Recap: Past And Present Intertwine In ‘The Atypical Family’ Episode 5

By Jonathon Wilson
Published: May 18, 2024 (Last updated: last month)
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The Atypical Family Episode 5 Recap - Past and Present Intertwine
The Atypical Family | Image via Netflix

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS

Families are trouble at the best of time, but the Boks are a nightmare. The Atypical Family is weirdly titled, really, since superpowers notwithstanding, they’re pretty typical in general. There are disputes and disagreements and deeply held secrets, some of which are unknown to even the family members themselves. Episode 5 sees them being more typical than ever.

Gwi-joo and Da-hae Might Be Inevitable

Episode 4 ended in quite dramatic fashion, if you recall. Gwi-joo may or may not have delivered Da-hae a marriage certificate from the future, which would mean she’s due to become part of the Bok family sooner rather than later. And this lines up with what Man-huem has been prophetically dreaming about; Da-hae wearing a family ring, passed down through the generations.

Oh, and there was the kiss, of course. But Da-hae’s a bit embarrassed about that.

Gwi-joo isn’t as easily sold on it all, which is just as well since, as we know, Da-hae is a con artist. But is there a germ of authenticity on both sides of this relationship? I’m willing to say with a reasonable degree of confidence that there is.

But Gwi-joo has to figure things out, so he probes Da-hae about the fire in her past, which he may or may not have saved her from. Da-hae isn’t forthcoming about the traumatic memory, but seemingly because it’s traumatic, not because she’s making things up.

Yi-na Struggles To Fit In

The Atypical Family Episode 5 checks back in with Yi-na, who continues to struggle at school.

Yi-na is trying mightily to remain friendly with Hye-rim, but she’s going about it in all the wrong ways. She steals her grandmother’s watch to gift to Hye-rim, and later, when she reads Hye-rim’s mind and realizes she wants to borrow Yi-na’s fancy shows, she gives them to her too.

Of course, the watch is stolen property and the shoes were a gift from Gwi-joo, so these aren’t ideal presents.

Dong-hee Discovers the Marriage Certificate

Dong-hee thinks Da-hae stole the watch, but in her efforts to catch her out, she discovers the marriage certificate, which creates another dilemma for the Bok family.

The family knows that Da-hae is the adopted daughter of an ex-con, which doesn’t exactly make her ideal marriage material.

What to do? If the future is inevitable, should the Boks interfere in fate because of their own prejudices? Or should they allow nature to take its course? This is a pretty interesting theme, though it’s early days to say how well it ends up being explored down the line.

Gwi-joo has more pressing concerns anyway. When he time-travels back to the kiss, he spots Yi-na stealing the watch and worries she might be getting bullied at school.

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Da-Hae and The Storage Room

When Da-hae goes to drop Yi-na’s school shoes off, she spots her with Hye-rim, who is wearing Yi-na’s shoes and her grandmother’s watch, but when Da-hae tries to talk to Yi-na about it, the latter threatens to expose her as a con artist if she doesn’t back off.

When Gwi-joo shows up at the school Da-hae runs off and ends up stuck in a storage room, triggering some recollections from her childhood. As it turns out, she was bullied, locked up in a storage room, and promised to be released just as soon as someone noticed she was missing. Of course, nobody did, and she remained locked in there when the fire broke out.

In The Atypical Family Episode 5, it’s Gwi-joo who comes to the rescue. Was it him in the past, too? How much more is still to be revealed in this matter?


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