quirky and unpredicatble
I had 0 expectations when I started this drama, and the first episode alone had me floored.I know a lot of people might compare it to Goblin, and as far as I know that drama writer was involved in this project as well. It does have a similar feel, but the story and characters are all new.
The story is very interesting, and unfolds slowly episode by episode. I couldn't really guess what's gonna happen next. It has some weak moments as the diety characters are bit juvenile, but at the same time this is a lighter drama so I don't mind. The whole destiny making aspect is well-executed and serves a s acore of the story. There are many twists and turns too, and there are no filler episodes either.
The cast is full of rookies, actors who still hasn't had that one hit work. Some you might know from webdramas, some have played minor characters in bigger projects. I'd say the casting is spot on, and acting is overall good. Male lead might come off as "wooden" but at the same time his character is on more... colder side? So it makes sense. Everyone in this drama has time to shine and their characters get enough screentime too.
Music in this drama works well to set the mood, I really enjoyed it. I like most of the songs, the OST is really good. Overall the production value of this project seems to be pretty high for a shorter drama. The cinematography is well-thought out and art design too is very pleasing.
I'd say this is a perfect short drama to watch during a lazy weekend. The story requires bit more focus but overall it's still a more light type of story. There are no villains or anything like that. The main villain is fate, I guess. I see this drama as an exploration of what a story really is and can a destiny play out on it's own? It's surely a drama that won't bore you.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
If Deities could write fanfics… this would be it.
Never thought I would see the day, where a Deity would plagiarize a Human’s work in order to solve her love life and make it into a masterpiece. Hopefully he can get more views and ratings if all goes well...We can’t cancel a Deity after all, or can we?
Humans can’t but the laws Deities abide from might...
If only he had a compliant main character to work with, his job would be easier said than done.
Then again, the way Ho Yoon messes up with her life at first, really makes me wonder if we aren’t all in the same predicament.
Maybe that’s why one of these days, I was heading to the kitchen and ended up in the living room instead.
Perhaps, the Deity above is messing around with my GPS system and playing me like a SIMs character of sorts, well at least I can honestly consider that he is being considerate when it comes to my dieting plans, by keeping me far away from the fridge.
Either way the story is super interesting for a such a small drama, and the cinematography its pretty good actually, considering all the effects used in the transitions for each scene.
Some scenes do remind me of certain dramas though, like for instance, in the first episode when Ho Yoon and Myung are crossing that Tunnel it reminded me of the most iconic scene in Goblin. And in fact, there’s also a scene where Chae Kyung is wearing a red scarf, so the vibes are right too. Then again, the tunnel has a symbolic value through the theme presented.
The whole drama inside a drama inception plot, was very entertaining to say the very least, and the references of dramas with the pun of the names is rather hilarious. “The Accounting of the Married” and “Sky Cash” for example, both with the most dramatic parody plots ever created.
And well the acting in general wasn’t bad throughout the series, I enjoyed every character the actors portraited, so kudos for this cast.
The fact that Ho Yoon plans fail because he starts to get too attached, get to all of us at a certain point in our lives. I mean we all end up having a crush or falling for a character in a book, right?
Because in a way that’s what Chae Kyung is to Ho Yoon.
The female protagonist of his masterpiece novel of a Lifetime.
One where he is about to become a part of and with the main role no less.
Their Fate is written in paper and sealed with twine.
It’s an unavoidable destiny. That they are meddling with and against.
Nevertheless, it’s quite an enjoyable drama that can be seen in a whole afternoon, with only 10 episodes in total with around 20 minutes each.
“Some lives are long as a novel. But the other lives are short as a poem.”
It resumes well this drama, it might seem short like an idyllic poem, however, it’s as fulfilling like a novel should be.
The OST isn’t really that memorable in my ears, but its pleasant on certain parts that it was played so I guess it worked somehow.
I really recommend watching this drama, if you’re currently waiting for updates on any on-going drama just to fill the gap like I did or give it a try if you do prefer short stories.
But then again, I guess the ideology that less is more, can be applied to this one.
“If first love comes true every time there’s first love, the world would cease to exist.”
This plot will definitely surprise for the events and topics it works with, despite eventually falling under the category of a potential love triangle, the way the story unfolds precedes time and fateful encounters.
“If you’re meant to be, you’ll end up meeting in one way or another.”
If I ever re-watch this story again, it might take some time and if I ever do so it’s for the nostalgy.
Perhaps whenever it rains or whenever I do order a caffeinated drink, I will remember this by...
And I am fine with that
Was this review helpful to you?
' Scripting Your Destiny'; A ''Copycat'' of ' Goblin', Or A Masterpiece?
Written by novice screenwriter Eun Seon Woo ( with executive producer of the series being Kim Eun Sook who previously created Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) , ' Scripting Your Destiny' accounts the unrequited love story of Deity of Destiny Shin Ho Yoon ( Ki Do Hoon) acting as a matchmaker between the maverick screenwriter Go Chae Kyung ( Jeon So Nee) and the practically impeccable television producer Jung Ba Reum (Kim Woo Suk). However, fate seems to upturn destiny, as Shin Ho Yoon soon finds himself developing taboo feelings for Chae Kyung. Whilst undeniably a bittersweet romance tale with an intriguing plot premise, ' Scripting Your Destiny' does succumb to its own shortcomings from plot development, unoriginality and characterisation over the course of the series.First of all, it is important to probably address the biggest elephant in the room with the controversial comparisons by watchers of ' Scripting Your Destiny' to the renowned series ' Goblin' ( otherwise known as ' Guardian: The Lonely And Great God'). Respectfully, it is no surprise that both shows share a similar mythical tone due to Kim Eun Sook working behind the scenes, however, both series have notably different premises. The successful TV drama ' Goblin' crafts a vivid narrative with a sixteen episode story-arc, intertwining the destinies and fates of its characters as individuals alongside its main protagonist. On the other hand, ' Scripting Your Destiny' recounts primarily the feelings and events of Ho Yoon and Chae Kyung, with the side characters being used to keep the storyline motivated.
However, it is important to not turn a blind eye towards the evident parallelisms between the series; an urban fantasy setting, similar Korean-mythological deities and cinematography.( Not least the infamous scene copied in ' Scripting Your Destiny' with the usage of '' slow-motion rain'' and the ''tunnel scene'' from its famous predecessor.) Although there are notable similarities shared between the two dramas, it is wrong per say to propose that ' Scripting Your Destiny' is a ''rip-off'' from the well-known drama entirely, however, the lacking originality of certain scenes (whilst arguably ironic) is prominently highlighted within Eun Sook's touch to the series .
On a more positive note, the main cast did help to animate the personae of Eun Seon Woo's story with intrigue for audiences. Ki Do Hoon was fairly good as our mysterious male lead Shin Ho Yoon ( similar to Kim Woo Suk), whilst his costar Jeon So Nee refreshingly helped her character Chae Kyung to break out of the typical mainstream naive, innocent stereotypes of female heroines in fantasy dramas with a down-to-earth personality. Whilst Gal So Won did show evident signs of being of awkward pauses with her delivered performance, she was surprisingly brilliant as her onscreen persona, the immortal deity Sam Shin .
( Parallel to Park Sang Nam's performance as Shin Ho Yoon's mentor Myung.)
In terms of characterisation, the show was a slightly mixed-bag. It is important to take into account that the drama was a ''web-series'' with 10 episodes overall, with a rough duration of 20 minutes per episode. Consequently, the series was limited in itself with being able to tackle the entire life stories of every character, however, poor pacing towards the focal point of the series, often took away from the more intriguing elements of characters being portrayed as individuals, rather than merely plot mechanisms.
The main lead of the series Shin Ho Yoon followed the archetype of the '' otherworld entity''; oblivious to human interaction and emotions by living as the '' landlord'' of the female lead ( an intended pun from its predecessor ' Goblin' with the shared rough translation of '' heavenly being'') and her mother Yang Mi Soon ( So Hee Jung), the owner of a nearby cafe which Ho Yoon has become a regular patron alongside Myung to watch over Chae Kyung. Whilst Ho Yoon arguably was a sentient character through his developed feelings for Chae Kyung, the exposed revelations by the storyline through Myung's actions and Chae Kyung felt lacklustre from a genuine emotional reaction. Similarly, the storyline did expose an initially intriguing aspect towards the creation of the deities and their restricted existence, however, ultimately the greater existence of Ho Yoon left more questions than answers, especially as none of the characters ( including the deities) seemed to wonder if a higher being was involved in Ho Yoon's love story with Chae Kyung ( as well as the notable morality).
As mentioned previously, Chae Kyung was a fairly likeable female lead ( thanks to the portrayal of Jeon So Nee). As a screenwriter in the storyline, it was invigorating to see Chae Kyung realising the meta-fictional dramatic irony of her circumstances ( as well as parodies to mainstream and successful dramas). However, Chae Kyung felt limited as an individual ( similar to Ho Yoon ) within her initial emotional outlooks upon scenarios ( not least the near ending of the series in an attempt to '' write in''an ending with an abridged ambience). In addition to this, the drama seemed to throw away the respectfully intriguing aspects of Chae Kyung's later career and her work on the latest production for the preferred focus of her '' romantic yearning'' for Ho Yoon.
The other side characters of the series did serve their primary purpose over the course of the web-series, however, they did feel severely underdeveloped such as Sam Shin ( who was an intriguing take on the deity, however, her romantic pairing and presence in the drama felt incipient) as well as Ba Reum ( who served little purpose despite being the ''second male lead'' ). Arguably, however, the most half-baked character in the series occurred within the presence of Myung. Despite being an intriguing and light-hearted presence against the more angst-ridden moments of the show, Myung's presence as one of the oldest- shown deities in the series was never truly explored to expose his individuality. In addition to this whilst Myung's friendship and intimacy with Ho Yoon served its definite cause in the storyline, his involvement and lacking surprise against certain involvements with Ho Yoon, seemed to suggest that Myung should have had a more prominent part within the mystery of the story.
The ending of the series was bittersweet; admittedly a little rushed in the grand scheme of the attempted story arch, however,certainly appropriate for its genre.
Consequently, ' Scripting Your Destiny' was a fairly binge- worthy drama with an intriguing premise, a fairly good cast, beautiful cinematography and a bittersweet romance. However, admittedly this series did feel slightly overrated from top comments that it was '' flawless'' ; characters felt adequately-written, the pacing was questionable in parts and whilst the in jokes to other dramas such as producer Eun Sook's hit series ' Goblin' were entertaining for drama viewers, the lacking originality for an otherwise intriguing storyline to its predecessor became predominant.
Was this review helpful to you?
Unavoidable Fate which is tangled with a Human being and The God of Destiny
I love surprises and this one... having zero expectations from anything but then you start to love it, definitely counts as a surprise, right?This drama surely has the feel of Goblin from the poster to the very first scene of the drama, but still, it's not like Goblin though that's what I felt, for me one of the best short dramas I've seen so far especially it's made for binging. Now let's talk about the story. As I wrote in the title 'Unavoidable Fate which is tangled with a Human being and The God of Destiny.' I'll say it's cleverly written nothing feels draggy or unnecessary still we have some unanswered questions in the end.
The execution was done properly, I won't say we get the best acting here but surely not bad. It's cliche and cringes.... um very cringe (Who would have thought I would like cringe someday) but it's so enjoyable and funny and you enjoy every bit of it without getting bored. We get a well-made story and character in just 10 episodes who fairly are just 24-30 minutes. It's beautiful, the scenery and cinematography are the souls of the show. The music it's brilliant it goes with every scene I'll say it's the key point which absolutely makes the drama more special.
Overall it was full-pack drama best to binge! Fun, sweet, fantasy, romance, bromance, and little fluff.
Was this review helpful to you?
Light-hearted and worthy drama to watch!
A line from the drama that I really like, "Because if you're meant to meet, you'll meet no matter what."I honestly have been waiting for this drama for a month now after learning about the plot and cast. The acting was definitely good, maybe not outstanding because they aren't veteran actors, but it was still natural.
One reason that I was so appealed to this drama from the beginning was the plot. The plot was unique and there was no crazy love triangle like other popular dramas. A very light-hearted drama to binge-watch during this pandemic.
The characters were not only funny but also relatable at times. The chemistry between the 2 main characters is no joke. As the drama progressed, it got sadder and sadder. You start learning about the 2 leading characters' relationships and what's so special about them.
Some say that this gives off Goblin's vibes, which I agree, but it was like a new wind. Very refreshing in my opinion.
I would totally watch it again!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Writing your own destiny is hard work considering so many feel they should write it for you.
This came recommended to me from a fellow MDL netizen after reading my review for Extraordinary You. As with that drama, I had no clue what this was about and actually hit play on the first episode without even looking it up here on MDL. I like going in blind, it averts any expectations I could build and lets me experience the content in the raw. By the end of the first episode I fully understood why this was recommended, and I smiled pleasantly.Now being a web drama, I was shocked at the special effects and production value. Yes I get all aren't equal, but most of the Korean web only shows I have thus seen are more on the production value of independent cinema. You do not have to worry about that here, the only thing that lets on this wasn't released by one of Korea's big networks is that its only ten 20-30 minute long episodes. Otherwise, you will be treated to some great camera work, high production values, winning soundtrack, and mostly strong acting. So do not fear here.
We open on an ominous library that would make MC Escher proud and a tall drink of beautiful Korean male specimen walking slow motion through its innards. This is our first roundabout meeting of our male lead, Shin Ho Yoon (The sad eyed Ki Do Hoon playing contemplatively stoic) who we will soon learn is a Deity of Destiny. That is, the world doesn't have just one fate, but a working cadre of tall sexy men that divide up the population of earth between them. (Why they are all men, I do not know, maybe it was told to me at some point but I didn't catch it.) Shin Ho Yoon has decided to write the fate of one his charges (Jung Ba Reum played childlike and fun by Kim Woo Suk) as the greatest love story every told. The only problem, he doesn't understand what love is.
In order for him to create his great work he borrows (plagiarizes) plot lines from the teenage essay writings of one of the tenant's daughters from the high-rise he owns to hide amongst the people of earth. Unbeknown to him, this no longer a teenager writer is our female lead Go Chae Kyung (Amongst other names) played by Jeon So Nee. The problem here is that she ends up being the 1st love of his own charge Ba Reum for which he is trying to make a legendary love. Thus, he ends up putting her in the very scenarios she wrote years before to of course deja-vu disastrous results. This causes him quite the pickle and forces him to start spending more time than he intends in the presence of this feisty female writer. This leads us to the crux of the tale, as Deities of Destiny are not allowed to have feelings, connections, or opinions on humans and what is done to them.
This, if you can't already tell, is quite a fun set-up and it is equally fun to watch play out. With the brevity of the episodes everything is always moving at a brisk pace. There are very few lagging moments or episodes. Fun and light heartedness are baked in here, and done quite well. I laughed whole heartily during a scene of "The Accounting of Marriage" (A show our female lead writes within this show) as it took a stab at the utter ridiculousness that is found in many a stories of dramas (Kdrama or not). Let's just say the sexy male leads (One of many cameos from the BL world Lee Shi Kang) abs are the key evidence for a confused family that causes the father to fall to his knees. And trust, the flash of skin will make you fall to your knees as well.
A bulk of the comic relief will also come from a frenemy bromance of another Deity of Destiny Myung (Playfully handed to us by Park Sang Nam). This character is an MVP for the story and steals many of the scenes he is in. As much as he is a nuisance and seems at times callus and cold, by the stories end will be a very warm center that always had a whole lot of heart for everyone involved no matter how close he played it to his chest.
Unfortunately you also have a lot of throw away characters that weren't needed. Our female lead's best friend could have been left on the cutting room floor and not changed a thing. The childlike newbie deity female Sam Shin, who has something to do with pregnancy, offers nothing to the story and has a whole love interest of her own. By the way, does anyone know what happened with this love interest? Is she still in school? Are they dating? Does she still exist at the end? Is she allowed to have feelings since she is not part of people's destinies or do all deities have to be unfeeling and unconnected to humans? Where did she go after that scene in front of the high school?......I dunno any of the answers to any these questions and you will not either.
There are bursts of META folded into the story dealing with tropes of romances, dramas, ideas of love, and of course fate, but they are far and few. The show keeps its storytelling light and airy never wanting to dig too deep into anything. This is okay, again what is on screen is enjoyable and fun and everyone, and I really do mean EVERYONE, is down right beautiful, so very easy to watch. But, I will say that it leaves you with an empty feeling.
I'm not sure why, but I was entertained, I was laughing, I was lusting, and I was finding out what other shows our male lead is in because I knew him from somewhere (Catch the Ghost BTW) and wanted to see where I could feast on him after this was over, but I wasn't emotionally connected.
Everything is sleek, stylish, high quality, interesting and fun. But also detached, hollow, superficial, and very much gliding across the surface of a very rich mythology, world, and concept. When the last half of the show starts to unravel secrets and move more into emotional territory, it was simply fine. My heartstrings are never tugged, tears never well up, and I'm never really "moved." Myung's character ends up striking the strongest chord of emotion in the series, and he is a support character with no romantic attachments to anyone, (Unless you want to fantasize a possible BL one). And when the actual leads are running towards each other in slow motion trying to beat time with soaring music it felt over-the-top, melodramatic and a blunder.
The underlying theme of taking control of your own life, and writing your own destiny seems more a plot device than a lesson. I am not sure if the show expects us to honestly do this for ourselves. Both the characters that are given a peek at the annals of time, and the power of their own pens, do so by the will of Deity wanting to hand it to them. Everyone else still stays bent to the will of the gods. The gods themselves are still stuck in the rules of their omnipotence. And the end seems to keep the cycle repeating even for our own lead. Thus, fate, destiny, and the future still seems the writing of others and not ourselves.
Ultimately I did enjoy this romp and had a good time. I'm very happy it was recommended to me. But, I also didn't love it and wish there had been more. While the story does build the idea of a great romance that spans time, it does so hectically and with the bulk rushed at the end right before the bough breaks and the whole of everything comes tumbling down. That is, I do not get to spend enough time cherishing what love there is, living inside of it, and feeling the loss of it. If you wallow in the fun escapism of this story you are going to have a great time, there is heaps to enjoy here.
7.5/B/ 3 3/4-Stars Shows its flaws but remains strong and will likely be enjoyed.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I watched this drama so you don't have to!
Fans, I apologize! I give it a 5 out of 10.Is it just me, or do you think the casting and acting are the weakest links in this production?
I noticed the actors smiling in scenes where they shouldn't, so I'd like to point out that it also has the worst directing and editing. The director should request that the actors redo those scenes, or the editor should remove them. I patiently watched the first four episodes before moving on to the eighth. Continue to press the forward button for 10 seconds unconsciously.
The problem with the story is that, well, I don't like goblins. Maybe that's why I don't like this story.
Isn't it rather predictable? An unknown deity was killed off in a clumsy manner in an early episode because the scene was just a conversation, "Hey, I heard X was killed off." The sentence is obviously only meant to hint at what will happen to the main character in the final episode. However, it merits more than a sentence in a brief scene.
My main beef is with the male lead. He doesn't do a good job of portraying the deity's character. According to my understanding, he should be extremely arrogant, but I see him as a nice, quiet, average Joe from next door. He emits no God-like energy. I'll admit it.
Perhaps it stems from the characters' designs, which contain some flaws:
1. They are not supposed to show human emotions to their subjects, but they behave in a childish manner among themselves.
2. Is it possible that the characters of deity 1 and deity 2 are clones? Isn't it true that drama revolves around the various characters and their interactions? For example, the two male characters in Goblin, for example, have good chemistry. To be honest, the bromance in Goblin shines brighter than the love story between the male and female leads.
3. None of them have undergone any character development.
4. Bad writing It was the Makjang drama scene from the Sky Castle and the World of the Married parody, which was supposed to make me laugh but didn't.
Was this review helpful to you?
Typical cliche's put together in a not so typical way !!
Well deities getting involved with humans ...not so new ....the deity that writes your destiny getting involved in your life ....this is new in my opinion ...which is why i began this in the first place ....as to whether you should watch it or not is totally up to you ...
as i already told the story presents cliches and tropes in a new way ...but then they are cliches at the end .....you can't really say that you'll feel different when you watch them being presented in a new way .
with the rating..... i usually rate romances a bit low so this one actually managed a good spot ...
REASONS :
just 10 eps and 30 mins each what more do i want ....this attracts a binge watcher like me ...on top of that plot sounds interesting ...!!
the cast did a decent job and i don't think i have anything to complain against them ..ofc i'd hope to see them doing different projects in the future .
the characters were not annoying ....not too deeply written but ofc since they did not have too much time ... i did not expect much of depth and back story and i think it didn't really affect the whole thing....also as a person who gets annoyed easily .... since they managed not to annoy me ...they deserve credit ...!!
i liked the fact that most of the screen time was given to ML and FL and the side characters appeared when required .... and did not roam on my screen randomly ...i actually appreciate this !!
some good lines .....i like it when dramas have these beautiful lines , it makes a drama more interesting for me ....
“If first love comes true every time there’s first love, the world would cease to exist.”
“If you’re meant to be, you’ll end up meeting in one way or another.”
WHY NOT A 10/10 ?
for me some sort of plot establishment was missing ....i wanted to know about the deities and their world a bit more.
the rules and their working .....i would have found it more interesting if they gave me some details .
some things were done in a hurry and could be explained a bit more ....like the story of ML and FL falling in love and the events later ....they were not so well written and i hoped that i could get a bit more for that part .
so to sum up go watch it if you think the plot sounds your taste and you are okay with cliches done in a new way .
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Wonderful. Absolutely Intriguing. Perfect romantic-comedy, Fun and light to watch. At the beginning episodes, I never thought that the male and female lead has a story in the past. Korean Drama "Scripting Your Destiny" is a pretty good mini drama that handled the fantasy element well. Actually, the universe that the drama introduced was interesting, entertaining, with decent CGI and intriguing characters. the story is that main leads job in the celestial world is to write the destinies of mortals. But when he is charged with writing a romantic fate, he decides to steal ideas he reads in notes for a future screenplay authored by scriptwriter Go Chae Kyung (Jeon So Nee)I really recommend you to watch this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Fate - it's funny, yet bittersweet
So, after being disappointed in the last couple of shows I tried, I saw a clip for this on Facebook and figured I'd give it a try. This show definitely showed me that you can have a truly engaging drama without the episodes going on an on. This is only 10 episodes, each about 25 minutes long. So, it's kind of got that webtoon feel. Kim Eun Sook is the producer and she's got serious writing credits to her name - Goblin, Descendants of the Sun, Secret Garden, Mr. Sunshine, The Heirs, King: The Eternal Monarch. This show definitely has the Goblin feel to it, and I'm not complaining.The story has been told before. A god of destiny has written the female lead's destiny, wanting to make it a masterpiece. Once he gets to know her, he realized that the destiny he envisioned for her was all wrong. Personal involvement for a god of destiny is a no-no, you get eliminated and go into the ether somewhere. I love how the writers slowly revealed her past history with said god of destiny. The longer I watched it, the more I felt "If you're meant to be, you'll end up meeting in one way or another" (great line, by the way). Their lives were intertwined, and it was so interesting for us as viewers to discover that, and when the female lead makes that discovery, it's an "aha" moment, yet heartbreaking at the same time.
In this show, the K-drama cliches really worked - fate, coffee (do Koreans really love their coffee as much as it is portrayed in dramas?), rain, umbrellas, first snow.
I felt that the acting was very good. Our clues to the passage of time seemed to be driven by the hairstyle of the lead. Curly hair, straight hair. The chemistry between the leads was very good, as was the bromance between the two main gods of destiny. The lead actor's attractiveness, for me, grew as the show developed. His development of emotions was very understated and real and were always held in check, often revealed by only a small smile.
I loved the soundtrack. A lot of it was very haunting and went perfectly with the scenes. I especially liked the song Time Machine by Jeong Sewoon - he has the perfect voice for the vibe they were going for.
Special effects. Amazing! The effects they used for eliminating a god were surreal and wispy. When they went into the penthouse/book room, those effects were so good, the changing colors, the darkness, the mystery.
I had to lower my rating one point because of the ending. It was a little to ambiguous for me. It went in line with the rest of the show, but it just wasn't satisfying for me. Was he just going to keep being eliminated over and over? And what happened to the rule of it only happening three times? In my head I've written my own ending and guess I'll have to be happy with that. This show has definite re-watch value for me, though. The writing was very clever and there was more humor than I expected.
I'm so glad I watched this show!!
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
I didn't know I needed this but here we are
If you're looking for something totally new and fresh, this may not be the drama for you. The story contains all the tropes you've come to expect, even if it makes fun of them, and there's nothing to it but the romance and friendship between the characters. But if what you're looking for is something to lift your spirits on a rough evening or to bring a smile to your face, you're looking in the right direction.Scripting Your Destiny is a quirky, fun take on the overused notion of 'fate' in Korean dramas. It puts a face to that unchangeable fate in the form of deities of destiny, beings who exist to write a person's fate the way a writer does their characters. Over the course of this short but sweet series, we get to see a mess of ways these deities can affect their charges using their books and how the people being written about can both conform and change the destiny they've been given. This is all centred around Shin Ho Yoon, a deity seeking to write the perfect destiny for his charge Jeong Ba Reum. That includes the perfect romance, of course. The problem is that Ho Yoon has no experience with romance nor the skills to write the best romance it can be. To solve this issue, he plagiarizes Ba Reum's love interest Go Chae Kyung's old writing in an attempt to bring the couple together. In doing so, at some point, in some way, he finds himself becoming her love interest instead. This is a problem as deities of destiny must remain impartial to their charges and feeling anything for a human risks elimination.
This drama is great at setting a mood. The cinematography is really good for such a small, short drama, the OST perfectly suits the story and the actors do a great job. Everything comes together well and the best part of the story is the fact that it's so short. Because there isn't much time, it focuses on progressing the plot and building character relationships rather than adding in unnecessary conflicts like a lot of long-running romcoms are so prone to do. While it at first seems like the start of a love triangle is forming, it never gets there. There are no backstabbing friends, no parents trying to get in the way of the characters, and really, no unnecessary complications to the plot. Well, mostly. There are some moments towards the end that feel a little muddied as they try to up the severity of the one big conflict the drama does have, but they're rectified and didn't derail the story.
Even if there's nothing new, the story stays true to what it intended to be and knows what it is. It's character-driven. There's comedy, there's the overused notion of fate, and there are characters that you really grow to like over the drama's short run time. My one gripe has to be that I wish it was just a little longer. A little more detailed. I wish we got to learn more about Ba Reum as his character doesn't get the same sort of conflict and growth that I thought he was going to have in the early episodes, and I wish we saw more between him and Ho Yoon as their dynamic of deity and charge could have been really fascinating to explore. And, well, I liked the characters. I would have loved seeing more of the two deities interacting and their history or had more detail on the flashbacks that are shown. And it would have been nice to have more concrete knowledge on how the deities function themselves, how they come to be, how it's decided that they're eliminated, and the inner workings of their world. It's mentioned that there are deities for more than just destiny, but we're never shown them. The world this could have created could rival many big fantasy dramas of the past if given the chance, but well. That was never the drama's intention. It didn't want to be the next Hotel Del Luna or Goblin. Still, it would have been nice to see.
If you like calm romcom settings with a bittersweet twist, give this one a shot. It won't take up much of your time and you may find something memorable along the way.
Was this review helpful to you?
