Premiere Watch: Metro Editors on ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’
The Netflix K-drama has been the talk of the town since its premiere last weekend! Here, the Metro team reacts to its intriguing narrative on mental health, healing, and love. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
Raise your hand if last weekend’s premiere of It’s Okay To Not Be Okay left you speechless and wanting more! The new romance fantasy drama, produced by tvN and Netflix, premiered to number 1 ratings, a very promising start. It had scored an average nationwide rating of 6.1 percent with a peak of 7.0 percent, according to Nielsen Korea.
Starring Seo Ye Ji and Kim Soo Hyun, It’s Okay To Not Be Okay offers a stunning and intriguing narrative on mental health, healing, and love. It tells the story of Moon Kang-Tae (Kim Soo-Hyun) who works in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. His job is to write down the patient’s conditions and to deal with unexpected situations. His life intersects with a woman, Ko Moon-young, who is a popular writer of children’s books. Clouded with mystery, she comes across initially extremely selfish, arrogant, and rude.
Before we get into our editors’ reactions to that wonderful premiere, let’s do a quick recap of the first episode.
RECAP: "The Boy Who Fed On Nightmares"
RECAP: "The Boy Who Fed On Nightmares"
The episode begins with stop-motion animation about a little girl who lived in a castle, all alone. One day, she decides to go into town and try to make some friends. She meets some townsfolk and offers them gifts, or at least what she thought would pass for gifts. To their horror, they open a box which held within two dead birds. The townsfolk start spreading rumors and stories. “They called her a monster who brings along the shadow of death,” says the narrator.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
The succeeding animation shows the girl livid, angry with every little thing. She wanders off to a lake, where she reels in fish and stomps on them until they die. On her third try, she happens to reel in a young boy and saves him from drowning. After that, the dark shadow that had always followed her disappears. Instead, the boy becomes her shadow. The girl asks him if he would always stay by her side. He replies, of course he would.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
She turns around and faces him, ripping a butterfly apart. “Even after you see this?”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Horrified, the boy runs away, and the hook that connected him to the girl detaches. The girl’s shadow returns and whispers to her that no one can ever stay by her side because she is a monster.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Then, we transition to a real life castle, and to a real life girl—Seo Ye-ji—who faces the camera and replies: “Yes, Mother.”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Next scene, we are in present-day Korea. In a university, a man is overwhelmed by the sounds of heavy machinery around him. He has an episode. Though no one gets hurt, the professor tells the man’s guardian that they simply cannot keep risking the safety of others and that he should be transferred to a special needs school.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
The man’s guardian is his younger brother, Moon Kang-tae, who listens to the professor looking exasperated. He looks up to see his autistic brother, the man who had the episode, watching him through the window. “He’s angry,” Moon Sang-tae (Oh Jung-se) mutters to himself.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
While Kang-tae cleans out his brother’s locker, he initially seems angry. Sang-tae approaches and braces himself, but Kang-tae merely smiles and asks him if he’s hungry. The brothers leave the school, and Sang-tae offers to pay for dinner since he’s the older brother.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
The episode moves over to the next day and we meet Go Moon-young (Seo Ye-ji) eating alone in a restaurant. She cuts through her steak, rare, of course, and takes a sip of her red wine. A mother and daughter approach her as the young girl is a huge fan of hers. Moon-young is uninterested but obliges anyway, agreeing with the girl’s mother’s request for an autograph and even offers to pose for a photo. While posing for the photo, the girl calls Moon-young a princess because she’s pretty. Moon-young brings the girl in close and says: “You’re not my fan, are you? In all my fairy tales, the witch is always the one that’s pretty.” She tells the little girl that if she wants to be pretty, she should tell her mom that she wants to grow up to be a pretty witch, not a princess. The girl begins to cry and runs away, with her mom chasing after her after shooting a glance at Moon-young.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Moon-young’s editor and publisher Lee Sang-in (Kim Joo-hun) enters the restaurant, telling her that perhaps she needs to stop by a beauty parlor. She simply can’t do a reading at the children’s ward with an all-black attire, she looks like a member of The Addams Family, he quips. Moon-young runs her knife along her plate, digging in like nails scratching a chalkboard. She answers him that she likes this particular restaurant not because of the food, but because of their knives. She cuts the tip of her finger, marveling at the knife’s sharpness, and puts the knife into her purse.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Next scene is at the OK Psychiatric Hospital, and we see Kang-tae getting ready for work. We notice multiple scars all over his body. Once on duty, he is called into the lounge because of a female patient stuffing her face with food on the floor. The patient feels empty, eating nonstop, and calls Kang-tae yobo (“honey”) because he always told her she was pretty when she ate. He explains that he meant she was pretty, even when she ate. She swoons and hugs him, only to mutter into his ear that he shouldn’t have cheated on her. Kang-tae is bewildered but can’t move fast enough before the patient sticks a finger down her throat and pukes while she’s being held in his arms.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Next, a new patient arrives—a man with post-traumatic stress disorder. He had tried to commit double suicide with his daughter. Go-eun, his daughter, is separated from him.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Meanwhile, Moon-young is in her car on the way to her event. In the driver’s seat is art director Yoo Seung-jae (Park Jin-ju), and in the passenger seat is Sang-in, her boss. Sang-in gets a call from OK Hospital and Seung-jae notices and announces the caller ID aloud.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Calling is nurse Nam Joo-ri (Park Kyu-young), who is looking for the guardian of a patient named Go Dae-hwan to sign papers for his urgent surgery. She tells Sang-in that they can’t keep avoiding their calls, it’s slowly killing the patient. “He’s dead to me. Why do you keep trying to bring him back to life? Are you Jesus?” scoffs Moon-young. Addressing Joo-ri informally, Moon-young tells her that she must come in person if she wants the signature.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Frustrated, Joo-ri puts down the phone and returns to her station. Joo-ri is in disbelief but her superior Nurse Park (Jang Young-nam) tells her to be professional, go visit Moon-young in person, and get the signature.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Then, Joo-ri visits Go Dae-hwan, a patient with severe dementia. She tells him that his daughter, Moon-young, may not be able to visit. He panics and grabs Joo-ri by her arm and says his daughter should not come. We see him flashback to memories of Moon-young, with a cold look on her face, and cries: “If she comes, I’ll die!”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
While on break, Kang-tae chats with a newbie in their ward, who asks him why he moves hospitals every year. He suggests that its because of women. Kang-tae puts a hand on his shoulder and grins, “male.” The guy awkwardly laughs while Kang-tae continues to sip his coffee. Next scene, Kang-tae calls his brother. He smiles when he finds out that Sang-tae is coloring in one of Go Moon-young’s books again.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
He tells his older brother that Moon-young is visiting the hospital that day and Sang-tae stops what he is doing, adamant that he will go to the hospital right now to visit. He wants to meet his favorite writer and so he scrambles around the apartment, rambling that he is on his way. Kang-tae can hear him getting agitated, and Sang-tae refuses to listen. Kang-tae shouts his name which shocks him into silence—he wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time anyway, so Kang-tae will just get him an autograph.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Moon-young and her staff are setting up her event in the auditorium. Cut to next scene: Moon-young is lounging in the open garden, smoking when there is a sign that clearly reads that she shouldn’t.Passing by, Kang-tae notices her and asks that she put her cigarette out. She argues that she just lit it, and when he persists, she stands to look him in the eye.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
As cherry blossoms start blowing in the wind, Moon-young asks him: “Do you believe in destiny?” Without answering her question, Kang-tae tries to take the cigarette from her, and she pulls it out of reach. Moon-young dumps the last of her cigarette into Kang-tae’s paper cup of coffee and says that destiny may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Kang-tae watches her walk away.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Next scene, we go back to the auditorium. Moon-young is screaming into her microphone on stage. She clears her throat and begins reading from her book The Boy Who Fed On Nightmares. In it, a boy is plagued by nightmares of his past, and he ventures out to a witch, desperate to make the horrible memories disappear.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Just outside the auditorium, patient Mr. Kim (who has PTSD) is running about looking for his daughter while the caretakers are running about looking for him. Kang-tae asks his co-worker what happened, and the guy admits that he forgot to keep Mr. Kim in restraints. Mr. Kim finds his way into the auditorium, checking every little girl in the audience, hoping to find Go-eum. The hospital workers come in to announce an emergency and everyone is asked to evacuate. Mr. Kim finds Go-eun and drags her backstage. Moon-young notices this but doesn’t say anything, instead yelling at the hospital staff for interrupting her show.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Moon-young goes backstage, watching as Mr. Kim tells the scared Go-eun that they need to run away. Mr. Kim says that kids can’t survive on their own, so they should just die together, and Moon-young cuts in and tells him off. “You’re the first worthless human being I’ve encountered in a long time,” she says. She tells him to not be a coward and to die alone, not to drag his daughter with him.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
At that, Mr. Kim lunges at her, but she knocks him down with her purse. The knife from the restaurant falls out and she crushes his hand with her heel before he can reach for it.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Angry, Mr. Kim overpowers Moon-young and starts to strangle her. At first, she’s smiling with amusement, but then she flashes back to a memory of her father, beginning to see Mr. Kim as Dae-hwan.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Her memory shows us that her dad tried to strangle her when she was young, reassuring her “it’ll all be over soon.”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Kang-tae bursts in and pulls Mr. Kim off of Moon-young. The men get to fighting and Moon-young trying to regain composure. Just when Kang-tae has a hold on Mr. Kim, he sees Moon-young coming at Mr. Kim with the knife. Mr. Kim flinches, then we see droplets of blood hit the floor. Kang-tae stops Moon-young’s knife by grabbing the blade. They stare at each other, neither showing much emotion, until she finally says, “So it wasn’t destiny after all.”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Mr. Kim calls Moon-young crazy and runs out, straight into the hospital workers’ hands. He tells them she’s the crazy one. Kang-tae takes the knife away and Moon-young watches him try to wrap up his wound. She states that he overreacted; she only meant to give Mr. Kim a small cut.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
She takes the handkerchief out of his hand and wraps his wound for him, saying that this is her sorry Moon-young tells him: “In this world, there are people who deserve to die. But some thoughtful freaks kill them for us in secret. That’s why clueless civilians can sleep peacefully at night, completely unaware of it. Which one do you think I am?”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
After a moment, he says she’s a clueless freak. She laughs.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Next scene, Kang-tae is called into his boss’s office and is told they need to let someone go for the public to feel satisfied with how the hospital dealt with the situation. Seeing as Kang-tae moves hospitals every year, Mr. Boss suggests he just quit and receives his severance pay at that. With that, Kang-tae hands in his badge and walks away
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Kang-tae is walking home and sulks on the street. A motorcycle stops in front of him. It’s his friend, Jo Jae-soo (Kang Ki-doong), offering him a ride home. On their way home though, the bike dies on them and they have to push it the rest of the way.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
At a hotel, Moon-young is showering while Sang-in worries over Kang-tae possibly suing them for his injury. He gets a call from Nurse Joo-ri and whispers the room number before stepping out. Joo-ri arrives at the door—it’s just her and Moon-young, fresh out of the shower. These two women seem to have a past. We find out that these two went to school together twenty years ago. Joo-ri tries to get right to business, asking for the signature.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Moon-young wonders why she drove three hours just to get this done. Moon-young smiles and says that she’s an orphan. She remarks that her mother is still alive, but in soul: “I registered her death a long time ago.” She finds it interesting that her dad is alive physically but dead in soul and that her mom is the exact opposite. With a wicked grin, Moon-young says she’ll sign the forms if Joo-ri agrees to switch parents with her. Joo-ri, until now, doesn’t get her jokes. In the end, Joo-ri gets the signature but is emotionally drained by their exchange.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Kang-tae tells his buddy Jae-soo about what happened that day while on the way home. Jae-soo calls Moon-young insane. “She’s not insane,” Kang-tae says. “She was just born that way.” Kang-tae suddenly remembers then—he never got Moon-young’s autograph!
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Jae-soo suggests they look for Moon-young’s signature online and do their best to forge it. He does a pretty good job at forging!
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
When they get home, Sang-tae scrutinizes the autograph. He can tell that it’s a fake. Feeling betrayed, he escapes into his zip-in closest. As the guys try to get him to come out, Kang-tae gets a series of texts from Moon-young’s editor Sang-in begging him to come by the publishing house. The scene switches to the news and we learn that Mr. Kim took his own life during solitary confinement. Then we see Moon-young lying in bed and thinking about Kang-tae and how pretty his eyes are. Kang-tae is thinking about her too. He gets up from his slumber and pulls out Moon-young’s book and gives it a read.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
In the book, Kang-tae reads: "Years went by, and the boy became an adult. He no longer had nightmares, but for some reason, he was not happy at all. One night, a blood moon filled the night sky, and the witch finally showed up again to take what he had promised in return for granting his wish. And he shouted at her with so much resentment, ‘All my bad memories are gone. But why can’t I become happy?’ Then the witch took his soul as they had promised and told him this: ‘Hurtful, painful memories… Only those with such memories buried in their hearts can become stronger, more passionate, and emotionally flexible. And only those can attain happiness.”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Moon-young stares at an old photo of her and her father, unfolding it to reveal her mother right next to him. At the hospital, Go-eun takes out her copy of Moon-young’s book and reads the autograph Moon-young left after the accident: “Don’t forget today.” A nurse checks in on Go-eun. Go-eun starts crying about her dad. The nurse assumes she’s scared Dad will show up again, but that’s not why she’s upset. “My dad is not a bad person… So please don’t let the police take him.” She adds that she hopes they can let them live together even after all of this, her dad is just sick.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Kang-tae finishes the last page of Moon-young’s book, with the witch reminding the boy to never forget. If he does, he’ll stay a kid whose soul never grows. Later, Sang-tae wakes from a recurring nightmare about butterflies. Sighing, Kang-tae guesses it’s about time they move again.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
The next day, Kang-tae stands outside SangSangESang Publishers, taking a deep breath before going in. It just so happens that Moon-young is on her way in, as well. She enters the office and heads to the conference room, stopping short when she sees Kang-tae inside reading. She takes a moment to admire him from a distance.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
She approaches him and catches him off guard saying that she would have never thought a man like him would accept a bribe. How much did her boss offer him? He tells her that money doesn’t work on him, so she asks what does… is it sex? It’s not that either, it seems.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
“I was hoping,” he answers, “I could see you again.”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
She looks genuinely surprised as he continues that he wanted to see her eyes to confirm something he had not stopped thinking about. Her eyes remind him of someone he used to know, someone whose eyes had no warmth.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
We flashback to the past, animated, resembling the opening scenes: a boy falling through ice and nearly drowning, a boy giving a girl flowers and watching her stomp on them.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
“Were you scared of that woman?” she asks him.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
He responds, “I liked her.”
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Then, in flashbacks, the young Moon-young gazes out her balcony.
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
While the young Kang-tae smiles up at her from below, through the gates, flowers in hand...
Photo Credit: TVN/Netflix
Phew! That’s your recap of the first episode of IOTNBO! Now, the Metro team weighs in with their reactions to the premiere.
On the panel for this discussion:
Grace Libero: Metro.Style People Editor
Kate Paras: Metro.Style Beauty Editor
Justin Convento: Metro.Style Culture Editor
Anna Rosete: Metro.Style Living Editor
Geolette Esguerra: Metro.Style Editor-in-Chief
and Chris Lopez: Head of the Metro Group
What did you think of the first episode?
Kate Paras: I thought the production looked amazing—right from the start where it was animated, down to the main scenes, you know the show has a budget in terms of production. I came into this with just a vague idea of the theme, but I am amazed that this show tackles such a deep, taboo subject in a way that makes a lot more people understand mental health issues. I also loved seeing Kim Soo-Hyun on screen again! He is such a talented actor, and I know that I’ll be in for another treat as the episodes come.
Anna Rosete: I am so into the animation and the premise of this storyteller/children’s book author with somewhat dark, magical powers! I like how the animation is used in pivotal moments, functioning sort of like a narrator or a Greek chorus, as the plot progresses. It’s just an amazing looking production, too. From the costumes to the locations.
Justin Convento: I enjoyed it! The episode left me intrigued, and I thought it was beautifully produced.. It’s got a very pretty aesthetic but I think what stood out was the dark beauty about its story, overall and that of its characters. I’ll be honest, I found the first episode a bit heavy and eerie. It does feel very ambitious, too, and I hope the drama can live up to the expectation of something very special. I loved the Coraline-like animation sprinkled throughout the episode but most especially at the beginning and the end. I also love how storytelling and narrating work in offering another layer to the drama as well as establishing a very powerful message as early as here: experiencing pain is a sad but integral part of life, shaping us to the people we are destined to become, and also help us become more passionate, caring, and kind to others. It also allows and offers us the gift of finding joy in life.
Grace Libero: Amazing is an understatement! I loved the animation intro; it was well thought out and beautifully executed. I like the irony between the female lead character’s heartbreaking childhood and the current life she leads as a bestselling children’s book author. In my opinion, it’s the best way to kick-off a heavy drama that delves deep into the topic of mental health, wellness, and personality disorders, which are typically considered taboos. I’m also impressed with the pacing and how the team behind this series manages to balance out the dramatic scenes with lighthearted moments—not by taking things lightly but by treading a path less traveled with much mindfulness about how the drama would uplift its viewers. And oh, the details; there’s just so much thought put into the transitions of the scenes. The actors are a perfect fit for their roles. I’ve always known Kim Soo-hyun and Oh Jung-se as great actors, and I’m certain they won’t disappoint here, especially after seeing their chemistry in IOTNBO as brothers who have a painful past. As for Seo Ye-ji, it’s the first time I’m seeing her in a K-Drama, and I must say, she’s a great actress! Her acting is on point, and she has this whole “dark,” mysterious aura to match that, not to mention that her character here is just absolutely stunning, fashionable, and powerful. This series started off great; it has all the ingredients for a winning recipe: brilliant cast members, intriguing plot, script, direction, beautiful cinematography and graphics (okay, spoiler, that scene where a patient threw up and all sorts of graphics flashed was hilarious and that part where Moon Kang-tae received a text message from Go Moon-young’s publisher and instead of a plain text, the publisher’s face appeared on the cellphone screen and delivered his message), and hopefully as it goes on, OST as well.
Chris Lopez: I loved the first episode. It was very interesting and intriguing. The characters are fascinating. I love the Moon brothers—their closeness and devotion to each other is moving and inspiring. This is the heart of the drama. I also love Go Moon-young who is beautiful, strange, mysterious and scary sometimes. But you know deep down she has good intentions.
Geolette Esguerra: Off the bat—I’m impressed, engaged, and intrigued. The opening credits were reminiscent of the whimsical bent of Tim Burton, mixed a bit of Neil Gaiman storytelling through the stop-motion animation of their backstory. It had that mix of fairytale and romance, mixed with gothic motifs. The themes are about mental illnesses, autism, treatment and the stigma that comes with it, and while they were fearless in approaching these taboo subjects, they were able to execute it in such a poignant yet light way, that you don’t feel bogged down by the severity of the themes. Yet, it urges you to examine how you feel scene after scene, and as you inspect your emotions and judgements, you also get to be a bit more human.
Netflix
What do you want to see in the next episodes?
Grace: I’m excited to see the romance between Moon Kang-tae and Go Moon-young flourish. I bet it’ll be fun to see how she would pursue him. I like how she’s so straightforward. I’m also looking forward to how they’d eventually realize the connection between their pasts. It’ll also be heartwarming to see more moments between the Moon brothers, and how they’ll survive challenges together. I can already feel I’d be crying a lot with this drama, especially when it has something to do about Moon Sang-tae. As the series goes along, I also hope to get enlightenment on mental health issues, and be uplifted with inspirational quotes and musings. Overall, I can’t wait to see how events will turn out to heal their psychological wounds, and in the process, heal viewers’ too during such a challenging time in all of our lives. I’m also wondering who will mention the title, “It’s okay to not be okay,” as part of his or her lines, or if it’ll even be mentioned directly.
Chris: I am looking forward to seeing the misunderstood but strong and persistent Go Moon-young pursue the bashful and handsome Moon Kang-Tae. I am also looking forward to the outfits of Go Moon-young. She looks good in everything! Loved the outfit at the book signing where she looked so tall in those shoes! Also, it is commendable to have a K Drama tackle mental health issues. I like the essence of the story—an unlikely romance between two people who help each other heal from emotional and psychological wounds. I also look forward to seeing and learning about ways that help people who suffered trauma and with special needs. Like the butterfly hug method.
Geolette: I look forward to seeing more Go Moon-young! I am absolutely enchanted by Seo Ye-ji! Most especially her really unique voice—one could listen to it over and over again. I also look forward to another nuanced role of Moon Kang-tae by Kim Soo-hyun, who often plays the intelligent, empathic, yet seemingly unemotional leading man who lets his characters unfold slowly.
Netflix
Justin: It would be interesting to see the chemistry and how a relationship blooms between lead stars Moon Kang-tae and Go Moon-young!
Kate: I want to see how the show will tackle all the different facets of mental health, and how they will provide resolutions for each. In a way, I feel like it is a show that educates the audience, not just entertains. I am looking forward to seeing how Moon Kang-tae and Go Moo-young find love despite the rather unconventional setup they have.
Anna: I am so intrigued to know about what happened to each character as children. The first episode hinted at a backstory, so I can’t wait for that to be revealed fully. Also, I’d like to see how this series justifies the title. I am looking forward to that takeaway.
Kate: I found the scene backstage really chilling, and adrenaline-inducing! It sets up the entire mood of the show, giving us unconventional characters we will come to understand and empathize with as the episodes roll by.
Justin: Memorable moments in episode 1 were backstage after Go Moon-young’s storytelling was abruptly cut short due to a manic patient that escaped and was causing a scene, wanting to commit double suicide with his daughter. Elements from the knife from the restaurant (in an earlier scene) and the tussle that ensued between the characters left me on the edge of my seat. I also loved the moment in the publishing house where Go Moon-young lays her eyes on Moon Kang-tae again, from across, as she watches him thumb through some of her books. I thought it was such a well-shot scene.
Anna: I am quite fond of the scene where the Go Moon-Young “grew,” attempting to control Moon Kang-Tae. As a designer, I was thinking of how they made it, if it was CG or if they truly had a scale model of the city. I also felt that the scene where Moon Sang-Tae saw the autograph and immediately knew that it was a fake. The chemistry between the brothers is tender, and it really adds heart to the series.
Netflix
Grace: My favorite scenes in the first two episodes are: Episode 1 (that scene where a child saw Go Moon-young and asked for her autograph; that scene where Moon Kang-tae talked to a patient and she threw up at him; that book reading event that ended up in an intense, bloody confrontation backstage; that scene where Moon Kang-tae and his friend faked Go Moon-young’s signature and Moon Sang-tae noticed it right away, that scene where Moon Kang-tae and Go Moon-young crossed paths at the publishing company’s office) and Episode 2 (that scene where Moon Kang-tae was walking and Go Moon-young was looking at him from afar and suddenly there was a visual effect where she became a giant; the autograph signing event; the butterfly hug method; the Moon brother’s bus ride home where Moon Kang-tae gifted his brother with a dinosaur encyclopedia; and the last scene at the hospital where it was raining and the two lead characters meet again).
Chris: My favorite moments were—
- cinematic scene of the little boy following the pretty little girl in the snow, rain, field of flowers and grass
- post book signing event interaction between the 2 lead characters—especially when he (for once) protects her from a old man
- when he tried to teach her the butterfly method
- brothers in the bus
Geolette: From Ep1, I loved the first appearance of Go Moon-young, who was eating in a restaurant alone. As she terrorized a young girl who wanted to be a “princess” you immediately get a sense of her character. When questioned by her publisher, she runs her knife through her plate, and also takes off carrying the knife from the restaurant!
Favorite characters and why?
Kate: Ko Moon-young and Moon Kang-tae for sure! I’m excited to see their characters grow and unfold throughout the series. Oh, and Moon-young (played by Seo Ye-ji) looks amaaaazing.
Grace: Kim Soo-hyun is one of my favorite Korean actors; in fact, My Love from the Star is my number one favorite K-Drama of all time. But I’d have to say, my favorite so far is Seo Ye-ji’s character. There are just so many layers to her profile that I want to see unfold with each episode. It’s a huge factor, too, that she’s so stylish and uses fashion as an expression. Her style is as bold, daring, and fierce as her personality.
Justin: I love Moon Kang-tae’s boyish charm, his character for being such a good, honest guy, how he is devoted to caring for his brother Moon Sang-tae.
Netflix
Anna: Well, Go Moon-young for one. I love watching her: her fashion, her mannerisms... Seo Yo-ji’s voice, especially, really fits the character. I also like that the character is not typically virtuous, like so many Asian female leads. The character doesn’t fit the mold of the cute Asian girl or the hard working Asian girl who keeps trying no matter what. I think that’s interesting.
Geolette: Go Moon-young for sure because of her lovely voice and how she makes every appearance some kind of gothic fashion show! I also like Moon Sang-tae, the brother of Moon Kang-tae—gives so much color to every scene he is in.
Will you watch this again?
Kate: Definitely! It’s my new weekend habit!
Chris: I will definitely watch this drama.
Geolette: Wouldn’t miss it!
Justin: Definitely! Even if I haven’t warmed up completely to the story yet, I’m tuning in because of the wardrobe and makeup, the production, and the editing and cinematography!
Anna: I’ll look forward to each new episode!
Grace: YES! I can’t wait for the next episode. Weekend, please come sooner!
Netflix
Did you tune in to the premiere of It’s Okay To Not Be Okay? Will you be watching its next episodes this weekend? We definitely are!
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