With inaugural ratings of 3.6%, “Reflection of You” is off to a stronger start than “Monthly Magazine Home” which was its long-finished predecessor in the Monday/Tuesday timeslot. The drama continues to be a deliberate exercise in patience- though we already have a lot of answers to some fairly pressing questions. For starters, Hae-won’s aggressive attitude despite being caught on tape as a child abuser is in much clearer focus now that we know more about her history with Hee-joo’s family.
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It seems all but explicitly confirmed at this point that Hee-joo’s career as an artist borrows significantly from personal time spent with Hae-won. In the latter part of the episode we’re treated to some perturbing flashbacks wherein a short-haired Hae-won has a significantly more bright and cheerful personality. In one present day scene of distinctly morbid humor, Hae-won discusses a past history of suicide attempts, as cheerful adults old enough to be her parents look on.
I think I understand the odd narrative structure of “Reflection of You” a little bit more now that I understand this is a revenge drama being told from the perspective of the person on the presumed receiving end of that revenge. Whatever misdeeds Hee-joo and her husband may have committed, they appear to be in denial about their own culpability. That Hee-joo didn’t immediately recognize who Hae-won was or understand why she struck Lisa makes a lot a more sense when this is taken into account.
We can still see shades of Hee-joo’s less than sympathetic moral compass via her children as well. Her son Ho-soo (played by Kim Dong-ha-II) seems quite bratty, despite a seeming chance encounter where Hae-won is magnaminous as to his initial lack of manners. The word seeming is doing a lot of work here, woth Hae-won unnerving Hee-joo in part because it’s increasingly impossible to tell how much of Hee-joo’s behavior is preplanned as opposed to her just making good use of available opportunities.
There’s a definite element of satire here as well, with Hee-joo’s apparent heroic turn as a housewife who has risen to the level of acclaimed artist subject to the unspoken accusation that she accomplished this by robbing Hae-won of her own agency. The tension is frustrating and ominous. Yet it can only really exist if Hae-won or the rest of her well-off family actually abused their privileges as societal elite. Otherwise, they’d have nothing to be scared of.
Review by William Schwartz
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“Reflection of You” is directed by Lim Hyeon-wook, written by Yoo Bo-ra, and features Go Hyun-jung, Shin Hyun-bin, Choi Won-young, Kim Jae-young, Kim Bo-yeon, Shin Dong-wook. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/10/13~Now airing, Wed, Thu 22:30 on jTBC.
William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema’s travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea’s public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
[HanCinema’s Drama Review] “Reflection of You” Episode 2 (2021/10/14)
Source: Laban Lang Philippines
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