When the Camellia Blooms

                                                

Episodes: 20

Synopsis:

This is a thriller following the story of Oh Dong Baek, a single mother who is running a bar called Camellia. Oh Dong Baek is an attractive, timid, and soft-spoken woman trying to make a living to raise her young son in the fictional town of Ongsan. Unfortunately, she spends a few years getting bullied by the locals as she is judged for being a single mother, for running a bar, and for subconsciously attracting the men in the town with her beauty. Six years after she moved to the town, she meets Yong Sik. He is a simple-minded man with a passion for justice. Upon meeting Dong Baek and watching her stand up for herself, he falls for her and begins to pursue her. He defends her from the aunties that look down on her, encourages Dong Baek to be confident, and attempts to be there for her son. As the two begin to fall in love, they are also faced with great opposition from many people in the town and outside of the town. Dong Baek's ex-boyfriend and the father of her child also begins to reconnect with Dong Baek as he finds out about the existence of his son. As Yong Sik fights against many odds to be with Dong Baek, he also works relentlessly to protect Dong Baek from a notorious serial killer that has decided to name Dong Baek as his next victim. 

Review:

        This drama is very addicting and well-made. I couldn't stop watching once I started. The character of Oh Dong Baek greatly intrigued me as she wasn't weak because of her timidity, and her softness actually provided validity to when she would stand up against injustice. I loved her relationship with her eight-year-old son and her son definitely made me very emotional by how mature and defensive he is toward life and toward his mother. There were some interesting themes as well. For instance, one was that it doesn't matter how perfectly constructed your life appears on social media or from an outsider's perspective, happiness can only be felt from the inside. This showed a lot in Kang Jong Ryul's social media-obsessed wife. It also showed in the way Dong Baek and the villagers' lives were actually very happy, wholesome, and simple despite not making much. The family that the town created to protect one another and make sure Dong Baek was okay toward the end was heartwarming. It made me really appreciate the importance of family and friendship, and how it is never the materialistic things in life that matter. Likewise, it also showed that forgiveness is needed to move on in life (along with confidence, happiness, and so forth). Dong Baek always had a grudge against her mother who abandoned her at a young age. However, it takes episodes and a lot of time to reconcile a relationship that both wanted to mend. It also took time to fully understand the reasoning for the "abandonment," and it was refreshing to have Dong Baek finally let go of her resentment. It did get frustrating with how many times Dong Baek guilt-tripped the poor woman about leaving her as a child BUT I have to acknowledge that that must have been a traumatic experience for a child to go through and that we are viewing this situation from the lenses of an adult who already knows that Dong Baek ends up okay and why the mother did what she did back then. 

              As for the romance side of this drama, I loved the character of Hwang Yong Sik. He is so simple-minded, wholesome, and devoted. He is actually a dream man, even if he appears like a country bumpkin in some regards. However, he treats Dong Baek so genuinely and works so hard to protect her. In that sense, I was in love with watching him court her and wait for her. His patience, love, dedication, and loyalty was unwavering throughout the entire series. It was a pleasure watching the two warm up to each other and go through many hurdles. They did not give off a light-hearted, cutesy couple vibe but rather a much more mature and contentful vibe. I think a big part of that is to play into the idea that this is the love story between two adults, one who is also a single mother. It was also nice to see Yong Sik play a role in Kang Pil Gu (the kid)'s life because a lot of dramas that involve kids tend to forget and cast aside the child for the sake of the romance. This drama made sure to have Pilgu as a strong component as to whether this relationship worked and how it would work. I really appreciated that aspect and I liked how the adults worked hard to try to understand and make the child feel as comfortable as possible. It was also nice to see that they didn't make the ex-boyfriend out to be an awful person but rather someone that regrets many things in his past, wants to be a better person and tries to make up for it in ways that may not actually be helpful. It was very easy to empathize with many characters in this story. 

             I am a bit conflicted about the thriller side of this drama. The serial killer that was constantly threatening and scaring Dong Baek throughout the series definitely gave this drama thrill and it greatly intrigued me to keep watching. However, it also gave me a lot of anxiety because I hate the ideals of the "joker" in this story. He writes these things to random women and individuals telling them to stop being a joke, but he doesn't have a basis for any of it. A clear example of this, outside of Dong Baek, is Hyang Mi. She seems to be a very flirtatious individual who uses uncomfortable situations to her advantage. She doesn't know her boundaries and tends to steal small things from customers, such as their lighters. In many regards, she would be a perfect candidate for the joker to murder. However, you empathize with her greatly as you realize that no one deserves the right to judge another's life based on what it appears like on the outside. You learn about her motives in life and her struggles and pains. And I think that was a good perspective to add to the series to further invalidate the role the serial killer had and also have us, as an audience, be more upset as to why certain people were targetted and judged for small things. In a way, it is a reminder to us to be better people and to be less judgemental. 

            I didn't fully like how it was resolved in my opinion. Toward the end, it was pretty obvious who the killer was in my opinion. And I think that for all individuals involved, it was such an easy way to resolve and catch the criminal. I feel like there's a stronger sense of anger and injustice, and I wished that I could've seen the ultimate punishment be delivered. However, I do not mind the resolution we received in this drama. And one more thing I liked: this drama was edited very beautifully and I loved the way the story dives into the past and future throughout the episodes allowing for a more in-depth understanding of all that is happening and of all that will happen. 

           All in all, great drama! Highly recommend! You can find this on Netflix.