It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020): Finding your real face and happiness

It’s Okay Not to Be Okay has come to an end, and I’m sad and happy. I am sad that it’s over, but happy that it was adequately wrapped up. 

This drama is a story of survival amid trauma and mental illness, and it’s a story of how families are formed. Ultimately, it’s about being true to yourself, owning up to your emotions, and finding happiness.

The drama addresses a myriad of mental health issues since the story is mostly taking place in a psychiatric hospital. However, the central issues, perhaps, would be autism (the high-functioning kind, I’d say) and anti-social personality disorder, as manifested by two of the main characters.  

Ko Mun-Yeong (Seo Ye-Ji) is a well-known fairy tale writer, but contrary to the supposed sweet and cute nature of fairytales, Mun-Yeong is quite dark. She seems to suffer from an anti-social personality disorder that roots to how she was brought up by her mother.  

Moon Gang-Tae (Kim Soo-Hyun) is a caregiver at a psychiatric hospital. He is burdened by his belief that he was born to take care of his autistic older brother Moon Sang-Tae (Oh Jeong-se). Gang-Tae collected, patient, and always poised. He is, however, perceived as pretentious by the other characters.  

The two brothers are on the run from the killer of their mother. For years, they move from city to city whenever Sang-Tae remembers the “butterfly,” which he uses to refer to the perpetrator. 

Alas, they end up in their hometown, which is where their story and that of Mun-Yeong all began. 

Things become twisted once the three main characters settle in their hometown, not to mention all three of them living in the same home. The gradual revelation of who the “butterfly” is makes the dram even more captivating. 

My favorite parts

I was already expecting Kim Soo-Hyun to deliver a wonderful character in Mong Gang-Tae, but I loved this drama art Seo Ye-Ji and Oh Jeong-se. 

I’ve read some negative comments about Seo Ye-Ji being unnatural. However, I find her giving justice to the character of Mun-Yeong. Ye-Ji was successful in making Mun-Yeoun come across as someone who hides pain behind being blunt and egocentric. 

As for Oh Jeong-se, I’ve seen him play a lot of supporting roles, and like with most other supporting, and I always like his performances. However, this one with Moon Sang-Tae is the best so far. His character is the reason why I kept coming back to the drama. I was always curious about how Sang-Tae would turn out and how Jeong-se could make it convincing. 

The idea of Moon Mang-Tae is excellent. Instead of using the typical dream catcher, they used a doll made by Gang-Tae. Mang-Tae is supposed to be the third brother, tasked to capture nightmares. Very much a different take form a dream catcher. 

I especially love the idea of taking realistic morals out of otherwise fantastic fairytales. At one point in my youth, I had this habit of looking at the dark sides of fairytales instead of the usual love conquers all, and a kiss saves the day. I look into the plausibility of actions, morals other than love, or what have you. I even enjoyed determining what’s wrong with the characters (like if they’re mentally unstable). It was just my curiosity then as a kid. Now, seeing how It’s Okay Not to Be Okay dealt with fairy tales made me feel like yes, there’s truly more to fairytales.  

My not-so-favorite

There really nothing that I don’t like about It’s Okay Not to Be Okay. I guess my not-so-favorite would be the villain. I’d say she could be more sinister. I’m not saying she’s no good, because she is; it’s just that, I was hoping for a more menacing look on her face for a more disturbing villain. 

The Verdict

If you are into dramas that deal with mental health issues, then this is a must-watch. If you are into romance, then this one also has a good deal of it. There’s also a good amount of humor to lighten up the otherwise heart-wrenching situations of the characters. It’s an interesting romantic comedy that you must add in your list of soon-to-watch. 

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