Review of The Atypical Family / 히어로는 아닙니다만

It wasn’t until recently, like the past year or so, that I began getting into Korean dramas as they unfold in real time, episodes dropping one by one on the streaming platforms. I used to just wait as the episodes all dropped before getting myself into the tumbleweeds of the worlds they created, but I’m so glad I made this mindset shift.

I feel like I’m like everyone else eagerly waiting to see what happens next now! I didn’t get that feeling at all before, and it’s so exciting to see the streaming platforms like Netflix update with the new release banner as an episode drops for the week. I’ve found some new shows like Queen of Tears this way.

Anyways, I was weary of The Atypical Family at first. Most dramas I’ve watched with Jang Ki-yong (aka: My Roommate is a Gumiho and Now, We Are Breaking Up—both of which I’ve reviewed here on my blog) I have not really been sold on. I’ve found his range as an actor to be quite limiting, or both of those dramas were just mediocre to me.

It was the synopsis of this show that drew me in, I’m a sucker for any show that depicts poor mental health, and I always want to see how they go about it and if it’s a depiction I can relate with.

And man, I became so into this show the more I watched. Let’s get into the review!

A family who lost their superpowers finds a salvation in a young woman—who’s trying to con them in return.

We begin this show with a rescue. The Bok family is gathered on top of cliffs, and when one of the members of the family, eldest son Gwi-ju, ends up in the water, a young woman rescues him. His mother, Man-heum, becomes obsessed with finding the girl, and we discover her name is Do Da-hee,

She works at a jimjilbang and does massages in her free time, and Man-heum brings her into the family after she believes that Da-hae can cure her insomnia. Man-heum is able to see the future when she dreams, but because she has been unable to sleep, she cannot tap into her powers.

This is a common theme throughout the Bok family though. Gwi-ju, who Da-hae rescued earlier, has been in a funk and depressed since the untimely death of his beloved wife. He’s unable to connect with anyone, including his young daughter I-na, and cannot use his power of going into the past.

Before, he would use it to revisit his happiest moments, but now there is nothing to be happy about. His sister Dong-hee once had the power of being able to fly, but because she is struggling with obesity after the end of her model career, and the gradual end of her relationship, she no longer is able to fly.

When Da-hae is hired though, Dong-hee immediately casts suspicion on her. There’s a good reason: although Gwi-ju becomes increasingly curious about Da-hae and realizes he can go into the past gradually, only seeing her in color whenever he does so, Da-hae has been slipping sleeping pills into Man-heum’s tea so she can sleep.

But as Da-hae gets deeper into her plot with the family, we learn more about how the Bok family is able to see the past, present, and future. In a B plot, shy I-na struggles with talking to anyone at school, and gradually discovers her power. However, she gets taken advantage of in some ways, despite a blooming crush coming from her.

Across the twelve episodes of the series, we’re going to learn a lot about healing and overcoming the present day situations we find ourselves in, especially for the Bok family.

At the same time, there are major consequences to trying to meddle with the past, present, and future. I think some people might find this drama to be a little bit boring in some aspects, and the ending to be majorly lackluster. Personally, I thought it worked really well.

Overall Thoughts

Honestly, I really liked this drama! I think twelve episodes was enough time to convey the key story, although an extra episode or. two could have helped clarify some minor points, such as the B plots. The writing in this one was pretty solid to me overall though.

I came into this interested in how it could be metaphoric towards life and depression, and while we get literal manifestations of that, I think we could translate this in different ways to our own lives. For example, we might not have superpowers, but everyday abilities might feel like they go away with feeling down or sad.

The main leads lacked some chemistry to me, though. They’re kind of trauma bonded in some ways by the end, but I found it refreshing to see a widowed man who’s depressed learning to love again. We don’t often get these narratives in dramas, and that’s what hooked me on it in the end.

Go watch this one if you haven’t already! You might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

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