Poster and stills for revenge drama Thorn Flower
by javabeans
Daily dramas aren’t my cup o’ tea, but here’s one way to make them more engrossing: Make it dark and vengeful, with lots of blackness and blood-red accents to evoke a vaguely horror-like thrill. That’s what we’ve got here with Thorn Flower, the upcoming daily offering from cable up-and-comer JTBC, which released its main poster this week.
The drama stars Jang Shin-young as a femme fatale out for revenge, which sounds pretty close to her Empress description. She starts out as a sweet college student who’s betrayed by the man she loves, her dreams trampled, culminating in rape and the death of her family. She emerges from the trauma with hardened heart—transforming “so much that it’s difficult to believe it of herself”—and vows to get some payback.
In the still below, Kang Kyung-joon (To the Beautiful You) is locked in a kiss with co-star Jung Ji-yoon (The Traffickers). He’s the villain of the piece, playing the son of a chaebol who’s driven by selfish desires and the cause of our heroine’s misery. I presume it’s his demise we’ll all be rooting for.
While the term makjang gets thrown around a lot disparagingly, this drama seems like the kind that embraces its makjang nature and goes full-out for it, Temptation of Wife style. This kind of makjang is a version I actually have no problem with, because it’s baked right into the premise. It IS the premise. If you’re gonna do it, then own it—make it soapy and addictive and hard to resist. Granted, we don’t know yet whether Thorn Flower will be able to pull that off, but its writer DID pen A Man Called God, so we know he’s familiar with over-the-top camp. Even if I’m not entirely sure that was intentional.
Thorn Flower premieres on February 4.
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1 MsB
January 19, 2013 at 1:00 PM
Have revenge, must watch! But not until I finish Glass Mask! My revenge plate is FULL! 78 episodes in to Glass Mask, I don't think I will watch this yet, but it definitely sounds intriguing!
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DarknessEyes
January 19, 2013 at 8:25 PM
Is Glass Mask good? It looks interesting, but the summary on dramawiki doesn't really give me much to go on.
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Kay
January 20, 2013 at 7:11 PM
Agree, I'd also like to know if Glass Mask is worth watching....
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2 Eulaliee
January 19, 2013 at 1:33 PM
Might watch.... Love it when the avenger/revenger is a female lead.
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3 Kiara
January 19, 2013 at 2:44 PM
Pretty face but weak actress. Where is Ha Ji Won when we need her?.
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Annie
January 19, 2013 at 4:01 PM
... not doing dailies?
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Annie
January 19, 2013 at 4:04 PM
Darn, that sounds a lot snarkier than I intended. What I meant to say before I hit the 'reply' button was that people who are stuck doing daily dramas are usually there because they can't necessarily get better offers (save for bigger stars who sometimes venture into this medium and then scurry back out) so I'm very happy to not have great actresses wasting their time with dailies.
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Anna
January 20, 2013 at 3:25 AM
I watch some daily dramas, and the standard of acting is absolutely fine. I suppose actors get pigeonholed into doing dailies, much like sci fi actors in the US quite often can't break away from that genre unless they get a very lucky break. I certainly don't think that anyone's time would be wasted by acting in a daily.
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bd
January 19, 2013 at 5:14 PM
Eh, wouldn't say HJW is that great of an actress either.
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Quiet Thought
January 19, 2013 at 6:07 PM
As Errol Flynn once allegedly said of himself: "I am not an actor, I am a MOVIE STAR!"
Whatever one might think of Ha Ji Won's technical acting skills, a goodly share of the Korean and international audience finds her captivating to watch on screen. People who can do that don't do daytime soap operas. In any country.
That said, wouldn't it be nice if Korea's prodigious crop of quality actresses included a few more with screen personalities as strong as Ha Ji Won's? Or, more to the point, would it not make sense for Korea's production companies to seek out and develop actresses with that kind of strong personal charisma and create strong, active roles for them to play?
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saranga
January 19, 2013 at 6:30 PM
i think ha ji-won is one of those actresses who is better suited to film than television. she's more charismatic in a comparatively short film than a long running drama. in particular secret garden did her no favors—i get that she's one of the few female action stars in korea, but she was so not right for that role. i cringed whenever she tried to "scream." but then again, the writing wasn't exactly the best either. she played a stuntwoman who couldn't throw/beat up hyun bin when he got saucy on her? -_- oh issues.
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Mystisith
January 20, 2013 at 2:02 AM
Haha. SeGa did her no favor? Let me check the ratings again... On the other side, her movies don't have exceptional results on the box office. And I say that as a fan who like some of them. ;)
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thoale
January 21, 2013 at 4:36 AM
really? ha ji won?
oh come on. ha ji won has never done a revenge drama like this and i don't think it would suit her well. she's more of the adorable girl next door kind.
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4 Trina
January 19, 2013 at 3:30 PM
One makjang drama at a time. So far no one to sub this yet. So, this makjang drama will be in my waiting list. So far, a hundred year inheritance is makjang for me. Hopefully, it will be solve next episode and get back as a family drama with the OTP.
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yumii
January 19, 2013 at 8:50 PM
I saw tow episode of A Hundred Year Inheritance and that baby is Mak to the jang.
Mama-in-law is beyond certifiable.
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girlatsea
January 19, 2013 at 9:01 PM
I watched about 2 1/2 episodes of A Hundred Year Inheritance and then I decided I was going to waste my time on it. I love Lee Jung-jae (and sometimes Eugene) but I don't know if I can sit through it. Where's my light rom-com?? T__T
If anyone watched this weekend's episodes, please let me know if it gets better.
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Trina
January 19, 2013 at 11:40 PM
I think the divorce will be tomorrow as the mama's boy saw the pictures and confront the amnesia Eugene. Dang, I hope after that will be it so we can move on.
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5 Mehkko
January 19, 2013 at 3:53 PM
That kiss actually looks so passionate! Have I been missing out by not watching daily dramas?....and is this really a Korean drama.
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Annie
January 19, 2013 at 4:08 PM
No, you have not been missing out. Dailies are by and large exasperating to watch and they never get subbed anyways.
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6 more
January 19, 2013 at 4:33 PM
Daily drama tend to DRAAAAGE i don't think they will keep the momentum going
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7 Daisy
January 19, 2013 at 4:51 PM
Too dramatic for me! Rape is a no no for me
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8 Quiet Thought
January 19, 2013 at 6:16 PM
For true Makjang, you might try 'Queen of Ambition." I watched the first five minutes and was cracking up every few seconds. One Makjang cliche after another! Cumulating with a gun firing between two bodies and apparently having no affect other than rupturing someone's red magic marker: no bullet, no flash or smoke, no burn, no flinching, just two actors looking embarrassed and some bright red ink dripping on the floor between them.
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9 saranga
January 19, 2013 at 6:22 PM
i don't know why she keeps taking these awful roles! maybe this is all that's being offered to her? i know she's a divorcee but really! i pretty much hate all of her works (all the revengey ones) but i really like the actress. she has the sweetest face and smile, and seems like she could do pretty well in comedy or even family dramas...
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10 snow_white
January 19, 2013 at 6:57 PM
sounds completely makjang.....
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11 sleepychild
January 20, 2013 at 2:09 AM
how about this idea for a post? the best most addictive makjang dramas; horrible dramas that veer into makjang but we watch anyway; what makes a makjang drama and its common tropes
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12 amber
January 20, 2013 at 4:29 AM
Actually, I like the actress. She is not weak in acting. I know she is divorced but still. Have you seen her in the chaser? She is beautiful and can be sweet. Why? She was in the road home and I like that drama. If you haven't seen, try it. Truly heart warming.
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Shopoholic
January 20, 2013 at 10:11 AM
Yeah I love her too in "Bride of the sun" n "Empress"!!!
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13 amber
January 20, 2013 at 4:33 AM
Actually, I like the actress. She is not weak in acting. I know she is divorced but still. Have you seen her in the chaser? She is beautiful and can be sweet. Why? She was in the road home and I like that drama. If you haven't seen, try it. Truly heart warming. Hope she is recognised more.
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14 Ceecile
January 20, 2013 at 11:35 AM
"Rape", really? MUST WE?! MUST WE?! What is with the media and using rape as a tool to create great "strong women." As if being betrayed and having your family killed off isn't enough motivation. If they show a rape scene I am dropping this drama like a hot potato. That shit is always annoying and gratuitous when it victim blames (if you're an innocent girl you dont deserve it, if you're a party girl you had it coming) and stop stereotyping the attackers as skeevy men when honestly they could easily be a charming flower boy next door.
"I Miss You" did not delve into the aftermath of rape and assault with any kind of sensitivity or depth. The writer used a traumatic event like rape to tear the leads apart but didn't want to deal with it afterwards and I hated how Jung Woo kept forcing himself on Soo Yeon, pulling and grabbing her around when he knew what happened to her, just because he felt guilty.
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15 Caroline
January 20, 2013 at 7:41 PM
Is it just me or does the poster look like the drama Tempatation of an Angel's poster?
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