An infectious disease is running wild in South Korea that turns people into bloodsucking freaks. They are neither zombies nor vampires because after tasting human blood, they turn back into normal humans.
A woman who dreams of living in a luxury apartment gets her chance after being scratched by an infected person. She doesn’t show symptoms yet, so she might be immune to the infection. To move into the luxury apartment, she needs to find a husband. She reconnects with a man she went to school with, whom she previously turned down when he asked her to be his girlfriend.
They move into the apartment together, and shortly after, the government isolates their building and other nearby apartments. They have to wait for the quarantine to be lifted. Meanwhile, they must try to maintain law and order in the building, which is easier said than done as the tenants turn out to be worse than the infected.
“Happiness” consists of 12 episodes. I had high expectations when I started watching it, but I was a little disappointed. I expected a much darker and more sinister series than what I got.
The biggest problem with “Happiness” is the boring, stereotypical characters that belong in a Stephen King novel. They are irritating and stupid, including the two central characters in the series. They lack energy and the ability to be leaders who make tough decisions.
I have to admit that I enjoyed watching the evil and disturbing doctor character, as the two central characters don’t isolate him. I also liked the old woman who you just want to punch. The actress playing her is great. All she thinks about is money and believes she owns the apartment building, insisting on representing it. We have the usual Titanic scenario where those living higher up think they are worth more than those living below. They argue about trivial matters despite being in a life-and-death situation. Their obnoxiousness and stupidity took me out of the story since many of them felt like overused Stephen King characters.
Another problem is that the two central characters pretending to be married are not interesting. The woman is the most compelling character in the first episodes because she seems tough, but after moving into the apartment, she doesn’t do much. The same goes for her fake husband. He is a cop but doesn’t act like one, and there are some stupid scenes where they fail to take control, making life more difficult for themselves and others stuck in the building.
If you like watching people in dire situations who must work together, “Happiness” doesn’t offer anything new. The story is generic, and the most disappointing part is the characters you’ve seen hundreds of times. I never felt the love chemistry between the central couple. There’s no believable chemistry between them.
The plot doesn’t move forward much. Not much happens, and it’s the usual “who can the good guys trust” scenario. The irritating and uncontrollable doctor character plans to create chaos because he’s a lunatic. Despite knowing he’s a troublemaker, the good guys let him loose repeatedly, undermining the series’ seriousness. It’s laughable that they don’t knock out the nasty, old lady and show her who the bosses are. They are supposed to be the law, after all.
The last episode is interesting, but they wrap everything up in the last five minutes, leaving many questions unanswered.
The cure dilemma question is simple in my mind. I would never give one drop of blood to humanity except for my closest family. I was hoping only a few would survive. It’s laughable in series and movies like “Happiness” when someone has to choose between saving a loved one or the whole human race. Save yourself and the people who matter to you, and let the rest of the world go to hell. And yes, I mean that, and I’m smiling when I say it. Oh yeah, dig it! Seriously, I mean it! Don’t ever doubt it, and just call me Mr. Romance.