Flower of Evil (2020)

A decent thriller that completely falls off a cliff

Flower of Evil starts off great, the story grabs your attention right off the bat because it’s “different” and certainly more unique than the stereotypical K-Drama. A husband who’s secretly been living a fake life and has a past marred in murder and mystery? Sign me up. But what starts off as 11 pretty good, even great, episodes ends up falling off a cliff at terminal velocity as the plot becomes marred with inconsistencies, holes, tropes, and poor characterization. The last episode was one of the most mind bogglingly bad endings I’ve ever seen.

The acting from the ML is expectedly very good, Lee Joon Gi always delivers. The FL lead I found to be quite weak, she really only had a few expressions and her acting felt stiff, honestly the weakest among the cast. I keep reading about the chemistry and wonder do people praise the chemistry for every pair cause…can we be honest it was non existent here. They spend the last entire half of the drama just crying every scene or having the most repetitive conversations. I can’t recall being moved a single time and I’ll cry to paint drying. Everyone else is okay but forgettable, largely attributed to the fact that the writing in this show as mentioned previously, completely gets shot, stabbed, burned and then reincarnated only to be shot again.

They spend the entire first 60-70 % of the show building up the story of how his wife knows about him but she’s madly in love and also trusts that he didn’t commit the murder so she works behind the scenes to figure stuff out. Then suddenly in episode 12 (?) after the couple reconcile and it feels like the drama is wrapping up they completely flip and now she wants to turn him in for murder???

Outside of this, there’s so many inconsistencies, plot holes, lack of consequences and constant convenient events. Why is the police so incompetent? Why do the ML and FL escape all consequences despite committing countless crimes? …. the FL literally lies to her coworkers the entire show puts them in dangerous positions and probably even got someone killed. Why doesn’t Baek Hee Sung know what Jiwon looks like?

I can tolerate suspending reality to a certain degree but this got ridiculous and completely lacked rationale. The ending created several different storylines instead of wrapping up those that existed. Overall the show is mediocre, it starts off strong and develops the mystery very well but then develops outlandish and ridiculous plots that make no sense, this is one of those dramas that desperately needed to only be 12 episodes and it would have been great.

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Can't get enough

Wow! Wow! Wow!

This is one of the most amazing dramas I've watched since I started my journey of kdramas. Normally I don't watch crime genre too much cause sometimes it creeps me out and I'll admit the first 2 episodes really did creep me out. But I found myself wanting to know what happens next so I forced myself to continue and I'm glad I did.

The story of this drama will keep you on your toes with the twists a d turns it takes you on, the second you feel you've finally figure it out bam another twist is thrown your way.

The actors really played their roles very well, the characters you were meant to hate really made me hate them and the ones you were meant to love made me hate them. Props the actor who played the main lead as he really did have me questioning if I should love or hate him. He really did a good job at making me question if he really was the bad guy in the end. I also applaud the child actor for bringing out an adorable child that you could love.

Even the ost really had me emerse myself in the whole show. Ofcourse it took me longer to finish the drama since as I said crime dramas creep me out but I really couldn't get enough once I got over the initial feeling and finally I can say I could truly rewatch it over and over again.

All in all it's an amazing show.

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A MUST WATCH!!!

Most intriguing and engaging drama ever. The portrayal of each character was so on point. Best acting by Joong gi. You can completely connect with the whirlpool of emotions flowing inside Do Hyoun so.
It was a perfect blend of suspense, thriller, and romance, which means they did not any part. Only the ideal amount of each ingredient that you need to make a perfect dish.
It was a treat to watch and would definitely love to rewatch. And, if you are a fan of crime, suspense and thriller, this is a 'must watch', if you are a fan of emotional back stories of lead characters, still a 'must watch', and if you are a fan of deeper romance, then you must watch it. You will love it.
Moreover, this the fastest I have completed a 16-episode drama i.e. in one and half day and still thinking about the characters after one day of completion.

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A so called unbeatable drama

First of all, i would like to thank deeply the writer with his immesurable engineered storyline that associated
investigation,love,friendship, psychology, mystery in one plot.
This drama made the viewer so attached to it from the very start to the very end, the cinematography and links between scenes is awesome, the slow track unveil of the mystery which the drama started with and the doubts implemented followed up with curiosity in the viewer is well versed within the links between the past credit scenes and the start in moment of the episode.
For many episodes, the highly talented outstanding writer led us to doubt everyone as the core of the drama, really he blew the jackpot
Moving to the cast, starting from the main leads, Lee joon ki and moon chae won chemistry is really amazing, their acting is not an acting frankly i say that, i assume they are really experiencing those moments with pure emotions and it scattered my heart when i see them cry because it intrigued me as it is real . lee jong ki portrayed a normal believing he is an abnormal because of what haters and fearers of his dad made out of him(he fitted the role like it was his life), the moments he feels suffocating or heartache i feel the same by empathy, the moment he went nuts(i understand him and so i do) and many other things.bref, he was absolutely the best performer of his role the same go for moon chae for hers.
The other leads were heroics also, the one portraying reporter kim moo jin, who put himself in danger to reveal the truth beside having a funny character and was friend of do hyun so portrayed by the almighty lee joon ki and his sister do hae so who was the first love of this reporter, his chemistry with her is appreciable and the relation between the four leads is solid and charmful.
The one who portrayed the psychopath serial killer is also a boss, his movements, eye hazing, hair tied ,smelling technique really swayed me up pushing me to see he is something like that in his real life.
Everything was wonderful about this so-called-serie and i would like to watch more drama combining lee joon ki and moon chae won. A drama from another planet, if you didn't watch it hurry up and start.

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Is Love Real Even When You're Not Who You Seem to Be?

The show had a great first half of the season, featuring one of the best episodes I’ve seen in recent years.

The second part delves more into the thriller genre as we uncover more about the mystery.

So, is it a thriller?
Yes.

However, we also explore the relationship between the two main leads, a mature couple who have been together for over 15 years. They have established lives, careers, a child, and they love each other. Due to events in the show, their love is strained, their convictions are challenged, and their relationship evolves.

So, is it a romance?
Yes.

The Flower of Evil is a perfect blend of these two genres, featuring incredible acting, stunning cinematography, and a flawless story. I highly recommend this show to anyone who enjoys experiencing something unique.

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Brilliant, thrilling!! From the first episode to the last, I was so engaged. I couldn’t stop watching. It taught me how loyal true love is. I started watching it because of Lee joon gi , but at the end of this show, I fell in love with all the characters. I think this is gonna be my all-time favourite drama. Each actor was fantastic. The sister of Do Hyun did an amazing job with her character. Even the child actress is cute and talented. I did not expect that much from child actor but she really worked hard. I want to see her in other dramas. The mother of Do Hyun was really special, she is talented actress...

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Masterpiece Masterpiece Masterpiece.

It was worth my time. I wasn't bored while watching it.

Loved it. Every episode has new twists & turns. I was always looking forward to what was going to happen next. It is a gripping drama that excels in its portrayal of complex characters and thrilling plot developments. There is great character development.

Loved Lee Joon Gi acting the way he played a complex character who doesn't know how to emotion. The way he changes his emotions within a second is portrayed very effectively. You can see it though his acting when he is focusing himself on emotion & when he isn't.

Baek Hee Sung / Do Hyun Soo

Cha Ji Won fell for Baek Hee Sung first. He was cold towards her but slowly, slowly developed feelings for her. He genuinely loves her but doesn't know how to express himself.

I've a doubt, at the beginning, it's shown that Cha Ji Won is a smart police officer who is great at her work. But did she never doubt her husband's identity? I mean she is a smart police officer, how come she never doubted him.

Eun Ha is the cutest child. I loved her. Loved her & Baek Hee Sung's father-daughter relationship. Baek Hee Sung genuinely loges his daughter. It’s clearly visible through his actions.

Laughed how Choi Jae Sup dodged his superior's kick, then how his superior grabbed his hair.

Poor Im Ho Joon always gets in the middle of Cha Ji Won & Choi Jae Sup fights.

In serious situations, Kim Moo Jin saying to Baek Hee Sung why you’re so gorgeous is a hilarious scene.

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Gripping thriller and a family drama

For me this show is two parts, first 12 episodes and then the rest. I thought the first 12 were amazing, attention grapping and full of twists and turns but then the show goes into the conclusion parts and ends up dragging along, especially for binge-watchers like me cause of the flashbacks and repetition. But good news is that it doesn't take away from the show that much. If you like murder mystery/thriller shows this is a 100% must watch with amazing casting and great chemistry between the characters, and the amount of times it pulled a SURPRISE PLOT TWIST was peak K-Drama standards. I really liked it, now I must make some egg tarts and hope my childs ends up like Eun Ha.

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FOE: True definition of a suspense-thriller

Flower Of Evil, to me, is the true definition of a suspense-thriller. Every episode leaves a chill down your spine such that you can't just sleep on it. You just want to take a peak of the next episode and you end up finishing it again and the cycle continues! I must say everything about Flower of Evil was done par excellence. Starting off with the story, the cast, direction, screenplay, cinematography, musical score. The songs Feel You and In My Heart really set the dramatic mood of the story while the suspense tones on the background made my heart pound. Oh, all of them deserve recognition!!!

If there's one description that I could give to the writer, it's recklessly bold! Yoo Jung-hee was so daring to put her characters in awkwardly cliffhanger situations so that her viewers would wonder how the actors, already caught in the dead-end could still get away! So you go see the next episode! It was also wonderful how they managed to show an interplay of the past and the present to give light on the story. Much credit goes to Director Kim Cheol-kyu who drew out a very convincing performance from his actors.

Lee Joon Gi was indeed cut for the roles of Baek Hee-sung and Do Hyun-su and I don't think there's any other actor best fit for these roles. It was my first time to see him at FOE and since then I've already become his hopeless fangirl to the point that I've crammed to watch his other shows because I just can't seem to get enough of him. Lee Joon Gi is a gifted actor. He has depth. His penetrating eyes alone plus the movements of his facials already say it all. He is right when he explained in one interview, a true actor shouldn't be limited by subtitles. His actions, expressions, tone of voice should be able to tell a story.

I deeply sympathize with Do Hyun-Su. He is a beautiful person wrongly accused by a judgmental society that never attempted to uncover the truth but simply relied on heresays. Hyun-su and his sister Hae-su deserve a happy life. So does Ji-Won who gave her heart and genuinely loved her husband.

Truth and love are the central themes of Flower of Evil hidden in the guise of deceit and hate. It is a masterpiece! It is a must-watch!

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