Doom at Your Service (2021)

March 5, 2023

Our Take: A fantasy romance that starts out strong but falls short of expectations.

The Premise

As a long-time K-drama fan, the star-studded cast immediately drew my attention. I have been following Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk's works since high school, so I was excited to see them on-screen together. 

Doom at Your Service follows the story of Tak Dong Kyung (Park Bo Young), a web novel editor who has been working hard to support herself and her brother, Tak Seon Kyung (Dawon), ever since their parents passed away. She unexpectedly gets diagnosed with glioblastoma (brain cancer) and is told she has 100 days to live. On the same day, she finds out her boyfriend is married and expecting a child soon. In a fit of despair, she blames herself for being unlucky and wishes for the world to be doomed. 

Her wish gets unintentionally heard by Myeol Mang (Seo In Guk), or Doom, who becomes intrigued by her. Myeol Mang is neither a human nor a god but a messenger of doom. He convinces a reluctant Dong Kyung to enter a contract with him where he offers to make her wish come true if she pays the price, starting their ill-fated relationship. Meanwhile, Dong Kyung's best friend and webtoon writer, Na Ji Na (Shin Do Hyun), is caught in a love triangle with her first love and former classmate, Lee Hyun Gyu (Kang Tae Oh), and Chief Editor Cha Joo Ik (Lee Soo Hyun). 

A Whirlwind Romance 

The storyline starts strong with Dong Kyung signing a binding contract with Myeol Mang despite evident tension and distrust between the two. As Myeol Mang manipulates her perception of reality using his powers, Dong Kyung boldly declares that she will make him fall in love with her to bypass the rules of their contract. While we know they will eventually fall in love, the premise piques your interest and makes you want to anticipate how their relationship will pan out. 

However, their whirlwind romance ultimately falls short, and their sharp turn in personalities feels unconvincing. The lack of investment in key areas of the drama, including their character development and the overall plot, weakened the authenticity of their romance. 

The flow between Myeol Mang and Dong Kyung's relationship felt painfully uneven as the pair abruptly falls in love and then goes through several cycles of emotional breakups, getting back together, and accepting their fate. Considering that Myeol Mang lacks a basic understanding of human emotions, his sudden change of heart seemed unrealistic. Likewise, Dong Kyung is acutely aware that Myeol Mang is toying with her, yet she ends up quickly falling for him.

That is not to say that the pairing was completely bad as the message behind their relationship did come through. Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk had fantastic chemistry, looked great together, and shared many heartwarming and affectionate moments. 

By finding their way to each other, they learned to overcome their loneliness and process their struggles and grief. Myeol Mang learned how to love others and understand the value of human life. Meanwhile, Dong Kyung learned how to lean on others for support instead of bottling everything up and choosing herself instead of defaulting to people pleasing. 

The Love Triangle

Dong Kyung and Myeol Mang's relationship felt at odds with the love triangle between Ji Na, Hyun Gyu, and Joo Ik. The main romance focuses heavily on the modern fantasy elements of the drama and has high stakes involved. Meanwhile, the love triangle felt like a slice-of-life romcom, making this part of the plot feel almost disconnected from the overarching storyline. 

But, like with the main relationship, Ji Na's romantic endeavors suffer from a lack of character development and growth. High school sweethearts Ji Na and Hyun Gyu's relationship felt one-dimensional as we only got sporadic glimpses into their relationship dynamics when they were officially together. Instead of diving into their romance, we are simply expected to accept that they still have lingering feelings for each other despite years of no contact. The message seemed to be that your first love doesn't always work out, and it's unhealthy to live with the ghost of a relationship, but the execution could have been better.

Ji Na and Joo Ik's love-hate relationship had potential, but their story felt flat. The contrast between Joo Ik, who is reserved and nonchalant, and Ji Na, who is bubbly and outgoing, was set up well, and they also shared sweet moments. But, we don't get much context into how they turned their hate for each other into love and what made them fall for each other.

The Garden

So Nyeo Shin's (Choi So Yoon) initial interactions with Myeol Mang seem to set the story up for something much bigger. But, what could have easily been one of the most fascinating twists to the story ends up amounting to nothing much. As a deity, there was tremendous potential for So Nyeo Shin to take on a more powerful role throughout the show. But, she ends up having repetitive back-and-forth conversations with Myeol Mang before giving in and endorsing his relationship with Dong Kyung. 

The concept of her tending to her garden also felt half-baked. As someone who is making such a big sacrifice for humans, diving into her backstory would have made her character more developed and given the audience reason to root for her. 

Living with Imminent Death

The drama raises thought-provoking questions about life and death. What would you do if you only had 100 days left to live? What are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of happiness? 

Dong Kyung's illness is a crucial part of the story, but as the plot moved forward, her terminal illness gets used to create tension rather than to explore her as a person living with limited time. Initially, the way she deals with existential dread is convincing, as she is overwhelmed with anger, denial, and sadness about her condition and the grief of potentially leaving her loved ones behind.

However, as her romance with Myeol Mang takes center stage, exploration of her impending fate is sidelined and treated as an afterthought. As the episodes evolved, it would have solidified her character more if we got to see how she learns to accept her fate and what she chooses to do in her final days.

Final Thoughts

While the premise of Doom at Your Service is intriguing, there is little movement in the overarching storyline for much of the drama. Instead, the focus is primarily on Tak Dong Kyung and Myeol Mang's romance and the love triangle between Na Ji Na, Cha Joo Ik, and Lee Hyung Gyu. The chemistry between the characters is undeniable, but given that the show is a fantasy romance, spending more time on the fantasy elements would have made it more interesting. With that said, if you are in the mood for romance, Doom at Your Service is worth a watch.