A psychological TV masterpiece... except for the final 5 episodes
(*Preface: I rarely rewatch TV series and that has nothing to do with the quality! My overall rating of the series is my final rating of the series!)Episodes 1-5 (+8) was a gripping, psychological mystery part family drama about a murder crime and the complicated relationship between a profiler father and his estranged and elusive daughter. Describing it as a slow burn does a disservice to its impeccable visual storytelling, cinematography and blocking. I was hooked by everything; from Han Suk-kyu’s Jang Tae-soo’s inner struggles as a father to (newcomer Chae Won-bin’s) Jang Ha-bin’s multifaceted personality. The carefully crafted plot about how Ha-bin’s alleged involvement in the murder and how that forces her and her father to face unresolved issues in their family made me tune in episode after episode;
but by Episode 6, I felt something was off. More screen time was being given to side characters that were fated to just be plot devices, instead of the actual main characters and noticeably Jang Ha-bin. The plot twists that made me gasp and appreciate past character moments from Episodes 1-5 were significantly lost and were now present as signs of lazy writing and shock factor. Scenes of character development between the father and daughter were so rushed, I’m honestly sad this is how I’m going to think of the final episode.
As sad as I am, I’ll still cherish the first five episodes because this was my first proper deep dive into the psychological mystery/crime thriller genre and Jang Ha-bin is one of my favourite female characters from the thriller genre. No other series can replace that. I am still genuinely happy that Chae Won-bin and the rest of the cast got their wins during awards season! I look forward to seeing her and the rest of the crew in front and behind my screens again! 🖤
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Kdramaland's OG PEAK Thriller
I've had 악의 꽃 (Flower of Evil) on my watchlist since 2021-2022. I wasn't a fan of Thriller-Mystery stories back then but even there was something about this series' premise that piqued my interest so it remained there, metaphorically gathering dust until I finally decided to watch it; out of wanting to feel the "thrill" and "fear" from a Thriller kdrama but that was mere expectations and the reality of watching this drama blew all my expectations away.This is a story about truth, the truths we believe in ourselves and what people believe about us and who among those people's perspectives really matters. But it's also about change, a strange coming of age journey about fighting for the life you built and accepting that there is good in you and that it has always been in you and that the people who truly love you will always see it.
It's been years since I watched a kdrama with 16 episodes and 1 hour each and one of the things that 악의 꽃 (Flower of Evil) does exceptionally is to never make a single dull or boring episode; and even if it does start or end up dull, each episode still ends on a high or interesting note. It's evident that writer Yoo Jung-hee is an experienced TV screenwriter; and whatever she learned about story structure from writing anthology episodes and her past miniseries was present here! I look forward to seeing what she writes next.
Baek Hee-sung (portrayed by Lee Joon-gi) is one of K-thriller's well written male protagonists. I've felt every emotion possible seeing him making choices, and go on his (almost coming of age) journey. Lee Joon-gi's acting in Episode 15 (if ykyk) was one of the most moving and heartbreaking scenes I've ever watched in a kdrama. If I was a screenwriter, producer, director or anybody part of the production crew, his acting during those scenes is enough to be my raison d'être on why I will forever love (TV) storytelling. He deserved that win in the 2020 Asia Artist Awards. (🥺) No doubt.
I can't believe I've actually finished this 🥺 What do I do with my life now?
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A College (MF) Romance Series that Misses the Mark
The English language websites all state that Dear.M (2022) is about an ensemble cast of college students looking for an anonymous social media user called Dear.M but that couldn’t be further from the truth; the series was just a slice of life college romance.Dear.M (2022) is a spin off to the Love Playlist (2017 - 2019) anthology which is about young adults navigating romantic love, friendship and other relatable problems. The only returning cast member from Love Playlist’s 2019 run was Bae Hyun-sung as Park Ha-neul; who's on screen partner, Kim Sae-ron was replaced by Roh Jeong-eui as Seo Ji-min. This series delves into the problems they face after becoming a couple.
NCT’s Jaehyun stars as Cha Min-ho, an intelligent Computer Science major/scholarship student navigating issues in the apps he created and the changing friendship he has with Park Hye-su’s Ma Joo-ah, a cheerful girl who has never fallen in love and had a dream. Yet.
Lee Jin-hyuk plays Gil Mok-jin and Woo Da-vi stars Hwangbo Young, an unconventional opposites attract couple.
Friends to lovers is my favourite trope and this series 👏🏽 did 👏🏽 not 👏🏽 disappoint! 👏🏽 NCT’s Jaehyun and Park Hye-su’s chemistry was so natural and the latter’s acting is impressive despite this being his debut acting role!
However, what prevented my rating from being higher is much more than the series’ strengths. Namely, a lack of a cohesive theme tying all the characters and their emotional arcs together, the writers’ abstention of writing emotionally resonant scenes, etc. It makes scenes that require dramatic acting or emotional impact… awkward to watch? Min-ho and Joo-ah’s flashback scenes had SO MUCH potential to actually become emotionally resonant but always get cut short just to transition to Ro-sa’s schemes.
Speaking of Ro-sa, dedicating so much screen time to the antics of a 1-dimensional jealous, and conniving “villainess” to Ha-neul and Ji-min’s relationship instead of developing underwritten female characters, female friendships, and character writing is irresponsible and echoes the mismanagement in the writers’ room.
Hence, it resulted in a 12 episode TV marathon that had me press the “skip” button way too many times; but Min-ho/Joo-ah’ scenes, the series OST: Maple Latte, Look At Me, and Something’s Wrong did alleviate the series’ flaws.
We need more college stories and while Dear.M (2022) may not be a classic, it is one step closer to the right direction.
P.S. The representation of a diabetic character was natural and I appreciated how respectful and thoughtful Hwangbo Young’s friends were to her!
P.P.S about my rating:
1.) The acting getting a score of 6 is a good rating alr. It just didn't stand out or blow me away.
2.) I couldn't give a higher rating to the music because the volume of the songs were really low. I did get LSS from the aforementioned songs!
3.) I rarely rewatch TV series and that has nothing to do with the quality (despite not really liking this one that much.) My overall rating of the series is my final rating of it!
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