K-drama Review: Destined With You
Destined With You is a cute and quirky light-hearted contemporary romance with a magical twist.
English Title: Destined With You (2023)
Writer: Noh Ji-sul
Director: Nam Ki-hoon
Length: 16 Episodes
Tropes: Fated Mates, Reincarnation, Past Lives, Office Romance, Love Triangle
My Score: 4/5
Description: When lonely civil servant Lee Hong-jo (Jo Bo-ah) is sent to investigate a dangerously dilapidated shrine, she crosses paths with corporate lawyer Jung Shin-yu (Rowoon) who owns the land it sits on. Jung Shin-yu is plagued by a family curse but the discovery of an ancient spell book in the shrine's ruins offers him hope to break the spell - for which he needs Lee Hong-jo, the book's rightful owner and the only one able to perform the spells. As they work together to break the curse, fix a love spell gone wrong, and deal with a scary stalker, they unravel the tragedy of their past life together to find love and fulfil their destiny.
If you enjoyed this show, then watch: Business Proposal, My Love From the Star, The Legend of the Blue Sea, My Holo Love, and 100 Days My Prince (by the same writer)
The show is very watchable, with high production values, great storytelling and acting, and fast pacing that keeps the story moving forward with good momentum - but it just missed that extra magic spark that makes me obsess about a show. (Obsession equals five stars!)
The male lead (ML) is the typical stoic, unemotional chaebol hero. On my first watch of the show, I thought that lead actor Rowoon was a tad wooden in his performance (good-looking but bland) but I've subsequently seen him in other dramas and learned that he is in fact a talented actor. (And now I understand why he's my business partner Julie's favourite actor!) Re-watching the show, I realised that his "unemotional" performance in Destined With You is most likely how he was directed to portray this particular character - and how did I ever think he was expressionless? His performance is subtle; while his expression deceptively blank but the suppressed emotions are definitely there and gave me "all the feels." On the re-watch, I also began to appreciate that Rowoon is a really good comedy actor with excellent comic timing.
The female lead (FL) is likeable and relatable. She has a few TSTL ("too stupid to live" in romance reader parlance) moments where she goes into danger alone or makes decisions that (to me) seemed silly - but as they're motivated (albeit sometimes only after the fact) this makes them bearable.
Initially, in episode one, there are some horror elements, with a bloody disembodied hand caressing the ML's face. If horror is not your thing, don't be put off by this! The horror vibe does not continue into subsequent episodes, once it's revealed that the hand is a hallucination caused by the ML's mysterious illness. (And that's not a huge spoiler as it's revealed early on in the show!)
The suspense plot involving a crazy stalker dominates the second half of the series. The villain is a one-dimensional threat, lacking motivation or rationale, and he has no character arc. He is merely bad because he's bad (and because he was also bad in a past life) and exists purely as a plot device.
I especially enjoyed the subplot involving the ML's mother, a former actress turned neglected housewife who starts a friendship with her (much younger) divorce attorney which eventually leads to a new lease of life for her and, ultimately, another chance at love and a new sense of purpose. It's not only a sweet and uplifting sub-plot that adds humour to contrast the darker, more suspenseful elements of the story, but as I age up myself I love seeing the older characters also get their stories and feel-good moments rather than just being background to younger people's lives.
In the main plotline, There's a classic third act break-up around episode 14. Third act break-ups have taken a lot of heat in recent years from TikTok readers, and I have to admit I prefer the K-dramas that avoid them, those which instead show us the couple working through their obstacles together (shows like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? and Her Private Life, for example) but Destined With You illustrates that the third act break-up still has its place in storytelling, when done well and intentionally rather than merely as a formulaic story beat.
Destined With You also features a grand gesture public proposal - another trope that's fallen out of favour in recent years as we've grown more aware of their problematic nature. What I liked about this one is that the writer acknowledges that public proposals are coercive and often about the proposer's grandstanding rather than understanding the needs and desires of the proposee. I give this show an extra half star just for exploring that!
The story's overall theme is summed up in this memorable quote from final episode: The secondary male lead, Jae-gyeong, says "They say love is about timing" and the female lead replies "Love is the collaboration of timing and destiny."
For writers: I have no great takeaways for you from this show. My only comment would be to consider whether having a one-dimensional villain works for the story, and how this show could have been improved by making him more three-dimensional with a deeper motivation. Other than that, watch this show as a tonic when you need a pick-me-up or consider it a reward you give yourself after watching other K-dramas as "homework." Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this one!
Have you watched Destined With You? What were your thoughts? If you haven't yet watched it, check out this trailer:
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