'It's Okay to Not be Okay' Episode 8: Is he better smiling or tipsy? Fans rate Kang-tae's many faces
Fans are rating Kang-tae's many faces from this week's 'It's Okay to Not be Okay' episode and we cannot help but join along. So far in the show, we have only seen Kang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun) who holding in his desires, anger and love. This week, however, we see Kang-tae get tipsy and act adorable, and then there is the Kang-tae who got extremely jealous of a fan Mun-yeong gave her number to and finally, the one who smiled like never before.
One fan wrote on Reddit, "Jealous Kangtae joins Tipsy Kangtae at the top of my favourite Kangtaes!" Another listed preference and said, "Here's my preference:
1. Happy smiley Kang-tae. 2. Drunk/tipsy Kang-tae (with his face turning 50 shades of red). 3. Jealous Kang-tae. 4. Prude Kang-tae who doesn't know how to react to Mun Yeong coming onto him." Soon enough, others joined in to add that the Kang-tae who was flustered was their favorite. One observation we personally agree with is "‘Everything is so messed up’ while smiling ear to ear. Kang tae is my 2020 mood."
One of the things that fans love discussing about their favorite shows is how neatly the show has managed to insert product placement. This week in 'It's Okay to Not be Okay' Episode 8, we saw Sang-in and his assistant Seung-jae have sandwiches at a Subway. Many fans are celebrating this because it has been a while since they have seen the outlet as a part of recent Korean Dramas. It's a fun discourse on a drama that is otherwise on a heavier side. One fan commented, "lol if it doesn't have a scene in Subway then is it really a kdrama."
If you wondered if PPLs work, this one fan wrote, "Usually I don't get perturbed by PPLs. But maybe because it's dinner time or because I've been avoiding eating out during the pandemic, that scene at Subway instantly made me crave a cheesy mayo filled sub and a milkshake. So I guess these PPLs really do work?" Another fan noted, "I was wondering when BBQ chicken or Subway would pop up then suddenly there it was. Right on cue." There were also comments about Volvo's product placement where the fan observed, "I have to give it to the marketing team for the Volvo product placement though. Today they featured the car keys for a sec. This show makes me wanna drive the white one lol."
Another thing about the episode that fans have come to love is the references to fables and folklore from around the world. This week, the show spoke about 'Beauty and the Beast', a reference that we have observed in the title run of the show. Mun-yeong refers to 'Beauty and the Beast' in her fairytale class at OK Psychiatry Hospital. She first addressed the common interpretation of how love was able to cure Beast of the curse that he was under, and then clarifies how the tale was honestly about Stockholm Syndrome where the woman was forcefully abducted. Even as she gives her opinion about the tale, we can make a connection between the tale that she has picked for the week and her own life.
However, the roles are reversed because she is the Beast and Kang-tae the Beauty. Even as they use a fairytale, to subvert it to this extent is something that we have come to love and so have fans. One of the fans wrote on Reddit, "And can I just say that MY's critique of the Beast grooming Belle was EXACTLY what I was looking for!! I knew she would go there and she did! It is important that we also understand that while some of our old tales are fables, they are allowed to be critiqued and viewed in the modern lens of relationships. But it is while A Reum is talking where MY (Mun-yeong) understands who she is in the tale, the beast with the wounded soul, and KT (Kang-tae) is the beauty with the soft smiles. And perhaps it is love that can break the curse. But it is also important that love does not become the only thing to sustain them both."