AH

I mean it was the only way to make sure he didn't die? There's plenty of things that aren't logical in this drama, but Tak Dong Kyung making that choice made sense given her options.

It was only selfish in a very narrow sense since she took away Myeol Mang's one chance to die as he wanted to, and also his best chance at saving her, and decided to reclaim her original fate even knowing that Myeol Mang would be forced to live on after her death. But unless Tak Dong Kyung actually wished for the world to end (something she was never going to do), one of them was going to live (Tak Dong Kyung) and one was going to die (Myeol Mang in her place) when the contract was broken. Now that the contract is void, the outcome is the same but reversed. Tak Dong Kyung is back to dying and Myeol Mang will have to live, until / unless the dynamics change again.

I *KNEW* it!

"...we are expecting some cool twists but writers have something else in mind." Yep. More repetition. As expected!

The premise has loads of potential, we know Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young are talented and capable, and the OST is fantastic. The only things left to blame for the way this drama didn't live up to its potential are the writers and the director.

In terms of specific gripes, I feel like the second couple story line gives me nothing to root for. Both of Na Ji Na's options are awful. For the main storyline, the writers included lots of hints and suggestions that could have turned into really cool plot lines (Tak Dong Kyung and Myeol Mang seeing each other at the funeral hall, the marble, etc.) but that ultimately didn't really turn into anything. Even one of the central challenges that Tak Dong Kyung faced (dealing with the contract) was suddenly removed from the plot simply because the Deity made her an offer. The price was the leads' memories, but they are obviously going to regain them very quickly. It's just not satisfying writing.

Instead of utilizing the premise to its full potential, the writers have instead focused on poetic repetition and creating scenes that feel like pretty pictures. What I mean by that is that many of the scenes in the middle of the drama involve Myeol Mang and Tak Dong Kyung, and sometimes her friends and family, being together and doing something happy (e.g., going on a date, eating a meal, etc.) and smiling while being sad underneath because they know Tak Dong Kyung's time is limited. Nothing meaningful happens in those scenes. It feels like the director is that camera man in the photo studio Tak Dong Kyung went to telling her to smile for the photo that will be used at her funeral: a posed "happy" image that will be used for everyone to look back on with bittersweet feelings when tragedy strikes. As if all these scenes are just preparation for flashbacks when the more tragic moments of the drama come about.

When you add in all the ambiguity around the Deity's intentions and when the leads really fell for each other (very hard to pinpoint given that Tak Dong Kyung was trying to force herself to love Myeol Mang for a while, and he was ostensibly trying to seduce her while denying his growing feelings for her), its just... not as clever, as satisfying or overall as good as it clearly could have been.

I think the writers have intentionally written her scenes so that her intentions were not always clear. Maybe they wanted the audience to be kept on their toes. But at this point, assuming the Deity hasn't outright lied when talking to herself or to Tak Dong Kyung (but acknowledging the fact that she seems to have intentionally said things to mislead Myeol Mang), it seems pretty clear that she at least thinks that she loves Myeol Mang (even though she has a very strange way of showing it with her tough love philosophy).

It seems like her actions so far have been designed to: (a) void the contract to prevent the world from ending and to prevent Myeol Mang from dying; and (b) push Myeol Mang to develop compassion / humanity (episode 8 suggested that this might be a path for Myeol Mang to become human), which generally means pushing him to fall more deeply in love with Tak Dong Kyung, but often the way she does that is by pulling them apart.

We knew from pretty early on that the Deity wanted to stop Myeol Mang from ending the world. She said she was willing to do anything to stop Myeol Mang from making Tak Dong Kyung "resign herself to the world" the way Myeol Mang had . I believe that basically meant she would do anything to stop Tak Dong Kyung from completing her wish for the world to end in accordance with the contract - which was the same wish that Myeol Mang had when he wanted to die. Now we've seen her succeed in convincing Tak Dong Kyung to void the contract, so we know she was serious about that part.

But she also helped sent Tak Dong Kyung up to the hospital roof where she would run into Myeol Mang after their memories were erased and the contract was voided. And in episode 7 the Deity said to herself that "A child must rebel against their parent to grow. Love must suffer [from a broken heart]/[hardship] to [blaze up]/[burn hotter]." Which suggests that she said all those cruel things to Myeol Mang in episode 7 about being responsible for Tak Dong Kyung's misery and telling him to stay away from her as a reverse-psychology method of pushing them closer together / making them fall deeper in love / making Myeol Mang grow. Same thing for her making Tak Dong Kong disappear from the world for a bit in episode 8 in order to scare Myeol Mang.

In episode 12, the Deity told Myeol Mang that her plant is him (Myeol Mang) and previously she told Tak Dong Kyung that: (i) this was her first time planting; (ii) she had been tending to the plant for a long, long time; and (iii) the seed is a "possibility" that grew up feeding on Tak Dong Kyung's misfortunes because meeting Tak Dong Kyung led Myeol Mang to feel more pity for another person than for himself for the first time. Right now I believe the plant specifically represents Myeol Mang's humanity, which is largely an extension of his feelings for Tak Dong Kyung (e.g., his comment after saving that kid from getting hit). If that's the case, then the Deity has been trying to get that humanity to "sprout" for a long time.

The Deity also said she always wanted Tak Dong Kyung to be happy, but she didn't use her powers to make that happen because if a person always got their way and everything came easily to them, then life would be meaningless. It's really hard to tell if she was being hones in her next conversation with Myeol Mang. The Deity tells him that she was wrong - Tak Dong Kyung does love him (but her actions over the previous two episodes seem to have been intended to make their feelings stronger, so she should already have known that Tak Dong Kyung loved Myeol Mang) and they Deity tells Myeol Mang that she always hopes that she's wrong and they (Myeol Mang and Tak Dong Kyung) are right. That a vain hope is still hope and a vain love is still love. My best guess is that she is indeed rooting for them, but she seems determined to only say stuff like that in ways that will make Myeol Mang suspicious / not believe that her plan all along has been to get him to love Tak Dong Kyung. As someone who often decides to do the opposite of what their parent tells them to do out of a contrarian attitude, I can sort of understand why the Deity would do that.

So there's been a lot of misdirection, but in totality it seems like the Deity has achieved her first goal (voiding the contract) and now she presumably just wants Myeol Mang to find his humanity / become human / have a happy ending with Tak Dong Kyung, but she believes it will only be worthwhile if they have to struggle to achieve that happy ending. The other factor that's not clear is how she truly feels about Myeol Mang abandoning his role as Doom if he does become human.

But on top of all that, the Deity's comment at the end of episode 6 about deleting or resetting something that messes with the system because it must have been programmed incorrectly was really strange. I still don't really understand that one as it doesn't really fit with all of the other things she said in later episodes and Myeol Mang wasn't there so she wasn't saying it to confuse him. So who knows? Maybe there's more to be explained with respect to all the system/program stuff they hinted at in the first half. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you've watched the first four episodes and aren't finding anything you like so far, you probably won't enjoy the rest of the drama and should drop it. I would say the first four episodes were some of the better episodes out of the 12 that have aired so far, and although I've seen a few people comment that their favourite episode was among episodes 5 - 12, I haven't seen anyone who felt that the drama improved significantly overall after episode four.

'To make sure I'm understanding... Myeol Mang wants to die so Dong Kyung can live and enjoy her life?" At this point yes, but his reasons have definitely evolved. Myeol Mang originally wanted to disappear / die because he was tired of his role / unending existence as Doom. He had tried to kill himself in the past and wasn't able to. He also tried ending the world (believing that if the world ceased to exist, he and the Deity would also cease to exist even though they are otherwise immortal) and wasn't able to do that either. The rules of the Deity's "program" don't allow it. But the Deity was born out of humans' will, so the rules are different when it comes to a human's will. So Myeol Mang believes that if a human wishes for the world to end on his "birthday" (when he is supposed to grant a human's wish) and he grants that wish, he *would* be able to end the world under those circumstances.

Then, at the end of episode 3, Tak Dong Kyung declares that she's going to exploit the rules of the contract penalty (if she fails to wish for the world to be destroyed by March 2nd, the person she loves most at that time will die in her place) by falling in love with Myeol Mang on purpose. At the beginning of episode 4, Myeol Mang basically challenges / dares her to do it. At that point his primary motive for wanting to die still seems to be escaping his role as Doom. At this point we've seen evidence that Myeol Mang cares about Tak Dong Kyung on some level, so my interpretation is that the fact that Tak Dong Kyung would get to live as a result of him dying in her place is a very secondary consideration for Myeol Mang, but definitely not something he's opposed to. Like a side bonus.

A little bit later in episode 4 (when Tak Dong Kyung is going to sleep) Myeol Mang says "I love you. I'll die for you." (I've also seen this translated as "Love me. I'll die for you.") He says it strangely. Sort of tentatively? Or like a kid? Clearly it's not a confession like the one at the end of episode 9 when he sincerely tells Tak Dong Kyung that he loves her and that he's in love with her. He's still trying to convince her to carry through with her plan to love him so that he dies when the contract penalty is invoked, despite her change of mind. But I think there's room for interpretation as to whether he might have already started falling for her at this point and either his tone was a way of double-bluffing / masking those feelings, or he was just still in denial about or unaware of those feelings.

By the end of episode 5 / beginning of episode 6 though, his feelings have definitely developed. When he asks Tak Dong Kyung to do her best to try to love him, he says he's concerned about Tak Dong Kyung and wants to save her. She's skeptical and thinks he still just wants to die for his own reasons that have nothing to do with her. I think it's somewhere in the middle. His original motivation is still there, but he definitely cares about Tak Dong Kyung and I believe that he does want to save her. It's just really hard to tell how much he cares about the first motive vs. the second.

While the depth of his feelings wasn't totally clear / was open to interpretation for a few episodes, Myeol Mang's confession in episode 9 made it pretty clear that when he indicates that he wants to die in Tak Dong Kyung's place, his primary motivation is now saving Tak Dong Kyung rather than escaping his role as Doom. As he said in episode 9, he's not afraid of dying or disappearing (and it's noteworthy that he even feels the need to articulate that to himself, since dying / disappearing was his original goal) but he is afraid of not seeing Tak Dong Kyung again.

"I've been thinking of the plant as both...." I felt that the writers hinted the plant was only related to him earlier when the Deity said it was her first plant (since she also confirmed separately that he is her only creation) but the specifics of it are definitely still open / not fully confirmed.

"Like a quick scene not shown in episode 12 showing the pictures reappearing..." Yes that would also be very satisfying.

"Also technically the deity did not interfere with them or make them cross paths. They first met at the hospital when they bumped into each other and then again when she saw him beating up the child abuser." I partly agree. When I said the Deity sent Tak Dong Kyung to the roof "so they would meet" I should've been clearer. I didn't mean "meet for the first time" just "meet again". So I agree that she didn't make them meet for the first time. But the meeting she did engineer was significant, and the plant reviving came after that meeting, so I still feel pretty strongly that she intervened with the intention of pushing them together and I still feel like it was bad writing to then have the Deity say "I knew it. Some things are inevitable." If the Deity meant that, no matter what, Myeol Mang and Tak Dong Kyung would find each other again.

However, I'm thinking about this again and wondering if I might be misinterpreting what the Deity was referring to as being inevitable. The Deity confirmed that the plant is Myeol Mang. More specifically it seems to represent either his humanity, his feelings or (even more specifically) his feelings for Tak Dong Kyung in particular. Maybe by observing that "Some things are inevitable." she was saying that, like any good science experiment, the results of her project with Myeol Mang are repeatable. Even if she erases their memories, if Myeol Mang and Tak Dong Kyung meet again, Myeol Mang will develop his humanity or feelings again. It wasn't a fluke the first time.

"All of Tak Dong Kyung's friends and family don't remember Myeong Mang but the conversations and actions Tak Dong Kyung took, even the conversations that were tangentially about Myeong mang and the actions that involved him weren't erased." This is why I'm fairly certain the Deity didn't change the past so they didn't meet. Particularly when the other writer with cancer recalls Tak Dong Kyung being bright and loving life and Tak Seon Kyung remembers Tak Dong Kyung having another man. Those are both directly related to Myeol Mang. Given the fact that so many characters have hazy impressions in the absence of their memories of Myeol Mang (and it's not just Tak Dong Kyung), I feel like that reinforces the idea that the events happened but their memories were erased rather than the idea that the events of episodes 1 - 11 didn't happen.

I get that, in the world of sci-fi, one could speculate that maybe this is a new timeline and the old timeline exists elsewhere separately but memories from that timeline somehow bled into this timeline... but that feels like quite a stretch.

"The second theory I have is that the most the Deity was able to do was get rid of the contract because she is close to dying and no longer at full power." I like that. I don't think the writers actually intended for that to be the case (I'm a bit bitter when it comes to my expectations of them at this point) but it's a good way to explain some of the inconsistencies. I think I'll incorporate this into my theory --> The Deity erased Myeol Mang's memories of Tak Dong Kyung and the memories that Tak Dong Kyung and everyone around her had of Myeol Mang, but it wasn't a perfect erasure possibly because of the Deity's diminishing power. There were hazing impressions around the erased memories that were left behind. The Deity also tried to erase anything that Myeol Mang left in Tak Dong Kyung's life and that Tak Dong Kyung left in Myeol Mang's life (hence the blank calendar), but as her power diminished (and perhaps as Myeol Mang and Tak Dong Kyung got to know each other again and explored the gaps in their memories and those left-behind impressions) those pieces started to re-appear in their lives. Myeol Mang's contact information reappeared in Tak Dong Kyung's phone and Myeol Mang's phone re-appeared in his pocket with the photo of him and Tak Dong Kyung as his wallpaper.

It would've been such great visual story telling if the writers had actually intended for something like that to be the case and they showed us the calendar again near the end of the episode with all the marks that Myeol Mang made back in their original place. That would've been so satisfying.

Hello Monster has less romance than The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, but a happier ending. If I remember correctly, the ending is a little open ended but fairly happy / optimistic. If you're looking for a light, happy rom com, Shopping King Louie might be a better choice. Just be prepared for the fact that SIG's character in that drama (after the first episode or two) is very different from Myeol Mang.

Tak Dong Kyung is fated to die on March 2nd. As part of their agreement, Myeol Mang offered to take away Tak Dong Kyung's pain for her remaining days if she agrees to wish for the world to be destroyed before her fated death day. He also offered to grant her an additional wish. However, if Tak Dong Kyung doesn't wish for the world to be destroyed before her death day on March 2nd, then the person she loves the most at that time will die in her place as a penalty for her breaking the contract - but Tak Dong Kyung will get to live.

It's totally counterintuitive that the penalty is her only chance to live past March 2nd, but Myeol Mang confirmed that's how the penalty works in episode 3. He said she was being a pessimist for focusing on the fact that the person she loves the most will die if she breaks the contract instead of focusing on the fact that she will get to live.

So Myeol Mang can save Tak Dong Kyung by dying in her place if she loves him more than anyone else when the contract period ends and she hasn't wished for the world to end. But Tak Dong Kyung has realized that she wouldn't be able to live happily if Myeol Mang died / disappeared because of her, so she's determined to figure out a way around that outcome.

Are there a few points in particular that you're confused about, or is it basically the whole main storyline? If it's a few points, maybe other viewers can try to help clarify?

Some people interpreted the scene in episode 9 where Myeol Mang speaks with an old man in front of a dying tree to mean that Myeol Mang is dying, but I interpreted it as just the opposite?

I watched two versions of the scene that were translated with some very slight differences, but in both versions the old man makes a comment that seems to be designed to (unintentionally on the old man's part) emphasize the fact that, unlike Tak Dong Kyung and the Deity - the two people he cares about the most and who are both dying - he is *not* dying and is fated to keep on existing after everyone and everything else around him dies.

Before going to the tree, Myeol Mang has a conversation with Tak Dong Kyung where they finally address talk about the fact that: (1) Tak Dong Kyung is dying, (2) the people who love her are in pain, (3) she wants to live, and (4) no matter how much he wants to, Myeol Mang can't use his power to let her live past her destined death date - not even if she uses her wish. The unspoken 5th point is that she can only live if Myeol Mang dies in her place as a penalty for breaking the contract, but as Tak Dong Kyung said before, if that happens she won't be able to live happily after causing Myeol Mang to die / disappear.

After that painful conversation emphasizing the fact that Tak Dong Kyung is dying and that he can't use his power to change that fact, Myeol Mang approaches an old tree. An elderly human man comes up beside him and observes that the tree used to have beautiful flowers, but not any more. Myeol Mang replies that the tree is dying (the reason he was staring at the tree in the first place). The old man replies "Just like us. You and I are both dying." he continues with something along the lines of either "that's what it means to be alive" or "we're all like that, living creatures." But Myeol Mang currently is not alive / a living creature. As he said to Tak Dong Kyung on the bridge, he's not living, just existing. He's an immortal being who can't die even if he wants to.

The man comments that he thought he would always be able to see the flowers, and now that he can't it's a shame / he's disappointed. Myeol Mang recalls visiting the past to see the cherry blossoms with Tak Dong Kyung, and remembers her smile. He remembers Tak Dong Kyung asking "What do you think when you look at me?" Myeol Mang thought he could continue watching as others disappeared. He thinks about acting human with Tak Dong Kyung, and ultimately concludes that he's not afraid of disappearing (that makes sense - his plan from the beginning has been to die / disappear after Tak Dong Kyung wishes for the world to be destroyed, or to die in her place as the person she loves the most when she breaks the contract) but he *is* afraid of not seeing Tak Dong Kyung again.

Myeol Mang notes that, like a fool, he just realized he doesn't have much time left. I interpret that to mean he doesn't have much time left with Tak Dong Kyung until either: (a) she wishes for the world to end and they both die (unlikely); (b) she breaks the contract and he dies in her place (Tak Dong Kyung has already said she won't accept that outcome); or (c) circumstances unfold in a way that allows Tak Dong Kyung to not wish for the world to end without invoking the contract penalty (e.g., the Deity voiding the contract) so that Tak Dong Kyung dies per her original fate with Myeol Mang powerless to change that fate and forced to continue existing without her.

Given all the possible circumstances, Myeol Mang realizes that he doesn't have much time left before the flowers (Tak Dong Kyung) disappear and he won't be able to see them again. He knows how he feels about Tak Dong Kyung and he doesn't have any time to waste - so he runs to her and tells her that he loves her. The narrative immediately further emphasizes their limited time by showing us that there are only 50 days left until Tak Dong Kyung's death day / the end of the contract period.

So I don't interpret that scene as indicating that Myeol Mang is dying, but rather emphasizing (1) the fact that (unlike Tak Dong Kyung) he is *not* alive and *not* dying, and (2) more importantly, that one way or another he has very limited time until he won't be able to see Tak Dong Kyung any more, so he has to make the most of the time he does have.

SIG is known for play two types of characters well: sweet and very energetic characters (Shopping King Louie / High School King of Savvy) and serious characters with cold eyes who are viewed as bad (or who view themselves as bad) but who have soft hearts (Hello Monster / The Smile Has Left Your Eyes / Doom at Your Service). If you liked him in DAYS (especially when he was embracing the darker parts of being Doom), I wouldn't recommend watching SKL next as his character is completely different from Myeol Mang. He was good in Hello Monster and incredible in The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, and his characters in those dramas are much closer to Myeol Mang. I would recommend watching one of those after this drama instead.

I wonder if the preview might be misleading. What if that scene was a possible future that the Deity showed Tak Dong Kyung? Or a dream she has? The fact that Tak Dong Kyung is right in front of Myeol Mang after her death and he can't see her makes me think that it's not actually real.

First, I feel like Myeol Mang would be able to see ghosts if ghosts were a real thing in this drama. Second, the drama has already established that reincarnation exists in the world of this drama, at least for the Deity, and Myeol Mang told the religious lady that there was no heaven / other world beyond Earth. And in episode 12 they spent so much time talking about ghosts for comedic effect without showing us any actual ghosts. Also some of the previous previews have intentionally been a bit misleading (remember when lots of viewers thought they were going to get married?). I feel like the wouldn't spoil her death if it was actually going to be a central plot point of the next episode.

For some reason all of that combined makes me think that Tak Dong Kyung won't die in the next episode / ghosts aren't going to be part of this drama, so they won't have Tak Dong Kyung become an actual ghost, even temporarily. But that's just my speculation / guesswork.

If there were parts you liked in the first 7 episodes but you had mixed feelings, I'd recommend continuing to watch if you don't mind skipping. Skip the scenes with characters / plot lines you don't care about, keep your expectations low (to avoid disappointment and to hopefully have a few moments where you're pleasantly surprised), and just focus on the parts you enjoy.

When I first watched the episodes that have aired so far, I skipped the majority of the second couple scenes. I've seen most of those scenes now as I've gone through and rewatched episodes, and tbh I don't feel like those scenes added anything for me / that I missed anything by skipping them. But some people are mainly watching for those scenes. Whatever your preference is, focus on that.

I figure a drama is worth watching if you enjoy the experience. It seems like very few viewers are enjoying every part of this drama and consider the whole package to be a great experience, but if you only like certain parts of it the drama can still enjoyable / worth watching if you focus mainly on the parts you do like.

If you watch episodes 8 and 9 with that approach and still have mixed feelings, then I'd recommend dropping this drama as episodes 10 - 12 are not better than the earlier episodes.

I agree. Disappointing and frustrating.

This drama would have been so much better if the world building around Myeol Mang and the Deity was clearer, especially in the early episodes. Or if the hints and gaps that led us all to speculate had been well thought out and developed into plot points that were clever and satisfying.

They also could've made the world building a lot richer. They still haven't really explained why the Deity created Myeol Mang, for example, or showed us what their relationship was like in the beginning when Myeol Mang was created and helped us understand why Myeol Mang was so emotional at the funeral.

Or imagine if the Deity had created several immortal beings instead of just Myeol Mang. Myeol Mang could still be the demi-god of losses and endings (including death), but they could have other demi-gods for things like decay (with their jurisdiction covering everything from crumbling infrastructure to aging to moral decay), prejudice and exclusion, and other bad things that are necessary for the existence of good things (like character growth, triumphs / gains, rebirth, new beginnings, and free will). Then Myeol Mang would have other demi-gods to talk to. Imagine how much less enjoyable Goblin would have been if the Goblin only had the Deity to talk to and not the Grim Reaper. Same thing for Hwayugi if Son Oh Gong didn't have the other demi-gods to talk to. And if there were several demi-gods but only Myeol Mang had an interest in becoming human (before resigning himself to his fate and resolving not to have feelings) I feel like that would make it feel more special and poignant.

Against my own advice, I'm trying to work out one of the details from episode 12. In episode 11, the Deity said that she could remove Tak Dong Kung from Myeol Mang's fate and Myeol Mang from Tak Dong Kyung's fate as if they had never met.... they won't know each other and the contract will be void.

In episode 12 we see that the Deity did not rewind time so that Myeol Mang and Tak Dong Kyung didn't meet. Everything that happened between them still happened, but now Myeol Mang doesn't fully remember Tak Dong Kyung and no one in Tak Dong Kyung's life fully remembers Myeol Mang (but Tak Dong Kyung and Tak Seon Kyung both have vague feelings of forgotten memories related to Myeol Mang, and Myeol Mang similarly has some left over impressions).

However, the writers / director made such a big point of showing us Tak Dong Kyung's calendar (with the scene where Tak Dong Kyung's aunt was fussing about the expired milk) and the absence of the mark Myeol Mang left on it to indicate Tak Dong Kyung's death day. Later in the scene we can also see that the days he crossed off when he was "fear mongering" are gone too. So the Deity also undid certain things that Myeol Mang did, but not everything? Myeol Mang still has his phone and Tak Dong Kyung still has his details in her contact list. So I don't get why they focused so much on showing us the change to the calendar. It's not just a continuity error. They clearly focused on the calendar intentionally, but it doesn't add up.

The only thing I can think of is that the writers messed up a bit by thinking that Myeol Mang marked March 2nd on Tak Dong Kyung's calendar because it's the end of their contract period so the mark should disappear when the Deity voided the contract by taking away their memories. It's true that March 2nd is the end of their contract period, but that's not why Myeol Mang marked it on Tak Dong Kyung's calendar. He was very clear that he marked her calendar to show her destined death day, and he did it well before he offered to take away Tak Dong Kyung's pain for her remaining days as long as she completed her wish before dying (effectively setting the contract period). Plus Tak Dong Kyung still has her bracelet, which much more directly represents the contract and Myeol Mang's promise. So it doesn't make sense for the mark (plus the crossed off days) to disappear because the contract was voided.

(Also one other nit-picky point: when the flower starts to revive at the end of episode 12, the Deity says "I knew it. Some things are inevitable." But Myeol Mang's feelings start to return because he crossed paths with Tak Dong Kyung, and the Deity intentionally set Tak Dong Kyung to the roof so they would meet. So it wasn't inevitable - the Deity interfered!)