kio

so?

Yea I have relatives who had an abusive / difficult mom, the oldest harbors some anger towards her but still cares for her, the younger two love her almost unconditionally. Doesn't mean they think her treatment was ok, or that they would be the same way with their kids.

I liked this drama but I agree it would've been interesting to explore him more as a villain too. I do think they touched on that, because some ppl whom he treated poorly/out of anger during his revenge quest confront him about that in the end, thinking he was a bad person. I honestly wish the drama was longer so they could've fleshed out those character traits more

I kinda disagree that the drama oversimplified the morality of the characters – I think they just rushed it

i think the drama draws this same parallel to the ml, which is why i like the writing. ml also lost himself in his quest to fulfill his mom's wishes. maybe this is a less stereotypical ml tho. while this is more expected of the fl

he should spend the rest of his life hating her and she should die alone?

agreed 100%, i don't really feel like the show is taking a side

- Again, she would give him food eventually. if she actually never let him eat he would be skin and bones. Withholding food was just a tactic she used to ignite his willpower and survival instincts. She even admits it was a "bad" method, but the only one might possibly work
- Yea exactly and I think you're really overlooking the effects that trauma, poverty, and grief have on people. Is being an artist a guaranteed sustainable lifestyle for a family of pig farmers? Is that realistic? I think that's a privilege they were robbed of. Because of their circumstances they don't have that luxury so she was choosing what she thought was the best for their situation. Had she not been totally alone and struggling and therefore putting his life at risk too, she would have let him become an artist or whatever he wanted
- Uhh no, bad people use others for their own personal and selfish gain. They inflict harm on other people unnecessarily. They go out of their way to enact revenge purely out of thirst for control. If she was a bad person she would have said to KH, 'you have no choice but to become a pig farmer like me.' Or, she would have been happy to see he had been accepting bribes because it made him rich. She was strict with him because she mistakenly thought it would benefit HIM. This drama is showing that a lot of things are not black and white. Especially when life doesn't give you many options. She's a complex character, she did bad things but they clearly don't define her – and she is repenting now. If she was the "main villain" why would she even feel remorse for anything?

- she did not starve him, she just did not want him to become full. i notice that gets twisted a lot by viewers who say that she didn't give him any food and left him malnourished. if you rewatch the scenes, she fed him, but took food away after a point to prevent overeating fatigue. she would feed him food that supported learning and brain growth to help him study
- all of the other things you describe are not right, no one is saying that or justifying it. however her end goal wasn't to harm him or kill him. it was her desperate and extreme way of guaranteeing his independence and safety for him to escape their poor lifestyle and the cycle of suffering. are mothers given a blueprint or roadmap to being a perfect mother? no, so you can imagine how hard it can be when u don't hae support of a spouse or family and on top of that you're haunted by everyone dying around you
- she did not want him to get revenge, she just wanted him to become powerful and escape poverty. he in adulthood chose to plot against his fathers' killers and involve himself in the revenge plot

your original comment is that the mother is the real villain, which i think gives the ACTUAL evil villains in the drama a pass to victimize her (and KH), and is an unfair statement to make

?? glory mom actively sought to undermine her own daughter and wanted her demise. She likely couldn't care less if her daughter turned out to be a horrible person. KH mom wanted him to be successful, to escape their life of poverty. She was upset when discovering he had hurt ppl on his quest to power. Her intentions were way better despite using problematic methods to enforce them

but literally no one is saying it’s okay lol humanizing your parents is not justifying anything. it’s just seeing them as human, not making excuses. understanding the why is helpful so you can let go of your own anger

idk about your generalizations because many parents hate her, while many ppl who have grown up with toxic mothers can empathize with her (not agree). idk why ‘reason’ is in quotes because most behaviors have reasons behind them lol and understanding those reasons is actually a big part in the healing process

I think westerners are more appalled by the mother and have a harder time understanding her

Interesting. So you think she would be the same if her husband wasn't murdered and she didn't have to fend for everything herself? I would say that those who hate the mom and see her as a villain have never experienced significant loss nor understood how that pain affects you... nor have they witnessed firsthand how a single parent can struggle with emotional stability after experiencing significant loss

Well, imo the writers portrayed that when he first didn't want to eat after the accident. and said because she wanted him to study first. and she cried. because that was one of the first times she understood the impact of her actions. and then she even acknowledged she was a bad mom, saying 'please let me be bad one more time' so he can get better. I mean they didn't have her begging on her knees for forgiveness but the characters are behaving and redeeming themselves in ways that make sense for the story and are kinda realistic for how ppl are in real life

Ok so... is it her fault she can't travel back in time to apologize to him before he got into the accident

question - did sam sik's parents fail him if the most he can amount to in life is theft being a thug? they didn't discipline him at all. is that a better life?

it's funny because sam sik might be an example of what happens when you don't discipline your kids at all lol

you literally said “trying to justify her behavior is putting responsibility on the son,” and that would mean he would do it to his children etc, which would be repurposing my words lmao. cuz no one is saying that. that’s the point I was replying to and “entertaining” in your comment.

and yes there is blind hate here too, wow so much lol did you read? have you seen the comments saying they don’t feel bad she’s sick or if she’s a widow etc.? even when she literally felt horrible about her actions but ppl don’t seem to acknowledge that. ignoring her past when it’s right in front of your face is literally blind hatred. and it’s sad/hilarious the writers even had to make her this pitiful and some people still don’t have an ounce of empathy. so maybe you individually didn’t use those exact words, and neither did I say you specifically are blindly hating her. but clearly word choice IS important here because ppl are quick to cast judgment and jump on blanket statements like “GOOD” or “BAD” when the situation is way more complex. that’s all I’m saying lol don’t entertain this convo if you don’t want to

I don’t think understanding her behavior is justifying it. and no one is arguing the son has to suffer cuz of his moms past lol that’s crazy and idiotic. rather these convos are abt the importance of empathy in order to not pass down and continue the cycle of abuse . for his own sanity, putting his mothers behavior in context is important for him to develop self awareness, draw boundaries and not become an abuser himself. hating her blindly and saying “she deserves to suffer” is just continuing the cycle

@cactilicious I think she did change, her remorse is a big step. but trauma and desperation made her revert to those old methods. it is not easy you know, changing your mindset and maintaining emotional stability when you’re faced with so many challenges and obstacles. I think that’s the point of this drama