BAEK HEE SUNG
MORPHS INTO
A PSYCHO
IN
FLOWER OF EVIL
TEASER 2
TEASER 2
The engrossing teaser starts with the celebration of Baek Hee Sung’s birthday. His
daughter, Baek Eun Ha happily
displays her drawing of a happy family of three with the words ‘I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday’. Not being aware of the truth about her
father, the innocent pre-schooler has even drawn a yellow halo over her
father’s head.
The inevitable question is: ‘How
old is Baek Hee Sung?’ The Baeks
have been happily married for 14 years.
There are 5 candles on the birthday cake. Hee Sung looks
too young to be 50 years old. If there are 4 big candles and 1 small candle,
it makes him 41. If so, he would have married Cha Ji Won at 27 years old. (Does he look like 41?)
But, if there are 3 big candles and 2 small ones, he would be
32 and he would have married her at 18.
Delighted with the celebration of another milestone in his life, Baek Hee Sung is apparently glowing with
happiness. Cha Ji Won, the homicide
detective, seems happy but she
harbours a strong suspicion that her husband of 14 years has been living a
life of pretence. It is quite evident to her that he has blended in perfectly with
their ordinary family. But, she has reached the point that she does not doubt that
her marriage is just an illusion.
Viewers might think Baek Hee Sung looks genuinely happy.
So what, if Baek Hee Sung’s smile does not reach his eyes?
TVN mercilessly bombarded the viewers with questions which make
them seriously doubt Baek Hee Sung’s mental stability.
‘On his birthday that he spent with his wife and daughter, was Baek Hee Sung being sincere?
‘Was the happy look on Baek’s face real?’
‘Was the smile he showed his daughter fake?’
'Can we trust his love for his wife?'
The little faith for Baek Hee Sung as a human being that
remains in the hearts of the viewers begin to waver.
Then, TVN slams the naked truth into the viewers’ faces: Baek Hee Sung has faked his love.
One is shocked to learn that Baek’s life is just a web
of elaborate lies.
Baek Hee Sung is suspected of being a serial killer. Is this
the trigger that causes the drastic change in him?
The scene in Teaser 2 is spellbinding. Baek Hee Sung
looks at the polished mirror or looking glass and admits to himself that he
has lied just a wee bit to his wife. His ‘little bit’ is just an illusion. He
is delusional. His life is, in fact, a well-rehearsed facade. He seems to
relish in his charade; his life is a big lie and a big coverup for 14 long
years.
How did he do it? Baek
Hee Sung’s sense of identity and self-esteem is ‘The Looking Glass Self’ which is shaped by Cha Ji Won’s
perception of him or how he thinks she views him. His perception of himself
is also distorted by how he thinks he looks in the mirror. Those who know of
his past would probably have a jaundiced view of him. But, Cha Ji Won, being
hopelessly in love with him, is inherently biased towards him.
Then, the maroon-red flower turns black.
The teaser then reverts back to the images of the first teaser that had been
released some time ago. This 2nd teaser provides a more complete
picture than the other teaser.
The family of three has gone out on an outing to a recreational
area. Baek plays happily with his daughter.
He is blithely unaware of his wife’s suspicions.
Cha Ji Won is confused. Things have taken a turn for
the worse. Baek Hee Sung has fallen
under suspicion of being a serial killer. In the past, she had been
susceptible to her handsome husband’s many charms. Baek Hee Sung has appeared to be a good person but now, she
wonders whether his loving looks are fake.
There is a question mark in her mind about who he really is.
Something is amiss. Cha Ji Won
suspects that he is wearing a mask. The details of his past have probably
been withheld or have been falsified.
Is he a serial killer? Sitting in judgement of her husband and
assuming the role of judge and jury, Cha
Ji Won would certainly drive him round the bend. Would he go off the deep
end?
Cha Ji Won asks in her mind, ‘Who really are you?’ A clear question. The next few images offer
her a clear answer.
Baek Hee Sung is the titular ‘Flower of Evil’. A closet psychopath.
This brings to mind some words of William Shakespeare in his
play, Macbeth, to describe the
person Baek Hee Sung really is.
When planning King Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth:
‘Your hand, your tongue
look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it.’
Baek Hee Sung pretends to be an innocent Flower but is, in actual fact, a Serpent.
The next part of the teaser repeats the birthday celebration
images.
  
Having hit the jackpot, Baek
basks in his happiness. He has everything. A beautiful loving wife. A cute
daughter. A good career. What more can he ask? But, his happiness is
overtaken by darkness.
After establishing that Baek
Hee Sung is the titular ‘Flower of
Evil’, the teaser shows the viewers his metamorphosis.
A fabricated smile. A fake smile that does not reach the eyes.
One can observe the slight lift of the lips. It occurs within a fraction of a
second.
 
The camera traces his eyes, lips and his whole face. Are his
eyes the window into his secret private life? The micro expressions on Baek’s
face make him creepy. Suddenly, Baek
Hee Sung look
emotionless. His eyes are stone cold. His face offers the best window into
his emotional life. The camera sees the truth; the truth is written all over.
The lies have been winnowed out of his face and his body.
Lee Joon Gi takes us into the dark mind of the psychopath. Baek Hee Sung talks to the mirror. Riveting.
The mirror does not lie. The reflection of the man who stares back at him is
that of a mad man. When he says, ‘I
lied just a little bit’, viewers believe that it is more than just a
small lie. Surely, he has created a false history of himself and his poor wife
has bought into the lies. Cha Ji Won is mortified to discover the man she had
slept with for 14 years is not what he appears to be.
Baek Hee Sung is the image of a
psychopath. Cold, dead eyes. Chilling voice. Ominous words. Red flags. Viewers
have a very uncomfortable feeling about him. He has hidden his real self
behind a smoke screen. Baek Hee Sung’s eerie
metamorphosis is enough to make one’s blood run cold. The hairs on one’s neck
stand on end.
The PSYCHO has finally emerged. The image of a pathological liar
and psychopath grips the viewers’ minds. Baek
Hee Sung looks as if he were in a
trance. Chilling. An out-of-body experience. His life is crumbling. A smile
plays at the edges of his lips. Is he intoxicated and tickled pink by his clever
deception? He has managed to deceive his homicide detective wife for 14
years.
Will his lies and deception cost him his family? Is it a
forgone conclusion that the ‘sleeping
demon’ who awakens after 14 long years will tear his family apart?
The image of two mirrors is unusual. There is a mounted full-length
mirror and a hanging mirror in the room. The hanging mirror seems to
directly block the full-length mirror. Baek
Hee Sung looks at the hanging mirror and sees only the upper half of himself. He doesn’t see the whole picture.
Lee Joon Gi portrays Baek
Hee Sung with considerable subtlety. He shines even though this is just a
very short drama teaser. Lee is clearly a uniquely talented actor and this is
a role that he is born to play. Fans are convinced his portrayal of a
psychopath in Flower of Evil is and
will be perfect.
  
It has been reported that there
have been many complaints by South Koreans and others on the Internet about
the 11 p.m. time slot for Flower of
Evil. It has been quite a puzzle for fans from the very beginning as to why
the drama was scheduled for such a late hour. The efforts of the fantastic Dream Team of Flower of Evil consisting
of the amazing actors Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won and the other talented actors;
Kim Cheol Gyu, the Director; Yoo Jung Hee, the scriptwriter; Kim Jae Eun,
the creative and art director, and the other members of the production staff should not be wasted. For Flower of
Evil to be enjoyed by all possible viewers, TVN must ensure that the drama
is aired earlier. 9 p.m. would be the perfect time.
Flower
of Evil, the most highly anticipated
drama of 2020, will premiere this July. The 16-episode Wednesday-Thursday drama is produced by Monster Union and Studio Dragon.
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