Reflection Of You – K-Drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

Nobody Lied

Episode 5 of Reflection of You picks up at the exhibition, as Hui-Ju comes face to face with Woo-Jae again. It’s a brief moment, but enough to rattle our talented artist. As Hae-Won shows up, she reveals that Woo-Jae had an accident several years back and has been unconscious since. He also lost his memory too.

Hae-Won is quick to point out that Hui-Ju was in Ireland when this occurred and and that also coincides with when Hui-Ju left him too. It also appears as if Hui-Ju was having an affair back then too, especially if the flashbacks are anything to go by.

After the exhibition, Hae-Won brings Woo-Jae back to their apartment, where he spies a picture of the duo together. “Did I do something wrong?” He quizzes as Hae-Won squirms uncomfortably.

Woo-Jae’s memory loss doesn’t seem to be in connection with his accident though, especially if the doctor has anything to say about it. It seems like this was triggered by an extreme amount of stress or trauma. Now, the doctor does tell Hae-Won that he’s in a fragile state and as such, his memories could be distorted and manipulated. This immediately gets Hae-Won thinking.

At the hospital, Hui-Ju runs into Woo-Jae while she’s with Ho-Su. Given the boy was sick at breakfast, it appears they’re in for a check-up. Woo-Jae and Hui-Ju don’t say anything to each other, but given we know that Ho-Su is his son, it’s certainly an awkward encounter.

While Ho-Su is taken away by the housekeeper, Hae-Won tries desperate to find Woo-Jae. Only, Woo-Jae happens to be out with Hui-Ju, who takes him for a drive when he expresses his confusion outside in the parking lot. While driving, Hui-Ju points out that they know each other, going on to mention how he taught her how to draw.

Interestingly, Hui-Ju plays one of his favourite songs too, one he used to constantly play while she drew. They say music is a good trigger for getting your memories back and it seems like that’s what she’s trying to do. Anyway, it doesn’t have its desired effect, beyond making Woo-Jae feel bad for relying on Hae-Won so much.

After dropping him off back home (and telling Hae-Won about this meeting too) hae-Won shows up to express her thanks to Hui-Ju. She hands over a package, which just so happens to be a gift for Ho-Su. She gets angry, throwing the gift in the bin, as we skip across to follow Hae-Won as she begins to manipulate Woo-Jae’s memories – or so it seems. She claims that Hui-Ju was the one who remained desperate to meet for lessons but he kept saying no.

Flashbacks seem to confirm this too, with Woo-Jae uncomfortable around Hui-Ju and deciding not to teach her, instead settling on doing something different to make money. Now, there are tensions between Li-Sa and Woo-Jae here, especially when we cut to the exhibition the next day. He’s pretty docile, snapping pictures with Ju-Yeong while he doesn’t say anything in the wake of being badmouthed as a poor artist by Li-Sa. Hui-Ju watches all of this unfold and monologues to herself how he’s a completely different person now.

The next day, Hae-Won and Woo-Jae head out and run into Hui-Ju and Seong-Hyeon. The latter looks like he’s seen a ghost as Woo-Jae holds out his hand to be shaken.

The Episode Review

Reflection of You returns this week and begins to shake up what we’ve come to know from this series. Then again, the fragmented memories of Woo-Jae deciding against tutoring Hui-Ju could also be fictional too. This is actually quite an interesting addition to the series, although this k-drama does rely on the tried and tested trope of amnesia to keep its story moving forward.

We’ve seen this used before and Reflection of You’s execution is okay at best while utilizing this. For now, it appears as if we’re continuing this detective game to figure out whether Hui-Ju or Hae-Won are telling the truth.

More interesting than that though is the development surrounding Li-Sa and Ju-Yeong. It would appear as if Li-Sa does remember who Woo-Jae is, especially during their brief stint together in Ireland, and it would explain her current erratic behaviour too. Could it be that Hae-Won mentioned something about Woo-Jae at school and that’s what spooked Li-Sa?

Either way, the stand-off at the end of this chapter does leave things on a tantalizing note, ready for tomorrow’s episode to kick into high gear.