Kim Nam Gil is doing it for me again, lol. I like it. Mi Ho's reactions were appropriate and made sense. She didn't do anything spectacularly dumb, except for when she ran into the woods. Cha Eun Woo is fine, I expected him to be truly terrible based on what my fellow beanies were saying, but he really wasn't.

Kim Nam Gil is stealing the show in the first 2 episodes as is the accompanying soundtrack. I agree with the weecapper that the blend of humor, campiness and horror serves up an interesting and unusual mix.

I was very much looking forward to this show based on the excellent trailers. But I think we’re seeing something different than the trailers led us to believe. Its certainly not a straight-up good guys v monsters. I’m also suspecting Cha Eun Woo is playing more of a support v main role if the first 2 episodes are any indication. I’m slightly bummed it’s not an all-out drama, but as long as the humor and sense of campiness work within the storyline, it should be a watchable series. Kinda like Ghostbusters with a vengeance.

I have one early bugaboo. Lee Da -Hee and the constant sweeping back of her hair/bangs with her hands. It feels like she does it at least 10x each episode. If you’ve got bangs and they repeatedly fall in your face, it’s very disconcerting (for me at least) to see an actress/actor repeatedly sweep them back. And 5 minutes later, do it yet again. LOL. I swear if you notice it once you’ll never be able to unsee her doing it. It becomes distracting to the point of annoyance. Pin your hair back, woman! Show that beautiful face without it hiding beneath floppy bangs.

I just commented on @solstices essay “Guilty as Charged” that I’ve had to avoid the dark shows because they’re too depressing for me but … I think this combination of humor and outrageousness may be my ticket back! It sounds very appealing, thanks @solstices! Plus the added appeal of Lee Da Hae in rich-girl wardrobe (no cold shoulder sweaters!) and of course, Kim Nam Gil 🥰

So much fun! This is even more absurd and far-fetched than the promos suggested - in all the right ways. Kim Nam-gil and Lee Da-hee are exercising just enough restraint to not cross over into caricature. My only mild criticism is that a couple of the fights went on a little too long, but that gives KNG all the more time to display his world-weary badassery. I may wait a couple of weeks to continue, though, because this looks like it could help fill the Alchemy-shaped hole I expect to open up in my world after next week.

My wife and I were laughing throughout. It strikes me that with Kim Nam Gil, Lee Da Hee, and Cha Eun Woo, lust demons will be stirring among viewers as well.

I looked forward SO MUCH to this one because Kim Nam Gil fighting monsters in a dark fantasy sounded like a dream come true on paper and trailers were actually pretty good... And then the actual opening episodes left me rather underwhelmed. Good things: acting, soundtrack, CGI (not expecting a Hollywood blockbuster level of quality really helps to appreciate what we get in kdramas more), demons makeup, horror, some humor (mostly provided by Ban/Van and Father Hallyu), certain action scenes. But the story and the way it was told is all over place: exposition flashbacks were too short and lacked details and depth to fully make me invested while a lot of screentime was wasted on useless things - like airport security officer fanboying over FL, her school job hijinks despise the fact that we'll probably never see her actually working there or her running and screaming while filming a shampoo commercial while at it again and again until it started looking silly... Directing (or editing?) also could've been way better - you do not need this many scene cuts, extra zoom-ins and Dramatic Slow-Mo™ for action scenes when you have a lead actor who can make them look super cool just with his skills alone. Half of the time I was internally yelling "Fix the camera work so I can see the stunts properly!" at my screen. Was the budget drastically cut at the last minute or something? Why is drama not utilizing fully its insanely gorgeous visual potential in form of cast and Jeju scenery? Who provides ML with an endless supply of perfectly fitting suits when he seemingly has no money? So many questions... Hope for more answers and less food for criticism next week.

Arghĥhh, I shouldn't click on this website again 🤭. There goes my curiosity about this drama 🙈.
Still half way in watching KNG (Through the Darkness), and I was hoping it will drop whole series in one-go for part 1.

I sooo want to watch this! But for reasons unknown it's not available on Prime in Germany, and VPN won't work. 😭 I read somewhere that it was supposed to be a worldwide release. Obviously we just fell from the face of the earth...🤔

I thought this series sounded familiar when it was announced. turns out I've read the manga when I was younger. i don't remember much so I went back to reread bits of it last week and wow it's so dated 😂 but in an amusing way. I'll just say the biggest difference is Cha Eunwoo being way too cool to play Yohan LOL

I loved this episode. Kim NamGil was perfect Van, Dahee was perfect Miho and Cha Eunwoo was perfect Priest Yohan. I loved Van action and dahee car chasing scene but my fav was definitely that exorcism scene and Eunwoo's italian and latin. The pronunciation was so good. Can't wait for the next episode. All 3 were awesome.

I totally agree with your takes, and thanks for the weecap @solstices!

I had a blast watching these episodes. At one point my partner looked over and said, "Are you watching Bulgasal again?" because of the fiery/blackened hands demon visuals, but despite some aesthetic similarities, this drama has a totally different feel to it. I laughed a lot while watching and it took me a couple of scenes to realize that I wasn't just laughing from delight at the cool action choreography of Kim Nam-gil, but also because it was legitimately funny! It's a welcome tone for what could have been a really dark and heavy story.

I like the lore too (but I always like lore). The origins of the demon slayers reminded me of The Witcher, and the dynamic between them and Mi-ho made me think of the one between Link and Zelda. I'm excited for more of it and more of the backstory of our leads, and thrilled that their relationship is off to a hilarious start. As usual, Kim Nam-gil's facial expressions are a major highlight, and I think my favorite was when the demon ruined his suit!

I'm liking it as well. Just a bit worried about how AmazonPrime will handle the seasons. Thanks for recapping.

It if has KNG and LDH I have to watch, I have no other choice. And I had so much fun while watching these two first episodes. The balance between the action and the humour was perfect. Waiting to see more.

I have mentioned it before, but I was surprised by EunWoo's Italian pronunciation. I went back to check. I think it's pretty good. I can't say anything more about him right now, but I can say something about his character: did they have to make him Catholic? Really? I know it's a drama, but please invent some ancient cult or something... a Catholic Priest with earrings? Talking about a woman who would save the world that will be reborn? That is blaspehmy!!! 😂😂😂😂😂

I always find fascinating how fascinated are other cults about Catholicism...

I swear Kim nam gil is one of those actors i cant bear to watch because of how charismatic and sexy he is ❤️ Those gazes are just damn deadly. I really like him and lee da hee as a pairing and find their dynamic hilarious. How could i not love a spoiled chaebol heiress and tsundere male lead! (Crash landing im looking at you)

I expected the tone to be a lot darker and the directing to be less campier, based on the trailer, but the guitar riffs during the fight scenes made me snort a little. Nevertheless its still entertaining to watch.

I think this may be the role of cha eun woo’s that i like since hit the top. He’s finally smiling and showing some expressions and i cant deny he looks good in that priest robe.

All in all it was a pretty solid premiere and I’m looking forward to the development between Mi Ho and Van since im a sucker for them already.

Reading the recap, I'm surprised that there were a lot of funny scenes which I either did not notice or did notice and was unamused. I think it is my cue that this drama is not for me. Also, it kind of reminded me of "Bulgasal" with the flashbacks. On the bright side, I was impressed with Cha Eun Woo's scenes because I had dropped every single drama of his as a lead.

For these 2 episodes, I was feeling like each character was filming a different genre : comedy for LDH, dark fantasy for KNG and shonei manga for CEW. It was kinda weird.

For the acting, KNG was great, not sure for LDH and CEW yet. CEW is really handsome but he doesn't have this flirty/cool vibe his character was trying to sell.

haven't watched this yet as I'm still waiting for the first 6 eps to be out so I can binge at once. just wanted to say congrats to Kim Nam Gil for his 2nd daesang!!!

I didn't know how much campiness would be in this drama! Omg....
I got into it after fully accepting this. The extra fancy fight scenes lol.

The show briefly touched on the background info before zipping through the heroine's situation. It was a little too fast, but meh, that's typical with this genre. I wonder if her chaebol-ness and issue with her aunt will have a bigger part in the story or if it was just a minor device in catapulting her to the island.

I like the humor we got so far. The contract scene between Mi Ho and Ban was funny. Kim Nam GIl & Lee Da Hee are a great match.

I've only seen Cha Eun Woo in a few roles, but he's so much more lively here as one of the commenters have mentioned.

I'm calling it. The other demon slayer child who survived is the mysterious guy who is releasing all the evilness now.

Just watched the first two episodes and they were so much fun! Dark and campy in the best ways, and I'm liking the characters so far. Someone else mentioned Bulgasal (which I also just started!), but our trio is giving me slight The Guest flashbacks. But with way more humor, and I'm here for it.

Also suspecting the other boy is the one going around destroying the statues... In all their scenes, I kept thinking - couldn't they at least have given the poor kids some clean clothes? Beds to sleep in? Like if you're going to create these super powerful beings, maybe don't give them every reason to resent you... I wouldn't be at all surprised if one went villain.

As for the setting - Jeju Island with it's wild coastline and spooky forests and that weird fortress-y cliffside mansion? Love it!

the entire time i was watching this i only had one thought:

"...how did they chain up that large ass monster?"

anyways what in the stranger things/Demon Slayer was that?

I was lowkey highkey excited when they announced this cuz kim nam gil omg i love him. I did have PTSD from eun-woo's previous dramas but so far he's doing alright here, Im looking forward to seeing more of his character as the show progresses!

i LOVED how fast they progressed the story like it was really entertaining and poor girl the SECOND she touched down she was not given a break AT ALL (but the second she went off alone on the dark road was her literally asking to get killed)

gosh Im really praying the drama carries on well and doesn't take any sudden downward spiral id be so disappointed

@solstices - Will the recaps continue? (I hope so!) The show isn't listed in the "Currently Airing" sidebar but I think the next episodes are due to drop this Friday, January 6.