Destined with You (2023)

Pleasently surprised

I'm gonna be honest. It was a background noise kinda watch, I couldn't care about the story, and I "watched" the past life plot on 1,5x speed while sleeping. If I would review the story only it's a 4 at most.
BUT. The leads, and especially Rowoon, were so incredible and funny that they convinced me to binge this. It was my first Rowoon drama and I was really surprised about his comedic timing. (I usually have a little prejudice about idol-actors for being casted only/mostly for looks, but OMG this guy is really a very TALENTED actor.)

I think I'm going to rewatch this but only the couple/cute scenes. It's the only interesting part but it's really worth the struggle.

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Ooof I wish I never touched this drama

Alright, this isn't the WORST drama ever but, I try to pick my dramas carefully so I don't waste my time but unfortunately , this just wasn't a good choice. There isn't really many things to like about this drama honestly. I didn't like the female lead, and besides his outstanding good looks, I didn't like the male lead very much either. And I know the drama is called "destined with you" but come onnnn, I thought they would at least fall in love for reasons other than destiny. I just didn't find their love line believable and I found it so annoying that the male lead would just not break up with his girlfriend, out of "loyalty". But cheating was okay? So confusing and irritating. Also this female lead...my goodness, it really was like watching a damsel in distress of 16 EPISODES. Even when she let herself become bait, like that was the best you could do? Anyways moving on from those two, the office people were INSUFFERABLE. I hated those two girls, and they literally added nothing but negativity and horribleness to the story. I could have definitely done without them. OOH! And of course I couldn't forget about Sin Yu's Dad!! He was absolutely horrible too and clearly a terrible judge in character. I don't know why they just insisted on making him a blockage for all things good for our male lead along with a verbally abusive husband. But yeah, he just added onto the list of things making this drama a chore to watch. The only character I liked in this story was Jae Kyung, and even then its not like the bar was too hard for him to clear.
Whelp I'm glad I'm finally done with this drama, so I hope I can move onto a much better drama. Bye for now!

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The chemistry is UNDENIABLE

It's all worth it because of Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah. They were amazing, a joy to the eyes both charming and beautiful made the story work even if the story itself was weaker in comparison.

Acting/Cast:
It's all about the amazing Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah. The end.

Music:
Great music >>>>>>> Park Won (박원) - It's You <<<<<<<<<<3

Story:
Could have been better. I dont like stalker concepts but the back story taking as through the protagonists' past life together was amazing. Never seen beaten up people look more beautiful on screen (joke) <3 No one liked the female lead's coworkers lets be honest. And why did she have to live in that neighborhood? And what is up with the psychic grandmotheer is she for them of against them. Also no reason to base have a love story on a love spell actually ended up making the audiance confused about the male lead's true feelings. Bad script indeed.

Rewatch Value: Yes. For the chemistry between Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah!

Over and out <3

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Too drawn out

November 2023
I know this has been really popular and just about everyone loves Rowoon (including me), with Jo Bo-ah having lots of fans too, but... I really struggled with it. Sorry for the negtive review, to those who loved it and perhaps read this.

Unusually for me, a big bugbear was the irritating incidental/background music. Once it irked me, I couldn't zone it out.

The main characters around Hong-jo and Shin-yu, were mostly horrible....

From just awful work colleagues (apart from HJ's team Manager, Eun-young), to Shin-yu's father (so unkind about his mother's intelligence), and a delusional girlfriend; all very unlikeable.

I was also not keen on either lead character. One never took control, strung people along and was frankly, weak. The other was mouthy with one character and yet almost weak around all others.

A few tropes I really don't like, such as the father disliking their off-spring's chosen partner, just because they have no parents and are a 'nobody'; and the usual delusional girlfriend. Done. To. Death.

Apart from that, so many scenes were waaaaay too drawn out and slow, full of long stares and bizarre silent phone calls (where one calls other and then says NOTHING... what is all that about!)

HJ's female co-workers are completely bat poop and also delusional... I didn't find them funny at all ~ really not good writing. One in particular was thoroughly unlikeable.

I often found scenes childish and ridiculous; I mean, a Parks worker with no vehicle, no appropriate equipment/clothing, yet often expected to deal with situations for which they are totally unprepared. Like having to wipe up blood, but not having anything to do so with! Or someone with a suspected stalker, going to remote places alone. Eye rolling.

The story also didn't flow. Scenes felt jerky and disjointed, almost like segments stuck together, at times. The MC can regularly be found randomly standing on a beach, for no apparent reason, just gazing into one another's eyes.

Utterly ridiculous plot lines. Especially around the worst example of promiscuity ever, which just because someone is dating, is apparently openly talking with a man, even though there's a space between them (ie, not cuddled up).

There's also an appalling scene with an octopus, too, that really upset me. Totally unacceptable to me, I'm afraid (and 'culture' doesn't cut it, in a developed country that should know better by now). It wasn't even necessary. Hope to God it wasn't real ~ I'm honestly not sure.

There were scenes filmed in the same location as See You In My 19th Life (Mujinjeong Pavilion, with 'falling petal' fireworks), that actually felt like they almost mirrored that part of the other drama. It felt too similar and really distracted me.

So disappointing and I'd looked forward to this drama, too.

The cast weren't a problem, but actually the drama's saving grace. However, apart from some of the historical scenes, the story was just not for me.

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Too predictable

Same old cliched plot. I actually knew what was coming next after each episode. Fast forwarded many times. Jo Boah was my favourite actress but after this, I'm not so sure. She infuriated me with her cringey portrayal of having a crush towards her senior in the office. I mean seriously??? Tucking your hair and turning your shoetip on the ground to act all shy??? That was cringe on so many levels. I mean what is she?? A 5th grader??? And I hated the fact that this cringey act was focused more on in some scenes. I mean why? Just why? This ain't a tiktok video! And Rowoon oh God! In the process of being a tsundere, he instead ends up being a total jerk. I mean c'mon!!
Conclusively the only thing that I did like was their romance part, the rest is cliche.

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A TYPICAL K- ROM-COM BUT ROWOON STEEL THE SHOW

i first i started watching this show was only for the cast because as i am big fan of rowoon (ML) and his acting as it is improving in every drama and jo bo ah (FM) as i have have watched her in TALE OF THE NINE TAILED and her chemistry is really good with ML .
the story is really basic one as every korean rom-com have and it was very much predictable but there were some scenes that keep me engaging very much. the past life was much basis but they did the good job in telling it . they make it suspense till the end of the drama .
the 2ML will become memorable as well for me. because he did very good job in his part . i don't like it when they show him in his past life but he did not became like that in the present that was pleasing. his chemistry with the FL was good and those 3 have many COMEDIC moments that made the show enjoyable.
ROWOON have still my heart again in this drama , he have nailed it in the show. he portrayed the cold and cool lawyer and a cute and clingy boyfriend very well. in the first few episode when he was chasing the FL that made me fall for him again , he did it well ( FIGHT WITH ME IF I AM WRONG ) .
it could be 12 or 14 episode drama with not too dragging in the last episode,
as i wanted their wedding scene not other supporting leads and not become brother but father ( YOU'II KNOW IT )

IF YOU LIKE ROWOON'S DRAMA LIKE I DO THEN YOU SHOULD GIVE IT A TRY AS I DID .. HE WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH, GIVE BUTTERFLIES. AND MAKE YOU CRY ALSO.

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netflix power!

i began this drama when it started airing, but didn't even get midway to ep1 before i gave up. i guess i just wasn't curious, both with the story and the pairing (because i didn't expect much) but after 14 eps had already aired i saw it was still top1 currently airing dramas on mdl and decided to give it a chance. binged by pulling an allnighter because i was hooked into the 'forbidden love' aspect.

not the best drama ever or anything, but still a decent one. storywise there are a lot of plotholes, but their chemistry made me stay. it was a fun watch. personally think it's a better binge than watching as it airs. nothing spectacular happening that will get you thinking and waiting the whole week for the next eps to drop. yes, they're too sweet it might get cringey, but somehow i enjoyed the cringe lol. this is the kinda drama you don't need to watch 16hrs of to get the plot, a well made fmv will do. the reason it's performing well on this platform is probably because it's aired on netflix which makes it easily accessible.

you can't watch this with a rational and moral mind because of how "destiny" is used as an excuse. so watch it if you're up for some fluff without focusing too much on the plot. not a drama i would strongly recommend or anything, just an average drama you can enjoy if you wanna idle away time.

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Destined with Love

I love this drama from the start till the end, though the last two episodes took a long time to complete. The main actor a singer, a dance and actor Rowon was superb in his acting and ofcourse the main actress was great too and plus all other casts. I noticed Korean drama many of these recalling back the past historical stories and it sometimes made me confused. But somehow luckily it was a good ending cos I never like sad endings like in the past years when Korean drama started most of the dramas had sad endings and un natural act in romance , Looking forward to this actor and actress in other dramas. Great drama overall

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Draggy drama with ambiguous characters and an obtuse A-plot

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate this show. It is acceptable both in terms of acting and production value. However, the longer I watch this show, the more frustrated and dejected I feel. This is rare for me and I can only put it down to the script.

The start of the show is engaging. A struggling FL who seems to get the raw end of the stick no matter how hard she tries. She ran into a super handsome ML by accident. He is totally out of her league and yet they are oddly attracted to each other. The chemistry of our leads is undeniable. Throw in a centuries old curse and a mysterious spell book and we should have an intriguing and engaging story. Unfortunately, the show drags out the plot to the point of exhaustion. To add to our woes, the A-plot is obtuse. Most characters are ambiguous and lack depth.

The show spends so much time on the ML and whether he is under a love spell or not in the early episodes. I don’t blame them because they obviously want to capitalise on his visuals and he acts so cute, but it does wear thin after a while. BTW, is the FL also cursed because by all accounts she is smart, diligent and sweet, yet she just can’t win a trick. It doesn’t make sense. They are trapped in narrative purgatory by mid show.

On the other hand, some behaviours are too predictable. The two-timing girlfriend of the ML (SFL) steadfast refuses to breakup with the ML for the most selfish reasons. The longer it drags on, the more toxic it becomes. Then we have the SML who rejected the FL even though he knew she has a crush on him. He then flips 180 degrees and chase after the FL even though he knew that the FL is in love with the ML by then. Forget couple therapy, the show needs therapy. It got to the point that the FL said on multiple occasions that she is so confused. So are we, sister, so are we.

Storylines from other shows might shuffle back and fore, but this show elevates it to an art form. The various plots just circles each other like a swarm of bees. A case in point, the ML finally confessed in the middle of ep.9 but the ML’s behaviour at work totally confused the FL but he never explains himself. Then the SML confessed in ep.10 which clears the air, NOT! We finally see the OTP’s first kiss at the end of ep.10 but the romantic spell is immediately broken by the reappearance of the ancient curse. It is unrelenting. We don’t even get to enjoy one tiny sugar hit.

Throw in an evil antagonist who appears to lust after the FL for no apparent reason and then teams up with the SFL to sabotage the OTP with glee. At first, I was baffled by his ability to put a curse on the OTP but then I have a lightbulb moment which took the wind out of this sail.

What I realised is that all the main characters are retracing events from their past lives. It is not just the OTP but every key characters. The SML was probably an acquaintance of the ML who has a crush on the FL but missed his chance. The SFL was likely to be a daughter of a rich family who got betrothed to the ML and then play merry hell with the OTP once she was rejected. If we play by the rules then the antagonist would be an evil shaman or a local magistrate who lust after the FL, etc. Mayhap he cursed the OTP like he did in the present and brought about their ultimate demise.

If this comes to pass, then the remaining episodes should see all the key players fulfil their destiny. This will necessitate even more troubles and angst for our OTP until we arrive at the final confrontation with the antagonist. A HEA ending will require the curse to be lifted and the evil doers getting their just desserts. It will give me no joy if my prognostication comes true.

This show is not without merits but for each nice moment, there are two negative ones. It really tested my patience. Hence without further ado, I shall bid our handsome ML and long-suffering FL adieu for now. I might revisit this show after it finishes its run.

Oh, if you are still reading. Production quality is fine, OST is decent. Rewatch? You jest.

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What a wasted potential ?

This is the story of low level civil servant, orphan, bullied, insecure and lonely, getting entangled in magic with a lawyer.

BIG HOPES: the initial plot and characters that was PROMISING a classic fantasy melodrama and starcrossed lovers whose characters grow together and find each other …

But somehow, along the way -very early-it got tacky.

What i liked:
- they had a cute intricate melody for magic and general ost was nice

- Early episodes (1-4) really had a witty comedy even if it was cringe( still happening by the end but its sparse and mostly off )

- I liked trying to guess the rules of this magical world and the mysteries along the plot ( in the beginning)

- FL development is among my fav element of a show: i loved that we see her evolve and the actress really showed a nice progression ( but it was still a bit inconsistent, feels skipped and weird!!)

What i didn’t like:
- without spoiling, early on the ML actions suggest some toxic behaviour , that even if addressed by the other characters, it really was a low from the writers , especially how they reveal events related to that part. I totally disconnected from the romantic side of the story

- The magic mystery itself ? while i love fantasy in the real world and making it subtle, sometimes it was sooo subtle we were constantly being thrown off/ON the magic.

- The characters: while they could all potentially be great characters ( in their own roles to the story) each character had something off and unrealistic making us disconnect further with the story. Especially the main leads.

- The MOST ANNOYING EKEMENT: Witholding information from the viewer: this is a show that constantly hides parts of a scene to reveal it later, while it can be really nice if well done, it was sooo overdone and annoying in this show. We were expected to root for the FL and ML from a short reveal from the past? This made the story / engagement of the viewer forced. I felt tricked by the writers hiding a lazy evolution of the story to buy minutes…

- This brings the last point: we remain confused for most of the show … the main story is not clear as if random scenes were patched together.. it lacked cohesiveness…

I had read in some comments that the writer’s last work before this one dates back to 2018, which may explain the choppy scenes?

Overall, the show felt shallow, often redundant. the viewer is almost always left guessing.

I really wanted to love this show because it had a nice idea!! But it was shabby with no meat… the actors did great often but it wasn’t enough…

I was left disconnected from the story . My neurones weren’t ‘coupling’ with the story ( it’s an inside joke from the story) …

I still want to finish my review on a positive note because some episodes were really nice so :
- Shout out to the main actors who did their best to bring these characters to life considering the script ( some lines were really cringe but it turned out witty or really funny !)
- I liked the general atmosphere of the world in this show and cinematic quality.

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Started super interesting then lost me mid way through

I'll be keeping this review very short and sweet.
The plots of this series were all over the place.
Seems like the writers didn't know to pick one story line and do thst very well. One minute the show is a mystery, the next it's Harry potter with spells and music and the next, it's a past love story.
I think they did all the past story lines much better. Everyone acted their parts very well.
But the rest of the stuff just didn't know. The office stuff with other Co workers. Her stuck between two guys who kept playing with.
The leads are good here. Though, the FL is charming and funny and the ML is also charming and got some good lines.
The SML is just there. I didn't hate him or like him
But the SFL was just horrible through the show. Not her acting but the character actions and the ML took way too long to break up with her.
Anyway, I think the show had potential like a lot but it ended just like any old drama.
Oh that creepy flower guy didn't need to be there. He was there just to make the show longer.

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