The Atypical Family – K-drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

Episode 5

Episode 5 of The Atypical Family begins with the continuation with Gwi-joo and Da-hae’s kiss before Da-hae senses someone in near bathroom door. After she returns to the room, she’s shocked to find that Gwi-joo bought her reasoning for the marriage certificate and we see how Da-hae made the fake certificate, got it stamped secretly and presented it.

While Gwi-joo deliberates over the marriage certificate, Da-hae is spooked where she thinks she saw Dong-hee floating in the sky, spying on her. Shortly after, Man-heum visits Da-hae, asking for her tea so that she is able to sleep.

Upon, Man-heum’s close interactions, Da-hae isn’t able to add the crushed sleeping pills into the tea. She’s constantly worried about Man-heum’s visions since Da-hae can be busted anytime.

Elsewhere, Gwi-ju emphasises that he couldn’t feel love from his and Da-hae’s kiss but comically enough keeps getting transported to the same moment. It’s revealed that it was his future self, watching the two from the bathroom.

The next day, sleep deprived, he follows Da-hae into the Bok family vault. Later, outside the house, when Da-hae asks him when they should tell the family about the marriage certificate, Gwi-ju sternly asks her to keep the information to herself. Further, he tells her that their kiss was “meh” and receives a prompt slap from Da-hae.

Meanwhile, Man-heum is looking for her vintage watch and is suspicious of Dong-hee. Eventually thought, she’s cleared of her name and she promptly investigates Da-hae’s room and looks for her. The family finds Da-hae in Gwi-ju’s room, trying to hide something which turns out to be the marriage certificate.

This is a calculated attempt from Da-hae’s side to accelerate her and Gwi-ju’s marriage. Expectedly, Man-heum and Soon-gu argue for having their marriage officialised. Feeling cornered, Gwi-ju suggests that they meet Da-hae’s family. Man-heum thinks that Da-hae’s connection with the sauna is a bad omen and Soon Gu prompty consults a private investigator, who informs him that Baek Il-hong is an ex-convict for fraud and illegal moneylending.

Da-hae’s uncle gets a whiff of the situation and Il-hong makes a surprise visit at the Bok household. She reasons that she has turned over a new leaf in the prison after her child died, which seems to have Soon-gu on board. Il-hong also argues for Da-hae and Gwi-ju officialising their marriage since she doesn’t want Da-hae to be treated as a servant in the Bok household. Later, she leaves.

In the meantime, we discover that the real culprit behind the disappearance of Man-heum’s watch was I-na, who had gifted it to Hye-rim, to maintain her friendship. On similar note, she also lets Hye-rim wear her shoes.  When she returns home, Da-hae notices and confronts her, making sure I-na is not being bullied, remembering her own school days where Da-hae was bullied by a group of delinquent students. However, I-na, reading her mind, simply asserts that she has friends.

Elsewhere, Dong-hee helps Grace to get a creepy client off her back and they visit a restaurant for dinner where Dong-hee picks up on Grcae’s knowledge about the market price of her family’s building.

Later, joins a family meeting where Man-heum and Song-hgu tell her about Il-hong’s background. Dong-hee reasons that Man-heum’s dream about Da-hae wearing the Bok family ring might be because she would steal it. This makes Man-heum concerned.

Right outside the dining space, Da-hae tries to eavesdrop on the conversation when Gwi-ju confronts her about lying to the Bok family about her identity. He further questions if her claims about the school fire incident are true. Da-hae feigns ignorance, saying that it’s a difficult topic for her as well, and Gwi-ju transports to the moment when Da-hae slapped him. More than ever, he wants to believe in Da-hae and notices her discomfort at the mention of the school fire event.

Later, Da-hae takes out a something from her unpacked luggage. The next day, she visits I-na’s school to deliver I-na’s school shoes. At the same time, Gwi-ju, while travelling in the past to the kiss moment, discovers that I-na stole Man-heum’s watch and questions if I-na is being bullied. Subsequently, he also ends up at her school.

Meanwhile, after much efforts, Da-hae finds I-na and confronts her about giving Hye-rim her shows. But I-na has had it with Da-hae’s interference and tell her that she knows Da-hae is a fraud. However, she wants her grandmother to learn a lesson and barters Da-hae’s non-involvement for I-na’s silence.

Da-hae is completely shaken, realising that I-na can read minds and has been hiding her power. She informs her uncle but sees Gwi-ju and tries to hide from him. Gwi-ju follows her and Da-hae ends up getting locked in the gym’s storage room. She asks for her uncle’s help but Il-hong keeps him from coming to her aid.

Here, we discover that as Da-hae was being bullied, she was locked in the storage room when the fire began. Smoke entered the room with no way for her to escape. Just when she thought nobody will come for her, someone does come. It’s also revealed that it was her whom Gwi-ju’s close friend entered the school building to recue but perished in the collapse instead.

In the present, Da-hae experiences a panic attack and Gwi-ju finally comes to her aid. She weeps, telling him about the school incident and Gwi-ju realises it is the same school which caught fire on the day I-na was born.

He assures her that he will save her in the past. Da-hae checks his neck for a scar that her saviour had and is disappointed to know that Gwi-ju possibly isn’t her saviour. Or is he?

The Episode Review

In this episode, we finally know the complete truth about Da-hae’s past and teases Gwi-ju’s involvement in the same. Although, the episode leaves the truth about Da-hae’s saviour a mystery, we could assume from the predictability and straightforward nature of the plot that it’s highly possible for him to be Da-hae’s saviour. Through his superpower, he might just be able to save someone from the past.

This is especially important for Gwi-ju since he had travelled to the same memory when the car accident took place. For him to achieve a semblance of solace, he is frantically holding on to the threads that would justify his travel and subsequent loss on the fateful day.

Although the plot remains interesting, the connection between Gwi-ju and Da-hae keep feeling forced, perhaps due to the fact that it is supposed to be forced in the episode with Da-hae’s cunning advances to trap the Bok family and Gwi-ju’s reluctance for the same.

Moreover, now that Da-hae knows about I-na’s superpower, the show seems to become even more exciting. Consequently, I-na’s mind reading is the greatest threat to her plan and it’s only a matter of time to discover how it would take its course in the show.