The daisy is a Chekov’s gun.

I mentioned a Chekov’s gun in kdramas before, but here’s an explanation from another source.

What Is Chekhov’s Gun?

Chekhov’s gun is a dramatic principle that suggests that details within a story or play will contribute to the overall narrative. This encourages writers to not make false promises in their narrative by including extemporaneous details that will not ultimately pay off by the last act, chapter, or conclusion. Chekhov’s gun has become a highly influential theory of effective writing that mandates noticeable details are integrated into the plot trajectory, character development, and mood of the work.

source: https://www.masterclass.com

In other words when a writer writes about a particular detail and insists on calling the viewers attention to it, then that detail is going to be significant to the overall plot.

Likewise, when a director zooms in on an object in an “insert shot,” the director is giving us a hint that it’s going to be relevant. He wouldn’t waste production time, money, and energy to reshoot an object from a different angle, if the object isn’t important at all.

In this episode, Director Shin/Writer Lee called on their favorite actor Sung Dong-Il to reprise his role as eldest son of Rosa to call attention to the daisy.

Rosa and Director Ju was talking about Dong-Il’s old-looking visage when he walked in.

Rosa: Maybe that’s why he’s so mature. And he’s very dependable.

I think this was meta. Dong-Il was going to be useful as messenger for the Flower Gardeners to hang in there.

Dong: Omma! Omma! Omma! Why did you leave the door open? What if thieves come in?
Ju: So was he the one who was coming today?
Dong: You’re here, too. Hello, Mr. Ju. Omma…Ta-daaaa! (presenting the daisies)

Rosa: Where did you get this?
Dong: In the garden.
Rosa: (closing her eyes in frustration)
Dong: It looked like someone had tossed them right by the wall, so I brought them in.
Rosa: What are you talking about? I’ve been working so hard to look after them.

Dong: Omma!
Rosa: What?
Dong: (bending his neck) The stems were broken like this.

lol. He reminded me of Songhwa.

Rosa: Gosh, seriously. They weren’t doing well, so I’ve been giving them supplements. I can’t believe you picked them.
Dong: Really? Gosh. I see. I didn’t know. Goodness. (dumps daisies in a mug) Omma! These are spikenards! (pointing at the cooked veggies) You’re eating spikenards? You grow them in your garden, too, so you can’t pick them. How are spikenards different from the flowers, Mr. Ju?

lol. Nice comeback.

Rosa: You always have something to say. When will you grow up?

Later, Dong-Il replanted the daisies he plucked out.

Dong: Oh? I have to say this flower looks just like a fried egg. With the white part and the egg yolk. Is this flower called, “fried egg”? Omma-ma! Omma! What’s the name of this flower?

Rosa: Daisy! How many times do I have to tell you?
Dong: Right. Daisy. Right. Just the perfect name for this pretty flower. Omma! This flower comes in different colors, right? I feel like I’ve seen purple –
Rosa: (smacks him down. – grrr… I really don’t this slapstick) This won’t revive the flowers. Why did you take them out of the vase? You’re such a weirdo. Goodness.

Then, Rosa went back to planting her pot. Dir. Ju told her that he noticed that all her kids were chatty.

Rosa: That’s true. My kids can be pretty chatty. They’ve always been that way since they were little. As soon as they get home from school, they start chatting away. About fighting with their friends and their favorite singers… They’d even tell me about cutting the self-study class. It makes them look a bit flippant, doesn’t it?
Ju: Not at all. They don’t come across as flippant. I can see that they’re very thoughtful. (sighing) I really am jealous.
Rosa: (pointing at Dong-Il) Look, do you still envy me?
Dong: Omma-ma! Do you see this rainbow? I’ll make you a rainbow. Do you see this? Look! I made a rainbow!

A year later…in March 2021, JW walked in with Songhwa’s room. The first day of spring falls around March 20, give or take a day.

JW: I knew you’d be here already. Ta-daa. It’s for you.
Songhwa: Flowers?
JW: My eldest brother is really into gardening these days. Let me know if you want more. I have a ton.

lol. We heard the connection, “Ta-daaa!”

And just like that, he made her smile.

Songhwa: Alright. (And she puts it on the windowsill)
JW: How’s your neck?
Songhwa: It’s much better now.

Six things:

1. Thanks to @Letta, we knew all about the “Oliver 1” Easter egg in this drama. The flowerpot that JW gave her, the recharge joke of IJ, lol. They’re taken from the “Maybe Happy Ending.”

The flowerpot was the one thing constant in Oliver’s life. He brought it with him everywhere.

Link here: Hospital Playlist 2: Ep 3 The “Oliver” Easter Egg

2. Here’s the daisy’s meaning and symbolism, according to @Sasa13’s research. Thanks, @Sasa13!

…daisy symbolized new beginnings. The most generally accepted meanings are:

* Innocence, especially with white daisies with yellow or pale centers.
* Purity – also shown by daisies that are as white as possible.
* New beginnings, which is why they are often found in bouquets for new mothers or as gifts for children.
* True love – because each daisy flower is really two flowers blended together in harmony.
* That the sender can keep a secret. Keeping a secret is one way a person can exhibit that they truly love another.

More importantly, we know who among the characters is the FLOWER.

3. According to Dong-Il, the daisies looked like someone had tossed them (or discarded them), and their stems were broken.

Songhwa was similar to the daisies. Although IkJun showered her with his usual over-the-top attention and made her laugh with his jokes, she must have been feeling discarded now that JW had a girlfriend.

Dong-Il acting out the broken stems of the daisies brought home that Songhwa also had a neck injury. She wasn’t doing well, but she was pushing herself so the Daddy-Long-Legs project would be a success.

Like the daisies, she wasn’t doing well so she needed extra care. Self-care.

4. After a year of Dong-Il’s gardening, the daisies have bloomed a lot. Similarly, after a year of absence, Songhwa’s back. It’s March 2021.

The bad news: JW and Jang are still dating.
The good news: IkJun is still friendzoned…errr…twin-zoned. IkSun told him to start dating already. And he told Uju that he was happy that his old friend was coming back.

5. The background music as JW gave her the daisies is the one they sang in the karaoke room, “I Like You” by “Weather Forecast.”

Easter Egg? The guy in the song was bringing white flowers to the girl on a rainy day.

6. The neutralizer moment? Can you guess it?

It’s the moment when Dong-Il was watering in Rosa’s garden and making a rainbow.

This reminded me of the episode in Reply 1994 when there was a package delivered to the heroine, Najung, from the guy. The writer created a timeloop to link the past and present. Back in 1994, the young Najung was told by Trash to sign for his delivery. She was unaware that the package contained a stuffed animal he bought for her. In the present time, a package was sent to the concierge which the grown-up Najung had to pick up for her husband. Although the identity of the husband was then a mystery, the package was a big hint because it linked Najung’s past to present.

Here, in this episode, instead of a package, the daisy was the link between the past and the present. (lol. That would explain the neutralizer moment.) Back in spring 2020, the daisies weren’t thriving, and had to be given extra TLC (or tender loving care). Now in spring 2021, the daisies were in full bloom, and JW gave them to Songhwa.

So, while I am getting frustrated with this writer, I’m hanging in there.

The director and writer didn’t need to invite the actor Sung Dong-Il to appear on the show simply to talk about daisies. If the endgame is Jang and JW as the majority predicts, then this scene is superfluous and could have been edited out. Only for the Flower Gardeners will this moment make sense because it’s clearly referencing Songhwa blooming in the springtime.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

There’s no comment section here because this will be opened to the public later. Please post your comments in the password-protected Alfresco thread. 🙂 Thanks!

Link: Ep 5 Alfresco Thread

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Edited to add @nrllee’s comment:

The daisies and rainbow…and “M” – marriage? PaBo’s Crocs tell the whole story?

Good one, @nrllee!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

@sni75 found this. She wrote:

“Our SW birthday flower is daisy – accordingly to tis site, April Korean birth flower is daisy. Which means FG is the endgame. I hv no doubts abt it. PDshin won’t insert tis scene if it means nothing, right? lol.”

This is the pertinent segment:

4) Birth flower for April–Daisy

A Daisy consists of two different floral parts, the ray floret and the disc floret, integrated in such a seamless way that it appears to be one single unit that symbolizes the intricate way love and communion can bond two individuals together.

It seems that people having daisies as their Korean birth flower are born leaders. They are competitive and motivated people, usually very talkative and not the best listener.

source: Feedingtrends.com

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

@Letta also found this at the beginning of the episode.

source: nrllee