Angry Mom — Ep 15-16 Final Discussion Post

[miyozari.livejournal.com]

Watch on Gooddrama|Viki

Jo Kang Ja was once a legendary badass in her teenage days—and as a Busan girl, she would have been extra rough-and-tumble. Daughter to a sashimi-restaurant-owner mother who loves to swear and a father with a rap sheet for fighting, Kang Hee inherits her parents’ penchant for cursing, quick temper, and sashimi knife skills.

As a young mother, she is the kind of person who prefers dramas to news or current events. But when she finds out that her daughter, Oh Ah Ran, is being victimized by bullies at school, she decides to do something about it directly, and what ensues is a positive, upbeat, and poignant” story that seeks to highlight trouble spots in South Korea’s educational system.

best drama of 2015

sources: dramawiki|mbc|mbcentertainment|mbcdrama (1,2, 3)|gif (1, 2, 3)|instagram (baro, kim hee sun, ji soo, lizzy, choi yeseul, han seyeon)

Comments

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

I'm about to start this (I refuse to start a series without at least the first season being done since I marathon episodes)...I have high expectations for this!!! AHHH!!!

[turdferguson.livejournal.com]

ayyy i'm in the same boat.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

*prayer circle that this is as good as everyone claims*

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

Because of you I watched Coffee Prince and did not regret it.

TRUST me on this one. It's worth the watch.

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

get some tissues you are going to need it

[hebk.livejournal.com]

its a good one to marathon!

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

IT IS SO GOOD. u wont regret it.

[aftertwelveam.livejournal.com]

I walked into this expecting a lighthearted and ridiculous comedy, but WOW was I surprised by what was really in store. This might be one of the best dramas I've ever watched, I really appreciate how much focus was placed in character development and the plot. It's one of those dramas where I felt like even if a lot of fucked up shit happened, a lot of it still made sense in how it was all unraveled. If anyone is still on the fence about watching it, I highly recommend it! I was really impressed by all the acting, too, especially the guy who plays Bok Dong. I really hope his acting career launches because of this drama!

BTW does anyone know how the drama has been received in Korea? I know a lot of international viewers really enjoy it, but I'm curious how it's doing in SK.

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

It has done really well considering that Koreans do not like heavy dramas outside of the makjang genre.
I also recommend " A wife's credentials"

[aftertwelveam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I was wondering how it would be received with how much it criticized society and politics. I'll definitely check out your rec!

[michinnyeon.livejournal.com]

not the highest ratings (mostly single digits, to my knowledge), but of the people who watched it, they pretty much all sang praise of it.

[aftertwelveam.livejournal.com]

Got it, even if it didn't rate high by numbers I'm glad that the people who did watch understand how amazing it is!

[bishieaddict.livejournal.com]

Me too. I thought this was a fluff drama...but I still liked it.

[aftertwelveam.livejournal.com]

If I knew what it would really be about, I'm not sure if I would've been so keen to watch it... so I guess they did a good job at marketing it before it was broadcast haha

[bishieaddict.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I watched it right after Sunam Girls High School Detectives, which I enjoyed. Which was light/yet serious. I thought it would be similar...Not that it was bad, but I'd probably avoid stuff this heavy.

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

The photo with Baro, Jisoo, and Hyunwoo all beaten up YES please. All the pictures are so lovely. The cast were a good and entertaining bunch. I'm glad to have been introduced to Jisoo, Hyunwoo, and Lizzy (both as an actress and idol). I'm two for two with Baro. This is the second drama I've watched with him that was amazing. He gets really good roles.

Overall, this drama was a whirlwind of a ride. Took me up, down, made me laugh and ugly cry. Maybe there will be a second season?

[fairyland-not.livejournal.com]

before i start this drama i need to clarify a doubt. is yoojung a main character or supporting character?

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

a main character, why?

[fairyland-not.livejournal.com]

well i took notice of this drama because of her so as much as i know that this drama is good, i need to know if she's relevant enough or not in it because she really isn't getting a lot of lead character dramas unlike KSH or YJG

[michinnyeon.livejournal.com]

you can say that the character kim hee sun plays is the main character, but yoojung plays her daughter and therefore is a significant catalyst in moving kim hee sun into action.
that is to say yoojung appears a lot, if that's what you wanted to know.

[michinnyeon.livejournal.com]

i binge-watched the drama this past weekend, and i don't regret a single hour of sleep lost to it.
amazing character development for a huge majority of the characters, a compelling plot, and tons of societal issues addressed. the comedic parts were hilarious, the sad parts were heartbreaking, and the controversial parts left you infuriated, frustrated, or both.
all the actors were on top of their game - lizzy was a nice surprise. i am so looking forward to jisoo and kim yoojung's future works.

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

yeah, lizzy surprised me! she definitely made the most of her screen time.

[aftertwelveam.livejournal.com]

Also, do people think the guy with the white shoes is a hint at a possible second season? Or is it more of a metaphor to how there's always a greater evil to face, no matter how many battles you might win when it comes to corruption?

[miyozari.livejournal.com]

I feel like it's the latter one b/c tbh second seasons are quite uncommon for kdramas unless it's a cable drama.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

The latter...Sang Tae directly says it later about why he's becoming a prosecutor

[kjc48.livejournal.com]

The former if the writer gets her way (and the cast is willing to comeback...hopefully not like Let's Eat), the latter if MBC is stupid.

[atopworld.livejournal.com]

Lots of people think it's the former, and it'd be great, but it seems like it might be the latter.

[kjc48.livejournal.com]

CORRECTION: best drama of 2015. (and probably the best drama of 2016 if my season dreams become true)

The only thing I would change is how her marriage was portrayed. Understand why romance was downplayed (yet somehow that Ahran ship ended up happening), but the writer seriously should have set up KJ's marriage better (especially since she was gonna kill of the guy and make his death a big deal). The couple had some great moments, but we never really understand how these 2 people met in the first place and the audience spends at least the first 4 episodes thinking KJ's in a bad marriage.

My favourite part about the finally was KJ's "evil raised evil" line after the Teacher tried to give his sob story to the judge lol.

[hebk.livejournal.com]

ia about her marriage. i didn't even care about him, nor did it seem kangja did, until he showed he had a backbone at the last minute. it was probably the weakest characterization

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

Awesome Mom was awesome...Team Mom was Awesome and Ah Ran's Dad (Both) and Yikyung were sad losses...

[mya13.livejournal.com]

this is honestly the best public broadcast drama i have ever watched. like i had to double check it wasn't a tvn drama cause it was just so good compared to the tragic unbearable messes public broadcasts almost always serve us where it starts out great and then half way through it gets to the point where you ask yourself why you're even wasting your time putting up with its bs (ex. it's ok that's love)

i will miss this show, everything about it was perfect.

[blushingtabi.livejournal.com]

Angry Mom goes to show you can have a great drama that is love-triangle free. It's also great to have a show that really focuses and showcases female relationships (mother/daughter, friends, mothers working together). I'm tired of bromances getting all the attention, so this drama was refreshing in that reguard.

And completely unrelated but whenever Lizzy was on screen I thought she was Julia Stiles.

[axelandra-ally.livejournal.com]

I always felt like I was watching Apink`s Jung Eun-ji whenever Lizzy appeared on screen... :))

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

this drama is amazing, seriously.

bomb ass writing, the plot actually made sense every step of the way, the character development was excellent, the focus of female power and female relationships (ESPECIALLY the value placed in motherhood and friendship) is the best i've EVER seen come out of kdramaland. E V E R.

a superb balance of heartbreaking drama and comedy and unflinching criticism of bullying and corrupt politics. i mean if u told me this drama would do ALL THAT without boring me a single episode when i first started watching, i wouldn't have believed u.

i was BAWLING the last three episodes. just tears throughout the candle-light vigil and the trial. SO WELL DONE.

hands down, one of the greatest of the year.

my only criticism would be the development of ah ran and sang tae's relationship (i maintain if they were friends and HINTED at love at the very end i would respect that more because otherwise it just feels sloppy) and the development of goose father (because half the time i couldnt understand why kang ja even bothered with him)---everything else was on point.

[aftertwelveam.livejournal.com]

Am I missing something? I thought Sang Tae and Ah Ran's thing only hinted at feelings near the end... I mean, we knew from the beginning that Sang Tae liked her. The moments where Ah Ran held his hands and stuff like that, I didn't take that as "I'm interested in you romantically", but more like "I'm here to support you as a friend" because they were going through some really tough stuff. then again, maybe I need to rewatch the last episode and see if I saw everything right, I was pretty much focused on everything that wasn't Sang Tae and Ah Ran's "relationship" haha.

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

yeah he tried to kiss her that one time, and they have a lot of skinship for ppl who were just supposed to be friends. especially given how upset sang tae was when he thought she was leaving. i think the last few episodes suggested they were an item even tho they weren't an "item" if that makes sense.

i just feel like they had ah ran accept sang tae WAY too fast---and sang tae never actually verbally apologized for his behavior towards her. especially when u compare him to go bok dong, sang tae just didnt do much to make up for his wrong-doing. i mean, he led a bullying campaign against her and yi kyeong ffs. but then again, maybe it's unfair to compare the two since go bok dong's character development is next level superb and ji soo is excellent in the role.

i dunno, i dont think baro is that great of an actor and i feel like the writing for sang tae is oddly weak for this drama. it's like he belongs in another series or something. tho i do think it came along pretty nicely towards the end.