The Atypical Family – K-drama Episode 8 Recap & Review

Episode 8

Episode 8 of The Atypical Family begins with Man-heum dreaming about Da-hae and the Bok family ring yet again. At the sauna, Gwi-ju strikes a deal with Il-hong to trade Da-hae’s time for information about the week’s lottery numbers. Rebelling against this deal, Da-hae confronts Gwi-ju, but he claims he needs to undo the past and leaves Da-hae to travel back in time. After Gwi-ju leaves, Il-hong questions Da-hae’s intentions. Da-hae confesses that she likes Gwi-ju and asks Il-hong to help her move on since “it’s dangerous to mix business with pleasure.”

The next day, Gwi-ju invites himself to the sauna, irritating Da-hae, who’s trying to keep her distance. As he joins the family for lunch, Grace asks him for information on the current week’s stocks. Gwi-ju claims he doesn’t have happy moments from the past to revisit, hinting that Il-hong and the others need to help him get closer to Da-hae. Later, Da-hae goes to find herself a new target (husband), and Gwi-ju follows her. Although the meeting isn’t very successful, Da-hae showcases the techniques and sweet talk she once used on Gwi-ju. For instance, remember when Gwi-ju spilled the wine in the initial episodes? It turns out Da-hae staged the entire scene to get close to her target.

Eventually, Da-hae agrees to spend time with Gwi-ju. “Ten million won per hour, and I’ll think about it,” she says. Gwi-ju agrees. They end up at a restaurant where Da-hae had previously charmed him with her sob story. She reveals the small moments of happiness she felt when she learned to ride a bike and when she had Patbingsu for the first time. Gwi-ju shares his desire to save others since he realized he couldn’t be happy in isolation if people around him were suffering. He also served as a firefighter for a short while.

This memory transports Gwi-ju to the past, to a time when he saved a girl’s cat but fell from a tree, leading his firefighter friend to scold him. In this memory, he encounters Il-hong and Hyung-tae (Da-hae’s uncle) at her father’s funeral in the same hospital. Gwi-ju learns that Il-hong made the young Da-hae sign a contract transferring her father’s debt onto herself. After the loan sharks leave, Gwi-ju pays his respects to her father and comforts her with a hand on her shoulder. This act of kindness makes her tear up and ask, “Who are you?” as she breaks down crying.

Gwi-ju returns home after his journey to the past. I-na reads his mind and realizes he has been with Da-hae all day, smiling to herself before leaving her father in confusion. Elsewhere, it’s revealed that Soon-gu meets a woman in a club to dance with as a hobby. He soon discovers she is married when her husband appears and causes a scene. “We’re just buddies who enjoy a hobby together in a respectable manner,” says Soon-gu, but his words fall on deaf ears. He offers the man money for his silence.

At the gym, Dong-hee finds out that Grace was the one who pushed her by checking the CCTV footage. Grace agrees to do anything Dong-hee wants as an apology. She helps Dong-hee meet her former fiancé, but he is only interested in her building, leaving Dong-hee disappointed. This strengthens her resolve to get slimmer, and she works tirelessly to the point of exhaustion. Grace takes Dong-hee to the sauna.

At the sauna, Da-hae is on her way to meet her new “husband” when Il-hong orders Hyung-tae to help Da-hae and Gwi-ju “spend some happy times together,” much to Da-hae’s dismay. Acting on this order, Hyung-tae forcefully sets the mood for the couple. Eventually, Gwi-ju decides to bring Da-hae her favorite Patbingsu from another city and takes Hyung-tae along. He buys the shaved ice bowl, and by the time Hyung-tae gets the return tickets, he travels to the past where they left Da-hae.

Da-hae feels nostalgic about the Patbingsu and reminisces about the day she had it for the first time. It was after the school fire when she tried to steal some bread, but a kind lady customer bought her the shaved ice bowl, pitying her as a school fire victim. Da-hae soon learned the reason behind her generosity. “I could only find happiness by selling out my misfortune,” Da-hae tells Gwi-ju.

Gwi-ju then gives her the winning lottery ticket numbers and asks her to buy a ticket before 8 p.m. that day to pay off her debt to Il-hong. “Stop selling your misfortune. If you must sell something, sell your happiness. To me. For ten million won per hour,” Gwi-ju says. Later, Da-hae is shocked to win the lottery for 2.3 billion won.

On a different day, I-na finds that Joon-woo has left the dance club chat, prompting everyone else to leave as well. On her way, she is bullied by students who intentionally brush past her, breaking her mobile phone, and teasing her about her invisibility. Hyung-tae rescues I-na, and they go back to the sauna together. While waiting for Da-hae, I-na and Hyung-tae play the Cham Cham Cham game, where I-na initially loses but then uses her mind-reading powers to win. Da-hae and Il-hong are shocked to see them playing. Il-hong later tells Da-hae that Gwi-ju likes her too, stating, “Family is the answer.” She plans to extract money from the Boks forever with Gwi-ju and Da-hae’s union.

Da-hae meets with Man-heum, gives her the winning lottery ticket, and asks her to keep Gwi-ju away from her. “Perhaps it was hope that put you to sleep. Hope that the Bok family can get back on its feet,” she adds before leaving.

Elsewhere, Soon-gu is trying to arrange the money to pay off the husband he’s entangled with and takes the lottery ticket while Man-heum is sleeping. Gwi-ju asks Soon-gu about Da-hae’s luggage since he’s looking for a ring. Da-hae told him that her savior had left her with his ring and asked Gwi-ju to return it to his family. Soon-gu directs Gwi-ju to Man-heum. The ring turns out to be the Bok family ring.

When Gwi-ju checks their vault, he finds two rings: one in the vault and one that was in Da-hae’s possession. He visits Da-hae, and she confirms that the ring belongs to her savior. Gwi-ju realizes that he is destined to save Da-hae from the fire. Man-heum has a vision of Gwi-ju saving Da-hae from the fire and perishing in it.

The Episode Review

With episodes 7 and 8, The Atypical Family has taken a turn for the better! This episode had many heartwarming scenes that not only informed viewers about Da-hae’s history but also added depth to Da-hae and Gwi-ju’s relationship.

Moreover, apart from Dong-hee’s character, which comes across as the least interesting in the show, we understand all the other characters in more detail. For instance, this episode revealed the tension in Man-heum and Song-gu’s relationship, where Man-heum doesn’t trust him enough to tell him the password to the vault. She also takes him for granted, leading Song-gu to seek importance elsewhere.

The interactions between the Bok family and the sauna family are another great addition to the storyline. For instance, even though Dong-hee’s character in isolation isn’t anything remarkable, her budding friendship with Grace is quite heartening. Similarly, Hyun-tae and I-na’s new friendship in the episode is another instance of such an interaction.

Overall, the episode was quite enjoyable with thoughtful dialogues, entertaining execution, and touching scenes.