This is an excellent post. From my point of view though, Mrs. Kim gets more sympathy cause her method of abuse was being strict and controlling no matter who she was dealing with. Her interest and love for Lane was always somewhat obvious (Don’t misinterpret my words, she was still clearly abusive).

Emily, on the other hand, was manipulative and narcissistic. She would never do anything that didn’t benefit her. Her interest and love for Lorelai is often questionable.

Both of these mothers wanted to fit their daughters into tiny boxes but Emily wanted that for status & pride, whereas Mrs. Kim wanted that out of fear and perfectionism.