Five Dramas with Troubling Moms

This brilliant, moving exploration of broken families of origin features several mothers struggling with not only the heaviness of their societal role, but also their own inner demons.

The female lead's mom, Kim Mi Yeon, polarizes viewers. She's undeniably extreme in terms of personality and impact. This transporting romance explores not only traditional family and generational tensions, but also the fallout when a parent lacks emotional regulation.

It's impossible to pick just one example of parental misjudgment and intensity in this excellent, gripping exploration of societal fault lines around academic expectations. The pressure is on.

Of course this drama is a sweeping historical pageant, full of revenge, romance, and palace intrigue. But it's also a conversation about indulgent versus harsh parenting. The troubling parent here is the female lead's mother, Xiao Yuan Yi, a military officer conflicted over having abandoned her daughter for 15 years. In contrast, gentle Empress Xuan Shen An offers kindness to the mistreated female lead. However, the empress' own children suffer misfortune due to being raised with inadequate discipline.

The continuation of Part 1.

It's challenging to cope with an extremely emotional, completely well-meaning, and often disastrously wrongheaded parent. Liu Wan Yu means well, and her family respect her years of hard work and devotion, and do their best to honor and appreciate her according to Chinese Family Values. This drama shows a daughter faced with the tension between filial piety and an impulsive, over-emotional mom.