The thread is open.
It’s up on Netflix this Friday, Nov 25.
We aren’t going to judge others with our judgy eyes should they decide to skip this one because of their overloaded kdrama viewing schedule.
Let’s enjoy the show.
27 Comments On “My Demon: Eps 1 & 2 Open Thread”
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Happy Thanksgiving PM3
I’ll be watching this.
💕
Alright, @HK_Lady! See you tomorrow. I’m excited.
Kalimera Everyone!
@Packmule3 thank you for the thread! I am excited as well!
P.S. Can you also open an Open Thread for “The Story Of Park’s Marriage Contract”?
You’re here, too, @Cleopatra? Sigh. I don’t think I’ll have time for all the kdramas on my list what with the Christmas season just around the corner. I’m patting myself over my Christmas gift shopping list. It’s almost done. But we have to change out the Fall and Thanksgiving decorations this weekend, and replace them with Christmas lights and decorations.
Will open a thread for Park’s Marriage Contract.
Kalimera @Packmule3,
To be honest with you, I don’t know how I will keep up and If I will keep up as well. December shows are around the corner and they are enticing as well.
So, I will watch as much as I can and if not, I won’t open the TV, like I did yesterday. I haven’t watched the last episode of Moon in the Day yet and I am okay too…
I totally understand you. I have to decorate my home for Christmas (yes, I haven’t yet as well. 🙄 ) Did you have a nice time with your Family? I do hope you relaxed a bit, because you also have a very busy schedule.
Sending your favorite cookies your way! 🍪🍪🍪🍪
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Thanks for the virtual cookies, @Cleopatra. I don’t have to go on the treadmill for those.
Yes, I had a great time with family yesterday and catching up with everybody. There will be two weddings, two graduations, two births, and one surgery scheduled next year so the family have lots of get-togethers planned.
Those are beautiful news @Packmule3! I do hope you will enjoy your time together with two weddings, two graduations and two births. May the new year will bring your family and yourself good vibes and memorable moments!
I do hope the surgery scheduled will go well. If you need any prayers, just let us know! <3
BTW, I crave some chocolate… o.O
Title: Living in the mist
1. Because the female lead can’t tell whether a person is a friend or foe. Her mind is in a fog. She’s even beginning to exhibit signs of paranoia, wondering whether EVERYONE around her is an enemy.
Though she isn’t blood-related to the founder of her company, she’s the CEO and favorite of the founder. Naturally, the family members would like to see her dead.
2. Also because she’s living in a mist of memories of her deceased parents. “I’m reminded of you everywhere I go. How am I supposed to live? Did you have to be so hardworking and diligent? Did you have to be such perfect parents?”
Her birthday is her parents’ death day, too.
3. And because the male lead appeared in the mist to save her.
Note: The association to baptism is obvious to me when they both plunged into the sea. He’s virtually “cleansed” of all evil in him by the water but his demonic powers are transferred over to her. Meanwhile, she’s “reborn” into a new life, empowered by the spirit (unfortunately, it’s HIS demonic spirit, not the HOLY SPIRIT) which now resides in her.
This “baptism” was prefigured in the beginning of the episode when he paid an unexpected visit to the chapel in the woods and dipped his hand in a basin full of water. Catholics and Christians should easily recognize what that basin was. It was the font with holy water (or water that’s been blessed by the priest). He dipped his hand in it, and petals of a rose emerged.
As for his manservant, I rolled my eyes when I heard his name. Park BokGyu. Bokyu is supposed to be a play on “Fcuk you.” He even flipped the middle finger to get the crude joke across. Sigh. Was that really necessary, Mr Screenwriter?
I shouldn’t be surprised with this sort of lame humor, considering that this writer was a CO-writer of that execrable “Mr Queen.”
The cake scene was also a gratuitous display of the demon’s strength and eccentricity. I get that viewers are supposed to find the demon’s sweet tooth…well sweet and endearing. He only wanted to have his cake and eat it, too. Woe to anybody who comes between him and his favorite dessert. He could take down a dozen mobsters without breaking sweat, and with a mere rolled-up newspaper.
But it lacked originality. And it was grossly unfair. Really. How can mortals beat a supernatural being?
As for the founder’s words of wisdom? It’s no wonder that the female lead had an upside-down view of life.
Grandma/Founder: Let me tell you. Having someone on your side makes a world of difference.
Female lead: You said not to trust anyone. Nobody’s on my side.
Grandma/Founder: You never know who will stab you in the back. But there will be someone you’ll gladly let stab you in the back. That’s what it means to have someone on your side. Someone you’d understand even if they betrayed you.
My reaction: 🙄🤦🏼♀️🙄🤦🏼♀️🙄🤦🏼♀️ Is this supposed to be deep? I guess this screenwriter is an advocate of “Love till it hurts.”
Female lead: I’m no Mother Teresa. And neither are you.
I know St Teresa of Calcutta said to love till it hurts but I think she was referring to the care and ministration of God’s poorest of the poor, not back-stabbing corporate competitors and psycho boyfriends.
Off to bed now. Will write my First Impressions after Ep 2.
Thank you @packmule, @H K_lady and @Cleopatra. Goodness, I’m shallowly dying of a prettiness overload. Many of the cast members are very good looking. I see Lee Sang Yee, a favourite from Home Town Cha Cha Cha.
The FL’s position in the family reminds me of the FL in Crash Landing on You. Wasn’t she also a half-sister, who is considered an interloper into the family by her half-siblings?
Visually the FL, Do Do-Hee, and the adoptive grandmother look similar even though they don’t need to because they aren’t related. I googled Kim Hae-Sook to see if I could find photos of her early on in her career, but there are few. I wondered if the FL as a girl was chosen for her looks by the grandmother.
I hope that this drama doesn’t make a hash of various established religions, but I don’t mind world building in a fantastic sense. Just after the introduction, there was a background script about demons. It said the word “came from the ancient Greek word, “Daimai”, which means to share the same fate. Demons originally existed among humans and protected them as their guardians.” This seems a fairly positive depiction of the creatures, so when did demon come to mean devil or inhabitant of an underworld or hell? So we have Greek, Christian and maybe Buddhist takes on what a demon is? I’m a bit confused about this.
It was interesting that the Demon says blame is placed on evil spirits for wrongdoing, but usually it comes down to human failings. Is he excusing himself? In fact, he seems a bit capricious in his targets. I get the mob boss who allegedly would have gone to hell anyway, but taking advantage of the starving fisherman and the FL, who is feeling so alone and is frightened of being murdered? I suppose it’s a classic situation. He happily says he’s a predator after all. It was funny when the Demon thought Do Do-Hee was sent by God.
The only person who didn’t flee the Joseon chapel was a little child who threw a crucifix at the demon and drew blood. Yet, the demon didn’t punish the child (that we are aware of), only returning the crucifix to the child’s hand. Was that encounter the genesis of his ‘baptism’ in the first episode? I wonder when he changed from human to demon and under what circumstances?
Although the FL says she has no religion, she seems to reflect the hard work and diligence of her parents. She is smart and arrogant, but she doesn’t strike me as being evil or manipulative. I don’t think she would willingly give up the opportunity to join her parents in the afterlife since they mean so much to her.
I wonder about the FL’s secretary – is she really with her and obedient to her every command? Is she a type of guardian, too? There seems to be more to her than meets the eye.
I wondered what happened to the cake the grandmother gave to the FL? Because I’m ready for lunch it looked pretty good to me, better than the cake that the demon made to commemorate something I didn’t catch. Was it just me, or did the FL seem a bit disappointed or shocked to find his cake in bits?
Kalimera @Fern,
Just because you asked about “Daimai”.
The greek philosopher Socrates said first about his δαιμόνιο / daimonio in Plato’s Republic.
Here is a link that might help you because the words δαιμόνιο / daimon / daemon and δαίμονες / demons have the same etymological root, but don’t mean the same in greek.
https://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/myths/socrates.htm
Here is what I have found about the word in greek, but I don’t think that δαίμαι is the right form of the verb. Most likely is δαίω / δαίομαι, but I need to check it again.
https://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/tools/liddel-scott/search.html?lq=δαίμων
@Packmule3,
I also didn’t like what Founder Ju told Do Hee about the person who should be by her side and ultimately stab her in the back. What worldview is that?
In other words, Ju herself told Do Hee that she has betrayed her in a way because she is hiding from her that she actually knows who is responsible for her parents’ death.
@Cleopatra, Kalimera. What I’m wondering is this: they have given us an ancient Greek idea about demons, followed by a Christian viewpoint. There seems to be some Buddhist ideology involved too, because we see the fisherman reincarnated into a cafe owner – and signing a second contract. It just made me curious about which direction this worldview is taking.
I like this idea that a demi-immortal becomes a mortal while an ordinary mortal takes on his powers. They have to work together to survive.
@Fern,
I think we need to distinguish the Greek viewpoint from the Christian one.
So, for the first one I would propose to use the word: Daemon.
Gu Won who means salvation has become a daemon to Do Hee and vice versa, she became his daemon too. Why Gu Won decided to become a demon is remain to be seen.
As for the worldview, I guess the jakkanim seems to have used a mosaic of viewpoints and ideologies in an intrigued pattern. I want to see how she will use all these.
Regarding what the founder/Grandmother Ju said to Do Hee, it strikes me as a selfish statement because it applies to herself. She thinks she’s preparing Do Hee for the day when the truth comes out and that Do Hee will be less likely to hate her for hiding the truth. Wasn’t it said that Do Hee’s father was a co-founder of the original Mirae company? Would his death be construed by Do-Hee as eliminating rival share-holders? I think Grandmother Ju is aware that this is a ticking time bomb. That is why she might be happy for Do Hee to marry her untidy adoptive cousin Ju Seok-Hun as it might mitigate some of the potential damage. He is involved in the company, but his parents seem to be out of the picture (unless there is something we haven’t been told about them).
Thanks for this idea, @Cleopatra.
I am also wondering about the significance of roses in this drama. First those in the holy water font, then on Gu Won’s cake. There is too little information yet. My immediate thoughts were memories of roses mentioned in Catholic saint’s lives: St. Therese of Lisieux and St Juan Diego and the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There are probably others, but they may all be irrelevant to this drama.
I just say hello without reading.
I would like to watch this drama, I like the two actors.
But I’m out of time. T T
Have a nice watch! 😉
You are welcome @Fern!
We will figure this out!
Hey @We!
Good to see you here and hopefully you will watch this drama too!
@Fern,
I don’t think that Mirae was that big back then.
The thing is Founder Ju knows why her parents were killed, she was there and was hurt from the explosion while trying to save them?
As for the current power struggle, I feel that everyone is suspicious, even that hippie nephew.
I realise that Mirae wasn’t so big back then, but there must have been enough there to make a second founder undesirable. Perhaps it was on the eve of stocks splitting or he didn’t agree with some of the policies of the Board. If Madame Ju feels guilty about the deaths, she must have had some knowledge or input. Perhaps she expressed some disapproval of him which another family member took to be a green light to proceed with elimination.
Oh, I definitely think the untidy nephew is suspicious. 🧐 I wouldn’t be surprised if his parents weren’t hippies at all, but posing as that and staying away from the scene.
Hi Everyone, I find the first two episodes quite a mish-mash of scenes that do not necessarily throw much light. Some brief scenes were just thrown together but do not seem to be strung together well enough to give a better sense of what’s going on.
I hope the Show will be respectful towards the religions that it’s ‘using’. Again they appear to be used randomly without yet showing any coherent reason for tying a demon with them.
I watch with a quizzical and possibly deprecating eye. It’s saving grace is that the couple is pretty.
am watching and also noticed the use of Hebrew letters on them and the coworker using cards with the Star of David on them. I can read Hebrew but there was not enough time to read what I think may have been a fragment while the voice over was quoting Christian scripture. K Dramas are so interesting because they make reference e to so many ideas. Even when they are full of tropes, they always seem to include ideas that spark the intellect, be it in the story or in the visuals and/or the music. There are so many reasons to love them, not to me tonight the wonderful actors.
I watched 1 and 2.
I’m not addicted to the drama, it’s a bit what I could expect.
But there are still various thing I like or I find well done.
Also, some spicy comedy. The scene in the car.
The FL was thinking they were here to… have sex in the car !! oO!
But in some way, we understand that she was ok for that!! lol!
She mostly complain about the legal aspect but not the fact of doing it.
Really……… 😀
At end of ep2 I noticed a weird montage.
During the sword dance of the ML female assistant.
(we don’t know much about her).
No voice-over, just some short moment focusing on every people.
The feeling is weird, I was wondering why this scene.
Maybe the various people who could be enemy of the FL probably.
About enemies, there is a mad serial killer.
Seems obssessed with the FL, however, hard to know his purpose:
– He want to kill her because obsession?
– Or he does it because he have a deal with someone else?
He let a bag at a station, and another unknow man take it.
Dressed in black, with black gloves.
We also see another guy, an actor often playing bad guys (he was in Angry mom).
No idea who he is, I missed something? Why we see him?
Could he be this mysterious man?
Kalimera @WE,
Read @Packmule3’s thread about the killer!