Recap Korean Drama "Doom At Your Service " Episode 9

Jun 24, 2022

Episode 9 of Doom at Your Service begins with Myul-Mang reflecting back on his time on Earth, wishing he was less deity and more human. Unfortunately this pipedream comes to an end when Myul-Mang realizes he’s just meant to watch; observe these humans as they play out their lives.

Meanwhile, the love triangle continues as Ji-Na grabs her things to head outside and see Hyun-Kyu. They sit together in a coffee house where Ji-Na reflects on how they broke up in the past.

She berates him for not showing up after all these years and now feels overcome with regret. Given her memories of him involve disappointment and being damp from rain or pool water, that unpleasantness is not something she’s willing to re-engage in.

However, things take an awkward turn when Hyun-Kyu notices messages from Ji-Na on Joo-Ik’s phone. It doesn’t take long before he realizes the girl he was touching out in the street is Ji-Na and he immediately confronts Joo-Ik about this.

This blows up later in the episode, as Hyun-Kyu tells Ji-Na outright that he wants to date her and she should choose him as he still likes her.

Meanwhile, Dong-Kyung finds her aunt return and fuss over her. She tells Dong-Kyung to get her act together and reminds her she didn’t take Soo-Ja’s life from her.

Dong-Kyung eventually rings Myul-Mang though to check up on him. She also asks him for a favour too. That happens to be posing as a doctor to confirm she has a chance at an experimental drug. This is all a ploy to ease her Aunt’s concerns. Myul-Mang even admits that he’s in the process of saving her.

After this, Soo-Jin leaves which gives Dong-Kyung an opportune time to turn her attention to Myul-Mang. She takes him out and buys a phone so they can keep in touch.

After exchanging numbers, with Myul-Mang’s number being saved as “human”, the pair head out and discuss Sonyeoshin and her garden. According to Myul-Mang she’s always born sick and suffers in pain before subsequently dying. This cycle repeats for her, as Myul-Mang admits that it’s the curse of a deity.

While Soo-Jin pays her respects to her deceased sister, Dong-Kyung takes Myul-Mang out shopping with her. She splashes out too, buying pens, bags and shoes while playing up the terminally ill card.

After a heavy day of shopping, Myul-Mang conjures a dream for Dong-Kyung involving her eating a lavish meal together with her friends and family. Only, when she awakens her Aunt, Ji-Na and Sun-Kyung are all waiting for her with food all ready to serve.

Meanwhile, Myul-Mang heads off to see Sonyeoshin and apologizes, deciding to listen to her after all. Given Dong-Kyung doesn’t want to give up the world, he wants to try and change that. He also admits that he feels sorry for the deity. As we cut across to the other side of the drawn curtain however, Sonyeoshin seems to be dying, with blood staining the sheets and her nose.

When Myul-Mang heads back to Dong-Kyung, she asks hopefully if he’ll let her live but he refuses. Dong-Kyung bitterly walks away, leaving Myul-Mang to observe just as before.

When she goes, Myul-Mang has second thoughts about letting Dong-Kyung go and follows her back to her apartment, unable to let the girl go. He outright admits that he’s in love with her. As he says the words, text flashes across the screen reminding us that we have 50 days left until Dong-Kyung dies.

The Episode Review

Doom at your Service returns this week with an episode of… not very much if I’m honest. Aside from the love triangle woes and Hyun-Kyu finding out about Joo-Ik, there isn’t a whole lot else going on.

We get some more lovey scenes with Myul-Mang and Dong-Kyung, along with a few faint glimmers of what’s happening with Sonyeoshin but really, beyond that there’s not a lot else.

That pains me to say too because Park Bo-Young and Seo In-Guk have some incredible chemistry on-screen and their pairing is one of the driving forces over why this show is so watchable.

It’s tricky though because it feels like the writers have written themselves into a corner in a way. We’ve already seen the big, passionate kissing and the moments of love but now it seems like the show is spinning wheels a little and unsure where to take their passion next – although it looks like we have marriage on the horizon.

The early nods toward Goblin have essentially been this show’s biggest curse. Unlike Guardian: Lonely and Great God, the story here feels at a standstill. Hopefully the coming episodes can pick up steam.