Happiness midseason recap: zombie survival K-drama is compulsive viewing
There were some notable exceptions, of course, like the devious Oh Joo-hyung (Baek Hyun-jin), the power-hungry Oh Yeon-Ok (Bae Hae-sun), a psychopath secretly lurking in their midst, and the cleaning couple whose desire for upward mobility ultimately consumed them, but most of the residents kept their sense of right and wrong amid their crumbling social microcosm.
The show’s optimism, reinforced by the ever-present blue skies and the bright hues found in the show’s costumes and interior decor, could most keenly be felt in the stolid leadership of Yoon Sae-beom (Han Hyo-joo) and Jung Yi-hyun (ZE:A’s Park Hyung-sik) and their refusal to look upon their zombie foes as lost causes.
Infected characters do turn into bloodthirsty zombies, but only in brief outbursts, and whenever a new infection is found in the building, the person is treated humanely. Even when Sae-beom and Yi-hyun have to battle undead hordes, they never try to kill any of them, just fend them off long enough to be able to get away to safety unscathed.
For much of the series, the characters were waiting for the government lockdown to be lifted, a goal we were helpfully reminded of with a ‘D-x’ counter flashing on screen each new and sunny morning.
When the countdown reached zero, the containment measures were extended … indefinitely. Yet the counter remained on screen as the story welcomed each subsequent day, announcing the dawn of a new and lawless era in the 101 tower.
With supplies running low and everyone’s patience exhausted, Sae-beom and Yi-hyun’s aura of protection and authority began to wane and the strong personalities opposed to them, Joo-hyun and Yeon-Ok, seized their opportunity to corral the tired majority against them.
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With the light at the end of the tunnel extinguished, confrontations grow more frequent and serious. Sae-beom and Yi-hyun have their hands full. Things get even worse when lime-coated bodies start popping up in hidden corners and when Yi-hyun becomes infected but hides the fact from Sae-beom.
As if having one killer in the building wasn’t enough, our protagonists discover that the bodies aren’t victims of zombies but those of a secret murderer in their midst. The previously quiet Andrew, always wearing a black mask, cap and goggles, appears to be the deranged killer; however, it turns out Andrew’s identity has been stolen by another character, played by Lee Joo-seung.
Outside the building, a team led by Han Tae-seok (Jo Woo-jin) plans to remove Sae-beom to extract antibodies from her blood. This plan and the twin calamities facing our heroes, not to mention the mounting madness of their neighbours, drive Happiness to a suspense-laden last two episodes.
Yet what really seals the deal at the show’s close is the satisfying culmination of Sae-beom and Yi-hyun’s will-they-won’t-they romance. They have been brought together under unusual circumstances, and as they live under the same roof they continually deny their obvious attraction for one another, since they’re too busy trying to survive.
A romantic confession is eventually proffered through a selfie video found on a phone, and the pair submit to their feelings for one another in one of the most convincing romantic displays of the year, packing more real feeling into a brief scene than most of this year’s Korean romantic comedy or melodrama series could muster in entire seasons.
With only occasional zombie attacks and a threat markedly less existential than that faced by the characters in other zombie series, Happiness always ran the risk of being a bit too lightweight.
Yet with its clear storytelling, compelling roster of characters across the board and a well-threaded sequence of menacing situations and their resolution distributed evenly throughout its run, all capped off with a strong finale, this zombie-lite success has been one of the year’s most rewarding surprises.
Happiness is streaming on Viu.
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