The Atypical Family – K-drama Episode 1 Recap & Review

Episode 1 

In episode 1 of The Atypical Family, we meet the matriarch Bok Man-heum and her family on a cliff. She seems to have strange orders for her family members – fly, go back in the past etc., none of whom comply. Later in the episode, we find that the family used to have superpowers but have all but lost them due to lifestyle-related diseases.

Bok Ma-heum is able to see the future through her dreams but now suffers from insomnia. Her daughter Bok Dong-hee used to be able to fly but has gained so much weight that it’s impossible for her to even move fast. Man-heum’s son Bok Gwi-joo used to be able to visit the happiest moments in his past, but since his wife’s death 7 years ago, he’s depressed and unable to time travel. Gwi-joo’s 13-year-old daughter doesn’t seem to have been gifted with any power and Man-heum’s husband is an ordinary man. 

While on the cliff, Gwi-joo enters the ocean and seems to be drowning when a woman, Do Da-Hae, saves him. Da-hae is a new masseuse in an expensive spa where Man-heum is notoriously known to be a difficult client. When nobody is interested in serving her, Da-hae volunteers. She is so good that the insomniac Man-heum not only likes her service but also falls asleep during the session. Impressed by Da-hae’s skills and recognising Da-hae from the beach, she asks for Da-hae to visit her house for a home service.

Da-hae soon does so and is surprised to see the lavish Bok estate. There Da-hae meets Gwi-joo, who’s more or less an alcoholic, drinking through his days and Da-hae purposely knocks his wine bottle to win Man-heum’s favour when she ends up cleaning the mess. 

Later, she brews herbal tea and discreetly puts some unknown powder in it. During her massage session, Da-hae discloses that her parents had passed away and she had been married twice – her first marriage ended with her husband cheating on her while her second husband turned out to be an abuser. Man-heum tells her about Gwi-joo’s late wife and how he cannot get over her. Later, Man-heum promptly falls asleep after drinking the tea while Da-hae goes back home to a bathhouse where she calls someone “mom”.

After waking up, Man-heum tells her husband that she saw Da-hae in her dream with their family ring and is set to have Da-hae marry Gwi-joo. We see that Gwi-joo and his daughter’s relationship has been on the rocks ever since his wife died. Bok I-na, his daughter, feels guilty about causing a tragedy in her parent’s lives. 

The next day, a famous gym instructor applies for the Bok family’s gym while later on, it is I-na’s birthday and Man-heum has invited Da-hae. While I-na remains in her room, playing a video game constantly, the family and Da-hae sit for lunch only for it to be clear that Man-heum is trying to set her and Gwi-joo up. This annoys Gwi-joo and he spills the beans about his messed-up family – he has a teenage daughter who has a reserved nature and his sister, is a mean sister-in-law who has dabbled in many careers before being fired from all of them.

At this point, the family looks for I-na. Man-heum’s husband Soon-gu goes to find I-na and is able to make her come down for the seaweed birthday soup but she overhears her father and grandmother fighting about her father’s apparent suicide attempt.

After this exchange, Man-heum collapses and the family takes her to the hospital with Da-hae in the house with I-na. She warms up the soup for her and makes rice. I-na is suspicious of her since she’s seen Da-hae adding a powder to her grandmother’s tea. Da-hae clarifies that it was liquorice extract and I-na eats her dinner. She warns Da-hae about her family and tells her the truth about their powers. 

Meanwhile, we find that apart from the day being I-na’s birthday, it is also the death anniversary of her mother and so, Gwi-joo finds himself in the columbarium. We find that his wife passed away in a car accident while he survived. 

Gwi-joo returns to find Da-hae clearing up the kitchen and Da-hae tells him that she saw him that day on the beach. It’s revealed that Gwi-joo was trying to save a child’s teddy bear when he started drowning. Earlier, she had relayed to I-na that her father did not jump into the water to die. Gwi-joo is intrigued by her insights. 

Back home, it’s revealed that Da-hae’s family are scammers. Her mother runs a bathhouse while the famous gym instructor who visited the Bok family is her sister. She also has an uncle.  They are notorious for trapping wealthy men with Da-hae marrying them and then divorcing them later due to one or the other made-up reasons. They make fun of the Bok family’s “superpowers” and Da-hae reveals that apart from Man-heum, she has another person to please, referring to I-na. We also find that Man-heum is able to have such a great fortune since she can see into the future and win lotteries or dabble in the right stocks, which is why she’s frustrated with her insomnia. 

Later, it’s revealed that when the accident happened, Gwi-joo went to “save” someone while I-na and his wife were in the car. 6-year-old I-na’s eye shines extraordinarily and the car falls off the cliff, killing her mother. Gwi-joo returns from his travels to find himself stuck in the shattered car with his wife dead beside him.

The Episode Review

Episode 1 of The Atypical Family begins interestingly! There are so many things that we find ourselves to be curious about. I-na seems to have a mysterious power that neither she nor her family knows about. And it’s possible that her mother’s death had more secrets than we originally imagined!

Da-hae felt suspicious but the editing of the show keeps us guessing, where we don’t really know what’s up with her until the very end. She’s definitely a good actor, playing her part of a weak and charming woman with absolute precision. We look forward to her interactions with the Bok family. Right now, The Atypical Family has the potential to be one of the popular k-dramas at the weekend, with its unique plot and characters, so stay tuned!