It’s okay to not be okay kdrama review: Maybe we all are not so different

It’s okay to not be okay, also called Psycho But It's Okay is a melo-romance kdrama starring Kim Soo-hyun and Seo Ye-ji. The series tells an unusual romance story between two people who end up healing each other's emotional and psychological wounds.

Kim Soo Hyun portrays Moo Kang Tae, a nurse at a psychiatric hospital. He has been living a tough life taking care of his autistic older brother, Moon Sang Tae (Oh Jung Se). His life revolves only around his brother and has given up on love. Meanwhile, Seo Ye Ji plays the rude, arrogant children’s book author, Ko Moon Young. Suffering from antisocial personality disorder, she lacks consideration and emotions and does whatever she wishes without considering others’ feelings.

It's Okay To Not Be Okay is not any typical romantic drama. The drama is a complex and emotional ride. The storyline gains intensity as we proceed through the episodes. This drama touches upon personal topics like trauma, loneliness, family struggles. I'm glad the show is reflecting on those social- psychological problems that the society needs to know. Although it's a dark fairytale, the plot is really unique. A major alert- this drama is heavy and emotional. You might end up crying after every episode.

The Characters

1) Ko Moon Young

Ko Moon Young is not like your any other female lead. She is impulsive, dangerous, edgy, glamorous and narcissist. She is explained as an anti- sociopath who loves to carve her own way out by hook or crook. She is also a kleptomaniac of pretty and sharp objects. Despite being a children's author, I love her realistic and darker take on the fairy tales and clichéd concepts like fate. I also loved the way she punishes people who doesn't take her seriously. She considers moon gang tae as a pretty object which she wants to possess. Her thoughts are very derailed and gloomy and she doesn’t understand what love is. Her character has a lot of resemblance with the character Jang man wol from the drama ‘Hotel del Luna’, mainly due to similar fashion style and sassy attitude. I think only Seo Ye Ji could do justice to this role because of her amazing acting skills and unique voice.

2) Moon Gang Tae

Well honestly my prime reason for watching this drama was Kim soo Hyun. It's been so long since he had done his own drama and I had loved him as Do Min Joo in my love from the star. In this drama he plays Moon Gang Tae who is a psychiatric nurse. His life revolves around his brother who has autism spectrum disorder. His character is kind, logical and patient. Unlike he thinks a lot before taking any actions. While looking for his brother he has forgetten how to live his own life. Despite Moon gang tae going through so much alone while taking care of his hyung, he still absolutely loves his hyung and will do absolutely everything for him. I was stunned by his acting in all the emotional scenes.

3) Moon Sang Tae

And at last my personal favorite, Moon Sang tae, who is Moon Gang tae's older brother and has autism spectrum disorder. He is an ardent fan of author Ko moon young and her books. We also get to know that he is fascinated by dinosaurs like any small kid. Oh Jung-se has done an extremely brilliant job in playing such difficult character. The acting almost seemed effortless. While some his scenes were extremely cute and delightful to watch, some just broke my heart. From the initial episodes we get to know that sang tae had witnessed his mother's death and believes that a butterfly had killed her. This incident injected a deep fear of butterflies in him.

STRONG -SUITS

1) The story telling animations

The drama has interesting stop motion animation which introduces us to the characters pasts. Since the female lead is a popular child author, her fairytales are depicted with the help of animations which are exquisite and chilling at the same time. Also the illustrations used in her book are quite interesting. For a fairytale book they are quite dark but still attractive. Instead of acting out these scenes and stories, using animations and drawings was something which was different from other dramas.

2) The comedic elements

Despite of such a dark theme and title of the drama, I was quite surprised by the amount of humour. There are many scenes which are very serious but are portrayed in a very amusing way. The right amount of comedy is such a relief break to the dark theme and story of the drama. Specially the equation between Moon Young and Sang Tae, they were like two little kids bickering and causing ruckus around. It was so hilarious.

3) The brotherhood

The relationship between has been shown so purely. Moon Gang tae is all about his hyung sang tae has also acted his role with so much honesty. The dialogue dutching between them is not over the top. It is as realistic and cute as it will be between any two siblings. The bond and the scenes they share are wholesome. As the drama proceeds we see how both the brother help each other in healing their wounds. Although this is a romance drama, the connection between the brothers was the most touching and moving element for me.

4) Psychological issues

As mentioned earlier the drama touches upon some deep psychological issues like autism, sleep paralysis, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression. The way how every patient’s or character’s issues were depicted was so beautiful and sympathetic. I love the writer for making the place OK Psychiatric Hospital were all the patients were given love, care and therapies more than the medicines. This drama helped me understand that not only the patients but also the so called sane people have so many mental and emotional problems which they hide mostly.

5) The childhood connection

Although I am not a fan of the childhood connection concept, in this drama it didn’t feel cliché at all. Majorly because the memory was more of creepy rather than a beautiful one. The child actors playing the leads also did absolutely a great job. After seeing their painful pasts, I could see why the characters have now become this way. Also the mysteries involving Gang tae mother’s death and moon young family that happened in the past keeps you interested on how its going to be solved.

6) The chemistry is oo la la

The chemistry between Kim Soo-hyun and Seo Ye-ji is just electrifying, be it long intense eye locks, the warming hugs or the kiss scenes. Initially Moon Young admitting to want Gang Tae, made me think this relationship as intoxicating but as the story progresses we could see why they belong to each other. The fact that both are love deficient, they become drawn to each other. Their polar opposite personalities helped them to balance and heal each other. The pair serves as a visual feast. Also after a long time, instead of the guy chasing after the girl, Moon Young is the one pursuing Gang Tae.

7) The back story

The back story is also very mysterious. The fact that Gang Tae and Sang Tae’s mother was murdered 18 years ago and Sang-tae witnessed the murder, but is still highly traumatized. When asked about the identity of the murderer, Sang-tae is only able to say a “butterfly” killed their mother. Since then Sang tae has been scared of butterflies because of which they have to move places before every spring to avoid butterflies. On the other hand we have Ko Moon Young, whose mother also seems to have died and her father who is a patient in the psychiatric hospital. The relationship between Ko Moon Young and her father is very weird as they both seem to be afraid and hate each other. All these mysteries are solved and explained well as you go through the episodes. So the story is not rushed and you will be hooked till the end. Also there is a big unpredictable twist in the story which had me in daze. (Nah....I won't spoil that. Watch yourself)

8) The character development

The character development is only the foundation of the story. As the story progresses, the characters seem to be wanting to live a normal and improved life. They start understanding the things they have been doing wrong and stop running from their problems. We could find every character in the drama going through their personal issues, but together working to solve them. Ko moon young starts to be more understanding and less rebellious, Gang Tae stops making his brother’s condition a reason to hide from his issues and Sang Tae starts understanding the real adulting by becoming more welcoming.

9) The cameos

Not only the main roles but the cameos and the supporting characters are also amazing. Each one of them have their own story to tell and you would end up learning something from every story. We have some known and seasoned actors in supporting roles like Park Kyu Young, Kim Mi Kyung, Kim Chang Wan, Kwak Dong Yeon which made the cast more impactful.

10) The ending

(spoilers) Although it was quite predictable that we will get a happy ending, it was still the most satisfying one. It was wholesome and well wrapped. The best thing was that not only the main characters but all the side characters and patients also got a happy ending. The main trio finally go on camping together where we see them enjoying and healing themselves. I loved the realistic touch where Sang Tae realises that he enjoys illustrating the most and decides to part ways from Moon Young and Gang Tae to find his own life and happiness. I think Sang Tae character development was the most touching one. Usually people think that autistic people are the one who needs more attention and care, and often creates problems but ironically in this drama Sang Tae was the one who brought changes to so many character's heart, especially Moon Young. He overcame his own fears and also freed Gang tae from all his responsibilities. This ending couln't be better.

Final Verdict

Overall, It’s okay to not be okay is a heavy thought provoking drama. It helps you understand how everybody deserves love, care and comfort. Being a little different doesn’t give anybody right to mock or trouble them.

If you are up for good cry, this is a must watch. The acting, dialogues, OSTs and story is amazing. Check out some of these great OSTs.