Bad Mother (2023)

Heart wrenching and beautiful drama about how love isn't guaranteed, undermined by tonal whiplash

What does it mean to be a mother?

The Good Bad Mother explores that question through the relationship between mother and son. An untimely accident causes Choi Kang Ho (played by Lee Do Hyun) to become paraplegic and suffer amnesia. His mother, Jin Young Soon (played by Ra Mi Ran), must once again raise her son through the trauma of their past relationship.

Heartfelt and heart wrenching moments shape the drama, as it explores the traumatic past both mother and son hid away from each other. However, interspersed are some of the worst moments of tonal whiplash I can remember in a drama. Neighbours of the family are caricature hillbillies that are often meant to provide comedic relief. Instead, heartfelt and dramatic scenes will immediately cut to an attempt at comedy. A mom is hiding spousal abuse from their kid and neighbours? Well that's alright because the teenaged daughter is pulling the dad's ear to some lighthearted music right after! The first few episodes suffer from this heavily, with the later episodes toning it down, although not outright removing it. While I appreciate the attempt to be funny, almost all of the comedic scenes don't land, and their timing/placement are so terrible that it draws you completely out of the drama.

This drama could have been a masterpiece if not for the forceful nature of it's comedy. Inclusion of some of the most boring tropes also detract from it's messaging, including characters with amnesia, destined lovers, and political corruption. Ra Mi Ran steals the show in this drama, but even her outstanding performance is not enough for me to recommend this drama.

Lire davantage

it had a lot more potential, but it really is a good watch!

just watched tgbm for the insane hype on social media and I have to say I wasn't really disappointed, but I don't think this is such a big title as the people say online... of course it's not a bad drama, but some flaws storywise and plot holes made me question such a high rating to this...

story: for me, this is the weakest part of the drama. I've seen so many people saying that this seemed so slow paced and so long, but in my opinion this drama should have at least 16 episodes to be a better watch. I believe that this drama would move a lot faster with more episodes because this way there would be more room for other happenings rather than just the recover of Kangho (I do know this is the point and the most important part of the drama, but I would never thought he would stay sick until episode 11/12!). this drama also didn't really worked as a drama + comedy show in my opinion... some issues here are way more important than they appear in the episodes, like the abusive household Kangho lived in the childhood! the way he was left with no apparent traumas or resentment seemed quite unrealistic to me. I hope I don't sound sadic(?) with this opinion 😅 don't get me wrong, but I think Kangho would be a character a lot deeper than he actually was in the drama if he dealed with healing... I know he lived the way he did mostly because of his mother influence, but I was hoping it was better showed in the show.
personally some characters actions are what bothered me the most, like the sudden change of thought Mijoo had about Kangho, or the sudden personality changes Youngsoon had, but beside this I really felt connected with the families, and almost all situations showed made me relate with mine :)

acting: even with the medium development of characters the cast here is fantastic! I really like Lee Dohyun works and think he is such a talented guy. I didn't know the Jin Youngsoon actress before, but now I really am looking forward to see more of her works!! also kudos for the little twins, they are really charismatic and cute :)

music: I really pay attention to the OST in dramas and they really play a very big role for me, but this drama has a lot more dialogues or scenes with instrumentals. the OST only appears few times and shortly, but beside this, I think the songs are great!

rewatch value: I don't usually rewatch shows... so I'm voting in this based if I did lol
even with some issues relating especially to Jin Youngsoon character, I think I would like to rewatch this drama because of the cozy vibes. maybe the flashback episodes, or the ones with family reunions, or the 13th one to have some fun!

overall, I think the good bad mother had a way bigger potential... they had such important themes to explore and I think they could have done a better job script wise :) even so, this is not a bad drama! maybe this is all about my personal expectations and how my personal approach would be related to some parts of the story, so feel free to chat in the comments if you want to!

Lire davantage

too dense for it's own good

the first thing you must be aware of is the intensity of this story. if there was a darkness barometer, 1 being the darkest and 10 the brightest, this show is on 2. it's on 2 because they managed to put some light every now and then. don't watch if you are facing hard time.

2nd: the story is very complex, and the first 4 episodes are like 4 different movies about the same characters having something like a slip of dimension's experience. it's very unsettling. and then things come together and you start to understand what is going on. or do you?

3rd: that's a very good drama. my 8 score is a little harsh, I was taken aback by the darkness of the story, it wasn't what I needed to watch right now, but I liked it nonetheless and found it addictive. so, if you like dark stories, or if you want to watch something more "serious" and less superficial, it's a great choice.
enjoy!

when to watch: this is not a story for relaxation after work. watch it on week-end, with friends.
audience: this is definitely not for under 18 audience. everything is hard and there is a lot of life's complex lessons, even for grown ups. let children enjoy this pearl after they grow old.

Lire davantage

Directionless and incredulous show with a psycho mom

First of all, the writer can't seem to determine whether they want the story to go into comedy or have serious plot lines. Because the story taking place outside the village is all suspence and serious, but once you enter the village, the characters suddenly become comedic. Take Woobyeok's two secretaries, for example. The show started out pretty good. Initially, I figured the show would be about a prosecutor on a path of revenge or a path of corruption that took away his father's life. Either way, both interesting. Then the accident happen which was an unexpected twist that could've made things more interesting.

But once Kang-Ho came back home, the story devolved into a bunch of country bumpkins acting like fools. There's no clear direction and the writers just randomly tossed in every known K-drama cliche such as family car death, major illness and unnecessary misunderstandings. All happening at once! Once country bumpkins take over, we see less and less of two villains who are much more interesting. They're wasting so much time adding incredulously improbable plot lines during Kang-ho's "recovery" process, it's gotten hard to watch. The show constantly switches from comedy to cringy drama trying to make you cry.

What really gets me about this show is how Kang-ho's mom comes across. I get that she's had a hard life but she's an absolute nut job! The way she treats Kang-Ho is way past child abuse and she should be jailed for it.

Speaking of child abuse, how Min-Joo lies to her two kids about their father is a next level psychological abuse. How will they recover from this?

We also cannot forget newly discovered ways to treat quadriplegic people. Starve them so they can use their own hands and then throw them in water so they can start walking. Someone actually wrote this crap.

Who else is so sick and tired of the main character losing her crap every other scene?Directionless and incredulous show with a psycho mom

Shortest TL;DR - story failed to maintain the momentum towards the end.

Lire davantage

The Good Kids and The just Bad mother

This drama has a bit of everything I love with a side of cringe, anoying elements and more or less everything I hate in a drama... okay not everything but a lot leaving me conflicted as the parts I loved where so good, so good so good.. While I found myself anoyed at most of the characters overacting I also found myself kind of falling for the idea of an imperfect be it over the top found family. Though they seem to change their minds over the oddest things and have more changes of heart than a top thorax surgeon will preform in their lifetime. They still have som kind of hidden charm somwhere.

The lead couple is adorable in so many ways, predictable at times but oh so sweet giving this romance addict the fix I needed, better than a lot romance out there. And though this is not listed as a romance, the romence in this adds a whole lot of spice to the plot.

The mom, the way she acts and more or less everyghing about her was supposed to show nuaunce and what not but while here character as a person was lovable and fun to watch her methods and motherhood where so bad it made my blood boil.

The kids in this drama almost steal the show but they have fierce competition from the piglets, adding fluff and sweetness to this otherwise mostly dark show.

A decent watch, that is highly entertaining just mind the monologs, annoying elemants, healing and cringe and you will be fine...

Lire davantage

Conseguiu se tornar meu dorama preferido

Simplesmente incrível. Essa série conseguiu me prender do início ao fim, passada a semana toda aguardando os episódios serem liberados na netflix pra poder entender um pouco mais da história, sofrer e me apaixonar um pouco mais junto com os personagens. Pode ser categorizada como rom-com, mas essa seria vai muito além disso, ela trata sobre relacionamento familiar, como as pessoas que nos cercam também se tornam nossa família. Achei incrível como a visão que temos do relacionamento entre o Kang Ho e a mãe dele muda conforme entendemos de verdade o que aconteceu. Confesso que derramei alguma ~ muitas ~ lágrimas nos últimos episódios. Gostaria de apagar tudo da memória, rever e reviver tudo do começo. Certamente se tornou meu dorama preferido.

Lire davantage

Beautiful

I don't know how else to describe this drama other than beautiful. This was an absolute joy to watch. Don't get me wrong, bring the tissues because it's a ride. But in the best way. This one is for everyone that dreamed of moving to a small town/village to find friends so amazing they become your family.

The story - amazing. Lovely. Heartbreaking. Thrilling. Funny. It's somehow everything all at once. You will be crying and laughing at the same time.

The acting - truly amazing. Some of the best I've seen, and I've seen a lot. The characters are flawed in such a way that makes them feel real. I would move to this town in a heartbeat.

I usually don't review right away, but I really couldn't wait with this one~~~♡

Lire davantage

It's not "the thought that counts" but "our actions that show who we really are"

As series about an abusive parent, it lacks a bit of self-awareness. The mother is mostly bad and horrific with very little good and redeeming qualities. During the story she does reflect a bit and becomes remorseful about certain things but we as the audience see that it happens only in her head - even when she regrets her past actions, she does not learn from them, she literally does not learn anything from her past mistakes.

* In the past she is very strict and overbearing with her son's education (and overall life), in the present her methods for his rehabilitation are very strict and overbearing (to take away the food when he can not control his arms, to dump him in the lake when he can not stand up).

* In the past she burns almost everything that shows his love and accomplishments for drawing, in the present she burns almost everything that shows his work and accomplishments as a prosecutor (carrier path chosen by her).

* In the past and in the present she makes all the decisions for him, in other words she is not raising a son, but a submissive, accommodating robot, to do and be as she dictates. It is called out only once or few times but very briefly, and she never apologises for taking away a lot of agency from her son. (She does, however, apologise for other things on few occasions, which is commendable).

The main message of the show now reads as "mother is always right" no matter how psychotic or abusive. It would have been more believable, if the son hated his mother more, and would come to realise that along the hate there was also love, only AFTER he found out that she was dying. Better yet after her death. (Death and end of things are good drives for introspection).

In my eyes, mother was too glorified and judged too little for her terrible actions towards her son, because as much as we would like to believe that it's always "the thought that counts" it is actually "our actions that show who we really are".

Lire davantage

I'm writing this review with swollen eyes from crying...

I started watching this drama bc I absolutely love Lee Dohyun as an actor but I ended up loving everything about this drama. This drama really just exceeded all my expectations, from the acting, down to the plot and how each character had striking personalities. Hands down especially to Ra Miran and Dohyun, they had such a great dynamic as mother and son that it made me cry so hard.

With the story, at first I was so mad at Youngsoon bc she was really a bad mom to Kangho, at some point I kinda sympathized with Kangho bc parents can truly be cruel, if not all times then sometimes. Even if they tell us that "it's for our own good", the scar of those hurtful actions and words from our parents will stay with us even as we grow older and move on with our lives. Watching this drama, I've realized that the people we care about get mad at us at times all because they equally care about us too, they're equally as concerned as we are for them, and we just all want each other to live a good life. I love how eventually both Youngsoon and Kangho met eye-to-eye without any grudges and with just smiles on their faces.

This is a bit of TMI but my dad passed away a day before this drama started airing so until now everything is still fresh in my head. I don't know if it's because of this that this drama made me so emotional or if it's really just that good. I started crying so hard when Youngsoon said that Kangho's father's last words to her were "See you later", that he always said that to her because he didn't like saying goodbye. I remember my dad also never said "Bye" or anything similar, it was always, "Go on", "I'll fetch you later", or "Take care", my dad's last words to me was "You should go now" before I left for work, now that I think about it, it just felt like he told me to go on, move forward, that maybe it's time to live by ourselves. Maybe I was a bit jealous of Kangho and Youngsoon because at least at the last moment, they were able to say the words they weren't able to say to each other all this time, the lullaby scene just hit me so hard it was almost embarrassing. Anyway, enough of me, the bottom-line is, this drama had so much power over me, I'm sure that other viewers would also find this drama hitting close to home. 10/10 I would watch again if I feel like crying again.

Lire davantage

Great story, great actors but...

I wanted to love this drama so much but unfortunately, despite all the fantastic actors and actresses, I couldn't. Lee Do Hyun is one of the best if not THE best Korean actor of his age group. It was fantastic to watch him in those two totally different characters. But as Koreans many times do they did it again with rural people's insanity. All of them around the mother and son were so annoying and most of the time those scenes had nothing to do with the story itself. If they would skip those parts and make it two episodes shorter (12 instead of 14) then this drama is a masterpiece.

Lire davantage