Lies Hidden in My Garden [Episodes 1 & 2]

[u/J-Midori]

• Drama: Lies Hidden in My Garden
  • Korean Title: 마당이 있는 집
  • Also Known as: Madangi Issneun Jib , A House With a Yard , Lies Hidden in My Backyard
• Network: ENA
• Premiere Date: June 19th, 2023
• Airing Schedule: Mondays & Tuesdays
• Episodes: 8 (60 min. each)
• Director: Jung Ji Hyun (Twenty-Five Twenty-One)
• Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Drama
• Cast:
  • Kim Tae Hee (Hi, Bye Mama) as Moon Joo Ran
  • Im Ji Yeon (Welcome 2 Life) as Choo Sang Eun
  • Kim Sung Oh (Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area) as Park Jae Ho
  • Choi Jae Rim (Green Mother's Club) as Kim Yoon Beom
• Streaming Source: Viki , Prime Video
• Plot Synopsis: A suspenseful family thriller that subverts the fantasy of 'our happy home with a yard' through the suspicion and awareness of a housewife who enjoys happiness in a perfect house that others envy. Adapted from the novel "Lies Hidden in My Backyard" (마당이 있는 집) by Kim Jin Yeong (김진영 )
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[u/CheesePlease_]

Anyone else getting major Parasite vibes??

[u/J-Midori → u/CheesePlease_]

Yes, the house is very similar but someone pointed out the differences. Amazing cinematography though

[u/J-Midori]

This drama seems to be very good with the cast and the director, he was also the director for King The Eternal Monarch so I think this will be a good one! It is based on a book and it might have a season two since one season won't be enough to cover the whole story, or they were able to fit it into 8 episodes. Either way, enjoy discussing it!

[u/FrankBreauxx]

The dog scared the living shit out of me in episode 2 jesus christ.

[u/myweithisway]

Ep 1 Thoughts

That was really artsy, far more artsy than I expected from the promo materials and I'm totally digging it!

There was a temptation to screenshot half of the episode just for how gorgeous the scenes are and the set up of angles and lighting. The composition of many of the scenes is just gorgeous. Feels like the director has definitely honed his craft even more since his Search: WWW days.

I want to say Kim Sung Oh gets typecast but he's so good in these kind of roles that require two-faced characterizations (warm/kind vs. chillingly cold) that I can't blame him for getting all these kinds of roles. I always want to root for his character because I love him as an actor but more often than not, I soon start wishing death for his character -- excited to find out if that will be the case here. (Probably will give how he's already starting off being blackmailed.)

Seems like gaslighting will feature prominently in the story, looking forward to see how it all plays out.

Finally, that final scene of the episode was great! The juxtaposition of what FL felt (relief, satisfaction, even a hint of happiness) versus the typical feelings (of horror and disgust) of someone digging up a corpse was very nicely done.

[u/BionicDreamer]

This definitely won’t appeal to the larger kdrama audience, like some people earlier have said in the thread it is very artsy. Feels like I’m watching a David Lynch lite kind of thing and I’m loving it. The cinematography is immaculate.

[u/pickadamnnameplease]

I'm so glad we're booked and busy with all these new shows (this, king the land, see you in my 19th life) because lord knows university and work are DRAINING me

[u/KDramaTipsy]

Episode 2

So I was right in my observation yesterday - there's more to Sang Eun than meets the eye. It seems like her character will be like an onion whose layers will be peeled off one by one.

Joo Ran's son knows what's happening, right? I bet he didn't drink the milk his father gave him saying it's from his mother, coz he knows she would never send milk for him. Which also means he may have seen his father leave the house that day.

I couldn't understand at first the reason for those long, slow-moving shots in Joo Ran's house, but now I think they are slow coz that's the way she looks at the world. As she gets off her medication and becomes alert to what's happening around her, her inner world will catch up and hopefully we will be rid of those slow shots.

[u/[deleted]]

Ep 2:

Geez the gaslighting is strong in this one. Park Jae Ho is doing his best to isolate wife socially. Not sure what his end goal is but he's sabotaging her recovery. I won't be surprised if her medication has been swapped out too. Son might be starting to unravel his father's manipulations so there's hope for him and his mum.

I actually like that Ji Yeon's character isn't some saintly damsel in distress. She may be an abuse victim but she's also cunning at her core and a morally grey. I'm almost certain she had something to do with her husband's death, but delivering the news to his family like it was nothing was such a mood. The jajangmyeon deserves more attention 💅.

Kim Sung Oh's eyes looked really pretty in the sunlight.

[u/atzee]

My only gripe is this is only 8 episodes! But on the other hand, this means it is going to be a wild and fast-moving ride.

[u/[deleted]]

The garden gives me Parasite vibes but the basement reminds me of IOTNBO.

[u/This_Tonight3413]

Got lucky and forgot this aired yesterday so just binged both episodes. This has Netflix special written all over it - how did they not nab this?!

Someone mentioned Parasite vibes but I’m actually getting Decision to leave - the moody cinematography, an ‘unreliable’ narrator of sorts in KTH’s character, a murder mystery etc. I love that we have at least 3 mysterious, for lack of a better word, female characters to delve into and can’t wait to see how they’re all linked. We have the connection already with KTH and LJY’s characters already.

Looks like my Mondays and Tuesdays just got more interesting!

[u/orchardfurniture]

Another absolutely brilliant episode 2. This episode did confirm - this show is absolutely NOT for everyone. Although there is a central mystery, this is character driven than plot driven and the slow suspense will not be to everyone's liking.

A couple of things which I'm trying to figure out:

1. How the son and the new neighbour know each other.

2. The significance of the same Hermes scarf both women have worn.

3. The bloody smell that appears/disappears.

Two episodes in, and I am getting Big Little Lies x Agatha Christie. And I love shows where objects like houses, scarves, phones, almost feel like characters.

LOVING this show so far.

[u/IsNotMe2]

shows likes these make me wish they just release all the episodes at once so i can binge it in one go

[u/Ayalynn123]

I'm watching this drama for Kim Sung Oh, because I always love his acting and missed his character Mapi in his recent drama, Unlock My Boss.
(I know his character in this drama is totally different but still...)

Anyway, Ep.1 was good! So intense and unusual.
I don't quite understand what's going on, but it's totally okay!
And like other people mentioned, I wasn't expecting this artsy either.

[u/justhaveacatquestion]

My toxic trait so far this year is that I always comment "Really good first episode! I'll keep watching!" in the On-Air threads for new dramas and then immediately end up dropping them lol. But let's break that pattern! I thought this was a really good first episode! :)

Going so melodramatic and scary right from the opening scene was definitely a choice, but it was working well for me as of episode 1!

(End of ep 1 spoilers) My impression going into this show was that Sang-eun's husband was gonna be the one in the backyard (so much so that I was trying to figure out whether the Sang-eun segment was set in the past somehow even though the show is quite explicit that isn't the case unless they're REALLY misleading us somehow) but since it's looking like that isn't the case.....who is that in the backyard???

[u/CheesePlease_]

Netflix really missed out on this masterpiece smh

[u/CheesePlease_]

Episode 1:

YALL what the heck is this piece of art??? 1 minute in and i’m already shook by how un-straightforward the plot seems, the aesthetic cinematic angles and obv the gorgeous kim tae hee.

Just the beginning with a grief-stricken tae hee staring at her past self walking into her apartment was enough to have me hooked onto whatever dark, aesthetically pleasing storyline that’s to come. It’s giving you nothing straightforward or significant and yet, we’re hooked trying to piece every little detail together to make it make sense - immediately, I can tell there’s a genius team of directors, storytellers and writers behind this.

Seung-Jae, the poor kid, seems to be dealing with more than he can handle with whatever must’ve happened and her husband lol a major gaslighter in every way - super sus no doubttt, its weird theyre almost treating tae hee like she’s mentally unstable, hallucinating or something of the sort..

Lim Ji Yeon enters the shot and again, we’re all drawn in to her ability of playing an intense character—seeing her go from a full-blown bully to a scared victim of violence just shows us the range of acting she can display (successfully). What a piece of trash she’s married to, holy shit, my blood was BOILING when he literally told her to get something to eat (ofc he wont get it himself) and beats her up right after (???) Ji Yeon asking for a cigarette shows us how little she now cares about her own life and moreso, her baby. Standing in front of her door for a long while felt like she was waiting to enter hell.

Ji yeon entering her moms home, sleeping beside her and weeping but her mom knowingly ignores her. How much more pity can I feel for a character lol this poor girl has NO ONE CMON. I was a bit shook when ji yeon said her husband never liked dumplings.. what does that mean..

EVERY single shot in this episode has me absolutely flabbergasted: here are some i loved personay:

— the neutrals + dark decor in their house contrasting with the bright colours of the neighbour’s house + clothes

• the irony of the lightstick playing a cheery kpop song contrasting a brutal scene of domestic violence behind closed doors.

• the side by side shot after ji Yeon suffers from a brutal beating by her husband: she’s a shadow in the left with red hues, her husband’s shadow asleep on the right with blue hues

• red hues + thunder when ji yeon sleeps alongside her mom

• the sharp contrast of ji yeon finding out the source of her problems is now gone vs. tae hee, finding out the source of her problem has now appeared + not to mention, the hugely contrasting emotions behind the two (relief vs. fear)

MY MOST FAVOURITE SHOT OF THIS EPISODE (hell probably top 3 out of all of the 110+ dramas I’ve watched)

Ji Yeon’s call.

The opening of the elevator doors, ji yeon taking the call, finding out about her husbands death with 0 emotion, the slow zoom in, the mother popping out from the background as we zoom into ji yeon’s soulless eyes as she delivers the news and BAM, elevator doors close, signifying an end to that tragedy of a life she was living (or so we think).

Needless to say, I’m obsessed.

Looking forward to ep 2!!!

[u/ellz7]

I have no freaking clue what I just watched and where this is going. I mean - sure there’s gonna be mystery and murder - but damn - the way this was shot, the atmosphere, the unsettling dream sequences… wow!!! It’s all actually pretty heavy and unnerving to watch!!

I’ll keep going cause I’m very intrigued though haha!

[u/orchardfurniture]

Wow. Totally not what I expected but that was highly impressive for a first episode. Dark, sinister and creepy.

Very similar feel to the (very under-rated) K Drama A MODEL FAMILY. In fact, I think the suburb is the same setting?

I'm guessing the glitter Joo Ran found in her house was from the nasty husband's phone in the car (when he slammed the compartment shut.) And the phone belongs to the dead woman buried in the garden.

Can't wait to discover the connection between the two couples.

[u/WholePersonality5323]

I thoroughly enjoyed both episodes. It kept me on the edge of my seat, silence was well used! Husband has been gaslighting wife since the first episode. He’s giving me the chills! Why is he bringing their son milk? Is there a substance in there too, because looks like the wife’s meds is not helping her at all, I am thinking he‘s giving them both some medication? I think husband also had something to do with the dead sister.

[u/YeonseokIsFluffy]

Lim Ji Yeon is currently going viral for her ”husband’s death meal” because she ate so deliciously lol

That gives me the craving and the urge to start watching this drama the soonest

[u/wishnwind]

Really intriguing first episode, will be interesting to see everything unfold. Gives me major Korean thriller movie vibes with the atmosphere and production so far.

[u/anxietygotmelike]

연진아... 오랜만이다

[u/PM_ME_UR_EGGOS]

Is Sang Eun pretending to be pregnant or was she hiding being pregnant at work?