K-drama The Witch’s Diner: Song Ji-hyo in supernatural drama that starts promisingly
- Song Ji-hyo is the titular witch, beckoning lost souls into her eatery where she’ll serve a tasty dish and grant a wish – but extract a terrible price
- The early episodes set up the series well – now we need the characters to be fleshed out and to see some layers peeled away
After debuting with the little seen drama Scripting Your Destiny earlier this year, TVing, South Korea’s hot new streaming service, is back with its second original drama, The Witch’s Diner, an eight-episode supernatural series based on the novel Come to the Witch’s Restaurant.
An ethereal Song Ji-hyo, with reddish hair, a hypnotic pair of contact lenses and some velvety dresses, plays Jo Hee-ra, the titular witch, beckoning lost souls into her decadently decked out eatery and promising them a solution to their woes with but a bite of her rich and delectable dishes. Yet as she tells her customers, nothing in life comes for free, and in lieu of a bill, the price she exacts from them is terrible.
In the show’s prologue, Hee-ra is preparing a plate of foie gras for just such a customer, whose most ardent desire is to win the lottery, so that he may become a father and husband who can provide for his family.
Ignoring several red flags the man greedily wolfs down the foie gras, and the next time he clutches a lottery ticket as the lucky numbers get called, his dream comes true. But then his nightmare begins, as he starts to lose his sight. For this meal, the price turned out to be his eyes.
Despite this cold opening, the show’s title and Song’s prominence in its advertising, during the first two episodes of The Witch’s Diner the real focus is on the down-on-her-luck Jung Jin (Nam Ji-hyun), who, after a series of mishaps, will ultimately find herself as Hee-ra’s somewhat unwitting business partner.