Flower Detective (2021)

Somewhat entertaining, but inadequate as either mystery or comedy

I started watching thinking that this would be a detective series but was soon convinced that it was a comedy, then I ended up being unsure what it really is, It is a rather entertaining series in some ways, but it is neither here nor there.

It is best not to watch the series with the expectations one has of one to do with detective investigations. This is not a series that grips the audience with an engaging mystery even though there are different cases of crimes connected to the same mastermind. The focus is, instead, on how the detective exposes some seemingly supernatural phenomena that are used as a cover for criminal activities. This is also where the weakest link of the series is. The detective's revelations do not really astonish--in fact, the explanations for the fake supernatural phenomena often makes it quite unlikely for people to be able to deceive others with them.

There are many examples of how unconvincing the solutions to the mysteries are. One of the bad guys' fake ability to levitate is (more than once) explained as a trick using wires although it is likely that people present at the scene would be able to see the wires. A gigantic water monster is also explained as a huge manmade creation operated by machinery, but I can't fathom how anyone setting up the machinery and the fake monster would be able to do so without attracting any attention. There are also phenomena for which no explanation is really attempted, like how the bad guys managed to make many people dream of the same thing. In the final "mystery", there is no proper explanation for how the bad guys manage to transport so many of the characters into a mansion (which the bad guys claim is a place inside a painting) without having them taken out of a particular venue. In the end, there are too many gaping holes for the story to be a solid entry in the mystery or detective genre.

It is better, then, to appreciate the series as a comedy, perhaps an absurdist one. The series, especially the first half or so, can be rather funny. There may be unintended anachronisms like the protagonist having watched a King Kong movie even before the end of the Qing dynasty in China, but this may well contribute to the anarchy at the start of the series, which includes scenes where a thoughts inner thoughts are revealed in a voiceover. Unfortunately, the series isn't that great as comedy either. It could have been if it gone steadily down the road of absurdist comedy and focused on exaggerated character expressions and actions, but it is somewhat self-restrained in this regard, as though it doesn't dare to attempt something like this.

When the story takes a more serious turn, it has neither the allure of a serious mystery nor the charm of an truly enjoyable absurd comedy to hold itself together. I wish the creators of the series had gone all-out nonsensical and made the series a comedy that is clearly meant to be enjoyed without taking anything too seriously. Perhaps even a less dogged insistence on the absence of supernatural phenomena would also add on to the fun: imagine if the protagonist had encountered some real vampires while trying to expose the fake vampires.

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Messed up plot

Hm... Where should I begin to complain....

This is one big messed up plot. The big plot from beginning till the end is all over the place with nowhere to place the plate. Till the end I still don't get it, why must Xiang town, what's the he big deal about this small town, at first I though because of the gold mine, but turn out nothing. And till the end we also don't get any explanation about the Young Master from out of town, who the hell is he, why he is one big deal.

What good about this drama:
1. The scene quite funny. The behavior of Zhang Yu Jian as Kong Xue Li quite make me laugh.
2. The comic that sometimes come out a little bit interesting.

What bad (Except what I've complain in the beginning):
1. The funny & ridiculous scene become more boring, just like vishnu menon said, yeah I also feel after 14 ep this become quite boring & unattractive anymore
2. We have the winner of all the dumb psychopath lover. Hu Xuan Xuan is one big dumb love slave. Kong Xue Li (XL) already said from the beginning that he doesn't like her & even swap with his life he will not gonna choose her. But see... She still insisted.
3. No bad guy really get justice. I mean like, how many time XL 'let go' the bad guy if there's some circumstances, like Yuan Chun Feng ffollower (I forget his name), how many time he escape....

Overall this just another drama to spend ur days with. But there is 1 sentence that so true from this drama. The most scared or hard thing to change is someone believes. Just like people in Xiang Town believe with all that mystical thing.

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