Youkame no semi ep 5

As I said in my review of eps 1-5, my biggest problem with Youkame no semi is that there can be no justification for child-napping unless its like Mother where the kid was getting abused and the authorities are slow to act. No matter how nice Kiwako is and how much she bonds with Kaoru/Erina, it is a relationship born of deception.

Ep 5 starts off by delving into an interesting part of the story, the difficulty of Kaoru/Erina integrating back into her family that she never really knew. Its like someone who was raised by society of zealots having to learn to live in modern society. This of course creates a lot of tension for Erina's mother who missed out on 5 years of her daughters life and now had to learn to connect with her daughter who had been raised by someone else.

Kaoru's mom is the interesting character here because she has been yearning for her daughter but in front of her stands a stranger. A child speaking with an island accent who has no bond with her beyond blood. Ultimately, the show is about Erina as she slowly regains her memories of her five years with Kiwako. Her happy childhood that she suppressed because she needed to hate Kiwako in order to make sense of her life.

Kiwako meanwhile is just a delusional woman who is so hung up about her five years with Erina. She has nothing to live for and her only source of happiness is found in her past. I thought the ending was appropriate but at the same time I just wonder what the point of Youkame no semi is? Erina coming to terms with her hatred for Kiwako? To show the audience how pitiful Kiwako is? Erina's mother doesn't get enough screen time to be called a major player. I just cannot see what the build up and purpose of Youkame no Semi is.

At the same time, I can't really hate it. Usually when something is as horrible as Taisetsu na koto, I watch with a lot of fast forwarding. With Youkame no semi, I paid attention to the whole show probably cause the acting was good but also trying to figure out how to appreciate the story. Storyline wise, its kidnapping dorama where the villain is portrayed as the heroine of a run away show. The only real tension and build up in the dorama is the anticipated 'reunion' of Erina and Kiwako which didn't give any real closure.

At the end of 5 episodes, I just could not find anything about Youkame no semi to latch onto. I think its some sort of emotional connection that probably only women can feel towards Kiwako. I'm interested to know what others have gotten out of this dorama.