Oh boy, I crazy loved episode 6 of It’s Okay to Not be Okay, yesterday’s slower episode felt like it was conserving a lot of emotional heft to unleash today. With a slight increase to 5.647% ratings on tvN, the drama is a mid-range hit for the cable network and a deep dish akin to Producers rather than the stratospheric mainstream viewership of You From Another Star and The Moon Embraces the Sun. I rewatch all of Kim Soo Hyun‘s past three dramas and the best part is each is different and it depends on my mood. Recently I did a sageuk walk down memory lane with MoonSun and watching him cry towards the end is still major powerhouse acting. Anyoo, back to this drama, episode 6 propelled the relationships and growth forward for everyone. Sang Tae becomes Moon Young’s illustrator for her next book in exchange for a RV so Kang Tae never needs to move again, and in turn Moon Young gets Kang Tae to come live with her. It’s deliciously complicated and now and I know the frustrations will be cathartic because nothing has changed until these folks are forced to confront their age old fears.
Ep 5 is kinda slow but ep 6 is really great. I need ep 7 right now. Hope the rating going up!
Might as well just call it “midrage flop” lmao with a high budget drama like that… idk and with a lot of hype… koala is being bias that’s why lmfaoo it cant even reach 6% what do u expect??
They necer boast about being a high budget drama lol.. its only ksh paycheck that high budget and he’s worth it… from the pd to scripwriters is not that famous and supporting cast… even seo ye ji is not an A-list actress before this drama …
Of course for KSH standar is kinda low, but I still agree with @gdis this drama not from big writer or big PD, the only thing they have just KSH’s big name. I personally think, the drama got average rating not flop. I enjoyed this drama so I hope its get more rating
I actually only read the news and the comment. Now I wanna write my comment. Please, dont bring BR here. If you dont like IOTNBO, dont come here.
I am sick reading your comment bringing down IOTNBO.
You mean The Moon that Embraces the Sun. Not cloud lol
Episode 6 was so good! The ending scene had me in awe. Some people have commented that they’re unable to connect with MY. We’re not even half way through and so far the story has given us only a little of her backstory. At this point I can say I definitely care about her as a character and I can feel her pain. I look forward to be able to understand her as the story progresses. I believe the drama will give us answers soon enough.
BR continues to be controversial trash while this continues to be magnificent. Ratings are all rubbish these days.
Backstreet is a flop too but some delusional fans are pretending otherwise. For a show that is airing on the weekend and has no competition on Friday and no direct time slot competition on Saturday except the first half, it’s ratings are abysmal.
graceful friends is comiinnggg.. i guess BR will become more flopper
BR has a good story where Saet Byul is concerned, lets give credit where its due. Also give Kim Yoo Jung some credit, she does make her character very compelling and you want to root for her. They have some good story that they are trying to explore. But the Dal Shik persona is so messed up, I can’t pick it back up. And they continue to mess that story up each week in and out so its always mired in controversy. It doesn’t need to be.
It’s your opinion, and I respect that. My opinion is that the story is basic. Nothing much happens. Her story, it’s not like we never seen it before. A parent dies or both dies, the character then must work like a candy girl or boy. I seen tough characters like her done better with psh in doctors or i u in her Luna drama.
I’ll be controversial to say that BR has more characters development than IONTB in 6 episodes.
BR rookie character did not just get back story, yes even to Dalshik, but also changes themselves because they see that something need to change. IONTBO is stagnant and only explained why they are like that while pretending like the character change, they didn’t one bit since episode 1.
@palopi
I disagree. In BR, the only character that is getting some development so far is Sae Byul. Iontb is getting gradual but steady character development. It’s coming out more and more. You can’t expect instant development especially for complicated characters. In BR, most characters are simplistic. Being in a different mood for a character is already an accomplishment.
@Ari
How is BR character simplistic?
They are facing real struggle of their identity.
Just because they aren’t diagnose with “mental illness” doesn’t mean they aren’t complex, human are complex.
Saetbyul is highschool dropout, trying to work to save her younger sister and her own livelihood but still has friend and can enjoy life, that is hard. Now she realised that just because she wants someone’s heart doesn’t mean she’ll get it.
Eunhyul, his sister doesn’t want to live in poverty, joing Unnie gang and keep auditioning as idol and now just cut ties with the gang, but they have blackmail material over her.
Daehyun, a community college graduate that try to fit in and realised that he never was, he started to see that the things he works isn’t sustainable, his love, his job and his status can’t change just because he is nice.
Yoon Joo, the rich girl who has no idea about what her heart want, between her love and her status.
Just because they are normal people, doesn’t make them les complex.
IONTB move so slow compare to how BR 1st episode to the 6 episode.
IONTB does explained a lot but the character doesn’t develop yet, doesn’t change, you just get to see why they are the way they are.
This isn’t a diss but an observation. If we based it o story, BR move faster.
I don’t agree that the notion “being normal” makes you less interesting or aren’t as complex, diminishing real life problem, like employment, long relationship, social economic status, teens violence and bullying because it’s not aesthetically pleasing and “deep” as mental health.
Everything you described about a character, I could easily find it in a different drama and done much better. When anyone write out a character background, it can easily sound more detailed than is actually displayed on the screen. It’s your opinion if you think BR characters are emotionally rich and complex. I disagree, that’s why there are vocab words for normal and complex. They mean different things. You wouldn’t describe a normal person as complex. A normal person can live through complex times and situations, but it doesn’t make their character complex. I never generalize that normal makes you less interesting. But for BR case, normal isn’t that interesting, just my opinion. It’s most likely due to the writing. The characters are not given much to do. It’s just a simple love story and some simple misunderstandings thrown into it and perhaps the characters have some personal career goals but that’s it. We seen this all played many times before but the difference is that this time it’s set in a convenience store. There isn’t anything really compelling about it except watching it to support someone you like in the cast, and that’s what I’m doing. I can enjoy a simple story but it depends on the execution, but in this case, it’s everywhere. Sometimes it wants to be serious, and sometimes it wants to be too cartoonish. It’s really jarring and not edited well. If you love it, you love it.
I love ep 6 super much. Hope the rating will get higher next week. This drama is soooo much good in acting, chemistry, plot, and everything. No one is a pure character. Ep 6 was like a roller coaster… i felt so bad for kangtae and sangtae… but i came to kinda of understand kmy’s character. I cried in some scenes. But laughed at some other scenes, especially the director lmao. I love this drama so much.
My fave this year besides HP and Dr.Kim.
I care about the ratings but oh boy i don’t have anything to say when it comes to this drama. I love the story, the characters and the quality…
At the very least, it would be considered as underrated.
Man, I am soooo emotionally invested in this drama.
The scenes kinda stays even after watching and rewatching it, abd then rwqatching it again. So many scenes to digest — the message, the theme, the mood, the acting, the chemistry. so glad i am watching this weekly. bingewatching this would have been such a heavy emotional baggage to carry.
The last part of ep6 where she was screaming her head off at him for him to run away, yet clutching at his shirt like he was his her only lifeboat was beautifully tragic.
…and emotionally and physically gripping.
I’m not sure how it’s a mid-range “hit”, considering tvn is splitting the episode in two trying to salvage their budged expenses with squeezing more ads. It’s not some cheap production either, actors also took a big chuck of money. Like this drama or not, I don’t care about personal taste of each individual, but putting label “mid-range hit” sounds strange, especially with how hated The King was with it’s ratings. And I didn’t like that drama, btw, to make it clear.
Because its a drama that Koala writes, so yeah.
If this drama air in public channel then their rating will be 10-11%, its still hit 2 digit. So yes, its higher than The King.
The point here is the fact, that tvn who usually never splits episodes because they don’t need it splitting each episode of this drama in two to salvage the budget. Public channels started to do it for that same reason with their dramas years ago. I don’t believe in theories that cable drama writing automatically translates to double in public. And to be frankly I don’t even care how it performs compared to The King. Both dramas in fact underperform compared to what they wanted to achieve in their ambitions with budged and ratings. The usage of “mid-range hit” is a questionable remark in my opinion, that don’t match actual reality.
You mentioned the king, thats why. if you’re not believe me then its ok, but thats how people counting the rating between cable and public channel. 10% in cable channel is the same like 20% in public channel. as example HDL created a lot of buzz eventho the average rating just 8-9%. And if we talking about Public channel, reaching 2 digit rating is already good, I still remember how media busy talking about Suzy when Vagabond reached 12%. Btw this drama from nugu writer and not so popular actress, so its not fair if you put it in the same level with The King.
@Tiana, HDL kept upward trajectory, not downward and hit 12% at the end of it’s run. And while we are here with Vagabond SBS slips that drams into 3 parts for same exact reason and I never saw koala addressing Vagabond as something like “mid-range hit”. I understand not wanting to accept that drama that you like underperforming (I’m not calling it flop, so I want to boldly highlight this word) from it’s initial expectations, but that happens all the time and honestly I can say it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Years ago I also tried to portray bigger success story for drama that I liked, but (now still loving that drama despite good and bad) I see much more clear picture around. And I mentioned The King just to show vast difference in reactions from basically same type of hype, which I for me amusing and curious change of tone. Unlike whatever someone thinks I was also the one who criticized The King for poor and unimaginative writing. I also honestly don’t care if someone likes/loves/dislikes/hates IOTNBO. I have no personal feelings attached to neither of dramas and I’m more person who sees things from the side. I simply (and not deeper than that lol) disagree with using “mid-range hit” definition to the drama that lacks numbers to match that type of description and and “buzz” everyone is talking about is not apparent for me more than from core fanbase. And I do know slightly korean and I do read comments. Budget – revenue expectations also questionable. Who knows, maybe in the future, like even maybe in next episode, situation will change and it will enter in “mid-range hit” territory, with both numbers, general buzz and etc., but as for now I don’t see it compared to other legit “mid-range hit” dramas. So, just enjoy the story))) When ratings truly don’t matter you don’t pay attention to if someone agrees or disagrees with calling something “hit”. @that last part also answer to everyone)))
King had a high budget, they publicized that high budget and then it continuously had a drop in ratings for a public channel and settled at 5 to 6%. This was especially visible because World of Married got 20% on another cable channel at that point and nobody hyped that drama. This drama isn’t inexpensive, I am sure Kim Soo Hyun got paid handsomely. Rest, I don’t know. So, you’re assuming at best here about what is going on. 5 to 6% range is considered mid tier success in cable. That won’t change because of King’s ratings. The whole reception around two dramas are different. Go to any domestic portal and see the difference in coverage, you’ll see how overwhelmingly positive reviews are, reception is. Success is numbers+something more than that. King had neither. And I mean no disrespect to anybody by that.
5-6% would be considered mid-range “hit” (a hard focus on using word “hit” here) if expectations were lower with lower budget. And even then nowadays mid-range hit on cable channels is not 5-6, but around 7-9,5%. 5-6% is a lower tier, with anything less than that being simply unremarkable. But, I’m not gonna actually argue with IOTNBO fans. It’s a totally pointless thing. Since my focus was on financial situation around drama and it’s ratings based on “mid-range hit” usage that don’t match the reality right now (or yet). Anything other than that, that involves personal taste and preference of individuals and/or mass is not my point, just like I clearly stated in opening post. So, I said what I wanted to say and tvn starting to split episodes told me everything I needed to know.
@hmm
You keep mentioning financial this and that and you’re only proof is they’re splitting episodes…..that’s not much of a proof to anything when we don’t even know the budget or how much people payed to sell its overseas viewing rights, or product or advertising. If this was a flop, those articles would be all over by now.
Exactly. I’m not a fan of either Lee Min Ho nor Kim Soo Hyun, but there’s a definitely a bias on this site when talking about ratings. 5% would normally be pretty average ratings even without a huge star like Kim Soo Hyun. Mid-range cable hit would be something with 7%-9% average ratings. I mean this show likely won’t even place in Top 20 of the highest-rated cable shows all-time. Let’s be real, both Lee Min Ho and Kim Soo Hyun delivered mediocre ratings for their comeback projects despite being the two biggest k-drama actors of the past decade. It’s just the facts. This doesn’t mean they won’t come back with a huge hit in the future.
Yeah, it’s 2020. Top 50 highest cable drama starts with 6.2% and ends with 28.3%. That’s considering we don’t even look at the at the budget of each drama which is also a big factor. IOTNBO also dropped from initial 1st episode ratings. Of course it has a potential to go higher, but based on today’s performance in ratings people sugarcoating it’s numbers.
And Netflix, VOD and etc., is not an excuse. CLOY and IC dominated both TV and online. International hit is an international hit, but SK hit is an SK hit.
I agree about KSH and LMH. They both young and have a lot of upcoming projects waiting for them. Today’s numbers will hardly affect their status if they will play smart.
I don’t get some of the comments here, if this drama was a flop, Domestic audience would be shredding it apart by now and calling it that. King got shredded apart and was labeled failure by their domestic audience in episode 8. This hasn’t been declared that yet. I don’t think this will get that verdict or response but sure lets wait and see. Kim Soo Hyun’s brand value will remain intact, Seo Ye Ji’s starts are rising at speed of light…if TVN was bleeding money, it would be all over news portals right now, so they are using advertising breaks to add more revenue, why not, people are searching what Seo Ye Ji is wearing, their brands and everything, there’s money there, if it offsets their cost, so what’s the matter. Better than the PPL that got shoved through our throats in King. Lets wait for that before pretending we know how hit and flop in South Korea works more than them. Having said that, Lee Min Ho will not suffer a set back either. Reason is simply, people who like him never liked him for his great acting anyway, he was always a passable actor with mad visuals, no personal life controversy, he is a great guy and that hasn’t changed. Koala is biased but so are the comments. At the end of the day, just go and see how domestic audience react to something or the media. There’s your answer to hit and flop.
Is not a hit nor a flop. Just because is KSH comeback drama people expect more. Nowadays is content that drive the ratings, not star power. A hit drama is a ‘full package’, not due to 1 person. Only fans thought it is due to their oppa (only to certain extent) but in reality, is about writing, acting, even timing and add in some luck to hit it big.
Yeah I caught @Koala’s odd take on the ratings. Sure it is respectable if they didn’t pay a fortune to KSH. The production team said they hoped for 15% and unless something changes, they aren’t going to see that. However, this is a well-told and very beautifully done drama so, in this area, the production should be happy. I think we put way too much focus on ratings when these guys come back from the military. Very often it just ends up being an overhyped and subsequently disappointing show. Even with DOTS being such a hit, it was a cheesy romance at the end of the day (I loved the first 12 episodes – don’t judge me).
I think the lead actress is a winner in this because she is getting to chew up the scenery with her performance. She was good in previous shows, but she gets to really shine here.
Absolutely correct. Current drama now of these two actors are just now. This doesn’t mean they won’t have a successful drama in the future. Actors and actresses have just their hit and miss days.
Yes, EP5 was slow but EP6 was great. Still beautifully directed, edited, acted – wow, those camera shots in various angles. This show’s production value is for the books 🙂
I beg to differ.this is not just a mid-range hit drama. It is being shown simultaneously in e diff platforms, cable-tvn, tving, and netflix, unlike other dramas. And this drama is alaways on either top 1 or 2 in many countries in Netflix while in SK, top 1 in TVing, live streamming. The King is on free tv, which got bad reviews and ratings as well. But not Its Ok to Not be Ok. The reviews are all good, acting and production wise. And high support from viewers from 3 platforms.
According to HanCinema, the adjusted Nielsen rating (including Netflix and other streaming platforms) is only 5.2%.
Koala also only reported the higher number. Episodes on TVN are nowadays divided in two parts. She should have merged ratings of both parts and she would realize that the number is much lower.
Since when does TVN divide its episodes ? It’s strange because cable channels can have ads in episodes (except if they want to add more ads) ?
Calling it a Mid-range Hit would be an overkill, ratings are very very mediocre with potential to Increase. And dont get me wrong I am not hating here but let’s not exaggerate things just because we love them. The only difference between The King and Its Okay is that the latter is actually good in quality.
Nah the King actually had the most popular writer in korea and three popular actors aswell as being the most expensive drama this year i think that why people called it a flop it also reviews were not good.not defending PBIO ratings which actually not that good but they are still in a better situation than the King in terms of ratings
Episode 6 is superb..?
5 is mid-range (or median in Math terminology). 10 is high (double digits), and 1 is low. This is simple Math concept and easiest to understand. How ridiculous that those who fail Math just like to argue here.
This is a quality drama but if you ask me to recommend someone a good korean drama ..I would recommend Itaewon Class/Hospital Playlist/Romantic Dr Kim but not this. So I can understand why rating wise, it can’t achieve what these other shows can. Is just not something that everybody can appreciate.
This drama! Each successive episode is better than the last. Episode 5 was somewhat slow, but episode 6 more than made up for it in pacing and character development. This drama is sooooo good. Wish more people would tune in to watch. It’s hitting all the right notes for me.
I liked Episode 6 more than Episode 4. To be honest, this is my first time to watch a Kim Soo Hyuns drama and i cant help it -im now a fan.Im so impressed by his acting skills. Wishing its vieweship rating to increase in the succeeding episodes.
Stupid people of this website will not understand the success of king eternal monorach now king eternal monorach is in number 11 year ranking on Netflix no other Korean drama even are in top20 only stupid Korea viewers are not understanding this masterpiece Korea people are shame on their good project tkem best drama of 2020 world success are saying it Lee min ho follower are increasing rapitdly why can u not publish it this website is trash I say it iotnbo is flop don’t defend it bcse it will not gain tkem success out of Korea tkem international hit this year will be in top10 year ranking of top show in the world on Netflix 2020 haters stop your stupid word I hate this website I will not came to this website again
I get it that King had good reception in Netflix..but you are claiming that no other kdrama is in top 20 is laughable when CLOY and IC were going so strong. CLOY is ranked 1 on Japan ever since I don’t remember..
I will explain my stance..
FYI ..let me quote your source from where you got this data. It is definitely not Netflix official rankings which is usually released towards the year end. The source you used must be Flixpatrol then. If you are not aware ,let me correct you first, Netflix decided to start its top 10 ranking system towards the end of Feb .By that time CLOY already ended and IC was nearing its end. Most importantly Flixpatrol has the data for top 10 ranking from as late as the beginning of April for many many countries. Thus they give points based on the daily ranking data that they could accumulate. And hence the overall table of drama rankings was constituted. The point which you mentioned as The King being most viewed kdrama is valid for only April to July period..
That’s why CLOY and IC are ranked lower cause it has been months since these dramas ended and Flixpatrol recorded their ratings.
I said this so that you stop deluding yourself..Cause at the end you will only feel bad for not seeing The king at the top when Netflix releases the official data. Don’t worry it will still remain in the top 10 though.
My bet is definitely with CLOY as 1 ,then IC at 2 for kdramas or maybe who knows other dramas in the later half could dethrone these two .
Hence do your research properly before claiming big things. Once again I m saying this ..the ranking which you mentioned is for the period of April to July only cause Flixpatrol doesn’t have data for the earlier months.
Wait for few days as IONTBO is also climbing the ladder.
Min gon writes like Ady. LOL. Good that “I will not came to this website again” (noted the wrong grammar). LMAO.
No, it’s not her. Not enough grammar and spelling errors and not vulgar enough. This post will blow up to over 100 comments when she comes, lol.
Long time lurker to this website. The quality of comments section seems to have bottomed out recently. I’m left scratching my head at the ratings war here. Do you get similarly upset at people over their breakfast choices? (Sweet vs savory)
There are so many poignant things to discuss in the drama, such as subverting expectations. The FL and secondary FL characteristics have been flipped. Makes me wonder about all those times when a rich second lead would try their best to “possess” the main character and would be branded evil, psychotic. The FL also has stereotypical Korean drama make lead characteristics such as not respecting boundaries (although I haven’t seen much of that recently). What I am worried about most is the ability of the writer to tie all the threads together and resolve it in a satisfactory manner. Really digging the imagery though, and SYJ.
It’s mostly Lee Min Ho fans that still can’t get over the fact that their oppa’s drama was a flop both critically and ratings wise. Koala wasn’t kind to the drama either (in her defence, it WAS a trainwreck), so the fangirls took it personally and are now spamming their saltiness all over any article where Koala remotely praises anything. Their favourite target being this drama, since KSH is from the same generation but is widely recognized as being a better and more compelling actor that their oppar. I wish one day they could grow up and get over it, but I honestly don’t have much expectations for them. Better just ignore them.
As for myself, since I don’t really get anything from the ratings being high or low (it’s not like I get any kind of compensation for it, either way lol), I’m just enjoying this drama immensely. The visuals are quite unique, the storytelling is excellent and, while I’ve always known about KSH’s acting prowess, Seo Ye Ji is, for me, the true heart of this story. Her Ko Moon Young is so captivating! I simply can’t take my eyes off of her!
I actually wish ratings weren’t even mentioned in the main post. Yes, I did notice that basically the lead female acted like a stereotypical male k-drama lead in the earlier episodes. The actress is killing it with her performance and the younger actors are doing a stellar job as well.
One of my favorite things about the drama is showing the challenges of the caretaker.
I crazy loved episode 6 too! I also want to comment how amazing the children actors who play the younger versions of KSH, SYJ & OJS are.
One factor that people should also consider is the season. Summer should be the toughest to get ratings. Most people probably are out and about drinking beers instead staying home & watching drama. Competition must be tough for all these dramas.
I love It’s Okay..it has a unique storyline, great actors I believe, portraying their individual roles convincingly. KSH and SYJ are both sexy too!I can’t get over ep6 and I am excited and can’t wait for the next episodes. Keep it up guys!
I’m really enjoying IONTBO, and while waiting for next episodes am watching “Tempted” on Netflix which is surprisingly good . I love LMH and have watched all the dramas of his I can get more then once.BOF at least 20 times but the one drama of his I can’t bring myself to trawl through a second time is TKEM it would feel to me like wading through mud. I didn’t like the coupling of LMH with KGE , a ridiculous attempt to create a romance which also put me off, it was badly done and the scripting of the romance was cheesy and unlikely with a silly ending.
I am now a devoted follower of KSH who is a very versatile and all round talented ,Actor, singer, dancer and good at all three. Still love the sweet LMH simply because I think he was outstanding as Gu Jun Pyo, he was more regal in that show then he was in the King.
Watch Meteor Garden 2018 in Netflix. I like it more than BOF. The best is the J-version in 2005 but it is not on Netflix.
I actually really liked the first half or so of Tempted and then it just lost me and I dropped it. Hope it works out better for you.
Why everyone just busy talking about rating. This is good drama guys, please give it a try.
Poor Kim Soo Hyun. He has to carry such high expectations. Same as Lee Min Ho.
Personally, I’m a fan of both. I want to be addicted to their drama. Part of my frustration with the King is the story that doesn’t make any sense. I only watched it for Lee Min Ho, until I couldn’t anymore.
The story is much darker here and I think it’s right that this is an award hunter rather than rating hunter series. It’s difficult to be entertained with so much darkness around. But the stories make sense – there are parents who have another child to take care of sibling who has Down syndrome or autism, I’ve seen that in real life; there are different types of personality disorder that prevents people from living a normal life. Kim Soo Hyun is an amazing actor, he’s not just a hype. For the comedic scene, his delivery was impeccable.
I like how Kim Soo Hyun can do comedic scenes with a poker face. That karate kick shutting the door on the rooftop was hilarious.
Ohh yess..that comedic timing with a poker face is one of his assets.. Check the drama “The Producers” ..He was hilarious…
LOL that scene was my absolute favorite! It was hilarious and a bit unexpected!
Well since this is a cable weekend drama, I’ll just compare it to other weekend cable dramas. HDL peaked at 12% and averaged 8.8%. That’s what I would call a mid-range HIT. Itaewon Class peaked at 16.5% and averaged above 10% at 11.8%. That’s definitely a hit. The rare mega hits like CLOY, which peaked at 21.6% and averaged 12.5%. IOTNBO is none of these. So far, it’s pulling in average ratings somewhere between Romance is a Bonus Book and Arthdal Chronicles. I don’t know why fans are so defensive. It’s average, not a flop.
It needs 6.23% to get into the top 50 list for cable show. If anything, we can compare it to LSG come back drama at 6.9%. With 10 more epi to go, it may at least get into the top 50 list. KSH come back drama should minimally be in top 50, if not higher.
To me, top 20 are hits, top 50 can be considered mid-range hit but is not there yet. Fighting!
The ratings are just not reflective of this drama quality
I’m in love with this drama
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea – it’s dark, the characters are broken and no one is entirely likeable
What a load of fresh air in kdrama land!
I hope the team knows this – they there is some shoutout within the industry – this is a high quality drama and these kind of production should not be ever reviewed or chastised over their ratings.
Ep6 was absolutely emotional
Bravo