Thought I was completely fine until I started watching IOTNBO. This drama surprisingly affects me more deeply than it should. I guess we all have battles to face.

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    I wonder how much of Kang-tae’s recollection of his mother is selective. I hope there is something forgotten, that there was some kind of misinterpretation, or some other explanation. However, even assuming his mom genuinely loved Kang-tae and wasn’t so focused on Sang-tae (to the utter exclusion of Kang-tae), the things she said to Kang-tae were (unintentionally?) cruel and emblematic of his self-abnegation.

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      I don’t want to think of his Mom that way but it seems that she gave birth to KangTae for the very reason. It’s also probably the reason why he dedicated his whole life to taking care of his brother which is a tragedy, in my opinion. Maybe all parents do carry expectations of us. It just depends on how big those expectations are.

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        I think all parents do have expectations of their children, but I think the nature of those expectations can differ.

        Sometimes, parents expect things of their children that are not to the benefit of their children. Kang-tae’s mom seems to fall in this camp, at least in respect of Kang-tae. Even worse, sometimes the things parents want from their children are self-serving. Kwak Dong-yeon’s character has a plot arc like this. These expectations are wrong IMO. They are not fair and they betray a lack of genuine concern and care for the children involved. They amount to treating children as instruments for the achievement of objects not related to the children at all.

        Other times, though, parents can have expectations that are genuinely related to the welfare of their children. When parents expect us to be honest or to be responsible for behaviour that hurts other people, their expectations come from a place of concern and are fueled by a desire to see their children reach live good, decent lives. Similarly, when parents have educational expectations of their children, those are often motivated by a desire to see their children reach their full potential or they are driven by the wish that their children avoid lives filled with hardship. Now these expectations can be just as burdensome – sometimes even more burdensome than the first kind of expectations! – but I don’t think these kinds of expectations are, by their very nature, wrong.

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        I think hearing that he was born to take care of his brother so bluntly from his mother may have really damaged Kang Tae’s self worth. It may have made him think that there wasn’t more to his life, which be seen even at his current age

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