The BEST episodes of The Making of an Ordinary Woman
Every episode of The Making of an Ordinary Woman ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Making of an Ordinary Woman!
A woman in her sixties, raised in a Chinese Herbal store in Taiwan. Now she must navigate the worlds of Love, marriage and human relationships.
#1 - Going Home
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/3/2021
In 1990, Grandma's tomato scrambled eggs take forever as the whole family descends on the kitchen. After a lifetime of putting family first, she makes an unusual birthday wish: "I want to move out." In 2020, Mom unexpectedly returns home with a document. Jia-Ling faces losing both her house and the man she loves, and at the last moment opens up honestly to Yong-Sen. Watching Mom and Jia-Ling both find their way home, Yu-Xuan also feels the pull to return — but Jia-Ling throws herself in front of the car that comes to take her.
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#2 - Innocent Youth
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/1/2019
Jia-Ling and her eldest aunt butt heads over their late grandmother's dying wish. In the past, young Jia-Ling becomes her grandmother's unlikely singing coach as the old woman prepares for a karaoke competition.
#3 - Where Are We Now?
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/22/2021
In 1990, young Yong-Sen stays at the Chen household, awkwardly coexisting with young Jia-Ling during the budding years of adolescence. In 2020, the awkward childhood friends have become a couple. After a rough first day at work, Jia-Ling finds comfort at Yong-Sen's place, but when the water cuts out mid-shower she flees home with suds still in her hair, yelling: "Where are we now?" When Yong-Sen asks the same about their relationship, she answers by giving him her house key, starting a new chapter of living together.
#4 - The Sparkling Adult
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/10/2021
During bed rest, Jia-Ling feels the warmth of being surrounded by family. Across different timelines, she and her mother each face the choices and experiences of miscarriage and childbirth. As Jia-Ling endures labor pains and the anxiety of becoming a first-time mother, Mom strokes her tear-streaked face and tells her: "You've always been my role model — you can do this!" The Chen family's old group photo, once full of mishaps, now sits beside the family's newest member, Holly, watching over her as she grows.
#5 - Cheers! New Life!
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/8/2021
In 2020, 41-year-old Chen Jia-Ling moves back to Tainan for a fresh start. When chatting with her ex-boyfriend, she only dares share the bright side, hiding the reality of no privacy at her parents' home, a rough renovation, and constant parental meddling. In 1990, young Jia-Ling starts a new chapter entering middle school, as her mom cuts her hair short, restricts TV and comics, forces strange foods on her, and sends her to a distant cram school.
#6 - Who Needs to Be a Lady?
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/1/2019
Jia-Ling receives a call that could pull her back to Taipei. Her brother's revelation sends shockwaves through the old family home. In the past, eighteen-year-old Jia-Ling's decision to leave Tainan ignites a family crisis that forces everyone to confront who she really is.
#7 - No Time Left
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/15/2021
In 1990, young Jia-Ling stares at the bloodstain on her underwear as her world shatters. Forced into womanhood, she finds no comfort from the women around her, only her father's tenderness while she tearfully scrubs stained bedsheets at night. In 2020, Jia-Ling receives devastating news that menopause has arrived early, struggling with night sweats, rough skin, and feeling like a different species from her young, vibrant coworkers.
#8 - Willing to Fail
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 8/25/2019
Jia-Ling joins Yong-Sen's city council campaign team, but their canvassing vehicle breaks down on the road. In the past, young Jia-Ling boldly declares she wants to be a boss when she grows up.
#9 - The Fading Winter Break
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/4/2019
Jia-Ling is about to have a place of her own at last. Meanwhile, young Jia-Ling's happy winter break takes an unwelcome turn when visitors arrive, and her mother clashes with her aunt-in-law over whose daughter is more accomplished.
#10 - Lessons in Love
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/25/2019
The truth about Jia-Ling's rocky life in Taipei finally comes out in front of the family. In the past, her mother's unfulfilled dream of playing piano is forced onto young Jia-Ling, who suffers through lessons she never wanted.
#11 - Keep Your Distance
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/11/2019
Jia-Ling and Da-Rong clash over his mother's meddling in their relationship. In the past, young Jia-Ling is haunted by the harsh punishment a neighbor girl receives for an innocent act, learning an unsettling lesson about how differently boys and girls are treated.
#12 - Uninvited Guest
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/29/2021
Jia-Ling and Yong-Sen settle into cohabitation, navigating the joys and tensions of domestic life. Unexpected visitors disrupt their routine, forcing both to confront what they truly want from the relationship. In 1990, young Jia-Ling and Yong-Sen's childhood dynamic continues to evolve under the same roof, with the awkward energy of first crushes and family proximity.
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#13 - Life Plan
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/5/2021
In 2020, tour guide Jia-Ling's career is thriving when she discovers she's unexpectedly pregnant despite early menopause. She wavers between having the baby or not, caught between reality and fantasy. In 1990, a generational power shift rocks the Chen household as Grandpa struggles to hand over the family herbal medicine shop, while the women conspire to transfer management. In the end, Grandpa lets go and Jia-Ling's father officially inherits the family business.
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#14 - Road Trip
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/19/2021
Three heartbroken women band together for an impromptu road trip. Along the way, Mom reveals a large sum of money, Jia-Ling admits she's pregnant, and Yu-Xuan confesses she fled domestic violence. Meanwhile, four men gather at Jia-Ling's house to drink and lament the mystery of women. The women's chaotic journey lands them at a police station, where the men briefly intersect. Dad tries to bring them home, but Mom refuses and the three women take off again.
#15 - Don't Marry Him
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/4/2019
At her ex-boyfriend's lavish wedding, Jia-Ling discovers the once-nerdy guy has become a success and married a younger woman. While her classmates chat about kids and in-laws, she feels hopelessly behind. Back at her apartment, drunk and defiant, she pounds on the bathroom door and proposes to her live-in boyfriend of four years, clutching the bouquet she fought to catch.
#16 - Expiration Date
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/11/2019
Da-Rong storms into Jia-Ling's workplace to confront her, dragging even the boss's wife into the chaos. In the past, young Jia-Ling falls ill from something she ate but can't bring herself to tell anyone the embarrassing truth.
#17 - The Price of Freedom
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/18/2019
Jia-Ling interviews for new jobs but keeps striking out. In the past, young Jia-Ling runs away from home after her grandfather says something that cuts deep.
#18 - A First-Rate Loser
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/18/2019
Jia-Ling returns to her family home in Tainan for the Lunar New Year reunion dinner, where she finds herself telling lies to save face. In the past, young Jia-Ling cannot understand why the adults around her seem so unpatriotic.
#19 - Typhoon Day
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/12/2021
On a typhoon morning in 2020, Jia-Ling secretly heads out for an abortion but unexpectedly hears the baby's heartbeat. Yong-Sen quietly looks for work at a real estate agency, drifting from his beloved baseball. Jia-Ming skips class for a movie while a phone call throws him into turmoil. Dad's reunion with his first love turns bittersweet when Mom catches them embracing. As a child, Mom taught Jia-Ling how to handle danger; now grown-up Jia-Ling comforts her crying mother with those same words.
#20 - Letting Go of Love
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/26/2021
In 2020, a prenatal checkup brings Jia-Ling's parents and Yong-Sen together, but tensions over Dad's affair cause a falling out. Jia-Ling and Yong-Sen awkwardly retreat to "more than friends, less than lovers." Life shifts for everyone: Jia-Ling decides to sell her house, Mom finally finds peace, Yu-Xuan lands a real estate job, and Jia-Ming tries new things. In 1990, the Chen household buzzes when Dad is nominated for Model Father, but young Jia-Ling uncovers the village chief's bribery scheme.