Doom at Your Service Review
Doom at Your Service Episode Review
Doom at Your Service is a 2021 kdrama about a non-human entity that handles the end of human life. He’s like the doom button when people die. He can hear human thoughts. A woman learns she has a potentially fatal brain tumor. Shocked and upset she wishes doom upon the world. The entity hears her. The next day he approaches her and freezes everything the moment before she is run over a trunk. He offers her a deal. He’ll eliminate her pain of the fatal disease with a daily charge of his hand. He’ll give her one wish. She must make a wish for doom, if she doesn’t, the person she loves the most will die. The desire to live has her agreeing to the contract. But buyer’s remorse sets in. She wants out of the deal. The answer is no, she cannot break the contract. The contract terms are set – she must wish doom for the world or someone she loves dies. Surprising both the entity and the woman, their relationship evolves from adversarial to personal. Does this give the opportunity to change fate? If not, will she wish doom on the world? If she can’t, will the person she loves the most die?
What I liked.
Leading lady, Tak Dong Kyung (Park Bo Young) was given a death sentence but she refused to stop living. She hoped there was a way she could escape the contract and live. Easier said than done. Park Bo Young made her character one you rooted for to beat the odds and find a way out.
Leading man, Doom (Seo In Guk) had a bleak existence until she came into his life. He was drawn to her, a human, and had to get to know her. He couldn’t let her alone. As their relationship evolved, he did too. Seo In Guk made me want his character to become more and this couple to beat the odds. He is imminently watchable and a talented actor.
Appealing couple. Doom and Dong Kyung didn’t start out in a romantic lane, but they shifted into romance as the series progressed. There were looks of longing, hugs, kisses, all with the pull that took their relationship deeper and with more feeling than either expected. The chemistry between Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young was solid. Their performances made me hope this couple could find their happily ever after.
Secondary love triangle. Two men and one woman were locked in a long-standing deadlock. Breaking the deadlock was an interesting journey. The writer allowed each member of the triangle to find their path. The actors (Lee Soo Hyuk, Shin Do Hyun, and Kang Tae Oh) made it work.
What I didn’t like.
Pacing and complexity. Writer Im Meari penned the episodes with a slower pace with set parameters that had our couple hoping to find an escape, but fate loomed large. This story was good not great. The actors’ talented performances were better than the story. On the positive side, Writer Im penned characters you grew to like, non-human entities that weren’t mercurial or petulant, and a solid ending which this viewer appreciated.
Did the OST hit the mark?
The seven vocal songs of the OST were strong with talented artists like Ailee, Gummy, and Byun Baek Hyun. With a history of lending his vocal abilities to OSTs, leading man Seo In Guk sang the seventh track. The album:
Would I recommend Doom at Your Service?
While this series wasn’t complex, the characters and the actors who brought them to life, made it worth watching. If you regularly watch series starring either lead actor Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young (and you should), you’ll enjoy this series. Seo In Guk is a terrific actor and made Doom a character whose evolution made you root for him to achieve his wish to be with the woman he loved. Park Bo Young had the easier and harder lift with a character that was classic kdrama heroine nice (easier) but had to make her struggle and evolving relationship with Doom engaging (harder). The secondary love triangle had characters that acted like adults. It took them a while to reach honesty, but they got there.
Bottom line: if you enjoy quiet dramas that lure you in more and more as the series progress, this one can work for you. The actors raised the story with their performances, chemistry, and conjured a couple to root for. I ended the series with a smile on my face.
Share this:
Like this:
Like
Loading…
