The Atypical Family – K-drama Episode 9 Recap & Review

Episode 9

In episode 9 of The Atypical Family, Gwi-ju informs Man-heum about the extra family ring that had been in Da-hae’s possession. Concerned about Gwi-ju’s future, Man-heum tries to reassure him by explaining that the fire had already happened in the past and Da-hae’s existence proves that he will be fine.

After Gwi-ju leaves, Man-heum feels hopeful that Da-hae and Gwi-ju might be able to revive the glory of the Bok family. This is when she remembers the lottery ticket but is unable to find it. Meanwhile, Soon-gu visits a club to give the 2.3 billion won lottery ticket to the husband of his dance partner. It’s later revealed that Il-hong orchestrated this, using the husband and wife, who are known con artists, to deceive Soon-gu.

Soon-gu returns home to find that someone had sent Man-heum pictures of him dancing at the club. Feeling betrayed, Man-heum confronts Soon-gu, who confesses that he had to isolate himself and walk on eggshells around her because she was always a step ahead of his future. They end up in a huge argument, leading Man-heum to ask Soon-gu to leave the house.

The next day, the rest of the family thinks Soon-gu is on vacation, except I-na, who met her grandfather while he was leaving and sensed something was wrong. Meanwhile, Da-hae is shocked to see the 2.8 billion won lottery ticket with Il-hong and informs Gwi-ju about it. She warns him that Il-hong has been plotting to destroy his family and that her real target is Man-heum, the lottery-churning golden goose.

Simultaneously, Man-heum meets with Dong-hee and her fiancé and reveals that her fiancé is a fraud, especially since he had cheated on Dong-hee with Grace. The man leaves the restaurant, and Dong-hee expresses that everyone walks on eggshells in their house because of Man-heum’s dreams. She adds that she had to kill her own dreams because Man-heum wanted her to get married and start a family to pass on the Bok family powers. We don’t yet know what happened between them. As Man-heum leaves, she meets Il-hong, who takes her to a sauna to help her sleep.

At school, I-na is being bullied by almost everyone, leading to her breaking her spectacles and becoming the butt of jokes. She nearly reads Hye-rim’s thoughts, who is pretending to help her while actually laughing at I-na’s expense. I-na finally runs away. Gwi-ju, while searching his father’s room for any clue about his location, receives a call that I-na left school without permission and is now missing.

Together, Gwi-ju, Da-hae, and Hyun-tae search everywhere for I-na but in vain. Gwi-ju realizes he knows nothing about his daughter and that I-na has been alone for a long time. While looking for I-na, Da-hae ends up at the sauna and finds Man-heum sleeping. She gets into an argument with Il-hong, where it’s revealed that Il-hong might see Da-hae as her dead daughter, which is why she’s doing everything to keep Da-hae around. Da-hae clearly states that if Il-hong doesn’t stop messing with the Bok family, she’ll stop being Il-hong’s daughter and leaves.

Da-hae meets Gwi-ju, who is searching I-na’s room for clues about her whereabouts. They find her broken cell phone. As they rack their brains, Da-hae sees the future Gwi-ju appear, who instructs them that I-na is in the school gym. Da-hae feels something off about the future Gwi-ju but rushes with the present Gwi-ju to look for I-na. They find her in the gym’s storeroom, where Hye-rim had locked her in.

The three visit a restaurant for dinner, and Gwi-ju insists on knowing who locked I-na inside. Da-hae follows I-na to the washroom, where I-na reveals her troubles with Hye-rim. Da-hae shares her own experience of being bullied and assures I-na that she has someone who cares about her—her father. When Da-hae returns, she tells Gwi-ju to be calm, not speak, and just look into I-na’s eyes.

Later, while sitting together, Gwi-ju follows Da-hae’s advice, and I-na reads his mind, realizing how much he cares about her. Gwi-ju discovers her power, and I-na tells him how her power caused her mother’s death and took the joy out of Gwi-ju’s life. It’s revealed in a flashback that after Gwi-ju left to go to the past, I-na accidentally read her mother’s thoughts: “This is your fault. It’s because you were born that day.” As a child, she questioned whether she shouldn’t have been born, which flustered her mother and led to the accident. Since then, I-na has considered herself a monster. Gwi-ju hugs her, telling her it’s not true.

Back at the sauna, Man-heum wakes up and tells Il-hong that her daughter is alive. In a flashback, it’s revealed that Da-hae told Man-heum to use Il-hong’s daughter as her weakness, meaning she might have been lying to Il-hong.

Meanwhile, Dong-hee is climbing the stairs as a workout, supported by Grace. At the rooftop, Grace asks her to fly with her, and they share an unusual bond, being the side characters in their families. Elsewhere, Gwi-ju helps I-na ride a bike. On her way back, I-na meets Joon-woo, who tells her not to run away and that he’s doing his best to avoid her. Since I-na did not respond to his confession, he feels rejected. As he’s about to leave, I-na quietly says that she likes him too.

Meanwhile, Gwi-ju and Da-hae discuss I-na. As Da-hae is about to tell Gwi-ju that his future self looked sad, Gwi-ju suddenly time travels to the past to the memory of I-na’s birth. When he returns, he mentions that he’ll save Da-hae too and puts the Bok family ring on her finger and one on himself. He says he’ll go back to save her so he can meet her again after 13 years and fall in love with her. They share a kiss.

In the meantime, Man-heum has a frightening dream and rushes to the club to find Soon-gu, breaking down and telling him that Gwi-ju is going to die.

The Episode Review

The Atypical Family just took on a new dimension in the second half! The show has picked up its pace. The scenarios and events, although clichéd, have become exciting and heartening at times. For instance, the scene where Gwi-ju and I-na finally reconciled was one of the most touching moments in the show so far.

Dong-hee and Grace truly function as side characters, but their interactions with each other reveal a friendly connection as they find themselves in similar situations.

In this episode, we explored more of Soon-gu and Man-heum’s dynamics. However, the sudden tempo and pace of the show treat their issues more as a plot device than a character study.

Overall, the episode was an interesting watch and kept us hooked, especially now that the possibility of a sad ending looms for the Hae-ju couple and their families.