Destruction (2021)

Where To Begin With One Of The Most Mixed-Reception Dramas Of 2021…

First of all before critiquing " Doom At Your Service"( " DAYS") , let’s address the biggest controversy surrounding the mixed-criticism by viewers . There is the vocal contingency of devoted watchers who loved the series , and then the critics who argue that the storyline was a complete " waste of time”. However, this leaves newcomers on one hanging question; is the show actually worth watching?

Let’s start on an issue which both defenders and critics of the show seem to agree upon ; the casting. Let’s be honest. If you’re a diehard K-drama fan, it’s likely that your immediate attraction to this drama happened to be A-listers Park-Bo Young, Seo In Guk and Lee-So Hyuk staring back at you through the screen. It’s undeniable that these big names don’t disappoint ; Bo Young flourished as our female lead Do In- Kyung, Seo In Guk offered a dynamic performance away from his typical boyish charm roles as Myul Mang, and Lee Soo Hyuk’s baritone-style voice was perfectly suited for delivering Cha Joo-Ik’s one-liners.( Even our supporting cast consisting of Kang Tae Oh [Lee Hyun Gyu],Shin Do Hyun [Na Ji Na],and Woo Hee Jin [Kang Soo Ja ] helped to add their own beguiling charms in the drama.)

So, why has an intriguing drama with a fairly star-studded cast, sparked so much mixed reception from watchers?Well, this problem ultimately boiled down to the screenwriting.

On an arguably positive note , ” Doom At Your Service” does certainly cast its net far by employing the common trope of " misfortunes" to present Dong-Kyung as an “appealing female lead”;an orphan with a fractious younger brother , despising her job and casting ill-fortune upon the world when she finally gives up all hope with her terminal-illness. This leads her to her fated meeting ( literally) with “Doom" ( aka. Myul Mang) and soon peculiar romantic sparks flare from here.

However, it soon becomes apparent in the drama that screenwriter Im Me Ah Ri fell victim to using cliches as a pillar of support for the storyline, rather than an asset. Ultimately this stunted the plot and character growth due to the screenwriter’s lackadaisical investment in these key areas of the drama. (For example, Dong Kyung’s illness was only used as a necessity for "tension" rather than to solidify her sentience as an individual. The series could have explored so much here with her impending fate, but instead brushed this over in order to invest more time upon the “ puppy dog eyes” between Dong Kyung and Myul Mang.)

Similarly this is case and point with our male lead Myul Mang. In between his tedious monologues with "So Nyeo Shin" ( Jeong Ji So), our male lead undeniably was intriguing; a a powerful deity-like being who struggles to comprehend human emotions, however , this is where we hit the biggest rut with his character also; his sudden change of heart in regards to his involvement with Dong Kyung.

Some devoted watchers of the drama argued this was " "beautiful" by the reversal of the male lead’s personality, whilst others just saw this as lazy screenwriting.For those unfamiliar with the plot ( and without decisive spoilers), Do-Kyung wants to make Myul Mang fall in love with her, Myul Mang toys with her affections by manipulating elements of her reality ( but soon comes round to ‘ feeling bad for her ’ after Nyeo Shin lends a hand), then Do-Kyung decides she is no longer interested in him, leading to a whole reversal of chasing after one another and repeat.

This isn’t to condemn the main pairing entirely. Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk had brilliant chemistry onscreen and there were certainly some fairly sweet moments between their characters .However their characters did sadly suffer as a consequence of this lacklustre character development which was particularly certified by the existence of the "contract".

Now, without decisive spoilers , it is pivotal to say that this " contract" played an important role in the exposition of the storyline . Yet whilst it was an intriguing premise, the " rules" surrounding this contract were often ineffably upturned by the actions of Myul Mang. Whilst a later storyline revelation did offer an adequate explanation , this reduced the " contract" to being nothing more than a plot MacGuffin; thrown in to add tension, but ultimately useless towards defining the lore of DAYS’ fictionalised world .

Of course, a storyline does not always have to contain a big battle with the " big bad" or an internal conflict for the hero, however, this is also where dramatic irony became prominent with ” DAYS”. The evident ending goal of " DAYS" ( without spoilers) surrounds the female lead making her final wish. Of course whilst this does become a major plot line throughout the drama, the series often dismissed this problem to play upon the separate idea of the ‘’ paring" of our main leads. ( Rather than interlinking the two more concisely.)

This isn’t to drag the entirety of the series down. There were certainly some enjoyable moments with Dong-Kyung’s brother Tak Seon Kyung ( Dawon), Dong Kyung’s doctor and client Jung Seung Jun ( Lee Seung Jun), the haughty teen writer '' Young Prince" ( Nam Da Reum), and the terminally-ill writer ‘’Dalgona’’ ( Oh Yeon Ah).

Even our second leads had some oddly sweet moments with tight-lipped Cha Joo Ik chasing the affections of our bubbly writer Na Ji Na. Until the love triangle with Ji Na’s former schoolmate Lee Hyun Gyu ( Kang Tae Oh)was introduced into the subplot .

This isn’t to say that their scenes were unwatchable . For the most part, these side characters had the potential to be very interesting. However, at times this made viewers fell as though they were watching very different storylines; a potentially intriguing modern fantasy drama, and then a cutesy slice of life romance show with a ” love triangle". These two plot lines rarely collided and when this did occur, lacking screen-time undeniably made the subplot feel sporadic and disconnected from the main storyline .

However, it’s impossible not to talk about subplot characters without bringing up the problem of "So Nyeo Shin". This character could have easily been one of the most intriguing elements to the drama . However, there were a couple of factors which let us down on this front; lacking character development and then the actress Jeong Ji So. Now, this isn’t to hate upon the actress. Respectfully, she has had a well-established career as a child actress and certainly does have charisma. On the other hand for this performance, Ji So was nearly literally reading her lines in monotone rather than adding something to her tone. Viewers should have felt as though they were watching a godlike being in a human guise , not just Ji So regurgitating her lines onscreen.

The finale of the drama could have admittedly gone down several routes ( and there was evident uncertainty over what would be the chosen ending) , however, the chosen ending wasn’t entirely bad per say, just lacklustre by failing to explain and wrap up some key story points.

So, is " Doom At Your Service" actually worth watching? This entirely depends on what you’re looking for . If you’re a fond fan of a drama with cliche romances , aesthetic cinematography and arbitrary philosophy , then you’ll absolutely appreciate this drama . However, those looking for a well-rounded and profoundly plot-driven drama with intriguing characters , then " Doom At Your Service" will certainly not fit the bill.

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