One More Happy Ending Kdrama Series Review

Title: One More Happy Ending
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Quick Synopsis: Han Mi Mo, Go Dong Mi, Baek Da Jung and Hong Ae Ran are four close friends that are also four of the former members of the idol group Angels. Han Mi Mo is a divorcée who longs for everlasting love. She also runs a match-making service for other divorcé(e)s. Song Soo Hyuk (Jung Kyoung Ho) is a single father and Mi Mo’s neighbour. After a drunken night, things begin to get interesting and a little complicated…

One More Happy Ending… It’s a guarantee, right?

Why do we watch romantic comedies? Think about it for a moment. This may vary slightly from person to person, but I know why I watch them. Yes, sometimes I really need something light-hearted where I can have a good laugh… but in dramaland “rom coms” can still take dramatic turns. So what is the real reason? The Happy Ending, of course. Even if a rom com has illness, amnesia, broken hearts, separations, misunderstandings, deception, birth secrets and so forth… it’s pretty safe to assume, if it was labelled a rom com, it will end on a happy note.

Here’s another rom com, one that’s sure to end on a high note simply because of the title right? So let’s take a closer look at this Happy Ending drama and discover (or rediscover) all the marvellous feels.

What I loved

 

Really Hilarious

I like that this drama didn’t take itself too seriously. Although it did have some heart wrenching and sad moments, it also had a lot of fun, light-hearted ridiculousness. I thought to myself a few times; “Why would someone react that way” but hey, it’s a rom com. It’s allowed to be silly.

Jang Na Ra

 

Okay… pssssst. Let me tell you something… just between you and me; Jang Na Ra was my main reason for checking out this drama. Often I will watch dramas because of my appreciation for the male lead, or an honest draw to the storyline. This was a gravitational pull towards the cutest, ageless beauty that is Nara. It was quite refreshing, in fact, to not be watching and distracted by the male lead. I felt less biased (although perhaps my bias was just being redirected). Mi Mo is no push-over, but because Nara is the epitome of cuteness, she brought this sincere, longing for love aspect to the character. She was the perfect balance between independent woman and romantic at heart in search of her soul-mate.

The Various Relationship Dynamics

Let’s examine the different types of relationships in this drama. Although the focus was essentially on the leads, there were really many, many relationships to dissect.

How often do you see this many relationships in one drama? There were so many different personality types, and different interpersonal relationships between present and past couples. Let’s take a closer look at some of the couple dynamics:

The Cheating Boyfriend

 

We don’t need to spend a whole lot of time on this guy, but he should be mentioned. Mi Mo just wants to be loved and to love. Unfortunately this jerk, Kim Jung Hoon (played by Lee Dong Ha) cannot be trusted. He breaks her heart by first betraying her without her knowing and then dumping her for her rival and former group member of Angels, Goo Seul Ah (played by Dara) .

Exes that don’t get along

 

“The memories disappeared and only disappointment was left” Han Mi Mo Episode 2

For whatever reason a spark dies, sometimes you can manage to have a certain level of civility with your ex. With these two, this is not the case. Although 5 years have past since their marriage has ended, they both carry this bitterness and resentment towards each other.

 

I often felt embarrassed for Mi Mo, because she repeatedly allows her ex-husband to get under her skin. She can’t seem to keep her cool around Kim Seung Jae (played by Kim Sa Kwon). Whenever she seems him, she repeatedly feels the urge to bring up the past and make the situation even more uncomfortable. He comes across somewhat sadistic, because he appears to get pleasure out of her making a fool out of herself. I think this poisonous and awkward dynamic between the two of them, although not the focus of the drama, is important. It kinda helps us understand the current Mi Mo and her insecurities. I think he makes her feel inferior, so she feels the need to overcompensate when they interact. It’s a constant mental battle of who can finish the conversation with the upper hand.

Exes that do get along

 

I overall liked the interactions between Woo Yeon Soo (played by Hwang Sun Hee) and Goo Hae Joon (played by Kwon Yool). However, I feel Hae Joon messed it up and is a total idiot (more on Hae Joon being an idiot later). His ex wife is perhaps the only woman that would ever fully tolerate him, and he doesn’t try holding onto her at all. He says to her at one point, it wasn’t that they liked each other, but rather that they didn’t dislikes each other. That is quite sad. I guess they are best off as friends then, but truth be told I don’t think he knows the first thing about being in a relationship. What is cool though, is they seem to get along well as friends. Their bitterness seems minimal and they can happily coexist working together. I was happy in the end that he wished her happiness (but if he was astute at all, he’d realize he’s insane for not wooing her back). Truth be told; she’s better off without him. Hopefully she does find happiness and someone who would treat her well. I hesitate though, because  her prospective new love seemed more like a business transaction than a love connection.

Marriage on the Rocks

 

I’m going to straight out tell you, this was my favourite ship. Here you have a married couple at their wits end. They’ve grown so far apart that they sleep in separate bedrooms. The child can sense their tension and it’s affecting him. Every time they even speak to each other, it comes off cold. When they talk it turns into personal attacks towards each other. They’ve suffered a complete communication breakdown. Divorce seems imminent for them. But then…. She falls ill; through this experience he really starts examining his heart and how he truly and honestly feels about his wife. He allows himself to remember the past and how things once were before they became bitter and callused towards each other.

I don’t know if they outwardly stated it, but it seems that after they finally conceived and had a child, she fell into postpartum depression. She didn’t feel sexy, she felt down…and as a result she shut herself off from him. I think he took this as a personal rejection towards him and didn’t realize than in fact it was a symptom of how she was feeling inside. As a man, he longed for that physical contact and wanted to show her affection. The problem is, neither of them expressed to the other what they were going through, and this wedge between them became larger and larger.

Watching them rebuild their relationship slowly was delightful. Relationships are not perfect. They require open communication and healing. I like that this particular couple shows how even severe couple issues can be healed with love, patience, compassion and counselling. This doesn’t mean it would work for everyone, but for them, they succeed in actually strengthening their relationship when they could have thrown in the towel.

The Shyster

 

Ever meet someone and think wow, they are fantastic and jump into something without really properly knowing the person first? This guy has con artist written all over him, but the attention is really what she craves, and therefore Go Dong Mi (played by Yoo In Na) missed the warning signs.

I have to say though, even though the relationship was a scam; I really got a kick out of this actor, Kim Min Joon in this role. He was pretty awesome. He knew exactly what to do to rope her in.

The Noona Romance

 

This was somewhat unexpected but it turns out that they are quite perfect together. They are dealing with a large age gap, but she really does naturally appear a lot younger when she is around him. But of course, with a large age gap, there can be many challenges that need to be addressed to overcome.

The Weird (I don’t even know what this is) Marriage/Relationship

Not really sure and I don’t really care much for these two. It’s not really that I didn’t like them, but that I couldn’t relate to either of them. First, Hong Ae Ran (played by Seo In Young) is the one with cold feet, unsure of marrying. Then when they go through with it, Bang Dong Bae (played by Park Eun Seok) comes across as super shady with many woman. She naturally becomes angry and insecure. They’re just a mess. But somehow, in their own weird little way, they seem to care about each other and find themselves in a relationship that just might work.

The Self absorbed, emotionless idiot-jerk 

I don’t like you Hae Joon; what kind of a second male lead are you? A lousy one; that’s what I think. Hae Joon is infuriating. He’s really oblivious to the feelings of people around him. He comes across like a robot. There was a brief period of time during the drama, that I ALMOST felt sorry for him, but that passed. He’s created his own reality. He’s missed out on opportunities to have a loving relationship. His sense of humour is also very dry, Normally I like that, but he takes it too far, at the expense of others. You’re not for me Hae Joon; leave this drama at once! *Shows Hae Joon the exist. 

The Single Father/Classmate

Song Soo Hyuk (played by Jung Kyoung Ho) is a wonderful male lead. Although I didn’t ogle over him personally while watching, he is perfect for Mi Mo. In contrast to how Hae Joon is with her, he is so caring and observant. He is very aware of her feelings and always puts her first. His selfless love is beautiful. When they do bicker, it is comical rather than off-putting.

Victims of the Friend-zone

As if there weren’t enough obstacles in the way. They have to throw in some love struck girls to be annoying and make things more difficult.

Jung A Ni (played by Lee Chae Eun) was an annoying reporter that tried to wedge herself in the middle. Then, once we finally get rid of her, we’ve got another one that tries to get in the way. Ladies… your lovely, but if he’s not interested, please move along!

Great Drama Moments

You Promiscuous Goldfish!

Who would ever think of this as a term of endearment, haha! So funny and quite an odd comparison. Goldfish have a three second memory and aren’t very bright. You think this would be extremely offensive, but they make it come across as endearing.

Conan O’Brien Cameo

This was really quite cool. Even though his appearance was small, and may have seemed pointless if you didn’t know who he was; I never would have imagined that Conan O’Brien would be acting alongside Jang Na Ra. As a casual Conan fan I got a kick out of this; if I was a die-hard fan, I think I would have lost my mind.

The Jewellery Box

I love when they bring little cute imagery into dramas. This precious jewellery box tied to childhood memories perfectly married the past and present. It was physical proof that his feelings for her had been there for a very very long time and not a recent crush.

Cupid

Oh Cupid. His scenes were hilarious. I kinda wish there were more of them. I love how Dong Mi banters back and forth with Cupid. I think we should all have a personal Cupid that we can challenge and negotiate with.

Marriage Counselling

I absolutely adored the marriage counselling segments. Some of the methods seemed a little kooky (especially initially) but the purpose was good and yielded positive results for Da-Jung and Gun Hak.

The Most awesome, mature kid ever

I think Song Min Woo (played by Kim Dan Yul) is one of the greatest, most mature characters in the drama. He seems really attuned with what is going on around him and really cares and wants to protect his father’s heart. He’s much wiser than his years.

Random Germophobe

This guy randomly showing up, acting disgusted and striking the air was hilarious. I love how Mi Mo messes with him eventually invading his personal space bubble and causing him to go into a frenzy.

Minor Annoyances

Well, you take a really good drama, but you have to stretch some of it out with filler. This is one of those dramas that they probably could have successfully shortened (but we’re dealing with a 16 episodes series here, so that is not possible). Occasionally I felt a few of the characters acted slightly out of character, but I can forgive this.

Final thoughts

 

Although not flawless, One More Happy Ending, was filled with cuteness, laughs, friendships and sweet moments. It had some frustrating characters and really stupid decision making from time to time, but overall the drama was uplifting, sweet and easy to watch.

Quick Rating: 3.9/5