My Demon: Episodes 7-8

123 December 17, 2023December 17, 2023

by alathe

Uh-oh — our demon’s powers are waning at the worst possible moment. It won’t be long before our heroine might have to play her bodyguard’s bodyguard in earnest… but with multiple well-armed threats surrounding them, a malfunctioning taser might not hack it.

EPISODES 7-8

My Demon: Episodes 7-8

The photo booth kiss works its magic, and Do-kyung retreats, unsuspecting. This is lucky, because Gu-won’s literal magic is on fritz. Or, as NOH SUK-NYEO (Cha Chung-hwa), the homeless woman who regularly ambushes our heroes with cryptic advice would have it: “flickering.” Gu-won’s positive he’s identified the problem: his beloved spouse. Uh — not that he’s blaming her! It’s just a nuisance! By which he means, it’s not like he didn’t not not enjoy, uh, what they had to do instead — or something… hey, isn’t that his butler calling?

Yes — cue their worst marital spat yet. Bok-gyu is here to help Gu-won move in… alongside ten lifetimes’ worth of possessions, enough to smother even Do-hee’s frankly palatial apartment. Our heroine doesn’t skip a beat: Gu-won and his fifty-thousand boxes of random bric-a-brac are kicked to the curb. (Though not without a cup of coffee to go. She isn’t heartless.) Fine by Gu-won! Guess he’ll just live in his car forever! Thus, he spends several hours lounging in the car park obsessively googling himself, whilst in no way, shape, or form waiting for Do-hee to call. Upstairs, Do-hee gripes to an imaginary Madam Ju about the trials of married life.

My Demon: Episodes 7-8

They’re not the only ones discontent with their lot. Ga-young has fled rehearsals in a fit of pique, stalking through the city in tears and laddered tights. As she trips and bashes her ankle, we flash back to when she was child. Barefoot in the snow, she hid from her drunk, abusive father. Just as he had her cornered, she was rescued by none other than our resident demon, here to harvest her father’s soul. She had chased after Gu-won, clutching his jacket, begging to go with him — but he’d turned his back. It took her years to find him again.

Suddenly, Ga-young’s puppydog-eyed pouting makes infinitely more sense. When life gives you a backstory to rival Goblin, the last thing you expect is to be anyone’s second lead! Back in the present, an obnoxious drunk begins harassing her. But sure enough, before things get ugly, our demonic bodyguard is back to intervene. The two return to Sunwol, where Ga-young demands assurance that Gu-won’s marriage is fake. Gu-won, who has avoidance down to a fine art, insists that it is.

That night, our demon slinks back home, shame-faced — only to shriek as Do-hee executes a flawlessly-timed jumpscare. Ah, the joys of matrimony! Still, he’s pretty smug that she waited up for him, so he presses his luck. I’d like to charge up, he declares. This is how our heroes end up huddled like supremely flustered sardines in bed, holding hands and refusing to look each other in the eye. I can’t sleep with anyone next to me, Do-hee states. Demons don’t sleep either, Gu-won retorts. Several hours later, both are utterly conked out.

Gu-won wakes first, sneaking glances at a snoozing Do-hee, whilst assuring himself that these feelings are a temporary aberration. As he closes his eyes, Do-hee surfaces, and also takes the opportunity to peek at his face. When both open their eyes at once, there’s enough high-intensity staring that denial is a distant dream — but, alas, the phone blares. It’s Secretary Shin, and there’s a problem. After a viral video made some nasty accusations, the entire internet is accusing Do-hee of murdering Madam Ju.

Suk-min has finally made his counter-move. Do-hee tackles this the only way she knows: head on. She gets Gu-won to teleport her to Suk-min’s shooting range, and tells him he has a funny idea of a wedding gift. With impressive disregard for the rifle in his hand, she asks if he really made a mistake the night he “accidentally” ran someone over. See for yourself, he retorts, leveling the gun right at her. Do-hee glares, turns, and walks away. He fires — but, of course, it goes wide. Let’s go, says Do-hee to Gu-won. We have a war to win.

From here, they corner the reporter who accused Do-hee. After a few demonic threats, he cracks like an egg. But further complications abound. Seok-hoon, always half a step behind, has found a photo from 1977 of Gu-won looking young as ever. There’s only one explanation: Gu-won is a vampire! (Quoth our long-suffering, oft-misidentified hero: “I’m not some damn mosquito.”) Seok-hoon stands his ground: if Gu-won ever harms Do-hee, he’ll harness the full force of his second-lead powers to annoy him to death — by revealing his secret to the world.

He’s not the only one bent on making Gu-won’s life miserable. Team Evil — consisting of our many-faced assassin, the elusive Abraxas, and the leather-gloved, lighter-wielding mastermind — have bugged his office, and stolen his demonic manual. This last part is upsetting for Do-hee, who would have loved a user’s guide to navigate the tribulations of demon ownership! After all, he’s being pretty perplexing. At Ga-young’s latest rehearsal, he retreats into silent brooding; memories of his human life, and an unidentified sword-wielding dancer continue to haunt him.

When he leaves for the final performance, he smiles at Do-hee with unexpected tenderness. But midway through the show, he gets an emergency call. Do-hee has been arrested on suspicion of Madam Ju’s murder. Gu-won bounds out of the theater, only for a stranger to barge straight into him. When he glances down, he sees that there’s a knife embedded in his own chest. And — blood. And, for the first time in centuries, pain. As he slumps to the ground, Do-hee’s name still on his lips, he looks up to see the pasted-on face of our mystery assassin.

An unexpected hero enters the fray: Bok-gyu! The world’s bravest butler shoves the assassin away from Gu-won, with such force that his mask — a bit of a botch-job, and certainly not up to his usual standards — falls away from his face. Knowing too well the extent of Gu-won’s tracking powers, he stumbles away, terrified. With Do-hee cooped up in a holding cell, and Gu-won’s magic out of his reach, nobody has time to give chase. Instead, Gu-won is hustled to the emergency room.

The prognosis is terrible; he’s not expected to survive the night. Gu-won lies prone, wracked by dreams of hellfire. Thankfully, a sympathetic detective is willing to smuggle Do-hee to the hospital for a surreptitious visit. On the way, she’s ambushed by Ga-young, who cries that Do-hee has killed Gu-won. Rushing to his bedside, Do-hee places her wrist in his hand. At first, he remains motionless, and she collapses on his lap in tears. But then, slowly, our hero’s eyes crack open. With characteristic charm, he commands her to move. She’s heavy. But evidently it’s not the hardship he claims, because moments later he’s tugging her into a fervent, awkwardly-lying-down hug.

My Demon: Episodes 7-8

Magic is enough to yank Gu-won back from death’s door, but with his powers sputtering, he’s still injured. Despite being in pain and freshly traumatized from his near-combustion experience, he has fun pestering Bok-gyu into hand-feeding him. He has less fun with his next visitors. The criminal gang he habitually bullies — the Wild Dogs — have decided that if you can’t beat a newspaper-wielding maniac, you may as well join him. They’ve made up their minds: Gu-won is their new leader! They line up, wish him bloody vengeance on all his foes, and make hand-hearts. Gu-won’s first order — not to come within five meters of him — is obeyed to the letter. With measuring tape. And more hand-hearts.

Soon, Do-hee is discharged for lack of evidence — which isn’t surprising, considering her arrest was a ploy by Suk-min. Quickly, she heads hospital-wards. Steadfastly ignoring the adoring rows of gangsters, she finds Gu-won, who immediately hops out of bed to greet her. She fusses over him. He glows. Even Secretary Shin is charmed.

My Demon: Episodes 7-8

Time for some medically-mandated cuddles! Do-hee reasons that if Gu-won’s powers are waning, skin-to-skin contact might help him heal. Gu-won finds this logic very persuasive. And so, after the requisite amount of shifting and complaining, they end up sleeping in each other’s arms. Last week, Do-hee berated herself for being clingy — but it turns out, she didn’t know true clinginess until this morning! Gu-won tugs her back into bed and pleads, eyes a-gleam, for her to take the day off. But when he brushes his hand against her cheek and leans close, Do-hee feels a sudden pang of guilt. She retreats.

Things get uneasier as — in endearing defiance of all medical wisdom — Gu-won follows Do-hee into work… only for both to encounter Ga-young. Still feeling raw after watching the two embrace at the hospital, she throws guilt in quick succession. Do-hee, she accuses of exploiting Gu-won. She used him, weakened him, and almost let him die. Gu-won, she accuses of willful ignorance. Deep down, he knows that he’s gradually becoming more human — because he’s in love with Do-hee. You’re a demon, she says. Act like one.

Both are uncharacteristically silent in the Car of Uncomfortable Truths. That night, Do-hee sneaks out onto the balcony, and thinks of Madam Ju. Should I really, she asks, keep pushing forward? If I give up here, I’d be betraying you. But the Madam Ju of her memories is adamant: don’t lose your new family, she says, because of your dead one. I want you to do what’s best for you — and sometimes, that means doing what’s best for someone you care about. And so, Do-hee calls Seok-hoon. She’s made up her mind. At the board meeting, she announces that she is withdrawing her candidacy for Chairperson.

Weathering Suk-min’s patronizing congratulations, Su-ahn’s suspicion, and Do-kyung’s smirks, she declares that she’ll forfeit the war — and her inheritance, to boot. Later, Gu-won pulls her to the side and demands to know why she’s giving in. Knowing that platitudes won’t cut it, she’s forced to stick the knife in. You can no longer protect me, she says, as coldly as she can muster. You’ve become so weak you can’t even protect yourself. Gu-won’s face collapses as he tries not to cry. He holds on until she leaves, before sinking to his knees in pain — whilst Suk-min and his son watch coldly from the window.

Still, our demon doesn’t stay down for long — not when there’s breath left in his body for yelling! And so, he angrily corners Seok-hoon. All credit to our second lead; he hardly hesitates before slicing through six different layers of miscommunication. Do-hee always blamed herself for her parents’ deaths, he snaps. Now, she’ll blame herself for Madam Ju’s — because of you. You’re the reason she gave up.

Character development is a marvelous thing: our hero has learned the ways of the rom-com. He races to Do-hee’s apartment, finding it empty. But there’s one place he knows she always found solace: the greenhouse. Here, Do-hee sees the fallen flower petals, and breathes an apology to Madam Ju. Gu-won bursts in. Let’s go back, he says. Don’t give up because of me — fight. I want you to do what’s best for you, because that’s what’s best for me.

Do-hee looks up at him. Everyone I’ve ever loved is dead, she says — and you’ll die because of me too. He moves closer. I don’t care, he says. And then, taking her face in his hands, he kisses her. Then, as the sprinklers come on, showering them with water, he kisses her again. Even if my feelings for you make me weak, he thinks, you are the fate that I can’t deny.

Beanies, I am overcome! That kiss was an absolute joy. I love that both our leads have had to work at accepting what they want, and — horror of all horrors for these gorgeous, emotionally repressed losers — voice it to each other. Gu-won comes with two-hundred years and fifty-thousand boxes’ worth of baggage, but once you strip that away, you end up with someone desperate for a purpose and something to protect. His freshly-stabbed expression broke my heart: half wait, is this the human emotion of pain? and half but that’s so unfair! — and wholly believable.

Meanwhile, I love how Do-hee so carefully wears her emotions like armor. When she’s being baited, she’ll fight with an ice-cold glare. When she’s met with rejection, she’ll zip back with a sharp retort. But when you give her tenderness, she’ll be tentatively tender in return. It was lovely watching her prepare to surrender, to go against her every instinct and not fight — all with the same steely resolve she’d show upon going into battle.

But amid all the feels, this drama still regularly cracks me up. The Wild Dogs had me howling. Gu-won having a numbering system for his aliases was beautiful. Above all, the most endearing subplot this week was Do-hee sending Gu-won out with coffee until he learned the true meaning of “shared living space.” This drama still has plenty of heart, and it’s because our characters are so ridiculous that I care about them so deeply.

123

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1 Asha13

December 17, 2023 at 4:06 PM

Seok Hoon coming back to the room he just left and finding Do Hee and Gu Won missing, Gu Won jumping up when he sees Do Hee at the hospital, “should I beat him up?””even I can beat him to a pulp” were all pretty hilarious.
It looks like psoriasis guy is communicating with the psycho grandson. wondering if maybe Seon Hoon is a good guy after all.
I hated hated hated seeing the bad guys win. Hope it turns around soon.

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2 Kafiyah Bello

December 17, 2023 at 4:07 PM

Ga Young is ANNOYING. Thank God he doesn't like her he knew her as a child. That would be creepy. I am honestly sick of inappropriately jealous women, it is incredibly unhealthy. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed episode 8. I laughed so hard at the police officer's random dramatic pause, and then even harder when the other cop called him out. The gangsters were so funny. Guwon has finally succumbed to his feelings. Thank goodness, we get some ROMANCE. I also get Do Hee not wanted to be president, sometimes you are just tired. Go be rich and happy girl.

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3 lapislazulii

December 17, 2023 at 4:21 PM

Another fantastic week, I agree!! I could cry, this show is so perfect in meeting all my expectations that now I’m almost doubling back and being like naHHH it’s too good to be true, don’t get comfortable Lapis. But then hopefully that thinking jinxes the possibility of a bad second half = second half is equally fantastic. There’s maths in there that works I swear. Thoughts because my love cell and ‘irrational fangirl screaming’ cell has over and ‘collating thoughts in rational manner’ cell has been booted out:

- 👏 👏 👏 to writers for introducing the new obstacle with Gu-won getting hurt & also loosing his powers (?). It puts an interesting spin on things, levels playing fields = stakes heightened.
- I’m one episode away from making an unofficial styling & fashion book for this show, fking perfection these outfits are. Not a single one has missed, EVER, not even the pyjamas.
- I also love how believable the love-line development is, we’ve literally seen Gu-won go through all stages of grief trying to get accustomed to his newfound feelings, and then he finally let him self sink into the love that’s been blooming. It’s made his attitude changes, and that last line in particular - which almost sounded like wedding vows - even more poignant and heart fluttering.
- And likewise, watching Do-hee change, make room for someone else in her heart, and put someone ahead of her need for revenge or power, even above Madam Ju, was 💕
- I like that neither came out swinging with the confessions first, it was all these changes in the way they were around each other, and true to their style more showing rather than straight up telling, which really made the payoff at the end so much sweeter.
- Me watching the psycho killer son 👀 watching his dad 👀 watching Gu-won 👀
- The backstory was a nice touch to help audience where Ga-yeong’s loyalty and misplaced ‘love’ for Gu-won began but also in helping us understand why Gu-won has never also seen her as anything more. Bets are on as to which one out of the two - her or Seok-hoon - will pulls some idiotic move in the name of one-sided love. Or maybe they’ll work together.
- My ~~demon~~ dude also had a whole personality transplant in hospital, that or those were some killer pain meds, but either way we got Smitten Puppy Gu-won this week and this is the furthest thing from a complaint.
- The most hilarious bit; Seok-hoon doesn’t even need to try do any investigating, they basically just keep showing him the truth every other scene - like when they disappeared from the office room, when the Secretary was like ‘he needs to be saved first’ while escorting Jin Star out and when Do-hee tried to use the tattoo to save Gu-won in hospital. I mean also aside from leaving his manual out in the open of his free for all foundation, Gu-won keeps a hard copy tracker of all his past ‘versions’ 😭 where are your self preservation instincts my dude?!
- ‘Your crying face up close is so hilarious I can’t even...

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lapislazulii

December 17, 2023 at 4:22 PM

even die’ is going down as one of the most romantic lines ever, future SOs take note.
- I usually side eye the ‘here for comic relief every once in a while’ office worker supporting characters in drama but I actually find them hilarious here - they appear in the right doses and eat up the scene when they do. Same with the mob boss and co - it was non stop laughter from the hospital scene onwards - esp at his face (and the concerned ‘hyungnim?!’ from the guy next to him) after he did the heart hamburger 😂 Secretaries too - 10/10 no notes.
- Minimal on the Evil Chaebol family, thank you production team!

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emsel

December 17, 2023 at 8:11 PM

Gu Won's lack of security can be assumed as his cocky self being too absorbed by the fact that he is an untouchable supernatural being with enormous powers. He never once thougt that his powers might "flicker" and he needs to reconsider living as a human 🙄🙄

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4 Blue (@mayhemf)

December 17, 2023 at 4:26 PM

Wild Dogs for the win!!
If Demon ends up becoming a human, he sure can be a boss for our lovable wild dogs team.

I actually like that there is so much at stake here for the Demon. And Do-Hee gave up the power struggle to protect a person she cared for, such a non drama thing to do. In fact I wouldn't mind if the show ends that arc here and Do-Hee only focusses on finding the murderer of Madam Ju without the others knowing. Because, figuring our their own fate is an important task as his life depends on it.

I don't like how shows add random characters to mouth ominous dialogues and trying to 'scare' us. That street lady better have something to do, because she is just annoying me with her screen time.

I am very suspicious of Sean Hoon Oppa.. I feel he is the one talking to bloody neck guy via the computer. The nephew just seems to be an underling.

Also show, don't pull a heartbeat on us. Pretty please.

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rlg07

December 17, 2023 at 5:53 PM

I think the street lady is God. She wears a hat that says "good" and she Knows Stuff.

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Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain

December 17, 2023 at 7:31 PM

The Go[o]d hat hobo reminds me of Samshin halmeoni in Goblin - another deity disguised as a down-and-out street person. Hobo deity tells GW at the train station that he’s encroached on her territory. She means he’s now trying to do good/protect/be a guardian - to save humans, per his name, instead of sending them to hell. And if he’s a demon, Do-hee is an angel - she’s repeatedly been dressed in white, and she saved him at her own expense in ep. 1; she was even willing to die trying. “I’ll die if I hold on to him.” That’s how she got the cross tattoo transferred from GW, by being willing to lay down her life for another, and I suspect we’ll see some parallel scene in the past for GW’s acquisition of the tattoo.

I’m always super wary of how dramas handle ‘religion stuff,’ regardless of religion or drama subject. Fortunately they are mostly keeping it short and vague in this one so far.

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rlg07

December 18, 2023 at 4:52 AM

Same on being wary about how dramas handle religion. I HATED the way it was presented in Angel's Last Mission, and likewise in The Heavenly Idol. Terrible worldbuilding and incredibly depressing. So far so good on this one, though--it's a bit more like Goblin and less to do with real religions. So hopefully they will keep it short and vague, like you said.

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LaurenSophie

December 18, 2023 at 6:37 AM

If she is God, I want to applaud the fact that she uttered the line: "Why blame fate when it's your own fault?" I'm not a religious person myself, but I appreciate the sentiment there nonetheless. Like, sure, there may be a higher power, but we're still responsible for the choices we make. This fits the show well, too.

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FlourPower

December 21, 2023 at 12:22 AM

I'd like to be a fly on the wall during a writers' workshop sorting out the world-building and mechanics for a K-drama, and how they handle the syncretic mix of atheism, Christianity and Buddhism (both of which have a reasonably large following in SK), plus all the older shamanistic beliefs and mythology that the audience is well aware of (e.g. gumihos, ghosts, mountain gods, spirits, etc).

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Blue (@mayhemf)

December 18, 2023 at 5:55 AM

Lol. I didn’t even draw the connection between good and god 😅
I was too annoyed to be bothered to think.

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empressgirl

December 18, 2023 at 1:30 AM

"In fact I wouldn't mind if the show ends that arc here and Do-Hee only focuses on finding the murderer of Madam Ju without the others knowing. Because, figuring out their own fate is an important task as his life depends on it."

-- That is my exact sentiment too.

Seeing how we are already poised at the half-mark of story arc, I think the whole management rights of Mirae Group power tussle may well be a MacGuffin to advance the plot of the contract marriage. It has served its purpose, and our OTP are now snugly plugged in and charging away. So, just retire that ploy.

The second half of arc needs to shift to:
(i) solve the increasingly dire existential threat that GW faces
(ii) figure out the real killer whilst playing possum
(iii) find a way for OTP to actually be together (this one depends heavily on the treatment of the theological tangle in this story universe)

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Blue (@mayhemf)

December 18, 2023 at 5:57 AM

Chaebols fighting for power is the most annoying thing to watch. In this case she has a company to run and she really doesn’t need to be involved with that family.
And Madame Ju did give her an out in her letter. She can quit if she wants.
I am Pretty sure there is a backstory where the company does legally belong to her parents or some stuff like that. I hope we get to it without too much chaebolism.

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KAddicted

December 19, 2023 at 8:29 AM

Whether it's chaebolism or left and right minister Joseonism, the appearance of either species has me grinding my teeth like a road rage driver in stopped traffic. They are like unwelcome ad breaks, a forced momentum killer, and I have to confess I end up not listening because I want them gone. I've also discovered that much of the time it doesn't even matter if I don't pay attention.

I actually don't mind the current Chairman, and don't see why he should be pushed out in the first place. If he has slowly trained his son into being a dismissive psychopath that thinks himself superior (and has no idea he is being used) then give him extra points for ingenuity. The only thing I'm curious about is Seok hoon's parents, dismissed in the first episode as unrepentant hippies and then barely mentioned. There's got to be more to it than that - and is it even true? What if that video was just them on a holiday and they were prevented from returning? If his father is Nadam Ju's brother, perhaps some of her guilt is in that direction.

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Neolttwigi

December 20, 2023 at 7:07 PM

The current chairman has been shown to be evil though- Its obvious the whole family is scared of him, and that he is the one that has been telling his son what to do.

5 Seon-ha

December 17, 2023 at 4:33 PM

I enjoyed myself this week and laughed a few times, but the humor is giving way to the "deeper themes" part of this drama's run. To which we all collectively say, "UH-OH." And, indeed I spent a good deal of these episodes being reminded of how it is mirroring other dramas that dabble in humor and "deeper meanings."

HeartBeat
From the way Seok-hoon seems to be embodying a poor-man's Do-shik as 2MLs who want to protect the FL from a demon/vampire while still needing to interact politely-ish with that supernatural aggressor, to the way that our 2FLs are majkang-OTT-craziness...I'm getting HeartBeat vibes.

Let's hope that this is where the comparison ends.

Strong Woman Do Bong-soon
The Wild Dogs and their unreasonable devotion to their "Boss" are giving me strong Do Bong-soon "Noonim Gang" vibes. The humor of this situation in SWDBS came not only from the fact that these "strong men" were outrageously emotionally attached to their Noonim, but also because she was so small (and female). We've really only got half of that here--yeah, our demon doesn't want their attention, but it just isn't as funny.

C'mon show! I believe in you. Be your own show!!! You've got unbeatable visuals for literally everyone...don't just rest on those laurels! You were so outrageously funny in the first two weeks.

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narrative addict

December 18, 2023 at 2:01 AM

You've got to love the way the show leans into the Kdrama tropes.
It's a commonplace to equate gangsters with disposable hunting hounds. 'Wild Dogs' is hardly subtle, but wholeheartedly embracing the faithful, not very smart pack vibe undeniably works.

Incidentally, shout out to Jung Soon-Won, who, despite what seems to be permanent typecasting as either a thug or a policeman, gives it his best every time.

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6 Lostpanda is celebrating My Ajusshi 💔

December 17, 2023 at 4:39 PM

@alathe
OMG. The wackiness of My Demon is matched by the wackiness of our dear writer alathe. You have my 🫶🏻

“When life gives you a backstory to rival Goblin, the last thing you expect is to be anyone’s second lead!”

🤣🤣🤣

“Seok-hoon stands his ground: if Gu-won ever harms Do-hee, he’ll harness the full force of his second-lead powers to annoy him to death”

🤣🤣🤣

This recap is channeling true My Demon energy!

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