Hi everyone!

Today I thought I’d share my episode 1-2 notes on The Atypical Family, because I’m pleasantly surprised by how well I’m enjoying it, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗

These are my episode 1-2 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️

Episode notes:

E1-2. Color me intrigued, you guys.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, coming into this show, and now that I’ve watched the first two episodes, I still don’t know what to expect, heh. 😅

I keep trying to fish around for an appropriate label to describe this show, but I don’t really know how to box it into a genre label, so far.

Right now, it feels like it’s part satire, part dark comedy, part healing story..?

Whatever it might be, I’m definitely intrigued, and want to know more about this world and these characters.

Right away, my favorite character is Go Do Shim’s matriarch, Man Heum, whom I’m thinking of calling SuperGran, heh.

I love how she comes across as larger-than-life, and quite colorful, and yet, the strongest vibe I’m getting, is that she’s warm and kind.

And, though her methods are often unorthodox, she clearly has her family’s best interests at heart. That warm, Big Grandma energy really endears her to me. 🥰

Backing up a little, the reason I’m thinking that I might need to consider this part-satire, is because the “modern ailments” that plague our various members of the Bok family, are mostly exaggerated and quite.. um, politically incorrect?

Specifically, I’m thinking of Dong Hee and her food addiction. The whole thing is very exaggerated to my eyes, and the fat jokes are insensitive, to put it mildly.

I saw some people questioning the need for a fat suit in the first place, saying that they could’ve just cast a suitably sized actress for the role, but I’m guessing that the reason is because we will see Dong Hee overcome her food addiction, and return to her original size.

That’s likely why they cast a slimmer actress and used a fat suit, I’m thinking.

Also, the way Gwi Ju is shown drinking all day, everyday, and going around saying that he’s depressed, and that’s why he’s like this, seems.. incredibly one-note, over-the-top and insensitive to boot – to everyone who’s struggling with their mental health.

The apparent insensitivity is the reason I’m casting about for the black comedy label, because that’s when shows poke fun at otherwise taboo subjects, and this.. kind of fits the bill?

It all lands better, though, when I think of these characters as being purposely exaggerated to make a point, and to represent us regular people.

Like, at another level, these modern ailments afflict us regular people too, and our struggle with them, can and does prevent us from being living our best lives and being our best selves – our “superhero” selves, in a manner of speaking.

That’s why I’m loosely categorizing this as a sort of satire, in my head.

All that said, is it absolutely necessary to think along these lines, in order to enjoy this drama?

Maybe not (though I do find it useful), because I do find myself quite intrigued at the details of this story world.

I’m curious to know more about what makes our characters tick – and in particular, I’m curious to know more about our female lead, Da Hae.

I wasn’t suuper surprised, when Show indicated that Da Hae was more scheming than she first appeared, mostly because she’d seemed a little too perfect to be real.

Yet, I did still gasp a little, when she tipped over that wine bottle, so that it would break and make a dangerous mess – so that she could step in and clean it up.

I’m really curious to know more about what’s going on.

Although she addresses that older lady as “Mom,” I have a feeling that this lady isn’t her real mother, mostly because I find it hard to believe that a mother would use her daughter in scam marriages like this.

And so, I’m thinking that what Da Hae has said so far, about having lost both parents when she was young, and being all alone, might actually have been the truth, and that she’d met this group of scammers later on, when she’d had no one else to rely on.

At first, I’d wondered about Da Hae saving Gwi Ju, because it had seemed incredibly convenient, that she’d been right there, when he’d needed saving. It made me wonder if she’d engineered the “accident,” so that Gwi Ju would need saving.

However, on hindsight, it seems much more likely that she’d been there just as part of the surveillance work, as she and the rest of her gang prepared to make the Bok family their next scam target.

That’s why she’d been watching Gwi Ju closely enough to realize that he’d needed help, and that’s why she’d ended up diving into the water to save him.

On another note, I have to admit I do side-eye Gwi Ju for not getting help for his depression, because he’s clearly cognizant that he’s depressed, since he goes around saying that he’s suffering from depression, on a regular basis. 😅

But then I remind myself to not take this show so seriously, and try to use more of a satirical lens.

Once I get past that, I have to admit that I find myself pretty invested in his relationship with In Ha.

Speaking of whom, I really love Park So Yi’s casting as In Ha; she’s so tiny, but she’s got these big expressive eyes. Also, I thought she was amazing in See You in my 19th Life, and I’m just stoked to have her on my screen again.

This father-daughter relationship is so awkward and broken, and yet, you can see how badly both father and daughter want to connect to each other; they just don’t know how.

It’s exaggerated for effect, but it’s a completely relatable thing, I think, that Gwi Ju doesn’t know what kind of gift to get In Ha, because she’s growing up, and he still sees her as a little girl.

Even though Da Hae is officially trying to scam Gwi Ju, it’s still heartening to see that, with her influence, Gwi Ju and In Ha are a step closer to each other, by the time we get to the end of episode 2.

I feel like that will be the overall trajectory here, between Gwi Ju and Da Hae, where, in spite of her less-than-honorable plans, along with her “family,” they will somehow form a genuine connection, which I believe will not only help him, but will help her as well.

That closing scene at the end of episode 2 was pretty neat that way, I thought.

On the one hand, this is him gaining something, because he really does get the ability to go back to a specific happy moment.

Not only that, it seems that he gains the ability to touch other people, while doing so. I mean, besides holding Da Hae’s hand, he did also get pushed aside by other people who were running away from the “fire”?

As for Da Hae, she gains help in that moment; she’d been drowning in her fear of fire, paralyzed and unable to move, but it’s Gwi Ju who comes along and reaches her, in her place of darkness.

I feel like that probably summarizes the trajectory we’re about to witness, in their connection? Where they find and reach each other, in their respective darkest places, and help each other out of it.

Plus, if it’s true that Da Hae somehow helps Gwi Ju touch other people in the past, then this could be the thing that enables him to actually save people when he goes back to the past.

Instead of feeling like a prisoner who is unable to help anyone, Gwi Ju really could become the hero that he wishes to be. That would be pretty great. 🥲

All in all, I still don’t have a firm grasp on what to make of this show, but this does seem solidly intriguing so far – provided you don’t analyze the details too hard. 😁

*This show is being covered on the VIP Early Access (US$15) Tier on Patreon*

To view episode 1-2 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!

You can find my Patreon page here, and for all future episode notes for this show you can click here. Currently, notes are available for episodes 1 through 4.

Episodes 5-6 notes will be out sometime this week! I hope you’ll consider joining us!

It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? 🥲❤️

PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for May, which you can find here!