2.4 - Episode 4 of It's Okay to Not Be Okay

Jen is on vacation, so Sung Hee is filling in. In this episode, we recap and analyze episode 4 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. The children’s story from this episode is Zombie Kid, the boy who couldn’t feel emotion and was only interested in eating. The assemblyman’s son causes havoc at his father’s political rally; he is chastised by his mom and his father tells the hospital director that his son will forever stay in psychiatric hospitals. Meun Young upsets Gang Tae with her talk of parents abandoning useless children, and children pushing away demented parents. But when her father tries to choke her, Gang Tae has a change of heart and goes to look for Meun Young in the rain. We have an important flashback of Meun Young as a young girl, her mom brushing her hair, and her mother lying face down in a pool of blood. We do a recap of the show, and then we dive deep into the episode. We discuss:The song Hallelujah by Kim FeelThe Zombie Kid story and how we think this story is about a boy who ultimately was looking for warmth and love from his momHow Gang Tae is going through a transformation; he’s showing more emotionHow Gang Tae and Meun Young are both childlike and childish in this episodeGang Tae’s flashbacks of his mom prioritizing Sang Tae when the boys were youngerHow Sang Tae is infatuated with Meun Young and he has another episode when Gang Tae yells at himHow this episode is about each character’s need to be seenOur thoughts re: why Meun Young’s dad said “die” and “why are you still alive?” when he saw Meun YoungHow we need to know more about Meun Young’s mother, the circumstances of her death, and her relationship with her daughterTwo characters who we think will become really important: Nurse Park and Ju-ri’s momThe K Drama elements we see in this episode, namely:FlowersFoodWrist grabsUmbrellasLots of crying, especially by Gang TaeHow in Korean slang, telling someone “do you want to come over to my place for ramen” means “do you want to spend the night together.?”Our favorite Meun Young outfitsOur favorites lines from the episodeThe amazing cinematography in this episodeThe wonderful animations in this showReferences:Magnolia Festival in Taean Cinematography of It’s Okay to Not Be OkayFilmmaker Reacts to It’s Okay to Not Be Okay Cinematography and Sound Design