Knight Flower (2024) K Drama Episode 1

Episode 1 of Knight Flower begins at Pil Inn. Jo Yeo-hwa is a widow who is a masked vigilante by night. She knows martial arts from her older brother. She stops a man from gambling away his house for the sake of his daughter, Ggotnim. Pil’s guards spot her and run after her for causing a scene.

In a private room, Inspector Su-ho, Finance Minister Yeom and a scammer are gambling. Right when the scammer steals from Yeom, Yeo-hwa ends up hiding there and chaos ensues as the guards find her. Su-ho jumps in to help and is surprised to see that the masked person is a woman. 

She runs away on hearing the curfew bell and reaches home just before her mother-in-law, Madam Yoo Geum-ok finds her. Yeo-hwa has been pretending to mourn for 10 years, and a strict follower of the ethics and righteous code, Yoo further puts her on a diet. Yeo-hwa’s attendant, Yeon-sun is the only one who knows her secret and constantly berates her and looks after her.

Meanwhile, Su-ho is an extremely righteous inspector who was undercover to catch the scammer. He is tasked with bringing a gold toad to Minister Yeom who lost it in the scuffle. However, he cannot forget the masked woman and asks Guard Bi-chan to look into her.

It is revealed that Su-ho is the son of an Im Kang and is now the adoptive brother of Royal Secretary Officer, Park Yoon-hak. Yoon-hak is friends with the King and they while their days away playing which annoys the ministers. The King pretends to be sick and Left State Councillor Seok is left to run things.

Yeo-hwa has a dream-turned-nightmare of Su-ho saving her. Meanwhile, Madam Yoo is irked that the highest honour for a widow, Chastity Gate will probably go to the widowed daughter-in-law of the Minister of Government Administration due to nepotism instead of Yeo-hwa. Then there’s Yoo’s daughter, Jae-yi who constantly blames Yeo-hwa for not dying with her brother. 

But words don’t affect Yeo-hwa as she lives a happy life, befriending the little peddler, Ggotnim who gifts her dried fruit and embroidered handkerchiefs. Elsewhere, Kang Pil-jik, the owner of Pil Inn is furious with the state of his inn and works on recovering his reputation. He ends up bribing Minister Yeom to open an exclusive trade route just for him.

By the end of the day, it is revealed that Left State Councillor Seok is Yeo-hwa’s father-in-law. He is righteous as well but has a soft spot for her which doesn’t sit well with Madam Yoo. However, she listens to him and decides to have Yeo-hwa accompany her to a Moran Gathering. That night, Yeo-hwa spends the night in the shrine, offering half the dry fruits to her dead husband, Ji-sung. 

After running into Ggotnim and her floral wares which amuses Su-ho, he shows up at Head Merchant Jang’s for the gold toad but she is busy hosting the Moran Gathering. As the ladies arrive, an excited Yeo-hwa drops the cookies Yeon-sun had given her. Su-ho laughs at her clumsiness only to get a death glare from Madam Yoo.

As the gathering begins, Yoo and the Minister of Government Administration’s wife have a war of words over whose daughter-in-law is better. Yeo-hwa almost sways the ladies with her golden words but she gets intimidated when Madam Oh drops by.

It gets worse when Madam Yoo tries to flaunt Yeo-hwa’s painting skills. A flashback shows Yeon-sun drawing all the paintings for Yeo-hwa. The painting session is going horribly but Merchant Jang comes to Yeo-hwa’s rescue and spills ink on everyone. Madam Yoo realises the truth and punishes Yeon-sun severely. To save her, Yeo-hwa offers to starve in the shrine for 10 days.

Elsewhere, Su-ho recalls his childhood and looks wistful. Bi-chan returns from his recon and fills him in on the masked man – he is like Robin Hood, helping people with food and medicine. 

It cuts to our masked man sneaking in on Merchant Jang. Turns out they know each other as Yeo-hwa is her client. Jang asks her to take her money and escape but she refuses as she can only be Jo Yeo-hwa. But she promises to find her older brother one day.

Meanwhile, Officer Park is at a bookstore and runs into Yeon-sun. She falls and runs off leaving behind her romance novel which amuses him. Outside, she learns that Ggotnim has been taken away by Pil’s men for her father’s debts.

Su-ho pops up at Pil Inn and is happy to see his brother drinking. However, Park is rude and dismissive telling him not to ruin the family’s reputation. A flashback shows Park saving young Su-ho who is injured and bleeding.

While a disguised Yeo-hwa rushes to Pil Inn, Su-ho spots Ggotnim and recognises her. He tries to save her but Yeo-hwa arrives and misunderstands. Thinking that he is Ggotnim’s new owner, Yeo-hwa tries to buy her from him. He seems to recognise her and she is shocked.

The epilogue of Knight Flower Episode 1 takes us to 12 years ago. It is Yeo-hwa’s 3rd year as a widow. Madam Yoo’s handkerchief gets stuck in a tree. She jumps to get it and realises she has gone across the wall. She smiles as she has a way out now.

The Episode Review

Knight Flower episode 1 reminds us of a K-drama with a certain widow that secretly matchmakes that just happens to have ended. But this one looks way more promising than The Matchmaker. Honey Lee never lets us down with her comedies and Knight Flower already has an entertaining start. 

The period drama’s characters are all genuine even within the comedic setting. There is no over-the-top slapstick comedy. They have their set roles to play, going about their day. It is the incidents they find themselves in and how they navigate that illicit laughter. And this immediately elevates the show. 

We have Yeo-hwa, a Robin Hood-esque widow who does love her husband. But she cannot help her mischievous ways and finds an outlet by helping others. As for Inspector Su-ho, he seems to break from the usual tsundere, righteous mode to someone who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Knight Flower seems to be an ensemble cast of whom we will probably see more of in the coming weeks. And anyone else realise that Pil-jik is Jin-mu from Alchemy of Souls? Then there is the Nation’s Mother, Kim Mi-kyung who is pretty busy with Welcome to Samdal-ri, Death’s Game and her drumming gigs. But looks like she has time to keep Yeo-hwa in check as her stern mother-in-law.