Name: The Good Bad Mother season 1 episode 5
Director: Shim Na-yeon
Released: 2023-05-11T14:21:05

The fifth episode of The Good Bad Mother sees Mi-joo returning home and meeting Kang-ho again. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Recap

Mi-joo comes back to the village, and when Kang-ho comes to meet her children, she slams the door in his face. She then starts thinking about their past. Years ago, when they were living together, they were happy and in love.

Mi-joo supported Kang-ho while he studied to become a prosecutor. When Kang-ho finally got appointed as a prosecutor, he told her that he has to do something on his own and broke up with her, leaving Mi-joo heartbroken.

Young-soon finally finds Kang-ho at the end of his adventurous day and takes him home. He does not remember Mi-joo’s name, but he tells his mother that when he saw her, his heart hurt.

On the other hand, Mi-joo’s mother tells her what happened to Kang-ho, and Mi-joo forbids her children from seeing or playing with him again. It does not take long for Mi-joo’s mother to figure out that she has been going through a hard time. Mi-joo’s mother comforts her and asks her to live with her.

The next day, Young-soon asks Kang-ho not to step out of the house, but he is already out; he has come to Mi-joo’s house to return the twins’ ball. He sees Mi-joo and the twins admiring Ms. Jo’s dog from a distance.

The man with whom Young-soon was involved in a car accident turns out to be Young-soon’s neighbor. His name is Baek Hoon-ah, and he is a music composer who is known for plagiarizing songs. He now has a problem with the stench of the pigs.

The man then goes to file a complaint with the livestock division. The civil servant from the livestock division calls Young-soon, who assures him that she will do whatever she can to take care of the matter.

Kang-ho asks his mother for a dog because he wishes to impress Mi-joo, but Young-soon refuses, as he is in no condition to look after a dog. Young-soon has been feeling sick for a while and goes to get tested.

Young-soon recognizes Assemblyman Oh on TV as the prosecutor who represented her husband. Meanwhile, Ha-young is still struggling due to the accident. She comes home drunk when her father has company and keeps repeating that she gave someone the pills to kill them.

In the past, Assemblyman Oh showed her the video of Kang-ho killing Assemblyman Oh’s illegitimate son and secretary. He lied to her and told her that Kang-ho was with another woman and had a child with her.

He further tells her that Kang-ho got rid of his own child and partner to marry Ha-young because he wanted revenge for his father. Assemblyman Oh claimed that he could not go to the police, as his crimes will also be exposed alongside Kang-ho’s, and convinced his daughter to kill the man she loved.

On the other hand, Chairman Song asks his men to find concrete evidence against Assemblyman Oh that would allow him to keep Assemblyman Oh under his control.

In the village, Baek Hoon-ah creates a fuss when the civil servant refuses to get rid of Young-soon’s farm. He threatens him and even throws a tantrum, but nothing works.

To impress Mi-joo, Kang-ho brings a piglet from the farm and names it Lion. He meets Seo-jin and Ye-jin and introduces them to his new pet. The piglet ends up running away, and Kang-ho as well as the twins chase it.

Baek Hoon-ah ends up crashing his car because of them running after the piglet in the middle of the road. It is Mi-joo who catches the piglet when she sees her children with Kang-ho. The three run away again when Young-soon arrives at the scene.

Young-soon meets Mi-joo, but like everyone else, she also believes that Mi-joo’s husband lives in the US. Mi-joo has been doing everyone’s nails in the village and wishes to open a nail salon there, but she does not have the money for that.

Young-soon had earlier left food outside Baek Hoon-ah’s house as a peace offering, but after everything that has happened to him, he comes to her house and throws away the food she had given him. When he manhandles Young-soon, Kang-ho attacks him.

The case is taken to the police station, where Baek Hoon-ah refuses to settle. Young-soon defends Kang-ho’s actions, but the matter is only put to rest when Kang-ho points out the laws Baek Hoon-ah has violated by speaking on the phone while driving and not wearing a seatbelt.

At his workplace, Sam-sik comes across the man who gave him the stolen ring; Sam-sik went to prison because of that. The man claims that he thought Kang-ho was Sam-sik’s friend and would not let him go to prison, but Sam-sik makes it clear that Kang-ho was not his friend before hitting the man.

Assemblyman Oh forbids Ha-young from going out except for official occasions. He warns her that he will not allow her to get in his way, and in return, she reminds him that Kang-ho can get in his way if he regains his memories.

Assemblyman Oh sends someone to kill Kang-ho, who is home alone, as Young-soon is sick again and has gone to get medicine. Kang-ho is attacked, but Chairman Song’s men, who had been hiding at his house, come to his rescue.

Review

This was a rather light-hearted episode; the kind of episode that fills in the gaps and lets the audience enjoy the relationship between various characters, but the ending indicated that this will not be the case for long.
Kang-ho’s friendship with the twins never fails to amuse the audience. The writing as well as the performances by the child actors, which make this dynamic look as natural as possible, make the episodes entertaining.
On the other hand, the introduction of Young-soon’s troublesome neighbor is not as entertaining. The writers try hard to get a laugh with the portrayal of this whining man, but it does not work that well.