Nosso Destino (2023)

Vidas passadas e mais do mesmo.

Jo Bo Ah e Ron Woon arrasaram neste drama. Ela simplesmente arrasa em atuação e não deixa passar nada em detalhes dos personagens que ela apresenta, realmente sou muito fã dela e ele é fantástico e eximiu profissional que não deixa a atuação pesada e representa muito seus personagens.

Esse drama é fantástico me prendeu do início ao fim e a cada episódio me sentia ansiosa e eu acho que a atuação do casal principal faz isso com a gente independente dos cortes, posso dizer que o diretor foi malvado. 
A história é de fantasia e traz ali a revelação de alguns crimes e problemas psicológicos de um Assassino bem esquisito e perturbado. Sou fã de damas que tenham uma pitada de ação e coisas da realidade e apesar também de tratar de vidas passadas trouxe temas atuais, um pouco de misticismo religioso misturado, mas dá para entender mesmo sendo nega e em resumo é ótimo todo o desfecho, hoje, beijos e os momentos do casal e também a história eterna dos coadjuvantes que nós temos de trabalho fofoca e principalmente sobre divórcio e a pressão diária das nossas vidas.
Ficou no formato interessante e com bastante efeitos especiais, apesar de trazer então temática repetitiva tem os seus elementos de surpresa.

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Podia ter sido melhor

Então, vou ser honesta. Eu estava bem empolgada pra assistir esse porque recebi recomendação.
O início foi bem intrigante e parecia que a história ia seguir pra outro lado. O problema é que os primeiros 7 episódios são extremamente frustrantes porque faz um caminho inverso de separar os protagonistas ao invés de uni-los. A química dos protagonistas é ótima e eu simplesmente não consigo me cansar de olhar pro Ro Woon, considerando que além de ser lindíssimo é um ator de primeira.
Eu apenas fiquei frustrada com todo aquele plot da poção do amor. Foi difícil não achar que a protagonista foi extremamente egoísta, e ainda mais porque aquela poção culminou em um stalker assassino mais pra frente. Quer dizer, ela gostava de um cara que rejeitou ela e então decide apelas pra uma poção do amor em que os sentimentos da outra pessoa não seriam "reais"?
Além de tudo isso, o protagonista tinha namorada e ele simplesmente demorou muito pra terminar com a menina, o que deixou um gosto ruim na boca, pois parecia que estava havendo traição da parte dele, ainda que a menina estivesse traindo ele com outro cara.
No início eu achei que o plot iria seguir uma vibe mais "mística", o que realmente se concretizou com todo o plot sobre as vidas passadas (os nossos protagonistas se amavam em uma vida passada, mas tiveram um fim trágico). A maldição foi um grande problema no início, mas depois ficou meio que de lado e foi resolvida muito facilmente (mas pra ser justa, fez sentido e foi esperado).
Também não explicaram como que o principal antagonista (a assassino) também tinha conhecimento sobre essas coisas de xamãs. O cara simplesmente ficava fazendo os feitiços e etc sem nunca ter tido um contato prévio com a personagem. Ficou muito aleatório.
Eu também não consegui sentir nenhuma empatia pelas colegas de trabalho da Hong-Jo. Elas excluíram ela em todos os momentos e no fim todo mundo ficou amiguinho. Também não me importei com o segundo casal que foi formado entre os chefes dela. Enfim, os personagens secundários foram bem descartáveis na minha opinião, menos a Eun-Wol, que era realmente interessante, apesar de eu não entender onde ela se encaixava em tudo que aconteceu.

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Comecei esse dorama por impulso, não foi por recomendação e eu não conhecia muito bem os atores, apenas vi no catálogo da Netflix e comecei a assistir, mas não me arrependo! Esse dorama definitivamente é um dos melhores de 2023.
A história é sobre reencarnação, vidas passadas e rituais é muito interessante e te deixa curiosa o suficiente pra te prender até o final, todas as cenas foram muito bem feitas e a atuação é perfeita, quero parabenizar especialmente o Rowoon que entregou um show de atuação nesse dorama, fiquei realmente emocionada em diversas cenas por que ele fez parecer tudo muito real. A Jo Bo-ah também entregou uma atuação perfeita nesse dorama, comecei a assistir outro em que ela é a principal e estou bem surpresa com o talento dela. Não posso deixar de comentar sobre a química do casal também, o diretor acertou muito em juntar os dois!
Apesar de ter muitos elogios sobre a história e os atores, eu tenho alguns comentários a fazer, apesar de achar que o casal principal tem muita química e combinam bastante eu realmente não gostei da forma que o Shin-yu tratou a Hong-jo em alguns episódios, em alguns momentos ele coloca ela pra baixo e trata ela de forma ruim sem motivos, e também não pede perdão por isso, outra coisa que eu não gostei também foi a forma que foram enrolando o relacionamento do Shin-yu com a Na-yeon, não acho que era necessário segurar o relacionamento dos dois por 10 episódios, mas entendo que isso na história é mais realista, afinal os dois tiveram um relacionamento longo de 2 anos. Não consigo gostar também de nenhum dos colegas de trabalho da Hong-jo, todos praticaram bullying com ela e acabam bem sem nem um mínimo pedido de desculpas, também não cosegui gostar do Jae-kyung, em algumas cenas eu achei ele muito autoritário sobre a vida da Hong-jo, e de certa forma eu entendo ele não aceitar o relacionamento dela com o Shin-yu no começo, mas ele me parecia muito intrometido e arrogante, não consegui gostar do personagem. Outra coisa também foi a mãe do Shin-yu não acabar se divorciando, eu entendo que isso seria demais para a coreia conservadora, mas acho que seria um final mais feliz e digno pra ela, afinal, ele nem sequer se redimiu, apenas pediu desculpas como se fosse um erro insignificante tratar ela como ninguém durante anos.
Apesar desses defeitos parecerem muitos, são suportáveis e não estragaram a minha experência com o dorama. Me diverti muito assistindo Nosso destino e definitivamente vou recomendar para mais pessoas.

Algo que me surpreendeu muito e eu não poderia deixar de comentar sobre é a cinematrogafia perfeita, em algumas cenas eu me senti assistindo a algum filme no cinema e esse é definitivamente um ponto positivo muito forte nesse dorama.

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Este é mais um drama de amantes desafortunados do passado destinados a se reencontrarem no presente. Além da premissa por si, o drama ainda aborda elementos sobrenaturais de feitiçaria xamânica. No geral gostei do drama. Acho que a química dos protagonistas foi bem cativante e ajudou a me manter presa a história apesar de alguns furos e inconsistências narrativas.

Sobre o plot da vida passada, vi alguns comentários sobre a falta de informações sobre a vida passada dos personagens no decorrer dos episódios, mas creio que funcionou como estratégia narrativa já que os próprios personagens não lembravam dessa vida e foram "juntando as peças" junto com o público que acompanhava o drama. No caso específico deste drama acho que funcionou bem, ao menos para mim, pois ajudou a manter um mistério pelos acontecimentos passados e me manteve interessada em saber mais sobre o passado das personagens.

Contudo, algo que ficou muito mal explicado foi a relação do Joong Beom com a vida passada dos protagonistas. Nas memórias do passado sabemos que ele estava lá, no presente ele tem conhecimentos dos feitiços e inclusive sabe sobre o terreno onde ficava a antiga casa da Xamã. Mas ao mesmo tempo não se explica qual o motivo da obsessão dele pela Hong Jo, se tudo isso tem relação com o passado ou se ele é apenas um psicopata louco obcecado e que, por acaso, também tem conhecimento xamânicos. Tudo bem, teve a situação com garrafinha da poção do amor. Porém foi lançado a suspeita de que o chefe dela também havia bebido da água e não lembro se foi confirmado que o Joong Beom bebeu a água da garrafa com a poção do amor (aliás, quem acha uma garrafinha perdida e bebe a água?), mas ainda que ele tenha bebido como ele sabia fazer os feitiços?

Enfim, apesar de algumas inconsciências no roteiro foi um bom drama e com final feliz para os amantes desafortunados.

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Give it a try!

**Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, please don't take anything I say personally. We don't have to agree and I'm not here to argue with anyone.***

"Destined With You" is one of those dramas that you have to stick with until it gets better. I’m not going to lie it was so hard finding motivation to keep watching but after episode 7 it started to pick up and I have to say I started enjoying the plot twists, mystery and thriller aspect of it. It is seriously so interesting. I especially loved the backstory of Mu Jin and Aeng Cho. Though their love was ill-fated from the start you can see he killed her to ensure they would not dismember her and that she would live on through the curse. The fact that Mu Jin said in another life let them be happy… and this life they want to be happy but were unable to because of the curse and that crazy psychopath of a man (Na Jung-Beom) was so frustrating and unfair.

Rowoon looks so gorgeous in this drama… that was enough to keep me watching haha ? Idk but something about him with the slick back hair as the serious / brooding lawyer is. He also was giving a buzz and then when its all combed down he looks like a cute puppy / golden retriever. AHHH I love how he’s giving us rangeeee and I can’t wait to see him in his next projects.

Bo Ah is such a good actress the way she conveys what she’s feeling through her eyes alone is literally a talent.

For once I actually prefer the latter half of a drama rather than the usual trend of the drama falling off / being disappointing the end.

Let’s talk about Rowoon and Bo Ah's chemistry in episodes 13-15, 15 especially – it was off the charts! I'm talking about that kiss, whew! — I can see why shaman lady (Eun Wol) called the next morning and was like Shin Yu and Hong Jo would be conceiving a girl. I mean, I got pregnant just watching that scene haha. Jokes aside, I'm not sure why people were doubting their incredible chemistry, but you know, there will always be haters or people who don't receive media in the same way and have no appreciation for the effort / artistry that goes into it. I think the writers did a good job of neatly wrapping up the ending. Obviously they would have needed more episodes to really delve into the magic and the lore of Hong Jo’s shaman powers / lineage etc… but so far they did well with the little they were able to keep / use.

I also liked the various side characters stories especially between Mr. Gong and Ms. Ma. They were kind of on / and off all the time but I'm happy they worked out their differences and got married in the end. At first I did not like Hong Jo's workers but I warmed to them because they are very funny / silly. I also liked the side story about Shin Yu's mother and father... it seemed like they were always playing cat and mouse with each other, and you thought they were going to divorce - but in the end, they're going to have a baby. To say I was surprised is an understatement. To be honest, I thought the mom was starting to like Shin Yu's lawyer friend and that they'd end up together, but the drama didn't go in that direction at all.

I didn't particularly like Mr. Kwon / Jae Gyeong, but I'm glad he remained a good guy until the end. Life is all about timing, and he completely missed his with Hong Jo, so he can only blame himself. I thought it was a little cheeky of him to tell her that if she doesn't marry Shin Yu within the next six months, she should call him, but whatever - at least it ended amicably.

One aspect of the show that I dislike is their inability to finish the shamanism/curse storyline. They expect me to believe that the curse has been magically broken and Shin Yu is completely healed? Honestly, I was wondering if there was something missing or if there was more to it because the final scene shows Mu Jin, of the past ,walking away with a spell book of the heavens or something? I'm also curious if Hong Jo's near-death experience, which included almost being poisoned and then being resuscitated... is what broke the curse in the end? Little details like this being forgotten / not being explained is what kind of irritated me about the drama and made me take off points.

In my opinion, the ending was very touching and adorable... I was smiling the entire time and was relieved that it didn't end on a sad / bittersweet note with the main characters suffering. Spoiler alert: Hong Jo is not pregnant, but they will get married and live happily ever after. It took them 300 years to get here, but they did it!

The OST they chose is just so beautiful and heartfelt. The songs perfectly complement the story and will stay with you long after you finish watching the drama.

I for one am impressed and proud of myself for not dropping this drama and I guess I would rewatch it for the vibes and cute moments.

If you enjoy light fantasy, mystery, and reincarnation dramas, you should give this one a shot. Hopefully, you will not be disappointed.

With that, I give this drama a resounding 8/10.

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showed improvement, but didn't fill in the gaps

It started off weak and I found the FL insufferable in first few episodes.. she does improve, if only slightly. I'll be honest, I stuck around the beginning and middle for visuals of ML and second ML but as the ML and FL accepted their fate and the chemistry improved, I did enjoy the show more. There are massive plot holes and weird story lines that fall off and pick up out of no where, not to mention extremely annoying "support" characters-I couldve done without the entire work crew????

In the end, I still enjoyed the couple and their growth/ chemistry. It was probably the only reason I didn't drop it. It tries to hit every genre and falls flat for nearly all of them but I still can't say I hated it.

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'Destined with You' review: a spellbinding romcom falls flat with a lackluster story

With the number of psychopaths in this kdrama, its title should have been "Obsessed with You" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Destined with You revolves around Hong Jo, a civil servant, whose life unexpectedly got tangled up with Shin Yu, a renown corporate lawyer. A mysterious box and several encounters later, they find themselves stuck with one another and they discover their unbreakable connection.

For starters, the plot was messy, loaded with uninteresting supporting characters and subplots. The series can't even create two episodes which tackles the same thing. Every episode is unrelated to one another. It is very important for a fantasy k-drama to steadily build the mystery and keep the thrill. Adding more confusion and questions to the bunch is certainly not one of the ways to do that.

Most of the episodes were merely fillers and keeps poking around the central conflict of the show. I'm not even sure if the main characters only have one main problem since they, too, are not searching for answers. The antagonists mostly did the work to keep the momentum going.

At the very beginning, the story is about spells and a century-old curse. Then, halfway through the show it became a secret office romance. Once again it changed course, the story became a thriller and that's the moment I knew the writers screwed up big time. It tries to have all genres at once. Honestly, the kdrama's only saving grace is Rowoon's visuals and his striking suits. At least the fashion department knew how to get the right work done.

Anyways, Rowoon and Jo Bo Ah had an undeniable chemistry here. Rowoon throwing funny puns while keeping a straight and handsome face certainly deserves a daesang. As for Jo Bo Ah, I kind of wished her character were more smart and strong. Hong Joo falls under the weak female lead stereotype category and I find damsels in distress intolerable. Her struggles of working and living alone definitely pulled some heartstrings. She also had some character development at the end but it felt too formulaic for my liking. Maybe it's just me who saw this issue. Perhaps I simply prefer smart female leads over the ones who needs saving and longs for a hero to realize her true worth.

On the other hand, I wish it had gone the same route as 'Extraordinary You' where the leads had one goal in mind and then conflicts appeared and the answers unfold one after another. We are solving the puzzle together with the main characters. That's the most simple structure of a fantasy drama.

In Destined with You's case, we don't even know what Shin Yu and Hong Jo want to do with their lives. They're simply flirting and encountering lunatics, that's it. The plot had so much potential. If only they stayed picked a lane, this fantasy k-drama could have been interesting and gripping.

This series could have also been way more short if it solely focused on Shin Yu and Hong Jo's past lives and their unbreakable connection. Up to now, I still can't figure if the spells were real or not. Shin Yu got better so the spell transcends through time? But why was Hong Jo never able to cast a spell if she were a direct descendant or even the reincarnation of Aeng Cho? We'll never know the answers to these questions because the show didn't even bother to acknowledge and answer them.

Episode 14 was not the resolution I was expecting. They could have given us glimpses of their past lives bit by bit throughout the series. However, they decided to dump the whole Joseon period in one go. I got emotionally invested in that episode but the sudden return to the present day only left me hanging. Aside from the talisman box, the show could have given more reasons why ML and FL were bound together by fate and how they gravitate towards one another even if they stay out of each other's lives.

Overall, 'Destined with You' both had its highs and lows. It was fun and swoon-worthy. However, the lackluster script made this show messy and incoherent. If only this story were written right, it could have been at par with What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and Business Proposal and will go down in the record books as one of the inventive and spellbinding office rom-com. The series is entertaining but doesn't quite put you under its spell.

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MY FAVORITE ROMCOM OF 2023

I'M GOING TO MISS THIS SERIES SOOOO BADLY. ??

The narration is non-linear so each episode was a treat for me. I thoroughly enjoyed analyzing and trying to predict what would happen next, only to be amazed at how things are revealed.

And that was a VERY satisfying and full-packed finale.

Thank you, screenwriter and PD-nim for this masterpiece.

Thank you as well to all the actors and production crew who served their best in every episode.

EVERYONE ACTED SOOOOO WELL IN THIS DRAMA, ESPECIALLY THE MAIN LEADS!!!

Jo Bo Ah, Kim Seok Woo/Rowoon, it was a privilege watching your craft every week. Thank you very much. I love you! ?

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Another 16 hours wasted ^ᗜ^

Okay, so this series started as a seven for me, I'm not a huge fan of any of the actors, so I went in with no bias as the premise sounded interesting. The first two to three episodes were quite good, a bit slow but because I had high hopes I gave it the benefit of the doubt... but then it all fell apart. The fl just got dumb and dumber, the ml just basically turned into a gaslighter under a disguesed as a man in love, so so many plot holes, side characters no one cares about, and many questions were created just to be left unanswered. When I reached the 10th episode I felt like I watched a 30-episode show where nothing really happened, most events were just fillers, new plot twists got added randomly, and so many more stupid things happened to make this whole show into a disaster. I sped through the last 6 episodes like lightning because I had gotten so far and didn't want to waste all my efforts.

As I write this, I originally wanted to give it a five, but the more I write the more I feel like it doesn't deserve it.

Spoilers from here on:
All the things that ruined this show for me:
-I have no clue why they decided to go the cheating route. No matter what the ML thought ro felt he was still dating the SFL. Granted she was a b**ch herself but still, you can't really like a cheater.
-His "love" started because of a spell. There was no reason or any event to trigger true affection. So how did they fix it? With the classic "actually he has loved her all the time... like since their past lives" Please... that's so freaking dumb and overused.
-He was sick, haunted. But then suddenly he wasn't for the longest time, but then it came back again randomly. like what??
-FL just carried the love potion around in her tumbler and every single man just decided to drink it. Like girl, you've already used it on the person you wanted (not really lol), so either pour the sh*t down the drain or keep it at home.
-SML just randomly fell for the FL because "oh, wow. now she's liked by another guy huh, I'm suddenly interested." •ᴗ•
-Why do all Korean dramas just NEED to have their main leads have met each other before? Its always: childhood, past life, they met one time before and one saved the other. UGH! Not to mention, one of them always has some sort of trauma.
-And WHy, OH WHY!? do they have to break up for like half an episode just to get back with each other again? Its just lame.
-also the past story was just lamer... it could have worked with better writing but this show lacks that along with all sense so...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Things I liked:it was fun
-I liked the sass of the ML
-and what else... Um... FL looked really pretty in her past life ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)
-Oh wait... The main leads did have good chemistry I'll give them that

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Destined With You; An Interesting Premise, Just Lacking In Charming Writing…

Let’s be honest. Very few Korean dramas are original. Yes, they can explore different concepts and themes, but many are inspired or borrowed from other shows or movies across years, cultures and genres. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. Writers and directors are influenced by other works, and Destined With You is no exception.

The series was written by Noh Ji Sul and directed by Nam Ki Hoon. It follows Lee Hong Jo ( Jo Bo Ah), a bright underdog civil servant, who works hard despite being overshadowed by others. When Hong Jo comes into possession of a mysterious object, she becomes intertwined with cold and stoic lawyer Jang Shin Yu ( Rowoon). Shin Yu has been cursed to live with an incurable disease, yet, Hong Jo may just hold the cure in more ways than one..


Off the bat, I will give it to Destined With You: it is an interesting premise. The cursed setup had been seen and done before, but the sense of the horror element being so spooky early on was quite well done. Some Korean dramas are fairly mild when it comes to horror or jumpscares( especially over censorship concerns), but Destined With You was surprisingly chilling in its opening episode . ( Moments such as the infamous “ bloodied-hand scene” , felt as though they were taken from shows like OCN’s The Guest and CW’s Angel .)


Yet as much as the horror element thrived, the show struggled with attempting to balance the horror and romance element to work well together. It is not necessarily that horror and romance cannot work well. In fact shows like The Master’s Sun and Arang and the Magistrate were able to use this formula fairly well in execution.

The problem is that while both predecessors were aware of creating and broadening characters and balance , Destined With You really struggles to do the same. As the series progressed the horror element was pretty non-existent and turned more into a cutesy rom-com. As a result, it was really hard to work out what this show was going for in thematic setup and messaging, even early on. The early episodes would suddenly go from menial moments of Hong Jo being stuck in a rom-com moment in front of a cute guy, to law procedurals and bickering, to full out body horror with Sin Yu. The constant flip between cutesy romance moments, courtroom drama and disturbing violence and horror , rubbed against one another in the wrong way because the show was never really settled to balance it out . Simply put, it felt like watching three very different shows at times, without a lot of opportunity to fuse them together.


Another major problem lay with character writing. The acting was decent enough. Rowoon is okay here too. He is certainly a good actor, and the idol has proven it in shows like Extraordinary You and Tomorrow. The problem is that Rowoon is not given an opportunity to really shine. His character is the trope-inducing “ cold male lead”.

Admittedly this is not entirely the fault of Rowoon as it is the writing. The cold male lead trope is a preference in romance dramas. It is not bad per say and can be used well in romances to explore characters’ backgrounds and fears. The problem with Shin Yu is that he is a bit of a paper-thin character. Yes, the audience gets he lacks social etiquette, a few “ sob” moments in his backstory and is stoic, but what else is there to say about him?


He is seemingly self-assured and confident in public , and suffering from his curse in private, but his composure rarely breaks beyond this even early on. We see some loose plot threads into Shin Yu’s mysterious family and their weird connection to shamans, but aside from being a necessary plot device, we are never shown the full effect on Shin Yu and how this has influenced any form of backstory or careful character development. In some later episodes we do see a “ softer” side to the male lead by playing into the romantic element and some angsty plot backstory , but aside from this, it’s hard to really see any pivotal or particularly poignant development, apart from going from being churlish then jealous to lovey-dovey with the female lead. This is the a little disappointing considering the fact that he could have been a really interesting character, especially from his written role and introduction with the female lead.


Hong-Jo is unsurprisingly Shin-Yu’s polar opposite. Jo Bo Ah is a good actress and does have some good moments of the show. However similar to Rowoon, her talents are never really given an opportunity to be explored further as a consequence of the writing.

It seemed like a really good writing point to have Hong Jo as the “ underdog heroine”. In theory, she has so many parallelisms that could have been explored to parallel metaphorically with the male lead’s literal “ cursed” predicament. She is outcasted at work, has an abject love life and often feels lonely. She is by all accounts, a “relatable” underdog heroine.


Before I go into the problems, I will say a few good aspects of Hong Jo as a character. She is fairly headstrong, both getting the job done such as the demolition case, confessing to her crush ( even if she was a little childish ) and remaining resilient against the toxic culture of her workplace. They were good attributes in the female lead, and did show off some of her strengths.


However, the problem is Hong Jo is never really fleshed out to the extent for the audience to truly connect with her. Sure, there were moments of pity for this character when it was needed in the plot, but on a deeper level, it was hard to really feel as strongly as the show wanted us to do so for her. For example, one major driving point early on is that she is very bullied and isolated from her work colleagues. She is not invited out after work for drinks, and spends most of her time alone. Yes, this shows she is alone, but why is it so significant for Hong Jo? We do learn a bit of history of being bullied, but, why is she so determined to be friends with people who have hated her? These may seem nuanced, but the show seemed to have multiple opportunities to really go into character’s backstories or growth early on, yet rarely did so even in later episodes.


Then there’s Yoon Na Yeon ( Yura), an interior designer with a bad history with Lee Hong Jo. There’s definitely a lot of mixed things about Na Yeon as a character.



On one hand, she is fairly complicated in the fact that she she puts on a lot of different sides as well as being a bully , and is more than the meets the eye, especially when Hong Jo renters the picture. On the other hand, while it feels like Yura has been typecast once again, the character feeds into a bit of a tiresome cliche of the cruel second female lead.


This isn’t to say that there can’t be animosity between a bully or victim, or alternatively see the character’s pettiness come to light, but rather than using this as an opportunity for Na Yeon to either be explored further in a more subtle manner,this storyline still seems to perpetuate a lot of archaic stereotypes . ( Particularly the oldest cliche in the book of two women at odds with one another being pitted against one another further for a man .)

Adding to this, there’s also the actual fact Shin Yu, probably one of the most misanthropic and seemingly “ isolated” characters in the drama, is in a dating relationship with Na Yeon. Understandably, relationships are not always straightforward and people can meet in a lot of different circumstances. Shin Yu never seems truly happy with Na Yeon, often trying to break up things with her or sitting in sullenness, while Na Yeon fawns over him and becomes more obsessive when she sees Hong Jo as a threat and love rival. Shin Yu does attempt to put their relationship on hold, but Na Yeon is obsessed and does not back down. The relationship displayed a good aspect of difficulties between dating partners, but, aside from just adding fuel to the fire on plot devices and drama, it did seem a little questionable as to why Shin Yu would even agree to date someone like Na Yeon, ( knowing about her past or not) .


The potential romantic pairing between Hong Jo and Shin Yu is fairly good, even if the screenwriting does not always justify it. One of the major parts that came to play here was the romantic sparks flying between Rowoon and Jo Bo Ah’s onscreen characters. They have surprisingly good chemistry as actors. For the characters, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. There is certainly romantic development ( in typical romance fashion) early on, but it was admittedly a little hard to root for the characters when Shin-Yu was often just plain rude to Hong Jo from gossip he overheard as well as his attitude. To make matters worse, even later on, he never really apologised for his actions. Later episodes improve this a little, but then there’s also the elements of Shin Yu’s obsession and later actions ( though there is a suggested cause), as well as feeding into some overused cliches.

On the pacing side, Destined With You is very slow to begin with. It’s understandable even in the first episode alone, there’s a lot to get through, but the first few episodes were fairly slow with pacing . Later episodes did pick up the pace more briskly, but there were later moments, which struggled to really get off the ground, even by the ending. Speaking of which, the ending was a little anticlimactic. Sure we saw a few loose threads tied, but it felt as though some characters and plot was left greatly unresolved.


The cinematography is definitely one of the show’s major highlights. It’s fairly stylish and sleek, with a glossy element of different palette schemes to reflect the mood and tone of the scenes. There are later episodes which feel a little insipid on the staging side, but scenes with the cursed hand, definitely helped capture the more horror and fearful element, with careful attention to detail.



Destined With You is a very odd show. It has a good cast, an intriguing premise and beautiful cinematography, but in execution, it has some very noticeable inconsistencies. The themes were so imbalanced that it was hard to work out what the show was going for in its general setup. While there’s nothing wrong with using classic tropes with a new spin or using them to address a message, Destined With You took them with a fairly copy and paste manner and nothing more . At times, it often made the show feel like it would have been less out of place in 2013 than 2023.


Writing and pacing is another major issue. There were some potentially brilliant characters in the show ( particularly the main leads) , but rather than fleshing them out to their full potential, they were rarely allowed to change and grow ( a key stage in any character’s development). Overall, Destined With You is an average show which is probably best to watch during a forgettable binge-watching session to pass the time .

Leia Mais

Rowoon's transition from music to acting is a promising one

Destined With You is a 16-episode Kdrama that had me hooked from the very beginning. The primary reason I tuned in was the talented Rowoon, who left his band SF9 to focus on his acting career, and boy, was I not disappointed. Rowoon's acting prowess is undeniable, and he effortlessly brings his characters to life with his captivating smile and the mellifluous timbre of his voice.

The storyline follows the classic romcom formula, complete with the standard Kdrama setup and tropes. While it doesn't break new ground in terms of plot, what sets it apart is the remarkable ensemble cast. Each actor, both in lead and supporting roles, delivers stellar performances, making the characters relatable and endearing.

One of the standout features of this drama is its cinematography, which beautifully captures the essence of the scenes and adds depth to the storytelling. The humor is perfectly timed and adds a delightful touch to the narrative, keeping the viewers engaged and entertained throughout.

The OST is another highlight, with its soulful melodies and emotional resonance that enhances the viewing experience. It beautifully complements the emotional moments in the series, creating a profound connection with the audience.

What truly impressed me was the outstanding wrap-up in the final episode. It ties up all loose ends and leaves viewers with a satisfying sense of closure, which is often a rarity in many Kdramas.

It may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to Kdrama plots, but its stellar cast, picturesque cinematography, humor, and heartwarming OST make it a must-watch. Rowoon's transition from music to acting is a promising one, and this series showcases his talents to the fullest. Whether you're a fan of Kdramas or new to the genre, this show is an excellent choice for a heartwarming and enjoyable watch.

Leia Mais