Summary
The Atypical Family gets a little more complex in Episode 4, but also a little better. It’s starting to cohere into an engaging story now.
If nobody knew quite what to make of The Atypical Family throughout its first three episodes, I imagine Episode 4 is where undecided viewers will start to make a decision. There’s much more of a show here now, with the K-Drama delivering its share of twists and turns that actually capitalize on the premise instead of letting it idle.
A Power Awakening?
In Episode 4 we start to weave some of the plot mechanics into the theming. This is a superhero show, after all, so it needs some kind of gimmick (or several.)
Thus, when Gwi-joo returns from this time-traveling sojourn with Da-hae, his dad – who doesn’t have his own power but basically does the research and balances the books, a bit like Oracle in Batman stories – tells him about the concept of an awakening.
In essence, everyone in the family, when the right person came into their life, experienced an uplift in their power; it became “whole”, or complete. Naturally, it stands to reason that Da-hae could be this person for Gwi-joo, and that his newfound ability to touch and interact with people while time traveling could be the ultimate evolution of his ability.
The Sauna Prediction
Anyway, after Episode 3, Da-hae understandably feints. Sure, the power thing is a bit of a shock, but the drugged tea hasn’t helped either. Dong-hee’s (accurate) claims that Da-hae has been drugging Man-huem fall on deaf ears without proof, and while Dong-hee also mentions that Da-hae followed her into the family vault, we still don’t know what she was doing there in the first place.
Speaking of Man-huem, she has a prophetic dream of Da-hae being taken away from a sauna in an ambulance. The Bok family owns a sauna, and predictably, Da-hae goes there immediately after being told not to.
Again, predictably, a fire alarm at the sauna causes Da-hae to panic. Despite Gwi-joo’s efforts she falls and hits her head, and she is indeed taken away in an ambulance. Da-hae’s aversion to alarms – which we saw in Episode 1 and 2 also – stems from a childhood fire accident. That was when she became her loan shark mother’s daughter in order to work off the money she owed.
Yi-na’s Love Life Takes A Turn
Elsewhere, Yi-na and Joon-woo are getting along swimmingly until a love rival throws things for a loop in typical K-Drama fashion.
The problem is Hye-rim, a girl from the dance club. She likes Joon-woo and sees Yi-na as an obstacle, so she tells her outright that she needs to pretend not to like him if she wants to be cordial with Hye-rim. It’s all very high school.
Unfortunately, Joon-woo overhears Yi-na slagging him off, despite their relationship having been proceeding pretty positively until that point. He doesn’t know that she’s just saying it for Hye-rim’s sake.
The Ending of The Atypical Family Episode 4 Complicates Matters
As is always the case with time travel stories, things are starting to get complicated.
At the end of Episode 4, Gwi-joo goes back in time again and follows Da-hae into the sauna’s female changing rooms. Embarrassed, he stands under the shower, which explains why he was saturated in the previous episode when he saved Da-hae from falling.
But there’s more to it than that. According to Da-hae’s hazy recollections, he might have been the man who saved her from the fire accident in her childhood. She also seems to be in possession of a marriage registration that he has apparently delivered her from the future. Considering that a bit hasty, Gwi-joo posits that they should try and fall in love before marriage, and plans a kiss on Da-hae.
Things are looking up, for the show and Gwi-joo both.
