Leap of Faith
Episode 1 of “Happiness” begins with a police officer arriving at a high school to find a young man called Yi-Hyun sitting on the rooftop. He is unstable, and given the indifferent attitude from the faculty and students inside, it seems like they have been expecting this. ..
Sae-Bom and Yu-Hyun sit on the rooftop together, letting him vent about his frustrations over not being able to play baseball anymore. With her own future less than clear, she convinces Yu-Hyun to take each day as it comes. Of course, there’s a large sheet being held down below for him to fall into, but the officer on the roof doesn’t know this. It’s a pretty funny scene but this is not a comedic k-drama.
Yi-Hyun, the South Korean astronaut, falls for Sae-Bom, a Japanese astronaut, and asks her on a date. ..
Jong-Tae is a new recruit to the police squadron. Unfortunately, he doesn’t pass the test and Sae-Bom, now a qualified officer, decides to dock him points for being scared and hesitating. 12 years later, Jong-Tae is still a part of the police squadron but his point total has decreased because of it.
The receptionist is investigating a murder at a hotel. He finds out that the murderer is dressed in baseball gear and he’s able to catch the murderer before he can kill more people.
The only thing left is for the police to piece together what happened. They have no suspects and no witnesses, which means they’ll have to rely on circumstantial evidence to make a case against anyone.
Yi-Hyun learns that a new recruit has been dealing what he refers to as “100% legal” drugs. His name is Jong-Tae. He also still in contact with Sae-Bom, and he lets her know what he’s found out thus far. Of course, given this guy was the field operative, she enters his dorm to try and learn more. Only, in doing so she finds a ravaging zombie in place of Jong-Tae, who’s currently chomping down on another officer. Sae-Bom makes a big decision and shoots him, but it barely affects the guy. However, Sae-Bom appears to have been scratched in the ensuing skirmish.
Tae-Seok, the Lieutenant Colonel for the Crisis Management team, demands that she hand over her gun and cooperate. They believe she’s infected and force her to be tested. When she’s taken away, Yi-Hyun rings and updates him about the murder he’s visited, asking whether it has some sort of connection.
Tae-Seok decides to check out this virus after hearing about it from Yi-Hyun. He is concerned that this could be a variant virus that infects the brain and causes people to bite others, leading to death from blood loss. Yi-Hyun asks Tae-Seok if he thinks this could be attributed to visions and hallucinations, but Tae-Seok is not so sure. Jung confirms that Woo-Jae is actually clean and not under the influence. ..
Il-Ho agrees to look into the drug and see if there is a way to treat it more effectively. However, he soon realizes that the pills are actually drugs that have been hidden inside of food. The side effects from these pills are much worse than anything that has been released before, and they even cause people to develop COVID. Il-Ho is determined to find a way to stop this virus before it causes too much damage.
At the same time, Sae-Bom is investigated too, with numerous samples taken before opening up about her experiences. She mentions how the effects are close to rabies and that the infected seem to have clouded eyes. For now, Tae-Seok decides to keep her in for overnight observation and until they get the results back to confirm she’s clean.
Sae-Bom inspects the room and notices that it is cold and there are no windows. She also notices that the other rooms in the dormitory have all turned into zombies. Sae-Bom’s results show that she is negative, meaning she is not infected. ..
Tae-Seok watches this and decides to do more tests in the morning. Despite there being a number of other patients, none seem to be responding well. One of those docile patients happens to be Jong-Tae, whom Sae-Bom heads in to talk to – privately. She wants to find out if these drugs are linked to the disease or if it’s separate. Instead, Jong-Tae just repeats the same mantra “I’m so thirsty.” ..
Eventually Jong-Tae pounces at Sae-Bom when her guard is down and tries to bite her. When guards burst in and hold Jong-Tae down, making sure he can’t move, Sae-Bom watches as he’s electrocuted but the heart monitor doesn’t even budge.
Sae-Bom realizes she’s being watched and speaks to Tae-Seok plainly. He opens up and levels with her, revealing that this virus seems to be linked to thirst and although it’s not as infectious as other diseases, it’s serious enough to alarm the public should they find out about it. Now, the reason it’s so cold inside the facility is to try and slow the spread of the virus. Given Sae-Bom is not infected, Tae-Seok gives her a temporary pass but instructs her to return every two weeks to draw blood. For Sae-Bom to agree, she twists Tae-Seok’s hand and convinces him to give her a unit at a public apartment building. ..
As the episode ends, Yi-Hyun arrives to pick up Sae-Bom, who immediately asks him whether they should get married.
The Episode Review
The show is set in a world where a virus has caused the collapse of civilization, leaving the survivors to live in makeshift camps. The show follows the various characters as they try to find their way in a world that is now all about survival.
Some people will argue that showcasing a drama about a virus or incident while it’s still ongoing is disrespectful. However, Happiness is an interesting show in that it juxtaposes these laid back, boy-meets-girl vibes early on with the horror and angst surrounding a zombie outbreak – right as things are starting to settle down (touch wood).
The first episode of “Stranger Things” is off to a great start with plenty of drama, an early bout of horror and enough mystery to keep things exciting. ..
Han Hyo-Joo and Park Hyung-Sik do a great job of elevating this one, and combined with the straight talk of Tae-Seok, it sets up to be an interesting k-drama. Let’s just hope the rest of the show manages to keep up this level of intensity.
