Summary
Episode 14 was an emotional chapter that naturally leads to the final weekend of this K-drama series. Every character is dealing with a dark past.
This recap of Netflix K-drama series It’s Okay to Not Be Okay episode 14 contains spoilers.
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How does It’s Okay to Not Be Okay episode 14 open?
Gang-tae chases after Mun-yeong but she wants time on her own; she clearly wants to process what she’s learned about her mother and Gang-tae’s family. Gang-tae then comforts his brother, claiming that the butterfly he is scared of is mutated. He promises to find the person who vandalised the mural.
The CCTV reveals a BIG twist
The director checks out the CCTV with Gang-tae to see who painted the butterfly. You can see a woman painting it — it’s the caregiver Ms. Park. Gang-tae suddenly remembers all the small moments with her where she asked the small obvious questions and expressed the small statements — a twist of all twists. Mun-yeong’s mother was working at the hospital all this time. The director wonders why Ms. Park stayed working at the hospital for so long.
Disguised as Ms Park — she was orchestrating everything all along
That answer comes rather quickly; a flashback shows Ms. Park revealing her true self to Ko Dae-hwan; she tells him she has waited 20 years and has enjoyed watching him die miserably. It’s also revealed that Ms. Park asked a patient to attack Mun-yeong to make her “perfect” but she’s not happy with how her daughter has turned out. Ms. Park then leaves Ko Dae-hwan to die slowly. Episode 14 shows how evil this woman is — she’s beyond reason.
Is their relationship ill-fated?
Gang-tae tells Lee Sang-in the story and he states that his relationship with Mun-yeong is ill-fated. They talk about Do Hui-jae (Ms. Park — Mun-yeong’s mother) — Lee Sang-in talks about the woman’s last book and how it was never published.
Gang-tae tries to comfort Mun-yeong
Mun-yeong asks Gang-tae if her mother really killed his mum and made his life miserable. Gang-tae’s silence says it all and Mun-yeong breaks into tears. Gang-tae tells her that she isn’t like her mother and he won’t leave her. She looks at him and calls Gang-tae a hypocrite.
Gang-tae tries to talk to Mun-yeong through the door and talks about how he feels when she smiles at him — he claims he forgets everything, even his mother and the butterfly. Gang-tae reassures her more and tells Mun-yeong that she did nothing wrong. Mun-yeong continues sobbing. It’s such a painful thing for the character who will feel equally guilty for the life Gang-tae has had to endure. This scene is also symbolic — Gang-tae has sat outside of Sang-tae’s door plenty of times, waiting for him.
The montage of memories
What follows is a montage of scenes between Gang-tae and Mun-yeong that demonstrates their love for each other. Both products of an evil tragedy brought on by one person — both fated to be together despite the dark past.
Mun-yeong cannot believe it
Eventually, Gang-tae gives up and asks Mun-yeong to let him into her room. He explains how there were plenty of strange things happening at the hospital with her father and that her mother is alive — she’s Ms. Park, the Head Nurse. Mun-yeong has no idea why she didn’t recognize her. Mun-yeong starts getting frantic and asks Gang-tae to leave but he refuses and hugs her. Gang-tae rings his brother and tells him that he and Mun-yeong are fine and cries. He was ringing his brother for some comfort — it was painful to watch.
Bringing food to Mun-yeong
The halfway point of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay episode 14 shows how sweet Sang-tae is — this scene is his best moment of the series.
Sang-tae brings Mun-yeong porridge in bed to try to cheer her up but it makes her cry more. She apologizes and states it was her fault. Sang-tae tries feeding her instead and continues to try to look after her. What a cute, heartbreaking, and heartwarming moment. Sang-tae is a national treasure of a character. He wipes her tears, believing she is ill.
Jae-su offers some weird words of advice
Jae-su hears the story from Gang-tae about the butterfly and asks if it was Mun-yeong’s mother. Gang-tae asks Jae-su not to tell Sang-tae. Jae-su tells Gang-tae that he’s weak because he always acts tough and he should lean on the other weaker people and stick together. These were weird words from Jae-su but they had some logic behind them.
Another sweet moment
After his conversation with Jae-su, Gang-tae asks for a hug from his Sang-tae and tells him he is scared — Sang-tae promises to protect him as the older brother.
A package arrives at the house
A package arrives at the house called The Hand, The Monkfish. Gang-tae reads it — it’s about a mother who loves her daughter so much — the mother asks her daughter to feed her but she has no hands as she’s never had to use them. When her mother makes other requests, the daughter says no for the same reasons. The mother calls the daughter a useless monkfish and states she never loved her and threw her into the sea. Fishermen can hear a baby’s wail when they pass that part of the sea. Inside the book is a note from Do Hui-jae telling Mun-yeong that this book failed but it was her favorite one. She ends the note that all failures must be discarded. Her mother is just purely evil as episode 14 hypothesizes — these are not the actions of a normal person.
Releasing a new book
Mun-yeong rings a contact on her phone named “Suicide Bomber” and tells the person it is time to repay them. Lee Sang-in learns the next morning that “The Murder of The Witch of the West” will be released by another publisher. Sang-tae gets a call and meets Do Hui-jae outside believing she’s still Ms. Park. His brother is ringing him but he’s distracted by her. Gang-tae is now worried about his brother.
Meeting Do Hui-jae
Lee Sang-in confronts Mun-yeong about the publishing company. She explains she did it to provoke her mother and that she comes to her. Lee Sang-in reveals that her mother rang him asking for a manuscript. Mun-yeong asks Lee Sang-in to take her right to her mother. Sang-tae gets through to Gang-tae’s phone but it is Do Hui-jae who answers. She is teasing his brother and asks Gang-tae to meet at the cursed castle.
How does It’s Okay to Not Be Okay episode 14 end?
Lee Sang-in tricked Mun-yeong and while driving reveals that he isn’t taking her to her mother because it is dangerous. Mun-yeong gets out of the car and runs, she’s worried that Gang-tae and Sang-tae are in trouble. The soundtrack turns cinematic, as this all leads to a crucial moment. When Gang-tae gets to the castle, Do Hui-jae is there and Sang-tae is unconscious on the sofa. Do Hui-jae laughs at him.
Episode 14 was an emotional chapter that naturally leads to the final weekend of K-drama series. Every character is dealing with a dark past.
Additional points
- The director of the hospital thinks he has to quit after what happened to Sang-tae by his own staff member.
