Skip to main content

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 Feel

  • The Zombie Kid story and how we think this story is about a boy who ultimately was looking for warmth and love from his mom

  • How Gang Tae is going through a transformation; he’s showing more emotion

  • How Gang Tae and Meun Young are both childlike and childish in this episode

  • Gang Tae’s flashbacks of his mom prioritizing Sang Tae when the boys were younger

  • How Sang Tae is infatuated with Meun Young and he has another episode when Gang Tae yells at him

  • How this episode is about each character’s need to be seen

  • Our thoughts re: why Meun Young’s dad said “die” and “why are you still alive?” when he saw Meun Young

  • How we need to know more about Meun Young’s mother, the circumstances of her death, and her relationship with her daughter

  • Two characters who we think will become really important: Nurse Park and Ju-ri’s mom

  • The K Drama elements we see in this episode, namely:

    • Flowers

    • Food

    • Wrist grabs

    • Umbrellas

    • Lots of crying, especially by Gang Tae

  • How 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 outfits

  • Our favorites lines from the episode

  • The amazing cinematography in this episode

  • The wonderful animations in this show


References:


### 

K Drama Chat is a weekly podcast where we take one Korean (K) Drama each season and and recap and analyze each episode. K Drama Chat is available on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify and Stitcher.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5.4 - Review of Episode 4 of Mr. Queen

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 4 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan. We discuss: Then songs we played during the recap: Conspiracyby Kim Deuk-su  and Lost Memory by Howl.  Last week’s episode was so funny, while this episode is really dark and there are bad guys everywhere.  The Queen has figured out that it was the King who tried to kill her in the alleyway.  The King is still desperately trying to figure out what the Queen knows.  The many plots to frame someone for the Queen falling into the lake.  The Queen accuses the King of going after her because she’s weak; this makes him wonder if the Queen is plotting against him or if she really is someone different.  Jo Hwa-jin goes to Grand Dowager Queen to confess they she pushed the Queen into the lake When the King tries to defend Jo H...

11.5 - Podcast Review of Episode 5 of When Life Gives You Tangerines

Today, we’ll be ing Episode 5 of When Life Gives You Tangerines , the hit K Drama on Netflix the hit K Drama on Netflix starring IU as Oh Ae-sun and Park Bo-gum Yang Gwan-sik. We discuss: The song featured during the recap: Spring in a Heartbeat by Park Sung-il, a beautiful instrumental piece that plays during the heartwarming scene of Ae Sun and Gwan Sik on their boat with their growing family. The complex and emotional back-and-forth between two timelines—Ae Sun and Gwan Sik’s love story and their daughter Geum Myeong’s journey—and how it adds depth to the drama. A powerful conversation about shame, gender roles, and vulnerability inspired by Gwan Sik’s struggle to provide for his family and Brene Brown’s research on shame. Ae Sun’s desperate visit to her grandmother, who gives them money to buy a boat—a game-changing gift that symbolizes hope and a fresh start. The emotional weight and cultural significance of the language used between Ae Sun’s grandmother an...

11.1 - Podcast Review of When Life Gives You Tangerines

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 1 of When Life Gives You Tangerines , the hit K Drama on Netflix starring IU as Oh Ae-sun and Park Bo-gum as Yang Gwan-sik. We discuss: The song featured during the recap: Midnight Walk by d.ear. The song feels nostalgic and represents Ae-sun’s longing for the past. The deeper themes of family, love, and survival that make this show feel unique compared to other historical K Dramas. The emotional opening with an elderly Ae-sun reflecting on the word "eomma" (mom) and how it carries deep significance throughout her life. The realistic and historical setting of Jeju Island, which makes this drama feel different from the more fantastical K Dramas we have covered before. The contrast between the English title, When Life Gives You Tangerines , and the Korean title Pokssak Sogatsuda , which means "You’ve worked hard" in Jeju dialect. The introduction of young Ae-sun and Gwan-sik and how their childhood relationship sets t...