Someone Like You
Hee-Joo is looking at a painting of a woman with long hair and a gentle smile. She thinks about how her life has been full of pain and suffering, but she’s also grateful for the moments when she’s able to laugh and enjoy life. Suddenly, the painting flips upside down, and in its place is a painting of a woman with short hair and an angry face. The woman in the painting seems to be Hee-Joo’s opposite: strong, independent, and determined. The artist must have made this mistake when they chose to paint this particular picture; it doesn’t reflect Hee-Joo in any way. Hee-Joo decides that she needs to find her own way through her pain. She goes back to the lake and dumps the crate again, this time putting all of her thoughts into writing. She starts to write down what she’s feeling, how it feels to be under attack all the time, how it feels to be alone in the world. She eventually comes up with a song about her experiences: I’m reflecting on my hell It feels like every day I’m living through my pain But I’m also grateful for each moment I’m living through Reflection of You
Hee-Jo is a successful artist who has appeared on the cover of numerous monthly magazines and even had books published. Midway through her latest sketch, Li-Sa rings and urges her to show up at the hospital. The girl sports a nasty cut across her cheek where she’s been bullied at school. Only, it turns out it was actually a teacher that struck her. Outraged, Hee-Joo storms into school and demands a meeting with the headteacher. Her mother is there to lend a helping hand too, demanding that they fire this woman and issue a public apology too. ..
That evening, Hee-Joo speaks to her husband, Hyun-Sung, who happens to be over in Ireland, in a small town called Sligo. He’s in hospital, there to visit a mysterious man who’s unconscious. As the camera pans down, the nametag reads “John Doe” so it seems like they don’t know who he is. Does Hyun-Sung?
In a small town in Korea, Hee-Joo learns that a substitute teacher is responsible for striking her neighbor, Li-Sa. Gu Hae-Won is clearly in a rough place and greets Hee-Joo and nonchalantly apologizes for her actions. Gu claims what she did was punishment for what Li-Sa originally did, going on to justify her actions.
Hee-Joo is unhappy and smacks the teacher with a book, watching as she falls to the floor like a sack of potatoes. However, she does all of this in view of a security camera, which doesn’t help her case much – especially when Hae-Won decides to press charges and sue her.
Now, Hae-Won claims she had a good reason to slap Li-Sa, but she must have hit her pretty hard. In fact, the slap seems to have ruptured Li-Sa’s eardrum, who heads in to get seen to by a specialist. ..
Despite the fact that this teacher has been suspended, Hee-Joo can’t stop thinking about her influence and what may have transpired between her and Li-Sa in the past. When Hyun-Sung returns to Korea again, the pair chat about what has transpired. ..
However, they don’t have to wait long before Hae-Won shows up again. In fact, it’s Hee-Joo’s mum who notices first, given Hae-Won has filed a medical report following her initial assault charge against Hee-Joo. ..
That evening, Li-Sa heads back and bemoans that she’ll be given a new tutor. She’s pretty nonchalant over Hae-Won being dismissed from school though, and it soon becomes clear why as night turns to day. Li-Sa’s room is locked and with little Ho-Su leaving with Hyun-Sang, Hee-Joo is left alone with her thoughts. When she looks out the window, she finds Hae-Won staring from afar.
Our protagonist drops her cup on the floor in fright, shattering the china into pieces. Hae-Won is staring at her, and eventually knocks on the door, dropping to her knees and apologizing.Apparently she recognizes Hee-Joo from the past, prompting our artist to drag her into the house to confront her properly. In fact, Hae-Won is going to drop the charges completely and marvels that she’s now a painter after all these years.
It turns out that Hae-Won was originally going by the name of Hannah, which was her German alias. She’s lost her passion for art though, despite being so enthused in the past, and is now struggling to make ends meet. Hae-Won keeps losing her patience because of this too, apologizing for her anger. Hee-Joo has heard enough and decides to call security, determined to escort Hae-Won off the premises.
Remember that unconscious man in the hospital? Well, it turns out someone called Hannah arrived beforehand and requested he be released. She even came prepared with paperwork to confirm as much too. Hyun-Sung is certainly confused, but so far we’re not actually sure to the extent of this family’s history with her.
As the episode ends, Hee-Joo realizes that Hae-Won didn’t actually come to the house to apologize – there’s an ulterior motive at play. As Hee-Joo heads out to try and find the young woman, Hae-Won grins in secret and utters “I found you” before skipping away.
The Episode Review
The mystery deepens as the story progresses, with more and more secrets revealed about the characters and their past. It’s a well-done mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.
This K-drama from JTBC is definitely a must-watch for anyone looking for a good mystery series to watch. With an easy 60 minute episode, there’s plenty of intrigue and mystery to keep you coming back for more.
It is unknown what caused the rift between Hae-Won and Hee-Joo in the past, but it is possible that something significant happened that has since caused them to drift apart. Given Hae-Won knows about her children, it seems likely that they were very close at one point. However, this is just speculation at this point. ..
This one has an eerie atmosphere, a lot of drama, and a lot of characters to chew over. It’s set to roll on tomorrow’s follow-up!
