Profile
Drama: Flower of Evil (악의 꽃)
Network: tvN
Episodes: 16
Release Date: July 29 – September 23, 2020
Runtime: Wed. & Thu. 22:50
Plot
A guy accused of murder years ago lives under another person’s identity and hides his secret from his wife. The wife is a detective working on the case. What happens when the wife uncovers his secret? Will she be able to trust him? Will he be able to clear his name? Can their marriage survive?
Main Cast
Lee Joon Gi – Baek Hee Seong / Do Hyun Su
Moon Chae Won – Cha Jiwon
Jang Hee Jin – Do Hae Su
Seo Hyun Woo – Kim Moo Jin
Kim Ji Hoon – Baek Hee Seong
Review
I was looking forward to this drama but the premise was so intriguing. I liked the first half of the drama (probably until episode 8) – episode 1 was boring but was able to binge watch episodes 2 to 8. But once Jiwon found out about Hyunsu, the story started going downhill. Episodes 13-14 were thrilling, although at this point, the story didn’t make sense and I just threw all logic out the window and decided to finish this as fast as I could.
I loved the suspenseful chase between Hyunsu and the police and i thought there was going to be episodic cases with Hyunsu’s case as the overarching story but they dropped this style after 2 episodes so I was very disappointed.
I loved the small family of Hyunsu and Jiwon and the super cute Eunha! Sometimes I disliked Jiwon for not always trusting Hyunsu enough. I know finding out his real identify was a shock and episode 13/14 was done to add the extra drama but even after they’ve talked, Jiwon still thought the worse of Hyunsu and got swayed when all points out to Hyunsu being framed. Also, Jiwon did some unlawful things while trying to protect Hyunsu, I think she should have at least been held accountable for some of her actions – like a six months suspension.
The Baek Family is probably the worst family of the year! One look at the actors playing the parents in episode 1, i knew they were going to be bad. But somehow I actually felt sympathy for them in the end. They just wanted to protect their son who turned out to be too much to handle. No matter how much they deny the fact that Hee Seong is a psychopath, they really can’t control him. I just wished they explored what made Hee Seong grow up this way. Did he have an emotional trauma growing up? Why was he different from the others?
The real Baek Hee Sung waking up put an interesting and scary spin on the story but also very unbelievable. I know they would always massage his legs and feed him, but how can he look so muscular and strong when he spent years lying in bed? Even if he did wake up and has been awake for weeks, it still doesn’t justify Hee Seong having the strength to stand up, run fast or choke a person to death. It should take weeks of continuous therapy to fully regain his bodily functions.
The only thing that was plausible is his thinking is still immature – considering that he went on comatose when he was in his early 20s and Do Min Seok wasn’t able to fully mentor him to his full psycho potential – and his methods are outdated – like he didn’t know about the dashcam.
I would have loved more explanations or more back stories about Do Minseok – why was he killing people? Who has he killed in the past or was this the first serial killing spree ever (when he joined with Hee Seong)? Why no one ever caught him? The story brings up the common question of nature vs nurture – are people inherently evil or people become evil due to upbringing and his environment? But this question was not fully answered, perhaps, there is no answer.
As for Moojin, I like him as Hyunsu’s friend but not as Haesu’s ex. There’s so much more potential for Moo Jin’s story but again, it also wasn’t fully explored. I’m glad Hae Su didn’t end up with Moo Jin. Like what Haesu said, he was always scared or ran away whenever she needed him the most. I’m happy Hae Su was able to gain her freedom after years of hiding and guilt.
My main complaint against this drama was that it was so boring!!! Maybe because the cinematography was dark and the story was gloomy, but it took me months before I finished this one. I struggled to complete one full episode – I was distracted or felt sleepy while watching, sometimes the story moved so slow, I would fast forward some scenes to get to the next scene. Or worse, I would be playing with my phone until near the end of the episode when some twists and turns will be revealed and the story becomes interesting. After episode 8, I stopped and delayed as much as I can to continue watching, and after that, I could only watch 1 episode a week. I just really wanted to see the ending, that’s why I stayed.
And whoa! The last episode was so bad it felt like it could have been finished in less than 30 mins but writers decided to put a lot of unnecessary scenes and drama to fill up the 1 hour. they should have ended this in episode 15. Oh, I wish Hee Seong had a better ending, I thought he deserved to suffer a painful life after all he’s put through everyone around him. The final reveal that Hyunsu does love Jiwon and is always thinking of her (the scene when they were in Hyunsu’s workshop) was underwhelming and didn’t move me to tears.
Rating: 8/10 (7.5 for the story but adding 0.5 because Lee Joon Gi acted so well)
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