Human Nature
Episode 8 of “Happiness” begins with some of the residents wanting to move. Specifically, up to the 11th floor. Now, given the rules in place here about “lowly residents”, they call on the knowledge of Kook Hae-Sung to help navigate this legal minefield. Joo-Yeong though is against Ko Se-Kyu, Andrew and Moon-Hee (the cleaning staff proposing the move) heading up. For now, they’re going to hold off for a few days. ..
As the power goes out that night, the different residents all settle in. Rain hammers down while Hyun-Kyung heads down to the reception area and finds an infected Soo-Min outside, clutching his neck and still in his normal state. In the distance, a door opens. Later we find out who this is. ..
“Hey, let’s take a look at the water containers,” Yu-Hyun says as he and Sae-Bom walk up to the rooftop. “Yeah, I’ve got some water purification tablets too,” Se-Hun says as he pulls out a bag of them. The three of them take a look at the containers and then start to drink from one of the faucets. They all have different types of water but they all seem to be working fine. “This looks like it’ll be perfect for our needs,” Yu-Hyun says as he takes a sip from his container.
The cleaning lady on the way down the stairs finds bloody rags pulled out from the trash on the third or fourth floor. It seems to belong to someone on the third or fourth floor, but we know who it is.
Meanwhile, Tae-Seok begins to use the blood obtained from Sae-Bom to try and formulate a cure. For now, it seems like it’s working, as some test subjects are showing a marginal sign of improvement. However, Tae-Seok jumps all over this and decides to try and put this into action, making sure they press ahead with clinical trials.
The flashlight blast from last episode was actually a lunchbox offer from Joo-Yeong to Soo-Min. At that time, Soo-Min was initially afraid and decided not to head inside. However, he saw Hyun-Kyung the previous night and encouraged him to head in. He’s keeping him safe in her room, which Yi-Hyun and Sae-Bom soon find out while doing their rounds. They encourage the pair to stay home when the lockdown lifts, wanting to explain the situation to the authorities. ..
Dong-Hyun starts to realize that his mother may well be infected. Loud, ominous banging at night only reinforces that. For now they remain hopeful, especially as the lockdown is due to be lifted in the morning.
The apartment gang gathers together in the gym on a cool-box full of water. Joo-Hyeong is actually doing this.
The lockdowns are happening all over the city, and it seems like no one is particularly excited about venturing outside right now. Sae-Bom and Yi-Hyun do though, but as they stand in the courtyard, alarms wail. Martial law has been extended indefinitely, meaning the apartment residents are going to have to hang tight for now.
Everything starts to fall apart for Hae-Sung as the Building Rep decides to distribute the food across to those at the higher levels. Sang-Hee, who risked her life to help out, is left with nothing. Joo-Hyeong immediately suspects something is up and scoffs at the notion that Hae-Sung would cheat on his wife with Sang-Hee.
Joo-Hyeong and Dong-Hyun are trying to figure out a way to get Se-Kyu to stop charging so much for water. They come up with a plan where Joo-Hyeong will give him some food and water, and Dong-Hyun will give him a sleeping bag and some clothes. They need to make sure that Se-Kyu doesn’t know what they’re up to, so they’ll have to be careful not to make too much noise.
The new arrival has caused some disruption to the usual routine on the fourth floor. The cleaning lady decides to give it a try and see if she can get lucky. ..
Jung-Kook, who had been struggling since his religious run-in last episode, has been further pushed into the cult by Oh Yeon-Ok (the building rep). When he returns home, Jung-Kook starts to grow increasingly paranoid. ..
Joo-Hyeong has been a thorn in everyone’s side and now it becomes clear that he has a lot more going on. He was the one who found Hyun-kyung the previous night and knows she is keeping Soo-Min locked up in her flat. He heads down to see the building rep and encourages her to head inside this secret room, where she notices Soo-Min for herself. Unfortunately, she uses this as a bargaining chip to try and become the official rep for the complex.
Joo-Hyeong is trying to figure out who is going to turn, and after taking a few mouthfuls of vomit, he heads into the bathroom. But why? Sae-Bom doesn’t know, but he’s sure that Joo-Hyeong knows something important.
Joo-Hyeong’s plan to clear his wife’s murder charge falls apart when he realizes that Yi-Hyun swapped the Next pills for indigestion tablets.
Jung-Kook orders the officers to take Yi-Hyun and Sae-Bom into custody for further questioning. He’s determined to find out how the virus spread and who is responsible. ..
Meanwhile, Tae-Seok makes his choice in front of the President and all his cronies. Instead of giving them an antidote, he’s actually given them all the infection, intending to turn them on purpose so he has more test subjects to try and administer the vaccine on. But is it too late? Will Tae-Seok even manage to find a solution before Korea succumbs to this infection? ..
The Episode Review
Happiness is a well-done zombie thriller with Korea plunged into chaos. The deeper levels are why this show works so well. The human drama, from the selfless becoming the selfish, to the manipulation and fear, showcases exactly what people are really like in these high-pressure situations. ..
The cleaning staff, for example, decide to hoard all the resources and sell them back at a higher price. We’ve seen people in our own quarantine and lockdowns doing this and it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Likewise, the Building Rep preying on Jung-Kook’s insecurity and fear, convincing him to become irrational and quarantine our protagonists, is made all the more dangerous because of him holding a gun.
Happiness has been impressive so far with the way it’s handled the zombie storyline. The ending hints that the final four episodes are going to start ramping up the drama, leaving lots of intriguing possibilities for how this may end. ..
