okay so to a certain extent i see your blog as the "no forgiveness for shitty parents" corner of the ql-sphere
so for no reason at all, i'm curious. of shows you've seen, which ones have your favorite examples of shitty parents who *aren't* forgiven?
that is truly the most correct way to see my blog! and its biggest point of contention too.
now, the most flawless example of no forgiveness for shitty parents is definitely 'us'. there were so many potential pitfalls with khem's arc, especially with nene and the idea that 'no parent is worse than a bad parent', but the series did not end up stumbling into any of those unfortunate tropes, and handled the entire arc perfectly. dokrak is also absolutely incredible representation of a child who has been pushed out of their family by their unwillingness to comply with the abuser's demands.
'the heart killers' also deserves a mention. now, lily is not the boys' biological or even in a way literal mother, and usually the larger structures that encourage family propaganda in the first place undermine relationships like that, so parents (or parental figures) like lily are more readily allowed to face punishment. but, although it's not exactly revolutionary in that sense, seeing fadel and bison kill their mother is nonetheless extremely satisfying, as is the idea that the cycle of abuse ends with the death of the abuser.
i would also give a shout out to 'the eighth sense'. although we don't really meet jae won's parents, we do witness his suffering that is - in big part - caused by them, and i love that they were not only not forgiven, but are also very much an afterthought beyond the acknowledgement that they are the people who actively fucked up in jae won's life. when it comes to family propaganda, dismissal can be just as powerful as actively engaging in proving it wrong.
the final, far more complicated mention is 'let free the curse of taekwondo'. now, the series deliberately engages with the idea of family propaganda, going so far as to have ju yeong stay in contact with do hoe's abusive father. however, that is - as i said - very deliberate, and the entire series has the goal of making you feel actively sick, as it delves into the effects of abusive parenting and other people's responses to it. i would say that this one feels the least satisfying, but not in a bad way. satisfaction was simply not its goal. it does, however, absolutely deserve a mention, as not only is do hoe implied to have gone no contact with his father and is absolutely fine at his funeral with no judgement from the narrative, the entire series is concerned with showing how parental abuse haunts him in a deeply realistic way and with setting him on a path to healing (besides, it does give us a bit of a satisfying alternative with the child, who is being medically and emotionally abused by his parents, and who gets to be saved in a way do hoe wasn't).
an honourable mention for something that you technically didn't ask but is so far the only series that i've seen manage something a bit different flawlessly is 'my school president'. this is not a series where a bad parent doesn't get forgiven, but rather where a parent who has made some serious mistakes apologises and atones for them in an exemplary way. tinn's mom actively says sorry, does not allow tinn to apologise or make any excuses for her in turn, and follows through by defending and supporting him in a way that opposes her previous errors. 11/10, would love to see more of that as well.
