Poorly written waste of a fun idea and a good cast
I did not enjoy this. It could so easily been a fun drama, but the writing let it down badly. The storyline and the dialogue were poor, and the whole drama was very heavy handed. That being said, I did find about two thirds of this somewhat watchable (exceptions apply) and that was entirely down to the two leads, who are by far the best thing about the show. It's potentially worth a watch if you really like the leads, and you're not put off by the idea of absurdly illogical plots and lots of serious scenes of people crying. Just set your expectations to low and remember that no matter how it begins, things will get worse.I'll start with the positives. I've seen Seo in Guk in three dramas now and he's seemed like an entirely different people in each. I'm really impressed by his acting and want to see him in something more deserving of his talents. He makes the best of the bad dialogue and puts in a convincing performance as the miserable, cold Doom and as his character develops throughout the show. Park Bo Young puts in her usual good performance, though I found her less convincingly in love here but the writing really wasn't doing her many favours either. Poor girl spends half the show crying. I don't think the leads had good chemistry, but it was hard to tell if that was a casting issue, or just due to the poor writing choices they had to content with, because the chemistry seemed better earlier on before the show drowned under the weight of its own pretensions. I also thought Shin Do Hyun was good as Ji Na, which is impressive because I hated nearly every scene in her storyline so it's a miracle she managed to make that character remotely likable.
Onto the writing, and I do actually have something positive to say here too. It's a decent concept- miserable girl makes a deal to doom the world and then tries desperately to get out of it. You could have some fun with that. The plot also shows signs of potential near the start. The deal has an opt out clause giving the FL the chance to avoid dooming the world, but the catch is that the person she loves the most in the world dies. So the FL decides to try to love Doom, who is having none of it. Again, this is an entertaining idea. A girl trying desperately to love the miserable supernatural being who's trapped her in a contract to end the world. But... that's where the positives end.
The plot makes no sense. It is bafflingly inconsistent with itself. Now this wouldn't be such an issue if the show went for a lighter, comedic route, but it gets so serious so early on that you can't help but ponder the fact that none of it makes any sense. The contract itself is needlessly complicated. I kept trying to figure out exactly what deal they'd made so when the FL sat down to write out the contract terms a few episodes in I heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, I would understand exactly what was going on. And then I read it and went, eh? It matters little anyway, because the writer throws the terms out the window later on. To avoid spoilers I will refrain from pointing out the many ways in which the main storyline was badly handled. Instead, I will act as script doctor and say this drama would have worked much better if it had stuck to the initial storyline of girl trying to love Doom for far longer. This would have been highly amusing, enabling the drama to maintain the lighter tone it so desperately needed, but it would also have allowed their relationship to develop in a more believable way instead of them going from hate to love in the space of 2 episodes. Then they could have saved the weepy, heavy bits for the end and avoided the needless plots that made no sense at all. And they should definitely avoid having a character try to stop loving people by going to a different location. That would just be stupid. And they should get rid of God. Yes, God is a character in the show. No, it doesn't work.
Then there's the sub plot- a love triangle between three supporting characters. I found this part of the show nearly unwatchable. Girl went out with boy briefly a decade ago, boy dumped girl by ghosting her, boy's best friend then kissed girl. Ten years later this bunch of idiots are all apparently still hung up on each other. Why? Who knows. I certainly didn't care. Both the male characters are terrible romantic interests. One is an overgrown man child, and the other began the relationship with a kiss that borders perilously on sexual assault and continued it with rudeness and condescension. This plot would have been vastly improved with the following twist: Ji Na says "you're both awful and I deserve better" and never thinks of either of them again. The end.
Whilst we're on the subject of the worst romance ever, Lee Soo Hyuk's performance did not help me to understand why he's a well regarded actor in Korea. For most of the show I was convinced he couldn't emote at all, but towards the end he demonstrated a wider range of emotions in one scene than he'd shown in the entirety of the rest of the show so who knows. Maybe this performance was an acting choice. Maybe he had no idea how to perform the bafflingly poor storyline he was given. Maybe the Director just wanted him to play another cold rich man who doesn't show any emotions. At no point did I ever understand Ji Na's interest in this man, nor did he convince me that the feeling was mutual.
Finally, religious themes. This show has them. It doesn't do anything interesting with them, but it's confident that you're too stupid to understand so it will explain them to you again and again and again. Just to make sure you get the message. The message is apparently that the God loves us all and that nuance is overrated when it comes to philosophical debates about free will and determinism. Sigh.
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Great drama overall, but anticlimactic, unsatisfactory ending
I loved the premise of this drama, and it was a no brainer I would watch it religiously, considering the amazingly talented cast. As a big Seo In Guk fan, I can say his performance here was perfect (He just excels at playing darker characters!). BUT the star of this show is undoubtedly Park Bo Young. I mean, what a phenomenal, versatile actress! I was blown away by her delivery in many scenes, and this is coming from someone who wasn’t too fond of her most famous drama (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon). Her chemistry with SIG is very palpable and even electric at times! I really enjoyed seeing their characters’ dynamic from start to finish.However, I do think the drama has some shortcomings. First, I was a little disappointed that it didn’t deliver a cohesive narrative. My pet peeve when watching fantasy / supernatural dramas is writers conveniently forgetting elements of the story just to push for a specific ending. Doom’s role in the universe and his relationship with God are treated more as an afterthought (so this part of the story lacks depth, IMO).
Secondly, the ending is slightly anticlimactic, forced, and predictable. It's quite unsatisfactory, mostly because it leaves many questions unanswered. And finally, I thought the story places way too much emphasis on the romantic triangle. Na Ji Na’s back-and-forths with the two SMLs are often given more screen time than ML and FL. I admit fast forwarding through some of their scenes because they were so repetitive.
Dawon's performance as Dong Kyung's little brother was perfection!
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I like it above all things (all the bad things it has)
I just read a well written review with a 5.5 raiting for this drama and gotta say Im agree with that person even if i think of this drama as a good one, a good one who makes u feel nostalgic and reflexive but gotta find where (in my opinion) they lost a little bit a good way for the drama.Drama premise was so good. The moment the drama got announced people start having high expectations, from ost to cast to plot to everything. People whom are huge fans of kdramas know the names of the leading characters, Park BoYoung and Seo InGuk, are well known actors in kdramalands. We also have Lee SoHyuk and his beautiful voice and Kang TaeOh both of them weren't very recognized at the moment they staring this drama (nowadays everyones know their names) although they gave an excellent performance.
The OST was excellent, we have AILEE and every good kdrama consumer know that she is like midas, every ost for a kdrama she did was a completely bomb. Her songs holds message and feelings, I know im not the only one who feels a lot with her songs, get goosebumbs and almost cry. Obviously Ailee isnt the only one who makes this ost excellent we got davichi, baekhyun, txt and even seo inguk too.
So, the big problem with this drama was writer didn't know how to develop their story plot and chracters, they full filled plot holes without being careful, even if the plot got ruined by it. The big mistake was the second couple and the love triangle while everything else was happening. The second couple lacks of chemistry and their love triangle is even worse, we know that kind of situations could happen in real life, but i guess was so dumb and even if main couple carried the whole drama with their performance and their chemistry even them at the end were ruine for the plot holes.
Although everything and the lack of coherence (kind of) this drama is one of my favorites, main couple are of my favorites actors in the world and their performance here gift me good moments while watching a few years ago, even if the plot is how it is, I like it above all things.
In conclusion, if you like Park Boyoung and Seo InGuk and most important, if you like dramas with a little bit of reflexive, which makes you value your life, maybe you must watch it.
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Under rated
Loved it. If you like supernatural stories like Goblin you will like this. I liked this drama as much as i liked Goblin. Story is predictable and takes you through twist and turns with meaningful conversation and dialogues. Script was good and actors delivered it bang on. I also liked the side characters and SML and SFL story and their banter.This is the drama where i liked Seo in Guk and his acting. He knows what he is doing. Park Bo young i liked her in Strong woman Do Bong Soon and she caries the same sassiness here. I enjoyed watching her acting and her strong FL role.
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Nice drama, but not up to expectations
Doom At Your Service was one of the highly anticipated dramas of 2021. It brought some amazing actors together. A new fictional character,“doom”, was introduced and from the original plot reveal it looked intriguing. It also looked promising when the Ost track list was released which included TXT, Ailee, Gummy, Davichi, EXO’s Baekhyun and Seo In Guk himself.Outstanding Leads
Tak Dong Kyung played by Park Bo Gum is a very practical and strong character. Park definitely justified the character but at times she looked pale(since the storyline demanded it). Dong Kyung lacked the spark, may be because she was already dying, but still,who goes back to work and lives monotonously for the last 100days ofher life? However, SeoIn Guk, who marked himself as an actor in The Smile has Left your Eyes, was fresh and outstanding. Every move of his will swoon you.
Drama will forever be thanked for bringing out Lee Soo Hyuk to the light. His deep voice and heart melting looks are going to kill you every time he is on screen. Kang Tae Oh put emotions powerfully on the screen while the other leading lady, Shin Do Hyun, was beautiful and performed very well too. Overall, the leads were brilliant, convincing and eye-soothing.
Equally brilliant supporting cast
Personally, I loved Dawon of Korean boy band SF9 as Dong Kyung’s brother. He as an actor has got all the potential. His screen time was less but he managed to pull out the smile on viewer’s face with his earnest and cute acting. Woo Hee Jin's characteris the family we crave for. The cameo role from the budding actor Nam Da Reum was commendable, but the best performance was given by Jeong Ji So; she nailed the role of a deity.
Storyline Review
It started off so well that fans compared it to one of the legendary fantasy series Guardian: The Lonely and the Great God. Cinematography wise, it is visually mesmerising.The representation of humans and their deeds, the deity, good and evil, the world and its caretakers was beautiful but at the same time the conversation in the drama made it difficult to interpret and all the theory seemed to be confusing at times,one of the main reasons why its ratings dropped.
It was one heck of a roller coaster ride till episode 6 but from thereon the drama slowed down and became extremely mundane. This weakening of such a potentially strong storyline made it highly predictable like you already know what’s coming up next. The fantasy soon came out as a very light-hearted drama which had nothing to do with thrill, excitement and suspense. It’s something you might have experienced in the past fantasies of Korea.
One of the best parts of the entire drama was the love triangle of second leads Lee Soo Hyuk, Kang Tae Oh and Shin Do Hyun. It had nothing to do with the major plot and title of the show but to be honest, it was still a better and more engaging storyline than the main. One of the best parts of the script was that this filler plot wasnot side-linedeven in a single episode.It held almost half of the screen time and sometimes looked as if it was the main plot and not the doom’s story. - Prashansa
Through the editors and novel writers in the show, the writer of the show himself continuously tried to convey what he thought throughout the drama and it looked nice to keep noticing his point ofviews. It somehow made the drama interesting of what actually going to happen but it is sad that it still remained too regular and predominantly missed the spark. Like most of the fantasy it brought back the person from death, simplistic love-hate relationship between Doom and Dong Kyung fluttered a bit but stayed dull. The last episode was way better than the rest and to a surprise it ended very well leaving no knots. Overallit didn’t meet high expectations and would be difficult to call it as a best drama of 2021. It is still good but there are better fantasies in the line.
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Impressive Drama on Mortality, Love, and Redemption
Some TV shows can be passively watched, but others and DAYS I count among them require a more active participation to pay attention, maybe rewatch, in order to appreciate the layers of story, of meaning, offered to the viewer. In DAYS there are three main characters and three primary themes. There will be spoilers.The main character, Tak, is a young woman who learns she has three months to live due to a terminal brain cancer. In frustration she wishes to end the world which catches the attention of Doom (aka the Devil) who pities himself immensely and uses a ‘loophole’ in the ‘rules’ governing creation to seize upon Tak’s wish to set up a contract with her to end the world which will also end himself (his goal) and bring about the end of his mother, God. However, God, who manifests as a young teen girl with a terminal heart disease, has a plan of her own.
The Devil covertly schemes, but his mother time and again goads him in her chosen directions, and it’s clear she has the upper hand with reminders such as “God always knows everything. She just pretends not to know.” Pay attention to this half a spoiler. Note from the early episodes the small clay flower pot that God is tending in her hospital room. Much later what this flower pot represents will be revealed and then the significance of its presence early on will redefine events and conversations throughout early episodes.
The first layer theme is that of the individual confronting their own mortality and the angst in not only their own end but the conflicts with friends and relatives left unresolved. In an early episode the Devil says to Tak, “All humans’ days are numbered. They only live forever until they realize it.” In the last episode Tak will repeat this exact wording back to the Devil. That most people avoid thinking about or confronting their own mortality will limit the appeal for some. The angst surrounding Tak’s end reminds me of a TV series Dead Like Me from 2003/4 but in that case the main character was a girl who died and became a grim reaper collecting souls near her family. Here Tak is contemplating her looming future death.
The second theme is that of the romantic entanglement that grows between Tak and the Devil. The Devil first takes Tak as an average human, but soon discovers she has a strength of will that he cannot break. In one of their early conflicts the Devil tells her, “That’s just what you are. The rock that happens to be closest to me when I wanted to throw one into the lake.” But God knows all so was it a coincidence that Tak was the rock who happened to be closest?
Resonating within this second theme is a sub arc involving two brothers and Tak’s ‘adoptive’ older sister who make up a love triangle. The romantic entanglements of these three contrast with the love between Tak and the Devil that gets lit and burns hot within a mere 100 days. The three humans who are ‘living forever’ dilly dally for 10 years before they resolve their entanglement and then that is accelerated in part due Tak.
The third theme is the redemption of darkness gone astray. The Devil has a love hate relationship with his mother. She goads and manipulates him into rebellious behavior. These conversations between God and the Devil are a fascinating part of the series. God shows up when Doom is absorbed in his self pity while Tak is in the hospital. God tells her son, “It’s good not to see her. It’s the right decision.” The Devil storms off in anger and God smiles and says: “A child grows up when they defy their parents. And love is lit up when it runs into hardships.”
This third theme brings to mind a Netflix TV series, Lucifer 2016/21, which also involved God (a father figure) who was estranged from his son, Lucifer, who rebelled and was consigned to Hell where he punished the damned. Among Lucifer’s powers is that he is sexually irresistible. He is also self centered and impulsive having spent much of his time fulfilling his every impulse. Lucifer rebels and leaves Hell for Los Angeles where he meets a female detective, who is the only human entirely immune to his powers. Complications ensue and he finds his redemption through his relationship with the detective, who it turns out was placed in his path via a miracle by his father in order to bring about his redemption. In DAYS there are many striking parallels as the teen God again and again is implicated in the developing relationship between Tak and her son, Doom, aka the Devil.
Some hopefully constructive observations.
The redemption arc with Doom could have been meaningfully steeper. For example a few early scenes or even one in which God says, “You made love to 10,000 women, but never loved any one of them.”
The intense love between Doom and Tak is surprising for its chasteness. Explicit sexuality isn’t necessary but at least some allusion to a bit more physical contact would have added to story texture.
Subtitles were about average. Given the potential foreign English speaking audience it is surprising that the creators don’t pay more attention to getting this aspect right. Even modest mistakes force viewers to reverse and reread. In DAYS case there was considerable confusion regarding the important distinction between would vs will / could vs can etc, some clumsy tense mistakes, and a few cases of incorrect negatives i.e. a missing negative.
The most grating annoyance was the injection of the Canadian Kevin character. Those gratuitous scenes were seriously painful to watch. The money would have been better spent hiring the Kevin actor to edit the subtitles and using a Korean character in Kevin’s role.
There were a few cases of excessive emotion expressed. For example, when the younger brother finds out his sister is terminal. I blame the director, and then this may be a cultural difference.
Fancy clothes - new change every outing - seems unlikely for a woman of her modest salary.
Oddly Doom is often shown holding cigarettes but never actually lighting and smoking them.
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MASTERPIECE
I don't even know where to begin with this drama. The plot is the best one I've ever encountered, it has so much to say and in a perfect storyline from the first to the last scene. As a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope I assure you in this show it's delivered in the best way possible. The music is absolutely breathtaking, one of the most beautiful and touching OSTs. Every scene has the song it needs to have. There's laughing, there's crying at 3 am in front of your screen, there's suspense, there's an unhealthy amount of butterflies for this extraordinary chemistry and the most perfect kisses I've seen on TV. Most importantly you get to realize so much deep stuff about life and death and humanity. I love this to the point where I don't want to watch another drama for some time.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
“If the world is going to end anyway, let it end with you by my side.”
One of my favorites! 🖤 I was an emotional wreck while watching this, especially since my family has a history with cancer, which made it even more special. I loved all the characters that appeared on screen, and I totally crushed (still am!) on Seo In Guk, he has such a unique face. The whole story is really beautiful, and the ending was exactly how I wanted it to be. After it was over, I couldn't stop thinking about this drama for weeks. It truly opened up the K-drama world for me.I’ll definitely rewatch it again very soon! :)
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One of my favourite dramas as it teaches you the value of life
I dont rewatch the shows but for thia drama its completely different its tell you how life is important it tell you how we need to maintain the balance the title itself is facinating " DOOM AT YOUR SERVICE " the show has great actors and everything here is just awesome seo in guk who have played the role of the doom has done a great job in expressing his feeling and how tak dong young is so important to him he has proved this in we have seen character devlopment here as well how one can fet over her past and learn to accept the future now i would like to talk about the cover page where tak dong yound is standing with green and myul mang is standing with the black background and how its is so facinating and i cant even describe it in words the whole show itself was awesome and every one did a fantastic job the message that the show potrayed was so touching and overall the whole show was sensational.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
muito potencial gasto!
nos primeiros eps eu estava empolgada e queria logo ver os próximos para saber o que iria acontecer entre os pp's, tal como seria o final da fl, mas ao longo do drama a história decaiu muito e colocou plots desnecessários, como o triângulo amoroso entre os personagens secundários que, também, não foi muito desenvolvido e aprofundado.perdeu muito potencial do enredo que começou a focar apenas nos sentimentos da fl com seu câncer.
mas, ainda assim, é um drama bom e que trás uma reflexão de vida.
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worth it!
I really enjoyed this. Around the middle though I was getting a bit frustrated and had to take a break but once I finally started watching again the rest of the show made up for that annoying bit.I really loved the characters especially Seon-kyeong, and I loved the side plot with Ji-na. Ji-na and Dong-kyeong's friendship was also really great. I love when drama's have a strong friendship aspect along with the rest of the plot.
The plot really intrigued me from the start but later on it became more obvious that it was an impossible situation. That is what made me have to take a break from the show.
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A must watch series
This series is amazing from the staff to the cast everyone did an amazing job.The plot is just outstanding the cast really did their best work to bring out the uniqueness of the drama.
I would definitely recommend watching this series to everyone and I have already watched it twice it's a must re-watch.
The love story between the cast was simply the best. This series is a show that raised my standards on relationships.
The way the main leads are so quirky and yet so cold at the same time.
As for the actress Park Bo young she did an outstanding job on her role it must of been real hard to take on her character but she did the role so beautifully and graceful. Actor Seo in guk... He just screamed coolness and boyfriend material really did an amazing job on his role which is another character that's hard to play.
This series deserves a season 2 and a high rating
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