Riding Life (2025)

Easy watch that questions “what is the best thing for…” a few ways

This is going to have spoilers, so I recommend you just dive in and watch a few episodes instead of reading my rambling thoughts here if you haven’t already seen this.

This was quite heartwarming and a little crushing, too. Seeing kids develop obsessive compulsive behaviors, have panic attacks, and endure way more strain than their developing bodies can handle is hard, even in fictional settings. It is a bit predictable (because family dramas almost always are), but the characters that are developed are solid while the background ones are sort of just there. They chose fantastic cast members who delivered reliably even when the characters themselves didn’t have enough time on the screen to be deeply developed.

They had the characters and plot for 12 episodes but trimmed it to 8. It worked both in its favor and against it at the same time-some things were shallow and felt like filler simply because they weren’t fleshed out but delivered like bullet points in a presentation you list off and move past. Seo Yun’s father was supposed to be one of the main characters but had less presence than the grandmother of SY’s best friend. I’m sure the actor doesn’t mind since he is pretty content with all levels of roles, but he was really just there, his scenes kind of feeling out of sorts like a quota they needed to meet since two single moms of one daughter back to back in a family would bring quite a different dynamic, the crypto mess really truly feeling unnecessary, like odd 3-line filler that goes nowhere (I find it hard to believe that they “just need a little more” and instead of a loan and family support or just WORKING SOMEWHERE since his building doesn’t need him on site, they… um… write a plot line of gambling away what I think was ₩300M. Still, even with some odd moments, the actual human connection was warm and tender, resilience and priorities and “what is best for them” really central. Jung Jin Young was a big reason I watched along with Jeon Hye Jin, and I especially enjoyed his role. JHJ’s first drama after losing her husband so cruelly made me feel more intensely than perhaps I should have initially, but I quickly forgot she was anyone but the character once the dynamics were established.

The kids who have to endure, as preschoolers, this sort of imbalance are just being set up for mental breakdowns. Adults in rat race workplaces shouldn’t inflict that same kind of atmosphere and pace on developing brains and the bodies controlled by them. That much stress causes destruction from underdeveloped body systems (especially gastrointestinal, another reason stress leads to more accidents with little kids’ bladder development getting delayed on top of stress making the nervous system derail) to self-destruction. The nail biting and stealing, trying that hard to control a situation impossible to control as a tiny kid, turn into far bigger problems down the line. That intense level of denial for so long when she knows first hand the triggers for it is crushing. Looking straight ahead at the other moms when your child is by your waist makes me loathe them. Neglect is a form of abuse, and I am glad they showcased different ways of harming your child (ones that don’t require physical contact or that can, to outsiders, seem like compassion even when cruelty is displayed) clearly without ambiguity.

I don’t know how I feel about the accident in the last episode, but at least everyone was okay. They had no time to traumatize the whole cast, so it isn’t as if there was a decent alternative once they decided to have a car pull out (really, though, why not do like train tracks and have bars stop people from walking into these exits for underground lots where they can only see people if they take the time to look in the mirrors on the garage walls which most don’t do?)… The kids were realistic-most are resilient so long as their parents are stable, honestly, even if it is partly because actually stable parents don’t tend to forget their kids are kids and turn them into trophies because of social pressures stable parents can actually talk through and decide the level of engagement with.

SY could’ve (not should’ve but could’ve) handled Class A (how dumb to rank kids not even in grade school yet, though, oof!) if they’d just let her have room to breathe, run a bit which is necessary at that age (what is with expecting the brains of preschoolers to be able to focus for 2 hours on reading material, and I’m sorry, but what 5-year old SK school kid is learning comma rules for English in an academy, and… whyyyy?—some of it is nuts and hopefully exaggerated since most of it I caught was *native language* 2nd grade material they were doing in their academy). They made me so glad for my own time of art, music, math through tactile learning (objects in front of you), reading fun material (certainly not the king’s speech or anything like it lol), swim lessons and observing nature and comparing leaves and bugs from outside to what is in books, growing our own little plants, incubating bird eggs, and other basic “learn how to learn” techniques and motor skill development! In this case, SY would’ve been okay if her mom hadn’t upended her own life and been showing intense stress around the clock and being so intensely anxious the whole time they were looking into Class A mess. Your tiny mirror, the cute little monkey that sees and does, is gonna reflect that stress right back, dear parents.

I am happy the elders got their cute late in life love story. That is probably my favorite part, 3 grandparents with one being the wingwoman for both of the others. All in all, I enjoyed it. The title is quite apt. It really is about a mom, her mom, and her experience being a mom herself, complete with another grandmother-mother-daughter pack of pals.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Mother and Mom '' is a family melodrama about the relationship between mother-grandmother-daughter.

The drama has many themes that it explores, other than the family bonds, like the pressure on little children about their academic scores and their admission to the best schools and academies, and, of course, the aftermath of that pressure.

Also, the romance was cute and enjoyable, and, thankfully, wasn't the main focus of the drama and was only there to support the plot, even though the chemistry was there.

In addition, the relationship between the two women (mother-daughter) as well as the little girl was an interesting one, and it was thoroughly explored, even though the final episodes were kind of off, with the main lead's reaction. Still, it was a happy ending, even though I would have loved if her relationship with her husband had been also better presented and explored.

Finally, the performances were all great, especially by the little kids.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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