Recap Korean Drama "Happiness" Episode 4

Episode 4 of Happiness Season 1 begins with our residents settling in as the makeshift walls are put up around the complex. In the parking lot, Dong-Hyun heads down, intending to leave, but finds a number of other people have the same idea. Unfortunately the garage is locked and no one can leave.

A handcuffed Joo-Hyeong rings Hae-Sung for legal advice as he scrambles outside. Only, Yi-Hyun catches up to him outside and stops the call. As Joo-Hyeong pleads human rights and a number of other loopholes to jump through, the reality of their situation soon becomes apparent. They’re all in this together – and in this for the long-haul.

A residents meeting at 5pm in the underground gym is issued for all residents in building 101. Among those of course are Seo-Yoon and her mother, separated from the tall walls erected outside. Seo-Yoon’s mum rings Sae-Bom, who’s currently looking after the girl, and informs her of a heart condition the girl has. If she so much as gets a cut, Seo-Yoon needs to be rushed into hospital, so it’s a pretty precarious situation.

As the meeting gets underway, the residents learn that they’re to be kept in lockdown for a week. Yi-Hyun tries to reassure the others, although it’s clear there’s no management inside the building, save for one cleaner outside the door. With meals dished out, the meeting completely breaks down when Oh Yeon-Ok and her husband tun the meeting into an opportunity to promote their church and leadership capabilities. It’d a pretty shameless stunt and the others aren’t falling for it.

Now, one of the residents that seems to be getting a lot of attention here is Andrew, a cleaner. His real name is Guk-Jin and his parents admit that he’s a little autistic, giving himself an alias because he aspires to be like a superhero he saw in a drama.

Another resident that’s been acting a little shifty is Seung-Beom, who sneaks phone calls and seems to be drinking a fair amount of water. Although he claims to only take supplements, there’s a possibility that he could have taken pills. Yi-Hyun sees him as the most likely suspect and decides to keep an eye on him.

While things are calm in the apartment complex, Tae-Seok and the wider country of Korea is in a state of flux. News of the Madness Disease has caused the world to go into high alert, with the country about to shut down. It also appears that Tae-Seok’s boss, the Chairman, is infected too given his extreme thirst. To make matters worse, the chairman was the one who pushed Next into the market initially, wanting Korea to go up in flames.

The next day, the residents enjoy a nice meal up on the rooftop. This is essentially the calm before the storm, as the potentially infected person (Seung-Beom) manages to slip away. Yi-Hyun and Sae-Bom give chase though, but things take a nasty turn when blood spatters and a frantic blood-covered resident are snatched up by the infected. This is it. The beginning of the end has arrived. As some of this carnage spills to the courtyard outside, Andrew watches on from his apartment high above.

Inside building 101, Tae-Seok rings Sae-Bom, telling her it’s all over for the other buildings in the complex and their only hope now is staying inside. As one of the infected security guards gnashes his jaws at the door, this looks like it’s going to be easier said than done.

---

The Episode Review

With the infection out and those inside Building 101 the only hopes for survival, things take a drastic turn for the worst after the meal on the rooftop. In essence, this is basically their last supper, with the laughs and smiles soon slipping away to be replaced by panic and mass hysteria.

Seo-Yoon could prove to be a crucial component to all of this, although Sae-Bom appears to be the key given she didn’t get infected with her run-in with Jong-Tae in episode 1.

This has been a slow burn so far, with most of this episode taken up with the various residents settling into their newfound lockdown. The expository text flashing up, revealing “D-7” seemed to hint that we’re getting a countdown until lockdown is lifted and in a way, it would have been nice to see the guys turning on one another before the infection spread. We’ve already seen pockets of people being selfish and looking out for themselves, which is, unfortunately, all too common nowadays too. How many others witnessed people boarding public transport without a mask, coughing into their hands during the height of the COVID pandemic. I’m sure more than a few of you!

There was also a hint that, thanks to the Chairman dishing out Next, the lockdown could have worked to prevent those inside the complex from getting infected while everyone else in Korea succumbs to this Mad Person Disease. That would have been a nice twist but it seems like we’re getting something closer to Sweet Home after all. Three’s nothing wrong with that of course, and Happiness has been good value for its run-time, with an air of uneasiness running in the background to this one.

The ending hints that things are about to get pretty wild, and with 12 episodes in total for this, the reduced run-time looks like it’s going to showcase a much more driven story. For now, Happiness bows out its weekend run with a slow burn chapter that sparks to life late on.