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Love Is Hope
I wasn’t sure what to expect of It’s Okay That’s Love at all after hearing that it’s about psychiatrists and psychological patients. However the atypical topic did immediately pique my curiosity but also uncertainty of what direction the Korean drama will take. Romance? Mystery? Fantasy? I decided to take a leap of faith and put my trust in two of my all time favorite actors: Jo In Sung and Gong Hyo Jin. I was not let down as the lead actors gave outstanding performances — so good that it was worth shedding tears for. The unexpected bonus was that many of the supporting characters were equally unique and memorable.
I was quick to realize that It’s Okay That’s Love had a little bit of everything and it was hard to label it as any one genre — another unconventional move for a Korean drama. But despite the bizarre sequence of events and strange mix of characters, I soon found bittersweet, heartwarming stories between family, friends, and lovers that elicited inner reflections of my own relationships with those around me.
It’s a thought-provoking drama that invites us to reexamine stereotypes and perceptions of the people around us.
If you can look past the medical exaggerations, this rare gem Korean drama did a wonderful job exploring a topic that most people are unfamiliar with and likely a bit uncomfortable with. It portrayed an imperfect and dysfunctional world in a tasteful, profound, and believable way. And for that, it deserves my thumbs-up.
Episodes 1-3 Review
The opening of It’s Okay That’s Love can only be summed up with two words: weird and confusing. I was introduced to a series of fragmented events and peculiar characters — a prison scene, a stabbing incident at a birthday party witnessed by a high schooler, a strange debate between a psychiatrist and a bestseller mystery novelist on TV, a guy with Tourette syndrome, and the chase down of a schizophrenic patient who’s clearly unstable. What does this all have to do with each other? It was impossible to connect the dots and draw any conclusions.
I soon learned that the popular novelist is our main hero Jang Jae Yeol (Jo In Sung) and the psychiatrist is our main heroine Ji Hae Soo (Gong Hyo Jin). The convict who stabs Jae Yeol is his brother Jang Jae Bum (Yang Ik Joon) and the high school kid is Jae Yeol’s diehard fan Han Kang Woo (D.O). Hae Soo lives in harmony with the Tourettes man named Park Soo Kwang (Lee Kwang Soo) along with her sunbae psychiatrist Jo Dong Min (Son Dong Il). That is, until Jae Yeol moves in.
The complexity of characters and their relations don’t just end here. Dong Min becomes Jae Bum’s court-appointed psychiatrist to treat his bi-polar and unstable mental health. Hae Soo has extreme physical contact phobia after witnessing her mother kiss another man when she was a child. And don’t forget Jae Yeol’s extreme case of OCD and inability to sleep on a bed.
I was still not able to make much sense out of the drama, but the one thing I caught onto quickly was that not a single character is “normal”. Although It’s Okay That’s Love had a slow start, the unusualness of its characters kept me interested enough to keep going.
Episodes 4-6 Review
The weirdness and confusion continues. Kang Woo randomly shows up in front of Jae Yeol all beaten up — apparently he suffers from domestic violence. Shortly after, Jae Yeol gets into an intense fight with Kang Woo’s abusive father in attempt to rescue Kang Woo and his mother. I’m puzzled by such an unusual friendship between Jae Yeol and Kang Woo as the drama did not provide much explanation and background of how they’ve even met.
Meanwhile, Jae Yeol takes romantic interest in Hae Soo — perhaps half due to his curiosity of her phobia and half trying to prove something. I must admit I don’t completely understand his reasons since Hae Soo has been nothing but prickly and defiant to him so far. In any case, their connection grows after Jae Yeol rescues Hae Soo’s schizophrenic friend and reveals to her his depressing childhood of constant abuse not so dissimilar to what Kang Woo’s suffering through.
At the same time, Jae Bum bitterly tells Dong Min that he ended up in prison because he took the blame of killing their stepfather for Jae Yeol. Worse yet, their mom turned a blind eye even though she knows the truth. Jae Bum holds such a long-time grudge against his brother and mother that he escapes and ruthlessly stabs Jae Yeol…again.
The brother’s backstory came as a total surprise to me and the drama grew ever more mysterious with a ton of unanswered questions. I couldn’t help but ask myself, where is this all leading to?
Episodes 7-9 Review
In this section of It’s Okay That’s Love, the progression of the plot didn’t advance much. But the development of the characters and their relationships took a giant leap forward which made the drama much more interesting to watch. Jae Yeol is relieved that Hae Soo doesn’t judge him of his family complications .
Hae Soo also feels more and more natural with Jae Yeol — enough so that they even take their first trip to Japan together. Their love for each other grows like wild fire and seems to be able to overcome anything, phobias included.
Yet as Jae Yeol cures Hae Soo’s skinship phobia little by little, he also seems to be having more and more mental stress himself due to the new relationship and writer’s block. The couple quickly learn that being in a relationship brings more than just sweet, tender moments, but also arguments and cold wars.
What I appreciate the most about the depiction of Jae Yeol and Hae Soo’s relationship is that it was realistic and relatable. There was no dramatic incidents, no silly love-triangles, just mundane everyday issues like “why are you moving out without consulting me?” that every couple goes through. While enjoying the couple’s dynamics and chemistry, I easily made it to the next chapter of the drama.
Episodes 10-12 Review
The storyline finally took off here, with unexpected twists and turns that somehow tied all the seemingly unrelated loose pieces together. My attention was diverted from the development of the love line and completely absorbed in finding out how things really went down 13 years ago. The person that connects all the dots is Jo Dong Min. He hears Jae Bum’s side of the story regarding their stepfather’s death after giving him the truth serum.
At the same time, Dong Min finds out a shocking secret regarding Jae Yeol’s mental state. With those two pieces of information, he investigates the original case and finally arrives at a revelation of what truly happened. It was most definitely not an outcome I had ever expected — such a good twist!
So much of the past explains why things are the way they are in the present — and just like that, clouds of confusions flew by and everything makes sense now.
Episodes 13-16 Review
Now that the truth is out in the open, It’s Okay That’s Love sheds all of its mysteries and transitions into an emotionally captivating drama meant to be watched with boxes and boxes of tissues. The focus shifts to portraying the love and friendship amongst the characters. Putting aside stereotypical stigmas against mental health issues, we see their understanding and acceptance, their forgiveness, and their support and care for each other.
Amidst the incredible acting and streams of heartwarming scenes lies a powerful message — no matter how difficult the situation, as long as we’re surrounded with people who care, as long as there is love, then there is hope. And with hope, we can have the courage to keep on living, to get through the dark tunnel and move towards a brighter future. I think I’m not alone in realizing through this drama that it’s time we reevaluate how we perceive and interact with those around us. If everyone can show a little more compassion and love, the world would be a more hopeful and beautiful place.
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