This is going to be my quick take on the kdrama, as requested by @Growing_Beautifully.
1. Title
The title reminds me of the collection of poems by the French 19th century poet, Baudelaire. He wrote “Les Fleurs du Mal” or “The Flowers of Evil.” At that time, the book was banned because it contains some writings on vampires, blood-lust, masochism, and lesbianism which were deemed pornographic. Nowadays, you’d be considered prudish or -phobic if you don’t discuss these things with a blasé attitude.
Baudelaire’s book so shocked (and polarized) society that the term “fleur du mal” meant a scandalous creation. However, *I think* (I keep telling people this: I’m not a literature major) the whole point of Baudelaire was that, even out of evil, anguish, or despair, something beautiful as a flower can grow. Thus, evil cannot be completely wicked and ignoble as people perceive it to be, if a thing of beauty can still grow from it.
So…
if my hunch is correct, the hero of this drama isn’t the bad guy that we’re reading about in the press releases of the kdrama. Instead, he’s being set up as the fall guy or the scapegoat.
2. “Where the Morning Star Rests”
Thank you, Viki!! I love it when the subbers translate tiny details like this.
I know the name of his shop sounds poetic but…
“Morning Star” is a name for Lucifer. Lucifer is one of the many names of the Devil. According to Christian tradition, Lucifer was the most powerful and beautiful angels in heaven, until he was ejected and thrown down to hell because of his pride.
How you have fallen from the heavens,
O Morning Star, son of the dawn!
How you have been cut down to the earth,
you who conquered nations!In your heart you said:
“I will scale the heavens;
Above the stars of God
I will set up my throne;
I will take my seat on the Mount of Assembly,
on the heights of Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will be like the Most High!”No! Down to Sheol you will be brought
to the depths of the pit!Isaiah 14: 12-15
So I take it that, when Baek Hee Seong (HS) writes “Where the Morning Star rests” on his calling card, he’s acknowledging that he’s “morning star,” or Lucifer. He’s in exile from his village, like Lucifer who was thrown from the heavens. But he’s found a new home in the metal workshop with Detective Cha Jiwon (JW).
3. Good cop vs bad cop
I dislike this angle taken by the writer, and I wish writers would stop depicting cops as this rogue element, doing unethical and stupid job, like stealing the cellphone.
Sure, there are bad cops among the good ones, just like among other professionals, e.g., teachers, doctors, accountants, lawyers, and religious, there are bad ones among the good ones. But the good ones always outnumber the bad ones.
We see in this episode that JW is the “good cop” because she uses her powers of observation and analysis to solve the crime. Meanwhile, her colleague Jaesub (JS) is the designated “bad cop” in the story. He relies on his “gut feel” (which proves erroneous), and employs illegal means to get evidence.
In reality, however, there shouldn’t be such dichotomy in the decision-making process. Police officers use BOTH intuition (or “gut feel”) along with rational evaluation (through research and logic) to arrive at a conclusion. It’s not an either-or proposition, like it was portrayed here in the first episode. Moreover, insight and experience are valuable assets from veterans. There’s no need to pit JW the good cop against JS the bad cop.
I’m deducting points from this episode for throwing shade at the police force.
3. Is Baek Hee Sung (formerly, Do Hyun Soo) the killer?
In the first episode, the reporter Moo Jin (MJ) brought up two unsolved murder mysteries.
One was the YeonJu City serial murder case. According to him, “there was a person who killed 7 people for no reason, then buried them in a mountain near their neighborhood. Even the wife who was claimed to have run away a long time ago, was found in the mountains. As a skeleton….That serial killer was a metal craftsman, too.”
MJ wrote about the serial murder case and implicated HS/Hyun Soo and his father, Do Min Seok.
It appears as if MJ’s source of information was a man named Nam Soon Gil with whom he planned to meet again (perhaps for a follow-up story).
Note: HeeSung/Hyun Soo’s father supposedly killed himself. If the report is true, then Hyun Soo/Hee Sung is an orphan. Who are these people who claim to be Hee Sung’s parents then?
The other unsolved mystery MJ talked about was Gagyeong-ri village head murder case. Apparently after the father died, HS moved to another place, where another murder took place. MJ asked HS why he didn’t bother to clear his name.
HS: Even if I say it wasn’t me, what’s the point? They all think I killed him anyway. You, the villagers, and the police.
MJ: Then why did the murder weapon come from your backpack? Why are you still wanted? If you’re innocent, you should be investigated to clear your name.
HS: How did you know I’m still wanted? Did you look into it? Why?
MJ: I heard it somewhere. You know, the life of a reporter…I should go now. Thanks for the tea.
HS: So…you’ll run to the police station and say, “I met the culprit Do Hyun Soo from the Gagyeong-ri village head murder case from 18 years ago”? You’re going to tell them that?
Right now, in Episode 1, it’s too early to tell whether HS is a killer or not.
However, if HS did in fact kill the village head 18 years ago by stabbing the neck with the scissors, then I’m surprised that he didn’t use the same modus operandi to kill MJ. There were plenty of sharp objects in the room with which he could have stabbed MJ while he was engrossed in writing his address. Instead, he waited till MJ was done with his task, and even then, he blitzed MJ with sudden force, and didn’t stab him.
Oh well. Will wait and see if and when he kills MJ…
4. HS’s conversation with his mother
HS orders his mom to call up JW to sever connections with JW once and for all. He seems to be doing this so his past wouldn’t be revealed.
HS: Call her.
Mom: Are you teaching me right now?
Remember, it’s doubtful that she’s the real mother since according to report, HS’ dad killed and buried his wife. HS’ relationship with this woman he calls “mom” can be contractual (i.e., someone was hired to play the role of parent-and-child), not biological.
HS: I’m recommending a direction. (Meaning, he’s suggesting a course of action)
Mom: So now you’re telling me to call your wife and act evil?
My take here is the scene last New Year’s Eve was HS’ idea. He suggested that the mom kicked out his daughter — probably to make sure that his daughter didn’t bond with grandma.
HS: You keep giving her chances. JW thinks that it’ll work out if she tries harder. You need to make sure JW doesn’t have any hope.
Mom: Are you telling me to never appear in front of your wife and child?
HS: That is the safest way.
Mom takes the phone from him, and begins to punch the number. But she changes her mind and flings the phone away.
Mom: I have rights, too. (grabbing his coat) I have rights to your life, too.
HS: (removing her grasp) Mother, my life belongs to you. As long as I live as Baek Hee Seong. You know Jiwon. You can’t get close to her. You can’t trick her. Not like I do.
Mom: (grabs her hand)
HS: You’re going to call, right?
This is a weird relationship. Although the mom asserts her predominance (“I’ve rights to your life, too.”) and HS acknowledges that she has control over his life (“my life belongs to you.”), it’s actually HS who wields power over her. He isn’t her puppet to do as she pleases.
He also implies that only he can hoodwink JW because he knows her weakness and can play her like a fiddle.
However, if you want to give HS the benefit of the doubt there…then, it can be argued that he’s actually defending JW from his mom. He’s warning mom that JW is too bright for her and will easily figure out their arrangement, and the truth about their relationship.
Sure enough the mom calls JW as HS ordered. She tells her in no uncertain terms that she no longer wants to see JW. The conversation is ironic because JW pleads with her mother-in-law not to let HS know about their fall-out. She doesn’t want HS to become upset that she and his mother don’t get along well.
5. Theme: On Truth/Deception
a. This is what Jiwon and HeeSeong say in the prologue:
HS: Should I tell you? The kind of person I am?
JW: I will show you a lot of love from now on. I’ll be good to you. (kisses him) Then will everything change in a moment? Like a lie?
They’re both underwater. HS is tied down so there was no way he can escape and swim up to the surface.
This beginning makes a nice foreshadowing of their relationship. It’ll go underwater, that is, they won’t be able to make their marriage work once the truth is revealed. Then while HS wonders whether he should tell her the TRUTH about himself, JW ponders whether a LIE will help reset everything. Which one will help their marriage in the long run? The truth or a deception?
b. After Jiwon and her squad solve the Case of the Cheating Husband, they weigh in on the wife’s decision to take the meds. They wonder if she suspected that her husband tampered with them.
JW: Some truths can ruin a life in a single moment. Although you know that the moment that truth is revealed will come someday, if you push it back just one more day…(pause)… I think I would have taken the medicine.
Jaesub agrees with her.
JS: Me too. I eat everything my wife puts in my mouth. Even if one day my wife puts poison in my mouth, I’d rather just eat it and die than have to check it.
Ha! In other words, they’d rather be deceived by a lie, than be hurt by the truth. It’s interesting that these two cops are closet romantics.
c. Oddly enough, many viewers share Jiwon’s trust when it comes to the leading man in this story. You see, viewers have been told that HS isn’t to be trusted. He leads a double life, and he could be a psychopath.
Despite this warning, viewers still hope that time will prove him to be a trustworthy man. They’re holding out hope that he’s not evil. And I’m sure that if HS did something bad, viewers would try to find a way to exonerate him or justify his action.
lol.
6. The record player
I thought the record player was a nice touch. It appeared in the beginning.
JW was the first to notice that the music ended. She realized that it was late, and she rushed off.
Then the record player appeared towards the end HS was about to attack the reporter MJ.
He turned the volume up to drown out the sound when he strangle MJ. Afterwards, when MJ was unconscious in his arms, he realized that the music ended with fear in eyes.
And that’s the symbolism of the record player. It’s a reminder that the music is about to end, and the romantic and dreamy life that he’s built with JW will soon come crashing down. He knows that his past will eventually catch up with him but he’s trying to push it off a little longer and hold on to the illusion. He’s not any different from JW who would have taken the hypothetical medicine to delay a damaging truth from being revealed.
Verdict: Will I watch it or not? It’s an interesting premise. I breezed through the first half. However, when the showdown between HS and the reporter came on, I found excuses not to continue watching (e.g., have to cook dinner, have to watch “Count Your Lucky Stars,” have to check emails, and so on). That tells me that I’m not into suspense right now. Maybe if I read somebody’s recap first, then I know what to expect when I’m watching the show. lol. I’m such a wimp!
Thanks @pkml3. I’m both delighted and amused that you give me credit that these First Impressions is ‘as requested’ by me. I didn’t know I’d requested it, only that I’d said I was watching it LOL. I’m breaking up my thoughts into 3 posts.
Title – Yes @pkml3 you have hit the premise of this show. If something good comes out of something that is defined as ‘evil’, might that evil not be all that bad. We also need to examine what/who is ‘evil’ and whether ‘evil’ is even the right description for them. I’ve watched 4 episodes, therefore I won’t spoil it for other readers.
I worded the premise more specifically, because once again I see in this show, my catnip of the traumatised child. So I have it as ‘Can one who was raised/abused by a psychopathic parent, and tainted by association, overcome this trauma to live a happy and ‘normal’ life?’ Below with KMJ, I add in a sidenote premise.
Kim Moo Jin
Kim Moo Jin, a reporter who writes sensationalist and not necessarily truthful articles, comes to interview In Seo’s mother.
In Seo’s mum says about her husband’s treatment of their son : “He can be strict with him. He tends to hate it when things don’t go as planned.”
Moo Jin writes: ” ‘He’s obsessed with plans.’ … Have you ever thought that he lacks empathy?” [‘Obsessed’ is too strong a word. His questions tend towards sussing out if her husband was psychopathic, possibly because that makes it more sensational.]
His click bait headlines without foundation and what he tells Det Ho Joon : ” ‘Hatred for his Obese Child’ ‘The Father Who Made his Son Walk the Stairs of Death.’ This is the kind of story I live for.”
We find that MJ is ready to lie or let deception remain, as JW finds out to her chagrin that she’s been giving him respect as an oppa, when he’s been 1 year younger than her all along.
While waiting to meet Nam Soon Kil, Kim Moo Jin looks at his old article on Hyun Soo and the murder of the foreman. One of the captions asked “Is psychopathy genetic?”
KMJ seems to have continued a great interest in psychopathy and the disappearance of Hyun Soo. With this emphasis on psychopathy, to the original main premise, I add the much tossed about one of nurture versus nature, or rather both nurture and nature. So not only are we watching to see if show will tell us:
– if it’s okay to be psychopathic or ‘evil’, when something good comes of it
– if those born into psychopathic families and brought up/traumatised by a psychopathic parent, can trump the shadow of their past and remake their futures despite nature and nurture
Where the Morning Star Rests and being okay – so poetic, and oh so melancholy. From the conversations with his parents, we already can tell that he’s not whom he appears to be, and from Moo Jin’s info, we know he disappeared from whence he came. Hee Sung in FOE lives in hiding in plain sight, because the majority in society think of psychopaths as ‘evil’, as if it is a blanket truth, when that is far from the case. He knows that without investigation or trial, he will already be condemned as guilty.
This thing about calling persons who are sociopathic or psychopathic, ‘monsters’ or ‘the devil’ seems deeply ingrained in some societies. It instills fear and justifies the unjust treatment of persons with these disorders. It is no wonder that Hyun Soo changed his identity and hides his past. This show has brought out again, the question from the PBIO thread on what being ‘okay’ means: Persons with problems with mental health and disorders are not the issue, they are generally ‘okay’ with help, but the prejudice they are faced with isn’t. They are ‘okay’ when compared with what the general public thinks of them, which is many times false. To this extent, they are okay but not so much how they are regarded or treated.
The intriguing relationship between Hee Sung and his Mother – We know that she is not his mother, since he says he never considered his life his own since he became Baek Hee Sung. They are accomplices who need each other, and neither one is the boss.
I’m thinking that when he’s with the Baeks, he’s more likely to be one with them in psychopath-ically dissing JW. I believe it’s true that Mum cannot act in front of JW for long without something slipping. At the same time, when he’s not being a psychopath like the Baeks, it remains to be seen whether he’s merely acting with JW, or whether regardless of whether he knows how he feels or not, he is sincere in his relationship with her.
@pkml3 I like your interpretation of the prologue:
However, my notes with the Dramanice subs gives another interpretation:
JW jumps into the pool to save HS.
HS thinks : “Should I tell you what kind of person I am?” [Should I tell you my real history and that I’m not ‘normal.’]
JW’s voiceover : “I’ll love you even more from this moment. I’ll be good to you.” (She kisses him ) [This is a scene that will take place after she discovers some of the truths about him, and that he is Hyun Soo. I know because I watched 4 episodes and the preview of the 5th. Her words seem to mean that at this stage, she is prepared to accept him as Hyun Soo or as Hee Sung, despite his lies].
JW’s voiceover : “Then, before you know it, everything will change. In a way that seems unreal.” [Then even though you never expected it, you will no longer have to live the lie you’ve lived for so long. We’ll be able to be honest with each other and be happy.]
Interesting what changing the 2 last questions of JW into statements can seem to say.
👍 Thanks, GB!
The Baek Family
After the coldest reception imaginable to little Eun Ha’s unconvincing “I love you” to the grandparents, we see them in blurry reflection seated at the restaurant table. It was a nice illusion that they were a family united in celebrating a birthday. This is later book-ended with another reflection at the end of the conversation.
After JW leaves and Eun Ha sleeps, their conversation goes:
Mum : “She must be dumb. I’m talking about your wife.”
Dad : “That means we did not know you’d end up having such a successful marriage.” [They’d gone along with them getting married, believing that it was not going to last.]
HS : “Ji Won and I are made for each other.” [There is reciprocity ie he gets to have a normal family, and his detective wife will protect him from being a suspicious character, while he keeps her happy.]
Mum : “What? You’re a guy with a dirty past, and she’s a cop. and you think you guys are made for each other? (She laughs) You know how to make jokes. You actually sound like a normal human being.” [At this stage in the show, we are waiting to see if he is just biding his time, before his psychopathic tendencies re-emerge or whether he really does embrace the normalcy.]
Dad : “Be honest. This is very important to us. Did having a kid together make you develop a special kind of bond with her.?” [Will you rat on us because now you feel close to her and want to be honest about your past with her?]
HS : “Ji Won only believes what she sees. And I only show her what she wants to see. Because of that, I can see through her. So you don’t need to worry about us.” [I can read her well and anticipate what will keep her happy and unsuspecting. Famous last words??? Little does he know, that soon she’ll be full of the unexpected and will be suspicious.]
The Baeks still look disapproving and unconvinced.
The camera moves over to the reflection of Hee Sung with Eun Ha. We see the image he projects that hides the reality.
This nicely transitions to the interrogation room and another reflection, this time of an unfaithful husband who drugs his wife, and father of a son whose lies got him arrested. This is the father of the family in which In Seo’s mum said, nothing was going on.
The end of the music/Watching until the end That was a nice interpretation of the record player and the end of the ‘perfect’, romance and dreamy married life. He has acted his part too well. He’s too perfect a husband and dad. The test will come when things start to fall apart. Will he be consistently good to Eun Ha and JW or will he change.
@pkml3 I too didn’t want to sit through the suspenseful parts… but I cheated and FFDed and got through those just fine. In the end, I found it a fun watch into Ep 4 and the suspense is manageable. If it helps you to know whether to watch or not, I can give you spoilers and some summary recaps… nothing detailed. Maybe just enough to let you know if it’s worth your time. Let me know if you want anything.
Thanks! Sounds like a good plan, GB!
If you tell me where the “suspenseful parts” are, and how they turn out, then when I watch, I don’t have to stress out.
I’ll open a separate thread so I know where to look for the spoilers.
@pm3, excellent observation about Baudelaire! I agree that despite the provocative topics, the poems in Les fleurs du mal are perfectly crafted, elegant sonnets.
My take of the title is the relationship between parents and children. In many dramas the children of criminals are treated badly, even if they have not done anything wrong. I am wondering if a criticism of this attitude will be the message of this show.
It looks like the summer of psycho parents (and grandparents) continues in dramaland!
The music played on the record player is Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy) from Mozart’s Requiem.
During the awkward birthday dinner at the “parents”‘ apartment a Chopin nocturne was playing in the background.
@pkml3 Righty ho! Spoilers will be on slow cook.
@Snow Flower thanks for identifying the music. I’m hopeless at remembering the names of melodies.
Whoa, the ending of Episode 3 opened a whole new door!
@Snow Flower Ep 3 end IKR!!! LOL. Love that kind of twist. The most unhappy, risky, and forced bromance ever LOLOL.
The other thing that gets me is the irony. The one who tortured and who’s holding the hammer and determined to practically kill the other is the one who dares to call the other a monster. Heh!
Hi @pkml3 Please see my EMAIL regarding the Summary/Spoilers for Ep 2. I was not sure whether to send it to you first or to wait for you to post the thread. Anyway, I hope it helps you decide whether to watch or not.
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