The Cassette Player
Flower Of Evil returns this week and the walls are well and truly closing in around Hyun-Soo. As Ji-Won learns the truth about the man she thought was her husband, Hyun-Soo’s time appears to be up. With Hae-Soo now playing a far more prominent role, it looks like we may actually have a copycat trying to frame Hyun-Soo. Only, if that’s true who could it be? Episode 7 of Flower Of Evil begins back during the summer of 2005. We’re moments after the car crash we saw previously and the real Hee-Sung wanders around the house. Limping downstairs, he realizes he’s in Hyun-Soo’s house and tries to get away. [Disclaimer: From here on out we’ll be referring to both Hee-Sung and Hyun-Soo as their actual characters and not the aliases they’ve been using. Hopefully this makes the recaps a little clearer!] Back in the present, Ji-Won reminisces on her passionate evening with Hyun-Soo. As she watches him sleep, she thinks over how she wants one reason to forgive him. Hyun-Soo bolts upright though, almost instinctively reading her thoughts. As he suddenly learns its 8.55am, he frets over sleeping in. Seizing her opportunity, Ji-Won presents him a new watch and tells him not to lose it. After discussing the broken lock to the basement, Ji-Won heads to work – but not before picking up a copy of Hyun-Soo’s family register. Here she learns the truth for herself. Her husband is a fraud and has been living under this alias for at least 14 years. For now though, she’s distracted by the media who have jumped all over this case as new evidence is leaked. As we soon learn, a witness was present at the time. That witness went to the police and filed a report but it ironically led to her losing her licence. As both Man-Woo and Mi-Ja listen to the news nervously, the voice of the killer is replayed. Only, Hae-Soo also hears this and looks shocked. As she backs up, she accidentally smashes a bottle of red wine. Interestingly, that bottle turns to blood when she looks at it. Meanwhile, Moo-Jin entertains a whole group of people at a karaoke bar. He receives a call from Hyun-Soo though who questions him over the news reports. Only, a drunk Moo-Jin holds his own and tells the man he can’t trust him. At the police station, Ho-Joon enthusiastically tries to lead his lettuce theft case. Unfortunately his colleagues want nothing to do with him. Ji-Won brushes his enthusiasm aside and starts looking through old footage of Hyun-Soo as a 13 year old. Ji-Won contemplates whether he has antisocial personality disorder. As we soon see, there seems to be something psychologically linked to his old cassette player which causes him to go crazy whenever it’s touched. Given Ji-Won has that in her possession, she heads off to learn more about what this means. Hae-Soo arrives at the Magazine looking for an interview. As it turns out, she was actually Moo-Jin’s first love. As they sit and talk, he learns about a stalker that’s been following her. Because of this, she asks Moo-Jin to sit in private and talk. Moo-Jin brings her back to his apartment and is clearly flustered to find himself entertaining his first love. Busying himself around the room, Hae-Soo eventually gulps down her wine and admits that the voice he’s hearing isn’t that of Hyun-Soo. She’s the one who killed the village foreman. It’s something that backs up that foreshadowed glimpse of blood earlier and throws the notion of a copycat killer into the fold too. Eun-Ha is dropped off with Mi-Ja at the pharmacy but she’s certainly not happy. After ripping up her schoolwork, Mi-Ja instead takes her out for an egg tart to keep her happy. Although she initially acts coldly toward the child, you can see there’s definitely some affection for the cute kid as she brushes her cheek lightly. Meanwhile, Hyun-Soo visits his adoptive Father Man-Woo who asks him about the audio recordings. Although Hyun-Soo tells him it’s not him, Man-Woo is not so sure. He gives the boy an ultimatum – if his identity comes close to being revealed again he’s to flee and not return. With the words still ringing in his ears, Hyun-Soo heads home and listens to the audio recordings again. The rhythmic thumping in the background is something he seems to have heard before but he can’t seem to place it. He quickly slams the laptop screen down though when Ji-Won returns home. His eyes immediately widen when he notices her carrying his bag. Sitting opposite him, she drops a sketch book and the cassette player. Playing him at his own game, Ji-Won finally starts to figure out that this definitely is Hyun-Soo. Going one step further, she invites him along to Min-Seok’s workshop. Hyun-Soo plays the part well, feigning ignorance as he looks upon the work. Only, when Ji-Won tells him they’re going to the crime scene, he leads the way to hide his shock. It’s just enough time for her to check the gun holster hidden behind her jacket and make sure she’s armed incase things go awry. Down in the basement, she plays the voice from the cassette player out loud and watches Hyun-Soo’s reaction. He asks to leave but Ji-Won is relentless, turning round and telling him that the owner of the Chinese restaurant is coming with metal work. It all becomes too much for Hyun-Soo, who tries to control himself but just can’t help but grab her around the neck. He stops himself partway through though and drops to his knees, struggling to breathe. Back home, he sneaks out in the middle of the night while Ji-Won watches him suspiciously. He heads straight to Moo-Jin’s house (whose still reeling over Hae-Soo’s confession) and asks for help in finding his sister. As we soon see, Ji-Won actually bugged Hyun-Soo’s watch with a tracking device to keep an eye on him at all times. As she sits at her computer, she sees that he’s at Moo-Jin’s house. This game is far from over.
The Episode Review
With Ji-Won showing what a competent police officer she is, Hyun-Soo’s time of hiding has finally come to an end. Given she’s been manipulated and lied to for 14 years, Ji-Won is obviously angry and wants answers. However, there’s still a part of her that loves her husband and that compassion shows during the conflicting moments of voice-over narration. She loves Hyun-Soo but also completely distrusts him. After all, she’s had a child with this man and that clearly doesn’t settle well with her. Alas, as we soon find out that’s not the whole story. Hae-Soo’s confession is a shocking but perhaps unsurprising inclusion to the story. After being led to believe Hyun-Soo is this cold-blooded killer, each episode seems to be showing something very different from what we’ve been led to believe. For now though, this cat and mouse game looks set to continue but will Hae-Soo turn the tables back in Hyun-Soo’s favour? We’ll have to wait and see but this is turning into one of the must-watch dramas of the year.
