Summary
An excellent opener sets the tone for a hopefully excellent series.
We recap the Netflix K-Drama series The Good Bad Mother Season 1 Episode 1, which contains spoilers.
With a strong mix of humor, drama, and emotion, The Good Bad Mother kicked proceedings off excellently. Ra Mi-ran is already fantastic as Jin Young-soon and Lee Do-hyun seems prepared to deliver another excellent performance as the corrupted Choi Kang-ho.
The Good Bad Mother Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
What happens to Choi Hae-sik?
In our introduction to Jin Young-soon, an optimistic, popular woman who delivers farm feed with infectious energy, we see she has agreed to marry the rather clumsy Choi Hae-sik. In time, the two are expecting a child, though struggles soon arrive for the happy couple.
For Song Woo-byeok’s gang is trying to demolish Hae-sik’s pig farm, using the Olympic torch relay and upcoming marathon as their flimsy justification.
When Woo-byeok goes into business for himself and burns Hae-sik’s farm (pigs included) to the ground, he ends up in court, but the slimy man dodges punishment.
Even when proof of witness bribery comes to light and similar incidents are looked into by the plaintiff, the heir to Yongra Construction gets his way. How? By staging the death of Hae-sik as if it was a suicide.
How does Young-soon carry on with her life?
As Young-soon attempts to look into her husband’s dubious passing, prosecutor Oh Tae-soo, who was paid off by Hae-sik, provides no clarity, only lies about the deceased’s mental health. Thus, the mother-to-be appears distraught, only wanting to keep going for the sake of ensuring her child doesn’t live life how she and her late husband did.
In trying to get back on track in a new village, Young-soon faces opposition for her pig farm from her neighbors. However, their confrontation is interrupted by imminent birth. Then, by the time baby Kang-ho is born and one of the other residents’ children (Mi-joo) arrives into the world a short time later, everything sorts itself out.
How do Kang-ho and Mi-joo turn out?
With the passage of time, things turn more complex. Kang-ho is bullied for his background and has to deal with the now intensely strict Young-soon, who insists on his relentless studying from a young age so he can eventually become a prosecutor. Mi-joo, on the other hand, puts up with a deadbeat dad unbothered by the fact he’s harming his family.
In their high school days, Kang-ho’s bond with Mi-joo grows further (despite Sang-sik’s attempts at sabotage), but the pair draw the ire of their parents when locked in a closet together on their birthday.
Things get particularly tense between Young-soon and her son, who avoid an argument, but clearly, both know something is up. After all, Kang-ho did start to realize he hadn’t been able to figure out what he wants to do, just that he should study and become a prosecutor.
While Young-soon appeals to her late husband to help guide their son towards success, Kang-ho skips out on the college entrance exam because Mi-joo (his now girlfriend) was involved in a motorbike accident. Ultimately, this situation ends up causing grave upset.
When kicked out of his house, Kang-ho snaps, claiming he’s living a “suffocating” life his mother forced upon him. In response, Young-soon reminds her son that becoming a prosecutor is his chance to fly the nest before she hears she is a “bad person” raising her son to be a “selfish snob” of the same ilk as Hae-sik’s killers.
The Good Bad Mother Season 1 Episode 1 Ending Explained
Next, we see Kang-ho has gone on to become a prosecutor, though his latest case is one laced with controversy. Woobyeok Construction are being alleged to have pressured the trial’s defendant (now charged for rushed, unsafe construction of a building), with the wife of the convicted man handing over key proof of this post-trial.
Kang-ho, however, is shown to be corrupt in his job – he has no interest in helping the victims – and the episode ends with him greeting his father’s murderer, Woo-byeok.
What did you think of the Netflix K-Drama series The Good Bad Mother Season 1 Episode 1? Comment below.
