‘The Good Bad Mother’ Episode 2 Recap & Ending, Explained: Did Young Soon Sign Away Her Parental Rights?

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It is no joke that the unloved child will burn down the village if need be. More shocking than Kang Ho’s actions was his mother’s acceptance of them. It makes us think that she was aware of the effect she was having on him but was so blinded by her zeal for his success that she couldn’t hold herself back. The entire set-up of this episode of “The Good Bad Mother” is meant to make one feel bad for Young Soon, which we do, and the knowledge that Kang Ho is not the villain in this situation leaves us with conflicting feelings. But moving on from an uncomfortably melodramatic note, I had predicted in the review of Episode 1 that Kang Ho’s association with Song Woo Byeok might have an ulterior motive. That suspicion just got stronger with “The Good Bad Mother” Episode 2 because there are way too many coincidences for it all to be innocent. This is how it plays out.

Spoiler Alert


How Does Kang Ho Plan To Marry Oh Ha Yeong?

Oh Ha Yeong is a bit of a troublemaker, and after she gets into a fix due to an incorrect complaint, she runs into Kang Ho, who is investigating it. Though she gets out of it, as she actually never did anything wrong, Kang Ho starts pursuing her immediately afterward. It is not long before they are engaged, but Oh Tae Soo, Ha Yeong’s father, does not approve of the match. He wants Kang Ho to end his relationship with his daughter within the week.

But Kang Ho is unscrupulous and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. It is not a matter of love but of climbing the social ladder. It is evident when he mocks the man’s father, whose case he was fighting in “The Good Bad Mother” Episode 1, for his lack of power and influence in helping his son. We want to believe that Kang Ho remains a good guy, and all this is a layered act for his final goal—revenge against everyone responsible for his life being the way it is. But we don’t have enough evidence to support our theories.

Back to the storyline, Kang Ho comes up with a plan where he finds proof that Oh Tae Soo fathered an illegitimate child with Woo Byeok’s secretary back when he still worked with him. With this evidence in hand, Kang Ho asks Woo Byeok to adopt him as his son, which would give him the social capital to become the son in law of Oh Tae Soo, who is running for president of the country. This way, they will all be connected to each other and work in a system of mutual benefit. Oh Tae Soo agrees to the plan, but it can only be set in motion if the woman he had an affair with and her child are both killed. Kang Ho takes care of that. Again, this is something we hope will be refuted in the coming episodes. Now, the only thing left to do is for Young Soon to sign over her rights as a mother so that Kang Ho may be adopted by Song Woo Byeok.


What Is Happening With The Other Villagers Of Jou Ri?

Sam Sik’s mother does not get along with Young Soon anymore since Kang Ho had her son convicted of theft, despite her constantly begging him not to. This is the reason she is never happy with Kang Ho’s achievements. Young Soon smooths things down a bit when she tells her that she will ask Kang Ho to look for a job for Sam Sik when he is released from jail. This makes Sam Sik’s mother happy, but it is all in vain when they find out what Kang Ho plans to do.

Meanwhile, Mi Joo has done pretty well for herself. She opens a nail salon with a friend, and she wants to open a bigger one in Seoul in a few years. Mi Joo also has children who are being taken care of by her parents, though we understand that Mi Joo never got married. In fact, her mother has lied to the villagers, saying that Mi Joo is in the US with her husband and is quite rich. When all is said and done, Mi Joo still looks very happy with life.


Does Young Soon Sign Away Her Parental Rights?

Once Kang Ho leaves his mother’s home, his relationship with her is pretty much nonexistent. He doesn’t take her calls, and when she comes to Seoul to meet him on his birthday, he refuses to even let her into the building, asking the security to lie and say that he is not in the house. Young Soon hears it all, and as hurt as she is, she keeps trying to meet Kang Ho. He has achieved everything she wanted him to and is now a successful prosecutor. Finally, Young Soon does not have to temper her love with the discipline and can express all of her love for him. But Kang Ho is just not interested anymore.

When Kang Ho comes to meet her for the last time, she is excited, thinking that it is going to be a family reunion of sorts. But Young Soon is in for a rude shock when he presents the papers to her. In fact, when she comes to know that Kang Ho is not being forced into this arrangement but is the one to initiate it, there are no words to describe her heartbreak. She does sign it away, according to his wishes and without protest, which makes us think that she knew the anger he held in his heart all this time. She wasn’t blind to the effects of her actions, but in a moment of grief, she still says that he is doing that because he is embarrassed by her when that is far from the case. Kang Ho doesn’t have much to say to her and just gives her her gifts and leaves. The only thing Young Soon manages to do is give him some mung bean pancakes, as they are his favorite. But Kang Ho is still close to tears. When Ha Yeong says that the pancakes smell, he throws them out more as a way of severing his last ties with his mother than anything else. For the rest of the way, Ha Yeong offers to drive. At the end of Episode 2 of “The Good Bad Mother,” when Ha Yeong’s scarf flies out, she parks the car on the side of the road and goes to retrieve it. But in the time it takes her to get back, a truck hits the car, sending it crashing down. Kang Ho is severely injured and will be hospitalized.


Final Thoughts

In the next episode of “The Good Bad Mother,” we will see Young Soon taking Kang Ho back under her care after his accident. Of course, there will be a huge storm when Song Woo Byeok and Oh Tae Soo discover this. In retrospect, Kang Ho has already taken care of their problems, so there is no point in them wanting to make him their family. But how will Young Soon react when she discovers that Kang Ho is going to be adopted by the very man who was responsible for her husband’s death? Did Kang Ho know his identity from the beginning? These are questions we need answers to.


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Divya Malladi
Divya Malladi
Divya spends way more time on Netflix and regrets most of what she watches. Hence she has too many opinions that she tries to put to productive spin through her writings. Her New Year resolution is to know that her opinions are validated.

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