Another great recap @quirkycase, thank you.

Aside from the fact that this is a show supposedly about love that has no realistic love relationship in it, watching it is like being stuck sober in a room with a bunch of drunk first-year philosophy students.

They may think they're being logical, original and profound but they are most definitely not.

Which is to say, while I'm not going to drop it because I could watch SIG in particular read the phonebook for 16 hours, I am exiting the recap page. The show's writing is not just bad, it's bad in precisely the same way every episode and so I don't feel I have anything constructive to add.

So to those who are enjoying it, enjoy. To everyone else, I'm sure I'll find some incentive to snark on my fan wall. Adieu.

thanks for the recap! i wholeheartedly agree with your insights~

the show has a lot of flaws but it's still a fun watch for me. i'm looking forward to next week's episode because it seems like something big or more dramatic is going to happen? while i've been enjoying the lead's banter and flirting i've been hoping that the plot movessss somewhere!!

also, did anyone else have to rewatch the scene MM asks for DK to sleep together? SIG puppy dog eyes killlled me, i rewatched it a few too many times.

Kiss scene only had 6 cuts and 6 camera angles, and was 56 seconds long for anyone who was wondering. They also actually stayed on two of those angles for the majority of the run time which meant we didn’t have any elbows phasing through lampposts and we could actually see shit for once.

That didn’t stop the ending from making me roll my eyes so hard they landed in Spain, though. They have yet to return.

"If you mess with the system, it means you were programmed incorrectly. Anything incorrect should be deleted ... or it should be reset."

Am I watching a romantic version of Matrix?

The is the first time the Goddess made a move. But by all means, she is pretty cruel. On the other hand, if you are attentive enough, after the word "No" and his lips reaching hers, Myeol-mang sighs, so I guess this "bug" existed for quite a long time, or Dong-kyung may have been in the process of "resetting", or should I said, Myeol-mang should have been reset for many times, so even he kind of resist his attraction towards Dong-kyung, he simply can't stop it?

I always wonder, since Myeol-mang can't help himself from falling in love with Dong-kyung, there must have been a lot of "crashes" between them, and they both went through a lot of "delete" and "reset". So I guess our lovely Goddess shouldn't blame the program which has bugs, but thinking about herself to write a better program--or maybe just let them both fall in love and observe if the world will become chaos.

For Myeol-mang, being disappeared may have been what he longs for, since he hate this life as doom for so long, but our Dong-kyung may need to face a pretty tough life ahead, depends on how many days she has left.

"That brings us to the writing as a whole. In the first couple of weeks, there were a few times I got confused but assumed it was just me being dense. I’d have to watch some conversations multiple times before they made sense or work harder to connect the dots than usual."
This, right here - 100% agree
Your comments are on point

That kiss🔥🔥🔥🔥. My assumption is that he actually fell in love with her, which is why he said she couldn't wish to have him fall in love with her. The reset was random. I am not sure why God wants the reset, but okay. Quirkycase fully explained the bad writing, so I have no further comment on that. The drama is still enjoyable though!!!

Me watching ep. 6 and thinking: "oh, the beanies are going to trash this show now even more"..... this is not good.
Me watching ep. 5 and 6 this week: ok, now I also want to FF some parts...
Me at the end of ep. 6 and after watching the previews: "should I drop it?" "It is such a waste", but really... I am so busy lately... I don't feel I have time for this.
Come on, even the kiss, and I wanted them to kiss, was a little bit meh and anticlimactic.... why, show? Why??
We are talking about SIg here!!! Why is this writer ruining the show for us??

Anyway, thank you @quirkycase, for the recap. You explained my concerns in a better way I would be able to.

Next week, people: if any of them have lost their memories, maybe I will stop watching and only join the recaps because I enjoy the gossip. But it is a waste.... totally a waste! 😟😒😟😓😡😔😖

I agree with the flaws in writing :/ Especially for something fantastical, I feel like the rules of this world should be clearly established but it's pretty vague & hazy. It's like we're already expected to understand how everything works.

But still loving the show~~ Anything with Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk as main leads, I'm already won lol. I'm impatient let's skip to him already head over heels in love with her <3 More more handholding and kisses please!!

I think the most confused character is the deity. She encouraged Doom to explore this relationship and his human side but then she made him disapear. She said she had her own plan. But what is it?

Doom and DK are pretty similar. Both didn't really want to live, they were more on automatic mode with their life/existence. But now, they gave each other a reason to live and the contract complicates everything.

Joo-ik gives good advices. Even if he interested in Ji-Na and uses this opportunity to get closer, he was right about her work. She clearly lives in the past and can't write something new. Now, what was the stupid and noble reason for Hyun-Kyu to break up? Because he still cares about her.

tbh i can follow the story sufficiently. which is weird because if you ask me to explain each episode completely to someone else, i definitely can’t because i just don’t remember all the twists and turns. but fundamentally i feel like i still understand and can appreciate the underlying themes and messages of the show.

while i acknowledge that some of the writing might lack clarity and might be confusing, i don’t necessarily think it’s bad writing (in my personal opinion). for me, at least, i think that’s just the writers style — ambiguous, abstract, open for interpretation. that’s not how a lot of dramas are being written, so it’s definitely something different, but i don’t think it’s bad per se. oddly enough, i enjoy the dialogue and the writing style because it takes time for me to fully understand what they’re talking about, keeping me engaged in the show and wanting to understand the characters more. it’s also unpredictable (ironically enough even though the show employs many tropes). i can see how it is a turn off to others though, because this might disrupt their flow when watching the show, but for me i actually find it quite enjoyable and even though-provoking and memorable.

i mentioned this in another comment too, but the fickleness displayed in the dialogue between the characters and their actions may not be a sign of bad writing, but a portrayal of real life. human emotions and actions are complex, fickle, even irrational at times. and in that regard i do think the show does a good job at illustrating this and does not shy away from it. The push-pull dynamic between DK and MM may seem exaggerated, but at times I feel like it represents relationships in real life as well, where our ego prevents ourselves from acting or saying things that align with how we actually feel, and where sometimes we may even suppress our desires but it threatens to overflow later on.

and on a more superficial note, putting the writing aside, the show still very much entertains me so im going to still keep enjoying watching it

Thank you for the recap! I thought I was the only one who’s confused by Dongkyung’s wish for Myeolmang to love her instead. Even after thinking so much, I couldn’t figure out what was the intention behind that.
Besides wishing for his own death, I think Myeolmang is really starting to like Dongkyung.
Also, what is the deal with the Goddess? I thought she wanted Myeolmang to feel emotions? And now she doesn’t want it because it will make Doom die?
I still don’t understand how the love triangle among Ji Uk, Ji Na and Hyun kyu ties into the show. It could very well be a separate drama.
I wonder how I am enjoying this show even after so many flaws :D

Thank you quirkycase for your wonderful recap. You are the Queen ! Your recaps are so complete and detailed that I get a clear picture of what the characters are saying and feeling. I so appreciate your recaps and comments. I love this drama, the main characters have so much chemistry, I could watch their interplay all day. HOT!

The dialogue in the first scene was particulary weird and I had to mentally translate loads of it.
MM: "Love me."
DK: "What does that sentence mean?" [Translation: Why are you suddenly on board?]
MM: "It means I'm thanking you." [translation: Your niceness has convinced me, that all the world doesn't need to end, so I am allowing you to love me thus making just me die instead of everyone else?]
DK: "But you want to die." [We know, Dong-kyung.]
MM: "I want to save you." [Translation: ??? Maybe, if he dies, there will be no more doom in the world, meaning Dong-kyung can't succumb to the brain cancer, but then no-one can die and that's going to cause huge chaos?] "How can this offer be bad for you?"
DK: "It makes me feel bad. I can't live happily after having caused you to die."
Girl, you won't be living at all. I mean, you will, because this is a romance drama, but you are not supposed to know that yet. What is going on?

"Doom is now on board with out heroin's plan, but she's having second thoughts."
Well, isn't that summing up the drama nicely.

Also, of course he disappeared after they kissed. Breaking up the couple immediatly after they get together is an unfortuante occurence in dramas, where the romance just is the entire plot. They don't have anywhere to go from there, so the couple must be separated. The possibities are endless: One of them gets amnesia and we have to start from scratch, someone changes their mind or gets blackmailed, someone has to take up an important task and leaves, the noble idiocy kicks in...etc.

goddess gives Dong-kyung a marble she got out of a toy machine as a present

Oh dear. Is it one of those marbles? Don't swallow it!

Instead of "God is dead" show gives us "God is dying" ? Is this going to have any real plot importance or is it just the writer tossing in another reference to something?

Okay, after leaving to snarky comments about the writing, I'll finish by saying something nice: The concept itself (woman fed up with her misfortune dooms the world to die with her, but is soon having seconds thoughts) is interesting.
Imagine Dong-kyung being given Myeol-mangs ark: She's disillusioned with the world to the point, where she doesn't mind taking everyone with her, when she dies. But then, after having made the contract and being now free from her previous worries, starts to see the beauty and wonders of humanity. Suddenly she feels bad, panicks and works hard to change/escape the contract.
You's have to reshape Myeol-mang into something closer to the godesses personality, have to contract come into it differently and most importantly, you couldn't have the "bitter guy gets reformed by the sweetness and self-sacrificing love of a woman" trope, but I would have liked that better.

I'm in the minority here because I'm not bothered by the writing. I don't find it hard to follow the plot and I don't think the lack of clarity is necessarily bad writing, but could be done on porpose. The stuff with the Goddess and her intentions is meant to be left in the air, so we can wonder: is she friend or foe? Same for Myeol-mang, I think we are meant to be second guessing him and where he is coming from with his attitude. We as the audience are not privy to his thoughts most of the time, instead we are seeing this world more from Dong-Kyung's shoes. We'll probably see more about him as a character and background as we go along. And like she said in a previous episode she still doesn't know if he came to her as a blessing or a curse. For me with this show things from previous episodes become clear in hindsight as we move along in the story.

After that kiss, I simply stopped thinking about theories and logic. If that's how they gonna kiss in upcoming episodes, who cares about plot?

The world building is done so halfheartedly; I actually laughed when Myeolmang said that he could no longer hear Dongkyung’s thoughts « because of the contract ». Is this Twilight? Ain’t this contract oh just so convenient? I wonder what else it does lol

Anyways, like many Beanies, I have issues with the writing and overall execution of the story. Yet, I’m still foolishly hoping it gets better. Sometimes I wish Beanies could take over the writing of the drama. Their theories and predictions are most ofter far better developed and far more interesting than what we are actually given in the drama.

I don't get that kiss. I mean, thank you show, but there have so many other venues and happenings where I think there would have been a better fit. For me, it fell pretty flat. Steamily flat, let's not be shy about that. But what were the feelings meant to be conveyed?

Also, I wonder if the stylist reads our discussions on SIGs hair color, 'cause it definitely changed for the better as of that hospital scene. (Praise the Gods!) I'm still pondering the color, but I'm not as disturbed by it.

Loving the discussions in these recaps, keep it up and go wild! Some shows are food for thought, some are good for the heart and some are just like Michael Bay movies; truly enjoyable but leave your brain in the backseat. Let's just have fun with it, no matter which category you all think this falls under.

Awesome recap @quirkycase, my thoughts after each episode take days to condense and mostly wind up like so: OK! Cool. SIG. 😍

Oh God!!! Why is she doing this ??? Come on lady!!!! I don't think whatever the goddess tries will work out. I think the two are soulmates... MM gave DK a RED STRING BRACELET as far as I know red string = soulmates so I don't think the goddess can do much. But overall I'm seriously in love with this drama so far for me this is SIG's best drama !!!! God !!! 🤩🤩🤩

It is getting a bit hard for me to continue with the show, yet I keep coming back to it just to watch the dynamic between the 2 main characters, and that is mostly because of SIG and PBY's strong on-screen chemistry and acting. (Though I have to say, the kissing scene left me feeling empty).
I am enjoying the show in certain parts but at the same time it feels like something is missing and that is stopping me from getting fully immersed in it. As for the love triangle between the 3 supporting characters, I am not invested in it much since its not connected to the main storyline.
Hope the show gets better.

I like this show but I confess I was confused this episode.

Why did DK deem MM worthy of being saved and not the target of the contract anymore? She's not even sure the contract would kill him or affect him in anyway and it IS her brother's life on the line so she could never be so careless about this. The whole "find a despicable guy to love" plot was very amusing but it also felt flat because the stakes were too high for her to act like that.

I don't know what would change if her wish for him to love her came true but at least this was probably something left to be explained next episode.

The goddess changed her personality completely? I mean, I'm fine with her being mysterious but she also seemed kind, compassionate and all-knowing. This ep she started talking about Matrix stuff and seemed manipulative and menacing, like a completely different deity.

The three second leads seem to be on a different show and they add nothing to the plot, only a distraction that is starting to become weird because it's not even the same mood as the main story.

I don't know why people seem to think the goddess took him on that cliffhanger. He took a few steps back and disappeared, he did that by his own many times before and it matched his feelings at that moment.

Ooh yes. What you said! And as I’m reading I realized the dialogue is giving me the exact same feel as the recent PBG drama. So much talking and yet you’re not sure of their point of what drives someone to say what they said, and then flip around next episode or two.

Confused, but enthralled! I like that all the characters seem to be interesting to watch. We're not wasting any screentime on villains plotting or second leads pining over one of the first leads or scheming against them. I look forward to DK's convos with Joo-ik. She is all over the place, and he's so matter-of-fact. There are just a lot of great scenes even if their relevance and role in the bigger picture is questionable.

I think what feel like confused writing is intentional consider the suddenly news DK got about her health make her off balanced, as she trying to take some control over her life. I personally think it show how confusing a life changing news is and drama show how not straightforward human reaction is to life, death and romance.

Thanks for the recap!

I marathoned this show, kind of expecting to possibly drop it because of the reports of pretiousness, comparison to KES, Goblin, etc., but I am finding it surprisingly more engaging, although, yes, spotty. It’s quirky and weird and the premise, oddly enough, though convoluted, is fun for me because it reminds me of a devil-at-the-crossroads type deal or the myth of Hades/Persephone. So, perhaps, right out the gate, the Goblin rip-off allegations probably rubbed me the wrong way when I found this setup infinitely more refreshing.

I actually thought eps 3-5 were especially enjoyable and I enjoyed the characterizations and progressions more than most here. I want to get to get into why, but, really, Miranda and the few other commenters who have interpreted it the same way as me have already put it perfectly. I would only add that the dynamicness of Dong-kyung’s responses have followed a very consistant pattern for me. I know many find Dong-kyung inconsistant, but I agree with those who think she’s been acting upon the same set of values and that she actually balances herself well between looking out for herself when necessary and showing compassion to others when situation calls for it. Myeol-mang reminds me a bit of the Monkey King x Healer, at times, which is a weird combo, but I’m loving it when the show is at its best.

One of my misgivings with this show is that it’s set up so that she can take her life right before the terms of the contract need to be fulfilled. But, as the drama addressed in the first episode, dying to save the world is admirable, but actually killing yourself is a lot easier said than done when actually faced with the reality. So it makes sense to me that Dong-kyung would first try to find a loophole in loving MM, the manipulative, antagonistic figure both threatening her life AND offering her a way out, if she can only find a way to use that penalty to her advantage. It’s resulted in an odd mix of flirtation, power-plays, and true moments of vulnerability, which I honestly enjoyed immensely.

Just wanted to point out that if you are watching this show on Viki and you are finding the dialogues a bit confusing... you may want to change your source. With different subtitles many dialogues made a lot more sense to me :)

I'm loving the show. I'm absolutely addicted to it! I agree that some things are kept a bit vague but I don't find it annoying. I love the fact that there is no easy solution, no easy choice... and that the characters are just confused. That is simply life.

Thank you @quirkycase for your recap! I honestly enjoy the metaphors and symbols of this drama because it allows me to exercise my brain and search for some philosophical meaning of it lol. Kidding aside, I agree on what you said that, "The logical progression is off, and I often feel like we’re missing a connecting step that would get us from Point A to Point B. I don’t mind when a story leaves room for interpretation, but you shouldn’t have to fill in the gaps to figure out what’s happening and why."

Which sometimes, as I watched the previous eps, I sometimes get confused so I need to replay again and again with the visual metaphors plus the dialogues of the characters. Though I still enjoy this drama because I'm a sucker for SIG plus my love for MM and DK's crumbs reallyy gives me butterflies haha!

Despite that I'm sometimes confused with some scenes in this drama, I still find it enjoyable to watch compare to Goblin (in my personal opinion) because idk there's something about this drama that I think for me is refreshing. Also, I love the casts, the heartfelt lines or scenes, cinematography and the OST's.

But now that the ep 7 & 8 is release, I'm looking forward to your honest thoughts about it.