Troubles won’t stop for Kang Ho and his mother in The Good Bad Mother as the newly moved-in neighbor, Bang Hoon Ah, is adamant about shutting down Young Soon’s pigsty just because the smell bothers him. He united all the villagers to protest against it, but thankfully, none of the villagers showed up at the protest. Young Soon was already upset about the villagers going against her, but bigger news broke her down. She was diagnosed with cancer and didn’t have a lot of time to live.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Do Young Soon’s Pigs Get Slaughtered?
Young Soon has been worried about Kang Ho ever since she heard about the diagnosis. Kang Ho is still dependent on her, and the worries are eating her mind. She has already started preparing for the unfortunate day and is making sure that Kang Ho won’t be left helpless after she is gone. She starts teaching him how to manage a pigsty, how to vaccinate pigs, how to keep records, and also how to farm. Kang Ho had noticed that his mother had been upset for some days, but he was now happy to learn new things with her. However, he gets flustered when she teaches him how to curse at people because she is the one who taught him that cursing is bad. Young Soon doesn’t want others to bully Kang Ho when she’s gone. She also teaches him how to guard a funeral, which scares him. Meanwhile, Chairman Song’s men have bought land in the village to stay there until they find the important document from Kang Ho’s house. In a small village, it is difficult not to get noticed. Sam Sik has returned to the village after getting into huge debt, but his debtors follow him to the village. Sam Sik has to get his hands on money somehow, and he tries to do business with Song’s men. They try to avoid him, but they don’t understand how clingy the people of this village can be.
The times are testing Young Soon, and one more tragedy falls upon her. A goat from the farm near Young Soon gets infected with a contagious disease, and as per the rules, every farm animal within a radius of 3 kilometers has to be slaughtered. Young Soon is barely holding herself together, but seeing her pigs get slaughtered is the last straw for her. She doesn’t leave the burial site of the pigs for the whole night, and the next day, she takes Kang Ho to his father’s grave. After paying him her respects, she plans to kill herself and Kang Ho as well by drinking pesticides. Kang Ho has no idea about it and even helps his mother open the bottle of pesticide. However, he says to Young Soon that after drinking, they will return home and feed his pet piglet first. Kang Ho is optimistic and believes that they will build their pigsty again because they still have one pig left. Young Soon didn’t even realize that, since their home was away from the pigsty, Kang Ho’s pet had survived. Young Soon returns home for now, but her will to live hasn’t returned. She has enrolled Kang Ho in a nursing home, and she forces him to stay there against his wishes. However, Kang Ho runs away and rushes back home because he doesn’t have a good feeling. His gut feelings are right because he sees Young Soon hanging herself.
Will Kang Ho Finally Start Walking?
Kang Ho gets so scared when he sees his mother and stands up on his legs for the first time after the accident to save her. More than herself surviving, Young Soon is happy that Kang Ho can move his legs. However, Kang Ho is extremely angry and goes out in the heavy rain. He cries, thinking that his mother abandoned him, but Mi Joo sees him and consoles him. She tells him that there must be a reason behind it because she herself has been abandoned before. She still hasn’t gotten her reason from Kang Ho, but Young Soon gives Kang Ho the reason for her behavior. She was so depressed with her own thoughts that she never once thought that maybe her illness would motivate Kang Ho to get better quickly. Just like Young Soon did for Kang Ho’s hands, she goes to extreme lengths to get his legs moving. Along with getting physiotherapy, Young Soon throws Kang Ho in the shallow water of the lake every day, as extreme conditions bring out the best in people. Kang Ho hates this procedure, but in the end, he moves his legs in the water. After a few more days of physiotherapy, Kang Ho gets rid of the wheelchair and can walk freely now. Meanwhile, Mi Joo’s gets caught out in her lie by her mom when a guy shows up at her house. Mi Joo had lied that he was the father of her kids, but he was there to collect the debt from her.
The villagers feel guilty that they tried to get rid of Young Soon’s pigsty, and to apologize to her, they buy Kang Ho a motorized wheelchair. Much to their surprise, Kang Ho comes out walking instead of using the wheelchair. This calls for a feast, and the villagers gather to cook and celebrate together. They invite Song’s men to the feast as well. Only Hoon Ah is not invited, so Young Soon goes to his house to invite him. She also tells him about her illness and why her pet pig is important to her. She had decided to give her pigsty to Hoon Ah if Kang Ho never recovered, but now that he can walk, he has to take responsibility for the pigsty. Mi Joo is also happy to see Kang Ho walking, but she doesn’t know if she should be really happy. Kang Ho wronged her, and she still remembers their past even though he doesn’t. However, she can’t help but worry about him and his mother because, coincidentally, she knows about Young Soon’s two attempts at suicide. When she talks to Young Soon about it, Young Soon assures her that she won’t do such a thing again.
Young Soon gets a call from the security guard of the apartment complex where Kang Ho used to live. He had forgotten to give her the letter that Kang Ho had left for her. Kang Ho had told him to deliver the letter to Young Soon if she ever came to get his things without him. The Good Bad Mother Episode 8 ends on a mysterious note as Young Soon finds a memory card behind a photo frame in their home. Young Soon knew that it wasn’t a simple letter, and she finally decoded it. Did Kang Ho know that he might get killed? And if so, does the memory card hold Oh Tae Soo’s secrets? Song’s men found the document they were looking for, but they might not be aware that Kang Ho had something that they didn’t know.
