The Good Bad Mother (2023)

"You reap what you sow", The Good Bad Mother

hii this is my first review :) hope you'll find it useful!

notes: I started watching "The good bad mother" while on air and i have to say i felt like every single episode was interesting and well-made. If i could, i would have binge-wacthed the whole show.
The thing that you may probably don't think is that this show doesn't have much romance. In fact, it talks about love but not only the one of a romantic relationship, and if you are searching for a rom-com, this isn't what you are looking for.

I liked this show so much and these are the reasons why i would recommend it to everyone:
1. the show makes you understand what the love of a mother really is: the relationship between kang-ho and his mother is made of happy moments and sad moments, but each of them is useful to the development of their relationship. I feel like the story is realistic in this aspect. in each episode you could feel their bond becoming stronger and stronger.
2. the story has a mystery plot that will make you attached to the screen. every episode gives you a little piece of the final puzzle.
3. the acting in this show is sublime: lee do-hyun portraired the perfect choi kangho. but also other actors did the best job. their acting make you understand their feelings, truly.
4. the setting: a peaceful village in the countrysides of korea.
5. the funny moments: even if the show is sad most of the time, it has a satisfying ending and funny moments. i think these scenes are well-balanced.
9. the message of the show: the way they talk about justice and how everyone is going to pay for what they have done at the end.

my overall rating: 9.5 for the acting, the story, the way the story touches your soul

some advises:
don't watch it if you don't want to cry. this show will make you cry lots.
i recommend it if you like lee do-hyun!

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Emotional and fun drama and a story of a mother's love and of her flaws.

1/ STORY:

I liked the story. It was very emotional as it dealt with mother and son relationship. It tells how sad events, and a life of hardships shape the mentality of a mother who loves her child but gives him a strict tight upbringing which impairs their relationship and create a gap between them. She will have to do the job of taking care of her son again, but her methods do not change, and she does things right but also wrong again.

There is also a subplot where the misery brought on them, mother and son, is not because of coincidence. The son will decide to find out the truth of what happened. This will deepen the ditch between him and his original place. That part of the story was interesting but not the focus. It helped to give depth to the leading characters, and it triggered some thrilling moments and funny action.

Romance: not a typical romance told in an unusual way. It is like a puzzle. Put the pieces do take their right place and unveil a cute romance that ends happily despite the misunderstandings and the time passed.

2/ CHARACTER/CAST:

- The mom: Loving but also authoritarian mother who uses strict and extreme methods thinking it is for the best. She is awful at times but also human as she does not know better and that was the best she could do as a mother. At the end of the journey, she will be able to turn back to see the road made and despite the many mistakes say it is a good journey. The actress Ra Mi Ran did a great job portraying that character.

- The son: Despite adversities, he grows up to be a nice intelligent loving young man, but he takes a decision that will cause his life to totally change. The road back to himself will be long and painful. Lee Do Hyun impeccable.

- Mi Joo: I liked her personality. A young woman who seemingly falls out of love and struggles to provide for her family. But she remains positive to keep it up and earn her happiness. The actress bluffed me.

- Sam Sik: The guy is useless during almost all the drama until he is given some action. He fails to be funny most of the time.

- First bad guy Assemblyman Oh: terrible human being portrayed by the usual Jung Woong In and his best sneering face.

- Second bad guy Chairman Song: murderer who became a grotesque gang boss behind an honorable façade. Underused character.

- The ex-fiancée: Spoiled rich girl got totally manipulated until she decides to save herself.

- The villagers: A collection of farcical characters who are mostly fun to watch.

- The twins: They are not very realistic but absolutely cute to watch.

3/ OST: Nothing special but good enough

4/ REWATCH VALUE: A lot of emotional scenes. A lot of funny scenes too. But it is quite heavy at times. Rewatchable.

5/OVERALL: It is a good and entertaining drama more focused on the people and the relationships between them. The mom and son’s relationship is full of difficulties but in the end it is a beautiful story. I enjoyed watching this drama week in week out. The thriller part was ultimately a bit lacking for my taste. It was resolved in a rushed way using info dropping, clues dropping, Tchekov’s gun, with a final surprise twist. But the most important part was not there. I will still give it a 10/10 as it had me glued at every the ep.

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Another Kdrama masterpiece

Lee do hyun is indeed a gem in kdrama industry. He is really gifted. From humble beginnings he made this far is a reminder that our past will never define who we can be in the future.

The drama is marvelous. To say it's good is an understatment. Would have loved to see this in 16 eps, i cant have enough of the whole cast. For me everyone contributed equally to create a timeless masterpiece.

What i love most in this drama is it hit so many points from love, parenthood, marriage, careers, dreams, failures, money, power, karma and so on. It was conveyed systematically without messing the plot.

You love and hate the mother it does live with the title. But the mother's ultimate love vendicated her. We all go through different process but as mothers we only want what is best only we dont know the exact process of doing so. Id like to throw big thumbs up to the the writer, director and whole production team. Keep good dramas coming. I pray these gifted people will continue producing wonderful masterpiece such as this.

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I don't care what you like... if you like kdramas you should watch this one.

Every episode was extremely special; I never thought "I can't wait for the next one" after finishing an episode. Not because there wasn't any excitement but because each episode was so full that I could wait to live with whatever they gave me. I also had patience whenever an "arc" stayed for too long. Every story and character was so special. You will hate them and you will love them but you will also understand them so dearly. Of course, you'll fall in love with the main lead but that's not the story. The story is all about Ra MiRan's character which couldn't be any better.

All the small details. All the memories. All the connections. They were all beautiful.

I have some regrets about the final episode somehow it felt rushed like a movie ending. The main concerns were resolved way too fast after a long build-up. But like I said they weren't the point. Kang ho's real 30something character & life wasn't the point and his revenge was more so. There wasn't a reason for us to dwell more than necessary over his revenge and adult life. We needed to know what was needed to fulfill the story of his relationship with his mom and what led him back to her.

In a way, my regrets regarding the ending are a little subjective. I wanted to see a different future for him. Living happily managing the farm with Mijoo, who liked painting nails more than anything, and him, who's a prosecutor thorough and thorough, didn't work well with me. I kept imagining a season 2 where (after LDH finishes the military - yes I thought far enough) he goes back as a lawyer (his license gets reinstated) and continues his work. I would also love to see the rest of the characters including the twins live their lives normally with bliss.

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Good drama, some missed opportunity

Overall, I enjoyed the overall drama, but it had some elements that did not sit well with me. Let start with the things I enjoyed, then what I did not.
What I enjoyed:

Kang-Ho and Mi-Joo relationship from start to end. I have come accustomed to kdrama relationships being dragged until the end for the couple to be together and to many unnecessary misunderstandings, but this relationship was different and refreshing. Even when Mi-Joo was upset with him, she understood and sympathized with his recovery time. Their good times together was so precious that you could feel the intimacy between them. Individually they did an amazing job that you couldn’t help but fall in love with the character and root for them

The twins were exceptional. For their age, they mad this show so much fun and necessary comedic relief. They had the perfect timing for the truth and comedy. Every time they were in my screen, I laughed, cried and jump of joy with them. What an amazing casting.

Kim- Sik was also enjoyable character, you couldn’t help but try to love or root for him. I really wish that his character had a better development at the end, instead of just him still being a thief. But his help with the case was vital and that’s why I wanted More for his character.

What I didn’t enjoy much:

Kang-Ho’s mother who stayed the same, even though, she tried to take accountability before her demise. No matter how hard they tried to redeem her character, she still didn’t change for me. This is here where the writers missed the opportunity for me. In my opinion, Before and after the accident, she was still abusive. I thought that after Kang-Ho accident, and he told her why he couldn’t eat, she would change but she did for 2 mins then went back to more abuse. Everything she was doing was self serve and the title should just have stayed bad mother. It was so frustrating to root for her to try to redeem herself

The villagers were extra in every scenes, even though they added some comic relief, but their stories were underdeveloped. Like the washed singer what was his purpose really? The neighbor that always had a facial mask.

Overall, it was a well done drama, it’s mostly the mother character that left me puzzled and unsatisfied. I will definitely rewatch for the twin and some other characters.

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Surprisingly good!

I can't recommend this enough. Within 5 minutes of the show, I've been hooked. Ra Miran and Lee Do Hyun are perfectly casted in their roles as mother and son. As of episode 8, you can understand why Young soon needed to be tough and be perceived to be a bad mother by her son. Yet, there is still a question if Kangho really became cold-hearted as he seemed because of her strictness. As they reconnect again, you can see that she is a mother who just wants the best for her son while he just want to be able to please her. The show is not perfect, there are some scenes that I can do without (yes, I'm taking about you composer man) but if you want a drama that can touch your heart then this one's for you.

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We’re All Good Bad People!

One of the biggest things I learnt while watching this drama is we’re all good bad people when it comes to the people we love.

Throughout the drama, I wondered why pigs? And then it finally hit me around episode 10. At the beginning we got a back story of pigs. They were never filthy animals we now know them to be. Pigs are actually quite clean. They do their business in one area and eat in another. It wasn’t until humans began confining them that they had no freedom to do such. Hence the filth. The only way a pig can see the sky is if it falls on its back. This was again repeated by Young Soon after Kang Ho got into his accident and was I rehabilitation mode. The comparison I made was Kang Honwas the pig. He lived a life only seeing what his mom laid out in front of him. Básica having tunnel vision. It wasn’t until his accident that he “fell on his back” like a pig and was able to see the bright blue sky.

Jin Young Soon
A dedicated daughter, wife, mother and friend. She had her shortcomings (don’t we all). At first I hate her character. The way she basically robbed Kang Ho of a childhood and pressured him into a career and life he never wanted pissed me off so bad?. It wasn’t until later episodes that I was like, “ahhhhhh….that’s why she so twisted and hell bent on certain things.”
From day 1 her life was filled with pain. Witnessing the death of her parents. Then her husband, watching her son get into an accident and then finally dying from stomach cancer?‍?
Everything she did for her beloved son was deeply rooted in fear and love.

Fear - because she was scared to loose him the same way she lost everything she held so dear in her life. We see this clearly when Kang Ho never went on school trips. Gimbap are an essential snack on every school child’s trip. With Young Soon gimbap was basically a bad luck charm. She made it the morning of her family’s trip to her dad’s work picnic and they crashed then she made some for her husband and he ended murdered. So naturally a connection formed gimbap = death.

Love - Kang Ho was/is her pride and joy. She sacrificed all she could to make sure he never felt the absence of his dad. Granted she may have held on to him a bit to tightly, but this was only done because the thought of loosing him too would be devastating. Granted some of her ways of showing her love were unorthodox. But we love how we’re thought to right? And also life shapes the way we act and do certain things.

Her being a good bad mother in my interpretation was, she was a good mom because she loved and sacrificed everything to make sure he lol succeed in life. And a bad mother in the sense that she sometimes held on too tight and didn’t allow Kang Ho any chance to experience life in a sense. She wanted to be his shield always. That’s a good thing but also bad.

Kang Ho everything he did he did for his mom. As much as he may have had his dislike for her way of raising him, he always knew why she did it. He knew the driving force behind his mother’s absurd behavior and obsession with him becoming a prosecutor. He knew she didn’t want him to be like his father. Then when he got sick he knew she was making amends for what she cause him to go through as a child. Through it all he could’ve easily hated her but instead he kept loving her and even left clues incase anything should happen to him.

Their dynamic as mother and son was one of the best I’ve seen in dramas. Both Ran Mi Ran and Lee Do Hyun were perfectly casted for this role and pulled it off stupendously.

Now the villagers themselves ??well they sure are something. Their dynamic perfectly portrays a community turned family. At first they were hesitant when Young Soon moved in but later welcomed her with open arms. They were there for each other through the highs and lows. The perfect blend chemistry between each of the cast mates.

I loved how from beginning to end we never saw the village chiefs wife face?. This woman basically had an endlessly supply of face masks, scarves and hats to cover her face. At one point I wondered if she was getting over hydrated in the face. The finally we got a face reveal and a pregnancy announcement! And the story of her being a yakuza’s daughter actually was real.

The take down of Oh Tae Soo and Chairman Song was perfect. Honestly OTS is a scum of a human and father. The man really was something (also am I the only one who noticed that he never plays a good character in any dramas? He’s always some slim shady snakey dude). The 2 of them deserved what they got and I’m glad his daughter stepped up and exposed her dad even if it meant she also went to jail for being an accessory to his crime.

Episode 14 ended perfectly. Mi Joo and Kang Ho’s scene where he proposes with a pig, was exactly how his mom got proposed to. He even said the exact words and the pig also ran away?. And Sam Sik and his sticky fingers and heart on his sleeve self remained the same.

The one thing that stood out the most was the song Young Soon always played. Noticed how that was the song her dad had playing before the crash. The she had it as her ringtone. Despite the songs cheery lyrics it was a painful memory for her. Everyrime her phone rings she’s reminded of what she lost. But at her funeral when KH started singing, “I am happy, I am happy, I am happy…. I am very very happy.” In that moment, those words took on a new meaning. From being a constant remind of what she’d lost to becoming a song of hope and new beginning that shift was clear. Yes… it was being sung with tears in their eyes but you could clearly see it wa showing to be a song of all the good times. That was shown as Mr Bang sung that song, and our precious lettuce farms were singing quite jolly and drives the blush pink truck with “Happy Farm” boldly written on it.

We’re all good bad people. We love passionately and sometimes hold on too tightly in fear of what may happen. Omce in a while let’s be like pigs. Fall on your back and appreciate the bright blue sky and warm sun.

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love letter to motherhood

I cried every episode, but the joy I found in watching this show was unparalleled. the acting was next level and the actors really gave their heart to the roles. what a beautiful, multifaceted expression of a mother's love.

Beyond the sentimental value, the story line was captivating from start to finish, incorporating comedy, action and drama. Almost like a book I couldn't put down I watched the episodes back to back right to the very end. Definitely a full-bodied story. The storyline was well paced and though I'm not used to 14 episodes for a kdrama, it fit perfect for this show.

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one of the best kdrama i've seen

an emotional, funny and heart warming show
The good bad mother is an emotional, meaningful and moral show that follows Kang Ho and his 'Bad mother' on their journey to solve their sorrow due to their past wounds.
the story includes lessons about family, friends, love and life, the acting was truly beautiful it showed the love of a mother who only wanted what was best for her child after the death of her husband, not realizing her actions and words affected her son in many ways and how a son would do anything to understand the pain his mother went thru and fix her broken heart.

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Such a heartwarming and intriguing story full of morals and lessons

After hesitating and postponing watching this drama, I decided to watch it in the end but I NEVER thought I would be glued to it and binge-watch it and finish it quickly, I wish it had had more episodes cause it's a masterpiece. I usually rate dramas that I watch based on how much I've enjoyed them, which isn't strict, BUT for this one, I would've given it 10, even if I took into account other criteria.
While watching the events, the relationship between the characters, and the lessons that they give, I laughed with them, cried with them, and was immersed in every feeling given by them, (This is also a strong point in the storytelling). The acting was pretty good as well.
I know I didn't point out the negative side (of course, there are many since it can't be perfect), but I don't like emphasizing them when I feel like there's no need to cause there are more good sides than the bad ones. the most important thing is that you won't be bored and won't have to skip many scenes like some other dramas.

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A DRAMA TO LIVE IN MY MIND FOR DECADES ❤️

This has been an easy 10/10 from me..I don't know how to start this review because I have alot to applaud but I'll break it down

This drama was like a mixture of different genres done in an amazing and smart way

The story has been an emotional roller coaster, I've cried each and every episode but I absolutely appreciate how it remained consistent and how it got better every episode, every single reveal had perfect timing and it was well explained and ellaborated with absolutely no drags..or fillers just amazing story telling from the first to last episode.

The characters, I admire when K dramas make imperfect and relatable characters, characters you can try to empathise with or root for and all characters in this series felt human, they had flaws and problems and made wrong decisions and also had regrets, they just felt relatable and it made viewers like me connect to them and feel for them easily..that's one aspect I admired about all the good bad mother characters.

The acting was AMAZING or can I have another worf better than amazing..I've seen lee do Hyun act before and I admire how his acting reflects his feelings and longing..iam proud to see him pull off all the challenging characters and I can absolutely say he nailed the KANG HO role..he potrayed over three different characters and each with a unique touch..I absolutely iam going to fight if he doesn't win some award for his role

Ra mi ran as Youngsoon was the right choice, I had never seen her before but she won me over with her acting, I got angry with her and sympathised with her and cried with her..that's the power her acting held throughout the entire series

Both lee do Hyun and Ra mi rans scenes had this impact and so much power and emotion..I was impressed.

The rest of the cast did an amazing job too, Mijoo has to be my best written female lead of all time, natural and absolutely lovable, the twins were the light of the series and Samsik was the comedic relief...the rest of the villagers did an amazing job too so I'd saw overall the acting from everyone was AMAZING.

The cinematography and osts were amazing..and I absolutely loved the ending..it's all I wanted to see after how thrilling hectic and emotional the series was..that kind of happiness was absolutely well deserved

I want to say more seriously I could go the entire night..but one thing is for sure this is one of those really amazing and we'll written MASTERPIECES

I have no complaints except recommend this to all who want a family drama with a splash of revenge and comedy and emotions

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