Doom at Your Service (2021)

Worth your time

I am honestly not sure why so many people dislike this drama. I didn't watch it for literally so long because I heard it wasn't great, and now I feel gipped. This drama is fantastic. This drama is gorgeous. This drama is funny and deep and makes you think, with great acting and a pretty good OST to boot.

Back to the "this drama is gorgeous". I mean this very objectively-- not in a way like I just liked the drama so I want to overlook flaws. They use a lot of gorgeous, creative shots and scene cuts that gave the drama it's own timeless vibe without being dragged on too long a la Goblin.

The drama is just plain funny. It played it's cards well in presenting "doom" as something that could also be really funny, in a "망했다" sort of way. They really explored a lot there, too, with all the different areas doom "looked after" in the world.

It was fun to wrap my head around what sort of existence "doom" would be, almost like a yin-yang approach to deity. There was plenty of time to think about what I would want to do if I knew I only had a hundred days left.

Great acting- Seo In Guk has a great range of emotions, and I liked Park Bo Young here more than some of her other roles. She was still energetic and loving and cute, but a much more mature character. In fact, the writing for all the characters felt really well done. The ML and FL weren’t flat (that's my biggest conplaint for most romcoms) and the side lovelines felt like real people processing information and reacting, for all that the storyline was drama-esque (still had the tropes and fluttery situations). The way all the characters bantered felt very real like thet actually liked each other (as friends or in a loveline) and Seo In Guk made me get all emotional towards the end. Also, the girl-god fascinated me. She, like all the characters in the drama, felt like a real person who said things, but always had more going on on the inside. Every character felt like that, so it was fun to read in between the lines, watch the body language and context, etc.

It was not a perfext drama. Not all of the cast were convincing criers. The brother sometimes felt a bit flat, and I never totally understood why the second male lead and second female lead liked each other (Her first love story gets a pass because she was discovering she'd been in love with a memory of him). But overall... there are a lot of only so-so romcoms that get rave reviews... I'm not saying they shouldn't, but this one definitely shouldn't be looked over. Kudos to this rare romcom that garnered my admiration!

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I cried sooo much

This was obviously one of the best or even the best drama I've ever watched. this OST from ailee is so heartbreaking.its one of my favourite songs btw . So the story itself was at some points hard to follow ,but you'll get it. the acting was gorgeous I'm in love with the main actress how she can express anxiety and sadness at once (this is so amazing compared to which kind of person she played in strong woman Do Bong Soon). if you like sad dramas to cry out your eyes this is the best to watch I'd cry just replaying the scenes in my head. if you want to watch it then please do it on grey cold days in the winter or autumn- you'll completely get into it and yes it's 10 out of 10 and I don't want to spoiler so I'm ending this review here (P.S. it's totally worth watching it so don't hesitate and dooo it. you won't regret it, I promise)

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Despite the top liked reviews not being super positive, I very enjoyed this one.

It's been on my list for some time as I love everything Park Bo Young does, I had been putting this one off because of the context of death and Tak Dong Kyung living out the last 100 days of her life with Doom, being given the choice of making a final wish before her death or the death of her closest loved on in order to save hers. And I am not going to lie, this one was difficult for me to watch. Of course there is little things here and there with this drama, such as how Sa Ram treated Tak in the beginning with so much disgust (which reminded me of the relationship in A Korean Odyssey) and just small things were and there like how the writing was a bit confusing and the dialogue was SUPER quick that I think I missed a good chunk of what they wee talking about. But the main reason why this was was hard for me, was just the topic of death and it being a recent trigger of mine. You would have to be comfortable with the idea of death and dying in order to watch this without ugly crying because I did A LOT of that. Like every episode.

Other than that, I very much enjoyed the cinematography and the score - I think it is tied for first place with The Forest of the most beautiful dramas I have ever watched.

The ending was very obvious, but the journey getting there and seeing Sa Ram slowly gain his humanity and fall in love was extremely satisfying and always being there for Tak whenever she was going through something rough.. that is good writing. For example, I UGLY cried that whole scene when Tak went to the hair salon. But with the sad parts, there come the happy parts such as the love she receives from her aunt, brother, and best friend. Also, my favorite character, and I am sooooo happy that they included this in there, was her Canadian Uncle Kevin. I LIVED for his pep talks! Even with the language barrier, that didn't stop him from supporting Tak. Also, I loved how much her brother grew from the beginning while still being his dopey self.

Lastly, I oddly enjoyed the second leads and their romance; it also seemed like a completely different drama was happening. I loved it, but it honestly started to drag at the end, and I wanted to shake Ji Na. I totally get that this was a story about lose - Tak learning that she would lose her life and how she wanted to spend the remaining 100 days, and Ji Na learning how to move past her first love in order to live her life, but feeling like she is losing a part of herself that she's lived with since high school. Same, but different. Both emotional. But it got to a point where I am like Ji Na...we get it.

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The most average fantasy kdrama

People are either too harsh on this drama or overhype it too much. It's well-produced with a great cast, and the writing is fine. It just feels...average. It follows a very typical fantasy kdrama plot, and falls into the common pitfalls of getting slow towards the middle and recycling tear-jerker tropes towards the end. It was enjoyable to watch, but after watching numerous fantasy dramas, I found there was nothing too special about it. I would recommend it for casual watching, but not to someone who wants a masterpiece. (It does get bonus points for giving a love triangle to the second leads instead of the main couple.)

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i watched this at the perfect time...... so it is beloved to me specifically

i feel like this show is the peak of YMMV for me... objectively i have to admit that it didnt quite deliver on a lot of aspects that it could have done very well, but at the same time that knowledge didnt diminish my enjoyment of it at all the first or second time i watched it. i watched this initially out of curiosity for the premise (and bc someone compared it to ships i liked. lol), and it delivered a catharsis i needed so badly at the time because of how evocative some of the scenes are, especially wrt the FL & her outlook on life.
The early half of the show smoothly builds the relationship between the main leads, and it does so in a way that balances their dislike for each other & the show's humor quite well. The shift from antagonism to the FL's acceptance of him is done in a way i liked especially, and in a scene with such a perfect atmosphere... which is another thing i feel this show does excellently- the moments between the main couple are always set with the perfect backdrop and ambience. it often works particularly well with the ML's role within the universe being that of someone who is meant to watch things as they disappear (one of my favorite aspects of his character). This is taken less literally, as there will be scenes where the two of them watch a ceremony thats long since fallen out of practice, or sit in a library full of words that have stopped being used. I felt this aspect of the ML's role as "doom" was a lot more poignant than the literal alternative of him simply being a bringer of death the way the premise brings you to expect. Its small things like this that made me feel that this show was close to being more than it ended up being, because ultimately, little is done with the premise. when you think a bit too hard about the restrictions laid out within the plot, it makes even less sense, but i feel like it had something very fun to work with here even if it only delivers the smallest amount.

The subplots & side characters in this cast are also very fun to me.. while completely at odds with the tone of the rest of the show, ji-na's love triangle subplot was really engaging and had a really satisfying build and conclusion to her own romance. It was a surprisingly thoughtful take on a love triangle and right person-wrong time romance, and it never felt disparaging for any of the characters involved. The relationship between the two men was also done justice, and i really liked the hopeful note their relationship left off on at the end. I felt like this subplot mixed well with the main plot when the two intersected, because the relationships between tak dong-kyung & those around her are fleshed out enough to be very charming. It was fun to see her dynamics with her best friend & her senior separately, as well as with all the others that she worked with. Her relationship to her brother and aunt was some of the best points in the show, because you can physically feel just how deeply she cherishes them while still wanting to push them away from her... i really like the push and pull of her relationships with just about everyone around her.
The side characters are another aspect this show could have utilized to their fullest potential, but didnt. Past the halfway mark of the show, it hits the typical kdrama pitfall of starting to invent unnecessary conflicts to fill out runtime. the first hurdle they pass after getting together is one i liked a lot, and it led to what is arguably my favorite scene in the show (what i call the "real" confession scene after he ghosts her and she draws him back to her through the broken bracelet). The sudden amnesia-reset plot that comes after it? incredibly unnecessary and offers so little to our understanding of their relationship & the plot of the show. I wasnt too pressed on this the first time i watched because i was so immersed in the show, but the flaws started to become more apparent the second time around. The very premise of the show feels flawed to me after we reach the midway point, because the terms of the contract state that either she ends the world, or the person she loves most dies. However, we seem to still spend the latter half of the show under the assumption that the FL is going to succumb to her illness, even though we know under the terms of their contract that this will not come to pass. It may just be that i missed an extra detail here (even after watching it 3 times...) but i do wish they had expanded the contract to either be more vague, or actually offer the third route that the show pretends exists. This in mind, i also wish we had gotten to see more from the character representing "god", because i just feel theres much more that could be done with the lore they had set up here, instead of spending so much time rehashing the misery that befalls our main couple. The supporting cast of writers that worked with the FL were also incredibly charming, and i wish they had spent time delving into the world around our main leads.

to conclude, i really think this show missed the mark even though it had the potential to be really good. but it is definitely still one of my favorite dramas because it just has this charm to me that i cant ignore!!!!!

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Might be inspired from a webtoon

I don't know but it seems to be inspired from a webcomic named "Devil No.4" I have found a lot of similarities.But I haven't found any review or information regarding that in other blogs or reviews. I won't be saying much about the other aspects of this drama since others have perfectly pointed out. But in that webtoon the girl was broken,had money in her hand,the story actually revolved around a Cafe.there were a few scenes where she was teleported with the Devil to sea shore since there she was under an "agreement". Eventually they fell in love,the Devil no 4 died there,he got again reincarnated and you can expect what happened after that. So I have found such similarity.

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Jolie surprise

Certes, avec le résumé, et l'idée même du drama, j'avoue que peut être j'en attendais plus, et je fus un peu déçue ... Mais j'ai quand même passé un bon moment !

L'histoire interpelle, et la trame amène pas mal de questions sur la spiritualité. J'adore quand les dramas me font poser plein de question sur le champs des possibles, et il en a fait partie.

Peut être un peu lent par moment, j'ai quand même adhéré jusqu'au bout.

Seo In Guk porte bien son rôle, mais je l'ai préféré dans d'autres dramas où je l'ai trouvé plus touchant.
Par contre, jolie surprise de la part de Park Bo Yung, je l'ai beaucoup aimé !

Petit bonus j'ai juste adoré le couple secondaire, et j'avais plus hâte parfois même de voir leur couple évoluer que celui principal...

La musique est sympa, et va très bien avec le drama.

En bref : J'ai aimé, même si un peu lent. Le sujet traité m'a vraiment plu, et un big-up pour le couple secondaire. A découvrir :-)

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Beautifully tragic

It was one of the most awaited dramas for me this year and it really served its purpose
The way everything was portrayed was so much mesmerizing it did become very much heartwrenching in between, but it was also not a waste of your time. The drama actually gave new definitions to many words, it delivered the word which most of us do not even not want to hear that is death this was one of the arcs that were so beautifully written.
It made us understand so many things regarding that we are not the saddest ones in this world.
All of them mean every character was so touching that they could feel them even though the second couple's love triangle plot was a little bit boring.
The story did seem confusing, but if one tries to understand it, it could be one of the best dramas that beautifully delivered every type of emotion.
pros
The cast
The story
It made us understand human nature a bit more
ost

cons
confusing
the tragic level was a bit high in between
This was the first time I wrote a review over here so please forgive me for any mistakes and even for my English
Friends do give it a try it may give u a new definition of life.
Thank you
Happy watching

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A Truly Loving And Unique Romantic Series About Life Itself!

What is the difference between creation and destruction? Is there a difference? Can one exist without the other, or they merely two sides of the same coin. For creation to occur, there must be destruction, at some point, and the same can be said of destruction. A star is born from material from a supernova, which is the death of a star, which provides the basic building blocks for creating new stars.

In The Lion King, we get a similar explanation for the Circle of Life. Lions eat the zebras, but when lions die, it creates the necessary components for zebras to be able to live.

It has been said that “God” is the Alpha and the Omega, as well as being neither the Alpha nor the Omega. In the Hindu religion, you have Vishnu (God) who creates Brahma, which is the creative force and Shiva as the destroyer. In short, what this is about is Life itself. And this is what this series is about.

Tak Dong Kyung is a young book editor who finds out that she has an inoperable brain tumor and that she only has a few months to live. A young woman with her whole life ahead of her, in her anger and despair, wishes for doom to fall upon the world. What she doesn’t anticipate is Doom responding. And much to her surprise, she finds herself the object of Doom’s interest. He is the destroyer, the entity who makes things disappear, as he puts it in order to maintain the balance of Life. However, Doom’s response plays an integral part in his story as his fate as well as Tak Dong Kyung’s are now tied together.

Doom promises Tak Dong Kyung that the remaining 100 days of living will be painless so long as she wears a small, red, string bracelet. The more time that Doom spends with Tak Dong Kyung, the more he becomes enamored with her, and she with him. As an entity, he has no need to eat or sleep, and he is also able to hear the thoughts of people around him. He also professes that he is incapable of love, although we begin to doubt this claim as the story progresses.

Meanwhile, a lone, young girl occupies a small hospital room, and she appears to be ill. However, we soon learn that she is the one who created Doom in the first place, and she has a mysterious pot with fertilizer but no plant. She waits patiently to see if it will bloom for her Garden. The girl represents “Life” or “Vishnu” or “God.” She represents the Observer and the Observed. Her sole desire is for the happiness of humans and nobody—not even Doom—is beneath or notice or her love. She recognizes and even acknowledges that Doom is a necessary component of Life, but even Doom is given the greatest gift: freedom of choice. He can choose to remain as Doom or “fall” and eventually become human.
Meanwhile, Tak Dong Kyung, who appears to be a strong woman, finds herself facing her own mortality, and it is with Doom’s help—despite him being a force of destruction—still possesses wisdom. As with many people upon finding out that she has a terminal disease, Tak Dong Kyung runs away, and vows never to love anyone. Even Doom knows that this is a supreme act of cowardice and that a person who cannot love, is essentially dead already. This forces Tak Dong Kyung to finally cry out, “I want to live! I want to live and love everyone!” which is an incredibly touching and powerful scene.

Equally powerful is the moment where Doom and Tak Dong Kyung must make a choice: either she dies and secures his place as Doom, or she lives, and thus makes Doom inconsequential or non-existent. Doom sweetly takes the burden from her, as he states, “I am here to save you and to ensure that you live.” And in an act of supreme, unconditional love, Tak Dong Kyung is spared the awful prognosis that had awaited her. But, at what cost? Before he disappears, Doom implores her to live and be happy no matter what, and she does her absolute best to do this.

Having faced her own mortality, Tak Dong Kyung has acquired some Life wisdom of her own, telling her indecisive friend, Na Ji Na, that she doesn’t need more time, she needs courage because you never know how much time you have left. And perhaps, for the very first time, she is able to open up and profess her love for Doom as well as for her family. It’s ironic how many people in this world are literally afraid to love, and yet, it is the only way in which true happiness can be experienced.

Aside from being an incredible love story, this series is a deeply moving and engrossing spiritual journey as well. “God,” “Doom,” and “Tak Dong Kyung” make up the trinity that exists. We find that “God” is not fearful or vengeful, nor is She a dictator requiring unswerving loyalty and obedience. She is the Loving Mother who only desires the best for all humans everywhere. And her love is no less even for those aspects—like Doom—who are simply there to be a vital process of Life itself. She tends a Garden of a sea of flowers, which is a representation of all humans. She is sweet and loving, but also non-interfering, knowing that each person must walk his/her own path. Such is the power of the freedom of choice.

Bo-Young Park is one of my all-time favorite Korean actresses. She was among the first I experienced when I began my foray into K-Dramas, and she’s never disappointed. First with “Oh, My Ghost!” and then “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.” She’s fearless in her display and expression of emotions. What she feels, we feel. She can also be cute and sassy.

While the rest of the cast is superb, Seo In Guk (Doom) and Jung Ji So (“God) are equally dynamic in their respective roles that truly make this series work.
This isn’t just a feast for romantics, but a magical journey that just might give you food for pause regarding your own beliefs regarding Life and death. Life has no opposite. The opposite of Death is Birth. Life is endless.

In truth, I’ve never seen a series like this one, and it certainly did not disappoint. The writing, directing, and acting were all first-rate. It is a truly touching, poignant, and moving experience to watch this series. And perhaps, the series begs the viewer to ask the question: are you living Life? Or are you simply caught up in the current of Life? Yes, there is a difference.

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The writer does not understand their own premise

Okay so...

Acting? Excellent. As to be expected from this cast to be real, but the acting is great. The chemistry for the characters (romantic, frienship and filial) is pretty good. The music is generally good (let us take a moment to bask in the glory of Ailee...okay cool). Production quality? Good.

But the story. Well, uhm, it's just a romantic drama with most of the tropes (many of which are just so overused anyway). Why do the leads like each other? Why? One is dying and has had a fairly miserable life. The other is Doom. Like actual Doom. A personification of Doom. Why is Doom a human? Why does Doom have human emotions? How is that a thing? What is going on with that? Doom is basically a lonely human man with powers. If Doom really existed in this form it wouldn't be a human that could easily fall in love with a human and was just lonely all the time. Doom is the reason she lost her parents, the reason she is dying, the reason for many of the crappy things in her life. It is understandable that there is balance to be upheld and all but the balance isn't Doom alone. God exists in this world. Also there should be many other personifications of other positive and negative experiences and emotions. Just God and Doom does not make any sense to maintain the whole balance of the world.

It's a creative idea. But the imagination and creativity begins and ends with the idea. There is no believable character development and the relationship development is not reasonable. I do not believe the writer truly sat and considered the questions her characters, especially the lead two, would truly grapple with.

Imagine you found out you had 100 days from today to live. Just 100 days. What would you do? Spend time with loved ones? Go on a trip? Write? Read? Watch films? Create a bucket list and tick things off? Would you try to make sure your loved ones are in the best position they could be? Or would you flirt with Doom itself, the supernatural being that is literally responsible for every piece of suffering in your entire life and the lives of those around you, a being that does not care if you live or die or whether you suffer? Just continue to go to work? Fail to tell the people in your life so they go on ignorant until you simply drop dead? Would you continue to love Doom as he runs away and comes back after you eventually suffer excrutiating pain? Multiple times.

There are so many things that do not work in the execution of this premise. The main thing is that Doom is Doom. Doom is not balance or whatever. He's Doom. Why does he care about suffering? Why does he care about pain? Why does he fall in love? The FL is nothing special, especially to a being that has existed for ages and maintains negative, painful, horrible things in the world for the sake of a balance is part of but not solely reponsible for. The writer created the character of Doom and then just manufactured the usual romantic tropes and had the character fall into those rather than truly considering what it would mean to have a personification of Doom. They also have not, in my opinion, fully explored what it would mean to have a perpetual countdown to your death when you know exactly how close it is to zero. Grappling with your mortality is no small thing and forces you to confront what is important. There is no impulsive or bizarre behaviour to show the FL going through an existential crisis of sorts, nor is there any consideration of how to prepare herself and those she loves, nor any sort of desire to do anything she enjoys or is curious about. There's nothing. This crisis, which should be an earth-shattering event, propelling the story into full motion feels like an after-thought constantly. The main point is the two leads are in love, in spite of that not being credible given the premise, and we should sit down and enjoy the love story.

It had such a rich, juicy premise. It has great actors. The production quality is excellent. The music is lovely and blends in beautifully with the emotions in the scenes. But this series is as if someone has put all the ingredients to a delicious recipe in one bowl and left it hoping it would cook itself. The writing is not solid enough to hold this story together. The writer does not have a good enough understanding of how to execute their own creative, imaginative idea. It's a shame.

For now I have dropped it but I will probably finish it after everything airs and I can just go through and see what happened. Let me know if I should. Thanks :)

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PHILOSHOPICAL AND ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS AND TWISTS

It doesnt matter what did people say about this drama, but few things to let you know that the beauty is on its beholder. Invest your time, heart and mind for this drama. It is philosophical and addicting for me. Plus the chemistry of the casts is insane especially Seo In Guk, a melodrama's Master and Park Bo Young, the Queen of fantasy drama.

I would say the plot is sometimes confusing and some parts are delayed, but the twists are unpredictable yet breathtaker especially when both TDK and MM decide to save each other and that is when the painful parts begins. For the ending and some parts of the drama it is inevitable because all of us want happy ending so the writer decided to save both antagonist and protagonist to follow our demands. People wont watch it in the first place unless it has a happy ending. Beautiful cinematography and well directed. They play with emotions so much as well as the second lead stories.

Give it a second chance to enjoy the drama full of emotions so prepare your tissues, cause this drama doesn't feed you with happiness all the time. I'm not the avid fans of anybody in this drama, yet I give it a try because Park Bo Young and she wouldnt choose it without reasons. Believe me guys, she nailed it again. If you like Strong Woman Do Bong Soon because of the chemistry and cuteness, so this drama wont disappoint you because it feeds you with different kind of feelings and characters. All the casts in the drama are doing great, so please do not degrade their efforts by generalizing your opinion. Encourage them to watch instead as they might have different palates as yours.

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