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Flower of Evil: Episode 3

You can’t escape your past, especially not in our antihero’s case. He’s spent almost twenty years constructing a new life, but there’s someone out there who’s determined to drag his past into the present. Some surprising revelations turn everything we know on its head, resulting in one of the strangest teams ever forced by circumstances to work together.

EPISODE 3 RECAP

Summer of 2007

Hee-sung is working on a pair of matching silver rings in his workshop when Ji-won lets herself in, having brought some beers she took from her mother’s store. She peppers “Oppa” with questions about himself and his metalworking, but he ignores her until she takes his picture and posts it on social media.

Angry, he orders her to take it down, so she does. He asks why she’s been asking questions about him around town, clearly paranoid, so Ji-won confesses that she likes him. Hee-sung stares into space for a long time, a dark shadow coming over him, and when he snaps out of it, he kicks Ji-won out of his workshop.

Present Day

Hee-sung comes home early in the morning, wearing a large black hooded raincoat because of the storm. Ji-won is awake and worried, and Hee-sung tells her that he was down in his workshop because he couldn’t sleep. He’s picked up some beer, which reminds Ji-won of the day he’d kicked her out.

She asks why he hated her back then, but he says that he just felt awkward because it was his first confession. Ji-won says pleasantly that this is why she can’t talk about her past, but when Hee-sung asks what she means, she just says, “You’d be surprised. I have a complicated past.” Hmmm, interesting.

Not long after, Hee-sung heads down to the basement to feed kimbap to Moo-jin. He tells Moo-jin that he bought the kimbap in his neighborhood and that it will be the last meal they find in his stomach, which makes Moo-jin frantically spit it out again.

Hee-sung takes out the sleeping pills he got from his mother and crushes several of them, then starts to force-feed them to the terrified Moo-jin. Moo-jin shakes his head so hard that he knocks the glass from Hee-sung’s hand, shattering it, then starts screaming for help.

Hee-sung waits patiently for Moo-jin to wear himself out, then asks him about something he uploaded to the internet back in 2011. He had claimed to be a high school girl writing a screenplay in which the main character helped someone commit a crime, then later wanted to become a reporter. Moo-jin had asked what happens if people find out about his past.

In a later post, he’d added there was a video of the crime, and that in the beginning, the “main character” didn’t know that something illegal was going to happen. Giving up the ruse, Moo-jin swears that he really didn’t know anything, but what Hee-sung takes away is that Moo-jin has video footage of a murder.

Moo-jin promises not to tell anyone about this or go near Hee-sung again if he lets him go free. Hee-sung says he doesn’t want promises, but collateral: “I don’t trust people.” He leaves Moo-jin again, just as the old grandfather clock in the corner strikes four.

Later that morning, Ji-won and Ho-joon arrive at Nam Soon-kil’s Chinese restaurant soon after his body is discovered. Ji-won takes in the severed Achilles’ tendons, the missing thumbnails, the stab wounds, and the dog leash around Soon-kil’s neck, and immediately connects the murder to Do Min-seok’s victims.

There’s a CCTV camera that recorded the whole murder, but the killer was careful to keep his face hidden. Ji-won remembers Hee-sung coming home in the early hours, wearing a similar raincoat, but she keeps this information to herself.

Detective Lee says that back in 2002, the detail of the dog leash wasn’t released to the public, yet this copycat killer knows about it and even used the exact same brand and color of leash. Jae-seob points out that Do Min-seok killed seven people, worrying everyone that this might become a serial murder case.

It’s discovered that Soon-kil called Kim Moo-jin just before he died, and that Moo-jin can’t be reached. Ji-won and Ho-joon are sent to find Moo-jin as quickly as possible.

Hee-sung lets himself into Moo-jin’s apartment and finds his laptop right where he said it was. He follows Moo-jin’s instructions to a file folder, the contents of which will “end [my] life whenever you want,” according to Moo-jin. Hee-sung downloads the entire file onto a USB.

Ji-won and Ho-joon talk to Moo-jin’s boss, Ms. Kang, who says that it didn’t raise any red flags that she hasn’t seen Moo-jin for a couple of days. It’s not unusual for him to turn off his phone, and the reporters often work away from the office.

Hee-sung watches one video, which was filmed in 2002 while Hee-sung and Moo-jin’s classmates were in the woods, drawing for a sketching contest. Further along in the video, Moo-jin had followed Hee-sung’s sister, Hae-soo, into an attic that their father had built her for her art.

Hee-sung seems surprised by Hae-soo’s art room, and when she uses Moo-jin as a model for a clay bust, Hee-sung gasps, “You lied to me?” Suddenly he hears a pounding on the door. He peeks outside and sees Ji-won standing there.

Moo-jin’s coworker tells a story about Moo-jin getting locked in his own bathroom until his mother rescued him, so they go to his place to make sure he hasn’t done that again. They find two days’ worth of delivered food on his door, which means either he hasn’t come home, or hasn’t gone out, in that time. They force their way in and look around, but Moo-jin isn’t there.

Ji-won notices that Moo-jin’s laptop is warm and guesses that someone might still be there. She also spots a plant that’s been knocked over — but not the conspicuous man-shaped shadow in the window. Alarmingly, Hee-sung is clinging to the building between the balcony and the wall, roughly ten floors up.

Luckily for Hee-sung, a cloud crosses the sun just in time to obliterate his shadow, so Ji-won doesn’t see it. She does see the blinds moving and steps closer to check it out, just as Hee-sung’s foot slips so that he’s literally hanging on by his fingertips. He regains his grip, and right when Ji-won reaches for the blinds, Ho-joon calls out that she has a phone call. WHEW.

LOL, it’s Hee-sung on the phone — he somehow pulled his phone from his pocket while hanging off a building and called her to deflect suspicion. He says he’s with Moo-jin and that Moo-jin is asking about her, and that he’ll tell Moo-jin to meet her at the police station.

Hee-sung hurries back to his workshop, unlocks the trap door to the basement, and goes downstairs, only to have Moo-jin (who knocked over his chair, found a piece of the broken glass, and cut his bonds) attack him. Hee-sung quickly gets the upper hand and strangles Moo-jin until he almost passes out.

Meanwhile, Jae-seob watches the CCTV footage of the area around Soon-kil’s restaurant, and he sees someone catching a cab in an alley near the time of the murder. He calls the driver of the cab and asks him to come to the station for a statement.

While they were on the phone, Hee-sung had told Ji-won he felt sick so that she wouldn’t try to call him back. But it worries her enough that she goes home, and when she opens the workshop door, she nearly collides with Hee-sung and Moo-jin on their way out, both of them looking like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths.

Downstairs, Hee-sung had let go of Moo-jin and told him that he can’t kill him because the cops are looking for him. Moo-jin had laughed at this turning of the tables, calling Hee-sung a psycho bastard, and had demanded a sincere apology or he’d have a lot of interesting things to say to the police.

Instead, Hee-sung had sneered, “That camcorder was fun.” He had found the actual camera in a cabinet, with a recording of Hae-soo and Hyun-soo telling Moo-jin to leave her art studio before her dad found out. Moo-jin had called Hee-sung “future brother-in-law” and told him to calm down.

Hyun-soo and Hae-soo had moved to a different part of the house, but Moo-jin had gone alone into another room, which led down to a basement, and as Hee-sung watched the video continue, his eyes had gone wide with shock. Now he tells Moo-jin that the video could end his career as a reporter: “If you had made a different choice, the serial murders would have stopped. How many more did you kill?”

Hee-sung asks if Moo-jin watched the video and got excited. and Moo-jin grabs him and says he’s not a monster like Hee-sung. Hee-sung growls that Moo-jin can either do as he says, or they can ruin each other’s lives. Moo-jin lets go and asks what he should do, so Hee-sung sneers that he wants an apology.

Upstairs, Ji-won exclaims about the wounds on their faces and they tell her that they had a fight. She doctors the cut on Hee-sung’s face then slaps her handcuffs on Moo-jin to arrest him for assault.

Hee-sung tells her that he started it by making Moo-jin angry, but Ji-won protests that he’s too nice to everyone (STOP — REWIND — REPLAY… Moo-jin’s epic eyeroll is the funniest thing I’ve seen all day!). Hee-sung insists that this was his fault, and Moo-jin exclaims, “I have so much to say!” Hee-sung glares at him “…but I have nothing to say.” PFFT.

Ji-won finally tells Moo-jin that Soon-kil was murdered early this morning, then takes him to the police station to show him the CCTV footage of the murder. They also listen to Soon-kil’s voicemail, in which he says that he heard that Do Hyun-soo assisted his father with his murders. Then you can hear the door open, and Soon-kil’s panicked reaction to seeing who he thinks is Do Hyun-soo come to kill him.

Clocking his reaction, Ji-won asks Moo-jin if he knows Do Hyun-soo. He tells them that Do Hyun-soo is serial killer Do Min-seok’s son, and that he used to live in the same town as their family. He says that Hyun-soo is still wanted for the murder of the town’s foreman three months after his father’s suicide.

Detective Lee asks how Do Hyun-soo is connected to Soon-kil, so Moo-jin explains that after reading his article on Do Min-seok and his son, Soon-kil called him saying he had a tip… for three years, Soon-kil had worked at a Chinese restaurant with Hyun-soo making deliveries.

He says that the claim of Hyun-soo helping his father with the murders is just a rumor, started in their town after Do Min-seok died, because Hyun-soo was kind of strange. He says the kids used to call him possessed because they didn’t know the real term for Hyun-soo’s condition — antisocial personality disorder, or sociopathy.

He says that if Hyun-soo was even slightly upset, he would seek revenge no matter what. He nearly slips and says that Hyun-soo hasn’t changed, but Ji-won catches the slip so Moo-jin stammers that he only meant he didn’t expect to hear about him again.

Ji-won and Ho-joon leave to speak to Soon-kil’s wife, who’s six months pregnant and had to be taken to the hospital when she heard the news of his murder. They ask if Soon-kil had any enemies, and she tells them that Do Hyun-soo called him with threats every morning.

The cab driver tells Jae-seob that his passenger took his cab to the restaurant, asked him to wait thirty minutes, then returned and had the driver take him to New Sun Villas, where coincidentally there are no CCTV cameras. The driver had made small talk, asking what his passenger does for a living, and had been told that he does the same work as his father.

Hee-sung sits outside with Eun-ha, who catches him smiling for no reason and asks if he’s thinking of egg tarts (her favorite dessert, so cute). He tells her it was just because his tea tastes so good.

When Moo-jin finally gets home, he confirms that Hee-sung took his recording. He keeps lying down to rest, only to pop back up when he thinks that he should tell the police what Hee-sung did, then talks himself out of it.

He gets a call from Ms. Kang, his boss, who meets him at a coffee shop. She thinks he’s been investigating a huge scoop regarding Soon-kil’s murder, but he focuses on the time of the murder. It happened while Hee-sung was in the basement with him, according to the grandfather clock, which means Hee-sung can’t have killed Soon-kil.

At the Chinese restaurant where Soon-kil and Hyun-soo worked together, Ji-won squints at a poster on the wall of one of their specials… the same exact dish that Hee-sung made for breakfast the other morning. They talk to the owner, who admits that he paid Hyun-soo in cash because he didn’t have any ID, so there’s no way to track him through his bank account. The owner tells Ji-won that Soon-kil suddenly had enough money one day to open his own restaurant, but that Hyun-soo left without a word.

At home, Hee-sung is changing when a huge scar on his shoulder reminds him of the night that Soon-kil attacked him out in the woods, saying that he needed money. They’d fallen and Soon-kil dropped the knife, which Hee-sung grabbed, and he’d gone after Soon-kil. He’d pinned Soon-kil to the ground and was about to stab him when he heard a voice in his head saying Kill him. Hyun-soo-yah, kill him.

To Hee-sung’s horror, he’d seen his father standing in front of him, his eyes completely black. Hee-sung had screamed and brought down the knife, stabbing it into the ground beside Soon-kil’s head. He had run blindly, crashing through the rainy forest and out into the street, where he’d been hit by a car.

Back in the present, he gets a call from Moo-jin, who crows that he’s Hee-sung’s alibi now, and he says he knew Hee-sung didn’t commit such a messy murder. Hee-sung growls at Moo-jin to get out of his life or else, but as soon as he hangs up the phone, Moo-jin knocks on his door.

He shows Hee-sung the news report of Soon-kil’s murder, including the fact that Do Hyun-soo is the primary suspect. Hee-sung drags him outside and Moo-jin asks who really killed their village foreman, and Hee-sung says again that it was him, but that he didn’t kill Soon-kil (Moo-jin: “You’re a killer, but not a liar.”).

Moo-jin asks if Hee-sung was threatening Soon-kil as Soon-kil believed, but Hee-sung denies it. Moo-jin says this means the killer knows Do Hyun-soo well enough to fool Soon-kil, and he’s convinced that the killer’s identity lies somewhere in Hee-sung’s past. He proposes that they solve the case together, earning an exclusive article for him and a cleared name for Hee-sung.

Elsewhere, in his lair, the killer looks over his wall of articles about Do Min-seok. He turns, and on the opposite wall are hundreds of posters bearing a woman’s face. He doubles over, coughing so hard that he collapses, and takes some medicine with bloody, shaking hands. We see that on his phone is a charm with a picture of a fish with golden scales.

Back at the police station, Ji-won goes over the facts — Do Hyun-soo disappeared in 2005, right about the same time that Nam Soon-kil suddenly had the money to open his own restaurant. Soon-kil lived in fear of Hyun-soo for the rest of his life, which makes her think they had a falling out over money.

The only photo they have of Do Hyun-soo is from middle school, since he set his house on fire before running away. Jae-seob wonders how Do Hyun-soo is getting by when he has no ID, no bank account, no credit cards, and no phone.

While at work, Hee-sung’s mom hears Do Hyun-soo’s name and the fact that he’s a murder suspect on the news. She summons him to the store and slaps him, and he says that he’s trying to find out what happened. He tells her that he didn’t kill Soon-kil, but she shrieks, “If I had known you would make mistakes like this, I never would have turned you into Baek Hee-sung.”

Meanwhile, Hee-sung’s father comes home and enters a closet that turns out to have no back wall. On the other side is a hidden room filled with medical equipment, hooked up to a man lying in the bed. With sorrow-filled eyes, Hee-sung’s father sighs, “Hee-sung-ah…” as he looks at the comatose form of his real son.

We see flashes of that night fifteen years ago, when Hee-sung ran out of the woods and was hit by a car. He was taken to the hospital and had to be revived, and soon after, he was living the life of Baek Hee-sung, including taking his place in the family portrait.

COMMENTS

Okay, what? I mean, WHAT?! I’m so confused, bear with me while I break all this down.

So, I pretty much knew that Hee-sung’s parents aren’t really his parents, because his father, Do Min-seok, killed his wife and then himself many years ago (I wonder what happened to his sister, though?). I had guessed that Hee-sung/Hyun-soo has something on the people posing as his parents, but I wasn’t expecting that there’s a real Hee-sung out there somewhere. It appears as though Hee-sung was in an accident, as was the real Hyun-soo, and that somehow Hyun-soo took over Hee-sung’s identity. But I still don’t know who these people are or why they have any reason to harbor a killer, especially when their son is still alive, if in a coma. It does, though, explain why they’re so angry and bitter all the time, and treat Hee-sung/Hyun-soo terribly — he’s living the life of their real son, who has been robbed of his. (Obvious “I’ve Seen a Few Korean Dramas” Prediction: The real Hee-sung is going to wake up at some point and make things very difficult for Hee-sung/Hyun-soo. Also, that was Kim Ji-hoon!)

Like I said before and as @TeriYaki agreed, I’m just deep under Lee Jun-ki’s spell. He’s got me rooting for a guy who, while we haven’t seen him kill anyone yet, is most certainly not a good guy. But I can’t help making excuses for him, and my heart insists that he’s got a dark past and a mental illness, but he’s not a killer. He kept Moo-jin captive for days and repeatedly threatened to kill him, sure, but when he had the chance to kill him twice, he spared Moo-jin’s life both times. He had to kidnap and threaten Moo-jin because Moo-jin was going to reveal his identity! And Hee-sung was in Moo-jin’s apartment because he needed that recording as collateral so that he could let Moo-jin go free. That’s a good thing! Isn’t it?

But it’s the way that Hee-sung fought against the memory of his father that makes me think that he’s not actually a killer. It’s so early in the story and I can’t imagine that there aren’t any twists and turns in store for us. I think that Hee-sung is a sick man in terms of his mental illness, and he’s certainly traumatized from his childhood abuse at the hands of a murderous father, but now that we know all that about him, I believe that he truly does just want to live a normal life as a normal family man. So much of what he does that appears sinister on the outside, such as practicing facial expressions, could just be him trying to fit in. I can even understand why he kidnapped and threatened Moo-jin — Moo-jin had done the same thing to him once, so doing it to Moo-jin now is no worse, right?

Moo-jin is an interesting character, as well. He’s nowhere near the innocent he appeared to be at first. He was a bully towards Hyun-soo back in school, and then apparently witnessed a murder, and instead of telling anyone, he knowingly hid his own past rather than face up to it. I won’t say he deserved what he got at Hee-sung’s hands, but I certainly lost a lot of respect for him, especially since really, Hee-sung mostly just scared him for a couple of days (there I go defending Hee-sung again!) and never intended to seriously hurt or kill him. But something Moo-jin did or witnessed while he was shooting that video was big enough to stop the serial murders back then, yet he chose not to do anything, and allowed the murders to continue. I’m dying to know what happened, but what I do know is that Moo-jin isn’t a good guy. But I kind of love the idea of Moo-jin and Hee-sung working together to stop the copycat killer. I’m a sucker for mismatched misfit teammates, and if there were ever two completely opposite personalities, it’s these two.

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I got my Frenemies wish! I've been dying to say this.

Thank you, @Lollypip!

More after we finish supper.

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Ahahaha yaas^^

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I'm really rooting for this frenemies with opposite personalities but tremendous chemistry

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My favorite parts of this entire episode were the moments between Heesung and Moojin. I laughed so hard in the scene with Jiwon in the metal shop. Moojin's eye roll was something else entirely. Their friendship(??)/partnership is very entertaining to watch and I'm intrigued to see where it takes them in the upcoming eps.

I also really enjoyed the scene in Moojin's house with Jiwon and Heesung. The amount of stress and fear I felt for Heesung was something else. Though, I am very curious on how he managed to get his phone out of his pocket and casually call his wife while hanging on by his fingers. I guess it's the power of Hot Metal Man at that point.

I'm honestly kind of disappointed that Heesung/Hyunsoo is not turning out to be a serial killer but instead a misunderstood man who's childhood and life basically were ruined by his father's serial killer tendencies. But, I'm still very interested in the plot development and premise and there's still time for many more twists and turns for our main characters.

I really want to learn more about Jiwon's past. That line about her having a complicated past seems very telling that something big about her past and maybe even relation to some major case will show up in the future, but I'm hoping it's not too anticlimactic. I wouldn't mind having a FL with a interesting past.

Same thing can be said about Moojin. Everything in this ep made him a bigger bad guy than Heesung and I need to know the why. And, more about the what.

As for the ending, I was not expecting the real Heesung to be alive! I had a feeling that the parents weren't the real parents, but I thought that the real Heesung was dead or MIA or something. The fact that he's in a coma and just there adds a whole other level to the plot and (although, it has a very high possibility of being an anticlimactic one) I'm looking forward to the additional conflict that stems from his awakening.

I'm absolutely in love with Lee Jungki's acting. He's living for his role and I appreciate everything he's doing to make Heesung/Hyunsoo so nuanced. Everything about FoE is just perfect so far. Now, just have to finish ep 4 haha

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re: Moo-Jin and Hee-Sung - one of my absolute favorite moments this episode was them just sitting there in his basement debating about how he couldn't kill him anymore. It was hilarious to me that after all HS had done, MJ would just sit there and chat with him casually like that. I appreciate it about MJ's character that he has a bit of sass and can still talk back to HS.

re: Ji-Won's past- I could see her family situation also not being ideal, some kind of abuse or something? But I'd find it super interesting if her family also had a history of breaking the law.

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Right?? Their moments are unintentionally funny and I think it has a lot to do with how Moojin is portrayed, his actor is doing an amazing job haha

I'm really looking forward to knowing what compelled her to say that to Heesung because that's not really something you say lightly (well, in other dramas it would probably mean that she had a lot of school/boy drama, but I have a hunch in means a lot more here LOL)

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I just rewatched episode 2 and even there when MJ was tied up in the basement and LJK being super menacing and evil (Is it wrong of me that this is my favorite portrayal of his?) MJ was still kinda funny with his exprssions and everything. I find that actually very surprising that both (menacing/evil and funny) can exist in the same scene without detracting from either mood. The same counts for the eyeroll scene... which was just hilarious but then whenever HS gave MJ THE LOOK MJ immediatly did a U-turn. Really looking forward to their bromance in future episodes.

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You're definitely not alone in thinking that LJK looks the best when he's acting evil. I love it. But, yes, HS and MJ's interactions are just so funny to watch and although it does seem out of place at times, the comic relief (if it really is relief) is appreciated.

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Seriously! I think it's his little side remarks like "come on man, why are you doing this?" The actor's delivery is just perfect.

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LJK has had a lot of roles where he's being mean to people to try to push them away to protect them (Noble Idiot KTrope card). Yet I definitely prefer when he's genuinely looking like he could easily gut you, then take your guts and make strings out of them to make beautiful music without a second thought, though perhaps some twisted side reference question later about the origin of "those unusual strings" which would bring out that knowing--often even triumphant--sadistic smirk I love so which has smoothly slinked in quite a few times this show *SQUEEEE*.

(For anyone trying to recall what role he's done this, he has not done exactly that. But admit it! You could totally see him pulling it off which is why you were reaching for the role--especially in a historical!)

Oh dear. Now I want to see a sadistic smirk-off between LJK and YAI. *buries head in hands*

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You, me, everyone loves HS and MJ being frenemies.
MJ also was HS's noona boyfriend, so their connection is bigger. I wonder if we're going to see her as an adult (it seems so according to the credits in Asianwiki) and what would happen when the three reunite, as I'm convinced she's the one who killed the man in their youth.

Regarding the real HS, I still can't understand why he had to be replaced. Maybe it's that all the money that family has is not mum and dad's but somehow HS's and when he had the accident (I'm pretty convinced he was the one driving the car) they had to keep him alive somehow... Just a wild guess (although keep in mind my wild guesses rarely come true!).

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I'm also convinced she had more to do with the foreman's death than we know right now, although the blood spatter on Hyun-soo's clothes seems to say otherwise. But, we'll find out. Also, I'm leaning towards referring to Hee-Sung as Hyun-soo now, since Hee-Sung is an alias and the real man has popped up now (albeit in a coma)

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Maybe HS was protecting his Noona from being raped or something? But then again she was fully clothed in the short flashback we got...

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That seems to be the point.

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I'm getting that vibe from her too (and Ep 4 kind of corroborates my thinking). There's so much about that night that we don't know about but from the whole family dynamic, I wouldn't be surprised if Hyesoo was the one who killed the foreman and Hyunsoo took the blame for her or made it seem like his father did (though, I'm not sure if he was already dead by that point).

I'm thinking the same about the real Heesung being the one driving because there doesn't seem to be much else that ties Hyunsoo with his fake family in this way. But at the same time, would running into Hyunsoo cause the real Heesung to fall into a coma?

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Right? And why would the family then take Hyun-Soo and let him pretend to be Hee-Sung?

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The whole family backstory is so interesting and hopefully will be portrayed and laid out really well *fingers crossed*

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I fully expected this drama to be nothing but twists and turns at every corner, er, episode.

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The scene with Moo-jin's eyeroll was just way too funny!

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Love how fast the plot's been moving along! I hate crime procedurals b/c it ends up being mostly about the cases (when I don't have any emotional attachment too). Now this, a cat/mouse game between husband and wife is up my alley!

LJG is not my favorite, but I do recognize how he was the OG flower boy in the 00s, and I like that he's mixing it up w/ this. The fact that he didn't kill the reporter friend tells me he has psychological issues stemming from his dead father but he doesn't got all the way. However, I do think that if his family becomes endangered, he will kill.

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I think that's what I really want to see--someone going after Eun-Ha because of his past, and him going all out crazy to take them down. That would have me on the edge of my seat.

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Exactly! I'm sick and tired of society/media trying to replenish bad characters as morally conflicted beings. Go all the way with making him evil. Having him confront that bad side in him coupled with his family life, is what's going to make this show stand out from other psychological dramas.

I really think that LJG will have to unleash whatever he's been trying to repress for so long when someone he loves gets endangered (wife/daughter).

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yes. ... ... the sad thing is, I'd probably still try and rationalize for him even if he did go all out crazy to protect his wife/daughter, condone whatever he does. I'd comfort myself saying I don't think I'd react the same way in real life (I'd definitely do a lot more careful thinking through it all) but here I'd still probably be 100% rooting for him.

To be fair to myself though, isn't that the initial premise of movies like "Taken", "Eonnie" etc? We can condone a lot of violence in the media if they're fighting against a baddie to protect someone else.

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We see it all the time in media with Hannibal/Killing Eve, people justifying their behavior and etc. It's nothing new in pop culture, since its fiction.

I do hope that this show really delves into LJG's psyche and how he struggles with it. Its only going to get more complicated once he gets more involved with the cases. It'll be a matter of time before he gets too deep.

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I really want to see Heesung become truly evil too! I think that'd make such a good plot line and a family member getting kidnapped would definitely give him all the motivation he needs to do so. I'll be disappointed if they don't have at least one scene like this where he unleashes his inner evil because that seems to be a fairly big part of his character description.

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Yep! Its ok to make him out to be this grey character. K-dramas slowly have been showing more grey characters, and I love it!

Yes IA with your last point for instance. He has to snap ultimately right? Because the more he gets deeper into doing the work he does, the harder it is to get out of it. I must have missed that character description, but whenever he shifts his mouth/eyes when he's with his daughter vs. not is scary/telling.

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@soulsearch12 His switch between emotions is so scary and well done. LJK is doing an amazing job with HS. I definitely agree with him having to snap at some point. His childhood was full of pain and anger that it just seems inevitable that he would take that next step if it came down to it.

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This drama! I am so gripped the entire time. I think this is one of Lee Junki's best acting thus far, he completely grips the screen with his presence and character... especially with the subtle facial tones and simple sentences he can give. I honestly was shocked at the end of this episode and am really curious to find out more.

I also wasn't expecting to laugh with Moojin and Heesung, they have some of my favorite scenes together so far in the drama, so looking forward to seeing what will happen. There is a lot of background in this story to uncover!

I also really like learning more about Heesung and Jiwon's history - those beginning scenes are super interesting, show their chemistry too, and also make me want to learn more. Thank you for your recap!

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re: LJK's acting- I also agree I think this is some of LJK's best acting I've seen, I already know I like him a LOT better as a modern actor than a sageuk actor. I also watched just a bit of Two Weeks recently, and it looks like he did a fantastic job there, too.

re: HS and JW history--I'm also loving the little clips we get at the beginning of their past, it's really working for me to see how it plays into their present. I also liked the "case of the week" we had for the first two episodes, I kind of hope we get some more of that but I suppose just digging into the main storyline is good too^^

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I want to see more of the past. Like where he bought his hair dye, how often he retouches the roots, whether he uses an electric razor, how often his stubble grows, why he decided to keep a fringe, how long he intends to keep his forehead covered...all very important grooming details, you understand, that will shed more light into the mysterious workings of an unusual mind.

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All very important questions!! I too am curious now 🤣🤣

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Yesss that's the extra episode--a day in the life of Hee-Sung's hair schedule.

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Agreed!! Two Weeks is one of my favorite dramas of all time and I also think it was one of Lee Junki's best performances... there are things being revealed pretty quickly in this drama which is interesting and I wonder if it's because they want to spend more time on when Jiwon finds out about Heesung... I already can't wait for next week!

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Hee Sung & Moo Jin was a pairing I didn't know I needed. This drama has very little humor, but they are the ones bringing it. They have unexpectedly funny moments, even when Moo Jin was a hostage. ^^;; It's fun to see them begrudgingly working together and gathering clues while disliking and distrusting of the other. Who knows who's gonna backstab first? x]

Moo Jin's eyeroll was epic! Could not stop laughing.

But on a serious note, I think he may have recorded a live murder and did not report it to anyone. This thought is based on when Hee Sung questioned him about his online post and Hee Sung's assessment thereafter.

The use of the sun and shadows during Hee Sung''s Spidey move was nifty. :P

I missed the info that Do Min Seok killed his wife?! So she was one of the 7 victims?

I do not know Kim Ji Hoon or how big his role is (no spoilers), but he's gonna stir up trouble as the real Hee Sung. It's baffling that his parents agreed to make Hyun Soo his replacement.

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"It's baffling that his parents agreed to make Hyun Soo his replacement." Ikr? But I just saw the Kakao talk interview they had and all I get from it is that we should expect a lot of secrets that will make sense somehow to all the little and big things that we don't get right now.

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Ahh I want to see this!

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You can find it on youtube: "eng sub Kakao talk interview of Flower of evil".

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thanks!

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thank you! am watching them now!

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Thanks from me too!

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And I love that the humor is not out of place. Whoever is playing Moo Jin is really good. But really, the chemistry of the actors in this show is so so good. Kudos to the casting team. They did a great job!

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re: the pairing. Right??! And I loved that moment when Moo-Jin showed up at his house and Hee-Sung was immediately concerned about Eun-Ha hearing. I mean, it could totally just be a calculated move to keep his cover safe, but it still made me feel like he cared what his daughter heard about *him* regardless.

re: the video, I also wonder what it was he recorded, because didn't Hee-Sung say something about the murders having stopped or it having stopped just at murdering if he'd come clean back then? So curious.

re: the parents, I have a theory the real Hee-Sung is the one who hit Hyun-Soo with his car, not sure yet why they'd let him take their son's place though.

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«re: the parents, I have a theory the real Hee-Sung is the one who hit Hyun-Soo with his car, not sure yet why they'd let him take their son's place though.»

If their son was drunk/responsible for the accident, as soon as he recovers he would go to jail, and probably Hyun-soon is the only witness/victim.
The same if the car was driven by either parent and the son was in the car and was also an accidental victim.

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Am I the only one that thinks Moo Jin might die? Dunno when, but I think he might be the victim to Hee Sung's shenanigans.

I want to do a Barry (HBO) and confront what it'll entail to have someone have a dual identity. That means I don't want to back themselves into a corner by making us feel sympathy for Hee Sung to the point that he doesn't kill. Have him confront that reality for himself, and how he manages that. If the show goes into cases instead of that dual identity, I'll rme hard forreal.

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Noooo I don't want him to die! Haha I remember watching Memories of the Alhambra and I can trace my exact moment of when I stopped being invested in the show... it had to do with a certain person's certain death. I was so sad.

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I had to recap that, and it's one of the few times that I've been crying so hard while trying to write that I had to take a break and collect myself before I could get back to it. That death, and the one early in Shut Up Flower Boy Band, are the two kdrama deaths that I think I'll never get over.

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You recapped that??! Bless you. Bless you. I died that day. (then my roommate and I kept watching, and we both died when he told her "prove it" and kissed her. We were so upset, he'd been nothing but a jerk to her, there hadn't been any buildup for their relationship romantically really and then that? It was... emotional).

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I don't think he Moon Jin recorded an actual murder. In his post and later when he talks to Hee Sung he says that he didn't know it was a bad thing, as if he didn't make the connection... I guess we'll have to wait.

I also missed that DMS had killed his wife O.o

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I want to watch this but...
I'll just wait until it finish then.

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Omo, thank you for such a fast recap!

This is what this drama has done to me: I can't get out of my head the mirror, the black eyes dad and the JW confession (of love) scenes. The three episodes give me the idea that he has feelings and emotions but not the nice ones like joy, happiness; but the bad ones like fear and anger.
We know that he doesn't need a video to learn how to get mad, annoyed or scare. He knows how to show this emotions because he has been feeling them since he was little (thanks to his psycho dad).
Also, when she confessed her feelings he was scare af, and so far we have seen that every single soul around him treaded him like trash (the reporter, the guy that was suppose to be his friend but tried to kill him, his dad. Well, the whole village said bad things about him ) so I think that the idea of love got weird for him, scary. He probably understands love like abuse, and maybe that's why he freak out when she confessed.
So, what I'm trying to say is that he doesn't know what love is, he want's JW to show him... lmao.

So far I like this drama a lot.

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Interesting to mention that about the emotions, I think you're right. I also feel like he has attuned himself to the other emotions more than he gives himself credit for, like when he was so obviously relieved after his wife left. More on this in the next recap, I feel like we're really getting so see more sides of him as a person as the show goes on.

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You're totally right, episode 4 showed more things and now... wow. Next recap is going to be intense.

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I just finished watching it and I'm desperately waiting for the next ep recap

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Right? Haaa and now there's a whole nother week to wait until episodes 5-6...

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Ah! Your comment also reminded me of the drama "Come Here and Hug Me" which has a similarity of the main character being the son of a serial killer. Jang Ki Young is the ML, and he also does a FANTASTIC job of portraying the influence of growing up with someone like that for a dad--the creepy voices in your head, the barely capped violence, the detachment from other people. It's also a great drama, there are a few moments when the ML really scares me thinking he's not as good as you're led to believe. Would recommend!

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I also had those vibes, when he first saw dad in this episode menacing his son. Wow.

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Yes! *Ep 4 spoiler alert* when he says that [REDACTED, SORRY!]

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Yes! I had to rewatch the scene in which she confessed her feelings to him. It's both sad and almost a little humorous how all the innocuous signs of someone having a crush seemed so dangerous to him, even though it makes sense given his previous encounters with...well, people in general. Then when she confessed he seemed to overcome by some kind of fear/shadow and I almost wondered if he had some kind of trauma associated with something like that. I'm not quite sure how JW rebounded from that harsh of a rejection to keep pursuing him/how their relationship blossomed, but I'm excited to see it! It's such a stark contrast to the way they are now, and the scene where they shared the beer. Sure some degree of that must be manufactured on HS's end, but I can't imagine that being shown such love from his wife and daughter hasn't touched him after the treatment he'd received previously

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Agree!! 1. We totally need more flashbacks to understand them -because for me there isn't only something going on with him and his internal conflicts but with JW.-
2. I think he likes his family...
The end.
I have a lot to say about this couple but I have to wait for the next recap.

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Too bad it was Viki that got the screening rights, if it were Netflix this would be 100% a hit... the pacing is so good, the plot is addictive... truly a drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Episode 4 and episode 5 will probably be season finale level of good.

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100% Not to be rude but Netflix is weird with their choices. They picked up Rugal, lmao to be on their platform and yet not Flower of Evil??

Especially considering how these type of shows do well on their platform (You/Making of a Murderer/Mindhunter). tvN should've licensed this show out to them, esp. since LGJ is a Hallyu star too. I wish Netflix picked this up so it would get a wider international audience.

BTW: This gives me I Saw The Devil vibes, LBH there fell deeper into the madness and how it affected his character. Sometimes, we become the monster that we fear to be. Could be the case here.

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It's several years later, but I'm finally watching Flower of Evil on Netflix!

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When Hee sung fed Moo Jin the gimbap for postmortem evidence, I seriously don't know whether to laugh or be horrified. It's comical if he was just threatening, and horrifying he was really a killer.

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Seriously. That, the plastic, the sleeping pills... he did a *really* thourough job if it was just to scare the man. Mildly concerned. Still on his side. Mildly concerned about that, too...

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Totally agree with you.
It's fun from the outside, but terrifying from MJ's side, specially considering he knows HS's already killed a person.

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Haven't watched the series fully yet but a clip here and there only in ep 4. The one scene stood out that may have some telling on the strange relationship between Heesung and his 'parents' and the revelation of the real comatose Heesung.

The mom seemed to be a bit unhinged from the way she related with Heesung. As the series is touching on the topic of antisocial personality disorder, I am wondered if the mom is also having the same disorder than Heesung, and that disorder was the reason behind the comatose Heesung. Since Hyun-soo has fallen into their path during that fateful accident in the woods, they seized the opening to have Hyun-soon assuming the identity of Heesung, giving that the father is having high-prolific and prestigious public life.

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I don't know if you've seen the long teaser they had during the promotional period. There was a short clip of the mother with them in the dinner table where she seemed to be having an "episode". Her eyes were scared, and her hands were shaking.

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There's a long teaser they gave during the promotional period? Where is that?? Ahahaha I did watch one long promo piece about LJG-MCW chemistry in the show, it spoiled a bit but I'm excited to see context^^

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Or it could be any of the teasers, haha. But I remember that snippet of the mom at the dinner table visibly shaken. Because I remember thinking "maybe he got it from his mother." Which, as it turned out, wasn't really his mom. 🤷

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So original serial killer dad also had a secret basement!? Like father like son. And he fixed his daughter with an attic room so she would be an extra floor above and couldn't hear the screams (?). Just like our ML has an extra floor between his special basement and where his family lives.

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Oh my heck I totally thought the same thing watching that scene. So sketchy!!

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Technically HS's basement isn't secret, since the door is very visible in his workspace and the daughters old toys and stuff is in there aswell...

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THIS EPISODE. I'm pleasantly surprised, satisfied, and still hooked. I won't say that it was revolutionary like Signal or Forest of Secrets (I love those dramas) but I don't think it's trying to be those shows anyway. It's a thriller, and it's a GOOD thriller.

@lollypip I'm right there with you in rooting for our hero. "he didn't ACTUALLY try to kill him, just tied him up with zipties and made his wrists bleed..." "he didn't *actually* kill him, just tried to make him take sleeping pills and then do who knows what to him..." "He didn't--" and so on.

I also don't think he actually has the will to murder, after looking at this scene. And I had the same thought as you that some of the things we've called him out for as being creepy--particularly practicing emotions--could very well just be a sincere effort to fit in with the rest of society.

I'm already looking forward to our reporter-fugitive teamup, even though I had to stretch my imagination a bit to accept that the reporter would ever want to go near the man again. Like, no grudges held? Really? Not reporting him to the police I can buy though, and *well done* show on giving a fairly plausible out for Hee-Sung in not killing the guy.

I'm also at this point SO intrigued by Ji-Won's apparent "complicated past" and if show doesn't explore that a bit and deliver on a backstory there too I will be a bit disappointed.

All in all, I was very, very pleased. Lots of re-watch worthy moments, I'll probably end up making a second comment later lol

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"I'm already looking forward to our reporter-fugitive teamup, even though I had to stretch my imagination a bit to accept that the reporter would ever want to go near the man again. Like, no grudges held? Really? Not reporting him to the police I can buy though, and *well done* show on giving a fairly plausible out for Hee-Sung in not killing the guy."

This! If EP4 didn't turn out the way it did I would've abandoned this show altogether because that was seriously a stretch. He was tortured and threatened. That would be hella traumatizing. But from what's revealed in EP4, I believe that they knew each other on a much deeper level somehow given their history. But really, that was like a big "huh?" moment for me in this episode.

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That's true! I didn't think about that when I was considering the new teamup (not saying I don't like the teamup, I think they're hilarious together). It could make a lot more sense if there is more between them than just passing acquaintances. We should talk again in the ep 4 recap^^

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The amount of times I excused Heesung's actions in this ep and just in general was questionable LOL I just can't help myself

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Right? I don't know which one I want to see more: him on the run and turning into a bad guy, or him on the run with his wife secretly helping him, trying to clear his name. Also, I do recall scenes of him in an interrogation room, I'm excited for that.

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Ooo~ I'm looking forward to that. I'd be down for either of those scenarios though!

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I think Hee-Sung was always told that he was a killer, that he believes it himself, but don't want to be one. (Not sure if that sentence made sense.) Like how in psychopath diary, Yoon Siyoon's character was conditioned by the diary, but instead of a few weeks, this happened throughout a lifetime.

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I try to be careful when talking about Hee Sung's treatment of MoJin because I feel I, too, will defend HS no matter what.
I also really didnt think that he would kill him since MJ is a second lead. I do like the frenemy status this two has. Its exciting to see how their relationship will further evolve. Either way I am onboard.
Now, I wonder how the coma!Hee Sung fits in the narrative and whos fault was it that he is in the state he currently is in. His parents are also sketchy and wonder how Hee Sung got entangled with them. There are just too many pieces of the puzzle that I would like to know now but can't. Now I wonder if its better to binge this but I can't resist seeing LJK every week

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Now that you mention second lead and can't kill, I'm wondering how much this would have changed the show if he had (even accidentally), and MoJin ended up a vision like his dad, but then the frenemy thing would be heavier I think, and a lot of the plot so far would have needed work arounds.

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I think the show is being careful with HeeSung and making sure that he does not do anything that he can't be redeemed from.
Would be a totally different show if he had killed MooJin. I would still watch it though. And that is the kind of show I expected from the get go, like You and Dexter.

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I made the mistake to watch this in the middle of the night and i threw my phone when his father showed up 😭
I think i like how this is going with him not being an actual serial killer (i know some people wanted this to go the opposite way) but still it's too early to know that. So far it's like a mix of Come Here Hug Me (the serial killer's son part) and Nice Guy (the whole was he faking it or when do he actually start to like her for real). So yeah really looking forward to watch the story unfolds.

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His dad is straight up creepy!!

PS I'm so glad you mentioned Come Here and Hug Me, because that's a FANTASTIC drama and the scenes in this episode totally reminded me of that show.^^

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Come Here and Huge Me was sooo good and I love the portrayal of the father. He was so creepy but the actor did an amazing job and I loved it all.

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Speaking of which, what else has the dad in Flower of Evil been in? I feel like I've seen him be evil elsewhere too--I had this instinct reaction like "oh, I remember this actor--he does a good job"

PS I totally agree about the dad in Come Here and Hug Me--he was so scary.

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Whoops there was a typo in my comment **Hug lol but if you're talking about Hyunsoo's surrogate father the actor is Son Jonghak but I'm not sure about his real father.

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If you're talking about the actor playing his biological father, it is Choi Byung Mo. He's been in in a lot of dramas, like "Love Affairs in the Afternoon", "The Third Charm", "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes", "Are You Human Too?"

https://mydramalist.com/people/8388-choi-byung-mo

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Yesss i love that show

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Come and Hug Me had a lot of potential but they over-used an abundance of flashbacks to explain a situation that it kinda took away from the dramatics at some point. However, I will say that it did showcase well how learnt behavior like that would affect their child. That's more on the testament for Jang Ki-yong's performance who did a great job showing the scary sides with his creepy grin and intense eyes. Still enjoyed the show though!

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Totally agree with you on Jang Ki-Young's eyes, he gave a killer performance. And I agree with you to a point about the flashbacks--I wouldn't have minded it half so much if we had different flashbacks each time, got to see more of their lives as young kids and what led them to that fateful night... but they just used the same scene, over and over again. That got old. But likewise, I still ended up loving the show!

PS the OTP in that show is a favorite of mine, not because of any semblence of realism (there is none, how do you stay in love after 12 years of not seeing each other?) but precisely *because* he was so committed to her happiness, in an actually non-creepy way. He didn't try to approach her first, he didn't watch her every move, but once they were in each other's lives again they were so mutually, unilaterally committed to loving each other. Especially on his part--full circle to Jang Ki-Young's stellar acting.

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For sure! It made me a fan of JKY. Oh how I wish he did Record of Youth instead of Born Again but that's for another time :(

Lol ikr? The flashbacks were similar and used to tell something that we the audience knew. If it wasn't for that aspect, I would've given the show a 8.5 instead of a 8 lol.

The best parts of the show was the fresh talent (JKY and Jin Ki Joo-another bright star!). Yep, they were a sweet couple, and the ending was satisfying ultimately for both of them. I also remember liking the woman who played his mom as well. She was in DOTS as someone cool/perky, so seeing her here was cool.

I do hope that the promise JKY showed there/My Mister, that he continues on the path when he comes back from Army (once he enlists), and becomes this great actor that I know he has the potential for!

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Interesting pull in point with Nice Guy, and totally spot on, I think. (And same FL, Moon Chae-won to boot, though she played a very different tone of tough female in that one.)

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Ah! I remember what I'd wanted to mention earlier about my favorite moments--

1. the kimbap scene in the basement, that was so creepy. Also, PS @lollypip I think that had to have happened before he came back home/went inside, because he fed MJ kimbap at 3AM (MJ remembered the clock chimes so he knew HS wasn't off killing another person then) and when JW woke up I think her clock read 3:30AM. Just an observation!

2. *after* the amazing eyeroll, when the two men were forced to apologize to each other. Also, HS little head nudge to get MJ to apologize. Nice touch, show.

3. the cute Eun-Ha moment when she asked HS if he was angry she spilled juice. He moved his eyes with his fingers, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was mimicking something he'd watched in an "emotion learning" video.

4. I'm still loving how JW picks up on random little details and gets information from them, like the computer in the apartment.

Good episode!

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I'm living for the Eunha-Heesung moments. She's such a daddy's girl, its adorable.

As for Jiwon, yesssss~ The writers are truly making her a force to be reckoned with in terms of her detective skills and I'm here for it.

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... ... I was going to mention something else (not a moment so much as a detail I liked) but then I realized it's in ep 4. Dangit. Also, I've never wanted it to be Wednesday again so much in a while.

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Ah no! You should tell me in the next recap!

And, honestly! I haven't live watched a drama in a while and definitely not one that I've enjoyed this much.

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I don't have any qualms about excusing Hee-sung as more sinned against than sinning, although I would not be surprised to learn that he had actually killed his own father to stop him from his murdering spree (and maybe the village foreman too - I'm wondering he was an accomplice to the father or if he did something to the sister).

There have been several references throughout the episodes to antisocial personality disorder as something that can be inherited. But the drama looks like it is pointing out that there is no necessary connection between the pathology and being someone who is actually a serial killer. Just because Hee-sung can't express emotions doesn't make him a serial killer. He may have the capacity to be one, but what if he manages, in spite of that tendency, to not coldbloodedly and remorselessly kill people who get in his way?

Lee Jun-ki's Hee-sung suggests the capacity to be a psychopath, and other people have seen that potential and assumed that HS is not only capable but also has really killed people, but so far we have not seen him do that.

He lives in a world in which people are more than prepared to think the very worst of him on the basis of his father's actions and also because of his lack of affect. It's a pretty cruel and judgmental world.

If he has to resort to putting a reporter in a basement (someone who tied him to a tree and stoned him and who keeps his story in the spotlight - and may have witnessed his father/someone else murdering someone and did nothing about it) to get to the truth, then that may be his only option. I find it so interesting that Moo-jin insists, in spite of all of his actions, he is not like HS.

I'm totally on Hee-sung's side, but I fear that he has a world of pain ahead of him.

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I actually have the same theory that he might've actually killed his father. Reason why he kept on seeing him in moments he is most conflicted, and that conversation he had with Moo Jin about the video footage, "the killings would've ended if you did something about it." He was the one who, of all people, decided to put an end to his father's madness. Of course, I'm way ahead and we're just in episode 3 (and 4). Hah!

And though it would've been more interesting if they made Hyun Su a blood thirsting murderer, it's worthwhile to note the choices they're making to frame the whole storyline of a "misunderstood character"; it's not just Hyun Su who is actually morally ambiguous, but everyone on the show. How does one become a monster? The question that's been hanging since the very first episode is whether psychopathy (ASPD) is hereditary. But even if it is, does that automatically mean a psychopath is evil?

Then we have the case of Moo Jin. His actions in the past would've warranted the whole hostage in the basement thing and make us forgive Hyun Su. But EP4 kind of humanized Moo Jin a bit and make us sort of understand how a teenager would act the way he did given the "values" of the community he grew up in. How doing bad things to others become an acceptable behavior so long as you're part of the herd.

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I had to check what episode we were up to because it has been moving so fast - refreshingly fast. But it makes me wonder what is ahead of us.

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The drama keeps emphasizing how convenient it was that dad committed suicide because that is the only reason that they discovered the victims at all. So I also think there is something fishy with his death. I keep wishing that HS and Noona had both staged his death...

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re: HS killing his dad, I totally agree that could have happened.

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I have to confess I'm a little disappointed HS is not a real psycho. I mean, it's quite clear at this point that he didn't kill anyone, not even the man in his hometown (his noona did, that's clear to me). He has mental issues, but... who wouldn't: a psycho father, bullied in school, his room mate tried to kill him and actually stole his money, he took the place of an almost dead son of a very awkward family.... yes, it would be odd that he was a normal and balanced person.

Even so, I love his ambiguity and I love LJK. He's doing an outstanding work so far. HS is half intriguing, menacing, funny and a caring dad, husband and also son.

Best thing of the episode like almost everyone said was MoonJi rolling eyes when JiWon said HS was too nice to people. I also rewinded and replayed it a couple of times. Loved it!

Regarding what MoonJi saw, I don't think he actually saw any murder or corpse or anything like that, but something connected to the murders that in that moment he didn't understand. It probably made sense after, but we'll have to wait to know.

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Mmmm. Interesting. So you think his sister did something. That could be. But I'm not sure yet if he has mental issues or not. Everyone else around him seems off IMO, including Moonji.

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You, too huh. I wanted him to be a serial killer so much. At this point, I even think he didn't kill that guy in the bed. I think the sister did it, intentionally, or by accident, he stabbed the dead guy because he lost it.

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That would be interesting--she killed the man, but he intentionally stabbed the fresh body to make evidence he did it and protect her? That would explain the blood splatters, if the man wasn't totally dead yet I think. (also, never thought I'd be discussing something like this in my lifetime lol).

Which I suppose would mean they both technically killed him, since if he wasn't dead yet he just chose to try and cover for her than call an ambulance?

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Now I'm wondering if he found her in the act of killing the Foreman, and tried but failed to stop her, hence both of them with blood on them.

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This drama is so good! That hanging on the side of the building scene was so thrilling and well made. The way his silhoulette dissapeared behind the curtains had me biting my fingernails.

I agree with others, the MJ HS pairing is great. What bothers me about MJ is the fact that he re watches the video about the crime. Is he doing it out of enjoyment? Serial Killers do that to re-live the crime and feelings they had when committing it. They take trophies or go back to the crime scenes for this very reason. MJ might be wearing a bigger mask than HS himself. He took a traumatic experience like kidnapping like it was nothing after he was let go. He goes and seeks HS out himself and doesn't seem too scared. I am keeping my eyes on him for now.

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Yes, I agree. I'm not ready to give him a pass yet. Sure he can do a good eye-roll, but as you point out, the re-watching is seriously off.

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Mmm... so you don't think he'd rewatch it out of guilt or shame/self punishment at all--like look what you captured, and never did anything about it, you cowardly self.

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This show and LJK are making me root for a guy who
-may or may not have committed murder in the past and on the run for the said murder
-committed the identity theft
-has a secret basement in his house
-kidnapped a person and repeatedly inflicted bodily harm on him
-is blackmailing said person
-was planning to kill him
-constantly lies to and manipulates his wife
-assaulted a police officer (said police officer is his wife)
-will kill if there a chance of his identity getting exposed.
-imparts dubious knowledge on his impressionable child

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Right? Kidnapping, Confinement, Assault (when kidnapping MJ the first time) Identity Theft, Assaulting an Officer/Resisting Arrest (spoilers!), blackmail... + the forced near feeding of sleeping medication, we might be able tack on attempted burder.

...If we looked up the maximum sentence for those crimes, how long do you think he'd be in prison for? And if MJ tries to settle/not press charges, do you think that would change anything? I think it'd be an interesting end for him to actually go to prison to pay for some of the crimes he's commited.

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I cannot reconcile the funny, endearing Moo jin with the vicious high school bully of the past. It confuses me, and I can't wrap my head around it. The drama veers between dark and comic, and that's another thing I'm confused about. And another thing here to note: I have learnt BD's name. A name a week. I'm getting there.

The reveal at the end shook me. Like, whoa, they are keeping the real son in there. Hot Metal Man ---- what is his name???? ----- sure slipped into a new identity easy.

And I am pretty certain HMM is innocent. I am not very happy. I wanted a show about a serial killer. *SULKS* Guess he's just a scapegoat for the killings.

LJK looks hot with blonde hair. I stared at his jawline for a long time, and he has a cleft chin. His lips are really pretty. And he's got really long, beautiful eyes. They stretch even more when he narrows his eyes. I like him more when he's mean. It makes him look wicked and dangerous. Though I know that's all fake. He's a sweet little marshmallow at heart.

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I feel like he didn't actually psychopath makes the premiere missleading. I don't mind he isn't but the premise shouldn't sell like he is.
It's like they can't commit on having unlikeable protagonist.
There is Hannibal or guardian (Kim Young Kwang) that deals with protagonist that you don't like but needed for the story.

I have the same feeling with it's okay, as much as I like it. I wish they commit with the premise and didn't take a shortcut to be the good guy, i.e: the protagonist isn't really evil.

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I'm kinda digging the bromance between these two, too. Such a weird relationship but nonetheless it seems to be working.
This show is giving me major Hello, Monster vibes and I'm liking the idea of a show about a serial murderer's children which are left behind. Anyway for now I'm hooked!

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Also HS's dad is what nightmares are made of. Lol, I can't get that image out of my head.

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This is so great! Keeping me on the edge the buildups are fantastic

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On a another note, how can drama gods be cruel? Why would you make Hae Soo his sister on modern day Seoul. This is certainly not the season 2 that Moon Lovers have been rooting for ㅠㅠ

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IU playing Hee-sung's sister a.k.a. serial killer? I would find this combination interesting, haha (if that happen--only if that happen) ...

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I'm really confused, so I checked wiki...He has acted with the actress (Jang Hee-Jin) playing the modern day sister in Flower of Evil before, but that was in...

*looks around for those that don't like it to be named*

Scholar Who Walks the Night. She played Soo-Hyang, the little girl he rescued that ended up being the quasi servant/Madam/Kisaeng/the-jealous-never-to-be-the-lover-interest.

But IU is playing neither age of his sister in this show--not even a note on her wiki of a cameo repay (if that term exists) for his cameo in Hotel Luna.

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Nope, not IU, just the name Hae Soo. Baek Hee Sung (Lee Joon Ki) sister's name here is Do Hae Soo. Ahahahahah it's weird to hear Joon Ki saying his sister Hae Soo.

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Thanks for the clarification! I feel a bit dumb I missed that and instead only thought of the actresses playing the names. 😳

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Thank you for the recap @lollypip!

I love Hee-sung & Moo-Jin are paring up!
That was totally unexpected and an interesting twist.
Hope they will develop more friendship even in a weird way.

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I actually have a theory: what if the serial killer is Ji-won (Trust me, this is a guess, since I even didn't watched Ep.4)?

Suspecting this since last episode, this time she is saying her past is "complicated". If so, Ji-won's acting is way better than Hee-sung (or should I called him Hyun-soo now? Having Kim Ji-hoon as the sleeping Hee-sung is a waste of a good actor, so we are expecting, as @lollypip said, his revival from the coma?)

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I am actually relieved that he probably isn't a serial killer. That's what I wanted. Sorry to those who didn't.

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Haha same... I could kind of tell/hoped from the style of the promo teasers that he probably wouldn't be (from what I remember it was mostly framed in the sense that "she would suspect him") but I still wasn't 100% sure.

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message of drama society creates itself monsters

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There's a Lezhin webtoon called 'At the End of the Road.' This story is reminding me a lot of the webyoon's plot thus far.

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I forgot how dangerous these threads can be. Added over a dozen to my "Why Haven't I Watched This Yet" bookmark list.

I need to hold back until gardening season is over! Or at least until all the Monarchs are sent on their way. 😅

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ahhh i’m confused at the scene where he goes to the basement and lets moo-jin go. what was so important about the video he found??? and the girl, hae-soo, who is that? is she a character from his past or am i just forgetting names too easily

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