My Demon (2023)

Mi scuso per le parole forti che userò.
Io stavo amando questa storia. L'ho guardato quasi di filato fino all'ep 11 divorando tutto quello che mi stava dicendo. In un unico episodio (il 12esimo) è riuscito ad annoiarmi, farmi perdere la pazienza e il completo interesse che avevo. Non sono nemmeno riuscita a finirlo quest'episodio. Ogni volta che provavo a portarlo avanti mi veniva il rifiuto, il v*mito a continuarlo. Da qui la mia decisione di drop.
Di base concordo con tanti altri pareri, ovvero l'ennesima copia di goblin solo che qui non ci siamo limitati a prendere ispirazione. Qui ci sono tante, troppe cose in comune con tanti altri drama fantasy. Poi sto dannato passato in comune, ma PERCHè??!! Ancora?? Ma basta! Che palle!
Inoltre stiamo parlando di fantasy ma in verità non pare davvero così: per la maggior parte del tempo lui è umano e si comporta come tale, non sembra mai davvero un demone ma solo una povera anima persa bisognosa di un punto fermo che troverà in FL.
Facendo due conti mi sono resa conto che l'unica cosa che mi portava avanti era la chimica dei due protagonisti: potete dire di tutto sul drama ma non che questi non siano stati perfetti insieme.

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Onestamente mi aspettavo molto da questo drama, che a parer mio è fin troppo sopravvalutato. Sebbene il cast sia decente e i due main lead abbiano un intesa incredibile, per quanto riguarda la storia purtroppo non è cosi. Poiché se inizialmente mi aveva colpito molto, andando avanti, la storia diventava sempre più banale e scontata, finché arrivato all'episodio 11 ho deciso di dropparlo. Ho provato ad andare avanti più volte tutta via non ci sono riuscito. Gli sceneggiatori hanno volto mettere nell'opera troppe caratteristiche viste e riviste in altri drama che onestamente mi hanno stufato, per non parlare del fatto che il ML per tutto la durata del drama si comporterà come un umano e non come un demone.
Sicuramente non è uno dei kdrama peggiori che ho visto ma neanche sicuramente il migliore, potevano fare molto di meglio.

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Non all'altezza delle aspettative

Le premesse c'erano, il potenziale era buono. Un buon cast, il fascino di un demone protagonista, la magia, il tormento, il passato, il cambiamento: gli ingredienti per una buona riuscita c'erano tutti, eppure qualcosa è andato storto. Se l'inizio è stato apprezzabile e a tratti ha saputo incuriosire, le buone basi gettate hanno iniziato a vacillare di episodio in episodio, traballando in un mare di cliché. Il tutto parallelamente a un aumento graduale della noia. La serie non cattura, si susseguono scene che a tratti vorrebbero essere accattivanti, ma si traducono in colpi di scena piatti, senza alcuno spessore. La trama procede senza un'idea ben chiara, arrivati alla fine si ha quel senso di confusione e smarrimento, sicuramente si è giunti alla fine ma di quale storia non è propriamente chiaro, perchè la storia stessa si è un po' persa strada facendo.
Avevo grandi aspettative ma devo dire che mi ha lasciato l'amaro in bocca. La trama, superficiale nello sviluppo, procede a tratti come una strada sconnessa e della quale lo spettatore ricorderà più le buche - non tutte schivate - piuttosto che la destinazione che inizialmente ci si prefiggeva di raggiungere. Molti spunti meritavano un approfondimento più curato, mentre si è lasciato spazio a tanti passaggi inutili, buttati lì un po' a caso come un riempimento. Manca di coerenza, certi aspetti che sembrano di vitale importanza nella prima parte, negli episodi successivi diventano questioni banali e banalmente gestite e superate. Bella la colonna sonora. Peccato per tutto il resto.

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Forse per adolescenti

Purtroppo una delusione. Sarebbe potuto essere tutto "di più e meglio". La storia non è così tanto originale e proprio per questo avrebbero dovuto renderla più particolare, incisiva, complessa o profonda. L'ho trovato di una banalità estenuante, tanto che, nonostante fossi partita con le migliori intenzioni, subito dopo le prime puntate già l'interesse, l'aspettativa son crollati inesorabilmente, facendomi saltare interi pezzi. Nessuno dei protagonisti ha brillato di gran recitazione, soprattutto lui che non ho trovato assolutamente adatto a un ruolo che sarebbe dovuto essere più incisivo, profondo e di carattere, risultandone invece una recitazione molto insulsa, senza espressione. Lo definirei un drama giusto per adolescenti puri e niente più.

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Borrowed Brilliance: My Demon's Struggle to Forge an Original Path

When this show started, i wrote a review stating a new iconic show was in the making. Little did i know that this show would end up copying every other fantasy drama each of which had carved its own place in viewers hearts.

In this show, apart from the chemistry between the leads and their visuals there is nothing to look forward to. Regarding the storyline there seems to be none, the writer merely copied scenes from various fantasy shows creating a mishmash of fantasy elements.

While watching, you will be reminded of every fantasy show made in Korea after Goblin. It starts copying storylines from Goblin, whole OST having vibes similar to Goblin's intro. The trope of a beggar lady turning out to be a god is another thing copied from Goblin and even in episode 15, the show replicates Goblin's ending by making Guwon disappear.

Now lets talk about Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. The entire storyline is basically a reversed version of SWDBS. Here ML Guwon becomes a bodyguard to protect FL CEO Dohee from her adopted family. This mirrors SWDBS, where FL Bong Soon becomes ML's bodyguard to protect him from his family. Both main characters have supernatural powers but the difference is that in SWDBS Bong Soon uses her powers when needed whereas here Guwon, even as a demon cant use his powers when its crucial. The serial killer plot was also entirely borrowed from SWDBS. While both tracks took different approaches they still induced a strong sense of deja vu when watching that specific storyline. The assistant character and the subplot with thugs are also directly copied from SWDBS.

Next is overused past life trope. Last year many shows applied this trope and while some were webtoon adaptations making it necessary, this show being an original one still included the cliche past life trope when it wasnt needed. The past life trope is borrowed from various shows like SYIM19L and Kokdu with a significant influence from Kokdu's version.

Adding to that, they didnt stop at copying fantasy shows, they even borrowed scenes from makjang shows like Penthouse. The way Noh Seok Min survives a massive fall is reminiscent of how Joo Dan Tae miraculously survived a building collapse in Penthouse. Additionally, the car blast involving Dohee seems like a throwback to Logan Lee's car bomb blast from Penthouse.

In addition to the above mentioned shows, this one also echoes/plays out similar plots to series such as Doom at Your Service, Heartbeat and Destined with You etc.

Now lets discuss the characters. They werent properly written. Firstly Guwon, the demon, couldnt use his powers when needed even against a mere human enemy for 14 episodes straight. Some may argue he lost his powers but even if thats the case, he could have utilized them with Dohee's help. Even after his powers returned he didnt use them to catch the villain. For instance, in a scene where they send Joo Seok Hoon to the main villain's house they could have easily gone there using Guwon's magic but they didnt. When Joo Seok Hoon returns without information only then do they go to the villain's house. However, by then main villain has removed the demon book and hidden it elsewhere. Even when the main villain's body disappears after falling from the clock tower, Guwon doesnt use his powers to catch him. Later main villain tries to kill Dohee and to save her Guwon sacrifices himself. The writing seems questionable.

Moving on to Dohee, the young CEO, she is generally good except for when she gave up the chairwoman position due to fear of the main villain. Its perplexing, having a demon by her side, yet fearing a mere human. However one could argue she is right considering the apparent uselessness of the demon's powers.

Joo Seok Hoon, SML of show, is considered by many to be the main villain but he turns out not to be. Unfortunately he ends up being most useless character in the drama merely serving as a love sick puppy for Dohee. Its puzzling why an actor like Lee Sangyi took on this role when there is little for him to perform.

The main villain, Noh Suk Min is another poorly written character. He is your typical negative villain with a backstory of being greedy for property. While i understand he is meant to be negative, the writer takes it to the extreme portraying him to the point of being willing to kill his own son. I also dont understand why he was even after Dohee when she willingly gave him the chair position. In the end, the way he survives a significant fall is one of the most illogical aspects of the show. Moreover his decision to burn his face for some unknown reason is also quite illogical.

Besides these four main characters, the others werent well written. For example the demon's obsessive lover, Jin Gayoung lacked depth. The office characters were mostly useless and brought in for lame comedy that hardly made anyone laugh. The love angle between Dohee's assistant and Guwon's assistant was also cringe worthy. It seems the writer aimed for humor but it ended up being more cringe than entertaining.

Cinematography is initially impressive but production values appear fake after a certain point. The portrayal of super rich characters offices does not align with the expected opulence of conglomereate's offices.
The music department fares decently with the main OST, True by Yaori being a standout.

In conclusion, the show lacks originality in both execution and writing with poor logic and character development. My disappointment led me to revise my original rating from 9/10 to 7/10 and that is solely for the chemistry between the leads.

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Just ok, not the best!

***DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

To keep it brief, they had me and then they completely lost me.

GENERAL REMARKS:

Listen I’m not really a fan of any of these actors so i’ll try to keep this review as unbiased as possible. When I heard this drama was being produced I was unsure because I don’t really like Song Kang’s acting. I was only convinced to watch because I have been impressed by Yoo Jung in some of her previous works and thought hey maybe if this is not the best she will at least carry on her part.

But I was wrong. This story was lackluster in every single way. I only was kind of intrigued for the first 5-6 episodes of the show but then everything started to go downhill after Gu Won rescued Do Hee from the burning gas station / shop in episode 8. They built up the plot so much at that point only the bring it back down and then throw in a lot of other useless side plots and the past lives / reincarnation trope. It was not necessary to say the least.

I feel like all Yoo Jung and Song Kang have in this show were their strong visuals. I feel like the color grading was over done… they made them look paper / milk white and you could not see one pore or any texture in their skin at all which was kind of off putting. Yes their visuals are good but what else? To me it felt like they could not really deliver on the chemistry after a the first time they kissed and did the do. It just seemed like as the drama progressed it was unnatural and they were both trying too hard to convince us the audience. I see more of a friendship bond between the actors especially in the BTS videos (these were super cute ngl) In my opinion, when they were bantering / not on the best of terms it was better than their romance / relationship and marriage era in the drama.

It’s so ironic and hilarious how most of us suspected Seok Hoon would be a bad guy but he turned out to be one of the good ones from the beginning with no hidden agenda or plot twist. Not gonna lie it was a bit of a let down just because he's a good actor and it would've been refreshing to see him take on the role of the villain, but no he's always the second guy and it's almost like he plays the same character every time.

Gu Won was brought back far too soon in my opinion, and there was no build-up or explanation of what happened to him after he vanished or even if he could still see what was going on in the mortal world. Also I believe they incorporated the story of the deal Do Hee’s father made with Gu Won so quickly. I kind of predicted that he had saved her mom and her as a baby after they were in some kind of accident and I was right. To be honest, they tried to make it seem like her father was desperate enough to make a deal with the devil for his personal gain but I knew that could never be the case.

The way she learned that Gu Won was the man her father had struck a bargain with and then seemed to be shocked when he performed his demon responsibilities since the contract had expired really irritated me. Like come on, she was aware of who he was the entire time, so her sudden display of shock and surprise irked me so much. She started off as such a formidable character, but as the drama progressed, it was like her character development stalled and she grew weaker. She became a damsel in distress who was always waiting for poor Gu Won to come along and save her.

I’m happy Do Hee and Gu Won got their happy ending but I can't help but think at what cost. Do Hee lost so many close / precious people to her and that asshole Noh Su Min is still alive and able to be living while rotting away / losing his mind in prison. To me not enough justice was served, I needed to see Gu Won fight that man and hit him harder for real.

The uncanny bromance between Gu Won and Seok Hoon became so heartwarming. I’m glad both he Gu Won and Do Hee are able to consider each other as friends / family and get along well even if it did start out with him being madly in love with Do Hee. I’m actually glad they didn’t write the drama where he still would’ve tried his luck at pursuing her even after Gu Won disappeared like most other dramas. It was refreshing to see him give up from early on.

I cannot believe they made my man No Suh Min Ugly. His poor face (I’m half joking half serious but he was good looking before him taking such drastic measures and burning himself) I could not bear to look at him anymore as the drama went on. I have to say I really enjoyed Tae Hoon's performance. He had me convinced he was an abusive father and husband, the devil reincarnate and a psychopathic murderer all in one.

The last scene where Ga Young / Star Jin met the little girl who was being abused by her father broke my heart and tore it into a million pieces. Oh my gosh the tears kept flowing… her character arc / redemption is one of the best to come out of the show. I am so proud of her… the way she looked at the child it was like she herself was finally healing her inner child and able to protect someone the way Gu Won protected her all those years ago.

Unlike Gu Won she told her “Don’t forget angels always come and save you.” Finally she changed the narrative and gave the littler girl the hope and words of encouragement she needed all those years ago. To me that was just a really full circle moment and the only moment in the show that literally brought me to tears.


FINAL THOUGHTS:

In my opinion, this drama had a good beginning, an alright to mid middle, and an unimpressive conclusion. The drama twists Christianity and Demonism while maintaining certain aspects of the familiar; if you watch closely, you'll see all of their subtle allusions. I liked this drama to an extent, but I didn't believe the plot was properly developed or that the ending was plausible.

The Gu-won recantation sequence was one that I thought should have received more attention because I didn't think it was compelling enough. Do Hee is human, while Gu Won is still immortal. To be honest, I honestly believed that they would have caused her to spiral and become into an immortal or demon herself working alongside him or they would have caused Gu Won to reincarnate as a human or be reborn somehow. Simply put, it makes no sense for them to be together if Do Hee has a limited amount of time left on earth, which means that Gu Won will have to survive without her. Like LMAO? They really should have watched more supernatural movies/shows (eg. Twilight) before making this show so they can understand how human / immortal relationships have to play out. Granted, this story was written by a 13-year-old, but that's no excuse because the writers could've tried harder to improve the story and make it more logical.

Honestly the only good thing about this drama was the occasional funny moments, heartfelt moments and most importantly the OST. I could listen to it over and over again though I do think the song "Say You Love Me" and "The Way to Lose You" were played much too frequently. I like the songs don't get me wrong, but they used them so much that it was just a bit of an overkill.

I don’t think I’d recommend this drama to anyone because they’d be disappointed or feel that it lacked a lot. Unless cliche / underdeveloped fantasy romance is your thing I'd advise you stay away or just go into this with lower expectations. If you decide to press play just remember you're primarily here for entertainment not so much groundbreaking acting or even a half decent plot.

With all of that said, I gave this drama a 7/10.

✌️

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Not My Demon

Listen. Don’t come at me. But this ain’t it.

The storyline is childish and disappointingly lacking. They set up this promising premise of a demon, losing his powers, falling in love, and learning to live as a human. Should be interesting, right? WRONG.

The demon here is an idiotic loverboy who can’t use his brain even after existing for thousands of years. The FL is this gorgeous looking fireball who is supposed to be smart, cunning anf cutthroat. Key words are “supposed to be.” You get an annoyingly weak and pretty FL who does nothing but let the villains get the upperhand while eating cake with her pretty husband. Then, on their free time, they’ll put in some effort to catch the bad guys. SHE HAS A DEMON FOR A HUSBAND AND THEY DIDNT SOLVE ANYTHING OR EVEN SAVE THEMSELVES.

Y’all. The brain cells I lost watching this …

Don’t get me started on the useless side characters. From the overly dramatic and clownish villains, to the side couples, to the office workers and the gang members. They were just fillers to get this to 16 episodes of showing the gorgeous leads. That’s all.

To sum up:
Even on 1.5 speed, I could not wait to finish this damn series. What a joke to the actors. Who wrote this script? A 12 year old Twilight fan?

- What demon? He was a hopeless romantic with a side hustle involving fire.
- what murder mystery? Just crazy people playing with fire.
-What villains? Just cray crays over acting and shitting their pants over nothing.
- What chemistry? Just 2 gorgeous people looking gorgeous while doing gorgeous things together.
-What deep insightful message were we supposed to get out of this? Never trust a Netflix show with pretty people.

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A goblin, grip reaper, fox, alien, vampire, and now a demon!

It's like collecting Pokemon, and now there's another piece that fits into the puzzle.

If you looking for something incredibly new and mindblowing, then this is NOT it; if you looking for something light-hearted that has beautiful visuals, comedy, and romance, and to just pass the time ~ this is it!

The story takes the typical cliche and mixes it to make something unique using;
- A female CEO who is rich and strong ✅
- A demon who becomes a bodyguard ✅
- A contract marriage of convenience✅
- A murder mystery surrounding a chaebol conflict ✅
- Past life lovers (?)✅

The humor and the chemistry are captivating in many scenes; the love between the leads can be felt through their eyes and actions. The annoying and creepy characters (especially the family of the FL) keep you on your toes. And some of the characters (cough second FL & ML) make your blood boil.

The story was consistent in delivering and keeping up with the pacings, chemistry, and romance through! Honestly, give it a shot and it will have you hooked on the first episode!

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started out strong, lost all momentum and succumbed to common cliches

I was one of those people who had a high opinion (and rating) of this drama when it first started out. Coming from See You In My 19th Life and Destined With You, where the show's supernatural elements were a mere afterthought to boring, redundant past-life jargon and chemistry-less romance, I was happy to see the fantasy touched upon more often. Or so I thought.

The first 5-6 episodes were great in my opinion. They set up the scene quite well - the protagonist, antagonists, supporting group around each, etc... All of this positive growth dissolved nearly instantly when they lazily concluded subplots and introduced ridiculous new ones. The motives behind NSM trying to get rid of DoHee became more and more ridiculous as the plot went on. His evil streak being cut short and BOOM! them resorting to the tired trope of "well, he's hiding now so watch out!" The plot with former Chairwoman Ju barely being revisited until the very end. DoHee randomly being surprised her demon husband-bodyguard-savior(?) kills people brutally. Guwon's powers being literally useless for the most part until the very end?? Insanity. Its like they were trying to tease some avenues for exploration and then chickened out last minute. Don't even get me started on how the episodes just turned into cheesy romance scenes reminiscent of every kdrama ever. I had to fast-forward at one point because it felt like a 13 year old's Wattpad fanfiction turned TV. It doesn't help that the show kept wasting time flashing back to earlier moments of the show re: romantic moments. Like we really do not care can we get on with it? Don't get me wrong, the leads definitely looked good together at the very least. However, all their chemistry and substance evaporated into thin air the moment they stopped focusing on the plot and shifted towards pandering to lovesick viewers with 0 frame of reference for a decent fantasy romance depiction.

The constant parallels to Goblin, DWY, and SYM19L should've been a red flag from the start. Very rarely fantasy dramas stay consistent with the original tone of the show while balancing decent romance. And if they do, they risk major character assassination somewhere down the line (For example, literally EVERYTHING regarding Alchemy of Souls S2 - the side characters were butchered). The only saving grace for this series, in my opinion, was the OST and some cinematic shots. Its a shame because the cast was really good.

Side note, Jin Gayoung has got to be one of The most annoying side characters I have ever seen on TV. Her background gave 0 clue on why she was /that/ obsessive and its a shame she was only marginally likeable and mature at the very end.

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THE ACTORS CHEMISTRY!!!!! ?

I'm a kdrama binge watcher it helps me forget my regular stressful life. And I watch all kinds of kdrama from horror to romantic. This kdrama reminds me of doom at your service. At the beginning it's all a transaction between both protagonist but slowly it turns into real love. Yes it's a kind of deja vue, but I can say this one had all kinds of styles it had mystery, fantasy, romance but also comedy which I found myself giggling and laughing like a school girl. I loved how depending on a life situation you and anyone would make a deal with a demon if it could turn your life around for the better !. Yes it's all cliche, but I think you will find that in everything from tv series to movies now a days the ideas are often recycled and cliche it's just how the actors deliver it that makes a difference and here they deliver well. You can feel the connection the love between the protagonist,you can almost touch it you can relate to some situations and almost want to sign that contract I sure would!i enjoyed it.
This kdrama is amazing. It has literally everything fantasy, comedy, romance, suspense, mystery and even more. The plot is also very good too, i highly recommend this kdrama!! The actors are very good and it has an interesting story n stuff. Every episode had something shocking and none of them were boring which i really liked. The chemistry between kim yoo jung and song kang is so undeniable too!! This kdrama is like an enemies to lovers thing i love it sm. The OST is also very nice and good in my opinion, also the KISS SCENESSS THEY DIDNT COME HERE TO PLAY WITH THE KISS SCENES OMLLL no one is talking ab the kiss scenes bro like in most kdramas their lips barely even touch but THIS kdrama had amazing kiss scenes. I rate this kdrama a 10/10 fsfs!!
All I can say this drama is a masterpiece ,story line is so refreshing the all actors and actresses are excellent they played very well in there characters .. the visual fx i so amazing my mouth is open every time I saw something new ..the song gives goosebumps everytime I listened ...what great work ..so happy they gave use the Happy ending that Songkang and kimyoojung they deserved and us viewers that we deserved .... so sad that Mydemon end this week no more sleepless nights on Friday and Saturday after work..Best kdrama 2024 My Demon .. congratulations to all involved in this beautiful drama all your hard work paid off.

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Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang: One of the best chemistry I have ever seen in a drama.

Let me first thank the casting director for casting these 2 together. They're just magical in this drama. so much natural chemistry; it never feels like they're acting.
This drama has 1 of the best cinematography I have ever seen in recent years in a drama. The Music. Splendid. Singer Yaori and her song True which is the show opening is so haunting and beautiful. I tend to skip Netflix kdramas openings but I never do it here , it is so good and well done.
Pdnim BRAVO, taking my hats off. I will be looking forward to his other projects.
Kim Yoo Jung: what an acting genius. I already knew what an amazing actress she is but she delivered even more and once again in this drama. Going on in 21 years in the industry at only 24 years old. I cannot wait to see her career blossom even more.
I am so happy that Song Kang will enlist leaving such a great drama behind and IMO his acting in this drama is the best he has ever done it since debut so I very much look forward to his acting career after the military.
Isnt it obvious that if a story is crafted into fantasy, melo, rom/com, it is going to have more or less references of other dramas of the same genre in some capacity by putting their own twist into it? So all the complaints about how My demon emulated from x, y, z in some aspects I just do not understand. Realistically speaking , it is kind of inevitable IMO.
I dont think I have ever seen a kdrama that basically incorporates all genres and My Demon managed to do that which I love so in that sense it is a great original work IMO.

What I loved the most about this drama though was the chemistry of KIm Yoo Jung and Song Kang; just so beautiful. I can keep on raving about it. I love how the writers, directors gave us so many moments between the couple and they had so many screentime together. We literally watched them as a married couple; doing mundane things everyday, how they tackled everything in life together.

I also loved how all the supports character had a specific purpose to the show; they were just not there for the sake of being support characters. The wild dogs, the Leads secretaries , Star Jin, the villains,.......

I have watched dramas from various countries over the years and this show will forever have a special place in my heart and Do Do hee and Guwon lovestory is 1 of the best lovestories I have ever had the pleasure to see. I am happy that My Demon was a HUGE success and I will my Demon Team terribly and I wished we could have a season 2.

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My Demon is Sinfully Good

Just finished this delightful Kdrama. This story is good. It's got a great romantic storyline along with all the mystery, suspense, drama, and comedy all in the right spots. The actors are playing their roles well without too much over-the-top exaggeration. The two main leads are a feast for the eyes, and a tug on the heart as they take us through their romantic journey. The romance is wrapped up in a story of intrigue and mystery with the sudden death of the chaebol chairwoman, the suspense of Guwon's future as a demon (will he become human, or burst into flame to be nevermore?), the comedy of the FL and ML's assistants simultaneously flirting and detesting each other, the mystery of the homeless woman (how does she figure into all of this?), and the historical references of Guwon's past watching someone dancing with swords (who could that be, and what made him a demon?).

This is the type of Kdrama that keeps me watching more of them. The storyline was beautifully written, the subplots meshed well with the main plot, and all were wrapped up nicely for a great ending. The actors fit their roles, and fit nicely with the flow of the story. In fact the actors did so well with their roles, that I would get so caught up with the story, and before I knew it I was crying along, laughing along, scared, tense, and completely intrigued. The ending came too soon and I'd have to wait a week for the release of the next two episodes.

It was very well done, and I enjoyed it greatly. Well done to the everyone, actors, writers, producers, director, and the production staff!! This one just really came together in everyway.

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