[Drama 2019] When the Camellia Blooms, 동백꽃 필무렵

[lollyminx]

8 hours ago, Latte_Anyday said:

So he & Jessica aren't registered in terms of marriage?! I'm confused.

I'm not sure because the subs may be misleading but in my understanding, Jessica had a wedding with another man before Jong Ryeol but that wedding was not registered, which is why she was able to marry Jong Ryeol later on. 

 

Oh also, I'm on board Yong Sik's idea of Hong Ja Yong as the future governor of Ongsan.  I'll vote for her too over her husband. 

[chickfactor]

11 hours ago, lollyminx said:

 

Frustrations aside, my favorite part of this episode is Hong Ja Young going to the Camellia because she wants to drink with a friend. Way to go with the character development here. Way to go lawyer Ja Young. 

 

Yeah, go Hong Ja-Young! I knew she was awesome. I LOVED that she had stopped by Camellia to just have a drink. Too bad she didn't get to have that drink with DB.

 

This show is so well-written, and so well-acted. I am enjoying it so much.

 

I really loved how when DB stuck up for herself with her "sexual harassment notebook" and she actually earned the respect of Ja-Young and the other neighborhood ladies, too. They've been treating her poorly all these years, but I think they finally understand that she is not some girl who is flirting with their husbands - they're the ones flirting with (and harassing) her. Women unite!

 

If a serial killer writes on the wall of your business that s/he's been watching you... yes, get out of town. Is there even a question?

 

Of course, I don't think she will actually go. She has more people in her corner than she did at the beginning of this show. She's got Ja-Young (awesome), Jong-Ryeol, and the gang of ahjummas seem more sympathetic to her than they did before. And her mom, too. Not to mention YONG-SHIK. Man, I just love this guy.

[40somethingahjumma]

This show is all kinds of awesome and brilliance. Words are insufficient right now to express how I feel about KHN in particular but the writing of this story is spectacular. So much to say... so little time to say it. Moreover, I'm not known for short posts.

 

The ledger... It's definitely the key. I doubt its introduction at this stage is for one purpose only. My guess is that it will have a use beyond keeping the male patrons on their toes and punishing men behaving badly. I am surprised that no one's thought about using it to track the movements of the Joker. Anyway, that's my hypothesis for now. Despite all the hype, I am not sure that the Joker is really after DB... My guess is that he/she sees him/herself as DB's protector in some odd terrifying fashion. If, as has been declared, that the Joker has been watching her all this time, he could have struck anytime in the past 5 years. He didn't. So why now? That's why I don't think the victim that we've seen in the flashforwards will be DB. I don't say this with any real degree of certainty... it's purely speculation on my part. The reason the Joker has re-emerged... has largely to do with complications in DB's life. It seems to have a come during the emergence of this intractable love triangle. The timing is noteworthy. 

 

For all those reasons, I don't think leaving Ongsan will actually make much of difference. There's nothing to stop the Joker from following her to wherever she hopes to go. I also don't believe it is possible to protect PG from all of this. One can try of course. Sure, it's the sort of thing you don't want any kid to have to go through but some things are beyond one's control. However, right now... the person who is most dangerous to PG is JR... IMVHO...

 

The most interesting part about the Joker is its commentary on the notion of a small regional town/village being intimate places. The discussion between the chief and YS was instructive in that regard. Do we really know people just because of close geographical proximity? It also seems to me that any kind of neighbourly knowledge is limited to the exaggerated, salacious stuff that tabloids love perpetuating. If the Joker is indeed a local (which I believe he/she is), then it gives lie to the idea that everybody knows everyone in these sorts of locations. Do we really know people as well as we think we do? Especially if they tend to live fairly anonymously and innocuously. The only reason why DB seems to be constantly bombarded with notoriety has little to do with the way she lives but in large part due to her status in that community. She's a rare exhibit in the Ongsan zoo where there's not a lot going on in general. If someone else had come in and set up shop there, it would be an entirely different story. So in truth, the gossip tells us more about the community itself -- it's attitudes and beliefs than DB as a single mother.

 

Speaking of timing and love triangles, I really have to give JR a big tongue lashing this time round. In previous episodes, I had some sympathy for him and his situation although I've always believed that he made his bed and now he has to lie in it. He made poor choices... and I thought he understood that at least. But in Episodes 7 and 8, he was downright obnoxious and irresponsible to the point I really wanted to either punch him or throttle him. I thought YS showed admirable restraint on both occasions because JR should just get back to Seoul and stay the heck out of  DB's life. I don't care if he's Pil-gu's birth dad but it was highly irresponsible for him to take the boy to the seaside to eat shellfish and not inform his mother of it. It's bad enough that PG didn't leave a message but the so-called adult should know better. But no... He hasn't learned a single thing from the past. Not a thing apparently. Okay so his marriage is facade... well, that's not DB's problem and it won't be solved by him hanging around her and disrupting her life so that he can assuage some of his guilt and/or enjoy a bit of relief from a gold-digging spouse. It's pure escapism on his part. What's the relevance of the argument of having spent 10 years with DB? Is that some kind of licence for  being a nuisance and/or for reconciliation. They broke up and moved on. He did his thing... she did hers. On top of that, he's married and she's now seeing another man that he is well-aware that she  likes. He even observes that she's different when that other man is around. But somehow the implications of all these facts escape him because at the end of the day, it's all about him... how he feels... what he thinks and how he thinks DB should live. He's bulldozing into their lives in frantic desperation trying to pick up where he left off with no idea of what he's coming into and no regard for her needs and preferences. It's a kind of hubris. Especially when he has done a poor job with his own personal life.

The fact that his marriage is farce and is coming apart at the seams is no excuse for his awful behaviour. And what's even worse, he's throwing around his wealth... as if it makes up for everything. I don't begrudge people a bit nostalgia. I indulge from time to time myself . But to live that way suggests a very bad case of delusional mania.

 

I love how the romance is written and portrayed here. There's something sweetly old-fashioned about the way the leads interact that has me grinning from ear to ear. The dumpling ("mandu") analogy was gold and resonated with me. It's things like that about the show that makes it a gem. You've got to give KHN so much kudos for all those facial expressions as he reacts to her remarks. I live for his facial contortions! YS no raging intellect but he has good o'l fashion common sense. And his emotional radar is so well tuned to hers because he takes the trouble to listen. It's a precious thing to behold. That exchange between him and JR at the noodle stall was why I watch K dramas and put up with idiotic 2MLs. Classic stuff. Haha... I thought it was a neat trick by the show to do a  hug between the leads. It's a clever way to include one now that we're close to the halfway mark.

 

I understand DB's reaction to the writing on the wall... I can see how it's shaken her and put the fear of God into her. It's better for her to be honest about how she's feeling than keeping it bottled. But as I said earlier, I don't think it's the answer even though I understand why she's thinking that way. She's a mother first and to protect her son is her first thought.

 

I don't like what HM is becoming... but it's probably groundwork for when the Joker strikes again. I thought she was just a immature iconoclast (which was funny) but this blackmailer hat she's got on at the moment is quite creepy. She's turning into a serial blackmailer because she's crazy lazy and wants instant results. I don't understand her and TBH I don't want to. GT is rather stupid to indulge her. He should just call her bluff. 

 

Another couple of terrific episodes. Hope the show can maintain this kind of quality right to the end.

 

 

[Latte_Anyday]

@lollyminx

IMO Jessica is on par with Hyang Mi with their manipulative ways It's just that the latter know how to level up albeit like a gold digger The fact her mom keep harping on how so many other wealthy men desire her is disgusting. She's probably no better than a escort the seedy kind ugh. Hyang Mi...should be able to reach the same level as Jessica, so it's odd why she aim so low as in a modest & sleepy town like Ongsan? 

    Oh yes to Lawyer Hong on running for politics I mean she obviously know the law - DuH. And she's smarter (obviously) I really feel for her that all she needed was a shoulder to lean on & a drink to numb her troubles away~ 

 

@Dramanoona

That's 'cause she's the exact same ahjumma from the eden goshiwon in "Strangers from Hell" I find her message to Dong Baek a forewarning - "Be Careful Who You Trust", she knows something but what LoL!? And I said it too myself in a post earlier that she's not acting like a typical Dementia patient. She's way too independent!

 

@stroppyse

Maybe it's 'cause he dealt with it multiple times in his life, as mentioned by Jessica he used to date a model, a K-Pop idol (seriously) etc so he avoided Hyang Mi like the plague. I'm glad Yong Shik returned that box of abalones to Jong Ryeol 'cause had it fallen into Hyang Mi's hands...and she was eyeing them through the window...

[nasaan ka Alex?]

Spoiler

 

First image is the gloves the plumber is wearing. Second is at the end of episode 3(6) when YS was repainting DB's wall. From this, Im 90% sure the plumber is either the killer or an accomplice to the killer. It was also mentioned in other episodes that there is a possibility of an accomplice.

 

My take is that both the plumber and his father are the killer/accomplice. On scenes were the plumber is visible, there was always a mention of his father(Could also mean he's pretending to have one). During the last victim's murder, it is possible that the killer is an elderly(excessive coughing) or he's just sick during the time of murder. DB also mentioned that she heard someone knocking on the door at the time of the murder, and it seemed our killer wasn't surprised by it. The murderer was surprised when the sprinkler system turned on.

 

[bebebisous33]

@nasaan ka Alex? There seems to be another evidence for HS's involvement with the Joker. 

Look, in this scene, NGT is holding a wire that looks really similar to the one that has been used by the Joker. But like you, I suspect that HS is not working alone. HS could not be someone who is so smart that he could erase all the evidence. 

 

Actually, there are two persons. Why? Because of the lighter. 

The lighter found in the episode 8 doesn't look like the one seen at the end of the episode 4. 

(here episode 4)

 Notice that the lighter has a sticker, while the other doesn't. (episode 8).

Furthermore, I have also observed that there seems to be two MO: one person writes the messages (see the two writings on the wall), while the other appears to burn something.

1. During the last murder in 2014, a fire alarm went on.

2. Someone burnt the message on the wall, after it was discovered.

3. After reading the last message on the wall, a fire occurred at PG's school. 

I had suspected that DB's mother was the one who triggered the fire alarm in 2014. What if she created the fire at the school, in order to scare her daughter so that she would leave Ongsan? Don't forget that after that incident, DB broke down which was observed by YS. In my opinion, the arsonist is not the Joker but someone who wants to protect DB. The mother fits the profile. She can't say who is the Joker as she acts as a person suffering from dementia. Yet, she gave her daughter this warning: Don't trust anyone!!

 

In my opinion, the message could have been addressed to HM this time. That's why I would like to ask if DB's name was mentioned in the last warning on the wall. While the mother might think, her daughter is targeted, in reality, HM has caught the Joker's attention. Notice that he hasn't written any date. 

 

Let me know what you think... @40somethingahjumma @stroppyse @Latte_Anyday 

[bedifferent]

There were some scenes that made me rolled with laughter.  So here are some screencaps.

 

I love the conference around fish sticks.  The scriptwriters has a love for international crime mystery; Norway noir movies are among the best.  It gets mentioned here several times with the village fisherman.   Our neighborhood crime watch unit is born.  The ladies here can finally put their talents to good use.

 

Spoiler

 

 

You know what is awesome, Oh Jung-Se  His bumbling handle of the language, either in his own native tongue or in English is priceless.  I spotted GHS not able to hold in the laughter during this scene.

 

Spoiler

 

 

The writing is on the ceiling

 

 

BTW, HM's root has returned to black from the coloring.

 

Spoiler

 

 

I am perplexed at why DB connected the dirty shoes with flour.  Why? If the Joker was HS, wouldn't she associated with construction or plaster... ?  

 

The CSI Miami running joke never fails.  Ongsan's own is sorely lacking.  

Spoiler

This guy deadpaning... HAHA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yong Sik zeroing into the footage of the crime scene, any idea on what we are not seeing? He mentioned that terminal was built after GT bought the clinic.  What terminal?

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[africandramalover]

How do I love this drama?! Let me count the ways!!

 

It brought me out of posting retirement, for one! 

 

I'm easy to please so I liked the synopsis from the word go. (Plus I know how to spot a good drama). They had me at romance, drama, Gong Hyo Jin and Kang Ha Neul... Then I saw the promotional video of KHN as a country bumpkin in love and I wondered "what is going on here??!!" (Check out trailer three on this page. YongSik is such an oaf!!) But judging from the quality of the writer's two other dramas, I knew it would be good.

 

I won't meander. I love the cast. I love the judge-y villagers. I love the blooming romance. I love how the writer has hooked her fingers in my nostrils and is dragging me around with this mystery storyline!!

 

I'm not much of a mystery buff and neither am I detail oriented, so I am not going to take my time working out who the killer is. I can't come up with clues, theories, analyses... they make my head spin, so I will read your views instead. As @40somethingahjumma has said, that ledger holds the key to this case.

 

But I won't speculate any further because I hate details so I will wait to be surprised. 

 

This week, Baseball Dad absolutely pissed me off!! The way he nagged PG at the school, and when he took PG to the seaside, I almost threw my tablet away!! Then he has the gall to go back to the restaurant and fold his arms behind his head like he owns the place!! I don't know why DB didn't go off on him (I would have killed him). At this point, I want him to get divorced and end up alone with his money, and have wasps sting him!! 

 

When PG realised that Baseballer is his dad..... poor thing!!

 

That slay-queen Jessica is quite the piece of work!! But I love that such a horrible character exists, a bad young mother. Her mother has obviously been the devil that whispers in her ear and the end result is a terrible ogre of a woman.

 

To round off the evil trifecta for the week, the arbeit HyangMi is tightening the noose around GyuTae... I want him to go down for being a womaniser and for harrassing DB, but I also pity him because HyangMi is another piece of work! The way she blackmails him is so realistic, I could see a mistress doing that to a man in real life!!

 

I'm glad there's twenty episodes because this drama hits the spot. A great way to close out the year. I think they will win lots of awards during awards season.

 

PS. The kiss scenes better not fail me!

 

 

[bedifferent]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:00 PM, stroppyse said:

 

 

  Hide contents

DB had earlier told YS that rather than dating passionately since she did that when she was younger already, that she wants someone to warm up with slowly. So, that they should start a "some" and take time to become closer rather than just dating. Btw, that scene was so cute how YS tells her he wants one proper thing that they should do, and DB's mind goes to physical affection, but YS is really talking about an emotional connection

 

 

 

I find the writing awesome in this scene.  Beside what you have wrote, it connects back to the conversation between DB and Deok Soon. 

 

When the two women talked, Deok Soon gave reasons for her hesitance toward their relationship.  First is from the perspective of a single mom who lived the challenges of parenthood that naturally wants to protect her son from the hardship.  Her second reason is even more organic in term of storytelling.  She knows how impulsive and passionate her son is (we witnessed as well since episode 1).  She worries for both Yong Sik and Dong Baek because of it.  Because she knows how his personality is, how passionate he feels for things.  She fears that his love, like a fire, will eventually dies if cannot be sustained.  I like how she advised Dong Baek to take time in this relationship to test whether their affection will last.  That speaks to Dong Baek who was unsure of our YS, being scarred from her last relationship with JR as well as being abandoned when she was a child.  During the dimsum scene, DB used the same the fire and steam analogy with YS.   Trust is a big thing to her and time gives her courage to enter into a relationship.  I really like how DB took to heart what Deok Soon said and how the two women both have a clear understanding of YS's character.  It's different than the relationship between JR and Jessica where JR entered into the relationship blind to Jessica's intentions. Here, Deok Soon advised Dong Baek take whatever time necessary to evaluate her heart and the other person's character before committing to the relationship.  In any case, the writing is superb that we are not blindsided to our characters' actions and words.

 

@bebebisous33  DB's mom is obviously mentally doing the accounting of her saving accounts on screen.  HM's theft will be uncover soon.   I also find it weird that the lighter was recovered undamaged.

 

@chickfactor Yes, I love the possibility that Ja-Young is more suitable than her hsb for political office.  She is fair, well, a more upstanding person than we were initially given an impression of.  I don't think she was ever pre occupied with DB's position as a single mom or Camellia's owner.  She was more concerned about her husband's affair.  Even though she doesn't want to admit it, I'm sure Ja Young is curious at the why and how as much as who is diverting GT's interests.  I think she has always looked down at the townspeople as people she doesn't have any connection with.  DB is the key for her to get to know Ongsan people and god knows, perhaps starting to care or make friends.  Ja Young is lacking in people skills on top of communication skills.  As a lawyer, she is probably more feared than liked.  It's an advantage she needs for her job but my, it's a lonely place to be.  She's very detailed and clinical but there are more things about people than facts.  Instead of trying to figure out what her husband is doing, go down to the bar and see for herself.  She also needs a friend more than she realized.

 

The episode is titled "The Lynx of Ongsan".  Eventually we will get all the characters' personality explained?! LOL

The lynx character speaks of someone who is intuitive, observant (see through all the deception), honorable... the instinctive part is related to the animal's ability to hear better with their ears.

 

@40somethingahjumma agree, think one of the killers see herself/himself as a guardian angel.  I also think DB will leave Ongsan at some time in the story, if not now.  At the present 2019? crime scene, the way Yong Sik broke down, it appeared as if he has not seen DB for a while.  Wouldn't he just call DB to confirm that it is not her first?!

[bebebisous33]

@bedifferent I had this idea that with the discovery of the new victim (quite sure that HM is the murdered one), her mother might use this incident to deceive the police and the Joker. She lets people think that DB died. If her face is destroyed and there is DB's ID with the corpse, the police could think that DB has died. Besides, HM has no relative hence her DNA can not be compared so far. Her disappearance could be a trick to deceive the Joker.  

[bedifferent]

@bebebisous33  We still don't know the circumstances of why DB was left at the orphanage, did her mom want to protect her from someone?  She disappeared, resurfacing again inexplicably.  Is there a connection to the killer? DB may actually has a relationship with Joker?

 

I forgot, we do have another smoker

 

Spoiler

 

who was also present when the camera was installed - JR

 

 

The person who wrote this msg has to be tall, leaning toward a male more than female.  From these angle, msg is above the table and chairs... HS installed the camera quite high too.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Also, the CCTV dated the timeline for us.  The break in/msg was written on Sept 1, 2019... recently, only about a month from the present.  The remaining of the drama happened in a short amount of time, the last murder much sooner than I thought.

 

 

[bebebisous33]

@bedifferent Yes, we know little about DB. First, we only know that she was abandoned by her mother but where was her father during that time? More importantly, who is her father? DB only talks about her mother who abandoned her, yet she never mentioned her father. In my opinion, she was a single mother. And unlike GP, DB does not seem to be curious about her father or even angered by him. Maybe the mother abandoned her in order to ensure her safety... what if the man was violent and after giving birth, she left him with DB as she feared that her daughter might die? Maybe a married wife on the run because she wanted to escape the abusive environment?

[tiMadam]

One of my suspects is the baseball coach.  Idk ..I feel way off on this but I have put him as a suspect.

[ktcjdrama]

7 hours ago, bedifferent said:

Yong Sik zeroing into the footage of the crime scene, any idea on what we are not seeing? He mentioned that terminal was built after GT bought the clinic.  What terminal?

If I remember correctly from Chinese subs, it’s a transportation terminal, making the area more valuable/high-price. 

 

I too wondered what are we supposed to see in the footage that YS left playing. It must be something important that he was to miss because he rushed out. But I cannot find anything odd even after replaying many times. I also tried to spot any figure of a person in the windows, but nothing...

[bibianni19]

Anyone recalled the dark alley scene? There was a homeless man sitting on the ground when DongBaek and YongSik walked by. I was startled when he actually coughed. Remember that DongBaek’s account of Joker was that he kept on coughing? If that man is always in the alley, that also means that he is watching DongBaek everyday since she will walk past the alley daily.

 

Still not sure if Joker is working on his own or has an accomplice. HeungSik doesn’t seem to be off the suspect list yet (coz of the gloves and proximity to DongBaek and he definitely knows Camelia well and he installed the cctv so he knows the blind spots) but he is so adorable when he smiles. And He doesn’t sound like someone who will make that kinda of cough though. 

 

HyangMi and JungRyeol and annoying. 

[Dumdoc]

Maybe we can also add Jang Ryul’s father-in-law (presumably since he hasn’t appeared yet) to the list of suspects? I was just watching the scene in episode 8 with JR’s wife on the couch with her mother. They were chatting about JR’s wife’s “scandalous” dating in the past and the mother shushed her when they heard a man’s hacking cough. It’s definitely a stretch but it would be a surprise if there was more backstory to Jang ryul’s wife’s family. Can’t wait for more clues next week. 

[lollyminx]

18 minutes ago, Dumdoc said:

I was just watching the scene in episode 8 with JR’s wife on the couch with her mother.

Woah I hadn't thought of that although I noticed that someone was coughing in the room lol At this point, it seems like the writer is toying with us and throwing suspicion at everyone 

[larus]

When the Camellia Blooms: Episodes 11-12

by quirkycase

With the arrival of an unwelcome reminder of her past, our heroine is forced to face unpleasant childhood memories and how they have shaped her. It’s getting harder and harder for her to repress her emotions and cut herself off from those around her, especially with our resident puppy in human form refusing to leave her side. It looks like our timid heroine might finally be coming into her own.

 

 
EPISODE 11: 1986.08.29 Born to be a hippo

Yong-shik spots someone lurking in an alley near Dong-baek’s place and gives chase. He manages to catch up to them, yanking them around by the wrist to stand face-to-face.

 

more http://www.dramabeans.com/2019/10/when-the-camellia-blooms-episodes-11-12/

[rubie]

October 11, 2019

 

The Origin of Gong Hyo-jin's Character Name in "When the Camellia Blooms"

By William Schwartz on HanCinema.net

 

 

"When the Camellia Blooms" has been a huge success on South Korean television hitting ratings upward of 14%. Though many factors are responsible for this, a subtler one is the unusual name of its main character. Dong-baek, who is played by Gong Hyo-jin, literally translates as Camellia. But why is the lead character of this aggressive romance named after the flower?

 

Both Gong Hyo-jin's agency as well as the drama's production company have confirmed that the lead's name was Dong-baek way back when the drama was still in pre-production. At the time the name was not considered relevant to the story and an explanation was not expected to be forthcoming.

 

But a person close to the drama's production has confirmed that there is a thematic meaning connected to the name of the flower. As a winter flower, the Camellia is intended to evoke a cold image. However, as the flower blooms, so too does the character in the drama bloom, despite the poor general conditions. The hope was that viewers would be able to make this connection themselves.

 

However, aside from the thematic connection a literal one has also flowed from the script that delves back into the lead character's unfortunate childhood. Flourishes like this have done much for the drama's reputation and allowed it to reach greater heights in popularity.

 

Written by William Schwartz

[Nanana85]

Promo content for The Swoon/Netflix. All of them are adorable, and the guys seems love to tease Gong Hyojin.