Flower of Evil (2020)

WOW

Ok i can't even begin to describe how freaking awesome this drama was. Now i'm not normally a crime genre kind of person. But for this drama i will happily submit. The actors did a FANTASTIC job at portraying their characters. Seriously i don't even know how many times my family looked at me weirdly since i was always tearing up. The story for me,did not drag at all. I was gripped at the very start and each episode only got better and better. Honestly anyone who is thinking of watching this. Do it. At first i thought lee joon gi would portray a evil character. But he was a good man who was seriously misunderstood. I am so rewatching this drama at some point. I wish i could forget it just to re-watch it all over again. 10 outta 10 for this drama. And a happy ending which is a plus (for anyone who wants to know). Best drama of this year in my opinion. Defo worth the watch!

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Expected to ride a roller coaster but got on a merry go round

I felt 0 suspense while watching, just mild interest in what comes next. Most characters are so flawed that they are unrelatable to even the most remote degree. I will finish the drama eventually, but aside from the male detectives and the child of the leads, I found every character detestable, which I actually commend the actors on. They acted so well that I was frustrated by how stupid their actual characters were and the choices they made. The only saving grace is the romance and the romance between the ML and FL is so far from healthy I am morbidly curious as to how the drama resolves their story. It'll likely be a cookie cutter happy ending though because Koreans seem to be against sad endings.

Temper your expectations. The underlying plot is honestly not that great.

Overrated.

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Bruh!

Ok so first and foremost I am still in tears after this finale! I was on the edge of my seat from episode one and was never disappointed other than having to wait a week to watch it, If you've waited to watch them all at once you won't regret it. I don't give 10 stars very often and honestly this show deserves more! The acting was flawless and the music will put you in your feels or get you pumped. I love these kind of psychological shows. If it has anything to do with a crazy killer I'm always down to watch it. Don't worry this isn't a very graphic show. Even the romance had me in awe and smiling/giggling, it was so damn sweet you might get a cavity lmao. The only spoiler I will remotely give is the ending was perfect in every way! I want unlimited seasons but honestly it ended flawlessly and I couldn't be more satisfied. This is one of the top shows airing this year and for VERY good reason. I really don't think you'll be disappointed in choosing to watch. Enjoy...

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Genius Masterpiece!

I've been K-Drama fan since 20 years ago, and never seen such a perfect line story as I've seen on this drama. Beyond my expectation!!

The writer & director are genius, numerous plot twist in each episode (even until the last episode), the story gets more interesting and interesting as the episode increase. It reach its peak on episode 15. but episode 16 still able give us a roller coaster feeling and full of beautiful tears, it's such a PERFECT episode as an ending.

Lee Jun Gi as he usually does has been given the best acting, never disappointing! he is a genius in acting! his micro expression was amazing. When he gets mad on episode 15 was blowing my mind. Beside his outstanding acting skill, his visual is always enjoyable to look at! he's aging like a fine wine, his sharp eyes and nose tip are the best :)

Kim Ji Hun, this is my first time recognise him in drama, and he did such a wonderful acting too! I can see that he did his best (especially his acting at the edge of the cliff) and its shown on the drama that how great & professional actor he is! and his visual, damn hot!

Moon Chae Won, she's really able to make you in tears while watching her cry! she looks genuine when she cries! love it!
But, in my humble opinion, I think she can do better on kissing scene, since for me, she didn't look like someone who is falling in love as much as his husband did.

Seo hyeon woo has been done a great acting too! Sometimes, he's the funny part of the drama, refreshing. But, he actually played an important role on this drama.

Jun Gi's daughter, Eun Ha, what a cutest and talented young actress!

All the cast are very good in acting, ALL! including supporting actors!

The last but not least, the soundtrack & back-sounds, all of them describe flower of evil really well, it can add you more emotion while watching the drama.

This drama is unexpected!! a thrilling yet romance drama. full of mystery, but when it's time for romance it's really really deep.

Watch this drama without spoiler is the best! because that's how the excitement comes.

flower of evil team, all of you have done an excellent work!
they must be proud of themselves ✨

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LOVED IT!!!

I wanted to watch it when i saw the trailer but waited for it to finish airing since the genre is thriller.. i didnt want to bite my nails for an entire week to see what happens next and i am glad i did coz most of the episodes ended with a cliffhanger and makes you want to watch the next episode asap..

this one is a well written, well-directed and well-acted drama which stayed true to its genre till the end without any dragging or rushed ending.. i liked how they stayed true to the ML's personality disorder till the end and made it look believable.. he didnt change to a completely different person and it wasn't flowers and butterflies for the couple.. he was never treated properly for his disorder and it took him more than a decade to realise his true feelings for the FL.. so it was believable that he didnt change completely till the end..

the FL was very rational and logically and didnt end to conclusions on her own.. when she found out his real identity she went out to find the reason behind it and didnt belive everything till she got enough proof which is quite rare to see.. FL's most of the time act impulsive and get to conclusions on their own.. she was strong as well as emotional..

the leads had amazing chemistry and they complement each other well.. i have only seen lee joon gi in moon lovers and moon chae won in the movie mood of the day but liked their acting.. all the scenes b/w do hyun soo and his daughter was heartwarming to see.. lee joon gi was amazing.. he perfectly gave out the creepy vibe at the start and then got the audience emotional by the end.. moon chae won also did her part amazingly.. the difference b/w detective cha and a wife and mother were very evident.. she is like the pampered wify at home and a smart detective at work..

i loved the dynamo b/w cha ji won and her colleagues esp with the one who always have a different opinion than her.. they all truly cared about each other and supported each other..

both do min soo and baek hee sung had the creepy vibe from the start and they look believable as psychopaths..

i thought after jung mi sook was revealed to be alive i thought they will show a reunion with her husband.. after all the guy went psycho looking for her and never gave up.. that was a loose end..

i had more expectations from the mother.. she seemed to be the only one with some kind of humanity left in her and she seemed to like do hyun soo's daughter.. but after a point she got blinded by the love for her psycho son and helped him cover up murder and also trap do hyun soo..

i really felt bad for kim moo jin when do hae soo left but i hope the makers kind of indicated they will be together in the future. he did screw up in the beginning but then he was only a teenager at that time.. he was the funniest character..

overall its an amazing drama with little to no flaws and keep the audience interested till the end..

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Being married to a possible serial killer doesn't have to be a bad thing!

I mean if he cooks, cleans, cherishes you and your child, takes care of the house, creates beautiful metal works of art, and looks like Lee Joon Gi, does it really matter if he is *allegedly* murdering someone in your basement?! I mean no marriage is perfect!!!!Right?!
Jokes aside, this show was one of my favorite shows that I watched this year. I didn't so much as watch it as I inhaled the show!

Let's get to it!

You should watch this show if you like:
1.Mystery stories
2.Detective stories that develop in a non-traditional manner (not a police procedural standard plot)
3.Established relationships
4.Handsome husbands who do the domestic works while their wife kicks ass
5."Sometimes I look at my spouse and wonder if they ever murdered someone..."
6.Psychological thrillers
7.ROMANCE THAT CUTS YOUR HEART OUT AND LAUGHS AT YOU AS YOU BLEED ON THE FLOOR
8.Happy endings that really put you through the wringer for it!
9.Cliffhangers
10.Childhood Trauma
11.You know this east Asia trend of watching hot men suffer and cry A LOT? It has that! (I love it!)

This show starts with a happily married couple, Baek Hee Sung and Cha Ji Won, and their little daughter. Everything seems great about their marriage. Ji Woon is a detective and the show starts when she gets assigned to a case of domestic violence. She believes in the sanctity of family (since hers is so perfect) but this journalist she knows tells her about this really terrifying serial killing case from almost 20 years before, and how families can cover some messed up secrets. Then she ends up exhuming that very same case when a copycat shows up. Soon, she keeps getting vibes that her perfect (truly perfect) husband might be involved in this gruesome serial killing case from the past, in a very sinister way and everything starts to fall apart.

This show has an amazing plot! Everything moves so seamlessly and the plots connect so well. There is not much time wasted on pointless B plots and what it does have in that regard is connected to the main story in a way that moves the story forward while still being compelling separately. It does wrap everything up in the end with a neat little bow but I personally liked it. Some people prefer dangling unrelated B plots that just waste time and lead nowhere and mean nothing to the main plot, maybe, but I preferred the way the show did it. It's such a thrilling plot too, I mean I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Now I didn't totally get hung up on the "Is he? Is he not?" suspense of the show because I just liked the character immediately. Halo effect activated (or was already activated, I won't get into it because SPOILERS!) and I was just rooting for the story to move forward instead.
The romance is very good in this story too. I usually prefer detective shows without family drama but this show managed to change my mind by intertwining love, family, and trauma so perfectly together with the murder, mystery, thriller side that I was in love with where it was going with it. Every episode has some kind of tie-in from the romance into the events and the couple is so endearing that it just melts your heart. The supporting couple duo was also well-done. I really liked how that relationship developed so realistically. It was very mature and self-aware and not just there to be cute which I really appreciated. I know some didn't like the happy ending because it seemed like fan-service. I have my own theories on why it wasn't fanservice and why it mattered that it ended like it did but that will be spoilery so I won't write it here.
There are essentially two timelines in the show which slowly come together. I really liked how we got a drip of information from the past, it made everything that much more interesting.

The acting in this show was PHENOMENAL! Even then the 3-year-old baby was good! Lee Joon Gi was perfect obviously. He just acts so hard it's like a punch in your gut, right? Anyway, Moon Chae Won was amazing too. She did this thing with her voice when she got emotional that was just perfect. Their chemistry was perfect too. I think they are my favorite pairing from the 2020 shows that I have watched. They really sell the "we are already married" dynamic and they are both good in both the emotional scenes and action ones. Jang Hee Jin's performance was subtle, Nam Ki Ae and Son Jong Hak were terrifying. Kim Ji Hoon was...a bit too much for me. I felt like it was a bit too melodramatic next to the other actors and it amped up the whole show's melodrama level because then Lee Joon Gi became too melodramatic and ... I get why it was like that but...didn't love it! The detective trio was great. Their comradery was so organic and endearing. And the baby was also great! So cute.

Cinematography, lighting, and set-design was aesthetically homogenous. They all looked like they belonged to the right show. They were all well-matched for the psychological thriller set up and helped amp up the tension and atmosphere.
The music was ok. -_- I don't know. It was music!
Negatives: Some would complain about "coincidences" in the story but let me just get that out of the way. There are really only two coincidences in the story (the rest are just, at least to me, natural consequences of the situation the story has laid out) and I wouldn't call them that either. I would say they were rhetorics of the story. These two coincidences are not really there for the convenience of the plot but there to actually set up the plot. What I mean is that each story starts with some given facts. The "what if X happened/what if Y did this and then... the plot starts". So basically in order to tell a story, you have to create a situation that you will put the characters into and then see how they react in those circumstances. That's what this show does on several fronts.
What if a detective is married to a high-functioning sociopath who has been tricking her, their whole life?
What if two characters' fates are forever entangled because of a mutual acquaintance?
What if your past comes back to haunt you?
What if you get a chance to solve the mystery that has been haunting your adult life?
These are all the situations that the plot wants to address. If we say "well, it's too coincidental for a policewoman to meet a psychopath" then maybe you shouldn't watch this show because that's literally what this story wants to explore. There are tons of shows where the detective is married to a fridged-spouse or a teacher or something. You can watch those if you hate this plot! lol. So yeah...not a valid complaint. Especially when you consider the fact that every single Kdrama has ridiculous coincidences right and left. Everyone knows everyone since childhood. All ten Korean characters who make the main cast have all met each other in a foreign country at the same time! Everybody is related... that's just how they are. Just turn off your coincidence-meter when you watch Kdramas!
Now I'm not saying there weren't any plotholes or that situations weren't conveniently solved BUT overall, the show was enjoyable enough that it didn't matter. The point is to have a good time watching a show and this delivered and it was above average. WAY above average.
Also, just asking viewers, if they'll forgive a murderer husband in favor of him cooking, is such a profound question. I have been thinking about it for weeks and I still can't come up with a genuinely moral answer to the question!!!! I mean he's super handsome too! He's not just a good cook and a perfect dad!

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Gripping stuff

Excellently written, directed and acted.
Fab cast who all portrayed their characters so well.
I loved the dynamic between the leads and also the sibling relationship between Hyun-soo and Hae-soo.
The story twists and turns, is gripping, sad, but also humorous at times.
Moon Chae-won's portrayal of Cha Ji-won, I thought was excellent. Her trust in her husband was harshly tested and even though she had moments of self-doubt, she was determined to uncover the truth. She was sometimes vulnerable, but also strong willed and very emotional. I felt she was an anchor for her husband and a massive part if his emotional development. Her investment in him and their family was, I felt, one reason she was easily brought to tears when all might be lost.
The only reason I didn't give a 10 for re-watch value is because being a thriller, I now know what's coming and who's who. However, I would happily revisit it one day.
A definite one to watch.

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An absolutely splendid show ruined by unnecessary Melodrama!

A really well written and gripping drama but somehow got really disappointed by the way it turned out into a typical cliché Kdrama. Expected some nerve wrecking noire psychopathic thriller genre but got served a melodramatic soap opera.

Though indeed I really loved the meticulous and fine details taken into consideration and amazing transitions and cinematography by the director! Beautiful OSTs give a breath of fresh air! And how could you forget the amazing acting by Lee Joon-gi! This guy really gave his all! I literally refused to believe that he wasn't actually the antagonist until the reveal! The show really did not fail to keep me on the edge till the end!

I definitely did not understand the thought process behind the writer, like she was really inspired by Hollywood psychological thrillers yet wanted to maintain the likes of typical KDrama watchers, but I really feel negating or at least subduing a little bit of the melodrama would've heightened the psyche of the show multifold! They seemed really unnecessary and forced to me and took away the charm the show would've otherwise upheld! Have a look at Bates Motel if you guys want and see what I'm trying to say! You can literally travel through the protagonists mind!

YET A THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE SHOW! Period XD

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Not bad but overrated and overly melodramatic

Watched this after reading a recommendation saying this was better than Little Women, which I really enjoyed. It's not. It's actually more melodrama than suspense, and it's the kind of melodrama that has no restraint, that does not know when to stop and just makes you go brrr.

It started off okay enough. It was pretty compelling in the beginning, especially when I thought the ML really was some psycho with a dark secret. It quickly because obvious that he was the ultra pure "good guy" though masquerading as a psycho instead of the other way around. I was still rolling with it at this point and still quite engaged, even though I noticed how bland and predictable the plot was compared to other suspense kdramas.

And then Episode 12 happened, and all of a sudden the FL, who I felt neutral about throughout but was actually starting to like, made this BS speech at the police station while talking to the ML's sister, so her sister-in-law. She started talking to the sister like she was a piece of trash and she, the FL, was some high and mighty purveyor of all things holy and right. This just really made me go cold for the drama bigtime. First of all, the sister accidentally killed that foreman in the act of trying to protect her brother. It was not her fault that the brother decided to take responsibility for the crime, or rather the act that was done in self-defense. She actually had suffered her whole life due to this, and the guilt that it brought. And now that she wanted to clear her brother's name, his wife tells the sister not to meddle because he was her (the FL's) "person," and he did not need his sister to protect him. Like okay. You're the wife but that does not mean she stops being his sister. She's his family as much as yours, and if she wants to do this for her brother, who are you to stop her and to talk down to her like she was garbage? This really ticked me off and I started disliking the FL from this point on, and actually wanted to drop the drama. But after a while, I decided to see where it was going since I had not decided on what else to watch.

And then the poker-faced "pyscho" ML who was formerly incapable of showing emotions suddenly started crying...and crying and crying and crying in this really melodramatic, over-the-top way. I know he probably had a lot of pent-up emotion, and this was most probably what they were going for, but it was just too much, and the way he cried was not pretty LOL. I couldn't unsee the way his mouth drew down into a small dot and his face crumpled and sort of became long and thin. And from that point on, every time I saw him, all I saw was his unpretty crying face and I started not liking the ML as much as I did in the previous episodes. And it all went downhill from there, along with the plot, which became more and more ridiculous and just all over the place. So, no. Little Women isn't perfect but it's a far cry from this one. I guess the reason this is so highly rated is because there are a lot of drama viewers who are attracted to melodramatic romance. I like romance too but I prefer romcoms. I just am not a fan of melo. This was just too much for me -- too much crying, too much talking, too much drama, especially between the couple, that it just felt cringey and cheesy and just too much. Contrast this with Little Women, where what you could call the main couple, even though they weren't really a couple, elicited much more emotion and gave off more romantic vibes with the barest, the subtlest glances, smiles, and such than this one with its nonstop melodrama ever could. And even the suspense aspects of this and the overall plot just didn't hit hard enough for me. I thought it was a bit lame and not executed well. IMO this series is generally okay -- not bad per se -- but does not deserve to be the number three highest rated drama on this site.

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Sooo it's over!
I don't know if I actually liked this or not. I feel like the story/plot, pacing, acting was all good, however the drama failed to keep me interested. Specially in the second half.
There's nothing else to be said: I was just scrolling on my phone throughout the episodes and just missed a lot of details, the story took a direction I wasn't 100% on board with. The ending was cool though, I felt like it picked up.
It is a good story and I'm glad I watched the drama, but definitely wouldn't watch it again. I did enjoy the acting of the main characters, so I'm looking forward to watching them in their future projects.
Also, can we praise the daughter Eunha? She's such a good child actress! So cute I always had a smile on my face when she appeared.

6/10 - A OK drama.

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