Drama Review: Flower Boy Next Door Episode 6

Flower Boy Next Door

Episode 6

                This is an episode full of misunderstandings.  From the very beginning when Tae Joon felt like Enrique and Seo Young are making a fool out of him to when everybody directly or indirectly connected to Dok Mi thought she is living with Enrique.  The whole thing was like misunderstanding after misunderstanding.  But even so, they all make sense.  However, there was an instance when the misunderstanding occurred because of something that didn’t make sense and I will get into details about that later.

                In this episode, Enrique is doing a great job getting over his first love, Seo Young.  There were no crying or outrageous nonsense.  He goes on with his life, does what he is in Korea to do, and bug Dok Mi.  Fate is on his side.  Good for him.  The writer created a situation where Enrique gets the opportunity to realize his new found goal while he is in Korea.  That is, of course, to get Dok Mi out of her shell.  Since Enrique is an interesting figure, then why not have him write an autobiography and since Dok Mi is an editor then there you go—a concoction that make sense.  His interesting existence + her job + Enrique’s persistence = fate?  That could be, right?  Otherwise, how is it that she can express herself more when she is with Enrique or when she’s talking to him and not with anyone else, including Jin Rak?

                There are things going on with the main characters, emotionally, that at this point they’re not aware of.  This isn’t really anything new in Korean dramas—the girl or the guy is not aware that she or he is already developing a romantic feeling towards the other character until somebody comes in to snatch their object of affection.    But then for some reason that cliché, when used right, makes the series riveting.  And I would say that so far this drama is heading to the right direction even if it has used the same old trick that I just mentioned. 

                When I saw the first episode, I was surprised that its entirety was spent on premise, and introduction of characters.  Now I fully understand how that was really important.  In this series, each character has something about them that makes us viewers ask what story is behind each of them.  The first episode serves as a platform for the viewers to understand the decisions made by the characters as the drama progresses.  A clear example was when Dok Mi welcomed Enrique in her apartment, when he’s got nowhere to go, despite her anxiety being around people.  She is a person with sympathy and she’s kind-hearted.  She doesn’t just throw things or objects away just because they’re empty.  She organized the garbage next to their building because it doesn’t feel right to her not to; it doesn’t feel “just” to simply dump them because we don’t need them anymore; classifying them accordingly is the right thing to do.  Just like letting Enrique in so he can sleep comfortably is the right thing to do. 

                Another example is the kind of relationship she has with Do Hwi who used to be her friend.  Do Hwi is judgmental.  Instead of asking her friend what exactly happen, she tends to draw conclusions right away just because she’s hurt.  Even though she and Dok Mi had been friends since elementary, she threw all that away by the sight of her crush (the Literature teacher) touching Dok Mi’s elbow and him talking to her in such a way that he probably doesn’t do with other students.  I can never question her decisions because it was a given that she is the way she is. 

                In all the characters, I have never found any loopholes where I can say their actions or decisions don’t make sense.  Everything they do is something that a person of their personality would typically do.  Am I making sense here?  I hope so. 

                I mentioned earlier that there is a misunderstanding that was caused by something that doesn’t make sense.  It is when Do Hwi asked Dok Mi to leave the room and the rest of the class pressured the teacher to explain to the whole class what is going on between him and Dok Mi behind closed doors.  The premise:  Dok Mi was seen coming in and out of his house.  I don’t see the need to explain the details as to why she’s going to his house after school because for sure you already know.  If not here’s a link you could visit to watch episode 6 with English subtitles:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVrcGWJZQPs.  Although, I don’t know if this link would still work in the future, just try it.  This link has nothing to do with me.  I don’t own it.  I just happen to find it when I was looking for a link to the video with English subtitles.  I am glad www.viki.com already ha the license to show the series here in the US.

                Anyways, things like that don’t happen.  Teachers don’t explain to students the way that teacher did.  How did I know?  Because I know how it works in schools.  Let’s just put it that way.  I don’t care where you are in the world, there is such thing as bureaucracy even in schools.  Issues such as what the students raised would have been dealt a different way.  I don’t think any teacher will explain himself the way their teacher did—especially if he wasn’t doing anything wrong.  Now, it is wrong that his student is coming in and out of his house to do whatever writing training they were doing.  Remember, she’s preparing for this National Writing Competition.  All that preparations should have been done in school.  But he probably has an ulterior motive, that’s why.  But here's the thing: if that is to be considered, then all the more that that person won’t explain his actions to the students the way he did.  It just doesn’t make sense to me.  Plus, the Principal would have done something already before the kids.  And the kids confronted their teacher that way?  Really now!  And that teacher is such a Deuce bag!   

                Regardless, I am glad that her past is now starting to clear up.  How that past made her the way she is now, I think there is still more to it. 

                I was a little disappointed by that scene with the teacher.  They could have thought of something better than that.  Even so, the show picked itself up when they showed some fluffy moments of Dok Mi and Enrique.  Then Dong Hoon’s loud mouth never ceases to make me laugh!  And who could miss Jin Rak’s crazy moments.  All in all, this episode made me smile, chuckle, laugh, and still want more—and the preview didn’t help at all.  After watching the preview, I just ended hungrier for more!  I only hope to continue to see the balance between comedy and drama; the light and dark side of each of the main characters.  Also, I’m sure, it’s not just me who wants to know more about Jin Rak.  Why did he really change his name?  Do Hwi seem to know him as Oh Jae Won, so how are they related?  What is Jin Rak trying to avoid?

                I decided not to retell the episode because it is a little too late to do that.  Even so, you still took your time to read my article.  So thank you for the interest in learning about my thoughts about this series.