be perverted all the time. He showed marginal growth towards the end of the series but his character still left me feeling uncomfortable. Jae Bum's character also frustrated me. I feel that the show really failed with him. Where there could have been a rational and introspective exploration into Jae Bum's journey to come to terms with his past and present there was only stagnation and irrationality. So Nyeo is another problem for me. As I've said before I do not like Lee Sung Kyung, but in every drama I try to stay objective and judge her only on the role she is currently playing. Once again she has let me down. Her constant use of annoying female character stereotypes in place of realistic personalities and decisions is disappointing at best and infuriating at worst. She was simply rude at times and her personality deficiencies could not be explained away by her mental illness.

Allow me to now speak about our leads as well as some of the more palatable supporting characters. First Hae Soo...she is an imperfect female lead. She has personal issues in droves, is sometimes too self involved, and can be stubborn like no one else. But all of these issues just serve to make her more real, more relatable. While the hard working, always cheery female lead trope is nice sometimes it's not exactly something most of us can see within ourselves. Hae Soo on the other hand is more than her good or bad qualities. I feel this is best seen in her relationship with her mother. She is an imperfect human, just like the rest of us. Her character's flaws are what allow her to be a better person at the end of the series than she was at the beginning. My favorite aspect of her, though, is her commitment to herself. She loves Jae Yeol, no doubt about it, but she is also not willing to sacrifice her own well-being and happiness for him. That is called a healthy relationship. Speaking of Jae Yeol he too is perfectly imperfect. He of course has a score of personal and interpersonal issues from his past to his present and beyond. He goes on a heartbreaking and difficult journey to becoming a better, healthier version of himself. He is charming and fun and completely devoted to Hae Soo, but just like his other half, he is committed to himself and his family above all. By the end of the drama he is still recognizable in his good qualities, his intrinsic personality, but his flaws have been transformed into sources of strength. I'll end this character analysis with Kang Woo. First, I would like to take this moment to praise Kyungsoo's acting. I thought the hype I had heard about his acting ability may have been over played by EXO fans but he stands on his own merit. His character made this drama for me. The raw emotions he portrayed, the way he always left you guessing, the way he could make anyone empathize with him was amazing. He mirrored the veteran actor's emotions and performances so well and was able to embody everything Kang Woo was meant to be. Kang Woo himself, though a problem for our male lead, was pitiable but also funny and lighthearted and sweet. He perfectly balanced the harsh scenes with the light.

Overall this drama was a whirlwind of emotion and plot. It tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you reeling. It was a beautiful exploration into the human condition and is a drama that everyone should watch at least once. This is the kind of television that makes its watcher grow as a person.

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