tvN’s “Flower of Evil” has finally finished and, in true melodrama fashion, has left viewers feeling a spectrum of emotions. Episode 15 finished on a devastating cliffhanger that left Do Hyun Soo’s (Lee Joon Gi) life in the balance with Cha Ji Won (Moon Chae Won) fighting to keep him by her side. Much like all the previous episodes, viewers will need one final box of tissues to accompany this episode. Here are the things we loved and hated about the drama’s finale.
Warning: spoilers for the final episode below.
LOVED: Cha Ji Won and Do Hyun Soo’s wedding flashback
Having been married from the first episode, viewers have only gotten flashbacks to piece together Ji Won and Hyun Soo’s epic love story. From their first date to their first kiss, the show had given us all their highlights except for their wedding. Fortunately, the finale opens up with the pair taking their wedding photos. They both look absolutely stunning while they pose in various positions for the photos. The photographer asks Ji Won to smile more naturally, and eventually Hyun Soo asks if they can take a short break. He notices her discomfort, and they discuss the reality about his parents not attending. He quickly reassures Ji Won that he won’t regret it and says that she’s all he has.
This scene is just so soft. From the lighting to the music to Ji Won’s effortless bridal look, viewers can’t help but be awed by this scene. It’s so simple and gentle that no matter what’s to come in the present, you get the feeling that they will have their happily ever after. This is the perfect way to open up the finale.
LOVED: Do Hae Soo getting a happy ending
Throughout the drama, there was always a looming fear that Do Hae Soo (Jang Hee Jin) wouldn’t survive the entirety of the show. Fortunately, she survived Baek Hee Sung’s (Kim Ji Hoon) wrathand was able to make a full recovery. In the finale, she is finally facing judgment for her sins and is on trial for the murder of the village foreman. While Hyun Soo’s testimony seems to further muddy her defense, Ji Won, her partners, and Hyun Soo are able to find a witness to help her case. They all celebrate when she is set free at the end of her trial. Afterwards, she has a final dinner with Kim Mu Jin (Seo Hyun Woo) and her brother to let them know of her plans to travel abroad.
The ending of Hae Soo’sstory is one of the most wholesome parts of the finale. She suffered through such a lonely life, and it is delightful that her character has a happy ending. There were plenty of conversations she had with other characters that seemed so finite that viewers couldn’t help but question whether she would find healing like Hyun Soo. Her plans to travel abroad are incredibly fitting. While it would have been easy to give her a happy ending with Mu Jin, as it was clear their feelings for each other had not ended, it’s satisfying that the writer chose another route. Instead of choosing someone else, Hae Soo chooses herself, and it’s the perfect end to her character arc.
LOVED: The story behind Hyun Soo’s shop name
If there’s one thing that’s now fully evident thanks to the finale, it’s how absolutely romantic Hyun Soo is. Even if he didn’t always know it himself, the finale solidifies just how much he loves Ji Won. After waking up in the hospital with no memory of Ji Won, Hyun Soo has to go on one final journey to discover how he feels about her. His search for the perfect workshop place leads him back to his workshop under his home with Ji Won. There he finds his old journals and business card with the name of his shop. Ji Won walks in and mentions how he never told her the meaning behind the name. She quips that now no one will ever know, and Hyun Soo immediately tells her the story behind it.
What more could solidify their romance as epic as a parallel to a Greek god? Aside from how romantic thisscene is in general, the part that makes this so incredible is the idea that Hyun Soo learns from himself how much Ji Won meant to him. The whole episode, he keeps asking other people how much he cared for Ji Won, but he doesn’t know if he could quite trust it himself.It is clear that he lived a long time thinking that he was similar to the god Hephaestus, and his shop name was something that was very personal to him, which was why he never shared it in the past. This is such a heartfelt scene that truly reveals to Hyun Soo what viewers already knew—he has loved Ji Won for a very long time, and nothing will ever change that, even if it’s amnesia.
LOVED: The ending scene of the show
Now if there’s one thing that was always up in the air from the first episode of this drama, it was Ji Won, Hyun Soo, and Eun Ha’s (Jung Seo Yeon) happy ending. The whole premise of the show is if their marriage and family would survive his lie that lasted for over a decade and a half. In typical K-drama fashion, the happy ending came in the last few minutes of the show. After reconciling in his workshop, Ji Won asks Hyun Soo if she would like to accompany him to pick up Eun Ha from school. Similar to the flashback of when they first saw Eun Ha after her birth, he asks Ji Won if she thinks Eun Ha will like him. Ji Won simply laughs, and soon enough, we see father and daughter reunite. Eun Ha is as bright and bubbly as ever and doesn’t hesitate to let Hyun Soo know that she loves him the most in the world. The show ends on the three of them embracing with tears and huge smiles.
This scene is hopeful, happy, and melancholic all at once, and that’s what makes it so beautiful. Considering half the finale has you wondering if they will even receive a happy ending, this scene comes as a huge relief. After all the suffering they had to go through, they can finally live happily together. Like any good final scene of a finale, it touches your heart and has you aching to see them just one last time before the frame freezes and the credits roll.
HATED: The amnesia plot
If there’s one trope that is overdone in K-dramas, it’s amnesia. Most of the time, it’s a last-ditch effort for angst to separate the leads until the final moments of the finale. However, that’s not to say it’s always a bad thing. “Flower of Evil” brings a fresh take on this trope by adding some serious nuance and detail that keeps it in tune with the other episodes of the show. After surviving Baek Hee Sung’s gunshot at the end of episode 15, Hyun Soo has a successful surgery. While the doctor tells Ji Won that he is in stable condition and it’s just a matter of him waking up, viewers watch as all of his memories of Ji Won fade away. For the whole finale, Hyun Soo struggles to grapple with the life his past self had built after his car accident. Hyun Soo’s frustrationreaches an uncomfortable climax with Ji Won when he tells her that he can read her too easily and knows she expects him to say that he still loves her like his past self.Ji Won then fires back with what she really wants to say—how could he forget her?
Any lover of “Flower of Evil” can certainly appreciate the full-circle ride that the amnesia plot brings. The tiny details of this plot truly shine here. For example, Hyun Soo’s foil to Baek Hee Sung comes full circle as he loses the 15 years of his life that Baek Hee Sung also lost when he was comatose. Then, of course, Hyun Soo finally learns from himself that he is capable of feeling and trusting his emotions and can have a fresh start with Ji Won free of deception. However, as a viewer who has watched him have legendary character development that is often not afforded to characters, it’s hard not to feel like Ji Won. How could he forget? Did we not just watch him learn and overcome his misconception of himself that he does in fact feel emotions in the previous 15 episodes? What was the point of allowing him and Ji Won to communicate through their problems if it was going to be taken away in the finale? Did we really need to see them overcome the idea that Hyun Soo may not sincerely love her one last time? This is why the amnesia plot in ways seems futile and repetitive. Yes, it is satisfying with all the little details coming together, but on the other hand, it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing to have had a little more healing instead of hurting in this finale.
However, all grievances aside, “Flower of Evil” is truly a drama to admire. If you’re a K-drama lover looking for a nuanced story and well-developed characters whose struggles and triumphs leave a deep impression on your heart, then “Flower of Evil” should be at the top of your to-watch list.
Catch the drama below:
Hey Soompiers! What did you think of the finale? Let us know in the comments below!
kaityvspends most of her time watching K-dramas even though she should be writing. If she’s not watching a drama then she’s for sure dying over BTS’s and Red Velvet’s music and videos.
Currently watching:“Do You Like Brahms?,” “More Than Friends,” “Record of Youth”
All-time favorite:“Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”
Looking forward to:“So I Married an Anti-Fan,” “Double Patty”
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