Flower of Evil 악의 꽃 - Episode 4 (Recap)

kakashi: Nice. Just fool us, drama :D The tables turn, then turn again. Feeling as dizzy as I am? 

JoAnne: I just keep focused on the belief that Hyun Su is misunderstood. Well, not misunderstood, but badly treated and ostracized and backed into corners. Having a personality disorder does not make you a killer. Having a crazy, serial killer father does not make you a killer. I'm staking my heart on him being a peaceful person at his core.  

Episode 4

A flashback - it's Do Hyun-su and Ji-won's first date. Well, for her. He claims he isn't interested. He is acting very weird, cannot understand her or read her though she's simply and beautifully smitten with him. But there's this moment... he is out in the rain, she smiles... and when he sees that smile, his own lips start to quiver and they pull into a smile as well! It's like he cannot help himself.

That moment, right there. That's the moment I decided they're not going to make him a killer, that no matter what, he doesn't have that in him. Though, if they do...that's going to be a heartbreakingly epic move.

But much too soon, that smile falters and wanes. Hyun-su's face takes on an expression of horror as his gaze shifts to a point behind her. It's the ghost of his father!! Again, he has the dog leash in his hand and he has a mocking expression on his face. When Ji-won turns her head, the ghost disappears. Hyun-su is shaking and demands to know how she can possibly like a guy like him. He turns around and walks away, leaving her in tears. 

See? He is SCARED of his father. Terrified. Haunted. He isn't like him, doesn't want to be like him, and importantly, doesn't want harm to come to others because of who his father is. Or was. Oh dear, now I'm thinking maybe he killed his father, but if he did I wouldn't fault him for it.

Back to the pharmacy where Hyun-su's mother is ripping into him for causing this mess - which mainly refers to him getting married (to the detective in charge of this current case no less!) instead of going to live abroad. She's really quite beside herself, isn't she? Still can't figure her out, she hits him and then is deeply sorry, but it's clear that the thought that "they" can be found is terrifying to her. In case we were unsure, Hyun-su knows about the real Hee-sung and the secret chamber. Like so often, he seems completely without emotion when he talks about him.

This particular bit of the mystery is deeply interesting to me.

Back to the scene that ended episode 3 - the father enters the chamber, his son needs "food", a substance administered by gavage. That stone-faced father seems to care for his son a lot (once again, I notice the mute (or deaf?) housekeeper... do you think it's to keep her from spilling secrets?). Hee-sung is some kind of math genius - or used to be before falling into a coma. Side note: when our dear reporter Moo-jin does some digging, he easily finds out that Hee-sung's "father" is Beak Man-woo, director of the Ilshin University Hospital.

I mean...mute or deaf people can still communicate, so...

The police find out that Do Min-suk had a daughter - Hyun-su's Noona. Cut to a gruesome scene in a swimming pool... looks like a body lying in his own blood with Do Hae-su (Jang Hee-Jin) bending over her recent kill. But ha! It's only a movie set.

Last episode I had been considering that she would be the killer, and man, I played right into their hands, didn't I? Alright show, I see you. You got me. That was good, jerking a rug you never even laid down out from under me. This writer...they knew where some of us would go even if they never said a word to make us think about it. They knew it and then they laughed at us for it. Very clever!

She is called away by detective Cha Ji-won. The meeting between the two is short, with the cop-wary and cop-weary Hae-su stressing that she hasn't seen her brother in 18 years, with no clue where he is. Apparently though, as Ji-won has found out, she hasn't sold the family's properties yet ... as if she wants to provide places of refuge for her little brother.  

I hope the sisters-in-law become friends. Although, Show...it occurs to me that just because she didn't kill that man doesn't mean she's not a killer...

 

Ji-won is a very smart cookie... she has Hyun-su don his black raincoat, but not because she suspects him. She notices that it's weird that Nam Soon-kil recognized his assailant even though he wore such a hoodie and a mask. Hyun-su is getting a little nervous though seeing how his wife continues to read reports long into the night. She talks about the father's influence on his son's disorder, the potential influence of DNA... and getting a sketch of Hyun-su's current face from his former boss - and Kim Moo-jin. 

Sorry, I am just eating UP the opportunity to watch Joon Gi be flat out affectionate and loving, even if it turns out to be fake.

Of course, first chance he gets, Hyun-su tells Moo-jin to make sure they don't get a good sketch of him. That threat is averted, but another one looms large - there's an old lady in Hyun-su's old village who has a photo of him from five years ago (actually, with pregnant Ji-won next to him!), taken by chance. When she hears in the news that they don't know Hyun-su's face, she calls the police and offers to give the photo to them.

Come ON. I can't remember what I walked into this room for, and Grandma remembers a face in a photo from 5 years ago?

That something is not quite right with the taxi driver we very briefly met as a witness in one of the previous episodes becomes apparent through several avenues. First, Hyun-su, posing as Kim Moo-jin, goes to talk to Nam Soon-kil's pregnant widow, trying to find out who could have known that her husband had a habit of staying at the restaurant late on that day he was murdered. She remembers that he was always picked up by the exact same taxi driver... Second, the driver is sitting outside the police station listening in on our detectives conversations through a coffee tumbler he "left" at the station when he was there - it's bugged! Third, a flashback - to Nam Soon-kil borrowing the taxi driver's phone to make a call. We see the fish badge dangling from it! Nam Soon-kil reacted quite strongly to it - because Hyun-su used to have it! That's how the taxi driver found out about the connection between Soon-kil and Hyun-su.

Does anyone else think that this pregnant woman is oddly calm?

Hyun-su asks Moo-jin to look into it, but Moo-jin has rather bad news - there's a photo of Hyun-su and they need to go get it. Right away. Cha Ji-won is already on her way there! We learn from the detectives' conversation that there were seven victims, but only six bodies were found. Ji-won also wonders about Do Min-suk's suicide... was it really suicide? She finds it strange that the fingernails from the left thumbs were never found. Maybe he shared them with... his son? *creepy as fook*

He ate them.

waiting at the red light (lmao, the street is completely empty)

 

Thanks to speeding and running red lights, our two frenemies are ahead of our detectives. On the road, Moo-jin tries to trick Hyun-su into telling him about his new identity by recording their conversation, but Hyun-su isn't fooled easily. He deletes all the files on the recording device! He also threatens Moo-jin - if he ever tells Ji-won about his past and his abnormality, he will really kill him. As for having feelings for Ji-won... Hyun-su says that he needs Ji-won by his side because his father "is scared of her". Yiiiiikes.

Meaning - Ji Won is the only person who's ever been able to make Hyun Su feel at least a little normal, experience something of a regular human experience. This would make his father's hold on him weaker and perhaps even destroy it entirely. Hyun Su loves and is grateful to Ji Won for making him feel things, which is possible because she - perhaps alone in the world - genuinely loves and supports him.

Going back to his home town is very painful for Hyun-su. He has a flashback to an exorcism performed on him by the villagers - the poor boy was terrified. Looks like he has PTSD, actually. The plan for getting back the photo is this: Hyun-su will hide, Moo-jin will go talk to the woman to find out where the photo is. Then, Hyun-su goes in to steal it - and that's that. However, when they get there and Hyun-su has dutifully hidden in a shed, Moo-jin finds the old woman bound and receives a wack over the head by ... yes, we all know by now, the taxi driver! Moo-jin's recording device falls out of his pocket when he loses consciousness. 

Good thing there's nothing on it. Or is there?

 

Hyun-su gets restless in his hiding place... and then, he sees a dark figure exiting the house. Right then, the detectives arrive... Hyun-su goes after the dark figure and manages to catch and dismask him before the assailant can flee into the forest. Well... Hyun-su has no clue who this guy is! Why Mr. Taxi is doing this? Because of someone called Jung Mi-Sook. Mr. Taxi tells Hyun-su to meet him alone at an inn nearby before he flees.

Trouble is, Cha Ji-won sees Hyun-su when he wants to scale the wall too... and he freezes when she calls out his name: "Do Hyun-su". He almost turns his head too.... noooooooo! Then he runs - with her right on his tail. He is fast! She is just as fast. They run and run until he dodges into a large shed. Okay, this drama will officially be the death of me --> There are several moments where it seems unavoidable that she sees him, but he manages to throw a hammer against the light before she can switch it on, throws a blanket over her and then throws himself on top of her so she won't get hurt when tools fall down from above. Awwww. It's those little things that drive home that he definitely cherishes her way more than he himself knows. After some truly vicious fighting, he manages to cuff her to a shelf and flees the scene.

Oh yeah, he definitely loves her - and he's terrified of getting caught, yes, but also and especially afraid that she will find out about his past. He doesn't want to lose her.

After this, Hyun-su heads to the inn where he is to meet with the taxi driver. Our poor pup is hurt and bleeding quite badly! From when he shielded his wife in the shed. 

See, you love Hyun Su too.

 

Meanwhile, Ji-won is rescued by her colleagues and is told that the person who stole the photo wasn't Do Hyun-su. The old woman testified that her assailant pestered her to tell him who on the photo Do Hyun-su is, revealing that he is after him but doesn't yet know him... the police question the villagers and we find out who has a deep grudge against Hyun-su: Jung Mi-Sook's husband, who is our taxi driver. She happens to be our seventh victim whose body was never found, he happens to be crazy and obsessed about finding his wife's body... his crazy plan? Kill Soon-kil and make it appear like it was Hyun-su so that the police would start investigating Hyun-su again. 

Tell me how they know she's the seventh victim if they've never found her body?

Fingernails, I guess... 

A confirmation shot of Mr. Rain Cloak in his lair... one side of the wall is full of "Missing" print outs. Of Jung Mi-Sook.

Waiting for the Mr. Taxi, Hyun-su fashions himself a weapon out of a glass shard and some duct tape. He gets a call (TT________TT) from his mother-in-law. Eun-ha is crying hard because her daddy hasn't yet picked her up. Hyun-su promises to be there soon... but can he keep that promise?! Mr. Taxi looks like he intends to kill him.

I was wondering what they did with the kid, and also how he'd explain this late night, last minute trip to his wife.

The episode ends with a bombshell. Ji-won is handed a watch... found in that shed she fought with the person who fled the old woman's house. But she knows that watch. And when she turns it over to look at the watch band, she finds the engraving: H.S. Baek. She gave this watch band to her husband on his recent birthday. 

Oh shit.

Comments

Okay, this is a very deep rabbit hole if we already find the killer in episode 4 and still have no clue what's going on.

Why would the taxi driver kill Nam Soon Kil? 

Is that 7th victim truly dead? Maybe she just ran away. 

My point exactly!

Was Hyun-so's father's death really suicide? Is he dead at all? Is he still seeing that ghost or no longer since he married Ji-won? 

I say it wasn't a suicide but that he IS dead, and for reasons listed above, the hallucination of him is held at bay.

And, most importantly... why did he take on the math whiz's identity?! 

That's the part where I have NO CLUE.

I end by asking: Can the drama keep this up? These surprises, twists and turns and crazy reveals?

Well, I just watched a drama that was perfection from beginning to end. If there can be one, there can be two.