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The Good Bad Mother: Episodes 13-14 (Final)
by lovepark
Before they reach their happy ending, our mother and son pair have a few more tasks to finish. Thankfully, this time around they have friends and family to rely on, and for once, the world seems like a hopeful place filled with second chances. While not all wounds can be healed, our characters find happiness within their tumultuous journey as they learn to love and be loved.
EPISODES 13-14
The reconciliation between Young-soon and Kang-ho happened prior so the show could wrap up its loose threads, but in the end, everything still leads back to their relationship. While the revenge takes a good portion of these last two episodes, the closure it brings not only helps Kang-ho move on but Young-soon, as well.
After locating his old boss, Kang-ho learns the truth about the night he sent the mistress away. He originally planned for a ship to smuggle her out of the country, but Tae-soo’s men got to them first. With nowhere to escape, the mistress jumped off the boat with her baby.
Meanwhile, Mi-joo and Sam-shik continue their rogue investigation and steal some disguises from the hospital laundry room. Pretending to be a doctor, Mi-joo slips past the guards and comes face-to-face with Ha-young. She tells the latter that they need to stop Tae-soo and offers her a chance for redemption. Ha-young scoffs at her lofty ambitions since no one will help them, but Mi-joo replies, “There is one person, Choi Kang-ho.”
Successfully convincing Ha-young to switch sides, Mi-joo breaks her free with the help of Sam-shik, and outside, Kang-ho waits for them with their getaway vehicle. They manage to escape the guards, but any hope for anonymity is out the window since the van has Sam-shik’s name plastered all over it.
Unable to return home, Sam-shik takes the group to the safest (and most dangerous) place he can think of: his debt collector’s hideout. As expected, the debt collector scowls at Sam-shik’s appearance sans cash, but his tune changes when Kang-ho plays the prosecutor card. He rescinds all of Sam-shik’s debts and allows the group to stay at his “home” indefinitely.
As the group settles in, Ha-young chats with Kang-ho for the first time since his accident and confirms with him that he always loved Mi-joo. From the doorway, Mi-joo overhears their conversation and locks eyes with Kang-ho. Their silence speaks volumes, and they no longer hide nor deny their feelings for each other.
With Ha-young on their team, all Kang-ho needs now is evidence to bring down Woo-byeok, so he takes off to continue his quest. As he leaves, Mi-joo chases after him and reminds him of the promise to marry him once he saved her a third time. She says that their children fulfilled that condition and tells him to come back to them once all this is over. He gives her a peck on the forehead before heading out, but Mi-joo yells at him, asking if her lips were too far down. Smiling, Kang-ho returns and gives her a proper kiss.
Tae-soo hosts an event at an aquarium to launch his campaign, but as he meets his supporters, a familiar voice calls him from the crowd. Tae-soo looks up at the hand he is shaking, and his face falls as he meets Kang-ho’s gaze. The appearance of his greatest obstacle puts Tae-soo on edge, but Kang-ho makes his intentions clear: he is after his dad’s killer, Woo-byeok.
Kang-ho tells Tae-soo to testify in court against his old partner, and in exchange, he will overlook his crimes. When Tae-soo feigns ignorance about the allegations, Kang-ho mentions Ha-young and informs Tae-soo that he did not come here asking for a favor — this is a chance for him to betray Woo-byeok first or go to hell with him.
Once Tae-soo joins his team, Kang-ho begins setting his trap to catch Woo-byeok, and a familiar face appears to act as bait: the farmer stooge. Cutting ties with their old boss after he tried to kill them, the farmer stooges align themselves with Kang-ho, and the older one manipulates Woo-byeok into attacking him. As Woo-byeok threatens to throw the stooge off the roof, Kang-ho barges in and arrests him.
Back in the village, everyone learns of Young-soon’s illness, and they rally around her, keeping her company and lifting her spirits. In the middle of their get-together, they hear the news of Woo-byeok’s arrest and see Kang-ho resume his role as prosecutor. They celebrate his recovery, and Young-soon invites them all on a trip to Seoul.
The day of Woo-byeok’s trial arrives, and everyone from the village sits in attendance. In typical fashion, Woo-byeok denies everything and pins the murders on his farmer stooge. This goes on for a while until Kang-ho calls forth a new witness, and Woo-byeok’s eyes bulge as Tae-soo walks through the doors.
As planned, Tae-soo testifies against Woo-byeok, and he has the audacity to lie about the mistress having Woo-byeok’s child. While Woo-byeok laughs at the ridiculousness of his claim, Ha-young interrupts the session and announces her father’s crimes.
Both daughter and father take the stand, but all their statements clash. Having predicted this situation, Tae-soo pulls out Ha-young’s medical record and declares her unwell. She screams in frustration and grabs her father’s hand, begging him to stop. For a second, it seems that her pleas reached his cold heart, but Tae-soo looks away and maintains his ruse.
Undeterred, Kang-ho faces the judge and says that the death of Hwang Soo-hyun holds the key to this case. Following this logic, the father of the child is most likely the culprit. On cue, Kang-ho’s old boss enters, and next to him is a young boy. Flashing back to that fateful night, the mistress hid her son before taking her own life — unlike a certain politician, she chose to protect her child above all else.
Realizing that he fell for a trap, Tae-soo refuses to testify further, but he only makes it a few steps out before Kang-ho apprehends him. He accuses Tae-soo of conspiring with Woo-byeok, and Young-soon leaps from her seat to cheer for her son. The rest of the villagers follow her lead, but amidst the jubilation, Kang-ho only sees his mom proudly smiling back at him.
With the bad guys behind bars, Young-soon celebrates her birthday alongside her loved ones, and all seems well with the world. She blesses the union between Mi-joo and her son — passing along the rings she and her husband wore — and tells them to love each other as if it were their last.
That night, Kang-ho brings his pillow to sleep next to his mom, and Young-soon asks him to sing for her again. She closes her eyes as she listens to his song, and without a word, she leaves his side one last time. As Kang-ho realizes what has happened, he finishes the song and gives her a final farewell.
During her funeral, Kang-ho remembers the lesson she taught him to prepare for this day, so he stands in front of her picture and follows her instructions. In the middle of his laments, Young-soon’s phone rings, and the words, “I am happy,” fill the hall. He sings along to it, and the rest of the villagers dance and sing with him, too.
As the show wraps up, love is in the air, and one by one, we see how everyone is faring. Sam-shik has moved on from his obsession with Mi-joo and now devotes his time to Ha-young who is paying for her crimes in jail. Mi-joo’s mom also finds love again, and unfortunately, it’s the annoying composer. Woo-byeok’s stooges have become successful lettuce farmers, and as it turns out, the village chief’s wife is actually a yakuza boss’s daughter.
With most of the characters getting their happily ever after, the only ones left are Kang-ho and Mi-joo. They redecorate the farm with the money Mi-joo saved from the time he dumped her, and she suggests how lovely a wedding photo would look next to his parents. With a sly smile, he tells her to get dressed, and Mi-joo rushes out.
While Kang-ho waits for her to get ready, he finds a letter from his mom hidden inside a frame and reads it alone. In it, Young-soon writes to her son and tells him that she will live in his memories even if they are physically apart. Her final wish is to be reborn as his mom so she can do better next time. She promises to not stop him from being sad, ignore his cries, or leave him so soon, but for now, she hopes he lives a long, happy life until the day they are reunited.
By the time Mi-joo arrives, Kang-ho has pulled himself together and enthusiastically proposes to her. Copying his dad, he presents a piglet with a ring tied around its neck, but as always, the piglet runs away. The couple gives chase, and as the sun sets, Kang-ho pulls Mi-joo into a warm embrace.
All in all, the show delivered a happy ending for our characters with the evildoers getting their just deserts and everyone, plus their moms, finding love. While I did find all the shoehorned romantic relationships at the end unnecessary, I understand the wish to give every little story beat a neat bow. However, in this case, I think less would have been more, but at least it was nice to see the two stooges settling into their new lives as farmers. They were one of the highlights of the show and turned out to be quite competent allies.
While I’ve aired my grievances about Young-soon aplenty and still think the show shouldn’t have glossed over her abuse as misguided love, I thought her ending was surprisingly satisfying. More than Young-soon finding peace, I’m glad Kang-ho was able to forgive and love his mom, allowing him to say goodbye without any lingering resentment. She knows that she wronged him, and I think that acknowledgement was enough for him to grow and move on from his past. At a certain point, the revenge was no longer about justifying his terrible childhood but about protecting his present-day family. Kang-ho realized that Young-soon’s methods were wrong, and she shouldn’t have pushed him to put his studies above everything else, to chase after his goals without caring for those around him. It’s a lesson both of them had to learn and experience firsthand. In the end, the show was about cherishing what we have in the face of loss and choosing to love instead of hate. While I can’t say this particular show was “healing” for me, I can choose to remember the good parts rather than the bad, and appreciate the show for its cute romance and stellar performances.
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