Doom at Your Service

A big let down.

After hearing so many good things about this drama, I decided to give it a shot as I've been in search for something new to watch. The synopsis was interesting, and I really liked the cast, so I expected I'd end up loving this drama. The beginning was gripping, not gonna lie. Even though I started watching late at night, I devoured the first 4 episodes and found myself wanting more. Unfortunately, the show started going downhill quite rapidly.

I expected it would take the leads the majority of the show to come in terms with their feelings for each other considering how Myeol Mang treated her in the beginning, and not to mention how he supposedly cannot feel human emotions, let alone love. I thought this was going to be more of a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, but the romance was strangely rushed. Surprisingly, not even 6 episodes in and they are declaring they are ready to die for each other. Nothing else happens in their relationship. They love each other to death, but their fate is tragic. That's all what happens for the rest of the drama.

I can't tell you what happens in the next 10 episodes to save my life. The show kept doing in circles, repeating the same events over and over. She runs away, he brings her back. She chooses to erase their memories of each other, he remembers her. She decides to die for him, he dies for her instead. She kept making decisions regarding their relationship herself, and he had to go and save the situation every time. It's like all the tragic tropes were condensed into one drama. By the end, I couldn't bring myself to sympathies or feel anything for them anymore . They separate one episode, the next episode they decide to face reality and stick together, but then they separate yet again. I kept sighing and skipping all the crying and goodbyes because, frankly, I didn't care anymore. I'm not joking when I say it took me 3 days for get through the last episode.

The dialogue for the most part felt unnatural, and half the events that take place don't add anything to the story. And don't get me started on the contract and the whole wish thingy. Their contract doesn't make sense, and I thought her precious wish that she holds on to until the end was going to play an important role. It honestly seemed like the writer added the wish as an afterthought because whatever she decides for her wish, Myeol Mang apparently cannot fulfill, and in the end her wish didn't help their situation at all. You're telling me there isn't ONE wish she could have made to improve their situation even a little bit? What was the entire point of it then?

While the second couple's love triangle was a bit draggy, I actually enjoyed their story a lot and found myself caring more for them than for the main couple. I practically finished the drama for them. I really loved Ji Na's character and Joo Ik's voice, even liked Hyun Gyu and Dong Kyung's brother and aunt's presence on screen a lot more than the main lead's. Kevin added absolutely nothing to the story, aside from diversity points I guess, and that one interaction between him and Dong Kyung, you know which one, was, as much as I try to avoid using this word, cringeworthy. It gave my a heavy dose of cringe I had to turnoff my laptop for a few minutes.

The music was on point. One of the few things I liked about this drama. Especially loved Breaking Down by Ailee; I've been listening to it on loop for a week now.

Overall, I'm disappointed with this drama. The potential was there, but unfortunately was short lived. It dragged on and on, going in circles. I really wanted to love this drama, but it ended making me feel nothing but annoyance.

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A drama that gets caught trying to be too cerebral

I really wanted to love this drama, I was so excited about it! I loved the cast, the OST lineup, the posters and the concept. Unfortunately I felt the writing ended up being a glaring weakness that brought the whole drama down.

It seemed to me the writer had the general premise and ending sorted out in their head, which would account for the stronger early episodes and the ending that you could see coming from a mile away, but the middle 10 or so episodes felt quite meandering. Nothing really happened, it got a bit tropey, and the dialogue was extremely repetitive and abstract in a way that made it feel like written dialogue that was made to be "deep", instead of conversations people would actually have. The contract setup was also poorly done since the contract didn't really make sense (the person she loves the most will die either way). Plus the early episodes had detailed recaps of the previous episodes that pretty much existed to clarify the terms of the contract; these recaps stopped for the most part once the plot came to halt as well in the middle section of the drama.

The actors all did a good job with what they were given. I'm a big fan of Seo In Guk, especially when he is in a darker role. However if I compare him here to his role in The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, his performance in DAYS feels a little shallow. In TSHLYE I felt like SIG deeply understood his character and was able to give Kim Moo Young some nuance. In DAYS I didn't feel that same level of understanding from the actor, the performance felt like a surface level version of a "dark, misunderstood character." This is more of a writing or directing problem than an acting one in my opinion. I'm not a huge Park Bo Young fan, but i certainly don't dislike her as an actress (more so I don't like the dramas she chooses). She has some very emotional moments here as Dong Kyung, but also moments where I feel like she falls back to her default cute persona. I felt conflicted about the leads' chemistry; I liked their early bickering but they fell in love so fast that I didn't buy them as a couple willing to sacrifice for each other. Their overly abstract and repetitive dialogue didn't help.

Unlike a lot of people I actually liked the secondary love triangle story and it was the part of the drama I looked forward to the most after a while. Again, I think this is because there was more “plot” to their story and less of the dialogue that I disliked so it felt more engaging to me.

The OST and music were all very good and some incredibly emotional. However I did find by the end of the drama they were being overused. They were added to increase emotions in the scene. A glaring example of their overuse was in one of the final episodes 3 different OSTs were played within the first 7 minutes of the episode and it was noticeable in a distracting way, which is never good for film and TV.

Overall I felt this drama missed the mark even though it had a great setup. The good thing is I feel like the only person who walks away with any damage to their reputation is the writer as this was a beautifully directed (there is some stunning imagery here) and well acted drama that runs around in a circle for it's entire middle section.

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It did not service my expectations :(

Doom at your service was pretty much one of my most anticipated dramas of this year. After finding out there was a killer cast and an intriguing synopsis I was excited to start this drama.

The beginning episodes made me realise that this was a very slow paced drama, which i did not mind as I did seem to really enjoy the first few episodes. There were many cute moments and it kept you pretty engaged. However, around ep4 it started to dwindle and become draggy. I became disinterested and disconnected to the story as it felt like nothing much was happening anymore.

I just feel like after the couple got together there was just no more excitement anymore. There was nothing new happening. It just felt dry. The plot just felt like it was going in circles with no direction. There were like a good few scenes in-between but it wasn't engaging enough for me to carry on. I debated whether I should just drop this drama. Regardless, I still gave it a chance every week in hope that it will get better but it was just so boring for me. I just felt it was such a shame because the plot has so much potential and the casts acting was amazing. Not to mention how the cinematography was also so beautiful.

However, after watching ep 11-12 I feel like the drama is slowly redeeming itself. Although I initially thought I would be disappointed with them using the amnesia trope, I infact think it made the drama kinda interesting to watch again. Idk, I just felt like the characters have brought back the charm they had in the beginning. I do think it got boring again somewhere around ep 14-15. I do think they wrapped up things generally well in the last episode.

In regards to the second leads story, I felt like at some point I became more interested in their storyline than the main leads. I do feel that it does feels like a separate drama, but I'm regardless enjoying it. I do hope that Na Ji Na gets together with Cha Joo Ik.

Overall, I don't think this is a complete rubbish drama but it's not quite a masterpiece either. I just felt the storyline could've been executed much better.
I do believe it was unnecessary for this to be 16 episodes long and could have done better if it had a shorter amount of episodes to reduce the dragginess. Despite that I feel like there were no flaws with the acting and the cinematography. Seo in Guk is very charming with the way he portrays Myul Mang and I just love Park Bo Youngs acting. I really do think they portrayed their characters so well. It's just the plot that's lacking and disappointing.

Will I rewatch it again? No. I don't think it's worth the rewatch. I feel like I've struggled to even make it past the halfway mark. Though I do feel like the recent episodes were much better. I don't think I'll be able to rewatch it again.

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Great concept but poor execution

Looking at the main leads and anyone who is a Kdrama watcher would definitely set high expectations coming to this. And it didn't meet mine.

The actors hard carried this show honestly. If it wasn't for Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young, I would've dropped this already. The plot went in circles for many episodes and it looked like the writer just copied all the lines in a philosophy book and called it a day. There are a lot of draggy moments that deserves a 2x speed.

Seo In Guk looked his best in this series though. *eye candy* It has amazing OSTs and it adds up to the feels. The cinematography had it's moments too. But that's about it.

I'm probably one of the few people who are genuinely rooting and is invested on the second leads. The finale episode was saved by them. I was squealing during their entire screentime. I hope Lee Soo Hyuk and Shin Do Hyun's chemistry is through the roof. Please I need another series with them as main leads.

Defintely not worth a rewatch for me. I'll probably just be contented in watching fanmade tiktok videos of Cha Joo Ik.

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Where was the plot?

I originally picked up this drama after seeing all of the hype around it and was very excited to start it. The plot seemed intriguing and I love both of the actors playing the main leads. However, I was quite disappointed overall.

The first four episodes or so were amazing. I found myself wanting to watch it constantly and thoroughly enjoying it but, after a few more episodes, I had to force myself to continue. The positives of this drama were the chemistry between the main leads and the cast but that's about it. There was so little plot. I honestly couldn't tell you what happened in the 16 episodes of this drama apart from what is described in the description. I don't think that my lack of interest was due to the actors as I think they all did a good job and were very loveable. But, I think it was due to terrible writing.
For example, the second couple seemed irrelevant, and felt like I was watching an entirely different drama. The first love trope felt so painful to watch. It had been ten years and these people were seriously still hung up over such a short relationship and one kiss?

In conclusion, this drama felt like I was watching 16 episodes of filler, and don't get me wrong I like filler but this was so boring. I wouldn't recommend watching it as you could probably get the entire plot from watching couple edits which would probably be more enjoyable. I definitely won't find myself rewatching this, ever.

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One day, destruction came into my heart.

*Happy sigh* How do I write this without giving away too much? ╮(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)╭

*From EP 1-7*

What I loved?

Firstly: Ailee is CARRYING this drama.

My goodness. This is the first time that the first OST that plays is memorable. I would usually fall for the second or third (like in CLOY with Yoon Mi Rae), but whenever I hear "Breaking Down", I know the scene is about to be magical ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧

Secondly: It's nice being familiar with the lead actors and their unique methods of acting.

Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk have worked together before in her dramas 'Oh My Ghost(ess)' and 'Abyss'. Although he only made 1 episode cameos for small parts, it's nice to know that they can finally be each other's leading character (｡ﾉω＼｡). I first watched PBY in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and before I knew it, I'd become a fan of her acting. I have only ever seen SIG in 'The Smile Has Left Your Eyes'. I never finished it. Even though he has phenomenal acting skills, that drama wasn't for me ┐(´ー｀)┌

Now they are in DAYS and I'm getting to see a whole other side to them: PBY is really incorporating everything she's learnt along the way as an actress and it shows through Tak Dong Kyung. Sometimes she's all cute like Do Bong Soon or she's trying to make sense of the creature before her like Kim Sun Yi ('A Werewolf Boy). I really love her and I'm sure if I watch more of SIG's drama, I'll grow to love him too (*´ω｀*)

Thirdly: Tak Dong Kyung's narration really hits home at some point. The script, coupled with PBY's stellar acting has me crying almost halfway into the series. She continues to cement her place in my heart.

What I hated?

How they don't release all KDrama episodes in a shorter timespan, like they do with CDramas.
__________

*From EP 8-12*

What I loved?

One thing: The music continues to being thus drama to life.

The rest of the OSTs are making themselves known and working hard to creep their way into my heart, as well. I have now heard TXT, Baekhyun, Gummy and Davichi's voices, but "I want to be with you" by Gummy is my number 2 (after Ailee's "Breaking Down"). This drama has AMAZING music.

What I hated?

Firstly: This love triangle doesn't feel like a love triangle.

I'll admit that it got a little boring, especially those scenes with Na Ji-na, Cha Joo-ik and Lee Hyun-kyu. We all know how it should end; she just needs to get their faster. I'm not buying that NJN is torn between two men. I want more for her. I want better. Their storyline would fit better in a CDrama than a KDrama.

Secondly: Amnesia, really?

That's all I'm gonna write.

__________

From EP 13-15

What I loved?

Firstly: Again, the OST. At this point, youll just have to listen to it on your own.

What I hated?

Firstly: The "love-triangle". My goodness, did that take too long to end. By episode 10 I'd decided on which guy she should end up with. I already knew what needed to happen and what needed to be said. All of those moments between her and not-her-guy were soooooo long and soooooo very boring. Why hadnt all of that taken place by episode 13? Not-her-guy was just absolutely ridiculous, at this point. Did he really think he could win???? Really????

Secondly: The way he left. I wish they'd taken a different direction and made her leave instead of him. That would've been cool. IDC how it would make sense, I just know it would have been an amazing plot twist. Too many things were predictable in these episodes.

*EP 16*

I LOVED EVERYTHING AND HATED NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Thats how you write an ending, drama people. PLEASE. We need more endings like this.

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You will never know if you don't press play

How's life...? Good
How would i define this drama? A slice of life drama mixed with fantasy about the personification of death learning to love a human with a terminal ilness, humans and life itself. And the human learning to love that personification of death and life at the same time.
Let me start this review by saying if you are asking yourself “I'm going to like this drama if I watch it?” my answer will be I don't know because like everything in life there is people who love it and there is people who don't.
Do I believe the first episodes are worth the try to, then you should decide if continue or not? Yes I do. In my opinion I think the first 4 episodes are good they have an interesting story line great lines great deliver of lines good main characters good acting and a good OST.
It's this drama worth of my time as a whole? For me it was. But there is something about this drama it's a fantasy drama BUT it's not your typical fantasy drama with a constant villain trying to destroy the main characters. So if you are looking for a drama with a villain and action maybe it won't be for you.
Now I enjoy it, I spend a good time watching it. I may not had watch 500 k dramas but I have watch TV shows and movies all my life from the US, from every country in Latin America, from Spain, Turkey and more and a lot of them were fantasy and i still enjoy it.
Why I enjoy it?
* I personally enjoy something with good main characters than badly written main characters and a lot of nonsense plot. The main characters are well written in my opinion and EXCELLENT 10/10 acted.
* There is a lot of depth and thought put into this drama. The story doesn't treat me (the audience) as dumb.
* They were sad moments yes I cry even tho I'm not a crier at all, but they were also a lot of funny and heartwarming ones and I HAVE A GOOD TIME! If I look back I have a good time watching this live.
* The ending was good it didn't had any low blow or something out of nowhere and lately I appreciate a good ending.
* The main romance was great. I have been watching media with this type of hate to love romance a lot is something I enjoy and have fun watching and for me it was well-made not boring neither problematic either I adored them.
* The non romantic relationships were great as well every relationship the FL has with her family is well written and acted.
Why I watch it?
I was looking since the start of the year for a drama to watch live since I spend all 2020 watching already finished dramas. But I drop many. I never watched anything with these actors.
What I dislike?
* As some people mention here the “love triangle”. For me? I'm tired of love triangles I found them useless and besides that both male leads here were just not well handle. Specially the character of Joo Ik he was not well written or handle at all. But this is not the first and probably won't be the last I dislike second leads characters I didn't skip their romantic scenes but when I re-watch I probably will.
I always write reviews in my mother language for google but something evoke this drama in me for want to write it here.
So in conclusion I believe you should try to watch it if you don't care that much about villains and action. If this isn't your cup of tea then you can stop watching.
I don't found it a waste of time or potential at all I'm glad this drama exist. I'm glad to see this two talented actors paired together and see their characters develop for the past weeks. And I'm glad i watched it.
Thank you for reading.

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A Disney Movie That Became Draggy.

Now, this could've literally been a Disney movie. The whole story line even sounds like it's from a Disney movie.

Like a lot of people, like me. We loved the show at first, the whole doom at your door helping a girl that is suppose to die in 100 days. You're expecting a sad or bittersweet ending right? This is literally something like a Disney Movie so what do you think the ending would be? From the beginning I knew what ending it would be, seeing Park Bo Young was in this drama and all her dramas have the same ending. The ending seemed unrealistic per say? But anyways, the main couple? Cute! I won't lie, this is mainly why I'm giving it what I gave it today, the couple, actors, aesthetic of the show and music. Without those, ratings would've been more lower and I'm sure of it.

Starting from the middle (Episode 10) is when I really started to change my rating from a 9.5 to an 8 then 8.5 then 10 and repeat. The writers didn't really have to do what they did towards the middle/end of the show. I personally think the ending could've been shorter. An hour seemed to long so I skipped a lot of scenes.
Now let me talk about the second couple. Just one word. DRAGGY. Like REALLY draggy to the point where I didn't care whether they got together or not. The love triangle with the second couple also gets mad draggy, like REALLY. To the point where I'm very interesting in them, then interested, then uninterested, and repeat.

Actors? AMAZING! I won't lie, I love Park Bo Young and now Seo In Guk & Lee Soo Hyuk, they're the only reason why I watched the show and continued to. But are they worth it? Yes they are, the actors are amazing at what they do! Can I mention Kevin's scene (Tak Dong Young's Aunt's Boyfriend) made me cringe? Not that he's a bad actor it's just that I cringe whenever I heard somebody talk English in a kdrama lol.

Music? Also AMAIZNG! I'm positive every track I loved and still do love!

I would rewatch this but only for specific episodes.

In total, I would say the actors and music make the whole show, the writers made it a trainwreck in the middle of the show, then tried to pick it back up towards the end. I would say to watch but it might not be your favorite towards the ending. As I personally think the hate for the show is kind of justifiable, but the show isn't all bad as much say. Can I also add this show could've had 12 episodes? For a trainwreck that had 16 episodes made me think it'll be amazing with no mess ups.

I would recommend you this show for the actors and chemistry between the two couples. But the fantasy aspect? You'll probably dislike it the most ( like I do. )

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TL;DR: Doom at my verdict, but completed out of goodwill towards the actors.

What captivated me was the unique concept of personifying life and death. Seo In Guk's portrayal of the attractive and mysterious Doom, and Park Bo Young who (starts off) as the unexpected Dong Kyung, she appears brave and considerate and clever. The world-building is visually stunning, and what I like most is the way it is illustrating the beauty of everyday scenes like leaves falling or flowers blooming. One of the OST is a stand-out "Breaking Down."

I also appreciate the lead’s character development, seeing Doom realizes the purpose of life through love, and seeing Dong Kyung starts to express emotions and talking to someone about them, realizing that problems can be solved together. Sadly, their chemistry seemed to suffer by the end, along with the overall storyline. While they could've done amazing things with all kinds of exciting plot twists and such, the climatic reveal occurred too early, and then it lost momentum till the end, and the show never recovers from this slump. The couple was being too emotional on ruminating in the name of love and it just bored me so much. I also don't think the love triangle brings anything useful to the story. I have more things I don’t enjoy about it but I don’t need to talk bad about it further… I think there's enough negative reviews for this one.

-Dec 2023, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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The drama has everything but a lousy script

Things DAYS has and does well
- Beautiful scene, romantic, beautiful film color
- The soundtrack is so good, any song can become a hit, my favorite is Baekhyun's song "U"
- The acting of all five actors is good, especially Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young, Lee Soo Hyuk is also quite interesting.

What DAYS can't do and does very badly
- Script

I can say this is the worst script among dramas I have ever watched, lack of investment, lack of imagination, lack of sophistication, lack of logic, lack of empathy even than the scripts of low-budget makjang dramas with hundreds of episodes. After this film, I understand more deeply the art of telling the story of a drama, it doesn't have to say all the philosophies that the it convey, the writer should give the viewers the chance to feel. It's philosophy will present itself to the reader, not the writer trying to fill it in the audience's brain.

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Great Potential

After the first episode I was really excited, because i really like the actors, the main ones AND the secondary ones, but I don't know why, I felt like it was trying too hard. I never felt the connection between our leads and found their romance forced -- which is sad because I know both of them are capable of sizzling chemistry. The story fell pretty flat, and I found myself frequently sleepy and continuing to watch in 2 or 3 sittings, which is rare for me -- I'm a binge watcher normally.
This isn't a fast moving drama...there isn't much moving the plot most of the time. Instead, he moments are supposed to be found in the deeper mysteries and philosophy. What is life? What is loss? What is the end of something and what is the beginning? What does it mean to be human? What is love? Even though I don't mind dramas like this usually, this one just didn't resonate well for me.
It was entertaining enough to watch, but I don't think I'll watch it again.

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Maybe lower your expectations??

Doom at your service is labeled as a fantasy drama because duh, but that's actually where some people may be misled. It's more like a slice of life/melodrama in a fantasy setting. It's a character driven drama where the fantasy elements are used to move them forward.

The plot is actually very simple. Girl finds out she's dying, makes a wish, seals a deal with the personification of doom. And what seemed very simple ends up with them in a difficult position. This is a drama about fate, destiny and the inevitability of things; it's about death and life and everything in between.

It has the tragic, star-crossed lovers kind of love that I like and a bittersweet feeling that's felt throughout the whole drama.
The storytelling is one of the strongest points of this drama, having that kind of poetical way to narrate things (and I personally love it). Gorgeous cinematography. Amazing one liners. Perfect OST.
Park Bo Young, Seo In Guk and their otherworldly chemistry carried the drama on their back throughout the highs and lows.

Obviously, the drama is not perfect. It doesn't have the most complicated of plots and the story fell flat at the end and a ​few episodes felt a bit like fillers.
One of my biggest issues was the disconnection between the main leads and the second leads' plot . It's like they're telling two separate stories that have nothing to do with each other and sometimes it feels a bit off putting to go from one to another. It gets better near the end tho.
Also, I think they kind of wasted Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk's chemistry. Sparks fly whenever they're near each other and they didn't fully capitalize on that. A shame and one of the reasons why everything fell flat.
The ending is so underwhelming it makes me angry. I was doubting whether to drop the rating to 8 just for that, but I guess the beginning makes up for the end. Maybe in a few days I end up dropping it, who knows...


Anyway, it's a good drama and I enjoyed it a lot but it could have been better. A lot of missed opportunities and wasted potential.

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