‘Typhoon Family’ Episode 13 Recap – This Is More Like It

As we approach the end of Typhoon Family, Episode 13 regathers a bit more energy and zing, which is probably just as well. It was flagging, I think that’s fair to say. But it definitely feels like we’re reaching the other side of that perpetual “things are going wrong” cycle. There’s a glimmer of success in Tae-poong’s future, both professionally and romantically, which you can’t say he hasn’t earned, given all the ups and downs of the season thus far.

While we’re eagerly awaiting a happy ending, though, we still have some things to be getting on with in the meantime, as all the points of conflict need organising so that they can be resolved in time for the finale. And you’ll recall there was a pretty big point of contention at the end of the previous episode – the warehouse being on fire with Mi-seon inside it.

It won’t surprise anyone to learn that Tae-poong ultimately rescues Mi-seon, but that isn’t really the point. The point is that the near-death experience clarifies Mi-seon’s unexpressed feelings for Tae-poong, and also helps to really establish Hyun-jun as a bad guy, not just on account of starting the fire but because he clearly couldn’t care less that Mi-seon was in there.

Something had to happen to push Mi-seon into both realising and confessing her feelings for Tae-poong, and this is as good a thing as any as far as I’m concerned. Almost the moment she wakes up in the hospital, she tells Tae-poong how she feels, and why not, at this point? Life’s short, and it’s sometimes nice to have a reminder of how short, not to mention who matters. The clarity is cute on a character level, but also represents a turning point for the show overall. Tae-poong promises Mi-seon’s grandmother he’ll always look after her, and he means it.

I like Hyun-jun being so nakedly villainous at this point, too. It feels like the right time to have a proper villain lurking over proceedings, and his indefensible attitude to the fire makes him even easier to dislike. And, of course, Pyo Merchant Marine, at Hyun-jun’s behest, has made the surgical glove procurement a complete nightmare by hoovering up the supply from all over the country. Tae-poong is forced to literally prostrate himself and beg to buy the gloves from Hyun-jun personally, which I’m not sure I entirely buy, since surely at this point he’d know it wasn’t going to work out.

Typhoon Family Episode 13 draws some nice parallels between Tae-poong and his father, interestingly enough. Drinking in a bar after a long work day is something he watched the old man do as a kid; it’s where he finds himself now, at a loss, having underestimated how hard his father was working to provide for him. It’s a nice full-circle moment and a nice reminder that Tae-poong hasn’t had a great deal of time to grieve just yet. But there’s business to attend to.

Tae-poong’s salvation turns out to be that much-talked-about promissory note. As it happens, Tae-poong’s father had lent Mr. Pyo an enormous amount of money that was never repaid, and the promissory note proves it, which is why Pyo is so intent on getting it back. Tae-poong doesn’t have it, of course, but it’s not too much of a stretch to pretend he does to force Pyo into letting Typhoon Trading have the surgical gloves. The accumulated interest on the unpaid loan over the years would bankrupt Pyo Merchant Marine if Tae-poong ever came to collect, so Pyo agrees.

This leaves some egg on Hyun-jun’s face, obviously, which is where the episode ends, with him thoroughly embarrassed by the defeat and, fittingly, smacked in the face by Mi-seon. He’s going to want revenge, of course, but without daddy’s company to leverage, how can he get it? Let’s just hope that promissory note doesn’t turn up in the wrong place.

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