If Jang Hyuk's in it, you can trust that you're in for a good ride. While I don't usually follow Korean actors with their works, Jang Hyuk is among the few that I do, because I know that he always picks quality content. 'Money Flower' was not an exception.

When I first tried watching this, I dropped it after fifteen minutes because 1) I had no idea what was going on 2) it looked like a standard over-played drama plot. But, after reading a few reviews that were highly praising it towards its middle, I decided to give it another chance (good thing I was in winter break because I binged all 12 episodes at once).

I won't repeat what other reviews have already mentioned - the cast is solid, the plot is great, the ending is more than satisfactory. But I do want to talk about my one standout character and cast member - Lee Mi Sook playing as Jung Mal Ran. Not only was I absolutely stunned by her beauty and grace, I was also quite blown-away by her acting. Her performance was the most memorable for me and kept me coming back to the show. Others may not agree with me, but I thought that she was a well-rounded character with solid motivations (not good motivations, but solid nonetheless), back story, and perfectly executed by her actress. If you love character studies, I would highly recommend this show just for her, because she transforms so much from the first to the last episode.

My only quibble with this series was the fact that at times I felt that the episodes could have been shortened and certain conversations skipped over (eg. the main character repeatedly threatening one of his aggressors in the same exact way for 3-4 episodes). But it's a show definitely worth trying out - especially if you're looking for a solid makjang drama that won't bore you halfway with anything too over-dramatic.

8.5