[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Secret Mother" Episodes 19-20

It feels good to get some confirmation on the morality of key persons in "Secret Mother", and unfortunately for Yoon-jin, Jae-yeol is at the terrible end of the spectrum. His mother finally reveals her goals, but I am having an alarming suspicion about the motivation behind them, which could make Yoon-jin's marriage even more painful. Eun-yeong gets a second chance at life, and perhaps her sister shares her luck.

Seeing Seon-ja (Cha Hwa-yeon) openly admit her horrifying plans for Yoon-jin (Song Yoon-ah) to Jae-yeol (Kim Tae-woo) is a shocking scene, but the casual undertones of it all are what truly scares me. I thought that, at worst, this was a marriage of convenience, but now I wonder if there is something more. Seon-ja speaks as if she is in a long-lasting battle. She also mentions Jae-yeol's father and how she has been struggling alone in said grand war.

Could it be that this venomous duo is after revenge, rather than power? The effort to hide Hyeon-joo (Ji An) is too extreme for someone's cheating, and after Se-yeon (Son Seung-woo) throwing us that hint over Seon-ja's extreme zeal to destroy Yoon-jin, I do wonder. Has Yoon-jin's family hurt them? Is that why her meeting with her husband felt like a perfect lie? As soapy as this would be, it would be a great twist. Not so much for poor Yoon-jin and Min-joon (Kim Ye-joon), however.

This brings us to the ever so puzzling Jae-yeol. By now he is comfortably two different people, and neither seems like a lie. If my theory is right, is he just so comfortable in his lie that he buys into his moments of affection for his family, or have the years made him conflicted? I imagine having two children with your potential target of revenge who has done you no harm is traumatizing in its own right. Most of all, what is in that shed? I doubt it is Hyeon-joo, the man is not Bluebeard.

Is he working against his mother in that shed? Does it hold his memories with Hyeon-joo? Maybe it is nothing, but he is definitely someone with unclear loyalty and motivations. Speaking of Hyeon-joo, however, could it be? We have no concrete reason to suspect her as dead, and if Jeong-wan (Song Jae-rim) is good, but still working for someone, perhaps it is her. He could be the one who took Eun-yeong (Kim So-yeon) as well.

With half a drama to go, I know that we are in for more twists and turns. It is exhilarating to always go one step further and only know a little more each time. I am also glad to see the Daechi-dong trio grow and bond. Ideally, they will become a helpful force for our heroines, because not even our villains could handle all five of these determined ladies together. That is my womance dream.

"Secret Mother" is directed by Park Yong-soon, written by Hwang Ye-jin and features Song Yoon-ah, Kim So-yeon, Kim Tae-woo and Song Jae-rim.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Watch Episode 19 on Viki

Watch Episode 20 on Viki

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