Beyond Goodbye – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

Beyond a Birthday

Episode 4 of Beyond Goodbye begins in the past, with Yusuke and Saeko talking at Kengo’s coffee shop. It’s Saeko’s birthday and he’s happy that she’s come into his life.

In the present, Kazu apologizes for not seeing her. He doesn’t go into specifics about why, but Saeko does admit she was a bit bummed not to see him. He reminds her of Yusuke (although she doesn’t use his name) and goes on to clarify that he was the love of her life.

Saeko doesn’t want to fall in love with him as he’s not her type, and it would just cause problems for them both. To avoid this occurring, Saeko has contemplated another train to avoid each other, but instead they’re going to take a step back (at Saeko’s discretion) and just be polite. Probably for the best to be honest, given Kazu is married!

Anyway, Kazu confides in Miki and explains that he’s worried that there may be memories of this other person inside his head and he’s burdened with needing to live with those mixed up with his own. Miki struggles to hold back tears as the pair talk, but it’s clear that it pains her too that the man she fell in love with is going through this.

The firework display brings Saeko and Kazu closer, despite the distance between them, as they find themselves reminiscing that fateful night Saeko and Yusuke lost one another. Miki’s crux of the issue though stems from wondering if the donor’s heart may still be in love with someone else, and that crushes her more than she cares to admit.

Remember that cafe being transformed in the school? Well, this is where Saeko and Kazu cross paths once more. It’s certainly a weird twist of fate, and as the pair sit and drink coffee together, Kazu brings up Yusuke and what sort of guy he was. It’s only a brief conversation though, as Saeko brings in Shinoda to look over the PROBAT machine they’ve found.

With the pair in Hokkaido, a typhoon is incoming and all trains are stopped. This means Kazu is forced to stay at the school for the time being.. with Saeko. When he checks the CCTV cameras, he notices her out in the rain so he rushes out to find her. He holds her hand and brings her back to the school to wait out the rain.

When they get themselves dried up, Saeko notices the massive scar across Kazu’s chest. Still, he doesn’t know that she’s seen it, and together they work on getting the kids fed and ready for sleeping until the typhoon has passed. Except Shinoda, he’s busy fixing up the machine.

As for Miki, she finds herself worried and wondering how her husband is getting on. Well, he’s doing just peachy, as he ends up finding Saeko asleep in the library with books about coffee all around her. When she wakes up, Kazu explains to her that the world is brighter and happier because she’s in it. And as it’s her birthday, they should be celebrating her being around. Of course, these are the words Yusuke used for her, and Saeko realizes as much.

The Episode Review

As we reach the midway point of the show, we’re getting dangerously close to the infidelity angle that’s threatening to creep up on us. This is something that really feels at odds with the sentimental and sweet tone this Netflix series is going for. It’s a shame too, because with some tweaks, this could have been a great drama.

Miki being here is something that undermines the entire tone of the show and I can’t help but feel that it would have been a stronger show had Kazu lost Miki in a freak accident, and both he and Saeko meet and grieve together, finding their love stronger as a result and honouring the loss of their loved ones. Instead, we get this weird will they/won’t they/ god I hope they don’t for Miki’s sake angle.

Hopefully the show will have a happy ending or at least better plotting going forward, but we’ll have to wait and see,