The Atypical Family (2024) 히어로는 아닙니다만
Directed by Jo Hyun-tak, starring Chun Woo-hee and Jang Ki-yong.
Watched 4 May - 9 June 2024 — 12 episodes (NETFLIX)
*My initial thought about this series was that I didn't like the characters (except for Park So-yi as the teenage daughter Bok I-na, I loved her right away) and the scam plot. I took a pause after having seen only two episodes but because my sister, who had the same problem with this show, said it was getting better I decided to stick with it. And a few episodes later I was hooked.
*Fortunately the characters get more appealing and likeable. I was especially interested in the leads, Do Da-hae (Chun Woo-hee) and Bok Gwi-ju (Jang Ki-yong), and their romance and Gwi-ju's time-travel activity. But also the scam/sauna family gets more likeable as they redeem themselves. I liked how the two families — the scam family and the Bok family — ultimately became friendly with each other, and the way they cheered on I-na in the last episode during her dance competition was so endearing.
*The scam plot wasn't that exciting, to be honest. The sauna family had their eyes set on the gym building, and in order to secure the building Da-hae had to marry Gwi-ju. I thought the sauna mum was very unpleasant and it took me a long time to feel any sympathy for her. But the emotional scene between her and Da-hae got me teary-eyed. It took me less time to start liking Uncle, though. He was the one stalking I-na (it was probably an order coming from sauna mum), and knowing I-na better than Gwi-ju, he helps out when I-na is lost.
*The whole concept of Da-hae's past being Gwi-ju's future is the catalyst of the story. In the present Gwi-ju hasn't saved Da-hae from the fire yet but he needs to save her in the past because if he doesn't, she will die in the fire. He can't let that happen because she's key to his family's happiness in the future and responsible for their superpowers being restored.
*The final episode was suspenseful and you didn't know exactly how it was going to end. But everything came full circle and there is a great twist at the end. (SPOILER AHEAD!) When the inevitable happens and Gwi-ju saves Da-hae, there's no body found. I love the show's last scene where Gwi-ju's SON, in a time lapse of five years, has the power of time travel but also the capacity to retrieve lost objects. Since his father's body was lost, the boy goes back 18 years (5 years back to where our story started plus 13 years further back to Da-hae's high school fire) in order to pull his father into the future. So in effect, Gwi-ju is saved from both fires. From the first fire because his son pulled him out before he could die and from the second fire because he goes straight into the future and not to the time of the second fire (for him that event never happened). I would have liked to see more of the family together with Gwi-ju back but I'm so glad it's a happy ending and I'm now even hoping for a second season.
*No doubt there are unanswered questions and things not adding up but ultimately I really liked this show, and the themes of redemption, healing, and living in the moment with your loved ones resonated strongly with me.
*Love the relationship between Da-hae and I-na. Da-hae has been bullied too and understands the girl. Though she had ulterior motives to get close to I-na, I think her feelings towards I-na and interactions with her were mostly genuine from the start. I also love ep. 9 where I-na reads her dad's mind and Gwi-ju learns of her superpower. This got me very emotional.
*I'm always a sucker for heartwarming moments between the characters. Love the cute lovey-dovey scenes with our main couple, the zoo visit with Gwi-ju and I-na, the moments between I-na and her sweet love interest, to name a few. Also the scene where Da-hae, Dong-hee and Grace work together to bring down Dong-hee's fiancé, with Dong-hee saving Grace from a free fall by using her superpower of flying, is such a feel-good female-kick-ass moment!!!
*Good performances by the entire cast. My fave character is still I-na and the acting performance by the very talented Park So-yi is so great. Love her!
*Also, great production values and cinematography. Plus a fitting OST with some nice songs and a beautiful moody recurrent theme.
*One of the things I didn't like: Da-hae staging her own death. I felt sorry for Uncle who almost got hurt helping her, and it was such a useless act since Gwi-ju and I-na didn't believe Da-hae was dead and she was found out quickly.
*I love how they were hinting at the romantic pairing of Dong-hee (played by Kim Soo-hyun aka Claudia Kim) and the scam Uncle. He was actually quite sweet and I would have liked to see a romance develop between them.
*Just like in Lovely Runner the leading couple is risking their own lives to make sure the other one lives. Glad the writers gave both shows a happy ending!
Directed by Jo Hyun-tak, starring Chun Woo-hee and Jang Ki-yong.
Watched 4 May - 9 June 2024 — 12 episodes (NETFLIX)
*My initial thought about this series was that I didn't like the characters (except for Park So-yi as the teenage daughter Bok I-na, I loved her right away) and the scam plot. I took a pause after having seen only two episodes but because my sister, who had the same problem with this show, said it was getting better I decided to stick with it. And a few episodes later I was hooked.
*Fortunately the characters get more appealing and likeable. I was especially interested in the leads, Do Da-hae (Chun Woo-hee) and Bok Gwi-ju (Jang Ki-yong), and their romance and Gwi-ju's time-travel activity. But also the scam/sauna family gets more likeable as they redeem themselves. I liked how the two families — the scam family and the Bok family — ultimately became friendly with each other, and the way they cheered on I-na in the last episode during her dance competition was so endearing.
*The scam plot wasn't that exciting, to be honest. The sauna family had their eyes set on the gym building, and in order to secure the building Da-hae had to marry Gwi-ju. I thought the sauna mum was very unpleasant and it took me a long time to feel any sympathy for her. But the emotional scene between her and Da-hae got me teary-eyed. It took me less time to start liking Uncle, though. He was the one stalking I-na (it was probably an order coming from sauna mum), and knowing I-na better than Gwi-ju, he helps out when I-na is lost.
*The whole concept of Da-hae's past being Gwi-ju's future is the catalyst of the story. In the present Gwi-ju hasn't saved Da-hae from the fire yet but he needs to save her in the past because if he doesn't, she will die in the fire. He can't let that happen because she's key to his family's happiness in the future and responsible for their superpowers being restored.
*The final episode was suspenseful and you didn't know exactly how it was going to end. But everything came full circle and there is a great twist at the end. (SPOILER AHEAD!) When the inevitable happens and Gwi-ju saves Da-hae, there's no body found. I love the show's last scene where Gwi-ju's SON, in a time lapse of five years, has the power of time travel but also the capacity to retrieve lost objects. Since his father's body was lost, the boy goes back 18 years (5 years back to where our story started plus 13 years further back to Da-hae's high school fire) in order to pull his father into the future. So in effect, Gwi-ju is saved from both fires. From the first fire because his son pulled him out before he could die and from the second fire because he goes straight into the future and not to the time of the second fire (for him that event never happened). I would have liked to see more of the family together with Gwi-ju back but I'm so glad it's a happy ending and I'm now even hoping for a second season.
*No doubt there are unanswered questions and things not adding up but ultimately I really liked this show, and the themes of redemption, healing, and living in the moment with your loved ones resonated strongly with me.
*Love the relationship between Da-hae and I-na. Da-hae has been bullied too and understands the girl. Though she had ulterior motives to get close to I-na, I think her feelings towards I-na and interactions with her were mostly genuine from the start. I also love ep. 9 where I-na reads her dad's mind and Gwi-ju learns of her superpower. This got me very emotional.
*I'm always a sucker for heartwarming moments between the characters. Love the cute lovey-dovey scenes with our main couple, the zoo visit with Gwi-ju and I-na, the moments between I-na and her sweet love interest, to name a few. Also the scene where Da-hae, Dong-hee and Grace work together to bring down Dong-hee's fiancé, with Dong-hee saving Grace from a free fall by using her superpower of flying, is such a feel-good female-kick-ass moment!!!
*Good performances by the entire cast. My fave character is still I-na and the acting performance by the very talented Park So-yi is so great. Love her!
*Also, great production values and cinematography. Plus a fitting OST with some nice songs and a beautiful moody recurrent theme.
*One of the things I didn't like: Da-hae staging her own death. I felt sorry for Uncle who almost got hurt helping her, and it was such a useless act since Gwi-ju and I-na didn't believe Da-hae was dead and she was found out quickly.
*I love how they were hinting at the romantic pairing of Dong-hee (played by Kim Soo-hyun aka Claudia Kim) and the scam Uncle. He was actually quite sweet and I would have liked to see a romance develop between them.
*Just like in Lovely Runner the leading couple is risking their own lives to make sure the other one lives. Glad the writers gave both shows a happy ending!