Watch if: You are looking for an excellent friendship reunion cum sports underdog story with crime in its backdrop. Reminded me of Summer Strike and 2521 in many ways.
Skip if: You are looking for an action-packed sports or pure romance drama without the suspense.
I think the literal translation for the title is actually “flowers that even bloom in sand” which sends a clearer message of resilience and hope. It is rare to find childhood friendships that persevere through to adulthood, and even rarer to be reunited with a childhood crush.
Murder case aside, there is another unresolved mystery behind former ssireum child prodigy Kim Baek Du. Born to a family of winners and living in a town defined by ssireum (korean wrestling), his inability to win a single championship hangs heavy and we are anxious to know if he will ever beat the odds. In the first episode, we see him on the verge of giving up and retiring for good. I’m sure many people can relate to Baek Du’s struggle to find his footing.
Jang Dong Yoon made an impression on me in an obscure one-episode drama called If We Were A Season, and then in School 2017, and Tale of Nokdu (though I dropped this one eventually). I think he took on some questionable roles along the way, but I was curious to see what he would be like in this one, and boy, was I blown away!
Tidbit: Baek Du’s parents named him after the “Baek Du” heavyweight class for wrestlers and ironically, he turned out to be the lightest among his siblings ha.
What I Liked
1. The unique blend of friendship, sports and crime
The show had just the right amount of suspense and secrets without becoming overly dark or heavy. I enjoyed the progressive uncovering of backstories surrounding the people that live in this quiet seaside town, which culminated in a reunion between Baek Du and his childhood friends. I love how the finale circled back to the dreams they wrote down as children.
2. Baek Du as a character
At first glance, Baek Du appears to be somewhat unrefined (cue scenes of him blurting out whatever’s on his mind while stuffing his face with food). He wears his heart on his sleeves and is only able to show some restraint when it comes to Du Sik.
Over time, we discover that he is deeply intuitive and probably used his intuition as a child to win battles with bigger opponents, earning him the child prodigy title. He sees right through Du Sik very early on and is more observant than people think.
It is even more fascinating to see how the attention he received as a child could have contributed to him often ceding to others, perhaps out of a need to level the playing field. He holds his friends dearly in his heart and often lets his feelings take the back seat. We wonder how the sudden interruption in his strong childhood friendship with Du Sik has affected him over the years.
It could also be that he genuinely loves the game of wrestling so much that winning isn’t always the goal. We see this in the way he coaches his teammates and dispenses tips generously. Unfortunately, these traits are being interpreted as passiveness and a lack of ambition. I love that part of his growth involved him stepping out of his consideration for others and learning to assert himself when competing with friends. Nevertheless, his easy-going nature results in him being extremely well-loved by the entire village community, who roots for him to succeed.
3. Baek Du’s vulnerability
Growing up in an environment where people tend to suppress their emotions or gloss over them, it’s refreshing to see Baek Du being forthright with Du Sik and expressing his emotions clearly.
Side note: I remember feeling this way about the leads in “Doctor Slump” (starring Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Shik) too.
Because he values his friendships so much, it is understandable how Du Sik’s sudden disappearance years ago still bothers him, and he openly expresses his displeasure with the villagers for gossiping mindlessly about her. I also get why he’s so antsy about her not replying to his messages.
4. Excellent dialogue
Some of my favourites scenes are Baek Du and Du Sik just…talking. Reuniting after 20 years, they are swiftly back in each other’s orbit with complete understanding of what’s going on. Lee Joo Myung did a wonderful job playing Baek Du’s equally forthright and blunt counterpart. The pair’s mutual display of trust allowed their conversations and bickering to be fluid and natural, without deception.
I enjoyed other long conversations that felt organic – the late-night ones between the two mom bffs and thoughtful ones between Jin Su and Mi Ran. I like Lee Jae Joon’s take as the reserved and taciturn Jin Su whose affection for Baek Du was suitably understated. Am also glad that Seok Hui was not written as a stereotypical clueless small-town detective. Instead, he made intelligent deductions that contributed to the case.
Overall, it felt like the director and cast showed immense dedication to their craft. There’s the change to 4:3 aspect ratio for flashbacks, the use of satoori (regional dialect), down-to-earth wardrobe choices and realistic ssireum matches with no body doubles being used. Every aesthetically pleasing frame feels so deliberate and nothing is wasteful.
This is undoubtedly one of my favourite dramas of all time and I could go on, but I’ll end here with one of my favourite quotes from Baek Du’s dad who reassured him before an important match with the liner “Some flowers bloom later”. Gosh, am having withdrawal symptoms and gonna go watch the show’s behind-the-scenes clips now!
