[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Reflection of You" Episode 2

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-been, 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.