Drama Digest
A pregnant-women, Cha Yu-ri (Kim Tae-hee) dies in a car crash but her baby survives, which makes it her duty to safeguard her baby being a ghost herself. Five years later, she is given a chance; a chance to regain her place as a mother and as a wife but with a condition. Watch the drama to know what the condition is and if she succeeds in taking her place back.
The Feel-Good Part
This show portrays the sentimental journey of fun and mishaps in doing favours for her ghost friends, reconnecting with their old friends, and her attempts to reconnect to her husband and catch up with her daughter. The story has ample number of emotional scenes which will stay with the audiences even after completion of the series. Secondly, the theme of the story is very beautiful. The story deals with absurdism, which means acknowledging that life is short; it’s okay to have regrets; all it matters when we die is that are we happy and are people happy to have you in their lives. The crew prevailed in conveying the theme.
The Disappointing Factor
Firstly, the editing and cinematography weren’t up to the mark. Secondly, the series is way too lengthy. This is because of introducing many characters and their side stories. At times, the side stories tend to become the main plot, leaving behind the central character’s agony and struggle. At a point, the audience might even feel that there are way too many crying sequences even for those characters which have a very little screen presence; this little screen presence results in the audience’s lack of connection with the character and thereby, they fail to feel the empathy for the character. Lastly, the antagonist’s character was introduced in a very messy way and his character doesn’t make any strong impact.
In-depth Analysis
The woman will be given 49 days to regain her place as a mother and as a wife. But the problem arises with her husband (Lee Kyu-hyung) already been married to another women. How will she make it through? And will she regain her place? These questions make up the core plot, whereas the sub-plots arise with the introduction of other ghost characters, who approaches Cha Yu-ri for help. Each of the ghost friend has their own story. For example, one of the stories is about an old man who wishes to be present at his daughter’s wedding, and Cha Yu-ri does him the favour and helps him to attend his daughter’s wedding. There are many characters and their side-stories dwelt in the series.
Star Power
The central character is the soul of the film and Kim Tae-hee succeeded in making the audience travel her sentimental journey along with her. Her acting, especially in the last sequence of the first episode and the last farewell scene, makes everyone shed tears. She just pulled off her role with such a great ease and compassion.
Overall Opinion
Hi Bye, Mama is an emotional drama which will leave audience in tears. If you could ignore the slow paced narration, this series ends up a decent watch.
