moni_j_i
Doom At Your Service...Has Served
UPDATE!
*
Where to begin. I’m honestly not sure, so I’ll just write as it comes to me. Reminder, this updated review is based on my own personal enjoyment. It is in no way, shape, or form something professional or meant to convince others to watch because “it’s the best”. No. This is solely based on my enjoyment rate.
"Doom At Your Service" has been a roller coaster of a ride in the best possible way for me. I have been highly anticipating it since the release date was presented, and my Mondays and Tuesdays became much more enjoyable as I watched the latest episode for that day. The waiting was killer but so worth it, in my humblest opinion. This show certainly served in the best possible way! I understand DAYS is not everyone’s cup of tea (as seen from the amount of “dropped” reviews and negative comments here), but I personally found this to be one of my absolute favorite Kdramas, and below are my reasons why.
To begin, this show is thought provoking to say the least. It most certainly isn’t like any other drama I’ve seen before (and I’ve seen a lot). I believe you need to have an open mind when watching this show because it gives you food for thought. The phrases spoken, the actions of our characters, even a subtle look or tilt of their heads indicates their hidden thoughts and feelings. While the story set-up (human and non-human) is nothing new in Kdrama land (e.g. Goblin, Tale of the Nine Tail, Hotel Del Luna, etc.), DAYS has its own unique spin to it that, to me, stands out from the other ones.
The overall concept, story building, character introduction, break down, and especially development; the dialogue and inner thought processes of our characters…all of it was fresh and exciting. Let me add that the word plays, the acting, the music, and the cinematography were all so spectacular, I was left breathless on many occasions! The buildup and the reasonings for situations that at first seemed like there was no logic… it was all *chef’s kiss* to me!
Sometimes, you’ll find that the characters talk in roundabout ways where you might feel confused or frustrated because you don’t understand what is going on. I’ve been there, but it was so good because it forced me to take everything into account – what built up to that moment, what the characters went through to get there, how their dialogue played into the bigger picture. Sure, this might be something you’d pass for one reason or another, and that’s totally fine! But for me, the more the story developed and the further I got, the more it made sense. I started to see the reason behind certain things and characters. Each new revelation incited a new theory of how the story would progress or conclude.
I also want to add that in a lot of dramas, we almost always have a villain to push the story along. But in DAYS? There isn’t. The villain, if I were to pick, is the “fate” which befalls our characters and how it affects them individually as well as a group. But even so, it makes sense and just shows how realistic specific circumstances can be despite the fantasy element we have going on.
I’ll also address the comments that mention DAYS is slow because 1) they’re right…to a certain extent.
There are plenty of moments in the drama where the scenes or situations tend to drag, and you wonder “When will it pick up again?”. However, I would like to debate that by readdressing my comment of DAYS not having a villain. In a lot of dramas, the plot moves fast because of said villain to push it along. But this drama focuses on life – humans’ fate and destinies, how certain people are in your life for a reason, how living life to fullest is something we should be doing since death is coming for us one way or another. There is a quote spoken by our FL that goes like this: “You don’t need time. You need courage”. That stood out to me because our time here is limited and short. We really don’t know when it’ll end for us and we haven’t done the things we probably dreamed of doing “because we have time”. So, to me, this drama is literally about living and love and how the concept of death may not be as scary as we think. I’m not sure how else to put it.
Now I won’t say it was a perfect show. There were plenty of moments where I literally scratched my head or had a “wtf” look going on because of a cliché troupe that was incorporated that probably could’ve been left out, or when the characters made a decision that was obviously flawed and would have a drawback. There were also repetitive scenes that were included (e.g. the “push and pull” troupe between our leads) or slight plot holes that could have been better explained. I also have certain questions I wish were answered (e.g. Doom’s and deity’s background). I would’ve loved to learn more about them considering their role in the story. But alas, this was but a 16 episode show. A comment I’ve read said DAYS probably would have been better off as a book, and I wholeheartedly agree as 16 episodes is just too short for this type of story building. Hence the lower rating on the "story" section from what I had originally.
However, to kind of counterattack my above paragraph, I feel like the screenwriter did a good job tying these things up in the end. If you think about it, our characters are mainly human. As humans, we do things we think are right in the moment only to later realize how stupid it really was. That the solution was much simpler than we thought. We are constantly growing, maturing, learning, and experiencing new things. With mistakes come wisdom. Because of this, I think the screenwriter, directors, cast, and every other person involved in making this drama did a phenomenal job. It most certainly made my Mondays and Tuesdays, and I’m quite sad that is now over. I believe this ending was fitting. I personally liked it more than Goblin's ending, and I definitely plan on rewatching this drama because it has touched my heart in many different ways. It has become a close favorite of mine.
So, with these words in mind, I would suggest trying out the first few episodes to see how you like it (if you’re on the fence). I’ll reiterate that this show isn’t for everyone, but I can certainly say it’s a beautiful work of art in practically every aspect. The deeper you go, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more you feel; the more you feel, the more special it gets. These are my final thoughts.
Enjoy!
PS: I want to take this moment and just give a special round-of-applause to the actors and actresses who brought their characters to life. It really enhanced the quality of the drama and the story being unraveled. However, I think the star of this show was Seo In Guk with his astronomical performance as Doom. I really don’t think anyone else could have pulled off this character the way he did. Playing a complex supernatural being, SIG really captured Doom’s essence and brought this character to life. The number of times I’ve swooned, squeezed my pillow, screamed, and nearly cried because of him was ridiculous.
*
Where to begin. I’m honestly not sure, so I’ll just write as it comes to me. Reminder, this updated review is based on my own personal enjoyment. It is in no way, shape, or form something professional or meant to convince others to watch because “it’s the best”. No. This is solely based on my enjoyment rate.
"Doom At Your Service" has been a roller coaster of a ride in the best possible way for me. I have been highly anticipating it since the release date was presented, and my Mondays and Tuesdays became much more enjoyable as I watched the latest episode for that day. The waiting was killer but so worth it, in my humblest opinion. This show certainly served in the best possible way! I understand DAYS is not everyone’s cup of tea (as seen from the amount of “dropped” reviews and negative comments here), but I personally found this to be one of my absolute favorite Kdramas, and below are my reasons why.
To begin, this show is thought provoking to say the least. It most certainly isn’t like any other drama I’ve seen before (and I’ve seen a lot). I believe you need to have an open mind when watching this show because it gives you food for thought. The phrases spoken, the actions of our characters, even a subtle look or tilt of their heads indicates their hidden thoughts and feelings. While the story set-up (human and non-human) is nothing new in Kdrama land (e.g. Goblin, Tale of the Nine Tail, Hotel Del Luna, etc.), DAYS has its own unique spin to it that, to me, stands out from the other ones.
The overall concept, story building, character introduction, break down, and especially development; the dialogue and inner thought processes of our characters…all of it was fresh and exciting. Let me add that the word plays, the acting, the music, and the cinematography were all so spectacular, I was left breathless on many occasions! The buildup and the reasonings for situations that at first seemed like there was no logic… it was all *chef’s kiss* to me!
Sometimes, you’ll find that the characters talk in roundabout ways where you might feel confused or frustrated because you don’t understand what is going on. I’ve been there, but it was so good because it forced me to take everything into account – what built up to that moment, what the characters went through to get there, how their dialogue played into the bigger picture. Sure, this might be something you’d pass for one reason or another, and that’s totally fine! But for me, the more the story developed and the further I got, the more it made sense. I started to see the reason behind certain things and characters. Each new revelation incited a new theory of how the story would progress or conclude.
I also want to add that in a lot of dramas, we almost always have a villain to push the story along. But in DAYS? There isn’t. The villain, if I were to pick, is the “fate” which befalls our characters and how it affects them individually as well as a group. But even so, it makes sense and just shows how realistic specific circumstances can be despite the fantasy element we have going on.
I’ll also address the comments that mention DAYS is slow because 1) they’re right…to a certain extent.
There are plenty of moments in the drama where the scenes or situations tend to drag, and you wonder “When will it pick up again?”. However, I would like to debate that by readdressing my comment of DAYS not having a villain. In a lot of dramas, the plot moves fast because of said villain to push it along. But this drama focuses on life – humans’ fate and destinies, how certain people are in your life for a reason, how living life to fullest is something we should be doing since death is coming for us one way or another. There is a quote spoken by our FL that goes like this: “You don’t need time. You need courage”. That stood out to me because our time here is limited and short. We really don’t know when it’ll end for us and we haven’t done the things we probably dreamed of doing “because we have time”. So, to me, this drama is literally about living and love and how the concept of death may not be as scary as we think. I’m not sure how else to put it.
Now I won’t say it was a perfect show. There were plenty of moments where I literally scratched my head or had a “wtf” look going on because of a cliché troupe that was incorporated that probably could’ve been left out, or when the characters made a decision that was obviously flawed and would have a drawback. There were also repetitive scenes that were included (e.g. the “push and pull” troupe between our leads) or slight plot holes that could have been better explained. I also have certain questions I wish were answered (e.g. Doom’s and deity’s background). I would’ve loved to learn more about them considering their role in the story. But alas, this was but a 16 episode show. A comment I’ve read said DAYS probably would have been better off as a book, and I wholeheartedly agree as 16 episodes is just too short for this type of story building. Hence the lower rating on the "story" section from what I had originally.
However, to kind of counterattack my above paragraph, I feel like the screenwriter did a good job tying these things up in the end. If you think about it, our characters are mainly human. As humans, we do things we think are right in the moment only to later realize how stupid it really was. That the solution was much simpler than we thought. We are constantly growing, maturing, learning, and experiencing new things. With mistakes come wisdom. Because of this, I think the screenwriter, directors, cast, and every other person involved in making this drama did a phenomenal job. It most certainly made my Mondays and Tuesdays, and I’m quite sad that is now over. I believe this ending was fitting. I personally liked it more than Goblin's ending, and I definitely plan on rewatching this drama because it has touched my heart in many different ways. It has become a close favorite of mine.
So, with these words in mind, I would suggest trying out the first few episodes to see how you like it (if you’re on the fence). I’ll reiterate that this show isn’t for everyone, but I can certainly say it’s a beautiful work of art in practically every aspect. The deeper you go, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more you feel; the more you feel, the more special it gets. These are my final thoughts.
Enjoy!
PS: I want to take this moment and just give a special round-of-applause to the actors and actresses who brought their characters to life. It really enhanced the quality of the drama and the story being unraveled. However, I think the star of this show was Seo In Guk with his astronomical performance as Doom. I really don’t think anyone else could have pulled off this character the way he did. Playing a complex supernatural being, SIG really captured Doom’s essence and brought this character to life. The number of times I’ve swooned, squeezed my pillow, screamed, and nearly cried because of him was ridiculous.
Was this review helpful to you?
