All About My Mom-First Impression

Drama: All About My Mom (부탁해요, 엄마)

Synopsis: Convinced by the constant fighting with her mother that she is her mom’s least favorite child, our heroine Jin Ae (Eugene) dreams to one day gain her independence from home. However, when Jin Ae falls in love and marries Hoon Jae (Lee Sang Woo), what awaits her at her new life is her mother-in-law who is no less challenging than her own mother. 

Let’s just take a moment for me to my fangirl scream. Lee Sang Woo is back!!!!! As a lead this time too! It was just killing me that he had such a small part in High Society but now I get to watch him on screen for 50 whole episodes!

Ok, I am done with spazzing for now.

If one just go with the drama synopsis, All About My Mom is not exactly something that had me hopping up down to watch it. 50 episodes about a woman caught up between her mom and mother-in-law? That doesn’t sound fun.

However, I am glad to say I was immediately sold after watching the first two episodes of All About My Mom. The pacing? Great. Chemistry between the two leads? Great. Most importantly: I can’t spot an extremely annoying character yet.

By episode two I am already VERY interested in the two leads’ romance development and has some interest in all the other side characters as well. Now THAT is a great start on a 50 episode family drama.

I am of course a little weary about the writer’s ability to keep the show fun to watch once the two leads get married and the whole “mothers” issue gets going in earnest. But for now, All About My Mom is front and center on my to watch list.

Summary of Episode 1 & 2

Despite having two brothers in her family, our heroine Jin Ae has been the one her mother had expected to bail the family out whenever problems arise. Blaming Jin Ae for being born too early so she took away the resources that should have been given to her older brother (Lee Hyeong Gyu, played by Oh Min Seok pictured on the right), Mama Lee forced Jin Ae to quit school and work when Daddy Lee ran away with all the family’s money years ago. Having eyes only for her precious eldest son, Mama Lee even had Jin Ae support Hyeong Gyu all the way through law school.

Hyeong Gyu is probably the character that is easiest one to dislike at this point. A smart guy who really should be a very successful lawyer, Hyeong Gyu nonetheless is hitting obstacles in his career because he doesn’t have a good family background to smooth his path. After being fired from his law firm despite his great track record in winning cases, Hyeong Gyu asks his mom to close the shop she has worked on all her life so he would have the money to open his own law firm.

Jin Ae’s mom however is no leach though as she herself has worked day and night to raise her three children despite being married to a rather useless husband who has the heart of a saint but with the talent of creating trouble for his family.

I really like how the writer has made Jin Ae’s feeling toward her mother a very complicated one.  Out of the three kids, Jin Ae holds the most resentment towards her mother but she is also the one that perhaps understand the best all the sacrifices Mama Lee has made for her family. It was also really nice to see that even though Mama Lee is often pretty harsh with Jin Ae but when it comes down to it she does care a lot for Jin Ae’s welfare. 

Other than the two leads’ romance I am semi-intrigued by Jin Ae’s younger brother Lee Hyeong Soon’s story. A source of frustration to his mom for constantly getting fired from his part time jobs, Hyeong Soon decides to play a little revenge prank when he meets Jang Chae Ri on a marriage date he had went on in place of his friend. Not recognizing Hyeong Soon as the parking attendant that she has gotten fired the day before, Chae Ri falls for him right away.

On to the best part of this show! Owner of a small renovation company, no one would guess from Kang Hoon Jae’s job or appearance that he is actually the son of a very successful (and rich of course) mother.

Squatting in the woman’s bathroom to do a fix up job, Hoon Jae’s attention is caught when Jin Ae walks into the bathroom and proceeds to tell her mom on the phone that she will do whatever it takes to please a man for money. Jin Ae was just saying angry words because Mama Lee had an argument with Jin Ae over her turning the landlord’s son down on a marriage date.

Jin Ae notices Hoon Jae peering at her behind the bathroom door and automatically assumes that he is a pervert. After a brief chaotic encounter between our two leads, Hoon Jae is even more convinced that Jin Ae is a “Flower Snake” after seeing her with her landlord’s son. Flower Snake: Referring to women who goes after men for money. However, despite the poor impression Jin Ae left on him, Hoon Jae couldn’t help but keeps thinking about her when he accidentally sees Jin Ae crying on the street.

Jin Ae meets Hoon Jae once again when she is running around trying to find a plumber to fix a leaking crisis at her work. Surprised to see that Hoon Jae is the plumber sent to help her, Jin Ae calls out “Pervert!” while Hoon Jae says “Flower Snake?”

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