The Good Bad Mother (2023) Episode 6

Episode 6 of The Good Bad Mother starts with Song’s two righthand men sneaking into Kang-ho’s house and trying to find something. They hide in the closet after hearing him enter. They are almost caught as Kang-ho wonders how the stuff from their closet is out. Chaos ensues as the assassin arrives and they jump out to catch him.

He escapes on his bike and informs Tae-soo that he failed. Song’s men crash into him and see that he has a tattoo on his wrist but he escapes at the hospital. Meanwhile, Young-soon reaches home and a distraught Kang-ho explains what went down. She thinks he is trying to cover for Lion and tells him to clean up.

Meanwhile, Song is furious that the duo failed to find the original copy of Tae-soo’s paternity test at Kang-ho’s. He says Tae-soo will be after him so to protect Kang-ho and find the test. That night Kang-ho cannot stop thinking about the altercation while Young-soon recalls Kang-ho reciting the Traffic Act and says she will wait till his memories return.

Meanwhile, Sam-sik’s employer asks for compensation for the brawl. They beat him up as he is unable to pay but he jumps into the river and swims away. As for the musician, Baek Hoon-ah shows up at Chief Son Yong-rak’s place. Turns out they were classmates in school and Son remembers him as the singer of their class. As they catch up, Hoon-ah brings up Young-soon.

She, on the other hand, gets ready for the town market and Kang-ho is quietly agreeable. She knows he wants to play with the twins but tells him not to get in trouble. But trouble follows wherever he goes. He is heading to their place when he sees Mi-joo take a bus to town. She drops her wallet and he tries to stop her but it is too late. He hails a taxi and enters town.

Meanwhile, Mi-joo inquires about real estate after Geum-ja gives her her savings to open a nail salon. As for Young-soon, she sends some side dishes to the lady who had berated her about Kang-ho outside the prosecutor’s office. She buys a ton of medicine and wistfully looks at some men’s shoes. Of course, she crosses paths with Kang-ho but both fail to notice the other.

He finds Mi-joo looking at an aquarium sadly but she leaves before he can reach her. As she buys some herbicide, some elderly women complain about an ingrown nail. As she helps, they suggest that she can have a free manicure stall in the shop itself. The owner is conflicted but Mi-joo promises to help with odd jobs and they make a deal.

Poor Kang-ho is still searching for her when he sees a smiley-face tote bag. While trying it on, a thief steals the wallet from his pocket. He takes an apple and throws it, hitting the man in the head who drops the wallet. He suddenly repeats Song’s motto of winning with a home run or a strikeout. The bag and apple owners take him for a thief and try to scold him but on hearing the commotion, Mi-joo arrives.

So does Young-soon and Kang-ho tries to hide behind Mi-joo. They pile up in Young-soon’s truck and she scolds Kang-ho for the mess. He gets back another memory as he remembers Mi-joo’s bar exam meals that she made for him and she is stunned. As they reach home, Kang-ho is all smiles but Young-soon apologises to Mi-joo for being rude and harsh when he missed his bar exam due to Mi-joo’s accident. 

As for Hoon-ah, Son takes him around town to catch up with the rest of the locals who all remember him as the rising singer of their class. As he serenades them, it becomes a segue to replacing the pig farm with a trot concert hall. He promises to bring celebrity singers and use Sam-sik for security and Mi-joo for their hair and makeup. The locals are swayed and they agree to protest. Young-soon arrives with medicines for them but overhears and is sad.

With one of the pigs going into labour, she goes to tend to it while Kang-ho is left to his own devices. He delivers some of the medicine to Sung-ae’s shop and is trying to fish at the riverside for Mi-joo when Sam-sik who has just arrived home spots him. In a flashback, we see Sam-sik coincidentally meeting Kang-ho who is at a company dinner.

He embarrasses him and Kang-ho pays him off. It infuriates Sam-sik but he stays silent. Later, when he is arrested, he begs Kang-ho to help him as he had no idea he was selling stolen goods. He apologises for bullying him in the past but Kang-ho makes him leave.

Back in the present, Sam-sik is furious and confronts Kang-ho. However, he has no idea that the man in front of him is a 7-year-old amnesiac and swears at him. They bicker with Kang-ho running to the twins to get their help. On hearing that he is alone, the kids invite him to dinner much to Mi-joo’s chagrin.

As Sam-sik’s parents return home, they feel bad for Young-soon on seeing the medicine. They see someone in the kitchen and arming themselves, they take down the intruder. It turns out to be Sam-sik and as they catch up, he is surprised to hear about Kang-ho. He feels bad for swearing at him and sympathises with Young-soon for being a devoted mother. This just triggers Sung-ae who beats him up. 

Meanwhile, Mi-joo cooks stew for dinner and the twins are snarky as they prefer traditional Korean food. They joke around with Kang-ho till she scolds them and they run away. Mi-joo tries to make him leave and he realises he has hurt her in the past and is sad. He bids everyone farewell and leaves. 

Son sees the medicine Young-soon left behind and he feels bad. He says he wants to shut down the farm so Young-soon can live comfortably and Jo gives him an earful for being a hypocrite.

Song’s men show up again and this time search in the pig farm’s office. They think no one’s there but they end up running into Young-soon. One of the men claims they have bought a farm nearby. Young-soon promises to help them and they regret it as they now need to open a farm if they don’t want to be caught.

However, she falls in pain and they rush her to the hospital. While she is unconscious, she relives a memory and we are shown that even her family died in a car crash when she was a teenager. She learns she has stage 4 stomach cancer and she begs the doctor to cure her for Kang-ho’s sake.

Meanwhile, Hoon-ah’s protest is a bust as everyone backs out after feeling guilty. Even Geum-ja refuses as she remembers Young-soon being there for her when her cheating husband died. Sam-sik’s father and Chief Son also help Kang-ho search for Young-soon after he panics. They find her at the hospital and while rushing to her, Kang-ho falls. She tries to pick him up but finds it difficult. She suddenly stops and tells him that he needs to stand up. She walks away while the men look at her in shock.

The Episode Review

Since the beginning, the twins are more or less comic relief or present to expound bouts of wisdom. However, with Kang-ho’s current state of mind, it showcases just how well Lee Do-hyun is playing his character. The viewers forget that he is a 35-year-old man with the way he seamlessly interacts with the twins and behaves just like them.

This episode also allows us to see how intuitive kids are. Kang-ho while naive knows he hurt Mi-joo. He takes that knowledge just like a child would and respects her attitude towards him even if he doesn’t understand it fully.

As for that ending in The Good Bad Mother episode 6 is so painful. Even when Young-soon is sick, all she does is think about Kang-ho. While in the beginning, she had said she will wait for him to recover, it look like she may be running out of time.

It seems that her decision once again to be the bad mother and show tough love is just her way of shutting herself and only focusing on the results. It also feels that she is trying to ready Kang-ho for when she won’t be around to help him out.