Summary
It’s too early to conclude whether this series has story value, but it’s certainly an intriguing start.
This recap of Netflix K-Drama series Green Mothers’ Club season 1, episode 1, contains spoilers.
With Thirty-Nine coming to an end last week, Netflix has replaced the Wednesday/Thursday K-Drama slot with Green Mothers’ Club. So far, the Netflix series shows a dysfunctional group of mothers with disparate interests. Will it remain as intriguing as the premiere? Let’s hope so. I’m still not entirely sure what to think of the story yet. Let’s recap the premiere.
Green Mothers’ Club season 1, episode 1 recap – the premiere explained
Episode 1 opens up with Lee Eun-pyo delivering a lecture about Aesthetics at a university. Suddenly, she becomes irritated by a woman in the lecture room (we later learn this woman is an old friend). The room empties, and Lee Eun-pyo has a confrontation with this woman and smashes her at the back of her head. Was this a dream? A manifestation? A hallucination? At this stage, we have no idea.
Episode 1 moves to the present, showing each mother starting the day with their children before carrying out their duties for the Green Mothers’ Club. Meanwhile, Lee Eun-pyo is in transition, moving home. Her moving van nearly hits a student, which is not a grand entrance as she embarks on a new community. Her day becomes weirder when she’s left a note in her new apartment; there’s plenty of advice in the note, but there’s a warning too — she’s told to avoid Kim Yu-bin’s mother, Chun-hui. However, Eun-pyo appears uninterested, and she speaks to her mother about the professor’s role at the university. She does not feel confident about getting it.
Maybe Lee Eun-pyo should have taken that warning seriously because she’s soon in the presence of Chun-hui at the bakery. Chun-hui is berating the baker about the quality of her products. The baker asks Eun-pyo to taste one of her foods to prove a point. The new neighbor tastes it and states it is “fine,” provoking Chun-hui to give her a side glare. Moments later, Eun-pyo learns that Chun-hui is Kim Yu-bin’s mother. There’s already a lot of tension between these two women.
To try and nestle herself in with the community, Eun-pyo attends a tea and cake party with the mothers. Chun-hui also attends, and her tone is different — more friendly, making the audience feel she is possibly being manipulative. She asks Eun-pyo about her major in Aesthetics. The two clash again when discussing the raising of their children, but it’s abundantly evident that Chun-hui was trying to find a problem with Eun-pyo. After their disagreement, Chun-hui and the other mothers move to another table away from Eun-pyo and continue their tea party. They believe Eun-pyo should “be more humble.”
Lee Eun-pyo’s integration into the community gets worse. Her son plays with the lights at a children’s music show and ruins it. Her son then breaks Kim Yu-bin’s violin. She asks her son to apologize to Yu-bin’s mother formally, but Chun-hui asks for money for a new violin — it will cost Lee Eun-pyo three million won.
As we approach the premiere’s ending, Lee Eun-pyo crosses paths with her friend from the past again, and she looks spooked. The friend hugs her — she appears to have a lot of love and affection for Eun-pyo. A flashback shows they’ve known each other since school, and now their children are in the same class. The old friend asks Eun-pyo why she left France, which is not answered. When Eun-pyo looks at her friend’s photos, she’s irked by the pictures of her partner.
The ending
Lee Eun-pyo’s life is in crisis as episode 1 ends; her career is uncertain, and her finances are dwindling. She heads to the university and apologizes to a professor for making a mistake. She begs him and explains the personal article she published was meant to be a journal entry. She asks if she can lecture again, but the man walks off with his colleagues. Flashbacks show how her son accidentally pressed “submit” on her phone and published a journal entry that got her into trouble.
By the end of the episode, Lee Eun-pyo is exhausted from all the stress. As she takes her children to school, she remembers a peaceful day on the beach with a man. It looks like pure love. This man is her old friend’s partner. She falls outside the school, and the same man catches her.
It’s too early to conclude whether this series has story value, but it’s certainly an intriguing start.
What did you think of Green Mothers’ Club season 1, episode 1? Comment below.
