What does it mean to be a mother?

The Good Bad Mother explores that question through the relationship between mother and son. An untimely accident causes Choi Kang Ho (played by Lee Do Hyun) to become paraplegic and suffer amnesia. His mother, Jin Young Soon (played by Ra Mi Ran), must once again raise her son through the trauma of their past relationship.

Heartfelt and heart wrenching moments shape the drama, as it explores the traumatic past both mother and son hid away from each other. However, interspersed are some of the worst moments of tonal whiplash I can remember in a drama. Neighbours of the family are caricature hillbillies that are often meant to provide comedic relief. Instead, heartfelt and dramatic scenes will immediately cut to an attempt at comedy. A mom is hiding spousal abuse from their kid and neighbours? Well that's alright because the teenaged daughter is pulling the dad's ear to some lighthearted music right after! The first few episodes suffer from this heavily, with the later episodes toning it down, although not outright removing it. While I appreciate the attempt to be funny, almost all of the comedic scenes don't land, and their timing/placement are so terrible that it draws you completely out of the drama.

This drama could have been a masterpiece if not for the forceful nature of it's comedy. Inclusion of some of the most boring tropes also detract from it's messaging, including characters with amnesia, destined lovers, and political corruption. Ra Mi Ran steals the show in this drama, but even her outstanding performance is not enough for me to recommend this drama.