DNA Lover – K-drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

Telepathy

DNA Lover episode 5 starts with  Yeon-u’s point of view on how he came to save So-jin. Je simply had a gut feeling. However, he fails to realise there is someone else following him. We circle back to where we left off in the previous episode.

Yeon-u moves to kiss So-jin but she accidentally hits his nose. Meanwhile, Gang-hun calls the police and has Sang-min arrested. He then takes So-jin home and asks Yeon-u to wait for him at the restaurant. Gang-hun worries that Yeon-u will hurt So-jin and tries to stop them from getting together. He tells Yeon-u he sees So-jin as family, but could there be more? As for Yeon-u, he asks Gang-hun to stop interfering.

Elsewhere, Jung-tam keeps visiting the gym to see Sung-mi. Even though he doesn’t see her at the gym, they keep coincidentally meeting. He tries to learn her routine so he can keep running into her. 

The next day, So-jin tells A-ri about her near kiss with Yeon-u and wonders how Yeon-u just appeared at the right time. This piques her curiosity on telepathy and she starts looking if it is real. At the same time, A-ri volunteers at the local church and learns more about Father Andrea. His dad passed away at an early age and his mom died in a fire. According to a flashback, his mom used to own a flower shop and had an affair with a married man

On the other hand, Mi-eun releases a new book about relationships, but all everyone can talk about is her polyamorous lifestyle. Many people keep judging her harshly, but she keeps trying to avoid it. It doesn’t help when she comes across a perverted fan during the book signing. She puts him in his place, but his reaction scares her a bit.

In the meantime, Yeon-u goes to great effort to see So-jin. He volunteers to help Jung-tam just to get a chance to meet So-jin. He gets to the research centre and finds a female news anchor physically attacking So-jin because she didn’t get the results she wanted from a test.

Yeon-u saves So-jin and takes her to karaoke to help her feel better. He is joined by some friends and they sing and enjoy themselves. It was nice to see a SuperJunior reunion in this episode.

Later, Yeon-u drops So-jin home and gives his consent to continue experimenting. A-ri arrives and invites So-jin to dinner. Yeon-u tags along even though A0ri doesn’t want him to. He sits at a different table and eavesdrops on the ladies as they talk about Father Andrea.

The following day, he drops by a flower shop to get So-jin a bouquet. He is unaware she is allergic to pollen and, surprisingly; she starts sneezing even though he is miles away. 

He gets to the research centre and is informed that So-jin visited her old high school to give a speech. He decides to show his support and attend the lecture. So-jin is surprised when Yeon-u shows up with flowers and asks when he bought them. She links the flowers to the time she started sneezing and wonders if she telepathically smelled the flowers.

She takes him to the lab where she spent most of her high school time and shows him her time capsule. She mentions she added a song to her old MP3 player to listen to with her destined partner. Yeon-u grows curious and asks to listen to the song together.

Unfortunately, the old MP3 player no longer works. He secretly takes it when they leave for lunch. Once again, So-jin is surprised when she and Yeon-u simultaneously agree to have Mandu soup for lunch. She gets even more convinced it was telepathy. They also talk about the Sang-min incident and Yeon-u explains it was a coincidence and not telepathy.

On the other hand, Jun-tam runs into Gang-hun at a restaurant. Gang-hun is not pleased when he learns that Yeon-u is relentlessly going after So-jin.  He later tries to warn So-jin that Yeon-u is a player and she should stay away. However, So-jin refuses since she believes she is telepathically linked to Yeon-u. This makes Gang-hun more frustrated and he goes for a walk.

He randomly meets Mi-eun who gifts him a book. He is offended when she talks about her polyamorous lifestyle and says she is like Yeon-u, selfishly hurting innocent people. He returns the book and walks away. Gang-hun remains frustrated and talks to Sung-mi the next day at work. She advises him to help his friend stay away from bad men. 

Jung-tam later drops by So-jin’s office to pick up his patient’s results. He is surprised that she is researching telepathy and wonders if he can experience it with Sung-mi. They also talk about Yeon-u and he suggests that his friend must be dating So-jin. So-jin denies this and explains they are working on an experiment. 

Later, Yeon-u gets a call inviting him for a family dinner with his aunt who is visiting after ten years. So-jin spots him at a flower shop and calls to ask him if they can do a quick experiment. Surprisingly, Yeon-u agrees and they pick two places they can meet in a few minutes.

According to So0jin, they will telepathically know which of the two spots to meet. So-jin heads to the Han River while Yeon-u heads to the tower of Mount Nam. They end up missing each other, but Gang-hun randomly shows up before So-jin. Yeon-u also randomly meets with Mi-eun at the tower. 

The Episode Review

Alright, let us get honest for a minute! DNA Lover’s core storyline is already a bit on the nose and too unrealistic, but you add in telepathy and it is too much. The overreach is making the show even more unbelievable.

The characters are too one-dimensional. We have So-jin who only sees things her way. She is so obsessed with finding a DNA  Lover she is missing some glaring things happening right under her nose. For example, Gang-hun might be her match.

Will she research how Gang-hun randomly showed up at the Han River or just skip to finding out why Yeon-u didn’t? If Mi-eun also showed up in front of Yeon-u, does this mean she is his DNA lover? 

Also, is Gang-hun secretly in love with So-jin? He is too bothered by Yeon-u dating So-jin. Maybe, he has not realised his feelings for her yet or he is in denial. Whatever the case, homeboy needs to jump into the race or bow out gracefully. 

Another annoying plotline is everyone is so focused on Mi-eun being polyamorous. Like it is not that deep, she has a right to live her life as she pleases. However, can the writers tone it down a bit? They have given no depth to her character. Isn’t she more than just a polyamorous woman who talks about relationships in her shows and books?