“The Atypical Family” Sparks Divided Reactions With Its “Confusing” Ending

Some felt it was rushed and confusing.
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Tegan Sweeting
Tegan Sweeting

Spoiler Alert

This article reveals plot details of a current movie or series.

JTBC K-Drama The Atypical Family (also known as Although I Am Not a Hero) concluded over the weekend with its finale.

Bok Gwi-Ju (Jang Ki-Yong) and his family were born with different supernatural powers. Bok Gwi-Ju is able to travel back in time, but only to happy times in his life. He can’t change the past, so he can only dwell on those happy moments. Bok Gwi-Ju becomes afflicted with depression and this leads him to lose his supernatural power. His family also loses their own powers due to modern day problems like insomnia, bulimia, and smartphone addiction. One day, Do Da-Hae (Chun Woo-Hee) happens to get involved with Bok Gwi-Ju and his family. She begins to live with them and change occurs.

— AsianWiki

The K-Drama, which aired internationally via Netflix, starred Jang Ki Yong and Chun Woo Hee as Bok Gwi Ju and Do Da Hae, respectively.

Jang Ki Yong (left) and Chun Woo Hee (right)
Jang Ki Yong (left) and Chun Woo Hee (right)

Netizens were surprised to discover that The Atypical Family had only twelve episodes. It felt as though it could have been a traditional 16-episode K-Drama. So, many were disappointed it was ending already and would be rushed.

@sho.shopooh

why dont dramas air while im out of school 😪

♬ I See You – Lee Sora

The storyline focused on Gwi Ju, who possesses the superpower to travel back in time. He needed to save Da Hae thirteen years ago when she was stuck in a school fire. His mother saw in a dream that he would “die in a fire.” So, his family and viewers feared our male lead wouldn’t survive the ending.

Sure enough, when Gwi Ju went back in time, he successfully saved Da Hae, but it appeared that he didn’t survive. He never returned to the present day, and his family held a funeral for him, believing he died in the past.

The K-Drama does a time-jump of what appears to be about five years. Da Hae had given birth to her and Gwi Ju’s son, who we discover also possesses a superpower of finding lost things or bringing things from the past. So, Da Hae took a chance and showed him a photo of his father. Da Hae was leaving his room when she turned around to see their son standing hand-in-hand with his father, Gwi Ju, indicating that the son had successfully retrieved him from the past. With that, the show concluded.

Viewers had mixed feelings about this ending. Some felt it was rushed and confusing. Some wondered if Gwi Ju was dead, trapped in either an abyss or wormhole of some kind or the past.

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Some netizens explained what they think really happened. They pointed out that the son must have traveled 18 years ago and brought back his dad from the fire in which he saved Da Hae, as he was clearly wearing the outfit he wore at that time.

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One viewer even made a presentation to explain the complicated timeline. It’s believed that Gwi Ju’s son was able to summon him right before the explosion, reuniting the family.

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Regardless of the arguably confusing and rushed ending, the K-Drama successfully concluded with an average nationwide rating of 4.9%, according to Nielsen Korea. Most viewers agreed that it was a unique K-Drama with a variety of beautiful cinematography, romance, family/friendships, plot twists, complex characters, etc.

What did you think about the ending of The Atypical Family?

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