The Atypical Family is a fantasy drama about a family with supernatural abilities who lose their powers due to modern lifestyle diseases they are each facing.
Jang Ki Yong plays Bok Gwi Ju. He is able travel back in time, but only to happy memories, and he is unable to change anything. After a traumatic incident, he falls into depression and loses his ability.
Chun Woo Hee is Do Da Hae. She’s a mysterious woman who gets involved with the family and starts to learn all about their secrets.
The Atypical Family was a fantastic drama all around. I found it to be extremely unique in every way. The premise itself is different, and there aren’t a lot of the usual tropes. It has this mysterious and melancholic quality to it that draws you in. I was very curious early on exactly where this show would be going. It wasn’t too predictable for the most part.
The series is very contemplative and really allows the audience to take in each scene and what it means for the story and characters. It has some very emotional moments that really leave an impact. The pacing isn’t really quick, but I felt like it was always moving nicely along.
The time travel element had a unique twist to it that was fun to see play out. I liked learning how everything tied together and how all of the different past and present events intertwined. The concept of circular time loops is heavily used here, so you kind of just have to go with that.
The entire supporting cast was great. We have Gwi Ju’s family which includes his mother (Go Doo Shim) who suffers from insomnia and can’t see the future in her dreams anymore, his sister Bok Dong Hee (Claudia Kim) who has bulimia and can no longer fly, his daughter Bok I Na (Park So Yi) who is addicted to her smartphone, and his father (Oh Man Seok).
Each character is unique and dealing with their own issues. We get a window into each of their struggles from what their powers mean to them, dealing with losing them, and grappling with modern lifestyle issues. No one issue is explored too deeply, but I thought they were all touched upon well, and it helped draw me into each character’s story.
We deal with complex family relationships that involve imperfect people. Gwi Ju has a difficult relationship with his daughter, parents, and sister. Dong Hee struggles with her brother and parents. Their parents have their own issues. It’s quite the mess in many ways.
Then we have the relationship between Gwi Ju and Da Hae. There’s a lot of questions surrounding Da Hae and her motives in the beginning. I really enjoyed learning about her and then peeling back the layers of who she is.
She becomes a central figure in the happenings of the family, and seeing her and Gwi Ju’s relationship take shape was great. I enjoyed their back and forth and the interesting developments between this couple.
I also loved seeing each of their relationships with I Na. Da Hae sees I Na in a different light than the rest of her family and builds an interesting bond. Then Gwi Ju has to deal with his depression and what his actions have done to his daughter. We get a lot of growth and wonderful character journeys here.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Atypical Family. I appreciated the unique premise and beautifully told story. The wonderful cast brought to life complex and interesting characters. I was always interested in what would happen next and felt the show had lots of heart. Contemplative, unique, engaging, complex, and beautiful sum up this drama.
My Rating: 8/10
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