[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Happiness - Drama" Episode 5

Last episode ended on two major events with unclear relation to one another. First, all phone service and even television service to the apartment complex was suspended- although they still have electricity and water. Second, there was visual confirmation that people from other buildings in the complex were infected. Somewhat comically, the earlier part of the fifth episode of "Happiness - Drama" deals with owners expressing skepticism of this development as only renters and staff actually saw the infected persons.

Advertisement

Joo-hyeong tries to put the situation to his advantage, attempting to wave away the fact that he was arrested for murdering his wife by waving around a large amount of cash. But almost all of Joo-hyeong's terrible plans are at cross-purposes. As luck would have it, Hae-seong (played by Park Hyung-soo) is a lawyer who's also trapped in the building. Additionally, he's desperate enough for cash that even Joo-hyeong is an appealing client. Yet Joo-hyeong quickly manages to alienate Hae-seong.

What's worse, Sang-hee (played by Moon Ye-won) is clearly shown to be rethinking her romantic entanglement with Joo-hyeong, mostly because she knows where he hoards his money now. I'd also like to note that, in the arbitrary hierarchy of apartment respectability, Sang-hee appears to be considered a proper resident entirely thanks to her association with Joo-hyeong. Sang-hee conspicuously stands out as the only outsider not to be treated with skepticism and derision by Representative Oh.

The ambiguous character knowledge is the main appealing aspect of "Happiness - Drama" right now, to the point it's a bit of a disappointment when a few scenes with Colonel Han clarify what the situation is outside the apartment complex. All the characters in the apartment complex are slowly edging toward paranoia since they have no idea what's going on. Sae-bom and Yi-hyeon are our heroes mainly because they can keep a cool head- personality traits not valued by apartment complex members unwilling to grapple with the material reality of the situation.

Relatively little actually happens in this episode though, not even serious character building. The one promise of serious action we have, the expedition outside the relative safety of the central building to the wider complex, is oddly anticlimactic. Despite the lack of explicit COVID-19 references, the epidemiological subtext of "Happiness - Drama" is impossible to ignore. I fully expect Representative Oh to move from underappreciating the threat to overcompensating for it based on that analogy.

Review by William Schwartz

___________

"Happiness - Drama" is directed by Ahn Gil-ho, written by Han Sang-woon, and features Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik, Jo Woo-jin, Kang Ji-eun-I, Lee Jun-hyeok, Park Joo-hee. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/11/05~Now airing, Fri, Sat 22:40 on tvN.