Flowers For My Life: Episode 10

43 June 15, 2007January 23, 2016

by javabeans

Ah, Flowers For My Life, you keeeeel me. So many great moments in this episode, and the ending sequence was wonderful.

I’ve said this many times before, how I don’t care about ratings, but this is utter travesty. The last episode garnered ratings of 3.3%, and that’s just wrong. It’s criminal. How can utter pedestrian crap be consistently rating upwards of 20%, 30% percent, and leaving gems in the dust at 3.3%?

It’s disheartening, and all we can do is send the cast and staff our best wishes and hope they aren’t too downspirited about it, as the Korean fans are doing on KBS’s Flowers forum.

Well, anyone who’s still onboard can enjoy the bittersweet thought of being part of a small, exclusive club of people who get that Korean dramas are more than recycled love polygons and showcases for great wardrobes at the expense of fresh stories. Flowers must just be ahead of its time. When I started watching, I thought that it was amazing that kdramas had advanced to this level, but I guess they haven’t. Flowers is just waiting for the rest of the country to catch up.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Mot (못) – “나는 왜” (why me), because it seemed fitting to pair an atypical band with an atypical drama. [ zShare download ]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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EPISODE 10 SUMMARY

Hana coldly sends Ho Sang away acting as though she’s angry at him for lying to her about being Wang Dae Bak, but heartbroken inside.

Although she lies to her parents that nothing’s wrong, her parents know something’s up and assume she and Ho Sang fought. Hana takes her drama tapes and cancer books and throws them away, determined to end things completely.

Worried over Hana’s reaction to hearing the truth about Ho Sang, Nam Kyung asks him what happened. He merely says that Hana didn’t have much to say, and Nam Kyung assumes that’s good news, that Hana was understanding. She tells Ho Sang that Hana must be confused and upset over being deceived, so he should do his best not to make things harder on her. Ho Sang just drinks, although his body doesn’t react to it well.

Hana goes drinking as well, wondering why she chased after a guy like Ho Sang in the first place. Eun Tak asks if she’s finally regained her senses, and she says yes, she even dumped Ho Sang. Eun Tak tells her she shouldn’t feel hurt over breaking up, considering all the things Ho Sang put her through so far. Hana says she doesn’t feel hurt, she feels unjustly wronged, “For all the time and effort I put into Wang Dae Bak, for feeling upset, waiting for him, feeling heartbreak… It feels unfair.”

Hana tells herself with tears in her eyes, as though trying to convince herself to believe her words: “I don’t like Wang Dae Bak anymore. A guy without money, with a short lifespan… I was crazy to like him. A guy with nothing, possessing nothing, just waiting for his death to come, I hate him. Because he’s so disgustingly pitiful, I hate him.”

Ho Sang remembers Hana’s words, wondering sadly, “What kind of wad of gum are you? Saying that you wouldn’t go away no matter whatever happened. How can you do this?”

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Pil Gu senses that Eun Tak’s worrying over Hana, and asks if he really has feelings for her. Eun Tak says he just keeps worrying about her. Pil Gu: “That’s a scary thing.” He advises him, “If you think this woman is the one, don’t ever let go of her. It turns out there’s nothing more foolish you can do than that.”

Nam Kyung gets a call from the hospital telling her the test results came back with problems, and they need to see Ho Sang for more tests. He tries to get out of it, but Nam Kyung convinces him to go back.

Hearing that Hana got completely drunk the night before from her mother, he worries about her and sends her a text message asking to meet briefly. He’ll be waiting at the bus stop. Hana sends back a message saying she’s not going, so he shouldn’t wait.

But Hana can’t shake her concern, and thinks about it all day. Eun Tak can tell she’s thinking of Ho Sang, and tells her, “Don’t waver. I know that the thing you can’t control the most in this world is your own feelings. So I know you’re going through a hard time now. But I hope you won’t soften toward him and go back to the way you were before.” Hana says she won’t.

Ho Sang waits all day and evening at the bus stop, anxious to see Hana. Hana finally arrives, but as she starts to approach, he gets up to finally leave, and she watches from a distance as he boards the bus.

Hana sits in the seat where Ho Sang sat waiting all day, as Ho Sang rides away in the bus, finally appreciating how hard it is waiting for someone: “It must’ve been hard on you, waiting for me all those times.”

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And thank god for the next sequence, because things were starting to get a little too sad for me.

Eun Tak skulks around outside Hana’s room, trying to work up the nerve to knock on his door, and it’s so cute seeing Mr. Cool (and Hot) acting insecure for once. He suggests they go out together with a pretty weak excuse (“Come with me to buy books. I’m done with mine.”), and when she turns him down, he mutters how she’s got no sense of awareness: “Let’s go on a date.” He doesn’t like seeing her hole away in her room, and he’s uneasy thinking she’ll go back to Dae Bak, so, “From now on, see me as a man.”

Which is a conversation Hana’s mother overhears. Thinking it over, she approves of Eun Tak — he went to a good university, he’ll take over his father’s business, he’s a nice guy. Hana’s father is resistant because he considers Ho Sang a done deal since they’ve even slept together, but Hana’s mother informs him that they never did — that was a lie. Plus, they’re over now.

Hana’s mother pushes the two kids together, sending them on an errand together to pick up some cosmetics. At the store, Eun Tak picks out a lipstick for Hana, and Ho Sang, who happens to be nearby with Nam Kyung, happens to see Eun Tak giving it to her.

Ho Sang tries to get away quietly, but knocks into someone and draws attention to himself with a loud crash. Ho Sang attempts to laugh it off, but the meeting between the four is strained, and he makes a quick exit.

The encounter leaves Hana distracted and silent. Eun Tak is disappointed to see that as she gets out of the car to go into the house, she leaves behind his lipstick present in the car. Aww, so sad.

That night, Hana goes to Ho Sang’s place, but only looks on from the outside…

Nam Kyung hears from the doctor of Ho Sang’s illness — advanced pancreatic cancer — and is deeply shaken at the news. Thinking she should tell Hana about it, she pressures her to meet and tells her Ho Sang’s very sick. To Nam Kyung’s shock, Hana reacts with a cold, “So what? Don’t tell me anything about him anymore, whether it’s good or bad news.”

Nam Kyung asks how Hana can react so coolly, and Hana counters, “So what do you want me to do? I’ve already decided to finish things with him. But you want me to go back to him because he might die? What right do you have to ask that of me? If you’re so worried, then you stay by his side.”

Hana walks away from a stunned Nam Kyung, but as soon as she turns the corner, she fights tears as she doubles over at the pain.

Eun Tak and Pil Gu pay their respects at his mother’s grave. Eun Tak confesses there’s one thing he feels sorry about, which is that his mother wanted to meet Pil Gu before she died, and he opposed it. “She told me that I’d know you’re a good person once I met you. That I’d understand why she kept you in her heart all her life.”

Upon arriving home, Pil Gu knowingly watches Eun Tak watching Hana, and takes Hana’s mother aside. The ensuing conversation between the adults is too cute, as both parents approve of the kids getting together, but want to make sure the other parent isn’t unhappy. Hana’s mother explains that Hana didn’t really spend the night with Ho Sang. She feels confident that she’ll get over Ho Sang in due time. And Pil Gu expresses his concerns that Hana’s parents might think worse of Eun Tak because he’s his son. But Hana’s mother assures him that she thinks Eun Tak is wonderful.

Eun Tak tries to talk to a reluctant Hana, but Hana pushes him away, asking if he knows why she broke things off with Ho Sang. He assumes it’s because he kept upsetting her, but Hana contradicts him: “No. It was because he has no money. I like money best in this world, but he doesn’t have any. I can forgive him everything else, but I can’t forgive that. Why else would I have chased him around? It’s because he said he had lots of money. But he doesn’t.”

Eun Tak reacts with a mix of disbelief and confusion, and Hana tells him, “It seems like you’re trying to be nice to me because I seem pitiful, but I’m a bad person. I only care about money.” Eun Tak asks why she’s telling him this, and she says, “So you’ll be careful. You’re from a rich family too. Since I’m done with Dae Bak, what’ll you do if I decide to go after you too? So if you don’t want to be latched onto by a cruel, awful person like me, be careful.” Eun Tak angrily responds, “You really don’t pay me any attention, do you? If you were at all worried about what I thought of you, you wouldn’t have told me this. I don’t care if you pursued Dae Bak over money or whatever else. But it’s hard to take you treating me so lightly.” She tells him not to take it, then.

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Wanting some comfort, Hana goes to Ran, who has good news for her — she’s going to have a baby. They again manage to communicate despite their language barrier, as Ran apologizes for only thinking of her own good news when it seems Hana needed comforting. Hana assures Ran that she’s thankful that Ran’s good news allowed her to be happy for a moment too.

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Hana’s father talks to Ho Sang to confirm they’ve really ended things, then offers Hana some words of wisdom. He tells her, “He lied to appear good to you. I’m not saying it’s a good thing he lied to you, I’m saying you don’t have to feel hurt over it. It wasn’t a lie to take something from you, but to win your heart. Really bad men are the ones who don’t even worry that their women will be hurt because of them.”

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Overwhelmed with concern for Ho Sang, Nam Kyung insists he move in with her. If not for him, she wouldn’t have had the courage to get over her fiance. She can’t stand by and watch him go through hardship alone, especially seeing how Hana seems to really have made up her mind to get over him. To herself, she worries, “I don’t know what to do. I can’t find the courage to tell you the frightening news. I don’t know what’s best for you. I wish someone would tell me.”

Nam Kyung decides to tell Ho Sang that the hospital informed her of his results, and merely says that his body has become weaker, so he has to be careful to watch his health and eat nutritious foods. She then asks, “Ho Sang, would it be okay if I was beside you, instead of Hana? I know your feelings are with Hana, but we have 10 years between us. You liked me all that while, and waited for me. So I feel I still have a chance. I want to be happy too, and I feel like I could be, with you beside me.”

I really admire Nam Kyung. She’s not exactly lying to Ho Sang, because her words are sincere, but she’s framing the situation in a way that doesn’t make Ho Sang the pitiful one. It makes it seem like she needs him more than he needs her, and whether or not it’s the “right” thing to do, she’s doing it all in service of a friend. She’s a pretty amazing person.

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Meanwhile, Hana receives a package from Ho Sang — his seashell arrangement, which he tried to throw away but couldn’t bring himself to. It comes with a note: “I hesitated to send this, thinking it might burden you. I don’t think I got to tell you properly how grateful I was for you. You have to be happy. I will be, too.”

Finally shaken from her cold stupor, Hana clutches the frame to her chest as she runs through town, arriving in front of Ho Sang’s place. Her eagerness turns to alarm seeing an ambulance in front of the building, and in a panic, she begs them to open the door so she can see who’s inside. To her relief, it’s not Ho Sang. I’ll only say that I really love the contrast of the last shot of this episode to the last shot of the previous episode — lovely contrast — and leave the rest to the imagery…

Tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Flowers For My Life, Kang Hye-jung, Kim Ji-hoon

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1 Philippa

June 15, 2007 at 2:44 PM

Thanks a lot! It's odd that this episode only got a 3.3% rating... or something...

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2 ginnie

June 15, 2007 at 2:49 PM

Very bizarre. ..3.3% ?
The competition from MBC and SBS are that tough ? hmm.....

Perhaps there are more online citizens watching this.

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3 marie_s

June 15, 2007 at 2:01 PM

it's 5am in the philippines and i'm up since 3am and waiting for episode 10. thanks! you're doing a great job and service to netizens going gaga over korea dramas.

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4 marie_s

June 15, 2007 at 2:11 PM

oh it's so sad that it only got 3.3%! men! what is happening?!!! really good script. people watch!

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5 javabeans

June 15, 2007 at 3:14 PM

marie_s, I'd agree that there probably is resistance to the (seemingly) morbid theme. I know i resisted Thank You because of the AIDS plot, but it turned out to be much more than a tearjerker. Or so I hear. I'll get to it, eventually.

ginnie, it's tragic, isn't it? It doesn't help that Flowers For My Life is up against ajumma drama "My Man's Woman," which is killing with 40% and up ratings. I haven't watched My Man's Woman (and I don't care to) so i can't blindly bash it... but it just seem so unfair. Ajummas and divorces get all the attention these days.

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6 marie_s

June 15, 2007 at 2:20 PM

my friend was watching hello miss and didn't watch flowers for my life. i asked her why and she said that aside from the fact that she is going to singapore to work, she doesn't find the topic death all too appealing. i think this might be one of the reasons why people don't watch the show. it's main topic is about death, it's theme is about death. maybe people find it too morbid. but really it isn't. in fact, the script kind of deals with the topic in a funny but relevant and respectable manner.

kbs world is only in episode 5. oh my god i can't wait to see ho sang falling in love with ha na. i just love cha tae hyun since seeing him in lover's concerto and kang hye jun since seeing her in herb.

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7 marie_s

June 15, 2007 at 2:25 PM

i don't think eun tak the actor looks stunningly handsome but his character has developed into somebody i really like. he's not cheesy but still i see that from being a cold kind of person, he's starting to show more of his feelings, sans the cornyness and cheesiness. i can't say the same for nam kyung's character though. she seems hell bent on taking care of ho sang, out of sympathy and compassion. but i don't think, based on reading the detailed episode recaps, that she has fallen in love with ho sang. but nam kyung, hands up, is a real nice person. what's up with ran and ha na understanding each other? if there was one thing i am seeing as a flaw in the script, it's ran and ha na seemingly understanding each other. it really seems a bid odd to me.

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8 tsunamiblues

June 15, 2007 at 4:43 PM

I think when this drama ends I will have overdosed on tears....but I have to say it really irks me when the best dramas that deserve the name don't get the recognition they deserve. First QSS now this one.

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9 seyonida

June 15, 2007 at 5:23 PM

Haha, My Man's Woman is an ajumma drama, huh? That immediately turns me off, but since its getting such high rating, maybe I'll watch a couple of episodes to what's so good about it. After all, I was totally ready to glaze over Dal Ja's Spring (drama didn't seem interesting), but somehow I ended up watching it and loving it! But that is only after I finish watching Flowers for My Life. I finally finished THank You, and, yes! it is SOOO much more than a tearjerker. Sad that I've finished Thank You. Looking forward to starting Flowers XD. I gave up on ratings being the judge of whether I'll like the drama or not long ago... although, I still do look at ratings, since its always nice to see shows I like getting the attention and love it deserves, as well as the people involved in them. Plus, high ratings are a sure bet that producers will look to these shows as the standard for future shows. Meh, I hope My Man's Woman doesn't produce a slew of ajumma dramas at the expense of other possibilities that can be explored. Not that I'm bashing My Man's Woman, either... I haven't seen it either.

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10 Bwitched

June 15, 2007 at 6:05 PM

before I read ur summary I wanna state how regretful I am of the rating..3.3 is simply ridiculous. The koreans don't know what they're missing..

Flowers is about giving chance. One only have to try to watch it to like it. Most doesn't even wanna try . How are u going to fall for sth if u dont even try to know it right???...As far as I can see, all the soompiers who have tried to watch it, all of them love the drama and they even came up with different siggies...

sigh..

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11

June 15, 2007 at 6:31 PM

I cried again just by reading ur summary... A heartful thank you for the efforts. I believe that ur writing really helps with the netizens to get to know this drama. I decided to watch this because of CTH oppa, but I know many started to watch this because of ur summaries...:)

“He lied to appear good to you. I'm not saying it's a good thing he lied to you, I'm saying you don't have to feel hurt over it. It wasn't a lie to take something from you, but to win your heart''

what a good way to explain in Ho sang's point of view. And it came from the father who at first doesn't approve of their relationship at all..

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12 suzie

June 15, 2007 at 7:02 PM

it amazes me how really great dramas like this aren't given the attention they deserve...aish. anyway, i'm really excited for next ep! thanks javabeans!

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13

June 15, 2007 at 6:19 PM

I've only seen the first two episodes and have avoided watching more to avoid getting addicted then having to gnaw my fingernails waiting for subs.

But is sure is a shame when a show you like gets dismal ratings. I guess they don't cancel shows like they do in America.

Anyhoo, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for ratings to somehow shoot up in the last few episodes. And thanks for the summaries, I'll definitely read them after watching the show! :)

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14

June 15, 2007 at 10:34 PM

3.3 rating!? That's ridiculous!

I also just went to check out “My Man's Woman” and the story doesn't seem to be *that* great to get a 40% rating... but like other's I haven't watched it yet so who knows.

> I guess they don't
> cancel shows like they
> do in America.

Thank god right? How bad would it be if they only aired a few episodes and then decided to stop? ARGH... that's one of the reasons I barely watch American TV anymore. All the shows that I loved were canceled (also because they never seem to end...)

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15 julier

June 15, 2007 at 11:54 PM

LOL, go easy on the ajummas! Being an ajumma doesn't mean you don't have taste, but it does mean that you see the world differently than you did at 25, and what appeals to you changes. I've been married 16 years, and I really appreciate a good ajumma drama every now and then. I have always thought that Korean dramas do an excellent job of handling the complex issues of marriage. However, like "cancer" dramas, I limit my intake of "affairs" dramas. I haven't seen My Man's Woman, but the title alone made me want to skip it. However, I too didn't want to see Thank You based simply on the story line, when in fact, it turned out to be this absolutely beautiful drama (really javabeans, you gotta watch it!). As much as I like Flowers, I hate the fact that it is a cancer drama, and I find myself wanting to pull back from it. But, I've liked it so far, so will probably put myself thru the tears. As always, thanks for your summaries, screen caps, songs etc. I really enjoy your blog.

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16 Dais

June 16, 2007 at 12:13 PM

Gosh javabeans, you always gave such great summaries. I'm enjoying the Flowers very much. So thank you, thank you!! I just talked to an ajumma friend who just finished watching My Man's Woman and she absolutely loved the series. Since I'm an ajumma also I'm pretty sure I want to see the series. LOL....You are too precious, girl!! Love you, javabeans. So young and talented (that's you!). The best to you.

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17 javabeans

June 16, 2007 at 1:58 PM

hehe julie, sorry, didn't mean to be hard on the ajummas. it's just a reaction when your Little Engine That Could gets demolished by the competition to blame the rival. especially when this show is so different, and "ajumma dramas" are mostly very familiar productions, even when they're well-done and entertaining.

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18 Bunde

June 17, 2007 at 12:43 AM

I can guess why this drama has low rating. I think viewers in Korea want to see strong, rather than subtle, actions/hooks in the plot. Koreans like sad stories (MISA for example) but do not associate well with offbeat storyline (QSS). Also missing is a neat soundtrack, sexy leads, and cliff-hanging endings.

Right now I am watching War of Money and this. Javabeans, the first episode of War of Money was almost unwatchable for the same reasons you stated but since the second episode it's kind of fun! Show is partially about revenge but also about redeeming oneself and holding right values. It has plenty of plot hooks (errr, struggling for right word here).

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19 melissa

June 17, 2007 at 5:10 PM

Heres The Flowers For My Life MV....Dedicated to Javabeans for all of her hard work writing summarys for us all....we appreciate it sooo much!!

Online Videos by Veoh.com

If embeded codes dont work heres the url:
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v643841b9naYEyN

I also made a Que Sera Sera MV, you can check out if you like. Its on my Veoh and Youtube accounts, And im working on another Faster paced Que Sera Sera MV, I hope it will turn out good!!...

Thanks Again!!

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20 javabeans

June 17, 2007 at 9:12 PM

melissa, thanks for the MV! i love the scenes you chose, and they fit with the song so nicely. you edited them so well! thanks for sharing, and i'm so flattered to have something dedicated to me ;)

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21 melissa

June 17, 2007 at 9:29 PM

Your welcome Javabeans, You deserve it!!

I cant wait for Flowers For My Life episode 11...hopefully i can watch it tommorrow...hehe

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22 Bwitched

June 17, 2007 at 9:45 PM

yeah.Thanks melissa. i love the MV as well. Can I promote ur MV in my blog??..to give the drama some exposure

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23 atalanta_jbs

June 18, 2007 at 12:35 AM

This is really nice... i hope that the ratings would go up! its such a good drama for a 3.3%...

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24 atalanta_jbs

June 18, 2007 at 12:47 AM

Can anybody help me... im looking for the lyrics of the song played in episode 4 where Nam Kyung and Ho Sang is in a date.... something with dream...dream.... (its sounds like an old english song)!!!

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25 Marzy

June 18, 2007 at 12:50 AM

thanks sarah!! i love how flowers can be sentimental without being over bearing. i love how, hana and ho sang can reach out to each other not in conventional ways. really, i hate ratings. they arent always a measure of a good drama/show/movie. its maybe up to the people who can appreciate it and see something more than what everyone says. aahhhh i can love Kim Ji Hoon right now!! arrgghhh!! great drama!! :D

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26 lambaste

June 18, 2007 at 5:19 AM

well, whenever i see this being rerun on tv... i dont really find it that interesting. sorry, but it's just not my thing. and i think thats why the ratings are low... it's sort of a tragedy 'cause you know hes going to die (unless it's a weird-ass miracle drama) and it's subtle and you have to really pay attention to get all that "wonderful, different" thing. also... i dont think it's really that "different". girl, guy like each other (after initial hatred) and another guy likes her too?! no way! and the girl follows the guy for money?! how creative. sure, mix in a little death and coffin-reflecting time... eh. the setting is blah, the storyline is blah. blah.
and i asked this ajumma at my grandpa's house what she was watching when she was watching my man's woman, and she said she only watched it to find out how they'd crash/burn.
sorry... that's just what i think.

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27 lambaste

June 18, 2007 at 5:20 AM

and also, i've always wondered this but how are ratings measured? 'cause i sure change the channel a lot... so do they take the percentage that has tuned in for like... ten minutes? or do they just take the one that was the highest throughout the hour?

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28 javabeans

June 18, 2007 at 10:35 AM

atalanta, if you see the Episode 3 post, the song is posted there.

lambaste, of course you're entitled to your opinion and it's fine if you don't like the series, but i've seen a helluva lot of korean television and i stand by my opinion that Flowers For My Life IS very different. the tone and the presentation are something i've seen in western television (also something i've seen a helluva lot of) but not so much in kdramas. if you're just jumping in for ten minutes now, at more than halfway through the series, i can see how you might not get that sense, but i don't think it's something you'd get in a random ten-minute sampling anyway.

and as for ratings, it's similar to the States (the nielsen company runs ratings in both), so unless you have a nielsen "people meter" box in your home (and if you're unsure if you have one, you don't), your ratings aren't measured at all. they put boxes in select homes, then extrapolate the data to get an estimate for nationwide numbers. so ratings are inexact.

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29 atalanta_jbs

June 18, 2007 at 8:31 PM

I saw it In a Dream (Exhibition) but I can't play it there's an error can you give me the lyrics of this song.... pleasseee... Thank you

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30 lambaste

June 19, 2007 at 7:25 AM

i watched up until episode 5.

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31 samantha

June 19, 2007 at 12:10 PM

once again a really good summary.. thanks

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32 lambaste

June 19, 2007 at 7:39 PM

and i was trying to offer some of the many reasons this drama failed. because, let's face it, the only reason people don't watch it it not becuase of the death theme. i mean, kdramas have always played with death (i have eye cancer, i have leukimia).
and now that i think about it, you're absolutely right. the difference and the tone is not something you'd get in a ten minute sampling. but how do people watch tv? they change the channel and sample things, for say 5 minutes, and if they don't like it, they change the channel and watch something else. my man's woman started with ratings around 10 percent and went up to around 30 percent. why? becuase people sampled it for 10 minutes and liked it and kept the channel there. maybe some people even heard it was good and watched it. but if they hadnt liked it, they would have changed the channel. and as for it not being successful because of the competition, that's wrong. i mean this broke the lowest record for ratings, when my name is kim sam soon was hitting 50 percent ratings, its competitors still survived with ratings higher than 3 percent.
Simply put, some people like it (very few koreans) and some people dont. just dont simplify the reason to its theme.

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33

June 19, 2007 at 8:09 PM

What kind of ratings did the show start with? If they've steadily been going down, then you can't really blame the show's failure on its theme because even if they were at 8% when the show first aired, more people were willing to give the show a chance back then.

If the show isn't getting a lot of word of mouth promotion by people who watched and in fact, the show is losing viewers then you have to chuck it up to it being a show that doesn't have much appeal to majority of the viewers.

It doesn't mean that it's not a good show nor that majority of viewers can't spot a gem when they see one. It's just one of those things. One man's meat is another's poison and all that...

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34 marie_s

June 20, 2007 at 3:19 PM

i was a media planner for a year here in the philippines and the gathering of data is the same. just curious as to how korean tv stations make money, coz in kbs world...no commercials. is it also the same of kbs2, sbs and mbc? if yes, where are the cfs shown?

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35 marie_s

June 20, 2007 at 3:34 PM

lambaste, i get your point. five to ten minutes surely is a long time as viewers have a very short attention span. and if people aren't that interested, it's so easy to switch channels.

i'd have to agree with javabeans that watching flowers require a sort of "build-up" to be able to appreciate its way of exposition of the story, and that requires more than five minutes. and to add to my previous conjecture, this may be one of the many reasons why flowers got low ratings.

i've written in one of my top entries that i think one of the reasons why this drama failed to bring in audience viewership is because it revolves around death, thematically speaking. allow me to expound on this, in relation to your reaction: "let's face it, the only reason people don't watch it (is) not becuase of the death theme. i mean, kdramas have always played with death (i have eye cancer, i have leukemia)." yes, all dramas have used the elements of sickness and death one way or another, but this drama is explicit in its theme of death...ha na's family owning a funeral house, ho sang having cancer, and nam kyung talking to her dead fiance as if he were alive.

personally speaking, (and although this defies the science of media planning), i'd have to agree with entry #39 anonymous. "It doesn't mean that it's not a good show nor that majority of viewers can't spot a gem when they see one. It's just one of those things. One man's meat is another's poison and all that�"

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36 marie_s

June 20, 2007 at 3:36 PM

ERRATUM: # 33 anonymous, i mean.

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37 marie_s

June 20, 2007 at 3:44 PM

to expound on the "build-up" thing i was talking about, the strength of this show is in its plot, script and pacing first and foremost. it's not something you watch and it's visually funny. it does require time to take to know the characters, listen to what they say, and know some kind of their history. i remember watching season 1 of friends of not knowing why people liked the show. but season 2 onwards, since the characters are becoming more known and known to me, it becomes so much funnier.

flowers is some kind of like that. and different in the sense that you really have to watch it from the start to be able to get it. (coz in friends, in my opinion, it's perfectly fine to skip season 1. you'll still get season 2 onwards.)

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38 javabeans

June 20, 2007 at 5:13 PM

@ lambaste, anonymous #33, and marie_s ---

if lambaste is suggesting that Flowers is somehow not a good show, as it kind of sounds to me like he's doing, i will have to wholeheartedly disagree and challenge him to a fight to the pain. if lambaste means to suggest, as anon 33 has, that not everyone has the same taste, i totally agree and that's pretty much all i gotta say.

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39 blueseeker

June 22, 2007 at 6:11 PM

You know am beginning to think that the problems with the ratings is that the show is still not playing in the US......wait until we get a hold of this drama, is incredible. Thank you so much, if it were not for you i would have never started to watch it, now am addicted!

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40 Sarah

July 16, 2007 at 9:11 PM

I find it wierd that Eun Tak asks Ha na out on a date even though he knows that they're blood cousins now...

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41 stercus accidit

April 22, 2008 at 8:54 PM

I have to say it just in case I somehow forget. You are the reason why I decided to watch this drama so Thanks a bunch. I too wanted to express to the actors, writers, and director that their efforts did not go to waste and that there are viewers out there who can appreciate it tremendously. Hopeful this does not discourage others from making such witty and heartfelt dramas in the future.

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42 vanilla-

July 17, 2011 at 12:00 AM

aren't they siblings? if hana's dad is eun tak's biological father, then they're half-siblings. then wouldn't eun tak be crushing on his own sister and ergo be an incest-liking?