Reporter Ryu Ye-ji and TenAsia sees the future of the entertainment industry and its impact.
The ending was short and the process was long. For about 5 weeks, similar background and similar acting continued, and the final episode was finished in a hurry. Most of the viewers wanted a cool ending as they were frustrated for a long time, but the ending that 'Bad Mother' showed was somewhat uncomfortable.
JTBC's 'Bad Mother' starring Ra Mi-ran and Lee Do-hyun ended on the 8th. The ratings, topicality, and acting skills of the actors were overwhelming. 'Bad Mother', which started with 3.5% per episode based on nationwide paid households, recorded 12% in the final episode, making it a box office success.
It was only natural that the show ranked first in the topic with high viewership ratings. Leading actor Lee Do-hyun, along with actor Ra Mi-ran, who is trusted and watched, kept the top 10 topical drama performers every week. There were also actors who did not rise to the rankings, but who were newly noticed.
Ahn Eun-jin (Lee Mi-joo), who was the counterpart of Lee Do-hyun (Choi Kang-ho), showed off the charm of coexistence of loveliness and seriousness. The licorice acting of the supporting actors also shone. Rookie Hongbi-ra portrayed the process of being reborn as an assistant later in the play from an accomplice who manipulated the death of Lee Do-hyun's father in the play. Yoo In-soo, who plays the role of Sam-sik, was also loved as a character who was snarky but could not be hated.
The only regret is the abrupt ending. In the play, Lee Do-hyun gets into a mysterious car accident in episode 3 (May 3). Having acquired the intelligence of a 7-year-old due to an accident, he started acting as a child. His mother, Ra Mi-ran (played by Jin Yeong-soon), takes care of him since he is paralyzed.
Lee Do-hyun lived with the mental age of a 7-year-old child and experienced various incidents. As soon as I couldn't even stand up and eat alone, I went through constant training. He, who was apathetic towards his mother, became her mother's hope and played happily with the children in the neighborhood. There were also episodes with the village head and the youth association. Also, he couldn't remember Eunjin Ahn, the woman he loved in the past, and continued the 'sweet and salty' narrative.
Almost 5 weeks passed like that. The 14-episode 'Bad Mother' led Lee Do-hyun's 7-year-old intelligent acting from the 3rd to the 12th. 10 out of 14 episodes.
At the end of episode 12, Lee Do-hyun managed to regain his memory. Falling in a burnt pig farm. Returning to the original Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, Choi Kang-ho, he dreamed of bloody revenge for his father's death. In the meantime, her mother, Ra Mi-ran, who has terminal stomach cancer, is getting worse.
In the 14th episode, the final episode, Lee Do-hyun, as a prosecutor, was shown punishing not only the criminals who killed his father, but also his accomplices. As the memory returned, the marriage with Ahn Eun-jin took place, and the mother, Ra Mi-ran, ended with death.
The whole process of Lee Do-hyun's memory recovery, revenge on behalf of his parents, Ahn Eun-jin's marriage, and Ra Mi-ran's death all ended within a week. In the 13th and 14th episodes, everything was developed and finished at the same time.
If you look at the content, it's a happy ending for everyone. However, the process of proper revenge was barely revealed, and the fact that all the narrative was finished within one or two episodes is a very disappointing development. Viewers who wanted to take a thrilling revenge are also losing steam.
Above all, the ratings of 'Bad Mother' showed its potential as the final episode increased by about 4 times compared to the first episode. In a situation where the acting skills of the actors are also supported, this ending feels like a waste of 12% ratings. It is regrettable what it would have been like if Lee Do-hyun's 7-year-old intelligence performance was cut in half and the process of 'revenge', which was the beginning of the incident, was carefully portrayed.
Reporter Ryu Ye-ji and Ten Asia ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr