Early Access: Flower Of Evil E1 (Patreon)

E1. Well, color me intrigued. I have no idea what the truth is, but this show feels interesting and complicated, like there are many layers of truths and half-truths that are waiting to be revealed, and I feel ready for the ride.

Lee Jun Ki is playing Hee Seong with an undercurrent that feels half deadened soul and half amoral genius. Even in Hee Seong's happy moments, when he's with Ji Won and Eun Ha, there seems to be traces of deadened soul about him. As in, it appears to me that the happiness isn't something that's truly coming from the inside of him. Maybe I'm seeing it that way because I already know that he's supposed to be a mysterious character, and my brain is putting more meaning into his delivery than is there; I'm not sure. But so far, Hee Seong is definitely fascinating.

He's definitely hiding something, and using a fake identity, but the reason is unclear. It seems too easy to assume that he was behind the murder of the village head and that's why he disappeared 18 years ago. I'm pretty sure there's more to it than that. But what? He's got a fake mom and dad, who seem unwilling to play along with his charade of a new life, but they acknowledge that they are in the same boat. And, he seems to have them well under his control. He's unfailingly polite, but there's something threatening about his cordial manner and even tone of voice, like he could destroy them, if he wanted to. Hmmm. And, he's wary enough of being discovered, that he knocks out, binds and gags his old acquaintance Moo Jin, and stows him away in his basement workshop. That's.. going pretty far to keep a secret, as far as I'm concerned. And, what could he possibly do with Moo Jin, if he doesn't kill him?

Ji Won is interesting to me, in that she seems to be a competent police officer, who's able to pick up on clues that other officers miss, but she acknowledges that if she were in Ko Ae Young's shoes, and knew that her husband was feeding her medicine in place of her vitamins, she would likely take the medicine anyway, so as not to shatter the life that they have. This seems like a heavy hint to me. If not now, then at some point in our story, Ji Won is likely going to get to put this into action, when she starts to realize that there's something off about her husband.

Ji Won comes across as having an inner core of purity and simplicity, despite her status as a tough policewoman. She wants to trust in the good of people, and she wants to hope and believe in people. Even though her mother-in-law is cold, she keeps trying to win her over, believing that all she needs to do is work hard at it.

I believe that Ji Won loves Hee Seong, but at this point, I am not entirely certain that Hee Seong loves her. He makes sure to keep her happy, and the loving husband act is all part of that, but only time will tell, if this relationship means more to him, than just being part of his cover.