Doom at Your Service: Episode 4
by quirkycase
Our heroine is determined to make her plan work and tries every method she can think of to create a spark between her and her disgruntled new love interest. But the gap between them may be larger than she anticipated, and her gloomy beau is determined to keep it that way. The closer she gets, the more he lashes out, testing her limits and shaking her resolve.
EPISODE 4
After Dong-kyung’s proclamation that she’ll love Myeol-mang, he asks if they should kiss. She scoffs at that and vows that she won’t forget what he did today and will make sure to pay him back in kind.
He wonders if she’s talking about him almost killing her or saving her. “Both,” she replies. Dong-kyung opens her door and tells him to come in. Or he can run away.
That night, Dong-kyung brings out her bedding and lays it out on the floor. She tells him they should start sleeping next to each other. Frustrated, Myeol-mang claims that humans can only want or resent him, but not love him. Dong-kyung promises she’ll prove him wrong “because I have to.”
Myeol-mang invites her into his room and tells her not to regret her decision. Dong-kyung says it doesn’t matter since she’s dying anyway. They lie back-to-back on his bed, and Dong-kyung asks what he’s thinking. He’s irritated that a “lowly” human is so arrogant. What about her?
Dong-kyung is thinking she’s crazy for throwing herself off the roof. She remembers how “cold and scary” Myeol-mang’s eyes were earlier. But still, his back is warm against hers.
Sometime in the night, Dong-kyung flips around so she’s facing Myeol-mang. He watches her sleep and goes to touch her face when her brow furrows. Myeol-mang pulls his hand back and thinks about what the goddess said about his sympathy.
Myeol-mang gets up and goes for a walk. He listens to all the petty thoughts of the humans who pass by and scoffs at the idea of feeling sympathy for any of them. The doom proselytizer is handing out fliers again, so Myeol-mang stops to chat.
Does she really want the world to end? The woman thinks to herself that it needs to end for her, the only chosen one, to live happily in her next life. Myeol-mang says she should’ve been more desperate so he could’ve picked her instead.
He shares that there is no next world, and with the world gone, those who “manage” it will disappear too. That’s what he’s betting on. Myeol-mang sees a news report about the trial of the stabber and vows he’ll never sympathize with humans.
Meanwhile, Dong-kyung gets to work early and starts researching how to fall in love. She ends up turning to Ji-na, the romance writer, for advice. Ji-na shares that for her, it was a single moment in a high school hallway when Hyun-kyu who smelled like soap smiled at her.
Dong-kyung wants to hurry the process along and asks if there’s a way to create one of those moments. Ji-na encourages her to confess to the guy since putting it out there grows the feelings. She credits Dong-kyung for getting her to confess to Hyun-kyu.
Ji-na had gone to Jeju on a school field trip and snuck over the wall to buy alcohol. She ran into Dong-kyung who happened to have her own private stash in her backpack. Ji-na bought some off her, got drunk, and went to confess to Hyun-kyu in front of the entire dormitory.
Dong-kyung calls her a straight-forward heroine and comments she only needs a runaway male lead to make it one of her stories. Ji-na asks if that’s how Dong-kyung sees her work, too. Dong-kyung understands that her dramatic first love would influence her and tells her not to listen to Joo-ik.
Ji-na grumbles that Joo-ik is even appearing in her dreams. That gives her an idea. She tells Dong-kyung to look at photos of the guy she’s pursuing before bed so she’ll dream of him. When Dong-kyung gratefully remarks Ji-na is saving her life, Ji-na wonders who this guy is to make Dong-kyung so dramatic.
Dong-kyung promises to tell her everything in three months in “perfect” condition. Ji-na jokes that she should be a mess since she’ll be in love. All this talk of love lives reminds Ji-na that she met the mystery guy who was her first kiss: Joo-ik.
At work, Dong-kyung weirds Joo-ik out with all her staring. She doesn’t mention Ji-na, but she does ask if he’s ever loved someone he first disliked. Joo-ik hasn’t, but he has kissed someone he disliked. He disliked her because he pitied her which led to kissing her.
Joo-ik drily asks if he answered whatever question she was asking. Ha. She very audibly criticizes him until he sends her home. Once she leaves, Joo-ik heads upstairs.
He ends up sharing an elevator with Hyun-kyu, although they don’t acknowledge each other. They step off the elevator and Hyun-kyu turns to Joo-ik. “What’s for dinner tonight?” Joo-ik says it’s not his turn to cook.
At home, Hyun-kyu whines and guilts Joo-ik into lending him his car for the upcoming reunion. They bicker like real siblings, and Joo-ik wonders how he got stuck with Hyun-kyu. Joo-ik was Hyun-kyu’s high school tutor – Hyun-kyu blames his failing the college entrance exam on Joo-ik – and his own tuition was paid by Hyun-kyu’s father.
Joo-ik asks what’s up with this reunion. Is Hyun-kyu’s first love going to be there? Hyun-kyu claims he barely remembers her, but his face says otherwise. When Hyun-kyu shows Joo-ik a photo of a girl he’s currently interested in, Joo-ik thinks of Ji-na.
On the crowded subway, Dong-kyung gets pushed around until someone grabs her hand. Myeol-mang smiles at her and holds her steady. As they walk home, Dong-kyung grows tired and out of breath, so Myeol-mang offers to hold her hand.
Dong-kyung is weirded out by his kindness, but he acts like it’s normal. He says he went around listening to people’s thoughts today and confirmed for himself that humans don’t deserve anything. Myeol-mang is all in for her plan. “I want to see you throw away everything because you’re crazy about me.”
At home, Dong-kyung watches Tale of the Nine Tailed for inspiration on how to love a “special being.” Her conclusion? He’s got to be hot. Pfft. She shakes her head at Myeol-mang like he doesn’t meet her standards, but he’s not about to let her forget her first impression of his looks.
Switching gears, Dong-kyung tells him to enter her dreams. They end up at that beach again, and Dong-kyung is surprised to hear her subconscious chose it. She has him construct all these detailed scenarios heavy on romance tropes, but nothing from the swoony sunbae to the cold-seeming chaebol works.
Dong-kyung is disheartened but tries another angle. To love someone, you need to know them. She wants to see Myeol-mang’s world. He agrees to show her but warns that he’s not human, so it won’t be what she expects.
They stand outside of a house with a lovely garden on the edge of the woods. “This is my world,” Myeol-mang declares and begins to walk. With every step, the plants wither and the world greys.
Dong-kyung watches “the god of everything that disappears” with sympathy in her eyes, narrating that it must be lonely to “love things that will disappear when you touch them.” She understands why it’d make you not want to love at all.
She walks toward Myeol-mang, and everything she passes blooms and regains color. Dong-kyung hesitantly grabs his hand. All the grey disappears. Myeol-mang looks around in surprise and stares into her sympathetic eyes. He rips his hand out of her grip before waking her up.
The next morning, Myeol-mang brings up the dream and gapes when Dong-kyung magnanimously declares she’s decided to forgive him. Love springs from forgiveness. Myeol-mang later complains to the goddess who says love more often springs from hatred anyway, although that does require forgiveness.
Myeol-mang clarifies that he doesn’t forgive the goddess. She understands; they’ve only got each other to talk to. The goddess smiles when Myeol-mang sighs that Dong-kyung is becoming more bothersome. Meanwhile, Dong-kyung keeps thinking about that dream and smiles that Ji-na was right.
Sun-kyung drops by Dong-kyung’s place and unsurprisingly asks to borrow money. He wants to go to an academy to be a “personal colorist” this time. Dong-kyung is sure this’ll be like all the other times she sent him to various schools to learn trades he never used. Is he going to keep living like this even after she dies?
Sun-kyung says that someone without any dreams wouldn’t get it. Dong-kyung accuses that she can’t afford dreams since she needs money to clean all his messes. He refuses to take the blame since he never asked her to do that.
He doesn’t see how they’ll ever understand each other. “I’d rather die than live like you.” That makes Dong-kyung truly angry, and she grabs his sleeve. Sun-kyung falls to the ground when he tries to shake her off and won’t let her help him up. Dong-kyung watches him walk away and holds back tears.
Myeol-mang watches from across the roof and offers unsolicited that Sun-kyung meant everything he said. Dong-kyung is in no mood for his games, but Myeol-mang keeps pushing her buttons, making snide comments about her niceness.
He goes too far when he asks if she’d forgive him if he were to kill Sun-kyung. Could she still love him? Dong-kyung demands he take it back, fury in her eyes.
Myeol-mang scoffs at her insignificant life and states she was simply the most convenient tool at his disposal in that moment. “I wish you would die,” Dong-kyung says. “If you could experience death, then you’d know how I feel.”
“If that’s your wish,” he says with a smile. They’re now in the woods, and he puts a loaded gun in her hands. She shakes with anger, but she doesn’t raise the gun. Myeol-mang grabs it and tries to shoot himself, but nothing happens when he pulls the trigger.
If he could, Myeol-mang would’ve killed himself long ago. Dong-kyung vows to at least make his life miserable. He tells her go give it her best shot but makes a point to remind her that he can make her miserable by simply refusing to hold her hand.
Dong-kyung blinks, and she’s back in her apartment which is entirely her own again. Dong-kyung tries to tamp down her fury and accepts that this is her responsibility – her own actions led her here. Her whole life has been comprised of staying still. Now, she wishes she hadn’t attempted either sympathy or love.
Myeol-mang walks down the street causing accidents a little more frequently than usual. He tells himself that Dong-kyung is as insignificant as the rest and heads to the stabber’s trial. When his life imprisonment sentence is announced, the man flips out and screams for execution. He locks eyes with Myeol-mang in the gallery and begs him to kill him.
While Dong-kyung crosses out her plan to love Myeol-mang in her notebook, she gets a call from the hospital about Sun-kyung. She panics, taken back to receiving the call about her parents as a child.
At the prison, the stabber is still flipping out, ranting and raving that he’s going to kill Myeol-mang. He fights with two guards, and in the scuffle, he falls and hits his head.
On the hospital roof, Doctor Jung spots Myeol-mang smoking on the ledge and panics, thinking he’s suicidal. Since Myeol-mang is wearing a white coat, Doctor Jung assumes he must be a fellow doctor. He guesses Myeol-mang lost a patient and tries to talk him down.
Doctor Jung understands how he feels, having lost patients himself. Myeol-mang wonders if he too continues to watch over the being he’s responsible for killing. Doctor Jung goes with it, trying to get Myeol-mang off the ledge. When he tells him to come down, Myeol-mang says sure … and steps off the building.
Shocked, Doctor Jung screams and runs to look over the ledge, but there’s no body on the ground. He sees Myeol-mang’s cigarette still on the ledge, though. Doctor Jung spots Dong-kyung running inside the hospital and heads down.
Dong-kyung rushes in and sees her brother with a scrape on his knee, laughing on the phone with his friend that his sister will surely come running and give him the money now. Sun-kyung turns to see Dong-kyung glaring and chases after her. Doctor Jung intercepts him to ask if he’s Dong-kyung’s family.
Outside the hospital entrance, Dong-kyung runs into Myeol-mang. The ambulance carrying the stabber pulls up, and as soon as the doors open, he swipes a scalpel and rushes Myeol-mang. On instinct, Dong-kyung throws herself in front of Myeol-mang to protect him.
Inside, Sun-kyung sobs his way through the hospital, having learned about Dong-kyung’s diagnosis from Doctor Jung. Outside, Myeol-mang’s hand drips blood as he grips the scalpel blade. He turns Dong-kyung’s head toward his chest and instructs her not to look.
With a glare, Myeol-mang tells the man he’ll now return what he took. The man involuntarily slices his own throat, splattering Myeol-mang and Dong-kyung with his blood.
Dong-kyung pulls back to look at Myeol-mang who reiterates that it’s impossible to love him. He looks away as he says people either resent or want him. “Or fear me,” he says as he looks into her eyes.
COMMENTS
Myeol-mang was really trying my patience this episode with his need to prove that he’s unlovable. It felt like he was testing Dong-kyung by being his most awful self, showing her what he’s capable of and daring her to love him anyway. He’s been telling himself humans are terrible and that he’s impossible to love for so long, and he’s terrified Dong-kyung is going to destroy that protection. Although he’s been adamant that she can’t truly care about him, he looked nervous and vulnerable in that last scene when he expected her to be afraid of him. Myeol-mang keeps desperately trying to convince himself that Dong-kyung is just another human, even though it’s obvious he doesn’t feel that way. He’s just scared of loving and being loved which was most obvious when he balked at the moment of real connection between the two of them in his subconscious. He can’t handle the idea that someone might truly get to know him.
Despite all the ways he lashed out at Dong-kyung to the point of making her hate him at times, Dong-kyung still instinctively protected him when she thought he was in danger. She’s not going to be easy to push away, but I love that she also doesn’t let him off the hook for his cruelty or disrespect. Dong-kyung is self-respecting and unwilling to let Myeol-mang call all the shots even if he’s basically a god. The more terrible he acts, the more he brings out her fighting spirit that’s lain dormant for too long. Just because she’s empathetic and forgiving doesn’t mean she has no limits and won’t push back when he crosses the line.
After all this, I’m going to need Myeol-mang to put in the work to earn her trust and love once he gets over himself. She deserves someone who isn’t going to be yet another person who puts their needs above hers and expects her to accommodate. This romance is an extreme version of the hate-turned-to-love trope, which I’m not always a fan of, but I like how it fits with the drama’s perspective. Rather than seeing opposites like light and dark (or hate and love) as forces in opposition to each other, they’re simply two ends of a continuum that form a balanced whole. Everything is interconnected and messy without clear lines of demarcation.
This really was the episode of men trying my patience. Sun-kyung was such a selfish brat, expecting his sister to just hand him money because he asked. Then, he had the nerve to critique her for being responsible and not “having dreams.” But the real kicker was how he manipulated Dong-kyung to come to the hospital. After what happened to their parents, how could he do that to her? From the way he was sobbing his heart out after learning Dong-kyung is dying, I think he’s just immature and selfish rather than completely uncaring. Maybe Dong-kyung’s situation will make him grow up a little and stop acting so entitled.
All the elements of this drama feel cohesive except for Hyun-kyu who doesn’t quite gel yet. He feels isolated from the main story, although I’m guessing this upcoming reunion will bring him into the fold. Besides his connection to Ji-na and Joo-ik, I have no idea how he fits into the plot. It looks like there could be a love triangle shaping up with the three of them, but I kind of hope not. The guys are already only tangentially connected to Dong-kyung and having them in their own little side story might make them feel even more isolated. Of course, Hyun-kyu has barely had any screen time, so it’s impossible to say anything for sure yet. One thing I’ve appreciated so far is that nothing is rushed. We’ve had time to get to know our characters and their worlds bit by bit without being overloaded with information. With how self-assured and intentional these first four episodes have seemed, I’m inclined to be optimistic and believe this is a drama that knows exactly what story it wants to tell. Let’s hope the drama proves me right.
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Tags: Dawon, Doom at Your Service, Jung Ji-so, Kang Tae-oh, Lee Soo-hyuk, Park Bo-young, Seo In-gook, Shin Do-hyun
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1 Aidualc
May 22, 2021 at 4:12 PM
There are some things in this drama (including the dialogue) that don't always entirely make sense to me, but do I care? I don't, because I'm blinded by Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young and their chemistry. They are great, separate and together. Lucky they cast them because they elevate the script. I doubt this will end well but it's too late to turn back now, it's become the drama I'm most invested in at the moment.
One of the things I don't get is, why is Doom so invested in that killer guy? I assume he dealt with many like him before so why did he even attend the trial?
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ar_arguably romantic
May 22, 2021 at 5:23 PM
Yeah I feel like if I were to just read the script, I would be like wtf - where are we going like this. But SIG and PBY, their crackling chemistry with each other, and the look and feel of the drama makes me tuned in. Also it's nice to see Lee Soo Hyuk and Kang Tae Oh.
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kdramapedia
May 24, 2021 at 6:59 AM
He's mad because Killer was doing Doom's job. It's Doom's duty to bring chaos into the world; not just some random human. If Killer wanted to due, he should've just done it instead of creating chaos by injuring and murdering innocent people. Since Killer *wants* to die, Doom was keeping Killer alive as punishment. Doom only relented when Killer put Dong-Kyung in danger and to show her that people end up fearing Doom.
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2 LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 22, 2021 at 4:55 PM
I have no idea what's happening, why anybody did anything, or why Dong-kyung lurched from (often contradictory) emotion to emotion in every second scene without any buildup or transition.
So this week PBY is like "I'm going to fall in love with you, I hate you, I'm going to love you, I want you to die" in back to back scenes and there's just no bridge between any of it.
And the characters still intone non-sequiturs at each other instead of having actual conversations.
Which is to say - I must really really love PBY and SIG a LOT.
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Mike
May 22, 2021 at 5:02 PM
Sorry to read that you can't follow it. You're missing out on a good story.
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 12:18 AM
What “good story”? What IS a story? We have no clue what’s the story is all about to make a judgement of “good” or “bad” to begin with.
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Miranda
May 22, 2021 at 8:39 PM
I’m not experiencing the same whiplash - she’s just had a terminal cancer diagnosis, with a really painful death. The only way she and the world can both live is for her to break the contract while loving Myul Mang. So she’s going to will that into being as much as she can, which would protect her friends and family and revisit the curse on the one who placed it... and who seemingly invites it.
If you view it all as a contract negotiation and Dong Kyung as having accepted that she’s got 3 months of life left, it all connects. I think she’s behaving very rationally, in her context, though from the outside it would seem nuts.
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Ranet Sushmita
May 26, 2021 at 12:58 AM
Can you please explain the actual contract a little bit clearer? I am actually stuck. I first thought she will die no matter what ,but she has to wish for the world to end for dying a painless death..or her brother ( whom she loves the most at that moment) will die. But now it seems like she can live?
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Miranda
May 26, 2021 at 5:05 PM
That’s the bit I’m having a hard time pinning down too - I was clear on it until there was an implication that she can live. Though maybe she thinks that if Doom dies, she lives? That’s doesn’t make a ton of sense, because the absence of Doom just means her cancer is painful..
I’m a little suspicious we’re losing something in translation where “quality of life” is coming through as “ongoing life”. Hm.
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Jance
May 23, 2021 at 1:40 AM
I’m confused about Doom’s death. He can’t kill himself but her loving him will work?
But she crossed that plan out....
???????
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 2:33 AM
Trust me, we are all confused.
Per beanies explanation, apparently, the contract states that she must wish for the end of the world in exchange for a painless death, and if she breaks the contract the penalty is the person she loves the most will die. So she’s trying to fall in love with SIG, so he can die, and the world is saved.
Does that answer your question?
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Wifsie
May 23, 2021 at 6:05 AM
Thank you! I’m still rooting for a happy ending as love conquers all...
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Jance
May 24, 2021 at 6:49 AM
I think I was mainly confused by how wishing him dead wouldn’t work but breaking the contract would...
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bomibeans
May 24, 2021 at 10:56 AM
Comment was deleted
Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 7:14 AM
It looks like he can’t opt out. He can’t die and can’t quit, and even if he tries to quit all he hears are other people’s miserable thoughts. He exists.
The loophole appears to be that once in a blue moon he can grant a wish. Usually people wish for money or fame, but DK wished for destruction - which Myul Mang is totally into, because without a world, gardeners won’t be needed, right? But then DK realizes that the contract will result in her brother dying either way (either MM destroys the world or she refuses to wish for destruction and the world survives but her brother dies directly). So she looks for a different way to opt out - either kill herself (she suspects MM doesn’t want her to do this but she’s also willing to die) or twist the terms of the contract and WILL herself to love MM so three months later, when she breaks the contract, he dies instead of her brother.
I’d guess that MM has tried every possible way to get himself killed, including letting humans stab him. So DK’s (rightfully self-serving) approach is novel: he thinks it’s impossible for anyone to do anything but fear him so love is totally bizarre, and this is contractual and not a violent death so also sort of possible. Maybe he CAN die if it’s the collateral damage from someone else’s contractual choice. Worth trying, and you can see that he’s both eager to encourage her and kind of afraid of the possibility that she could love him (or maybe afraid of the possibility that she can’t, and he had to continue existing with concrete proof that he can’t be loved).
While she’s crossed out the “love MM” bit, I don’t see any other way to achieve her objective (avoid pain in death, avoid destroying world, keep brother alive) than to exploit that loophole.
This sort of multiple-paths/sequential repercussions plot structure is more common in science fiction than fantasy, which may be throwing people off.
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Miky
May 23, 2021 at 10:40 AM
Maybe if he loves he gains a heart and a heart that can be stopped aka dying...
In the end they both loose and win along the way if she loves him...
She thinks at the moment she won't loose anything but we all know she will loose her heart but being rational she thinks that even if she loves him and died she will be able to move on problem is a doubt it will happen the way she wishes...
I also pity Doom as he has such a sad existence,because he is just there rolling along through life being forced to listen to all the ugly of the human nature...After a while u stop seeing the small beautiful things and see only just the ugly so no wonder Doom despises and hates the humans and world so much now and wants to end it for once...
Curious if their relationship was predestined by the Deity for a long time ago...
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Ranet Sushmita
May 26, 2021 at 1:04 AM
Whoa, its all clear, but please answer just this one, will DK live at the end? I can't quite understand that part.
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Ally
May 23, 2021 at 7:39 PM
And as per our usual reversals, I’m loving this drama, think the writing is purposefully enigmatic, and the twist in destroying the world vs. destroying doom is clever and I’ve never seen that particular plot before. I don’t think our heroine is clever though, so wondering how she’s actually going to pull off loving what amounts to evil and apathy to the human race, when she is decidedly part of that race. And I’m trusting SIG’s knack of picking compelling dramas.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 23, 2021 at 8:08 PM
Counterpoint: Does SIG pick compelling dramas? Or do they become compelling because of SIG?
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Ally
May 23, 2021 at 8:25 PM
Counter-counterpoint: Would SIG be as compelling if he didn’t think the drama was compelling enough to sign on in the first place?
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Ally
May 23, 2021 at 8:26 PM
And while I’m thinking about it, do you remember the dream I had about SIG?
LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 23, 2021 at 8:36 PM
Do you remember the dream I had where I could shapeshift and turned into SIG?
What was your dream about SIG?
PS I'm ignoring the eternal recurrence we've created around the 'compelling' issue.
Ally
May 23, 2021 at 8:50 PM
Actually, I do remember your shapeshifter dream--I'd forgotten it was SIG though. Mine was me and my husband doing what we did while we were dating and going to other friends' homes, hanging out, maybe playing some card games, drinking and just getting to know people--and one of them was SIG.
Yn00na
May 23, 2021 at 10:51 PM
@ally-le and @leetennant: Hang on, you both manage to invite SIG in your dreams??? Care to tell me how? Maybe than I can just enjoy SIG in my sleep rather than forcing myself to watch this drama just for him.
LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 23, 2021 at 10:56 PM
I doubt anybody could explain my subconscious @yn00na, let alone myself.
Ally
May 24, 2021 at 7:09 AM
@yn00na, I can’t summon him like Eun-tak summoned the goblin, but maybe he’ll appear again.
Miranda
May 24, 2021 at 5:03 AM
I think our heroine is remarkably centered, which may be enough in this case. This is a girl who got a death sentence and just internalized it. Her boyfriend’s wife confronted her publicly and her boyfriend staked out her office. In all of these cases she was obviously ingested the information, but hopped over any histrionics and went straight to practical outcomes. She deliberately pays for her hospital fees in a way that means she won’t leave debts; she tries to reassure the pregnant wife. She’s resilient.
So I think they’ve set her up quite well as a woman who can be confronted with something ridiculous and just barrel through it and begin practically dealing with it. If she decides loving Doom is the way to get the result she wants, she’ll be determined about it, even if it doesn’t make sense.
As for Doom being evil, I think she already gets he’s not - that whole thing about how he’s winter. He’s a force of nature and can’t do anything about it. Oddly, she may get that more than he does, since he keeps trying to present himself as a villain.
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FlyingTool
May 25, 2021 at 6:51 AM
“ So I think they’ve set her up quite well as a woman who can be confronted with something ridiculous and just barrel through it and begin practically dealing with it.”
Exactly.
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WaterBottle
May 26, 2021 at 2:49 AM
I agree with you 100%. It's like the writers wanted Don-kyung to be open for the romance while also keeping the antagonistic tension between the leads. I actually ended up loosing empathy for her.
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3 Bob
May 22, 2021 at 5:00 PM
Side note. Has the name 'Myeol-mang' ever been stated in the drama? Yes, I understand his name is a play on words from the title. At one point Dong-kyung commented that she's never asked him his name, Have they ever stated it?
This is obviously a redemption tale. They're no more likely to turn Myeol-mang 'good' inside the first four episodes than any other 'bad boy' character in any other drama.
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Anam
May 23, 2021 at 3:09 PM
Since Myeolmang means destruction or doom in korean, this character is personified destruction/doom. He is doom. And so he's called proper noun Myeolmang, because he is the root and the materialisation of common noun myeolmang. It's like when a deity that causes death and demise of everything is called Death itself. I think dong-kyung lied to her friend in that scene because it's absurd to say "Yeah i met a guy whose name is Destruction."
That's what I think.
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Miky
May 25, 2021 at 2:08 PM
Quite well pointed,his name is Myeolmang considering his existence,names are more for humans and he isin't one...
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4 imzadi
May 22, 2021 at 5:22 PM
I love the leads and their chemistry, but I am not yet in love with the drama. I missed SIG so much and enjoy it, so that's enough for now.
But I do wish they wouldn't use so much make-up on him. The lipstick is a bit much.
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miss h
May 22, 2021 at 5:46 PM
It's nice to have SIG back onscreen, but I don't care for how they are styling him a lot of the time.
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imzadi
May 22, 2021 at 11:56 PM
Very true, not a fan of the styling either.
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 1:33 AM
Agree the styling is terrible. The hair has some greenish (?) tint maybe, and it’s distracting me every time I see him on the screen. It’s like they try to sell him as this cool badass demigod but SIG can sell the snake oil to the snake oil seller with his acting, so why put all this extra crap on him? I’ve got no clue.
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imzadi
May 23, 2021 at 4:24 AM
I miss the I remember you style. Especially the pink sweater :)
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miss h
May 23, 2021 at 6:13 AM
I think it's blue, which is why it almost looks gray in some lights. In one scene they had put so much gel in it it looked terrible.
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 10:29 AM
Let's start an internet sensation: "When you look at SIG hair does it appear blue or green to you?" 😂
imzadi
May 23, 2021 at 12:37 PM
To me it has a green hue :)
lillamy
May 24, 2021 at 1:13 AM
I definitely with the 'green' side, a kind of lichen grey-green.
Alas, the show is so enigmatic even a hair color can't be defined.
imzadi
May 24, 2021 at 12:43 PM
Is it jut me, or did his car slightly changed color several times in episode 5? While shopping it looked really dark, after that grey-ish and back to the green?
And the clothes, damn. I didn't know this was a new trend in k-dramas, as I haven't watched a current drama in some times. the clothes are really bad. Not, we want you to look bad, just bad style.
kdramapedia
May 24, 2021 at 7:06 AM
It's probably dyed "blue black," which reflects light weirdly. The stage lights are what's making it look green and sometimes gray when the lighting changes.
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samroy
May 26, 2021 at 3:02 AM
I guess I'm the only one here who actually likes his hair style and colour (though I agree the make-up could be toned down a bit). Then again, I've always thought SIG looks good in anything. Honestly I love the SIG-PBY pairing so much that I don't really care about anything else. These 2 have irresistible charm.
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Miranda
May 22, 2021 at 8:40 PM
The hair color is weird and I am HATING the trousers/jeans on absolutely everyone in Korean dramas these days. Stop with the mom jeans hips and waistlines!
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lillamy
May 24, 2021 at 1:15 AM
This! Every one goes around looking like grandparents. Please make it stop!😱
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kdramapedia
May 24, 2021 at 7:09 AM
Mom jeans are the new trend, unfortunately.
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Miranda
May 24, 2021 at 5:47 PM
100% no. If I have to stay inside another decade, or wear dresses and skirts nonstop, mom jeans are not something I’m willing to revive.
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Bob
May 24, 2021 at 10:33 PM
Hah, I had noticed 'mom jeans' are now in style, myself. Super-tight low rise jeans are a thing of the past. If the waistband isn't touching the navel you're doing it wrong.
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5 ar_arguably romantic
May 22, 2021 at 5:26 PM
I thought Dong-kyung instinctively trying to protect Doom was too contrived. I don't think she's there yet, though it does make a romantic "oh look. Puny human protecting her supernatural lover even though she's mortal and he can survive anything!" It feels a little like Tale of Nine-Tailed in the beginning when the drama was trying to push "they're falling in love right now!" too early in the drama to be believable.
Myeol-mang is getting too dramatic in his attempts to appear as unlovable as possible, but I don't mind since Dong-kyung doesn't love him yet. I almost wanted to say "Don't flatter yourself into thinking you're so lovable! Girl is only trying to love you so she can survive."
Sun-kyung is terrible. I hate him for criticizing DK for not having any dreams. It had really hurt because he was basically saying she had lived her life pointlessly and the poor girl has only 100 days to live. And the only reason he could survive while being so irresponsible is because his big sis is his emergency piggy bank.
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Miranda
May 22, 2021 at 8:47 PM
Eh, I think it’s more telling about her as a person than her emotions about Myul Mang. In that split-second decision it’s unlikely that you have a ton of time to weigh whether the other person deserves your protection - it’s a complicated calculation and there just isn’t that much time/room in your reaction. You’re far more likely to either be the type of person to intervene between an attacker and their target or the type to flinch away.
Not a judgement call in either case - just my observation as an emergency responder. It’s a hard-wired instinct in a lot of people. Strangers intervene for random people while close friends or siblings shy away. I see it as a nature thing versus nurture, and tend not to place judgement on it. In this case, Dong Kyung is the type to see a knife and it’s intended target and something in her brain calculates that her interruption will be an overall less-bad result than if the attacker hits his mark. Obviously that’s ridiculous since the mark was a demigod, but her brain isn’t working on that rational level. Much more instinctive.
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WaterBottle
May 26, 2021 at 3:12 AM
I had the same though at the end of the episode. This whole "throw myself in front of the knife" was way to early to feel earned. There is hardly anything between them at this point. They don't care for eath other, they are figuring out how to best manipulate the other and themselves to get a desired outcome. This was an obvious end-of-the-episode-and-we-need-a-romantic/dramatic-moment contrivance.
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6 Jennifer Essilfie
May 22, 2021 at 5:39 PM
Am I the only one who thinks that Dong-Kyung might be a deity?
Not only did Myeol-mang seem surprised and some what disconcerted when the world changed back in her dreams, the deity said that some one has to suffer for the world. And Dong-Kyung has been through the ringer. It also doesn't really make sense that there is only "God" and "Doom".
Otherwise: I am SOLD. I love it. The last time I was so into a drama was "Extraordinary you". It is my first SIG drama. And I am a fan. I am a fan of PBY. I am a fan of their chemistry. I love it.
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javinne
May 23, 2021 at 4:05 AM
SIG is amazing in whatever he does. I loved him so much in shopping king Louie! He was absolutely interesting in: Hello, Monster. And I adored him in reply 1997.
The smile that has left your eyes was a let down for me, but not because of him or Jung So min. They are great.
The story was too dark and bizarre for My taste.
Other than that I even watched him in High school king of savvy, and I have enjoyed his cameos here and there.
He is always doing good with his acting, and from good to great and greater.
Big fan speaking🙋
I will recommend Everything he has done 😅
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zzthorn
May 23, 2021 at 9:03 AM
He was also very entertaining in Squad 38. My favorites were Shopping King Louis and Hello, Monster. And I did love The Smile has Left Your Eyes. He was so incredibly convincing that it was hard to believe that was the same actor. He totally amazes me. He's a total chameleon from one character to the next.
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javinne
May 23, 2021 at 10:04 PM
I believe you. Actually, I also started to watch "love rain", because my therapist loves it, and she always talked good about that drama, but for me it was soooooooo utterly boring I couldn't finish it. Nevertheless, SIG is in there and bang! You wouldn't believe it's him. Younger of course, but then again, so different... it amazes me. He is such a good actor!
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7 panshel
May 22, 2021 at 5:48 PM
Their love-hate relationship is hot, but I wish Dong-kyung hadn't made a conscious decision to love Myul-mang. As soon as he said the person she loves most will die, we all knew that person would be Myul-mang, but I wish Dong-kyung had naturally fell for him. Still, even if she hadn't told him she's going to love him, he can read minds. I do love how he's opening up to her and letting her into his world.
It seems that God just wants to keep status quo because it's fate for Dong-kyung to die and Myul-mang to be doom forever. I'm glad Sun-kyung now knows about his sister's diagnosis and glad Joo-ik is not in a love triangle with our couple.
A big thanks for the recap, @quirkycase!
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Miranda
May 22, 2021 at 8:52 PM
But it’s so much better for her to make that conscious decision! Even more so because that way neither of them will really be able to tell when they flip from trying-to-be-in-love to actually being in love. I would have lost patience quickly if they bickered this whole time while gradually falling in love - I LOVE the idea that they’re both actually trying to make it happen, but neither of them are remotely capable of seeing all the puzzle pieces, never mind solving the puzzle.
As for God, I think she knows exactly how this is going to turn out and is rooting for them but can’t show it. Much like she tells Myul Mang that she sees everything but pretends she doesn’t. He loves her and hates her - if she rooted for him in convincing a human to love him to death, he’d only get spooked and suspicious. This way at least he fully focuses on the problem.
Though I’ll admit I don’t know what her deal with the red bracelet was.
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staygold
May 23, 2021 at 3:50 PM
I completely agree. I have a feeling that at the end, we’ll realize everything happened according to her plan (she isn’t ignorant of anything after all), and everything she's done/said was actually meant to push MM towards DK — that she knew what their fate was and was just playing her role in it.
Even with that red bracelet scene, her actions might be a kind of ploy on her part. She had smirked when she heard MM yell DK's name in a panic...my thought was that she knew MM would come running; seeing her about to touch the bracelet just makes him that much more worried/protective about the perceived threat to DK's life. She's making it seem as though DK is going to upset some sort of cosmic balance and disrupt MM's view on human life, when ironically, it's exactly that kind of thinking that will enrich the intensity of DK & MM's conflict/love-hate relationship/feelings. I think she might have been aware of, or planning, DK's fate with MM from the start.
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8 Jayne❤
May 22, 2021 at 5:58 PM
I wrote somewhere else, this time, a picky kdrama watcher that I am, I won't give a darn thing about the story and how it tells.
I just love the two leads and their crackling chemistry. I'm a fan of PBY but this is the first time I notice how beautiful her eyes are and the PD takes a great advantage of it.
And Lee Soo Hyuk...goodness....how come a guy can be so beautiful?? I guess the world is never fair.
Superlove Kang Tae Oh in Run On, so I feel a bit disappointed how he is underutilize in this drama so far.
Did I say Lee Soo Hyuk is beautiful?
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9 fannypackage
May 22, 2021 at 6:58 PM
I was cracking up so hard during the dream sequence LOL. she's trying to fall in love and he's trying to seduce her but none of it seems to be working xD
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Miky
May 23, 2021 at 10:48 AM
Even more when she does all the things she read on that site...
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staygold
May 23, 2021 at 4:41 PM
It's hilarious to see the two leads of a drama actively trying to fall in love with each other lol. But also -- so clever to give them a rational reason to make this love happen. Both characters are the guarded, untrusting type who wouldn't fall deeply very easily.
That dream sequence made it a point that all the "normal" scenarios that might give someone butterflies wouldn't work with these two. They're both too jaded and their lives have been decidedly not "normal", so they need to have a connection that is raw, honest, and deep for them to fall in love. Their contract and situation give them the exact opportunity to develop this kind of connection -- there are no pretenses needed between them, and they have no expectations/duties towards the other beyond the contract. This is probably the first time they're interacting with someone with whom they can let down their barriers, be brutally honest, and ultimately see each other at their worst and best.
In the process of them getting closer while thinking that they're each serving their own agenda (giving themselves the excuse of "I'm doing this because it makes sense"), the feelings that come from moments of true understanding will be natural and not manufactured at all, and that's pretty beautiful.
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10 Kafiyah Bello
May 22, 2021 at 7:52 PM
When she jumped in front of him, I was girl, what is you doing? He, of all people can take care of himself, but she is obviously starting to care. As to if she will be horrified by what he did, I wasn't 🤷🏾♀️. But I guess her character may be, but I don't think so. Whatever, I am still in this drama, I kind of love it.
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11 smurfett820
May 22, 2021 at 9:46 PM
I want to love this drama cuz I like the two leads and the premise is so intriguing.
But SIGs hair distracts me every time. It makes the top of his head look really big and I keep wondering if he’s lost a lot of weight for this role. His cheeks are so gaunt looking. Then I wonder why his hair cut is the way it is and what color it is.
And it’s not just one time. Every scene he’s in I have the same train of thoughts again and again!
The dialogue also loses me. But reading the Chinese translation makes way more sense.
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Yn00na
May 22, 2021 at 10:36 PM
Ah, I've been blaming poor writing for the somewhat nonsense dialogues and plot progression. Does Chinese translation makes that much difference than say English translation?
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 1:35 AM
It is poor writing, unfortunately.
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 5:43 AM
What’s confusing people about the writing? Seriously, I’m surprised to see it pop up so much in the comments - are people getting thrown by the cancer diagnosis? I think it’s the same one President Biden’s son Beau died from, so maybe I just instantly got all that backstory from the cancer’s name - it’s fatal, it’s fast, and it’s an awful way to die.
Is it that everyone is behaving unusually and then those unusual behaviors intersect? Dong Kyung is actually behaving pretty rationally, other than the fact she skipped over the first few stages of grief. She accepted Myul Mange’s deal, then realized the contract actually meant the people she loved most would be in danger either way, so she figured out how to skew the contract to keep everyone safe (by convincing herself to love Myul Mang). He is into this idea because he’d really like to die, but he’s not going to say that to DK directly - but we know it because he’s said as much to God. And his conversations with God are really abstract because they’ve been having this same talk for millennia.
One thing that does confuse me about the translations is the implication that Dong Kyung can break the contract and LIVE, rather than she can break the contract and still die painlessly. I’ll have to go back and listen to the Korean, but breaking the contract to die painlessly, save the world and kill Myul Mang makes sense. Breaking the contract to do all of that and LIVE doesn’t make sense - living was never on the table. Dong Kyung is going to die in three months either way.
I do partly blame the marketing for this, with that insanely weird “fight her fate by putting her life on the line” word salad they keep using to intro DK’s character and the show. Her fate is set, and her life is already forfeit. She’s trying to die well and to protect the world and her brother. It’s a contract.
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bil
May 23, 2021 at 7:12 AM
"Dong Kyung can break the contract and LIVE, rather than she can break the contract and still die painlessly"
Nah, that's what I'm wondering too, Dong Kyung still die even she's breaking the contract, so I don't know why she tried so hard to love Myul Mang and said she can live.
The deity role is another one who makes me confused. I still can't understand her convo with Myul Mang, and their scenes a lil bit awkward for me
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 8:18 AM
She’d try to love MM because then she gets to save the world AND her brother, so I get that. I’m going to have to listen back for “live” - I’m wondering if that’s a translation error.
The deity I like because I do generally think a god would be frustrating and confusing to work for. She’s actually not as frustrating as she could be; imagine she was treating MM like Job and just making his life terrible for no reason. He’s sort of her kid but it’s also like a cicada adopted a mayfly - they’ve both got wings, but she operates in a realm so big he can’t even perceive what’s outside his scope. And she’s got a jokester-god vibe but is also a kid and also his mom and also his boss. So any conversations between the two of them SHOULD sound unusual to human ears.
tsutsuloo
May 24, 2021 at 1:50 PM
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tsutsuloo
May 24, 2021 at 1:53 PM
I am stealing @Miranda's cicada metaphor for a rainy day.
Delurker
May 23, 2021 at 8:41 AM
"One thing that does confuse me about the translations is the implication that Dong Kyung can break the contract and LIVE, rather than she can break the contract and still die painlessly. "
I think that is based on MM saying on ep. 2 that if she breaks the contract, he'll "remove" the doom from her head and place it on that of the person she loves the most. That's how she'd get to live in place of someone else. So, I am anticipating that MM will have another reason to die, in order to save her.
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zzthorn
May 23, 2021 at 9:15 AM
@Miranda I also am wondering what people are talking about when they say the writing is terrible and nonsensical. The translation I've been reading is clear and easy to understand what's going on in the drama. It's just a story so we aren't expected to know every detail about what has previously happened or will happen in the future. What would be the sense of watching it everything was already spelled out in detail. There would be no room left for use to imagine.
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smurfett820
May 29, 2021 at 7:59 AM
It’s just little things. There was a scene in the hospital with GOD and the Chinese translation made more sense. Maybe because I’m watching the dramacool English translation?
Infeel like the dialogues just aren’t done well or is lost in translation. And the plot movements always seem to be out of the blue. They’re talking and talking and suddenly at the end of the episode she says she needs to love him. Then they talk for two more episodes? and she decides she shouldn’t. Then two more and he’s wanting her to fall in love with him. The scenes themselves where they bicker didn’t seem to set up for these endings so it feels weird.
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lillamy
May 24, 2021 at 1:22 AM
SIGs hair is a mayor scene stealer, in a bad way.
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12 Yoon_Ka
May 22, 2021 at 10:07 PM
" Life once asked death why do people love me but hate you and death said cuz you're a beautiful lie and I'm a painful truth" when
Myeol Mung showed his world is nothing but darkness and death i couldn't help but remember that line i read once. True death is hated but I think if you live your life with no regrets death isn'tto be feared. Dong Kyung wasn't wrong if you can forgive even the most coldest can melt. Plus they most definitely "hate" each other mabey that's why one would jump in front on a knife and the other would make sure the other wouldn't see the danger... lol 😆😆😆😆 although this ep...
I'm not sure who should I slap on the head first mr. Doom or the brother 🤔 both men are just 😖😖😖 with zero knowledge in women.
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13 bomibeans
May 22, 2021 at 11:39 PM
Seeing how many beanies are fawning over this show, I apologize in advance for inflaming the made-up-minds. I’m not overly logical, explain-patiently-why type of person. My thoughts are often my feelings, so take them with (perhaps) a grain of salt.
What a terrible, terrible drama! Inexcusably, what a terribly boring this drama is! My attitude stems partially from betrayal I feel for the caliber of these two actors, whom I adore. Love them to bits and pieces. PBY can do no wrong for me, even by starring in such snoozefests as Abyss and Doom. My expectations were not overly hyped or even high to begin with, but the pretentiousness of the dialogue, nonsensical plot, low dramatic stakes, artificial strain, Moon-Lovers-esque choppy tone and editing, hell, even SIG’s incomprehensible moody-emo-teenage-I-smoke-cigarettes-hence-I’m-adulty-badass styling annoys me to no end with, like, “Really? Show, do you really think our leads deserve it? Really?” Part of my sadness also stems from unfairness to all the good writers who are laboring in darkness over their scripts while this writer (for some reason), gets these two great actors, good PD, and a budget to write something so obviously feels like KES inauthentic ripoff. The injustice! The injustice to me as a viewer, who watches this show with perpetual cringe on her face and a sunken feeling, whispering, “I deserve better.”
PS Thanks to all beanies who explained the plot of the first two episodes to me and the nonsensical “terms of conditions” of the contract. Do I really need to come to recaps to understand what the hell is going on on this show? Do I have to feel stupid and annoyed? Or toothachy bored? I thought, all I have to feel from my dramas is - entertained. Alas. Sigh.
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Hanabi
May 23, 2021 at 12:44 AM
The fact that we both used the word "pretentious" and feel like it is a wannabe KES drama, says a lot. I really thought that I am one of the few people in this world who don't like or understand this drama. I wouldn't like it even if everyone loved it, but it is nice not being alone in my opinions, and our opinions are similar too :)
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 1:01 AM
Lol, all credit goes to @leetennant for pioneering the “KES wannabe” idea. Some beanies agree that the dialogue just doesn’t make sense, but I couldn’t put the finger on the pulse until the Dame put it for me with her quip on episode 3 recap.
I guess that’s why there’s this incomprehensible hype around this writer, because her dialogue SUPPOSE to carry KES-esque feel to them but boy it just sounds like timeless singing. Write in, please learn to sing first before you cover someone else’s song. 🤦♀️ I wasn’t feeling this betrayed even with the worst of the worst of the worst of The King EM than I’m with this writer. At least EM was so bad that it was good, and this drama just makes me disoriented with these nonsensical goings-back-and-forth. PBY, why are you in this drama? Why? 😭😩
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 1:06 AM
*toneless singing
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paroles
May 23, 2021 at 1:00 AM
Actually, I've discussed the plot multiple times with other viewers. My conclusion is that it's failed storytelling if so many people are unable to come to terms with it. I've also seen reviews from almost everywhere and what is pretty must consistent about the good ones is that the gist is "I like this drama and I don't care about the plot". That's all I need to know really.
Plus, I feel this drama is just annoying. Its ridiculousness aside, the very fact that it's pretentious and trying to be smart when it's not gets on people's nerves. I think that's the main reason why the opinions are so contrasting. If you can accept the drama being nonsensical and you like the leads, you can force yourself to rationalise everything. If you can't, then it's game over.
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bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 1:17 AM
My brave soul, thank you for your opinion!
100% you are onto something. The fact the the positive feedback just boils down to “well, plot sucks but the leads are adorable” can carry the show so far, and I’ll be curious to tune it to see the opinions on episode 16 recap — I doubt I’ll stick that far to actually watch it.
This pretentiousness without semblance, Ichabod-Crane-like writing is indeed annoying to no end.
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bil
May 23, 2021 at 7:23 AM
I had this mindset when I watched Oh Master, I don't really care about the plot, but sadly, as much as I love seeing Nana Minhyuk and Lee Min Ki, I dropped the drama. Hopefully I can finish this drama because I love the 5 lead cast (plus Dong Kyung's brother), and SIG and PBY chemistry. Ah their colour tone are beautiful too
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sirena
May 23, 2021 at 5:45 AM
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 5:46 AM
What’s (or who’s) KES?
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FlyingTool
May 23, 2021 at 5:57 AM
Kim Eun-Sook
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Eun-sook
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 8:07 AM
Ah ha - funny enough, she’s hit or miss for me. Other than Descendants, I’ve found a lot of her plots to have gaping holes. Eternal Monarch I dropped entirely, and Goblin was funny but (for me) didn’t have a lot of depth. I frequently find myself saying “but WHY are you doing that?!” to her characters; they frequently choose to take actions that may be beneficial relationship-wise but don’t make sense as a rational adult with their own world.
I find her stories are frequently heavily dependent on a sort of immediate connection between the leads and relationship-based, which is a much slower burn in this drama, so maybe that’s the difference?
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Lilium
May 23, 2021 at 4:04 PM
I'm thankful for your comment because I was feeling a bit lonely on other platforms wondering what the hype was about. And honestly I'm not a picky viewer either. I watch many kinds of genres and enjoy them. I've been wondering what I've been missing because I don't usually miss anything even if I don't like the show.
I don't think the show is terrible or nonsensical, I just don't think there's much to it much less a 16 episode drama. There's very little of it that rings true and the world-building is perfunctory at best. I feel that there are shows out there that do the same sort of thing but better.
For me the chemistry of the leads is really not enough to keep me going.
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aubade
May 25, 2021 at 7:54 AM
bomibeans
You articulated everything I feel about this drama. Thank you! KES inauthentic ripoff, indeed. Not surprising given she was one of her assistant writers.
Dunno why those who like the show can't just discuss it with each other in their comments but feel the need to defensively go under the comments of those who aren't feeling the show to chide them for expressing their confusion and/or contrary opinions about the show.
Interesting how they basically admit the show is lacking but they're only in for the pretty/ML. I personally don't find the male lead's looks attractive or his acting compelling enough to make me stick around for this drivel. If I did, maybe (and that's a BIG maybe) I could sail with them on the shallow cruise this hollow, third-rate drama insists on taking us on.
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aubade
May 25, 2021 at 7:58 AM
And the dismal ratings show that K-viewers aren't feeling the drama either.
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bomibeans
May 25, 2021 at 9:33 AM
Wow. She was an assistant writer to KES? Really?
It's not surprising then...
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14 Hanabi
May 23, 2021 at 12:35 AM
I think my biggest problem with this drama is how the main characters are flip flopping. I tried to understand them, to make sense why in one scene they seem to get closer or at least come to an understanding and the next they are at each others' throats. The drama had so much potential but ended up being pretentious. This was the word that came to my mind after episode 2. Pretentious. Big words in the service of nothing.
Still, only if it could make my heart flutter, I would look past all of the mistakes, but it doesn't. The sad thing is, SIG and PBY do have chemistry. I think the writer wanted this to be the second Goblin so bad. I don't like the main characters because I don't understand them, they are not consistent. They are written according to what the writer wants to accomplish in that certain scene.
Waiting for the love triangle now because I want more Lee Soohyuk in my life. I might ff a lot if the drama continues to be a mess and watch only the second love line's scenes.
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 5:49 AM
What’s inconsistent in the characterization?
(This is kind of fascinating - I’m not sure if I’ve seen another drama where there’s a strong split of one group enjoying the story and another who says the plot literally makes no sense.)
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Hanabi
May 23, 2021 at 9:11 AM
The first two sentences of my comment answer your question. Sometimes they hate each other, sometimes they don't, depends on which side of the bed they woke up.
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 9:33 AM
Is that so unusual? They’re not lovers, they’re not even friends, they’re... business partners on a three month contract. And the contract’s exploitative and they’re strangers. They each have their own lives, and one of them is a demigod and the other a recently-diagnosed terminal cancer patient. It’s not the most stable of connections.
And I actually LIKE that they aren’t romantically drawn to each other and so don’t orient all their behaviors and moods around the other person. It’s interesting to watch them try to reverse-engineer love.
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FlyingTool
May 23, 2021 at 11:39 AM
Between Doom personified, and a doom ridden human, a rough relationship is much more believable to me than any other type. The question really should be whether the trajectory to wherever they end up is believable or not. Of course some of us are more credulous than others.
lillamy
May 24, 2021 at 1:31 AM
I also like their relationship so far. A romantic connection that is not part toxic and bitter and desperate, I don't think that's possible between these two characters. And I'm fine with that, more dramas could bear to push the sugar coated envelope a bit.
Lixie
May 23, 2021 at 9:13 AM
I'm also thinking it's pretty interesting. I thought most beanies would not care about any plot confusion because so many loved Hotel del Luna, Goblin, Dots, many shows with big statements dialogue, angsty couple, fantasy and twists of fate. I think this show is getting too dark for them? The main couple do have chemistry but he is difficult to understand, why would a god act as a sulky human and she's also too aloof, maybe too rational for a regular kdrama FL ?
I like it a lot, though I also think the dialogue is artificial, like every scene is trying to be a very dramatic teaser for the next episode.
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 9:45 AM
I think it might be the fact that neither MM nor DK seem to be in love with the other one, or even romantically interested, which is how most romances queue their series up. Romance isn’t driving this plot yet. Chemistry sure, but the characters aren’t instantly treating each other like potential partners.
It might be easier for people to envision the relationship dynamics by sticking with the “garden” metaphor - MM sees humans as plants and weeds, and one has just declared it’s going to fall in love with him. He doesn’t even have a frame for that concept.
I think he’s bored. And slightly depressed. And lonely. And amusing himself by playing with her, but he’s not normal. She’s offering variety which he finds interesting. As for her, I think we’ve all established (including within the show) that her reaction to a death sentence is unusual. But people react in all sorts of ways to information, and I’m hardly going to ding a female lead for being rational rather than a dithery romance-addled Candy.
It’s possible the style of dialogue is causing confusion, I guess. Because depending on who’s chatting, the pattern and depth of the language used is different. But I thought that was kind of cool, showing how alien MM’s world can be.
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FlyingTool
May 23, 2021 at 11:44 AM
“ he’s bored. And slightly depressed. And lonely “
I think that when Doom says he wants to end everything - humans and gods - AND takes steps to do so, “slightly” is not the right description.
Lixie
May 23, 2021 at 12:26 PM
I don't think he really feels so strange to humans this is just what he says but it doesn't match what he feels, just compare the goddess way of thinking with his sort of simplistic ideas about humans. He hates himself and keeps saying that's it's not possible to be loved by anyone but the single fact he hates what he does makes him very human.
15 Kurama
May 23, 2021 at 1:36 AM
I understand Doom. We don't know how old is he but if he can have feelings, hearing all the the thoughts of people and create death around him must be exhausting. The only way to survive is to build walls and to try to become indifferent, cynical, cold. So it's normal that DK can't change him so fast.
DK has a plan but Doom makes everything to make her fail. So I think it's kinda logical she has a love-hate feelings for him. He's the only one who knows for her illness and how she feels about it. He's the only one she can talk about it. In the same time, he talks about killing her brother...
The dream was so funny. Seeing SGI in school uniform reminded me Reply 1997.
For the love triangle, I wasn't expecting Hyun-Kyu and Joo-Ik knowing each other. This drama always surprises me.
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16 Rose
May 23, 2021 at 1:40 AM
I'm interested in the main couple and Doom's story, I'm pretty sure there is a reason he turned out that way, but what I'm most curious about is how our love-triangle is going to become related to the main story. For me, these areto separate dramas thus far :D
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17 sal
May 23, 2021 at 5:22 AM
The garden scene was stunning and it literally tells she is the light in his darkness, the positive in his negativet, the yin to his yang.
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18 CasualDramaFan
May 23, 2021 at 5:24 AM
I have come to conclusion if I want to enjoy the drama, I need to stop questioning
- plot
- world building
- the real purpose of deity and doom
- characters and their actions, motivation and interactions
- the love triangle and their role in overarching storyline
It’s pretty tall order but show has PBY, SIG and LSH. Should I go for it? Should I shut logical part of my brain and just enjoy all the pretty?
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19 sirena
May 23, 2021 at 5:38 AM
I've been scrolling through Beanie comments and I'm happy that I am not the only one slightly confused about the rules of the contract between our leads.
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Wifsie
May 23, 2021 at 6:19 AM
I too am confused. If Doom wants to die, and if her loving him can make it happen, shouldn’t he be trying to make her fall in love with him? Or is it that Doom upon the world is more important?
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sirena
May 23, 2021 at 7:43 AM
It would seem that Doom seems more concerned with ending the world.
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redfox
May 23, 2021 at 12:49 PM
ending Eurovision Song Contest would kill off most of the planet...
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sirena
May 23, 2021 at 1:27 PM
😂
tsutsuloo
May 24, 2021 at 2:11 PM
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 7:58 AM
Doom upon the world is a guarantee - no world, no crappy job of visiting misfortune upon all of its inhabitants. So as far as MM is concerned, that’s a solid lock.
But the DK plan to fall in love with him doesn’t interfere with that plan, so he’s cautiously entertaining it. He doesn’t think it’s possible for her to fall in love with him, but he’s participating, including the living-together thing and the dream cameos. It’s certainly very WEIRD from his perspective, but think of it like he’s put some money in a savings account with a guarantee of a return (destruction of world) but DK’s offering a lottery ticket on top - low chances of winning, but doesn’t cost him much to participate, so might as well.
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Lixie
May 23, 2021 at 9:21 AM
Yes, he thinks it's impossible but very amusing. Also, he wants it to be possible but that is scary because it would probably change his teenage notion about humans being selfish so he would never really try to make her love him.
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sirena
May 23, 2021 at 10:27 AM
@Miranda What you said makes perfect sense. He doesn't believe that she can/will fall in love with him so he doesn't see the harm in playing along.
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 8:27 AM
Also, I don’t think he completely understands HOW to make her fall in love with him, and largely thinks it’s impossible, so he’s kind of struggling with the whole concept.
I would be like enjoying playing with a cute kitten and then someone suddenly says “the kitten is going to try really hard to fall in love with you, at which point you can quit your terrible job”. Going to take a minute to process that the cat, who you do not consider remotely your equal species-wise, now has to convince ITSELF to love you - you’re not even the subject of the sentence! And what makes cats fall in love? Is it possible for the cat to love another species? And doesn’t the cat realize that you’re a serial killer who causes death wherever you go?
I mean, from his point of view, another species falling in love with him and ignoring he kills all of their fellow creatures must feel like it’s hardly worth trying. He’s half heartedly playing along, but he’s going to need a bit to feel it’s even in the realm of possibility.
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zzthorn
May 23, 2021 at 9:40 AM
To say nothing of the fact that the cat is in the late stages of brain cancer and may cease to have logical thought at any moment.
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 9:57 AM
Ah, that’s an interesting thought. I’ve assumed that MM is exempting her from all negative side effects including mental incapacity. So she could live normally for 3 months then drop dead.
Will have to go back and listen to the Korean in those scenes. But I increasingly think the translators may be missing subtleties.
bomibeans
May 23, 2021 at 11:02 AM
Welcome to "beansplaining" - n. an explanation, provided by beanies, sometimes in far-fetched creative ways, the plot and the dramatic elements of the drama when both the plot and the elements don't make sense to the viewer. 😂
(I'm fiercely hoping to no end that the drama improves with progression. Please, drama gods!)
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Miranda
May 23, 2021 at 12:13 PM
Alternately, it’s just people who think the plot DOES make sense explaining why they think that to those who don’t think it makes sense.
No value judgement or verdict either way, just explaining a POV. (So less that it doesn’t make sense to THE viewer, more that it doesn’t make sense to A viewer.)
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Lixie
May 23, 2021 at 12:37 PM
Beansplaining is great. As long as it doesn't turn into "only smart people can understand the genius behind this", it's pretty good for fan and non fans of anything.
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Yn00na
May 23, 2021 at 10:31 PM
Ah, you make my day. Beansplaining! Gotta add that term into my dictionary.
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sirena
May 24, 2021 at 5:55 AM
@bomibeans "Beansplaining" genius! :)
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20 mmmmm
May 23, 2021 at 6:19 AM
I'm a passerby Beanie wanting to know who the writer is and what work she/he/they have done before this.
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Kurama
May 23, 2021 at 6:39 AM
Im Meari and she wrote the drama The Beauty Inside (the remake of the Korean movie)
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mmmmm
May 23, 2021 at 8:30 AM
I see. The Beauty Inside was boring imo. Hope she does a better job because everything screams expensive here.
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21 finalparadox
May 23, 2021 at 6:51 AM
I really thought Joo-ik and Hyun-kyu were in a relationship together. Bummer.
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redfox
May 23, 2021 at 12:46 PM
me too
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22 Diana Hansen
May 23, 2021 at 8:20 AM
i am glad i am in the minority in this. i love it.
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23 redfox
May 23, 2021 at 9:45 AM
they should do more Howl-ish house hijinks.
the whole drama should only take place in the house with Doom giving her the best 3 months & take her travelling all over the world. Even perhaps space.
and let´s have Lee Soo Hyuks´ character just plainly be a realistwho goes to all rooms looking for a place to plug his ipad. cause I feel he is such a realist that supernatural beings arent supernatural in his presence.
I suppose the beach is a bit like the flower field in Howl.
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Ally
May 23, 2021 at 8:57 PM
I agree--I can't figure out why she's still working for a misogynistic writer. Anywho, I agree she should be traveling the world, but also making out with SIG, uh, I mean Doom.
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24 redfox
May 23, 2021 at 12:51 PM
Doom could just disband BTS thats the absolute doom to a lot of people...
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25 Nal
May 23, 2021 at 2:40 PM
Surprised at the number of people who don't seem to catch on to this drama. I'm loving it so far
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26 chibi8535
May 23, 2021 at 11:58 PM
I'm currently watching this because I don't wish to have major FOMO. The drama-title and premise made it seem more... *fun*? And I got completely bamboozled into watching this thinking it would be such ROFL type comedy (like Doom being a literal walking-talking disaster wherever he goes).. but instead we got an angsty God/Deity story, that just screams Goblin Beta/ Lite Version (2.0).
Infact, this should have just been marketed as a sister-drama to Goblin. The overall vibe of the show could have been different, but the director keeps forcefully steering it to resemble its tvN predecessor.
.....Like the instrumental track that keeps playing when Doom casually strolls the streets like a boss. (are you trying to impersonate Kim Shin?). Or the fields of flowers that they get magically transported to. Or the scene at the beach (a callback to the scene at the pier), or the doors that magically open up into different countries... the shelf full of alcohol at Doom's house (which resembles the shelf full of teacups at the Grim Reaper's)...
It's a very conscious and deliberate stylistic choice. They intentionally made Doom's character seem like a Grim Reaper in the pilot episode, while he wasn't. And it certainly doesn't help they styled SIG like Seungjae. Ugh why??!!!!!
And the female (imposter) God/ girl pretending to be sick is too *'Akito Sohma'* for my taste-- emo and mopey.
Okay, that said, I don't mind the intentional tribute thing that's going on. I however, need to know WHY do the characters just randomly throw out quotes and dialogues which don't fit the scene? Or is consistent to their characters, that they have been written out to be? The dialogues are unnecessarily verbose, and the tragic subs don't help. Four eps in, and I'm (in the minority), having a tough time.
Seems like a total angst-fest in the coming 12 episodes, and LSH's pretty face might be the only source of strength for me to continue soldiering on with this. (also, have you seen Soo Hyuk's thighs? I need to know if there is a fanclub dedicated to them; i could wax poetic, istg!) xD xD
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27 lillamy
May 24, 2021 at 1:41 AM
I think the problem this drama's having is the writer trying to explain all the rules of the game beforehand. Information you can't use just creates confusion, hence this mess. A better pacing would do wonders.
My favorite part of this episode was that bedroom scene and the following pillow talk. The tension and the underlying danger was superbly acted.
And I love Lee Soo-hyuk. He looks like a younger, asian, hotter Alan Rickman. ❤️
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28 Emperor Titus
May 24, 2021 at 7:55 PM
"It felt like he was testing Dong-kyung by being his most awful self, showing her what he’s capable of and daring her to love him anyway."
He is, however, failing this big time. I almost think Dong-kyung is about to kiss him. He also fail to recognize that he actually has compassion to human. He is in fact showing that he is tired of his job, and even though he doesn't think he is showing his fatigue, I guess Dong-kyung realize that (I even think she is loving him by standing before him and the killer, although she may not recognize that either).
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29 Anna
May 24, 2021 at 9:22 PM
I am thinking that the plant represents the goddess' life. So, when it finally sprouts, that's when she dies? She said she doesn't think she is going to make it past 20 in this lifetime, so...
OR when it sprouts, a miracle happens? Like a wish or something? IDK.
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30 Mouche
May 25, 2021 at 3:02 PM
I'm amused to see so many person not loving this beautiful drama.
I love everything about it. The colours, the music.
I'm so happy to (finally) have found a couple with real chemistry.
The dream scene "how to fall in love" made me laught so much.
Maybe it's too meta, but subtility is not really a kdrama-forte..
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31 WaterBottle
May 26, 2021 at 3:29 AM
When Myol-mang was strolling down the street listening to people's thoughts and EVERYBODY was thinking something nasty, I rolled my eyes so hard. I get that you're going for the "Is-humanity-worth-saving" angle, but this...ugh...
Reallistically, at least 20% percent of the people would have just been singing along to whatever earworm was playing in their head, some would have been busy organizing their plans for the day, some would be daydreaming etc.
This was just a mean carricature of mankind.
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ar_arguably romantic
May 26, 2021 at 7:42 AM
He's a cynic and pessimist with selective hearing. From his POV, everyone sucks. As doom, it's naturally that Myeol-mang see and attract people who are at their worst.
But what the drama shows from Dong-kyung's life: people have nuance and there are good people in her life. Her aunt, her friend, her officemates, even her ex-bf's wife who hated her at first but came by the office to stop the asshole from harassing DK at her place of work. Even her brother, selfish as he can be sometimes, loves her.
Dong-kyung's there to show him humanity is complicated.
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