My Demon (2023)

Borrowed Brilliance: My Demon's Struggle to Forge an Original Path

When this show started, i wrote a review stating a new iconic show was in the making. Little did i know that this show would end up copying every other fantasy drama each of which had carved its own place in viewers hearts.

In this show, apart from the chemistry between the leads and their visuals there is nothing to look forward to. Regarding the storyline there seems to be none, the writer merely copied scenes from various fantasy shows creating a mishmash of fantasy elements.

While watching, you will be reminded of every fantasy show made in Korea after Goblin. It starts copying storylines from Goblin, whole OST having vibes similar to Goblin's intro. The trope of a beggar lady turning out to be a god is another thing copied from Goblin and even in episode 15, the show replicates Goblin's ending by making Guwon disappear.

Now lets talk about Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. The entire storyline is basically a reversed version of SWDBS. Here ML Guwon becomes a bodyguard to protect FL CEO Dohee from her adopted family. This mirrors SWDBS, where FL Bong Soon becomes ML's bodyguard to protect him from his family. Both main characters have supernatural powers but the difference is that in SWDBS Bong Soon uses her powers when needed whereas here Guwon, even as a demon cant use his powers when its crucial. The serial killer plot was also entirely borrowed from SWDBS. While both tracks took different approaches they still induced a strong sense of deja vu when watching that specific storyline. The assistant character and the subplot with thugs are also directly copied from SWDBS.

Next is overused past life trope. Last year many shows applied this trope and while some were webtoon adaptations making it necessary, this show being an original one still included the cliche past life trope when it wasnt needed. The past life trope is borrowed from various shows like SYIM19L and Kokdu with a significant influence from Kokdu's version.

Adding to that, they didnt stop at copying fantasy shows, they even borrowed scenes from makjang shows like Penthouse. The way Noh Seok Min survives a massive fall is reminiscent of how Joo Dan Tae miraculously survived a building collapse in Penthouse. Additionally, the car blast involving Dohee seems like a throwback to Logan Lee's car bomb blast from Penthouse.

In addition to the above mentioned shows, this one also echoes/plays out similar plots to series such as Doom at Your Service, Heartbeat and Destined with You etc.

Now lets discuss the characters. They werent properly written. Firstly Guwon, the demon, couldnt use his powers when needed even against a mere human enemy for 14 episodes straight. Some may argue he lost his powers but even if thats the case, he could have utilized them with Dohee's help. Even after his powers returned he didnt use them to catch the villain. For instance, in a scene where they send Joo Seok Hoon to the main villain's house they could have easily gone there using Guwon's magic but they didnt. When Joo Seok Hoon returns without information only then do they go to the villain's house. However, by then main villain has removed the demon book and hidden it elsewhere. Even when the main villain's body disappears after falling from the clock tower, Guwon doesnt use his powers to catch him. Later main villain tries to kill Dohee and to save her Guwon sacrifices himself. The writing seems questionable.

Moving on to Dohee, the young CEO, she is generally good except for when she gave up the chairwoman position due to fear of the main villain. Its perplexing, having a demon by her side, yet fearing a mere human. However one could argue she is right considering the apparent uselessness of the demon's powers.

Joo Seok Hoon, SML of show, is considered by many to be the main villain but he turns out not to be. Unfortunately he ends up being most useless character in the drama merely serving as a love sick puppy for Dohee. Its puzzling why an actor like Lee Sangyi took on this role when there is little for him to perform.

The main villain, Noh Suk Min is another poorly written character. He is your typical negative villain with a backstory of being greedy for property. While i understand he is meant to be negative, the writer takes it to the extreme portraying him to the point of being willing to kill his own son. I also dont understand why he was even after Dohee when she willingly gave him the chair position. In the end, the way he survives a significant fall is one of the most illogical aspects of the show. Moreover his decision to burn his face for some unknown reason is also quite illogical.

Besides these four main characters, the others werent well written. For example the demon's obsessive lover, Jin Gayoung lacked depth. The office characters were mostly useless and brought in for lame comedy that hardly made anyone laugh. The love angle between Dohee's assistant and Guwon's assistant was also cringe worthy. It seems the writer aimed for humor but it ended up being more cringe than entertaining.

Cinematography is initially impressive but production values appear fake after a certain point. The portrayal of super rich characters offices does not align with the expected opulence of conglomereate's offices.
The music department fares decently with the main OST, True by Yaori being a standout.

In conclusion, the show lacks originality in both execution and writing with poor logic and character development. My disappointment led me to revise my original rating from 9/10 to 7/10 and that is solely for the chemistry between the leads.

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Just ok, not the best!

***DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

To keep it brief, they had me and then they completely lost me.

GENERAL REMARKS:

Listen I’m not really a fan of any of these actors so i’ll try to keep this review as unbiased as possible. When I heard this drama was being produced I was unsure because I don’t really like Song Kang’s acting. I was only convinced to watch because I have been impressed by Yoo Jung in some of her previous works and thought hey maybe if this is not the best she will at least carry on her part.

But I was wrong. This story was lackluster in every single way. I only was kind of intrigued for the first 5-6 episodes of the show but then everything started to go downhill after Gu Won rescued Do Hee from the burning gas station / shop in episode 8. They built up the plot so much at that point only the bring it back down and then throw in a lot of other useless side plots and the past lives / reincarnation trope. It was not necessary to say the least.

I feel like all Yoo Jung and Song Kang have in this show were their strong visuals. I feel like the color grading was over done… they made them look paper / milk white and you could not see one pore or any texture in their skin at all which was kind of off putting. Yes their visuals are good but what else? To me it felt like they could not really deliver on the chemistry after a the first time they kissed and did the do. It just seemed like as the drama progressed it was unnatural and they were both trying too hard to convince us the audience. I see more of a friendship bond between the actors especially in the BTS videos which is why in my opinion when they were bantering / not on the best of terms it was better than their romance / relationship and marriage era.

It’s so ironic and hilarious how most of us suspected Seok Hoon would be a bad guy but he turned out to be one of the good ones from the beginning with no hidden agenda or plot twist. Not gonna lie it was a bit of a let down just because he's a good actor and it would've been refreshing to see him take on the role of the villain, but no he's always the second guy and it's almost like he plays the same character every time.

Gu Won was brought back far too soon in my opinion, and there was no build-up or explanation of what happened to him after he vanished or even if he could still see what was going on in the mortal world. Also I believe they incorporated the story of the deal Do Hee’s father made with Gu Won so quickly. I kind of predicted that he had saved her mom and her as a baby after they were in some kind of accident and I was right. To be honest, they tried to make it seem like her father was desperate enough to make a deal with the devil for his personal gain but I knew that could never be the case.

The way she learned that Gu Won was the man her father had struck a bargain with and then seemed to be shocked when he performed his demon responsibilities since the contract had expired really irritated me. Like come on, she was aware of who he was the entire time, so her sudden display of shock and surprise irked me so much. She started off as such a formidable character, but as the drama progressed, it was like her character development stalled and she grew weaker. She became a damsel in distress who was always waiting for poor Gu Won to come along and save her.

I’m happy Do Hee and Gu Won got their happy ending but I can't help but think at what cost. Do Hee lost so many close / precious people to her and that asshole Noh Su Min is still alive and able to be living while rotting away / losing his mind in prison. To me not enough justice was served, I needed to see Gu Won fight that man and hit him harder for real.

The uncanny bromance between Gu Won and Seok Hoon became so heartwarming. I’m glad both he Gu Won and Do Hee are able to consider each other as friends / family and get along well even if it did start out with him being madly in love with Do Hee. I’m actually glad they didn’t write the drama where he still would’ve tried his luck at pursuing her even after Gu Won disappeared like most other dramas. It was refreshing to see him give up from early on.

I cannot believe they made my man No Suh Min Ugly. His poor face (I’m half joking half serious but he was good looking before him taking such drastic measures and burning himself) I could not bear to look at him anymore as the drama went on. I have to say I really enjoyed Tae Hoon's performance. He had me convinced he was an abusive father and husband, the devil reincarnate and a psychopathic murderer all in one.

The last scene where Ga Young / Star Jin met the little girl who was being abused by her father broke my heart and tore it into a million pieces. Oh my gosh the tears kept flowing… her character arc / redemption is one of the best to come out of the show. I am so proud of her… the way she looked at the child it was like she herself was finally healing her inner child and able to protect someone the way Gu Won protected her all those years ago.

Unlike Gu Won she told her “Don’t forget angels always come and save you.” Finally she changed the narrative and gave the littler girl the hope and words of encouragement she needed all those years ago. To me that was just a really full circle moment and the only moment in the show that literally brought me to tears.


FINAL THOUGHTS:

In my opinion, this drama had a good beginning, an alright to mid middle, and an unimpressive conclusion. The drama twists Christianity and Demonism while maintaining certain aspects of the familiar; if you watch closely, you'll see all of their subtle allusions. I liked this drama to an extent, but I didn't believe the plot was properly developed or that the ending was plausible.

The Gu-won recantation sequence was one that I thought should have received more attention because I didn't think it was compelling enough. Do Hee is human, while Gu Won is still immortal. To be honest, I honestly believed that they would have caused her to spiral and become into an immortal or demon herself working alongside him or they would have caused Gu Won to reincarnate as a human or be reborn somehow. Simply put, it makes no sense for them to be together if Do Hee has a limited amount of time left on earth, which means that Gu Won will have to survive without her. Like LMAO? They really should have watched more supernatural movies/shows (eg. Twilight) before making this show so they can understand how human / immortal relationships have to play out. Granted, this story was written by a 13-year-old, but that's no excuse because the writers could've tried harder to improve the story and make it more logical.

Honestly the only good thing about this drama was the occasional funny moments, heartfelt moments and most importantly the OST. I could listen to it over and over again though I do think the song "Say You Love Me" and "The Way to Lose You" were played much too frequently. I like the songs don't get me wrong, but they used them so much that it was just a bit of an overkill.

I don’t think I’d recommend this drama to anyone because they’d be disappointed or feel that it lacked a lot. Unless cliche / underdeveloped fantasy romance is your thing I'd advise you stay away or just go into this with lower expectations. If you decide to press play just remember you're primarily here for entertainment not so much groundbreaking acting or even a half decent plot.

With all of that said, I gave this drama a 7/10.

✌️

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