The Unlikely Trio of Mothers
Hi Bye, Mama brings a new antagonist to the table in the form of an exorcist, Guk-Bong, who proves to be a threat for the ghosts but especially for Yu-Ri and her daughter. This has added an interesting and tense plot point which is keeping the story quite fresh as it gives some urgency into it. We begin episode 11 of Hi Bye Mama with a flashback of when Yu-Ri was pregnant. She tells Gang-Hwa that she wants to do something that he really wants her to do before she has the baby. He replies that he would like her to pick him up in the rain. However, when a rainy day arrives she feels too heavy to come. We then cut to a day after her death where Yu-Ri arrives at the bus stop on a rainy day, as a sad Gang-Hwa steps out while she sadly watches on. We then cut back to the present as Yu-Ri saves the old lady from being hit by a motorbike. Yu-Ri is unscathed but both the biker and the lady are rushed to the ER. Yu-Ri follows them and shouts at the paramedics to look after the lady as she sees she’s about to die soon. They don’t believe her though until Gang-Hwa arrives and is relieved to see her. She begs him to look into the old lady so he sends the doctors to get her some tests. He later asks Yu-Ri how she knew the lady was in trouble and Yu-Ri tells him that she just had a feeling. They then have a touching moment when he asks her how her stomach is, as he knows she always used to have bad pains whenever she drinks. At the charnel house, Mi-Dong shuts the door on the strange man. As the ghosts watch the scene unfold, Hye-Jin recognises him as a very powerful exorcist who gets rid of ghosts without giving them a chance. He finally heads inside Mi-Dong’s place and berates her for not sending more ghosts away. He tells her that he will now take care of everything then asks her what she is planning to do with Yu-Ri and Seo-Woo. Mi-Dong promises to take care of them and asks him to take pity on them. However, as he leaves he tells her there isn’t a single ghost worth pitying. As Hyeon-Jeong remembers Yu-Ri’s words about being a ghost, she sees Yu-Ri’s mum walking the street. They end up talking about the situation and Yu-Ri until the latter arrives and leaves with her mother. Eun-Sook tells her how happy she is to hear her voice as it is the only thing she forgot. In hospital, Doctor Jang speaks to Gang-Hwa about the treatment he is currently following and wonders why he is doing it now after 5 years and also why he didn’t sign the petition. He tells her he doesn’t have to, especially knowing that he was against it. Elsewhere, we see Yu-Ri and Yeon-Ji buying each other the same outfit. We then see a flashback of a time both used to fight over wearing each other’s clothes before seeing Yeon-Ji cry after Yu-Ri’s death. In the morning, Min-Jeong tells her husband that she is planning to be friends with Hyeon-Jeong and Yu-Ri while we see the former meeting with Mi-Dong to ask how many days Yu-Ri has left. She replies she has 20 days, which upsets her. Hyeon-Jeong begs her to find a way and wonders if Gang-Hwa got divorced where he would go back to her. In the charnel house, the exorcist declares that Hye-Jin is next as she committed suicide. Geum-Jae wants Kang-Bin to go instead as he killed himself too, but the exorcist claims that he didn’t and that his death was cruel. In the nursery, Yu-Ri overhears another child saying that her parents talked about Seo-Woo’s mum abandoning her. We then cut to Mi-So’s mum accidentally sending a message to the mother’s group chat with her updates of the day, gossiping about Min-Jeong filing for a divorce and claiming that Geun-Sang was Kang-Bin’s therapist. The trio of women unite and decide to give them hell – but in hilarious ways to make sure the children are not scared. Meanwhile, Gang-Hwa and Geun-Sang meet to discus the unlikely friendship and alliance and wonder if it is a good idea. At the same time, the three women celebrate their success. Hyeon-Jeong retires to go to the bathroom and sadly watches both becoming fast friends. As she returns to the table, Yu-Ri leaves to do the same. Hyeon-Jeong then uses this opportunity to ask Min-Jeong if she is really planning to get a divorce. It turns out she’s actually changed her find. She explains that her marriage hasn’t been easy but she knows Gang-Hwa has room in his heart. We then see some flashbacks of Gang-Hwa and Hyeon-Jeong talking about dating Min-Jeong. While playing with stickers, Seo-Woo decides to put a cute girl one next to a picture of the three of them and calls her Cha Yu-Ri, which shocks her father as he didn’t realise she knew her name. Could this means that she used to be able to see her mother when she was a ghost? We then see a flashback of Yu-Ri and Gang-Hwa arguing over something he hasn’t done until we jump forward in time after Yu-Ri’s death where Gang-Hwa talks about being giving more time, something Yu-Ri doesn’t have, as the episode ends. This episode of Hi Bye, Mama ends with quite the twist as we see that Seo-Woo may have been able to see her mother when she was a ghost. This was quite the revelation and I am wondering what impact this will have on the upcoming episodes. The trio of mothers carry on being really entertaining to watch and this episode was no exception as we watch them getting together to sort out the other mothers. This was a really fun scene and I am hoping there will be more of them. With a new threat looming, Hi Bye, Mama is set to be quite tense and emotional during the next few weeks, especially as Yu-Ri’s time is slowly running out. Just how this drama will end remains to be seen but for now, it’s worth sticking with as it has just enough drama, humour and touching scenes to make it a really enjoyable watch.
