Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 5/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 8 – | Review Score – 4/5
The Korean drama genre has seen a lot of change over the years. With the addition of international streaming platforms and the introduction of mini-series, K-dramas are now being narrated with a shorter number of episodes. One such mini-series is the 2023 ENA Original K-drama, Lies Hidden in My Garden.
Based on a popular webtoon of the same name, the show in its 8 episodes narrates the story of a woman who lives in a house with a large backyard. After discovering a weird stench in her garden, the woman investigates and finds a human hand buried there.
While she struggles to discover the truth behind the stench, the woman learns that her cookie-cutter life was not all that clean and normal to begin with. The show also follows the life of another woman who leads quite the opposite life. While she suffers abuse at the hands of her husband on a daily basis, there is not much she can do to get away from him. That is until one day she learns that her husband had been murdered.
The two stories are gravely interconnected in that they both discuss the lives of women who are abused by their partners. While one’s abuse is more physical, the other woman suffers emotional and mental abuse.
The show manifests gaslighting and it goes to the extent to which viewers of the show will be left questioning what they are seeing. The show is a very well-made crime drama and is a slow burner. The episodes may seem far too long but the makers do an excellent job at tying the story together by the time we get to the final episode.
The show has viewers on the edge of their seats in that there is one plot twist after the other. Everyone is betraying everyone and it is hard to find a character to truly support because of the good in them. Lies Hidden in My Garden does a great job of highlighting how humans are neither completely good nor bad and how there is potentially something grey in everyone.
While the show is a great watch, one may want to watch the episodes multiple times for it to totally make sense because there is so much left unsaid. The best aspect of the show is its cinematography due to the sinister feeling that is created by the camerawork in certain scenes.
The use of colour in scenes where an important object is left coloured while the rest of the screen is sepia-tones amplifies the object in question. This makes you wonder if the makers are trying to tell you something about the object, making you delve deeper into the story.
The show could definitely be a triggering watch for victims of emotional and physical abuse but it ends with the women coming out victorious from their respective situations. Kim Tae-he is an icon and seeing her make a comeback as Joo-ran gives us hope that she has so much more to offer in terms of her performance with serious roles.
We have already seen Lim Ji-yeon’s performance in The Glory and she does a great job with her performance in this one as well. Sang-eun is the only character I have remorse for despite her actions and we have Ji-yeon’s acting range as the pregnant, abused woman to thank for this.
The show ends with Sang-eun finally freeing herself of her husband’s abuse, long after he has gone, and finally reconnecting with the child in her womb. The scene in the season finale was emotional and empowering and Ji-yeon does a great job at capturing that moment.
Lies Hidden in My Garden is a unique and interesting K-drama that comes off a slow burn with the potential to blow your mind one episode after the other.
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Verdict - 9/10
9/10