From Wikipedia: “Flower of Evil” is a South Korean television series starring Lee Joon-gi, Moon Chae-won, Jang Hee-jin, and Seo Hyun-woo. It aired on tvN every Wednesday and Thursday from July 29 to September 23, 2020, and streamed internationally on iQIYI, Viki and ViuTV with multi-languages subtitles. Episode 16 (Finale) earned 6.639% viewership.
How I wrote these episode summaries with no spoilers
1. I assumed that you will be reading these summaries and watching the videos chronologically.
2. I narrated some of the main actions in each episode, without revealing the plot’s twists and turns.
3. At the beginning of each summary starting with Episode 2, I placed in a table a recap of the major twists and turns of the previous episode. But because you have already watched the video of the previous episode, they aren’t spoilers anymore.
4. With Episode 16 (Finale), however, I included spoilers through the screen captures. Reason — people who have not seen this drama want to know whether it has a good/happy ending or a sad ending before they invest their time in watching it.
Episode 1
A man struggles as he’s tied hand and foot and drowning in a swimming pool. A woman dives into the pool and tries to save the man.
Baek Hee Seong (a metal craftsman) and Cha Ji Won (a police detective) are a happily married couple with a young daughter. But their marriage is marred by the tense relationship between Ji Won and Hee Seong’s parents.
Ji Won and her team are assigned to investigate the attempted murder of a teenage boy, with the principal suspect being the boy’s father. Despite the bold claim by Choi Jae Sub, a rude senior detective, the father is guilty, Ji Won believes that the father is innocent.
In the hospital, Ji Won and her junior detective (Jo Hoon) meet Kim Moo Jin, a tabloid news reporter, who’s also investigating the boy’s case. (Moo Jin has also been writing about the serial murders that happened in Yeonju City 18 years ago and which ended with the suspect’s suicide.) In a restaurant later on, Ji Won bribes him with a pen that Hee Sung crafted in exchange for some publicity in social media about Hee Seong’s store.
Ji Won and her junior detective study the CCTV footage of everything and everyone in the building at the time of the incident; on the other hand, Jae Sub, follows up on the alibi of the boy’s father.
While interviewing the boy’s mother about what she found in the CCTV footage, Ji Won gets a text message from Jae Sub saying that the father is having an affair with the person he mentioned in his alibi.
Episode 2
| Ep. 1 recap: Ji Won and her team find out that the boy fell down the stairs in an accident involving a small dog. But they also find out that the boy’s father is having an affair with a medical doctor. To facilitate the divorce and gain custody of the boy, the father and the doctor have been substituting the mother’s vitamin pills with medicine that have impaired her judgment and behavior. Moo Jin recognizes Hee Seong as Do Hyun Su, the suspect in the killing of a village foreman 18 years ago. Hee Seong chokes Moo Jin unconscious; he then restrains him with zip ties and locks him up in the basement. |
After reminding Moo Jin of what he and his friends did to him 18 years ago when he was still known as Do Hyun Su, Hee Seong forces Moo Jin to give up the password to his phone. Meanwhile, Ji Won and her team begin investigating the murder of an elderly woman who was being taken care of by a welfare center. Seeing that the woman’s thumbnails were pulled out, Jo Hoon (the junior detective) says it’s similar to what happened to the victims of the Yeonju City serial murders.
The coroner later confirms to Ji Won that the woman’s case is similar to the Yeonju City serial murder cases and that the suspect’s name was Do Min Seok. But during the meeting at the police station with their superiors, Jae Sub insists that it was a copycat killing. Later on, he finds out from the social worker that the elderly woman left all her wealth to the welfare center, completely cutting off her son.
From Moo Jin’s notebook, Hee Seong finds out that Moo Jin is scheduled to meet a man who claims to have information about Do Hyun Su.
Episode 3
| Ep. 2 recap: Moo Jin and his schoolmates accused Do Hyun Su (aka Hee Seong) and his father of committing the serial murders. Hee Seong tells Moo Jin that he killed the village foreman. Based on the DNA evidence, the CCTV footage, and the evidence that Jae Sub found, Ji Won arrests the social worker for the coldblooded murder of the elderly woman. The man who Moo Jin was supposed to meet stole Do Hyun Su’s money and tried to kill him 18 years ago. To Hee Seong’s surprise, the man says that Do Hyun Su has been harassing him. Later, the man is murdered on a rainy night by a man wearing a black hooded raincoat and who bought a dog leash similar to the one used in the Yeonju City serial murders. Ji Won is surprised to see Hee Seong coming home early in the morning, wearing a black hooded raincoat. |
Hee Seong explains away to Ji Won why he was coming home early in the morning and wearing a hooded raincoat. Later, he remembers questioning Moo Jin about a story that he posted online and a video about a murder that he claimed to have witnessed.
Ji Won and her junior detective investigate the murder of Nam Soon-kil, the man who Moo Jin was supposed to meet. They notice the similarities to the way he died with how the victims of the Yeonju City serial murders died. After seeing the CCTV footage, Ji Won remembers Hee Seong wearing the same hooded raincoat that the murder suspect wore. Later on, she finds out that the last person who Nam Soon-kil talked to on the phone was Moo Jin.
Hee Seong sneaks into Moo Jin’s apartment and retrieves the video files from his laptop. But while he’s there, Ji Won, her junior detective, and two firefighters arrive at the apartment; after knocking and getting no response, Ji Won orders the firefighters to break the door down. Meanwhile, back in the basement, Moo Jin has managed to cut himself loose from the zip ties.
Episode 4
| Ep. 3 recap: While hanging from the ledge of Moo Jin’s 10th-story apartment, Hee Seong calls Moo Jin on the phone, saying that he’s with Moo Jin. Hee Seong allows Moo Jin to go free, threatening that he will ruin Moo Jin’s career as a journalist by releasing the video from the camcorder. At the police station, Moo Jin realizes that Hee Seong didn’t kill Nam Soon-kil; he also realizes that Hee Seong didn’t kill the village foreman and that a murderer is on the loose. As Do Hyun Su escapes, he’s hit by a car. He later on takes the identity of the real but comatose Hee Seong. |
Ji Won tracks down Hae Su (Do Hyun Su’s sister), but Hae Su says that she hasn’t heard from or seen Hee Seong for the last 18 years. Later, at the police station, Moo Jin and the owner of the Chinese restaurant get together with the artist to come up with a sketch of how Do Hyun Su looks at the present.
Hee Seong pretends to be Moo Jin and interviews the widow of Nam Soon-kil.
After watching the news about Nam Soon-kil’s murder, an old woman from Yeonju City goes through a photo album and finds a picture of Do Hyun Su taken only five years ago. When she calls up the police station, she reaches Ji Won.
Together with her junior detective, Ji Won travels to Yeonju City to retrieve the picture. But Hee Seong and Moo Jin also rush to the city.
Moo Jin plans to sweet talk the old woman into showing him the picture. But upon entering the house, he finds the old woman tied up and lying on the floor; he’s also attacked by a man wearing a black raincoat.
Episode 5
| Ep. 4 recap: Jae Sub finds the listening device hidden in the taxi driver’s tumbler. He also learns that the taxi driver is the husband of one of the victims in the Yeonju City serial murders and that he blames Do Hyun Su as an accomplice in her murder. Ji Won runs after a man she believes to be Do Hyun Su (but who’s actually Hee Seong) into a warehouse. She and Hee Seong struggle fiercely with each other, but Hee Sung protects her from being hurt and escapes. Later on, however, the police officers give her a watch found in the warehouse. The watch’s leather strap was the one she gave as a birthday present for Hee Sung. |
Ji Won is stunned to see that the watch found in the warehouse belongs to Hee Seong.
Back at the station, chaos breaks out as the chief blames Ji Won’s superior for allowing a killer to get away and Jae Sub for having been fooled by Kyung-choon who planted the listening device on the tumbler. Meanwhile, while getting medical treatment, Moo Jin finds out something about the murder of Kyung-choon’s wife.
Kyung-choon kidnaps Hee Seong and ties his hands to the drain pipe of a swimming pool. When Hee Seong denies knowing anything about what happened to his wife, Kyung-choon begins to fill the swimming pool with water.
Ji Won’s superior visits Hee Seong’s parents (Dr. Baek and Mi-ja) and informs them about the kidnapping. Meanwhile, Hae Su is besieged by news reporters.
In despair, Ji Won screams at Jae Sub over the phone to think of something that will help them find where Kyung-choon is holding Hee Seong.
Episode 6
| Ep. 5 recap: Moo Jin finds out that somebody witnessed Kyung-choon’s wife being forced into Do Min Seok’s car. The junior detective hesitates in shooting Kyung-choon, and Jae Sub struggles with Kyung-choon, who hits his head against a metal pipe. Ji Won rescues Hee Seong ftom the swimming pool; she tries to resuscitate him but fails. |
Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) regains consciousness after 10 days. But tension erupts between his parents Dr. Baek and Mi-ja, and Jae Sub insists on questioning him on why Kyung-choon kidnapped and tortured him; he warns Hee Seong about lying because Kyung-choon will surely reveal everything once he regains consciousness,
Moo Jin finds and pressures the witness who saw Kyung-choon’s wife being forced into Do Min Seok’s car. But the witness is terrified about Do Min Seok’s accomplice and refuses to talk. Meanwhile, Nam Soon-kil’s widow calls up Ji Won about a duffle bag containing evidence against Do Hyun Su. Later, after taking home a forensics kit from the police station, Ji Won studies the records of the village foreman’s murder, including Do Hyun Su’s psychiatric records.
At the filming location, Hae Su is besieged by reporters. One reporter has also searched Do Min Seok’s workshop and found some new evidence.
Acting on his Dr. Baek’s directions to kill Kyung-choon before he can reveal everything, Hee Seong disguises himself and fools the police detective into letting him into Kyung-choon’s room.
Episode 7
| Ep. 6 recap: The witness finally agrees to talk, and in Moo Jin and his boss’s presence, she plays the recorded warning of Do Min Seok’s accomplice. Ji Won forces her way into Hee Seong’s basement; using the forensics kit, she finds blood and a zip tie. Hee Seong stops himself from killing Kyung-choon after Kyung-choon says that he wants to live longer so that he can find Do Min Seok’s accomplice. Later, Kyung-choon confesses to the police about killing Nam Soon-kil and kidnapping Hee Seong; he also pleads for the reopening of the investigation into the Yeonju City serial murders. |
Flashback, 2005 ... Do Hyun Su (Hee Seong) wakes up in the house of the young man whose car crashed into him.
Ji Win finds out more about the Baek family and how Do Hyun Su (Hee Seong) had been pretending to be the real Hee Seong, but she pretends that everything is okay. Meanwhile, Moo Jin’s video of the recorded warning of the Yeonju City serial murderer becomes viral on social network sites; he’s also interviewed in TV news channels.
Hae Su visits Moo Jin in his office, offering to do an interview. Meanwhile, Ji Won reviews Do Hyun Su’s psychiatric interviews when he was a child; when she finds out that his violence is triggered by a tape recorder, she remembers the tape recorder inside the bag that Nam Soon-kil’s wife gave to her.
Ji Won manipulates Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) into going with her back to Do Min Seok’s workshop in Yeonju City. Meanwhile, Hae Su shocks Moo Jin with her confession.
Episode 8
| Ep. 7 recap: Hae Su confesses to Moo Jin that she killed the village foreman. In the basement where Do Min Seok locked up his victims, Ji Won confronts Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) by playing the tape. Later, she plants a tracking device on his new watch. |
Despite Ji Won’s protest, her team is assigned to re-investigate the Yeonju City serial murders. Meanwhile, Moo Jin arranges a meeting between Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) and his sister Hae Su. But, through the tracking device, Ji Won learns about the meeting.
While Eun-ha (Ji Won and Hee Seong’s daughter) is in their house, the parents of the real Hee Seong (Dr. Baek and Mi-Ja) blame each other for what has been happening to their lives. Mi-Ja says that Dr. Baek has been keeping Hee Sung alive only because of his selfishness.
Hee Seong and Hae Su think that their father Do Min Seok’s accomplice was the man who gave Hae Su the fish keychain during the funeral. Meanwhile, Jae Sub says that they should focus on arresting Do Hyun Su, but Ji Won says that Do Hyun Su wasn’t the accomplice.
While at his office, Dr. Baek receives a frantic message from the housekeeper; his wife Mi-Ja has locked herself up Hee Sung’s room.
Episode 9
| Ep. 8 recap: Do Hyun Su (Hee Seong) and Hae Su are reunited. While listening in to their conversation, Ji Won overhears Do Hyun Su say that he has never felt any love for her. Ji Won burns the duffle bag, the tape recorder, and the fish keychain. Later on, she surprises Moo Jin, Do Hyun Su (Hee Seong), and Hae Su by appearing in their meeting place. As Dr. Baek struggles with his wife Mi-ja who wants to end Hee Seong’s life, Hee Sung wakes up from his coma. |
The real Hee Seong wakes up from his coma; meanwhile, Ji Won meets Hae Su in Moo Jin’s apartment and finds out that they are trying to find Do Min Seok’s accomplice. When Hae Su says that her brother Do Hyun Su cannot be the accomplice, Ji Won says that the psychiatric reports say that he’s capable of doing cruel things. Later on, Hae Su tells Moo Jin that she’ll undergo hypnosis to try and remember the accomplice’s face.
Hee Seong visits the bar which he and his father visited on the day when Mi-seok disappeared. Meanwhile, Ji Won sets herself as a bait and begins calling all the people who Mi-seok called up before she disappeared.
Ji Won meets with Jung-soon, the associate of Sang-chul, the owner of the company that advertises big pay for anyone who applies, regardless of age or experidnce. When Ji Won tries to arrest her, Jung-soon escapes through the balcony, but she loses her grip and falls several stories below.
Episode 10
| Ep. 9 recap: Ji Won tells Hee Seong that she doesn’t love him anymore. The bartender leads Hee Seong to Sang-chul; when Sang-chul and his men threaten him, Hee Seong holds him off by saying that he needs his help just like the way that his father Do Min Seok did. |
Later on, Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) masks his voice and calls up the police station. After asking for protection, he tells Jae Sub about Sang-chul’s human trafficking activities.
Hae Su visits a hypnotherapist to try and remember anything about her father’s accomplice.
Jae Sub gets a call from the old woman who had Do Hyun’s picture and who was attacked by Kyung-choon; the woman tells him that she found Moo Jin’s recorder and heard something strange in it.
Tension arises when Ji Won objects to Jae Sub and her boss when they say that besides busting Sang-chul’s operation, they can also capture Do Hyun Su.
Episode 11
| Ep. 10 recap: Through the hypnotherapy session, Hae Su remembers that her father’s accomplice had a green silicon bracelet with a distinctive logo; later, she finds out that the logo is that of a university hospital. Through Moo Jin’s recorder, Jae Sub finally finds out that Ji Won knew all along that Hee Seong is actually Do Hyun Su. |
In Sang-chul’s office, Do Hyun Su turns over the money to Sang-chul, with Moo Jin listening in through the transmitter hidden in the money bag. But Sang-chul gets a call from Dr. Baek, who tells him that Do Hyun Su is working with the police.
Jae Sub, Ji Won, and the other police officers raid the hideout where the prisoners are being kept. Meanwhile, Hae Su visits Dr. Baek and reveals everything that Do Hyun Su told her about her father’s accomplice.
Episode 12
| Ep. 11 recap: Ji Won rescues Do Hyun Su from Sang-chul; but the next day, Sang-chul escapes from the hospital, and Jae Sub arrives to arrest Do Hyun Su. The real Hee Seong was Do Min Seok’s accomplice in the serial murders. |
Despite Moo Jin’s protest, Hae Su goes to the police station to confess that she killed the village foreman.
While being hunted by the police, Sang-chul calls up Dr. Baek and says that he can still kill Do Hyun Su.
Terrified of Hee Seong, the maid-caregiver tells Hee Seong’s mother that she’s quitting her job; she also demands money in exchange for keeping silent about everything that she has learned about the family’s secrets.
Episode 13
| Ep. 12 recap: To Ji Won and Do Hyun Su’s surprise, Jae Sub chooses not to arrest Do Hyun Su. Later on, he agrees with Do Hyun Su’s plan on how to catch Sang-chul. Ji Won tells Hae Su to remain silent about what really happened to the village foreman. Hee Seong kills the maid-caregiver. While he and Dr. Baek are about to dispose of her body, Do Hyun Su and Ji Won arrive. |
Dr. Baek and his wife show Ji Won and Do Hyun Su that Hee Seong is in a coma; he also promises that Do Hyun Su can continue living as Hee Seong. When Do Hyun Su accuses him of being Do Min Seok’s accomplice, Dr. Baek denies it and questions Ji Won’s integrity as a police officer. Meanwhile, Jae Sub waits at the summer house for Sang-chul to appear.
Someone begins stalking Hae Su, and Do Hyun Su gets a threatening phone call. Later on, the maid-caregiver’s body is found, and Ji Won finds out that Do Hyun Su’s fingerprint matches the fingerprint on the tape used to bind the maid-caregiver.
After Jae Sun interviews Dr. Baek’s wife, he’s forced to reveal to his boss that Ji Won’s husband is actually Do Hyun Su.
Episode 14
| Ep. 13 recap: With Dr. Baek and his mother’s help, Hee Seong frames Do Hyun Su for the murder of the maid-caregiver. Jung Mi-seok turns up alive, and Sang-chul takes her to Do Min Seok’s old house. Do Hyun Su breaks down mentally when Ji Won handcuffs him; he grabs a knife and takes her hostage. |
The police chief berates Jae Sub and his boss for having been fooled about Hee Seong’s real identity as Do Hyun Su; later, as Moo Jin shelters Hae Su in his apartment, the news breaks out that Do Hyun Su has taken Ji Won as a hostage.
In a meeting with Dr. Baek, the police commissioner asks the police chief to overlook Dr. Baek’s involvement with Do Hyun Su.
Sang-chul calls up Hee Seong and demands half a million US dollars in exchange for turning Mi-sook over to him. Later on, Do Hyun Su calls up Sang-chul and negotiates for Mi-sook’s release.
Moo Jin is arrested by police detectives for helping Do Hyun Su hide his identity; meanwhile, a patrol officer finds Ji Won inside a hotel room, handcuffed to a table.
Ji Won returns to the police station and meets with the police chief, her boss, and Jae Sub. But after the meeting, the police chief calls up Dr. Baek and says that while Ji Won has returned safely, Do Hyun Su is still on the loose.
Hae Su returns to her apartment and sees someone trying to break in. She chases the intruder, and as Jae Sub and the junior detective catch the intruder out on the street, she shouts that it’s Do Min Seok’s accomplice.
Episode 15
| Ep. 14 recap: To Ji Won and Do Hyun Su’s surprise, Jae Sub chooses not to arrest Do Hyun Su. Later on, he agrees with Do Hyun Su’s plan on how to catch Sang-chul. Ji Won tells Hae Su to remain silent about what really happened to the village foreman. Hee Seong kills the maid-caregiver. While he and Dr. Baek are about to dispose of her body, Do Hyun Su and Ji Won arrive. |
Moo Jin finds Hae Su bleeding profusely from the knife wound and rushes her to the hospital.
Do Hyun Su finds Mi-sook locked inside a cage in his father’s basement; he reassures her and then waits for Hee Seong to arrive. Meanwhile, Ji Won’s boss decides to leak to the media that Ji Won died in the attack.
Moo Jin goes to Dr. Baek’s house and demands to see the list that Hae Su was asking for; there, he finds the hidden room where Hee Seong was kept during his coma.
Hee Seong arrives in Do Min Seok’s house; after handing over the money to Sang-chul, he goes to see and kill Mi-sook. But he couldn’t unlock the cage, and Do Hyun Su attacks him from behind.
Episode 16, Finale (with spoilers)
| Ep. 15 recap: Ji Won tells Hee Seong that she doesn’t love him anymore. Hee Seong poisons Sang-chul. Dr. Baek couldn’t kill Moo Jin; he and his wife break down and realize the total mess that they have made with their lives and that of Hee Seong. Ji Won and her team arrive just in time to prevent Do Hyun Su from killing Hee Seong. But Hee seong grabs the gun of a police officer; he aims to shoot Ji Won but instead hits Do Hyun Su in the head. |
Do Hyun Su recovers from the gunshot but has memory lapses of who he was and his relationship with Ji Won. He begins living in Moo Jin’s apartment, and Ji Won plans to divorce him.
Jae Sub and the team find the silver box with the fingernails of the serial murder victims buried in Dr. Baek’s backyard.
Dr. Baek is confined in a psychiatric hospital, having begun to lose his sanity.
Hae Su is charged for the village foreman’s murder; during her trial, Do Hyun Su testifies on her behalf. The prosecution discredits his testimony with the jurors, but Jae Sub remembers the statement of a witness, the nephew of the village foreman.
Ji Won is cleared of any complicity in hiding Do Hyun Su’s real identity.
As he consults with a real estate agent on buying a new house, Do Hyun Su ends up in his workshop; there, he finds the notebooks where he had written everything he felt and thought about Ji Won.
Historical backgrounders and other information
1. “Flower of Evil” revolves around the fictional Yeonju City serial murders committed by the male lead character’s father and an accomplice. South Korea has had serial killings since 1975; these serial killers acted alone, except for the Jijon clique that had six members.
South Korea’s most notorious serial killers (Korea Herald)
‘Worst serial killer’ ID exposes shady South Korean police methods (Nikkei)
South Korea Police Solve 'Memories of Murder' Serial Killer Case, Apologize for Mistakes (Hollywood reporter)
“Flower of Evil” had ratings of 5.246% (Ep. 5.536% (Ep. 15), and 6.639% (Ep. 16, Finale). It had an average of 4.463% for the series.
3. K-drama Flower of Evil starring Lee Joon-gi and Moon Chae-won – 5 of the biggest plot holes in the TVN smash hit ahead of the season finale (South China Morning Post)
4. “Flower Of Evil” Director Praises The Cast, Discusses The Hardest Scenes To Film, And More (Soompi)
5. Watch: “Flower Of Evil” Cast Shares Behind-The-Scenes Look At Final Filming (Soompi)
6. “Flower Of Evil” Director Explains His Intentions Behind Impactful Episode Ending Scenes (Soompi)
7. Exclusive: Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won’s Philippine Interview (Metro)
Lessons in photography from “Flower of Evil”
A. In-depth analysis of the cinematography (visuals) of “Flower of Evil”
Studio Binder in its article “What is Cinematography? Defining the Art and Craft” enumerates the elements of cinematography as (1) lighting, (2) shot size, (3) camera focus, (4) shot composition, (5) camera placement, and (6) camera movement.
I’m using the term “cinematography” in a broad sense, however, to include (1) how the director blocked the actors and staged the scene, and (2) how the editor put the shots together to create an aesthetically pleasing narrative. Perhaps, instead of saying that “Flower of Evil” has excellent cinematography, I should say that it has excellent visuals.
1. This shot of Ji Won from Ep. 3 is beautifully composed through the use of negative space. No Film School in its article “What’s Negative Space and How Can You Use It Effectively in Your Own Films?” says: “Negative space is simply the space around and between the subject of a composition. For example, in a wide shot of a man standing in an empty field, the sky, ground, and everything in between would be considered negative space.”
For more information on negative space, please read “How to Effectively Use Negative Space in Your Shots” (Videomaker).
2. This wide shot from Ep. 1 shows Ji Won after talking to her mother-in-law who bluntly told her that they should consider each other as dead. To highlight Ji Won’s disappointment and despair over her failure to earn her mother-in-law’s affection, the cinematographer shoots her from a high angle point of view and frames her with the stairs and railings as if she’s trapped; the “busyness” of the foreground elements also depicts Ji Won’s conflicting emotions.
3. This shot from Ep. 5 shows Ji Won failing to resuscitate Hee Seong after rescuing him from the swimming pool. Notice that Ji Won is (almost) at the center vertically, while Hee Seong is at the center horizontally. Notice also their reflections on the floor. The situation is bleak, but the shot’s composition, lighting, and colors are gorgeous.
4. This shot from Ep. 1 shows Hee Sung, Ji Won, and their daughter Eun-ha on the right side of the frame and Hee Sung’s parents on the left side; this symmetrical shot effectively depicts the strained relationship between them that previously was just mentioned in dialogues between Ji Won and Hee Seong or between Ji Won and her daughter Eun-ha.
If you watch this scene closely, you will notice that this shot is repeated. The first time, the camera moves slightly to the left, subtly leading the viewer’s attention to Ji Won, Hee Seong, and Eun-ha (who are frame right); the next shot then shows Eun-ha in a medium close-up. The second time, the camera moves slightly to the right, subtly leading the viewer’s attention to Hee Seong’s parents (who are frame left); the next shot then shows Ji Won’s mother-in-law in a medium close-up.
5. Cross cutting in Ep. 2 between Jae Sub and the social worker to depict contrast
From Wikipedia: “Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time, and usually in the same place. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions but this is not always the case.”
While reviewing the CCTV footage, Jae Sub gets an insight on where the social worker might have dumped the evidence. He goes up to the rooftop, and as he walks toward what looks like a bin of some sort, the scene cross cuts between him (present, at daytime) and the social worker (previously, at nighttime) as she dumped the evidence. The cross cutting not only provides suspense but also contrast between day (searching for the truth) and night (hiding the truth).
6. Excellent tracking shots to show contrast
Studio Binder defines “tracking shot” as “any shot that physically moves the camera through the scene for an extended amount of time. Tracking shots often follow a traveling subject, though they can be used to simply show off the scene.”
At the end of Ep. 1, we have two tracking shots of Moo Jin being held captive in the basement of Hee Seong’s house.
Tracking shot 1: This is actually composed of two tracking shots that are joined through editing; the cutoff point when one tracking shot ends and the other one begins is when the camera reaches the basement door.
What makes this tracking shot meaningful is that it starts from the shot of Ji Won, Hee Seong, and their daughter having a happy time as a family and ends, in stark contrast, with a look of terror in Moo Jin’s eyes.
Tracking shot 2: This is actually composed of three tracking shots; first tracking shot starts from close up of Moo Jin and moves away and up to the stairs and basement door; second tracking shot is from the basement door up to some shelves on the workshop, with the third tracking shot starting from those shelves and ending with the shot of the house’s facade.
In Tracking shot 2, the camera doesn’t actually move backwards; the tracking shot was done with the camera moving forward, but the shot was edited to show it in “reverse motion.”
Tracking shot 3: This is actually composed of two tracking shots. The camera moves from a medium shot of Hee Seong and his daughter to zoom in on a glass frame; the shot then turns to black, and then shows Ji Won in a zoom out as she watches the interrogation from behind a one-way mirror.
7. Lateral movement across the frame (left to right OR right to left):
This scene from Ep. 8 shows Ji Won on an elevated walkway; notice that, at the start, she walks across the frame from right to left. When I first saw that shot, I thought that the cinematographer didn’t know the guideline on lateral movement or that maybe the editor messed up in editing the shots from that scene.
No Film School in its article “Left or Right? Why a Character’s Lateral Movement On-Screen Matters in Film” says:
“If there’s only one tenet of filmmaking you learn today, let it be that everything, everything in your film matters — including the direction your characters are moving on-screen.”
The effects of the lateral movement of a character have been known and used by cinematographers since the days of Alfred Hitchcock. But the article cites a 2012 study from the Cleveland State University titled “Which Way Did He Go? Directionality of Film Character and Camera Movement and Subsequent Spectator Interpretation” that validates these effects. (The YouTube video titled “Which Way Did He Go? Lateral Character Movement in Film” provides a simple explanation of the study.)
The YouTube video explains:
- left to right movement indicates positivity, progress and normality;
- right to left movement indicates the opposite.
The video further states that with the direction in which a character moves, the filmmaker can instill a positive or negative emotional response on the audience.
So was the cinematographer (or the editor) of “Flower of Evil” wrong in first shooting or showing Ji Won in that walkway scene moving from right to left? After reviewing that scene and understanding its context, I think that the cinematographer brilliantly handled this scene. Remember that in this scene, Ji Won’s world has just collapsed after she overheard Hee Seong say that he doesn’t feel any love for her. I realized that in this scene, Ji Won was walking back and forth aimlessly on the walkway, and that shooting her first moving from right to left heightens the viewer’s awareness of her emotional agitation.
You’ll notice that at the end of the scene, Ji Won is walking from right to left, with a grim look on her face. I believe that at that point, as an upright police officer, she decided to expose Hee Seong as Do Hyun Su. But then, in the next scene, as she saw her reflection on the glass window, she changed her mind and decided to allow Do Hyun Su to continue living as Hee Seong.
For more information, please read “How to read a movie” by noted film critic Roger Ebert.
8. Rack focus on Hee Seong’s eyes
Simply stated, “rack focus” is when one character or an object, let’s say A, is in focus and the other character or object, let’s say B, is not in focus. A then becomes out of focus, and B becomes in focus.
In this scene from Ep. 5, Hee Seong and Ji Won have just kissed, but Hee Seong sees the image of his father who has blacked out eyes. Notice that at the beginning of the shot, Hee Seong’s left eye is in focus, while his right eye is out of focus. Then, his left eye becomes out of focus, while his right eye becomes in focus.
9. Main device used by the cinematographer to show “duality” — reflections from mirrors and other surfaces
Before I started watching this drama, I read that the drama focuses on the dual nature (good and evil) of the main character Hee Seong/Do Hwon Su. Later, as I was looking for the official posters, I came across posters that described the “duality” of the main characters. As stated in the Soompi article I mentioned above, the director said that the drama has lots of hidden contrasts between good and bad, lies and truth, love and hate.
Shots of reflections from mirrors or other surfaces are nothing new in movies and dramas, whether Western or Korean. For example, here’s a shot of a reflection of Moon Chae-won as “Se-ryung” in “The Princess’s Man.” I think I first became aware of shots of reflections in K-dramas when I was watching “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” back in 2014.
For more information, please read these articles from No Film School: “Looking Glass: A Supercut of Mirror Shots” and “Watch: How Nicolas Winding Refn Uses Reflections to Make Us See” (an analysis of how reflections are used in the movie “The Neon Demon” starring Elle Fanning).
It was only after watching Ep. 8 of “Flower of Evil” that I became convinced that the cinematographer was using shots of reflections from mirrors or other reflective surfaces either to show duality or as a recurring device. I’m referring to that scene with the shot of Ji Won’s reflection on the glass window of an eatery when she was wandering aimlessly after overhearing Hee Seong say that he doesn’t feel any love for her.
In Ep. 4, Hee Seong even breaks a mirror and uses part of it as a weapon against the taxi driver.
Examples of reflection shots:
Other observations about the use of reflections in this drama:
(a) In this scene, we can see the reflection of Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) adjusting the blanket over Ji Won; the reflection is used simply for aesthetic purposes.
(b) In Ep. 8, the young boy featured in Ep. 1 applies for a job in Sang-chul’s office, not knowing, despite the fantastic claims in the flyer, what he’s really getting into. To show this disconnect, the director and the cinematographer give us a shot of the reflections of the young boy on the TV screen.
(c) The first picture below shows Ji Won’s reflection on the audio device that her team uses to communicate and record their conversation with Do Hyun Su. Notice, however, that with the way Ji Won and her team members are positioned as shown in the 2nd picture below, there’s no way that her reflection could have possibly appeared in that audio device.
10. “My Drama List” has an excellent series of articles written by someone with the username “3GGG.” These articles are:
Popular Visual Cues found in K-Dramas [Part 1]: visual ways to establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more characters; visual ways to establish trust, understanding, or an alliance between two or more characters.
Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas [Part 2]: boxing to establish a character’s vulnerability, solitude, or fear; comfort and respite; change; danger; showdown
Popular Visual Cues in K-Drama [Part 3]: Dutch angle
These MDL articles on visual cues will help you better understand and appreciate K-dramas; I highly recommended them to you. (I prefer, however, the term “framing” instead of “boxing,” and I have discussed Dutch angles in my previous posts.)
10-A. Using lines or objects to establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more characters:
(1) In Ep. 10, Jae Sub stands firm that he will arrest Do Hyun Su, despite Ji Won begging on her knees. At the end of Ep. 11, Ji Won and Do Hyun Su face Jae Sub, who has come to arrest Do Hyun Su. Based on Part 1 of the MDL article, notice that the iron fence and gate create lines of division between Ji Won and Do Hyun Su on one side and Jae Sub on the other side.
(2) In Ep. 1, Moo Jin realizes in fear that Ji Won’s husband Hee Seong is actually Do Hyun Su, the son of the serial murderer. Notice that they’re separated by a line created by the side of a wall.
(3) In Ep. 10, Ji Won screams and pleads with Do Hyun Su to run away because Jae Sub has found out his real identity. Notice the line, created by the doorway, that separates them. (Notice also that Ji Won is boxed or framed separately from Do Hyun Su, which visually reinforces the tension and her feelings of despair.)
10-B. Poetic and creative way of using lines to show division between characters
A shot may contain only one character but may contain an object that represents another character. For example, in this picture, you can see Hae Su seated, on the right side of the frame, after having just argued with Moo Jin. The director and the cinematographer use this shot to show the division between Hae Su and Moo Jin. You might ask, “How? Moo Jin isn’t in the shot?” Answer: The floor lamp represents Moo Jin; remember that Moo Jin bought and installed that floor lamp for Hae Su.
10-C. Using “boxing” (framing) to show division between characters
(1) In Ep. 9, Ji Won tells Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) that she doesn’t love him anymore. Notice that they are boxed or framed separately to reinforce visually the tension between them.
In this more frontal shot, Ji Won and Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) are still framed separately, but there’s also a line between them.
(2) In this scene, Hae Su berates Moo Jin for abandoning her at the moment when she most needed him. Notice that they are boxed or framed separately by the buildings behind them. Additionally, the side of the building that frames Hae Su creates a line of separation between her and Moo Jin.
(3) In this scene, Hee Seong has just received a phone call from Ji Won intended for Do Hyun Su. When Hee Seong remembers that Ji Won promised to call hom at 10 PM, he begins to think that Ji Won already knows his real identity. The director placed Hee Seong (Do Hyun Su) from behind the glass window, where he’s boxed or framed by two or more frames.
11. To show Ji Won’s troubled state of mind, the director and the cinematographer either use (1) a wide shot or (2) lower quadrant composition. To reinforce her troubled state of mind, Ji Won is shown dwarfed by the buildings behind her.
12. Criticisms of the cinematography of “Flower of Evil”: short siding and eyeline mismatch
Short siding: In my previous discussions, I’ve stated my objections to the use of short siding. The usual justification for using short siding is that it creates or heightens emotional tension in the viewer. But, hey, has that been proven in the same way that the effects of lateral movements has been proven in a scientific study?
Eyeline match: If a character is frame right and looking to the left, the viewer will expect that the person the character is speaking to will be frame left and looking to the right. This creates in the viewer’s mind that the characters are facing and talking to each other. If not, then there’s eyeline mismatch.
Example 1: This picture shows Hee Seong in frame left (short sided) and looking to the left. But in the next shot, his mother is frame right, looking also to the left.
Example 2: Hee Seong is frame left, looking to the right. But Ji Won is also frame left, looking to the right.
Example 3: The taxi driver is frame left and looking to the left (short sided). But Hee Seong is frame right, looking to the left.
For more information about eyeline match, please read “Film 101: What Are Eyelines? How To Use Eyeline Match To Tell A Story and Drive A Narrative” (Masterclass).
B. Lessons in photography from “Flower of Evil”
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| Foreground and background blur |
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| Foreground and background blur |
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| Converging line |
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| Natural frames |
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| Reflections |
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| Dutch angle (90 degrees) |
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| Reflection |
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| Background blur |
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| Converging lines |
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| Lead room, looking space |
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| High angle shot |
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| Fill the frame |
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| Reflection |
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| Reflections |
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| Reflection |
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| Dutch angle, short siding |
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| Reflection |
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| Dutch angle |
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| Dutch angle |
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| Negative space |
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| Keystoning |
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| Dutch angle |
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| Establishing shot |
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| Symmetry and balance |
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| Reflection |
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| Symmetry and balance |
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| Symmetry and balance |
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| Dutch angle or Dutch tilt |
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| Out of focus highlights |
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| Reflection |
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| Rule of Odds |
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| Linear perspective, shooting against the light |
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