Flower of Evil (2020) - With Spoilers

[bluepebbles]

 

@bluepebbles : Yay Flower of Evil finally ended! @Darkarcana and me  decided to have a joint review of this fantastic drama. The final episode was a roller coaster ride, just like the previous ones. I felt the void after the last frame was shown with a lovely DoCha wedding photo.

 

@Darkarcana : Oh yeah! Wahhhh I can't believe this. All these waiting and watching, we finally have come to the end of this wonderful chapter between our lovely couple and of course, let's not forget...Their little bundle of joy that is Eun Ha!

 

@bluepebbles : Flower Evil was regarded as a critical and commercial success, with an impressive ratings of 5.7 % on episode 16. Netizens both local and international scene demand for another rerun , a bluray dvd and  have it streamed thru the video platform giant Netflix.

 

Thanks for the show, I spent a wonderful quarter of interesting stories , including behind the scenes which made the drama a very fulfilling escape from our recent global pandemic.

 

If you have loved a person for 14 years, and married to him  then later on after a death defying incident you will discover that he is hiding under a fake identity, what will you do?

 

@Darkarcana : @bluepebbles Honestly though, if you ask me, I would probably want to do what Hyun Su did in Ep 15. *Pwahahaha* Just kidding! But I know that this is the main topic that was said in this series, but have you ever thought that all these time, who is the one that is probably hurting as much as her? Eun Ha.

 

@bluepebbles : He owes Eunha those eggtarts kept at Moojin's friidge . He needs a lot of explaining to do. Specially the change of Eunha's surname .I have been contemplating on this question the moment the first casting news was announced in January. In real life situation this is incomprehensible. I won’t be able to survive emotionally if I will have the same predicament as Ji Won, apart from the fact that the person you thought you knew so well is a serial killing suspect.

 

@Darkarcana : For me, I personally felt the pain for Eun Ha, because she is a kid. She is still at the age whereby she is still dependent on her parents, so honestly it will hurt a lot to see her having no father or worst, a mother arresting her own father. Imagine how that feels? Or maybe because to me, she is a bundle of joy that would make me smile every time! SHE IS THE CUTEST LITTLE BEAN! I can't help but to poke her cheeks omgggg...*Cough!*...Anyways...I just don't want to see her cry....carry on...

 

@bluepebbles: Flower of Evil did not disappoint being 80 % Melo-20% suspense. This was the overall impression I felt after concluding the 16-episode drama. The orchestrated events from start to finish was exquisitely done, like there’s a blueprint laid by the writer for the director to execute. The flashbacks highlighting how the love story of Hyunsoo and Jiwon  created a motif on the overall theme of the drama—Flower of Evil is about love and truth. I personally feared of the writer’s amnesia card to be used as a device plot on the ending. @Darkarcana was even the sole Haveninite who voted for it . But then , while it is a hackneyed resolution to Hyun Soo and Ji Won ‘s struggles, it actually make sense.

 

@Darkarcana : First time I got it right! Hohoho! Funny enough, unpopular opinion, but I would rather he forget his pain and suffering and start anew rather than carrying on with the pain.

 

@bluepebbles  : I agree. The rebirth of Hyun Soo is what we are waiting for. The story telling was not laid in just one blow of series of events because of two aspects—the mask of suspense that we need to unravel and the mirroring scenes that served as clues during the entire run. For example, when Hyun Soo confessed about the meaning of the shop’s name “When the Morning Star Rests”, it brought me back to episode one when Hyunsoo’s works were panned one by one. Also, in episode 2, when there was a parallel scene of the female suspect talking about the stars.

 

It may feel ‘rushed’ on the ending of the show with only a few minutes of the reunion of the Do Family. But realization hit me when I listened to the track “You and Me Under Flowers and Snow”. Every flashback of their love story, this track is being played. From the time Hyun Soo heard Ji Won’s confession of “I will be good to you” , to the moment both have heard Eunha’s first cry or from the time Ji Won promised she will be good to Hyunsoo to the time he promised they will do the wedding again.

 

 

I felt a lingering feeling if Hyun Soo will gradually remembers those beautiful , painful memories he had with Jiwon and Eunha. Every episode we saw will come back to him like walking in a path of memory lane. I appreciated how each arc underscored the process of discovery of how love wins despite the painful , cruel past.

 

@Darkarcana : I am sure he will remember it slowly. If he has a passion to figure it out, then he will figure it out. All he have now are the best people that will help him as he take his time to figure things out. 

 

@bluepebbles: How time had became an essential part of the DoCha journey:

 

                * First arc-when Ji Won gave Hyunsoo a Heesong engraved watch, a symbol of time spent of love with deceit for 14 years (Episode 1-5)

                * Second Arc- when Hyunsoo lost the watch while protecting Ji Won , at the same time Ji Won sheds off that deceit when she discovered about Hyun Soo. She replaced that watch with GPS on it,a symbol of trust and betrayal because she no longer trust her husband (Episode 6-10)

                * Final Arc- when Hyunsoo keeps the watch even if he knew that it has GPS on it. However in order to protect Jiwon, he gave up that watch – a symbol of giving up and redemption. Hyun Soo may have lost 14 years of memories, however because of this ,he was given a time to claim them back again into his life.

 

@Darkarcana : You know, since we are on the topic of the OSTs now, can I tell you that this series's OSTs hits me like a truck, from Psycho to In my heart and this. I love the songs as it give us the very heartfelt feeling. I especially recommend In My Heart, 100% recommend listening to it as you think about episode 15. It hits like a truck and or if you want to have a good cry, this is the song to go for. Psycho works well, when you are going for a workout. Feel You fits whenever you are feeling gloomy. Overall, would tell you that these OSTs are a gem!

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

@bluepebbles : Definitely the OST will rock my playlist for a while, it really have the awesome tracks. It only have three songs but the message was delivered well. It made me remember the drama more. 'Feel You' always tug my  heartstrings as this was used during the first cry of Hyunsoo.  Not to discount how the musical scorings added the thematic effect of the storytelling. 

 

While there had been challenges on the production process of the show, the overall material is satisfying, gripping, lingering. There had been minor concerns on the medical aspect of Heesung’s comatose or Hyun Soo’s health diagnosis, but the acting, directing and storyline make up for it. Flower of Evil created a suspense-melo genre, thanks to powerhouse caliber performance of the entire ensemble which effectively navigated by director Kim Chul Gyu. A worthy of rewatch.

 

 @bluepebbles Ratings:

 

1. Plot / story - 9/10

2. Cast / acting- 10/10

3.Production value(aesthetics/OST/cinematography) - 9/10

4. Re-watch value - 9/10

 

@Darkarcana Ratings:

1. Plot / story - 8.5/10

2. Cast / acting- 10/10

3.Production value(aesthetics/OST/cinematography) - 9.5/10

4. Re-watch value - 8/10

[40somethingahjumma]

I enjoyed your more conversational approach to reviewing the drama. It's a good way of  presenting varied opinions and giving potential viewers an opportunity to consider different interpretations of the final result. So well done. @Darkarcana and @bluepebbles

 

 

For me, the best and most interesting part of the drama was probably in the first half of the show when Hyun-so was playing his cat and mouse game with just about everyone, protesting his innocence while trying to suppress his darker impulses. The resolution although far from being the worse I've seen, essentially muted the potentially bleaker aspects of the storyline. Depending on how one likes to consume one's crime shows, this would determine the assessment of the final product.

 

*Spoilers*

The amnesia device was convenient but not offensively inconsistent. It made some sense considering all the guilt he was feeling towards Ji-won and there were things he'd like to forget and reset if he could. God or the universe seemed to be mercifully giving him that second chance. The advantage of the amnesia is that it allowed him to demonstrate his remorse for perpetrating deception on his family and it gave him a clean slate to start over. It's about symbolism rather than plausibility.

 

As someone who has a penchant for crime shows, my disappointment comes from the fact that it was really a slick piece of makjang. It's good makjang as far as that's possible but there was a lot of silly stuff in the third act especially in relation to Baek Hee-saeng. The crime aspects were really more window dressing for the family and marriage issues that were at the centre of the narrative.

 

It's not a bad show to binge-watch on a sick day and the cast especially Lee Joon-gi did do their characters justice. It was also great to see Kim Ji-hoon in a role that so him go against type. Although I'm ecstatic for him, it's a pity that he got to play the role  that I had hoped LJG could have.  Moon Chae-won looks more beautiful than I've ever seen her since The Princess' Man. 

 

 

Overall: 8/10 (mainly for the fine performances and good set-up)

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by 40somethingahjumma