Reviews

good start, good drama, but story is very unoriginal

Destined (2023) - 8,5/10 -cdrama

historical cdrama witth quite nice and :unusual: start of :forced marriage: and hate/love relationship.
Still in middle and end drama it goes to old thousand times used :fight for throne and court intrigues:

main leads personality changes in course of the story to better. As for chemistry between all pairs. Its good but its lacks something.

plot - ML is notorious son of provincial wealthiest family[Gu family]. FL is is only legitimate daughter of former merchant, sadly her father dotes on concubine and she lives in :hell: together with her mother. FL tries to marry into famous scholar family of city to run from oppression, but unluckily she crosses way with ML and pisses him off. ML in his prankish retaliation publicly confessed his love for her and destroyed her :honor: that way + closed her chance to marry into scholar family. Sadly for ML his parents heard of it and made him marry her, partly too cause Emperor tried to force marriage between ML and princess in attempt to :steal: their family wealth that way.

genre - romance, historical, wuxia

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It's actually a gripping mystery that deals with parent - child relationships

I love this show so much because it really digs deep into how parents forn their children, and even if the parent did a good job, bad things can happen, and even if they did a terrible job, the kids can get support from friends, relitives, and come out good. It was a plot twisting heart wrenching story, with the most awesome ending I have ever seen. Casting was perfect and I love all these actors now. I rewatch this every winter, because it just gives me the feels.

The development of each character is so special. And the Brother sister relationship is so good and realistic.
Sean Ho is really an example of a hero, he's so good.
It's interesting to see his sister is pretty bratty, and hot headed. But she also fights for the truth, and believes in being brave.
The parents are so supportive of each other, and must go through the shock and grief about their son's accident. And realize what they didn't know about their children. And they have to believe in them and fight for the truth.
This drama is also an interesting view of what you might do when you see a crime committed, what is the first thing you think to do? And what would you do to avoid being blamed? How guilty would you feel? And how far can you take a lie?
Beautiful world is really about not how the world is beautiful, but weaving through the ugly to get to your loved ones, who make it a beautiful world.

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Enjoyable

This series was enjoyable although a little boring at times. The first few episodes were all the same with Gaku being assigned a dish and then struggling with it until he had an epiphany using math. The math calculations got old and confusing.

Loved the whole kitchen crew and how they worked together so well. Kai and Gaku are just beautiful human beings and were a pleasure to watch. But too bad the writers had to throw in a mental breakdown (so to speak) for sweet Gaku. He would have never acted like that. And (no spoilers) too sad what happened with Kai.

Overall, I liked this but was just a little too complex with all the flavor and dish harmony talk. I got the gist but I had to work too hard for it.

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A MUST WATCH

I just finished the series and oh my god it was so cute!!! My heart kept beating for the main leads.

The story was amazing but I did have a little issues with how the bad plots were a little random and how easy they were to solve.

The acting was so good, I really felt connected to the characters.

The filming was beautiful, with all the colors and all the beautiful places in Korea.

The couples were cute. Han Byul and Tae Sung were cute especially after seeing how their relationship was before Tae Sung left for Africa.
Yoo Sung and Ho Yeong were adorable!! I couldn't handle it, I had to pause and breathe before continuing the episode.
Ki Peum and Soo Hyuk were actually an unexpected couple but I'm really happy how things turned out, they're actually good for each other.
Jae Hyun and Yoo Na were not so unexpected. What I didn't expect was how in love they would be.

Overall the show was really sweet and goofy, I really enjoyed it! If you haven't seen it yet then you should go watch it.

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Good series about coming of age. There's still growth that needs to happen in adulthood.

Don't let negative reviews fool you. This series is a coming of age story for young adults ages 19-22. The pacing is just right. You don't need to show everything about the character's life to know why they act the way they do. Akari is just a shy, quiet, and anxious person. Izumi is honest with others but not himself. Yamato is dishonest with himself and others and causes a rift between him, Akari, and Izumi. The ending leaves me satisfied. Not high on my rewatch list, but still a good story.

The reason I call this a 'coming of age' is because these are adults that need to get over what happened in their past. If they are stuck in their regret about decisions they made in high school, they're not moving forward. I believe it causes a person to be stuck at the age they hold onto the regret from. While they make different decisions as they get older, holding onto their past choices just makes them regress back into the mindset they had back then. Thus, their inner mind's growth isn't in tune with their age today.

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Not the type of cooking drama I was expecting

Cooking dramas aren't really my thing but this kept jumping on me every time I opened Netflix so I thought why not? The visuals interested me and I thought it would be good to try something new for once. I do not know why but I was expecting something sweet and feelgood after all my experience with jdramas. Yo, it was a trauma. I was crying like a baby in the last two episodes. And although it has a good ending, kinda, I wasn't ready for this type of ending. But I have to admit that I binge-watched it even tho I knew from the beginning that it was going to be sad. It was written all over (but still subtly) that something was wrong with Kai. The storytelling kept me interested, especially with the hints about Gaku going sideways. I fell in love with these two and I am so happy that it had turned into a sweet bromance in the end. I will probably never watch it again and even tho I complained about the sad stuff I am glad I watched it.

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Wish I had seen it sooner…

I love this series. The casting and production was top tier, really. I loved the chemistry between the main leads and the dramatic feeling of melancholy that overshadowed the love story.

My only issue is the ending.


***SPOILER***


Yai suddenly shows up and remembers Jom. This is so confusing to me because how does he remember if he supposedly died and isn’t a ghost or time traveler himself? We can infer that Yai was the one to request Jom specifically for the renovation of the small house, but HOW does he know/remember him? He’s the one in the past and Jom is the one who time traveled and is supposed to have retained his memories of that time. Yai and Jom are enjoying their reunion, the background of the house interior is shown to be renovated/restored, then they slipped in him traveling back even further to meet warrior Yai- who doesn’t know who he is…yet?! Why? How? When? My brain…

I know it can either move forward with a season 2 or wrap up how Warrior Yai came to him in the river to save him before he time traveled. But still. Poor Jom can’t catch a break and enjoy loving and being loved frfr.

In any event, this series took me a while to watch. I kept it in my queue for far too long, with frivolous BLs taking up space in my brain, and I regret not watching it sooner. I hope they make another season to explain my lingering questions. With the likely production costs and no cringeworthy product placements I have come to expect in Thai BL dramas, it may take a bit, but I can still hope for a 2024 or 2025 release, can’t I? A girl can dream.

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What in the LSD trip did i just watch

It started off pretty solid. I immediately felt the chemistry between the actors was on par especially F4s friendship. Daoming Si is portrayed as a bad boy but not was entertaining. I laughed when they said they were polite to females when in fact they really werent. Huaze lei was pretty rude to well. Everyone. Daoming si literally threw a cake in a girls face, on top of force kissing, insulting, pushing and other things to shancai. Ximen was a literal playboy. Dropping women quick after leading them on. Disregarding peoples feelings when he acknowledged he led them on etc. The only half gentleman was Meizou but i kind of got stalker vibes from him.

The plot started off hilarious. The face kick scene then following mummy scene still makes me giggle. The roses was very romantic and made me jealous no ones ever given me 520 roses but i feel that would probably be extremely expensive and a waste of money if im being honest. The show did drag on in the middle. We could have did without the whole cooking show part since it didnt even matter to DS's mom since she didnt come in first and lets be honest, even if she did it probably wouldnt have mattered.

I feel a lot of the misunderstandings could have been avoided with communication. Why is this a recurring theme in dramas? Lack of communication causing unnecessary problems. Like i get it, if you didnt have the argument or what ever the plot wouldnt move forward but its so reliant on the lack of communication aspect i feel a better show could be produced if we didnt have that whole thing going on.

The whole parent breaking up relationship issue is probably cultural to me. Also not born in that class to understand so while it annoys me, i probably just dont understand enough to go into it.

Music choice. Could have had a few options other than the one sad song (say something). The other sings used were nice but say something im giving up on you was just overplayed to the point of annoyance when it started to play.

I liked the relationship between shancai and the housekeeper (her name is lost to me at the moment) and how the housekeeper had the kids wellbeing in mind more than mom did. I just wanted to lock mom in a room and torture her for all eternity but thats cause she was a b who meddled too much.

London was a mess.. who would forgive people who stole your phone and a very important item from your love? Like seriously. An apology and shes perfectly fine? We got food and booze? Alls well!? No. Not even close. Plus her money / cards. Etc. I dont know what she brought money wise but logic dictates you dont bring cash to a foreign country and only have cash. Plus she was smart enough to hide her passport, she would /should have been smart enough to hide some spare money or cards. Ive been to other countries, went to the pitpocket capital of the world in 2017 (barcelona spain) and i took precautions and did research on the country i was going to prior to going. So maybe this just falls on a dumb and niave female lead, but her friends had been in other countries so you would think they would warn her. Maybe im just putting too much logic into this.

The kidnapping island thing was cute and i appreciated their attempt however having a backpack with a fishing rod and water? Lol. Also why did they just abandon the two of them but everyone else had tents food etc? Did the friend want them to suffer? What if they didnt search for anything? Why was someone sneaking around taking pictures? What happened to those photos? So much undisclosed info. Survival instinct would have me looking for a fresh water source almost immediately. Then shelter. Also if you didnt know, in most instances wildlife cant climb. So if you are ever in an instance where you are stuck in the woods or on an island. Climb a freaking tree to sleep. Find vines or build a temporary platform out of branches but get off the ground. If you cant, and you have fire starter or know how to start a fire build a massive fire. It will keep predators away. Keep that baby well stocked. Water is #1 priortity though. You can live a while without food but as stated above not so long without water.

Then there is the ending.... im still not 100% certain i didnt take some hallucinogen or something that made me dream of that ending. Lets gloss over the fact most humans cant live without water for more than average 3 days. On top of that you cant physically stand for that many days without collapsing. I think the world record of standing was like under 40 hours and thats super dangerous because blood will pool in your feet and can cause blood clots etc. Im still not sure if they just glossed over the whole food and water strike of ds and sc and thats why mom slept for 7 days and maybe the dr they had visit mom took care of the kids or the kids died and it was their crazed brains happy ending before nothingness. But lets say that happened. Did mom pee the bed, get ivs, have compression socks etc during that time? Am i putting too much logic into things because again. Cant live usually more than 3 days without water... and if they have ivs your kidneys and intestines still function in that time.... lets move on.. then the whole walk into someone and pass out thing after the prank of ds getting married to someone else and moving to london prank. Just to get her in a wedding dress (strong as hell drugs apparently) and then the dance scene?!!?!? Let alone inviting people to the weddind that made no sense. Thomas? Uhg.

Overall i loved the show mostly for wang hedi but it had its flaws. I had to google an ending and read tons of peoples take on it and im still not 100% sure about it. This was the first show ive ever had to google an ending for.

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The A-Typical KDRAMA that is worth the watch

So I'll start by saying I've watched this drama several times now. I even got my wife to watch this drama even though she was reluctant because she was not a fan of the main character. She ended up also loving this drama.

What I liked initially about this drama is there was no rich, handsome CEO or young, spoiled son of a billionaire driving expensive cars and wearing expensive clothes. It was refreshing to see something about a middle aged, hard working office worker who happens to get caught up in some struggles. Someone that didn't have a hidden talent for fighting 10 people at once or endless riches behind him. Everything just seemed more normal with an intriguing story line.

I never knew who this actor was, nor did I really know who IU was. I was just amazed because I thought IU fit the role perfectly and did a fantastic job. I only found out later that IU was a singer and maybe she is not great in some other roles but for this role I thought she played the part perfectly and my wife was initially surprised that I thought she was an excellent actor. Well, that was until she finished this series with me.

In any case - I don't write reviews often but this is something that will appeal to those that are sick of some of the typical cliches that fill kdramas. The acting is wonderful with some heartbreaking moments that will burn into your memory forever.

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A little Treasure

Anyone who sees the 10 stars I gave might think that I am biased or that I may be a fan of one of the actors (which I am now after watching this). and maybe I am high on my emotions after just finishing this drama. Who knows.
I knew this drama was going to be special from the first couple of minutes of the first episode. I can't even make a proper review due to how much this drama means to me.
Some things come to you at the right time and heal your soul. It's so beautiful and full of hope and love. It made me reflect on my own life.

From the casting to the story and the music, everything was done with so much care. You can tell everyone involved in the production did their best to make this special.
I like many genres but somehow my favorite dramas always end up being stories about families, friendships, and people trying and chasing their dreams. And this one had all the above along with romance but romance wasn't the main point of the show. I think what this comes down to is a story about a father and a son. And it was so lovely to watch.

I cried and laughed a lot while watching it . I loved every moment. This drama is my little treasure that I found this year and I love it dearly.

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many faces of booooring

First of all, it's a lakorn, so expect all crazy things, like vile women fighting over guys, complicated marriages with first wife, second wife, mistress' son etc, the "pure" girl who rises from poverty through marriage and - of course - her own abilities etc etc.
You can throw stones if you want, but i find the child actor totally cringe, he is a plump child and supposedly cute for being so, but guess what? He is not. His hair cut above the eyes doesnt help either... And he reaaally doesnt compensate these with talent! Whose child is he anyway? Also, casting a fat child as the "bad kid" in school is totally wrong, but i guess no one cares, since so many things are wrong in lakorns...
Our ML is handsome, though not particularly charismatic, and so is the FL, who needs to be saved several times per hour, either fainting or tripping into the arms of the two brothers, or bumping into them while they are shirtless! She must be very lucky too, after first drinking night to get preg with a handsome billionaire, and later having the rich CEO coincidentally popping everywhere - totally charmed by her qualities: (you can start a list here - make sure to add "smiling with all her teeth").
(Still) watching for the craziness.

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a must watch!!

Although I started this show for Kwak Dong Yeon, the plot is what kept me watching until the end. I was pretty surprised to see senior actors getting a lot of screen time. Its a rare sight since most dramas are focused on young characters/couples. But I enjoyed it!! Also loved the fact that there were multiple couple representations - (rich fl & struggling ml, best friends to lovers, and many others).
This show was chaotic and full of drama. The characters kept experiencing misfortunes to the point that it got funny for me. There were also 2 failed attempts of $uicide. So if you are sensitive to this topic, I would recommend skipping some scenes.
Overall, I liked the main couple but preferred eunji & poonggi couple more. You should watch this drama if you are into found family and mystery trope. Definitely recommended!!

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Thoughts

I LOVED the original cherry magic so it’s no surprise that this version is amazing too!! However as much as i like this series the second couple are just so boring (this was the same in the original) so I normally skip them BUT the actors are really good it’s just there story line is kinda cringe..
THE FIRST LEADS ON THE OTHER HAND OMG WHAT A COMEBACK ON THIS SHIP??
I love the chemistry and omg when the pen said achis heart rate I literally screamed THEIR SO CUTE TOGETHER! I like how it’s different from the Japanese series’s too because it makes it more interesting and still a new concept rather then just copying

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Just a week ago I wrote a post on MDL about this story. The text can still be read. At that moment I asked myself several questions: is this the story of a wounded boy looking for “revenge” after feeling betrayed by his girlfriend? Is it perhaps the story of an escort who unexpectedly falls in love with one of his potential clients? Has Third carefully chosen Pai or is it just a coincidence that it is this boy who accompanies him and not another? Then other questions would arise: Is the viewer facing a skillful and sexy game of cat and mouse while camping? Will it be the beginning of a tumultuous romantic relationship?
I must confess that the second part of the story completely changed the perception I initially had of the film. It has a terrible script and the performances leave a lot to be desired, but it has in its favor that it addresses prostitution, both male and female, an interesting topic that is little addressed in the context of BL series. The narrative is also unpredictable, since the viewer is not able to predict what will happen next. It is also worth noting the surprising twists with which they catch us from time to time.
Negative:
1- The retrospective flashback technique is used as an easy and “recurrent” resource. Its abuse means that at times the viewer does not know what the main plot is, whether what is told in so many flashbacks or the backstory. As a result, we have the main plot lose intensity and prominence in favor of the recurring memories of the two main characters.
2- Repetition of scenes in their entirety.
Movie summary (Contains spoiler):
Third is a young man who learns that his girlfriend, Ann, is dedicated, through a digital application, to being hired by women to work as a companion or scort. One day he follows her and discovers that her job also includes prostitution. Finally, Third finds out that Ann has set her eyes on a young woman, is in love and intends to start a lesbian relationship with her. Third and Ann ask to have a week apart to reevaluate their relationship.
For his part, Pai is a young man also dedicated to prostitution. In fact, his girlfriend has just broken up with him because she refused to accept him doing this job. He is reluctant to submit to his girlfriend's whims, claiming that if he depended on her he would become useless again. There is no doubt that prostitution is Pai's profession. At one point, he asks Third: “And if we want to say no when (clients) want to have sex, how do we compensate them in a way that makes them feel less bad and avoids bad reviews?”
Pai's proposal to his girlfriend is laughable, as he refuses to break up with her: “I will find a middle ground. I will stop holding hands with my clients. Just dinners, movies and walks. And I will also add a rule: do not touch any customers, especially women.”
Third hires Pai for three days to go into the woods to “watch birds,” but he really has ulterior motives. Third knows in advance that Pai works as an escort or “hand-holding” other men, that is, he is a man you pay to have sex with. And he also knows that the girl his girlfriend is having an affair with is none other than Prang, Pai's girlfriend. Third's goal is to trick Pai into following the two girls and exposing their infidelities.
When the time comes, Third confesses to Pai what his purposes are. Pai initially feels hurt because, on the one hand, he understands that he has been deceived by his girlfriend: while he demanded that she quit her job as an escort or she would break up with him if she did not comply with his requirements, she was having an affair with a woman. And on the other hand, Pai feels that he has been used by Third and is a pawn in his plan. Finally, they both surprise the girls by being unfaithful, they turn to each other for support between drinks of alcoholic beverages and they console each other.
Third is clear: He has no future with his girlfriend, with whom he is forced to break up. This is evidenced when Pai asks Third to make peace with his girlfriend, who he hasn't broken up with yet. And Third responds: “Do you want me to chase my girlfriend and make peace with a person who is in love with someone else?”
On the other hand, Ann confesses that she will stop prostituting herself for love of Prang. The love that the two girls feel for each other is palpable, so it is incomprehensible that, when they discover that they have been trapped by their boyfriends, they claim, between tears, that they have devised a plan to deceive them, offer apologies and hope to be forgiven. for them.
Could the two initial couples forget what happened and start over again when Prang and Ann love each other?
I also find it incomprehensible:
- Ann, who is a prostitute and therefore cheats on her boyfriend, when arguing with Prang about whether they should get back together with their respective boyfriends, tells him that she doesn't want to cheat on anyone or make anyone feel bad because of her. .
- Why, if the two girls love each other, do they ask to forget their relationship and return to their respective boyfriends?
- Was Ann's goal to make Third jealous, as Prang suggested?
- Third is okay with his girlfriend earning money from the dating app, but not being a prostitute?
-How could Prang know that Third would follow Ann into the forest and bring with him Pai, a person he didn't even know?
-How is it possible that the two girls devised a plan to deceive them based on information that it is impossible for them to have had when they planned to go camping?
Third accompanies Pai to the bus that will take him back to Bangkok. They say goodbye, they plan to follow each other on social networks, but at the last moment Pai gets out of the vehicle, returns to where Third is and confesses to having fallen in love with him in those days of tribulations. Third smiles as a sign that he too has fallen in love. At that moment a phone call comes in from Prang. They try to say something to them, but the call is cut off.
The ending allows us to see the emotions and feelings that overwhelm the two couples in their respective cars traveling to the capital. While the two boys talk animatedly, laughing and joking, Pai lovingly fixes the hair of Third, who is driving the car. I have no doubt that there is a future between the two. Love has won. For her part, an obviously upset Ann drives the car and Prang, also angry, tries unsuccessfully to establish telephone communication. They have lost in the game.
The director of the film, Jedi Suriyan Dangintawat, has also directed “I Wish You Love”, “Fake Love” and “Friends Forever”, stories that make up, along with others, the series “My Universe”. I have been able to see the last two. Refund Love is the only redeemable one, in my opinion, even though it lacks ambition (or taste, or subtlety, or class). Not even the sometimes pretended humor comes to compensate for its flaws.

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