Dalah: Death and the Flowers – Stylish but Thorny

Introduction

I was interested in watching Dalah: Death and the Flowers because of the image I saw online about the Female Lead. Dalah wears a black pair of gloves and holds a knife. She looks down unemotionally, she might as well be a cold-blooded killer. Of course, this image can be a red herring, but I can’t help wondering if the main protagonist can be the killer, a gray character, or an antiheroine. Are you interested in finding out, too? Let’s check her out in my review.

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Drama Info

Drama title: Dalah: Death and the Flowers (Native title: ดาหลา บุปผา ฆาตกรรม )
Alternative title: Dala Bupha Khattakam
Genres: Crime, Mystery, Drama
Aired: Feb 27, 2025
Episodes: 6  |  Duration: 45 minutes
Director: Dream Thanika Jenjesda ( ดรีม ฐานิกา เจนเจษฎา ), Alisa Pien ( เอลิซ่า เปียง )
Screenwriters: Mui Aticha Tanthanawigrai ( มุ้ย อาทิชา ตันธนวิกรัย ), Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad ( ฤทัยวรรณ วงศ์สิรสวัสดิ์ )
Where to watch: Netflix
Trailer:

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Synopsis

When her client dies on the eve of his wedding, a florist sets out to find the killer, unearthing high society’s dark secrets — while keeping her own. (Source: Netflix)

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Characters

Main Characters

Supporting Characters

Relationship Chart

I couldn’t find a relationship chart in English, but it’s quite self-explanatory because it’s a chart of two family trees. I will explain each character below as related to Risa or Ohm.

The Tangsinsup (Risa’s Family)

• Grandmother: Kimtiang
• Father: Kitja
• First brother: Kittisak. Sister-in-law: Prapha. Niece: Xinxin
• Second brother: Jerd. Sister-in-law: Jib. Nephew: Kris

The Aueathepa (Ohm’s Family)

• Grandmother: Amara
• Father: Ekapop
• Uncle: Ekasit
• Sister: Nattha. Niece: Pam. Nephew: Pete.

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Review

Production

Different than the usual format I use in my review articles, I’ll start with the background of this drama creation. Prabda Yoon ( ปราบดา หยุ่น ), the producer, shared his inspiration for making this series:

“The beginning of this story came from my desire to make a mystery detective film or series, or Whodunit, because it is a genre of literature and movies that I have enjoyed watching and reading since I was a child. In addition, I am interested in Japanese arts and culture. I have studied tea ceremony and Japanese flower arrangement (ikebana), so I combined these two interests. And since Dalah, the main character, is a woman, I intended for this series to have a mostly female production team, so I invited Dream (Thanika Jenjesda) and A (Alisa Pien) to be the directors. While developing the project together with many parties, the series was developed to have a contemporary female perspective and came out more complete.” (Source: GQ Thailand)

Theme

Now we know that Dalah: Death and the Flowers is a female-centric drama. Not only that the directors female, but the screenwriters are also. The female sociopolitical issues of sexual abuse, misogyny, gender inequality, and feminism are wrapped beautifully like a flower bouquet. There are many references to flowers in this drama, from the character symbolism, philosophy of flowers, and the flower arrangement techniques.

Note: although there are sexual abuse/rape scenes, they are not explicit.

Plot

For a crime drama, the plot moves slowly. After the murder happens in the first episode, it takes several episodes to introduce some of the characters that become the suspects and the witnesses to set up the context. The rising action only happens in the last episode followed by the resolution of the murder. It doesn’t give much room to explore the killer and the motif, giving a classic whodunnit plot. I admit I fast-forwarded some scenes somewhere in the middle, maybe because I was not interested in the Buddhist philosophy of flower arrangements explored in the middle episodes.

Story

Crime

Okay, we know this is a crime drama because someone dies in it. However, because the drama is only six episodes long, I think the crime plot is rather juvenile. The story does not explore the motivations and psychological aspects of the killer; instead, it’s busy creating red herrings by exploring the suspects’ and victims’ backgrounds. The story creates a plot twist towards the end about who the killer is. For hardcore crime fans, Dalah: Death and the Flowers is not a true crime drama.

Mystery

Dalah: Death and the Flowers manages to create a mysterious aura with intriguing prologues, Dalah’s cold character, noir cinematography, humming background sound, and gothic costumes and makeup.

I want to make a special note that I don’t think Dalah: Death and the Flowers is a thriller drama as advertised on some platforms. Although there is a crime case, several red herrings, and a plot twist, the drama lacks a compelling villain (the killer), threat, high stakes, and ticking clock, crucial elements in the thriller genre that create an adrenaline rush.

Drama

With one family background being in a rooted Thai-Chinese business world, and the other family background being in a promising political world, there is wealth and power struggle involved in this drama plus family dirty laundry.

No Romance

I need to clarify the existence of romance in this drama, considering there are two male and two female leads. There is none. We know that Ohm and Risa are about to get married in the synopsis, but he’s dead by the end of the first episode. We also get a hint since the beginning that there must be something else behind a politician and a wealthy heiress romance than just love.

There is no romance developed between Dalah and Sarath, either. Although we get the impression that Sarath is intrigued and attracted to Dalah, he ends up just helping her to solve the crime when she becomes a suspect. Dalah is focused on the crime case as well as her private mission we will find out in the drama.

Acting and Characterization

Yaya as Dalah

Yaya is the second reason why I wanted to watch Dalah: Death and the Flowers after the dark and mysterious protagonist character. Yaya played Dalah flawlessly, despite she usually plays as lively or emotional characters. Dalah doesn’t smile brightly or laugh heartily, but with just eye expressions and head movements, Yaya nailed the gothic Dalah.

Because they cast such a stunning actress as Dalah, the focus of this drama is mainly Dalah, not the victim or other characters

Dalah is symbolized by a red dahlia. Dahlia has many colored petals. Dalah is like a beautiful dahlia with many hidden secrets.

Pat as Risa

Pat did a good job playing Risa, and I have seen her in many dramas. However, Risa’s character is not fully developed, despite she’s the second leading character, a bride-to-be, a prime suspect, and she also has personal secrets. Too bad, because with her melancholic look, Pat can play a sad character with depth.

Risa is symbolized by a purple tulip. Coming from an old established Thai-Chinese business family, the Tangsinsups are like modern royalties. Purple tulips symbolize royalty, elegance, and nobility. Purple tulips are a good choice for bridal bouquets and are also commonly found at weddings

Na as Ohm

Na is a good choice playing Ohm because he usually plays either a morally grey or a bad character, lol. Although Ohm is dead by the end of the first episode, we see a lot of flashbacks of his past deeds.

Ohm is symbolized by a blue rose. Blue roses do not exist in nature. They’re either genetically modified or by dyeing white roses. In this drama, blue roses symbolize mystery and the pursuit of the impossible. They represent unattainable dreams and the hope of overcoming obstacles. Politicians also often deliver fake promises, their colors are like artificial coloring.

Ryu as Sarath

I have never seen Ryu before before this drama. Sarath is sweet and gentle, genuine and lively. This drama is dark with a death, a cold protagonist, and an overall dark atmosphere. Sarath is like a ray of sunshine and is symbolized by a white buttercup/ranunculus. The purity and innocence are charming and attractive.

There are other characters worth mentioning.

The character of Kris, the only grandson of the Tangsinsup Family, is played by Phuwin Tangsakyuen ( ภูวินทร์ ตั้งศักดิ์ยืน ). Being the only grandson from a family that hails patriarchy, Kris is automatically the heir of the Tangsinsup’s wealth, although he is also an idol singer. Phuwin effortlessly played Kris.

Something interesting about the character Kris if you don’t mind a spoiler:

There is an implied idea that Kris and Risa have a special relationship. Their closeness is brushed off by the Tangsinsup Family and disclosed by the production team as well (probably not to anger the conservative audiences). Whether it’s only an auntie-complex or it’s an illicit affair, it brings spice to this drama.

Despite the character Kris standing out among the supporting characters because of Phuwin’s popularity as a Thai actor, for the sake of the feminism spirit in this drama, I rather have the characters Pam (played by Music Praewa Suthamphong), the rebellious granddaughter of the Aueathepa Family, and Xin Xin (played by Fairy Kirana Pipityakorn), the demure granddaughter of the Tangsinsup, explored. Both characters are quite interesting, unfortunately they’re not explored deeply. I think after you watched this drama you may agree with my suggestion.

Moreover, despite the crime resolution being done à la classic Agatha Christie style with the detective (in this case Dalah) gathering all the suspects together, the drama omits a few characters that can be used as suspects with their unique motifs. These characters are just there for fillers.

Visual Effect

The visual effects are the ones taking this drama to a different dimension of crime drama, they’re done stylishly. The cinematography is top-notch and deserves special mention, played with a lot of dark-light contrast, for example as seen in the image below. The visual storytelling leans into noir aesthetics, with Dalah characters adding to the mysterious tone. Kudo to the award-winning cinematographer Chananun Chotrungroj ( ชนานันต์ โชติรุ่งโรจน์ ) who usually works on movies.

The costume, makeup, props, and set design were all planned meticulously to contribute to the feeling of elegant style yet dark tone in every interaction. For example, Dalah’s bright red lipstick is in contrast to her black or dark-colored clothing. Most characters’ clothing is luxurious since they come from two rich families. According to the director, the flowers used in the drama were real and had to remain fresh with daily replacements (Source: ADayMagazine). The production team took flower arrangement workshops. The coloring is not only in flowers but also in the set design, which is dark and cave-like for Dalah’s studio, the traditional Chinese red-gold coloring for the Tangsinsup Family, and the more formal blue fits the political Aueathepa Family.

OST and Sound Effect

The background music is done theatrically and contributes to the feeling that dark secrets lurk behind every interaction. Unfortunately, the drama has only one OST song that is “You Are My Muse” sung by classical singer Minnie Jirut Khamlanghan.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, I think Dalah: Death and the Flowers is a short female-centric crime that you can enjoy because of its aesthetic, from casting good looking actors and actresses to meticulous and stylish production values. However, it drags the plot not by the depth of the characters’ exploration, but by the philosophy of the flowers and floral arrangement. It lacks suspense and thrill for a truly entertaining crime drama.

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Spoilers

Who is the killer?

Ekasit, Ohm’s uncle

What is the motif?

Hate/anger

What is Dalah’s secret?

Her mother’s death is connected to the Aueathepa family