Money Flower is a Korean drama directed by Kim Hee Won and aired for 24 episodes. The drama had some of the highest viewership ratings during it's time slot and has been praised for it's thrilling story that keeps viewers wanting more each week. Long time actor, Jang Hyuk stars along side Park Se Young, Jang Seung Jo, and veterans Lee Mi Sook as well as Lee Soon Jae. Most of the cast as been nominated or won awards for their performances. Lee Myung Hee was the scriptwriter for the 2017 to 2018 drama.
One of the richest families in Korea has a right hand man in their mist. He has a smart mind that he used to control every situation that he's in. Behind the man's ice cold demeanor is a burning flame for revenge against the family who left him without a family for years. A plan for revenge is set in motion using a candidate's daughter and the son of the family who is to be head of the company. There's too many skeletons to step over in this family's closet for greed of money not to be a normal emotion. This man doesn't know that this family is match enough for him. Money never looked so good.
East Asian dramas in general have money plots that have to with a person going into enemy ground that get revenge. I know some people might read the plot and think that they've been down this road of storytellings before. I've been one of those people when I was deciding if I wanted to check out Money Flower or not. What I can say about this drama's progression in telling a story is it has one sole goal. That goal is to keep the viewer wanting to come back for more. Money Flower slowly flows into this motion during the first three episodes, then dead locks into giving the viewer something to look forward to after each episode. Stories of revenge can easily all follow the same formula created by other dramas but Money Flower shines in it's craft that creates perfect cliff hangers. Just when you expect the story to go a certain way you normally would see. Suddenly out of nowhere the plot switches up into a different hybrid. Episodes do this constantly until the last episode. I actually felt like the writing was playing tricks on me as the viewer. Outside of that, the show also keeps you hooked with it's character interaction involving a war over money fueled by greed. The building tension was like an addiction as you waited for all the crap to hit the fan. Even that didn't pan out like I thought it would. Still I finished Money Flower feeling shocked and light hearted all at the same time. Money Flower is what Korean melodrama should always strive to be.
Characters are more than plenty here. There hasn't been a drama that really utilizes it's cast like Money Flower did. Almost all of the characters were well developed. No background story was left untouched especially the main characters. The three main characters who had the most background history always revisited their past to ad emotional depth to the character. Jang Hyuk was amazing as the leading man. I've never seen someone act while in a drama using an emotionless facial expression that said so many emotions. His eyes never once lied even if his words might have. Park Se Young was great at creating such an emotional connection with Jang's character. Money Flower isn't really a romantic drama. There's elements of romance but the script keeps things realistic and mature. Park's character had a ton of damage done to her heart as she is thrown into the world of the Jang Family. The character has variations of changes that occur when she goes from being pure to a white canvas stained red by revenge. This change was very interesting to watch. Jang Seung Jo's character had a similar dynamic. It's just that he starts to get on your nerves toward to end of the drama. Him, actress Lee Mi Sook, and Lee soon Jae were all the same side of the coin: emotional driven by money and power. I had not remorse for any of the Jang family. Only thing that gave me satisfaction was their downfall. Han So Hee was worth mentioning as the side chick who thought she was ENTITLED to something. I loved her performance because she gave me more reasons to hate side hoes who think becoming a baby mama will get them the good life. She learned real quick to know her place. Her character development was my only problem with Money Flower. I wish they had shown her one more time during the final episode. That would have given me more closure with her character.
It's not a stretch to say Money Flower is one of the best Korean Dramas that has come out in recent years. I don't like a lot of K dramas out now merely due to the fact that their scripts aren't good. Money Flower reminded me of the golden years of Korean drama when the story stuck with you after you finished a drama. Isn't that what a good Kdrama is suppose to be?
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