When two of the brightest stars of their generation work together, viewers would really be curious about the project. It was also what drew me to watch My Demon. I asked the question, what’s so interesting about this fantasy romance is that Song Kang and Kim Youjung were attracted to it? My excitement grew even more when I learned it would use my guilty pleasure romance trope: contractual marriage, forced proximity, and cohabitation.
The first few episodes give off a very Goblin vibe, which for me, is a good thing. It took me a while to watch Song Kang again on a series with a relatively lighter storyline as compared to his other projects but other than that the series was off to a good start for me. The trouble came, however, in the mid part of the series where the main plot seemed to have a hard time holding itself together. The “one of you shall die” dilemma was expected to happen in the third arc so the writers squeezed in some subplots and conflicts while the characters escaped the inevitable. It was interesting at times but I found myself caring less about what would happen to the series’ designated villains in each episode. The whole series, though, still has a lot of entertaining points worthy of watching. Some of the best parts of My Demon are its charming main characters.
Jeong Gu-won (Song Kang) and Do Do-hee (Kim You-jung) are two individually interesting characters. Do Do-hee was orphaned at a very young age and learned to take care of herself amidst the complicated family dynamic of the Mirae Group owners. Her characters’ motivations are clear from the start and her cold behavior can easily be explained by her backstory. It was also refreshing to see Kim You-jung in an easy-to-root-for yet feisty character. She definitely did effectively portray her part on the romantic side of the story.
Meanwhile, it’s actually been a while since the last time I saw Song Kang in a romance story. I did enjoy his role in Love Alarm but it took me a while to warm up to his character, Jeong Gu-won in My Demon. It’s probably because the idea of what a demon should look like is so abstract and so rarely used in a series like this that I don’t know what to make of this personification of an evil spirit. In this series, he’s like a crossover between a goblin and a grim reaper. Song Kang did his best though in portraying this immortal character. I did probably stay on because of his and You-jung’s on-screen chemistry (and well the entertaining forced proximity trope they used throughout the series).
Another good point of My Demon in my book is that it has two very strong and interesting female characters who are so pivotal in the plot. Veteran actress Kim Hae-sook took on the role of Mirae Group founder and CEO Ju Cheon-seok. She became Do-hee’s guardian after the tragedy that befell the young girl’s family. As expected the seasoned actress seamlessly transformed herself into this role. I also like how Cheon-seok was also used to show the ongoing theme of the series that humans live in a small gray area between good and evil.
Another experienced actress who impressed me in this series is Cha Chung-hwa. I love her in every series that she’s in and she nailed her mysterious (spoiler alert) homeless-god role in My Demon. In every fantasy series, there would always be unassuming characters who would turn out to be more powerful than the main lead. In My Demon, this nameless character, who is the personification of god, shook things up and gave the viewers a lot of heartbreak. Cha Chung-hwa showed her versatility, especially in scenes where she would transform from homeless to god in a blink of an eye.
Admittedly, I didn’t enjoy some of the subplots in this series and found them more filler scenes instead of an important plotline. There are side characters, though, that were entertaining to watch. They are Do-hee and Gu-won’s support group who are there with them through their highs and lows.
Ju Seok-hoon (Lee Sang-yi) was meant to be the series’ second lead along with traditional dancer Jin Ga-young (Jo Hye-joo) but they didn’t really put much of a fight to separate our leads; something that I really appreciate. The main plot is already complicated enough without additional dangling strings of attachment from the second leads. These two are also likable on their own as they have their own reason why they liked Do-hee and Gu-won. I wouldn’t even mind if they ended up together because they also have chemistry in scenes when they were helping out Do-hee and Gu-won.
Speaking of the second couple, Do-hee’s secretary Shin Da-jeong (Seo Jeong-yeon) and Sunwol Foundation director Park Bok-gyu (Heo Jeong-do) are hilarious with their secret dating stint that lasted until the last few episodes of the series. I didn’t actually expect them to get together but it was nice to have some light moments from them especially when the series deals with dark themes and dramatic scenarios.
What I appreciate though with the concept of this series is how it showed how individuals often sway in the good, the bad, and the gray area while trying to live their life and choose between which path to take. Even though the series is titled My Demon, its thematic theme mostly deals with human motives and imperfection; the temptation to sin, and greed for a lot of things: money, power, or life. This is still a romance story though and it’s still central to the story. But I’m sure fans of fantasy romance would appreciate the attempt to explore those themes in this genre.
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