The Good Bad Mother (Season 1), Episodes 7 & 8 Recap & Ending Explained: In the seventh & eighth episodes of the melodramatic K-drama “The Good Bad Mother,” Young-soon finds herself in a state of sheer panic when she receives alarming news about her future. This unexpected revelation shakes her to the core, forcing her to confront her deepest fears and make difficult choices for herself and her beloved son, Kang-ho.
The Good Bad Mother (Season 1), Episodes 7 & 8 Recap:
“Episode 7”
The episode opens with Young-soon, crushed by the devastating news of her stage-4 cancer diagnosis. Fearing that her time may be cut short, she anxiously reflects on her son, Kang-ho’s, well-being and the challenges he will face once she’s gone. One day, she talks to her dead husband, refusing to accept her fate. Determined to ensure Kang-ho’s well-being, Young-soon makes arrangements for his future.
Upon her local doctor’s suggestion, Young-soon realizes the need to hire a farm manager to oversee the farm and support Kang-ho. She writes everything in her journal, from compiling a list of contacts for emergencies related to their house and farm to devising strategies to handle bullies. She believes these journals will help Kang-ho how to live independently.
However, Kang-ho notices his mother’s strange behavior and points it out to her. Young-soon puts up a joyous facade, leaving Kang-ho even more confused. Meanwhile, she takes on the role of a teacher, teaching essential life skills to Kang-ho and preparing him for a future without her.
In the meantime, Mi-joo is excited about establishing her nail salon. On the other hand, Sam-sik gets beaten up by his debt collectors, leaving him battered and bruised. Next, during their encounter, Sam-sik playfully teases Mi-joo about her feelings for Kang-ho. However, Mi-joo is focused on improving her own life and the well-being of her children.
As Young-soon’s health gradually deteriorates, Kang-ho remains oblivious to his mother’s declining condition. Despite her physical challenges, Young-soon refuses to let her health restrict her preparations for Kang-ho to take over the farm eventually.
On a different note, Sam-sik grows suspicious of the two individuals, Song’s men, who purchased his land. Curiosity piqued, he invites them for a drink, hoping to gather more information. Simultaneously, Young-soon feels discouraged as she comes across flyers scattered throughout town, blaming her farm for the chaos surrounding it. In response, she musters the courage to confront Hoon-ah, giving him a firm reply and assuring him that the farm is not going anywhere. The intensity of her anger frightens Hoon-ah, leaving him shaken by her outburst.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the government issues an order to kill all the pigs in the village, to contain the spread of diseases among livestock. The decision came to light when one of the animals got infected in the nearby town. The shocking news leaves everyone in disbelief, worrying about the uncertain future of Young-soon and her son. The loss of innocent pigs adds to Young-soon’s devastation and sorrow.
Meanwhile, this unexpected situation presents an opportunity for Ji-suk to explore Kang-ho’s house while the villagers are occupied on the farm. At the same time, Tae-soo starts arranging his daughter Ha-young’s marriage.
Following the traumatic events in the village, Young-soon reaches a breaking point and contemplates ending her life. However, Mi-joo learns of her intentions and rushes to intervene. Young-soon is heartbroken and overwhelmed as we see her sitting near her husband’s grave, contemplating her son’s future and well-being – ready to kill herself. Kang-ho’s innocent and oblivious mind compels Young-soon to fight even harder for her own life. On her way back from the grave, Young-soon encounters Mi-joo and Sam-sik. Mi-joo notices the herbicide in Young-soon’s hand and quickly takes it away, urging her not to take drastic actions.
The next day, Seo-jin, Ye-jin, Mi-joo, Sam-sik, and Kang-ho all go together to the public baths for some fun. While the children enjoy themselves, Young-soon has a painful conversation with her lawyer, discussing her rehabilitation and updating her will. Meanwhile, Woo-byeok finds that Kang-ho has been the person dressed as a woman, exposing the truth about him and his company.
While at the public bath, Tae-soo’s speech on TV triggers a memory for Kang-ho. He recalls having a conversation with the politician in the past. Next, we see, Young-soon and Kang-ho visit a rehabilitation center, discussing plans for Kang-ho’s future care. It means that he will have to live there from now on, which confuses her son.
Kang-ho begs his mother not to leave him behind, but she disregards his begging and leaves. Alone at home, Young-soon attempts to hang herself. Meanwhile, Kang-ho manages to escape from the rehabilitation center and arrives just in time to catch his mother struggling after hanging herself. Not realizing this in the heat of the moment, Kang-ho stands in to save his mother from dying.
“Episode 8”
The episode continues from the moment when Kang-ho tries to save his mother, who attempted to hang herself. He manages to bring his mother down, and when she opens her eyes, she is overjoyed to see her son standing on his own. However, Kang-ho is severely traumatized by the incident. Overwhelmed by what just happened, he quickly rushes out of the house. Later, we find him on the road with Mi-joo by his side, tending to his broken fingernail. Kang-ho opens up to Mi-joo about his feelings of abandonment after his mother’s actions.
Mi-joo explains to him that Young-soon didn’t abandon him and that there might be a reason behind such a drastic step. She shares that she was once abandoned, so she understands the overwhelming emotions Kang-ho must be experiencing. Intrigued, Kang-ho asks her about the reason why she was abandoned. However, Mi-joo admits that she also wonders about the reason herself.
Later, Young-soon finds her son, and after they return home, Kang-ho demands to know why she attempted such a thing. Young-soon finally confesses to him about her health issues and the need for someone to take care of her. She didn’t want to burden Kang-ho with the enormous responsibilities of caring for her and managing the house and farm, so she considered ending her life to make things easier. Kang-ho appears visibly saddened and points out to his mother that she considers him a burden, despite his own physical and mental struggles.
Struck by her son’s heartfelt response, Young-soon is taken aback. She apologizes to him and explains that he is no longer unwell and can now walk on his own without any support. It is time for him to become her support and help her through this challenging time, just as she has been helping him all along. Young-soon then encourages Kang-ho to stand on his own, but when he tries, he fails to stand up.
This puts Young-soon into a fit, and she takes Kang-ho in his wheelchair to the pond nearby and throws him in the water, asking him to use his legs to save himself from drowning. Kang-ho, who is visibly taken aback by this action, is traumatized. However, the mother and son use this as an exercise to get better, along with intense physical therapy. At the same time, we see Young-soon’s health deteriorating, and she is getting worse every day. However, at this point, Kang-ho is able to walk on his own, which makes the family really happy as they celebrate the moment.
On the other hand, we see the village people buying Kang-ho a mobility scooter since they are unaware that he is able to walk again. Mi-joo’s salon is booming, but her life has more problems than she can handle at the moment. One of these days, her children inform her that their father has decided to come back. Mi-joo immediately rushes home to find her friend’s boyfriend. He gives her an ultimatum to pay his money back, or else her children will be in danger. When the villagers take the scooter to Kang-ho, they are shocked to see him walking towards them – this also makes Mi-joo happy.
While everyone is in a jolly mood and celebrating the good news about Kang-ho gaining the strength to walk again, he talks to Mi-joo and tells her that his mother doesn’t abandon him, which also means that Mi-joo was not abandoned in the past. It makes Mi-joo blush, and seeing how the two are really close, Sam-sik feels jealous. In the meantime, we also see Kang-ho finding out about Ji-suk and his men and how they have behaved oddly. He makes up a story to scare them out of the house.
The Good Bad Mother (Season 1), Episode 8 Ending, Explained:
What does Young-soon find in the family portrait?
Next, we see Young-soon heading to Seoul after receiving a call from Kang-ho’s apartment security guard. He hands her a letter in her son’s handwriting, indicating that Kang-ho knew his life would be in danger. While reading the letter, Young-soon is highly emotional as it felt like Kang-ho literally poured his heart out while writing it. Kang-ho expresses in the letter that even though they are living apart from one another, he still lives in the memories of his mother and father.
Once at home, when Young-soon shows her son the letter, he remembers nothing. In the next scene, we see, Young-soon and Kang-ho visiting a nearby office to get important documents done. Young-soon then receives a call from an officer who informs her about her son’s engagement with Ha-young. She is shocked and desires to speak to the young girl, but the officer informs her that Ha-young is marrying someone else. On the other hand, Woo-byeok tells Tae-soo that he has found evidence against him, and Kang-ho’s health has also improved significantly.
Meanwhile, back home, Young-soon teaches her son how to take care of the farm and manage everything by himself once she is gone. In an emotional scene, she also shows him how to pay respect to her photo frame after her passing. While the mother and son duo spend time together, Kang-ho expresses heartfelt gratitude for the time he gets to spend with his mother. He mentions that he lives through the memories of his mother and father.
This statement lingers in Young-soon’s mind as she gazes at the family portrait on their living room wall. She walks over to that corner of the room where the frame is hanging and takes it down. Carefully, she opens the frame and discovers an SD memory card inside. The episode ends on a note where it all makes sense to Young-soon as she connects the dots of how her son might have kept the clue hidden when he visited her while signing the parental rights document.
