Flower of Evil

Surprisingly Disappointed

*SPOILERS BELOW*

On the surface, Baek Hee-seung appears to live a perfect life. He has a beautiful wife and daughter, who he absolutely adores; however, he is hiding a dark secret. Hyun-soo is the son of a serial killer, and after a tragic accident, he takes on the identity of Baek Hee-seung, who is in a coma. When Hee-seung's wife, a detective, begins to investigate a series of murders, she begins to wonder if her "perfect" husband is hiding something from her. Sounds interesting, right? Sadly, while the synopsis sounds promising, Flower of Evil did not deliver and left me disappointed.

I was excited to start watching this series after a handful of people insisted that I watch it. I will be honest, the first couple of episodes held my attention, unlike any other k-drama before. The beginning episodes had me on the edge of my seat, and the anticipation of waiting for the next episodes nearly killed me. I had come to understand why people asserted this drama as one of the best k-dramas. Yet, after the show's first half, I slowly became displeased. I now think that this drama does not deserve the title of the best k-drama ever. My reasons are listed below.

Likes:
- The cast has excellent acting performances, especially Lee Joon-gi and Moon Chae-won! Everyone delivered!
- The plot is different, but not in a bad way. The main story is unique and not something many shows have done before.
- Terrific cinematography. One of the best I have seen in a Korean drama.
- LOVED the flashbacks presented at the beginning of the episodes!
- Do Hyun-soo's and Cha Ji-won's chemistry is fantastic! They are perfectly in sync. Plus, the scenes of them with Eu-ha were so adorable!
- There were some pretty intense twists.
- Strong female lead! It was like the damsel in distress was reversed. Ji-won was the one who was always rescuing Hyun-soo (e.g., when Park Kyung-choon kidnaps Hyun-soo and when Yeom Sang-cheol tries to kill Hyun-soo).
- The OST has some outstanding songs, but I wish there could have been some more songs used throughout the show instead of the same three songs.

Dislikes:
- Powerful first half but unsatisfying second half. The first sixish episodes were very suspenseful and thrilling! During these episodes, we wonder if Do Hyun-soo is a good or bad guy, but the suspense is gone once it is pretty evident that he is a good guy. The anticipation does not start building back up until around episode twelve.
- The writers should have delved more into Hyun-soo's relationship with his father. I feel like their relationship is never adequately explored.
- Hyun-soo's father's death needs more explanation! Like yes, we know that the real Baek Hee-seung killed him, but how did he make Hyun-soo's father's death look like a suicide?
- The writers could have also delved more into Do Hyun-soo's mental disorder. We know he has an antisocial personality disorder, but I wish we could have seen Hyun-soo come to terms with his condition and get help. The ending episode should have included this instead of the flat-out boring finale episode.
- How did Jeong Mi-sook escape?
- I wish we could have seen the night Do Hae-soo killed the Village Head. The audience could have learned more about Dae-soo and understood where she was coming from.
- I might be in the minority, but I did not care for Kim Ji-hoon's (real Baek Hee-seung) acting. I am not hating on him because I like him in other dramas, BUT I felt like he was trying way too hard to be Baek Hee-seung. Every time I saw Hee-seung, he looked constipated, and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. Basically, trying too hard to look psycho.
- The ending was... interesting, to say the least. The writers could have chosen another way to finish off the series, but they added in the amnesia trope?! The writers already delivered the "someone ends up in a coma" trope, so why add amnesia? I mean might as well add a car crash. Oh wait... that is right, they did :/.

Overall, Flower of Evil was an excellent production. I think the writers did a good job of establishing characters and setting the story, but the second half of the show did not keep my attention. There were too many inconsistencies and cliches. In addition, some episodes dragged compared to the earlier episodes where they ended on a cliffhanger. In my opinion, I think the reason why a lot of people liked this show is because of the romance between the male and female leads. So, if you like romance and want to get into thrillers, this may be a good show to start with. But, overall, Flower of Evil is one of the most overhyped shows I have ever watched, but I do not regret watching it. I will probably never rewatch it, though, unless I am forced to.

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absolutely breathtakingly incredible

im not usually one to watch crime dramas. not because they’re boring, it just doesn’t seem to click with me despite my interest for crime documentaries. however this drama just changed something inside me.

i honestly don’t know where to start. from the plot twists to the romance to the crime its just perfect in every single way possible. now when i watch these types of dramas, i usually pause after every episode and just think to myself what information i’ve gathered, who maybe the killer or whatnot, but after i watched an episode of this drama, my entire thought process changed.

every single episode has a cliffhanger and makes you just binge every episode.

the acting is just PHENOMENAL. i love lee joongis dramas so i knew his abilities but i was just shocked after watching his performance. the pure emotions he put in as he cried just had me shook. i had never watched moon chaewon so i didn’t really know what to expect from her but she was just jawdropping. i mean when i heard her not winning any awards for it i was shocked. also the little daughter was so cute she just has that face that makes me smile when i look at her.

i never really talk about the ost in my reviews but i needed to for this drama. it had the most perfect music for every scene and it made scenes so much more suspenseful.

i 1000000000% recommend this drama and if you are like me and you don’t usually watch crime dramas, trust me and watch it as it is definitely worth it!

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Best crime thriller romance ever

Really one of the most griping series I have ever watched
on the edge of the seat throughout its so exciting and heart breaking and heart warming at the same time
The best part of the drama was father daughter relationship it was most adorable I have ever seen!
The romance and trust between the lead couple was well portrayed they had great chemistry
The storyline is not drag and not a single second of boredom it’s totally binge worthy!
Must watch Korean drama for all kdramas lovers out there surely you won’t regret it
Lee jon gi did splendid acting really deserves to be one of the top Korean actor

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This drama definitely deserves the hype and also this incredible high rating here on MDL! Although I rated it 9/10 stars, I still very much liked it. I preffered the beginning and the middle of the drama rather than the ending: especially the 15. episode and some parts of 16. episode were too melodramatic for my taste. Don't get me wrong, I like melodramas too but I feel like it didn't really suit this drama.

The acting was done brilliantly, especially the main male actor did such a great job in portraying the ML, all his sides, it was really chilling (in a good way!) to watch it. I came to love the FL's character as well and the police team was great too. <3

Overall a very satisfying watch! Worth the hype.

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Best of the best!

I am usually not one for thrillers but this drama...it touched my soul.

The acting by Lee Joongi and Moon Chae Won was beyond words. This drama is definitely one the best I have ever seen in all the years I've been watching dramas. The directing and production brought this already incredible script to another level of brilliance. I can't leave out the editing and the beautiful additions of the OST.

Each actor performed their role so brilliantly that you're glued to screen wanting to know what happens next.
Everything about this was just phenomenal. I am so happy that director Kim Cheol-Kyu won the award for Best Director at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. It is truly deserved.

P.S. I've known Lee Joongi's since 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo' and Moon Chaewon from 'The Innocent Man'. So I knew both of them were good. Moon Chaewon however completely blew me away with her performance. I am now officially her fan as well.

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Heart-pounding, heart-stopping

This was absolutely fantastic from the get-go — starting off by making us question the ML's identity, then watching the tension between him and the FL, and finally figuring out the mystery and having it play out...the story was extremely well-written and the performances and chemistry between the two leads was fantastic.

I also want to give massive props to the actor for Baek Hee-Sung, whose stare sent absolute chills down my spine.

I admit, however, that the ending definitely soured my love for this show a bit — I'm never a fan of the amnesia trope and while I don't think it was necessarily overblown in this show, it felt unnecessary and I would've loved for the leads instead to carry the burden and move forwards together (the way they'd been doing so far).

Still, there's a lot to love about this show from its story to its questions about humanity...and it's a thriller I'd highly recommend.

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A character driven story.

Flower Of Evil is one of those shows that takes you entirely by surprise.
Shows are frequently overhyped, but they often can demonstrate their worthiness of being hyped up. This slow-burn thriller is a brilliantly written show that easily jumps between genres while never losing sight of its central idea. It's a show that deserved to win the Asia Artist Awards as well as the Baeksang Arts Award that it attained.
The story itself is played as a combination of a procedural crime drama and a cat and mouse thriller. Even after weeks of finishing this drama, the characters, themes, and plots didn't let me go, nor did I wish to let go.
This is a winding thriller, and you'll want to watch this very delicate and shocking story to the end.
There are some great moments that will surprise you. I can't select which of the many strong goodies in the drama to highlight first. The primary characters? The supporting cast? What about the acting? What about the writing?
The tone shifts slightly when we learn more about Hee-Sung's intentions. These tonal swings eventually move into the realm of romance. The first thing you notice when you start the drama is one of the most touching married couple you've ever seen in the drama world, accompanied by their lovely little daughter.

There's something you can't notice straight away, as the storey synopsis already implies. Something that begins to rip those nicely constructed barriers down from within. Hee-Sung is suspected of being the perpetrator of a series of mysterious murders. Hee-Sung quickly reveals that he is not who he appears to be, adopting a false character and being unable to feel any emotions. Adopting a fake persona and unable to feel any emotions, it soon becomes apparent that Hee-Sung is not at all what he seems. However, being experienced with a lot of crime tropes, I sensed there was something fishy about the dark past they were trying to sell me. How far can a drama go with the main character being the bad guy? Could he be the one who killed these people? Is it possible that something else is at work here? That question followed me around like a shadow while my suspicions grew.

The finale removes some wind from the sails. It is mainly used to wrap everything in a neat bow, borrowing some proven Kdrama metaphors. Moon Chae Won and Lee Jun Gi's acting is exemplary, and both have plenty of room to play a role that really relies on their emotional performance.
There's definitely a lot of tension here, from the mob boss tying up Hee Sung and threatening to set the room on fire, to our heroes slowly lining up in a water-filled pool. This is completely contrary to Ji Won's police investigation, as she is torn between her obligations and her relationship with Hee Sung.
This relationship really moves the story forward. Unlike many Korean dramas, Flower Of Evil takes time to turn this simple love story into a much more complex case than the misunderstandings we've seen. It is that the chemistry between the two is very powerful and both help to nourish each other and enhance their achievements.

I do have to admit that at times the tempo is a little off. There are a few barely noticeable lulls along the way.
I have the ability to without a doubt say, Flower Of Evil is a fantastic drama. It's the ability to combine the romantic, dramatic, and action-packed genres without becoming bogged down in its own convoluted plot is amazing.
This one is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already!

X0X0 <3
---Taemango

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INTENSE!

Intense pace but perfectly controlled. Great plot, great story, great acting. OST lack a bit of pop culture but is still very good. The main actor and actress are really EXCELLENT. Most other kdrama have bad actors or bad plots. This one is almost perfect!

The emotional intensity of the main character are so great and it is intensified with the great score. ONE little mistake of this is their description of a psychopath. It is mostly true but not really accurate, because the main actor is too emotional in his facial expression and saying that psychopath can evolve into a normal being is simply not true.

Because of this, I'll be lowering scores for other series. This is now the new reference for masterpiece.

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Could have been great

I was hooked for the first few episodes. The premise was great, the acting was good and the mystery was smartly pulled together. I was still all in till about the 10th or 11th episode but the drama cliches made me finally drop it. Jiwon is meant to be a smart, capable, physically fit police officer, why does she need to be rescued so much when the plot suddenly needs her to be less capable? Hee Soo is a grown woman who clearly loves her brother and feels guilty about what he took on in her place, why was everyone babying her to keep quiet about it instead of clearing up the huge misunderstanding that implicated Hyun Soo? Hyun Soo seems to have a very dark streak in him as well from the beginning, but instead of it being a more complex arc of having the darkness but still getting a different future, he was just everyone's victim. I was really disappointed.

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