Flower of Evil (2020) 악의 꽃
Directed by Kim Cheol-kyu, starring Lee Joon-gi, Moon Chae-won, Jang Hee-jin and Seo Hyun-woo.
Watched 21 - 25 February 2024 — 16 episodes (NETFLIX)
Directed by Kim Cheol-kyu, starring Lee Joon-gi, Moon Chae-won, Jang Hee-jin and Seo Hyun-woo.
Watched 21 - 25 February 2024 — 16 episodes (NETFLIX)
*Having binged the show in a couple of days, this highly-praised series totally lived up to its famous reputation and proved to be a thrilling ride. It has a well-crafted story (though, I have to say, a bit far-fetched) and well-developed characters. Lee Joon-gi is fantastic (his character is soooo complex) and it's really his outstanding performance which elevates this thriller to a higher level.
*I fully understand why my sister loves this, despite her not liking suspenseful thrillers. The romance is well depicted and developed and the leads make their deep love for each other believable and palpable. They did a lot of crying, by the way. I mean serious crying, with tears dripping from their faces. It became almost too much. But I love how the writers kept their relationship interesting by throwing more obstacles in their way.
*Love the 2nd couple Jang Hee-jin and Seo Hyun-woo. So happy Jang Hee-jin didn't die. Like they said in an episode recap on Dramabeans, it makes sense if they would have killed off her character, but that would have made me very sad. I was rooting for Jang Hee-jin and Seo Hyun-woo to get back together again. Although it's an open ending for them, I definitely see a romance looming in the future. For now it only seems fitting that Jang Hee-jin chooses herself, and once she's healed she can think of someone else. Incidentally, the actress looks like a Korean version of Sylvia Sidney, an actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood with the saddest eyes.
*Love the bromance between Lee Joon-gi and Seo Hyun-woo. I especially love the scene in the final episode where Seo Hyun-woo is sobbing (because Jang Hee-jin is going to study abroad) and Lee Joon-gi is comforting him. It was funny when Seo Hyun-woo wanted to know how to get memory loss.
*I did feel a bit disappointed with the last episode and the reunion scene between the main couple in Lee Joon-gi's workshop, as it was rushed and average. I also had not expected a trial in the last episode, neither the amnesia trope. Many reviewers online hate the amnesia plot device but I didn't mind. I did find it a bit too convenient that Lee Joon-gi's fake dad also suffered from memory loss because I would have liked him to face up to the crimes he had committed.
*Major plothole (and SPOILER): the killer had been in a coma for 15 years but manages to move around in no time and is also capable of strangling someone. This was so unbelievable!!! (Sorry, but my sister had recently been hospitalised, spent almost 5 weeks in the ICU, and it cost her weeks to recuperate and to be able to walk again without the aid of a walker.) By the way, Kim Ji-hun gives a chilling performance as the psychopath.
*I love Choi Young-jun as the cop. I know him from Our Blues and liked him there as well. Please, can someone give him a romantic main role?
*The little girl Jung Seo-yeon is very cute, plays well and has great rapport with Lee Joon-gi. I like her even better than the kid from Two Weeks.
*"I wanted to share the message that even where evil has been buried, flowers can still bloom." — Yoo Jung-hee, Flower of Evil writer.
*The little girl Jung Seo-yeon is very cute, plays well and has great rapport with Lee Joon-gi. I like her even better than the kid from Two Weeks.
*"I wanted to share the message that even where evil has been buried, flowers can still bloom." — Yoo Jung-hee, Flower of Evil writer.