“Doom At Your Service”: Is it better to have loved and lost or to never have loved at all?

Doom at Your Service (hereafter referred to as DAYS) is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Park Bo-young and Seo In-gunk. It aired on tvN from May 10 to June 29, 2021. The story explores the tragedy of Tak Dong-kyung (Park Bo-young), who is diagnosed with glioblastoma and has 100 days to live.

On a fateful night, as she is drinking her problems away, she wishes for doom upon the world. Myul Mang, who is the God of Doom, answers her prayer and forces her to sign a 100-day contract with him and risk everything she has ever known. 

Sometimes there are some shows that the audience falls in love with for some inexplicable reason. “Is it better to have loved and lost or to never have loved at all?” 

That’s the question this series explores It started off with fireworks and everything, from the character development to twists and turns in the plotline, was done right. 

The two main leads are insanely talented and have beautiful chemistry, and seeing them gradually fall in love was the most epic showdown in history. And the female lead’s relationship with her family, friends and co-workers is intricately developed.

This showcases her love for them, and how she kept trying to bridge the distance between herself and the supporting characters to reduce the pain that will come to them when she ultimately dies. 

The show included a stellar cast and supreme comic timing. Although it felt slow at times, and some scenes (especially, staredowns)  were pathetically unnecessary, it managed to steady itself as the story progressed.

The supernatural concept was amazing and was well executed to seem realistic and interesting at the same time. The songs were brilliant and complemented the story well. The landscapes are beautifully shot and well executed.

Though, DAYS could have been shortened to 10 episodes. The makers of the show could have explored more of the main lead’s back stories which could have added more spice to the overall plot.

The female lead’s sickness could have been explored to make her seem more relatable and realistic. The main God could have more presence and backstory instead of unnecessary backstories for the second lead couple.

The second lead couple’s storyline could have been made more sensible or should have been removed completely. Some characters could have been omitted. 

But, of course, DAYS really did have all the ingredients for a great series – a really cool idea, stellar cast, gorgeous OSTs, and stunningly filmed scenes. 

Anyway, I hope Seo In Guk and Park Bo Young get the opportunity to team up again as I know both of them are capable of gorgeous chemistry. The scenes they were in, whether happy or sad in DAYS were always mesmerizing to watch. I think if anyone felt that these two lacked anything in the show, it was never because of their skill, but because the writing never did them full justice. 

I enjoyed each scene they were in regardless of the spotty weird writing holes (which often left a lot up to interpretation). These two still made me legitimately tear up (I am not an easy crier). This only proves that these two are mega talented, together, are capable of something very very special when given the right context to shine. 

All that said aside, the streaming rights to the show have managed to be sold to 150 countries around the world, so that speaks for itself. If you’re a newbie to the k-drama world, this might be a good starter for you before moving to the big-name titles.

And if you’re a bit of a sceptic, my advice to best enjoy this series is – don’t take this show too seriously, keep your expectations reasonable, and keep your focus just on the two leads, the music, and the stunning cinematography. 

DAYS have solidified my admiration for Park Bo-young and Seo In-guk, and I look forward to their future projects – hopefully together. If or when that happens, I know we will be watching magic explode on the screen. 

RATING: 9/10 

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