Slow-moving and sparse
Lies Hidden In My Garden started off on a strong note. It even had a good build-up when it came to the suspense and a couple of decent plot twists. But when you look at it by the end, you are left feeling underwhelmed.The story begins in a luxurious home where the husband is a doctor, the wife is a house-wife and they have a teenage son. They moved from the city into a suburb because the wife is unwell due to her dealing with her sister's untimely death. One day, the wife starts to smell a strange stench which her husband denies smelling.
On the flip side, there is another wife who lives in a shabby apartment with her abusive husband. She is pregnant. Her husband decides to take her to the doctor's house one day and meets with his wife. One the way to the house, she notices a phone in her husband's car with a bejeweled floral case that he attempts to hide. On arrival, from the car, she notices that both she and the doctor's wife wear the same scarf.
The issue with the plot began when it started to drag it's heels midway. There are literal moments of silence and slow responses and just staring. The reason being, there isn't much to the story. And despite that, questions were left unanswered such as the scarves both wives wore and the doctor's wife's sister's death. Why was she killed?
The ending was not amazing though the cinematography is. But visuals alone do not make for a great drama. I feel a bit misled. Still it has it's good moments and there is character development shown with the doctor's wife. I also enjoyed the mother and son's relationship even though it wasn't explored in great detail. I also appreciated the neighbour's character and the story behind her husband's death. All the actors also portrayed their characters well and created the much needed drama.
It's an intense series yet lacking. Good for a one time watch.
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a lot of inconsistencies toward the end
I like the vibe of the show. There's something unsettling about each main character and the dark gritty undertones add to the atmosphere of the watch. The cinematography style was also well done. The parasite vibes were strong in this.I read another review that said this would’ve been better as a movie and I absolutely agree, especially after the finale. Even with 8 eps this had a lot of stalling and unnecessary scenes that didn’t serve any point besides being creepy.
The cast was very good. Kim Tae Hee’s performance was so good. She didn’t do much but the way she channeled that timid, reserved person who is easily startled was so great to watch. 2023 really was Im Ji Yeon’s year. I like her performance in the glory better but she’s pretty good here too. Looking forward to her future projects! Kim Sung Oh as the husband was an intimidating performance, but his character wasn’t as much of a standout as the FLs. I also have to give props to the actor who played the son because he was also good. Wish I got to see more of the son. His situation was kinda depressing.
The finale was quite satisfactory but didn’t go the way I thought. I def did not expect the twist with the wife and Sang Eun, but I thought it was a bit out of character for the wife specifically. I would’ve preferred if the husband managed to kill himself but idk how that would’ve happened. Apparently the teacher was responsible for Joo Ran’s sister’s death but what were her motivations? I would’ve liked to know, even if it had nothing to do with the main characters. The fight between Sang Eun, Joo Ran, and the husband was so wild but at the same time dragged out and got nonsensical. How did that baby survive?! That’s the real question. I’m glad that Joo Ran and Sang Eun got a somewhat happy ending. I hope the son got some help for his depression. Still, for some reason I feel that this wasn’t supposed to end as happily as it did. The writing for the second half of this wasn’t as strong and started to show inconsistencies toward the end.
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Addicted.
It started slow, confusing, intriguing, and promising. I was hooked from the beginning. The main male lead (Kim Sung Oh)'s eyes are beautiful. He knows how to act with his eyes, it's weird to see that type of acting in these times. I was terrified of that character, he was so manipulative and scary.It was a good story. I ended with a few questions. I waited for those answers, but they never came.
The female lead, Kim Tae-hee (Moon Joo-ran), her acting was great. She never disappoints in her performance. I think the same about Lim Ji-yeon (Chu Sang-Eun), I was conflicted about her character because she went through a lot of bad stuff, she needed some type of redemption, but I was not sure If the path that she chose was right for her.
Overall, I enjoyed this drama. I am looking forward to watching it again soon.
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Good Enough
Korean Drama " Lies Hidden In My Garden " is a twisty dark drama.The atmosphere of the series is probably what keeps things suspenseful, with clever, sharp shots, and foggy - grey blue filters.
The characters were quite intriguing as well. They were what supported the plot and carried it when things got too messy and too tiring. They were also the ones that aided to the success of the twists, as them being morally grey made it hard to predict their next move. Therefore, the performances were enjoyable.
Finally, the pace of the drama was perfect for the story, as was its length.
So, overall, eight out of ten.
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It was a mistake having it as a drama, a movie perhaps …
I decided to watch it knowing that many were frustrated about this drama, and in the end, I was added to those numbers. In all fairness, it has a nice base story to tell but the style of execution was not suited for a TV series. I think you could compress it into a potent 2+ hour show. It was a bad attempt for the creators to make a difference in the dramaland showcasing that cinematic approach. It turned out not appealing to the greater part of the viewers including me. On the other hand, can’t say anything terrible about the cast and acting. It was a standout performance for everybody.The experience of watching this drama placed heaviness on my heart, especially in the remaining episodes where the character of Kim Tae Hee chose to kill her husband to resolve their family situation. Her husband was so protective of their family that at the expense of doing so was left with no options but to lie and do awful things to keep the family reputation untarnished. It was heartbreaking that in the story, Kim Tae Hee was not able to appreciate and recognize the efforts of her husband and was only blinded by the thought that she was deceived by him. Otherwise, she could have contemplated for other ways to settle the dilemma in the family. It was the ambiguous depiction of the character of Kim Tae Hee that prejudiced the narrative of this drama.
Storywise I can’t vouch for it but if you need a reference for directorial shot works, you may consider this as a resource.
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama grabbed me from the very first episode and I couldn't stop watching until the very end. There are some bleak moments and moments where you already know the answer but still watch. I could guess where the drama was going until the very end and they pulled a lot of twists that kept me wondering what they were going to do next.I loved the cinematography in this show. It is beautifully shot and helps give some of the scenes that eerie feeling it needed. I loved the contrast between the to FL's as well. You have one rich, beautiful housewife who has a doctor husband and can get anything she wants. While on the other you have a struggling pregnant housewife who is being abused by her husband daily. The acting between both Kim Tae-Hee and Im Ji-Yeon is incredible. Especially Ji-Yeon. She does such a great job of playing a woman at the end of her rope and will do anything to better her life for her baby. There were so many moments that her acting just blew me away.
I wish that we could've gotten a little more of Joo-Ran's backstory before they moved. Her entire past was so interesting and we only really got to see bits and pieces from it and most of it was warped by her husband spoiling her memories. I felt so bad for her and what she went through with both her sister and Seung-Jae's teacher. I just wanted more for my own personal interest.
A good quick watch if you want a mystery, but also if you want something that gets you thinking about how you want to live your life for YOU and not others around you.
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very slow drama with a good plot
The drama is super slow but interesting so I kept watching. The acting was really good, Tae Hee and Ji Jeon done great job.Watching the main FL Joo Ran character was so frustrating at the beginning. She let her husband to manipulate her so easily and its hard to watch. The drama gets really interesting probably from 5th episode when the main twist happened. It is a shame that the whole drama did not have the same pace as the second half. It could been so great.
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What secrets lie hidden in the garden?
The biggest plus of this drama is the eerie atmosphere that it creates. Everything about it is perfect. The music with the OST being mostly without lyrics apart from one or two lines at the end of each episode, the camera work, the dark interior of the villa the secluded place in the backyard which both feel suffocating just from looking at them, the flashbacks being in black and white apart from things to focus on that are in colour. In the first episode, the eeriness is so strong that I nearly stopped watching because I thought that the drama was going to shift into a horror genre.All the actors were brilliant, for some Moon Joo Ran (the main FL) felt a little flat but I think that Kim Tae Ri did an amazing job with her character even when the character was in a bad episode of her life and felt apathetic. Im Ji Yeon, who was playing Chu Sang Eun (the 2nd FL) absolutely stole the drama for me, her acting was the best of all, especially during emotional moments, I loved the most how she was acting at the funeral. The actors playing the two MLs also did a great job with their characters, mainly Kim Sung Oh, who was playing Park Jae Ho (the husband of the 1st FL). And Cha Sung Jae who played their son Seung Jae was amazing too, especially for his age.
Because we have unreliable narrators in this drama, it allows for a few plot twists to happen along the way, mainly at episodes 7 and 8, which completely blew me away.
And I have to say that I liked the ending.
9/10 from me, mainly for the athmosphere and acting! Well deserved!
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Unoriginal Story with Unlikable Characters
The plot of this story is something that I've watched in the past. Not that it is wrong but the presentation makes a lot of difference. I agree with the assessment that this should have been better off as a movie. And speaking of movie, this drama reminded me of an old movie Dolores Claiborne based on a Stephen King novel. It is about Dolores Claiborne a housemaid, her estranged daughter and her rich employer. Both housemaid and employer have issues with their husbands. I highly recommend this for those who has not yet seen this film. The ending was so touching and beautiful because the characters finally got the justice they deserve and their slice of happiness. With this drama, except for the son, all the characters were just so unlikeable I did not feel an ounce of sympathy for them and did not care about their predicament.With LHIMG, We have this wife of a wealthy doctor practically catatonic as she prowled her house wallowing in her own misery, a husband who is controlling and mental abuser, an impoverished pregnant woman and her husband who delighted in making her his punching bag. These characters had no redeeming qualities that would stir any sympathy or empathy for them. In the end, after 8 episodes, there were so many unanswered questions and plot holes that were never resolved.
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Aesthetically eye-pleasing, conceptually brilliant, excellent execution.
These three words in the headline perfectly summarise this drama.Cinematography is one of the finest I've come across in any kdrama.
Conceptually it was strong, and the writers did a fine job to adapt a novel into a drama.
And the execution was just excellent. You know this when the drama is really able to connect all the dots and close all the loose ends in 8 episodes alone.
This drama is about two women, who are different from one another, but in some way, are direct reflection of each other. One is living with her "happy" family while coping with serious trauma from the past that affects her life to this day. While the other lady is a subject of domestic abuse but has to pretend to be a "happy" family in front of others.
What follows is how the life of these two women became interconnected, and how they help each other to come of their misery.
The acting is brilliant, exactly what you expect from the likes of Kim Tae Hee, Lim Ji Yeon, and Kim Sung Oh, but the highlight of this show, for me, was the ML. Kim Sung Oh has had his own share of villainous roles in the past, and in this drama too he showcased his ability. I hope this drama will earn him a Baeksang nomination.
The cinematography was so pleasant. Some of the shots taken by the cameraman were just absolutely gorgeous. There is minimum use of songs as the director wanted to highlight the tension between dialogues by muting the music and letting the atmosphere create extra tension.
So, overall, a mighty fine drama. Not free of some flaws w,r,t, the story, but they are ignorable ones and don't impact the story in any way. A solid 8.5 from my side.
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Eerie and yet I feel indifferent
I finally caught up with the show and have to say it's a weird one. I don't watch psychological shows usually, but I was nonetheless intrigued since Lim Ji Yeon is playing a main role here, and I thought she was great in "The Glory". We have two more episodes left and I am more than curious to find out the truth about Kim Yoon Beom's death as well as Lee Soo Min's. for the latter, things have been revealed, only to be slightly different after all, I don't think we have the full picture yet.What I found questionable is that the police gave Sang Eun her husband's belongings back, including his phone, concluding his death was suicide, but... did they even check the phone?? Because if they actually checked, they would find the weird pictures he took of Joo Ran as well as all the interior pictures he took of Park Jae Ho's and his family's home. Which would be weird as hell. If they checked his phone, they would have seen the text message sent by Yoon Beom, blackmailing Jae Ho. Which, again, is weird. The phone alone would be reason and evidence (a motive) enough for killing Yoon Beom but the police concluded a suicide, this doesn't make sense to me.
While I understand this is a psychological thriller/mystery, I find all the empty scenes of the characters just looking at me super weird and long. They make the show draggy to me. And I understand Joo Ran's trauma but at the same time, I enjoy the scenes with Sang Eun much more, they flow better in my opinion. The music is a nice addition to the series as it complements the eerie, creepy atmosphere quite perfectly. I was watching the show and was so entranced that when my cat was making some noise outside my room, I got scared lmao. But on a serious note, the music is nice. Another thing I like a lot, unsurprisingly, is the cinematography. Studio Dragon participated in this drama as well, therefore the beautiful camera shots come to no surprise. Visually, the show is very appealing.
But there is something about the show that just leaves me feeling... rather neutral. I am invested enough to watch every new episode but I don't really feel anything watching this show. Now that I am done watching the show, I still don't feel like it had any real impact on me. Episode 7 was a weird, boring one yet I finished it rather quickly. We got some additional information about Joo Ran's sister's death and her troubled relationship with her mother as well as JR and SE plotting Jae Ho's murder (which I thought "huh, that's TOO easy, but okay", which it was because SE was betrayed by JR and nearly killed). The last episode was probably the most dynamic and eventful one since we got some actual physical action. While I thought that JR pulling a Bella by cutting her wrist was dumb (because why would he care, she betrayed him?), I also kind of hated how she did not help SE as the latter was nearly beaten to death. Park Jae Ho was revealed to be a massive narcissistic psycho, and he showed no remorse beating a pregnant woman and literally throwing her across his house (this actually genuinely shocked me) BUT I have to say to action scenes/stunts looked incredible, real, and impactful. I will give the director and choreographers this much! One thing I was thinking throughout the whole show was that none of the characters really had any development (in my opinion), everyone seemingly stayed the same except for SE in the last minute who seemed to live a happier life after all, but you cannot really call that development, we didn't get to see that progression. Also, what exactly was SE reason to follow her husband's footsteps in blackmailing Park Jae Ho? Where did that scammer characteristic come from? Was is general greed for a better life,...?
Overall, the show was... good? The ending was okay, left me thinking. I'm not quite sure what to think. I feel like the longing stares (into nothingness) could have been cut short to tie certain story/plot lines together more neatly; I also think the neighbor lady was underused to be honest. The show is missing something, but all in all it was a visually interesting experience at least and quite intriguing, too.
I'll give this 6/10 MDL stars or 2.5-3 out of 5 regular stars, I think.
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