“My Demon” is a Korean drama series that aired weekly on Netflix from Nov. 24, 2023 to Jan. 20, 2024. When I first saw the trailer for this series, I thought it would be really bad, as the trailer that I saw mentioned a “contracted marriage.” I thought it would have a poor and forced plot. However, when I saw my mom watching the first episode, I decided to sit through it and watch it with her. To my surprise, it was amazing. 

The protagonist, Do Do Hee (Kim Yoo Jung), whose parents passed away when she was young due to a car accident, is a heiress who meets a demon, Jung Gu Won (Song Kang). Jung Gu Won makes contracts with people who have a dire wish or need, but the souls of the people who signed the contracts must go to hell after 10 years. Do Do Hee, who first met Jung Gu Won thinking he was her blind date, gets the powers of Jung Gu Won after an incident where they both almost drown. 

The series follows the duo as they try to transfer the powers back to Jung Gu Won. However, they end up in a sticky situation where Do Do Hee is forced to get married to claim her inheritance. Eventually, they have a contract marriage and get married. By the end of the series, they fall in love. 

The first episode of the series smoothly introduced each character and their backstory. Each episode had me itching to watch the next. The character-building was solid and the world-building was done with smooth introductions to parts of the world. The series was clear about what was going on throughout the series. Before watching, I thought that the “contracted marriage” would be sudden and have a weak story behind it, but in reality, it was so gradual that I didn’t even realize it was happening. 

Throughout the series, sparks flew between Do Do Hee and Jung Gu Won and the personalities of each character stood out. After the death of Do Do Hee’s parents, her parent’s former boss, Joo Cheon Sook (Kim Hae Sook), who happened to be the CEO of a large company, adopted her. Joo Cheon Sook’s oldest son, Noh Seok Min (Kim Tae Hoon) is the main antagonist of the series and is suspected of being the murderer of his mother, who died early in the series. He harbors resentment for his mother after she reported him for drunk driving and hitting a person on the road with his car when he was younger. 

There are several flashbacks to Do Do Hee’s childhood as well as her parents’ death. As well as flashbacks that show Noh Seok Min’s past and how his resentment for his mother grew. Unexpectedly, there were flashbacks to Jung Gu Won’s human life. At first, he doesn’t remember anything about his human life, but throughout the series, he slowly regains those memories. The first half of episode 12 is entirely dedicated to revealing his life when he was a human, which provides key information about both Jung Gu Won and Do Do Hee. All of these flashbacks flowed nicely with the timeline of the story. However, towards the end of the series, it was overdone. The same flashbacks were played at the beginning and end of the last three episodes, which was frustrating to repeatedly watch. 

Despite the extraordinary plot and goofy, yet charming, characters, towards the end of the series, it felt like the directors were stalling time to make the show a 16-episode series when it could have easily ended at 14 The characters were all happy by the middle of episode 14, but they added unnecessary conflict to the last two episodes. At the end of the third to last episode, Jung Gu Won leaves Do Do Hee, which leaves her in a state of shock. As the penultimate episode ends, Jung Gu Won dies after violating one of the rules of being a demon by saving Do Do Hee’s life. Although he returns in the last episode, it was still heartbreaking to watch. 

Though I’ve seen better Korean dramas, “My Demon” had amazing chemistry between the two characters. The plot left the viewer with no questions and the last episode was a satisfying finish to the series. 

This story was originally published on tjTODAY on January 23, 2024.