Reviews

Will it be the best drama of the year?

This series has a sophisticated atmospheric magic blended with real life traumas and believable characters. Every person in the drama is flawed, but relatable and likeable (except the ML’s sister, about who I'll rant below). As opposed to recent “Queen of Tears” where every character was also flawed, but none of them were likeable (perhaps the exception being the aunt).

In “The Atypical Family” story as well as character development expands with an atmosphere – the colour tones, the music scores as well as sound design, and the easily flowing caesural pauses allowing the viewers to take in the vastness of the scene settings, the seriousness of the situations. One could almost compare this drama with the poetry. Actors and their characters are allowed pauses to think, not to say that they’re slow, on the contrary, it makes them and their choices more believable. The script and most chosen actors are spectacular in their roles….. except one minor detail.

The rant (at ep. 4):
To me it seems that in Korea there are no plus size actors. I’d bet anything it’s not the truth, but the industry is hellbent on trying to prove to the world that there’s either no obese people in Korea or no “fat” actors. Whenever the creators need to have a heavier character in the show, they just find the skinnies actress and put her in a costume. (To be fair it is impressive, what a film crew can do nowadays, and it does look somewhat realistic, however, it also gives “uncanny valley” vibes, because the actor trying to act is not actually fat.) Not to mention, the creators make that particular character as unpleasant visually and in personality as possible. Around the world there are plenty of big and heavy people, who are wonderful, who do not care for their weight, and even have a sense of fashion. But noooo, let’s vilify the fatness. I would not wish it but, I’d guess the plan for Bok Dong-Hee is to lose all the weight, so she could fly again. I would prefer, if she could accept herself as she is and still could regain flying, because that power should not depend on her actual weight, it is after all a Super.Power.
End of the rant.

All in all, I find the story refreshing and interesting, the clashing of one dysfunctional family with a fake united one, the deadpan comedy, the pain of trauma and not managing to let go of the past.

This drama for me might even be the best of the year.

Second rant (at ep. 10):
At ep. 10 Bok Dong-Hee becomes slim, just like that. Boom. We see each episode that she is becoming slimmer, but that amount... just took me out. I generally skip a lot of her scenes because her personality is too childish for me and grinds on my nerves about the whole "get back the cheating man" by losing weight. Ughhh. Bish, if he doesn't want you fat, he will not want you slim.
The only, ONLY redeeming point about the whole lost weight thing is that she still can not fly! Thank you! Because it's not the weight that was holding her down!!! It. Is. A. Super. Power!
End of the rant.

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The bromance depicted in this series was nothing short of deep and beautiful. Despite the constraints of censorship, the creators managed to capture the essence of the romance between the main leads with incredible subtlety and finesse. Through nuanced gestures, meaningful glances, and tender moments, they conveyed the profound connection between the characters in a way that was both touching and heartfelt.

Watching the final episode of this series left me with a profound sense of emptiness and sadness. It's as if saying goodbye to dear friends whom I've grown to cherish over the course of the show. Already, I find myself missing the characters deeply, wishing for just a bit more time in their world.

The actors delivered such incredible performances, bringing the characters to life in a way that felt genuine and heartfelt. Their portrayal of emotions was so captivating that I found myself completely immersed in their journey, feeling every joy and sorrow alongside them.

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I liked the first and second seasons of this show, but I have to admit, I'm really disappointed with the ending. It just feels like there's so much left unresolved, it's frustrating to be left hanging like this. I really hope there's another season to tie up all the loose ends because this ending just doesn't do justice to everything that came before it.

Despite my disappointment with the ending, I have to say that the rest of the show is fantastic. The episodes are super short, but they still manage to pack a punch. My only minor gripe is that a few scenes could have been a bit longer to really flesh out the story, but overall, it's still a pretty solid watch.

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Extremely good plot twists and engaging plot

When this show came out i purely watched it because the cover page looked cool but from the second episode onwards i was hooked!! the plot was so good that i was at the edge of my seat till the next day

Acting/Cast:

Jing Boran has done a great job in demonstrating the various sides to "fei-ke" he made me hate, love, pity and empathize with this fictional character that had lived a very pitiful life....The supporting cast also did well and they did their parts especially the actress who played Xuan-er, i felt enraged on her behalf and she did a very convincing job at switching personalities...The female lead was pretty good but her acting wasn't a show stealer for sure, what i mean by this is that although she does her part very well her role itself isnt that impactful in the actual show

Plot:

The plot was done so well!!! I read a comment saying that this is a special type of drama where all crimes are punished at the end regardless of the reasoning and I think that I would have liked this drama regardless of whether it had a happy/sad ending...The parallels drawn between the "victims" and "the fraud" were very well done and by the end you can't really hate anyone....I also felt like it aptly shows how even the most intelligent people can be affected by their past and how important a good upbringing is for a person.....One thing i will point out though is that you will enjoy this drama way more if you wait for the next episode rather than binging (in my case i spent a lot of time theorizing which made it a more exciting experience)

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a short drama that has a pretty conclusive ending (an extra season is not required but i read some comments on the speculation of its possibility)

there is no textbook good or evil, and every character is a person rather than a plot device for the protagonist

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE SHOW, although there are meaningful gazes between leads and hinted feelings, and skinship between the supporting role with ml there is no actual romance as a plot in the story

( I tried to avoid saying anything close to a spoiler but if you want to know anymore details feel free to dm :) !)

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Tears (and interest) dried up mid-way

I really wanted this drama to have a strong finish because it started out strong. Hae-in's character was well-written and they did an excellent job casting Kim Jiwon for the role; one of the few borderline psycho female leads that was actually likeable and did not start irritating me 3 episodes in (cue IONTBO, CLOY, MLFTS FLs).

KSY and KJW's acting was amazing and their chemistry was satisfying to watch, there was a good plot twist in the middle with the riches to rags thing, the drama found clever ways to play tribute to other popular K dramas and past KSY FLs, and the OST was amazing (and probably what buoyed this drama for me). But that's where the good stuff ends. It was as if the evil-doers lost their braincells after they took over the company or some disney fairy powder was sprinkled over their noses and they turned good overnight. My braincells died along with theirs and the drama became devoid of any intellectual stimulation.

Would I download the OST and hit the reply button? Yes! Would i rewatch this drama? No thank you.

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Possibly the best Taiwan BL I've come across

Having tried watching a couple of Taiwanese BL in the past based on rave reviews online (i say tried because i dropped most of them eventually), only to be terribly disappointed by the story-telling, acting, production value etc (we *cough* best *cough* love, Kiseki) i honestly hesitated starting on this one. In addition to my bad past experience with TW BL, incest just isn't my idea of a good forbidden romance... Putting aside the borderline incest plot, yes they're not blood related blah blah, this was actually a pretty darn good BL. Possibly the best I've seen from TW so far.

The story-telling had structure, decent context setting, good build-up, running themes to anchor the storyline and the dialogues were natural and not overly cheesy. The cinematography (lighting, angles) was surprisingly good for a drama series with thoughtful choice of location (the stairs and alley leading to the house, the fishing scene), although I thought they could've dialed up the "slump" aesthetics a little. But the winning ingredient for me was the acting and chemistry of the main leads. Their sound understanding of the characters was evident in their gestures, speech, right down to their breathing (there's a scene where Yuan and Qian are at the fishing spot for the first time and Yuan is lost in thought, and as the camera pans out back to reality, you can see him breath in and his eyelids quiver, desire and guilt fleets across his face).

Qian and Yuan are also interesting characters with raw survival instincts, are both strong and vulnerable for each other, and are fiercely loyal to each other and their loved ones. The main supporting characters were also well-designed, imperfect people bound together by non-traditional familial bonds. The interjection of well-timed humour also helped to lighten the story (cue San Pang and XiaoBao).

Some gripes were the casting choice for the multiple versions of younger Yuan vs fewer versions of younger Qian. Just wished they either got more similar looking child actors or stuck to just 1 or 2 for both. I also wasn't a fan of the OST and it was an odd choice of bgm at times. The gun scene w the side charac was my least favourite scene as the dialogue was a tad unpolished and it was overall a little over dramatic.

All in all, i thought this was one of the better (if not the best) BL from TW for me and the actors surprised (and impressed) we with their acting chops.

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It's great to watch if you like not much happening

I found this show to be amazingly slow. Do the games have anything to do with the mysteries? The teams switch up each episode, which I couldn't decide was a good thing or bad thing. I think the thing that bothered me the most was the constant replay of scenes so you could see each person's reaction. It really messed with the flow. Lots of running around, which used up a lot of time.

I did like how they filled the apartments with things from the time period that they were investigating...a blast from the past.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Jennie. She was pretty charismatic and quite a good spy.

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