Destined with You (2023)

Main leads were so cute

I love watching how Rowoon grows up and I'm already looking forward to what he has preparing next. From the beginning, it bothered me that the make-up artist overdid it with his make-up. It seemed so artificial to me. And yet the series started so super dramatic and mysterious. Later, the plot of the series overtook my focus on his shiny flawless skin and I stopped researching him so much. The height difference between the main actors cannot be overlooked. I believe they had a lot of fun because of it, too. The female lead is not exactly my type, but she had a surprisingly positive effect on me in serious and especially dramatic (historical) scenes. There was great chemistry between Jo Bo-ah and Rowoon, and the funny moments were so cute. I must also mention that I was pleased with the secondary characters. Favorites from Forecast: Love and Weather and He is psychometric. An interesting combo that nicely diversified the series. They could have improved the soundtrack a bit. I love soundtracks and I wasn't impressed here.

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too long and too boring

I am a fan of ro woon and impartial to jo boah cuz they are both good actors and they did do an okay job.
however the drama was just so long and boring and they filled in useless amount of information and plot holes which made zero sense.
it's actually a waste of time drama that did nothing for me to invoke emotions sympathize with suyi or even really get into the whole "destined" part.

this was a max 10 episode drama that could have been done with much better writing. anyone debating to watch this because they don't have time and want to watch something good, skip this one

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cool series

series "Our Destiny" was a spectacle! A perfect chemistry of romance, suspense, comedy and fantasy. It also brought, even if in a subtle way, some situations for reflection about bullying at school, harassment, power relations and hostility. The viewer was literally bewitched, experiencing a mix of emotions with the characters. Ro Woon put on a show! What a spectacular actor! He gave himself to the character Shin-Yu with great intensity, bringing him to life with great brilliance. It was impossible not to be enchanted by the unspeakable magnitude of his interpretation. The plot followed a logic, always connected to the past. Very elegant characters and impeccable period costumes. Extremely creative, sweet, delicate and respectful kissing scenes, some even funny. Another strong point was the family figure as a reference. I thought the character Shin-Yu asked Hong-Jo's father, who died in the series, for permission to marry her was beautiful. Lots of sensitivity!!! All in all, a perfect series.

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Disappointing storyline

I don’t know how to start this honestly
I was super excited when I heard rowon and boah would be the main leads for this drama and thus I had expectations

When the teaser started to release I thought it might be a bit cliche but I thought let’s wait until it’s out and yeah it’s cliche
The storyline is basically solely focused on the fantasy aspect that we have seen plenty of times before and it’s nothing new
The only interesting part about this was the fantasy story line besides that the romance and characters barely was interesting

I didn’t see a point of it being 16 episodes instead of 12 cause the only thing the drama had it going for was the fantasy aspect and that nothing else
The overall story was okay but I wouldn’t say I would rewatch it cause nothing interested me to the point of me wanting to
The romance was messy I guess an attempt at making some drama in hoping that it would keep the viewers interested instead just made me question it

The characters were annoying the most annoying characters I have ever watched in a kdrama so far
The female lead is just she was just annoying and because of the writing I hated her everytime she was on screen I couldn’t even focus cause the writing of her character made me dislike her so much
And I can say that for the male lead as well
And her colleagues are annoying so bad that I wanted to slap them and her team leader

One thing I have to say is that the relationship between these characters really had a lot of inconsistency I mean they go from hating her then friends? And the way they done that is just so bad there was so many gaps

Overall this drama was just not my cup of tea which was a shame cause I really was excited for a rowon and boah pairing but the writing ruined it
And I hope that they would get casted together again in another better drama and this whole enemies to lovers wasn’t even enemies to lovers it was just badly done

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A Spellbound Drama: Intriguing Premise, Disappointing Execution

The premise of the story was quite intriguing, featuring two characters bound by a centuries-old curse or spell and their journey to overcome it. With two attractive and talented actors leading the cast, what could go wrong? Unfortunately, the same old issue arises: the script. Who approved it?

It seems the writer struggled to decide on the direction of this drama, or perhaps aimed to challenge herself by blending horror/mystery, fantasy, office romance/comedy, and thriller elements. While it's perfectly fine to mix genres, doing so poorly can lead to a confusing, repetitive, and disjointed story, which is precisely what happens here.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the story, which explored the centuries-old curse and the main female lead's discovery of the spell books. While I do enjoy office romance, the excessive focus on her bullying colleagues detracted from the narrative and ventured into unnecessary territory. Additionally, the obsessive killer, who doesn't seamlessly integrate into the story, oddly becomes the central plot. The inclusion of bizarre side couples, such as her female boss with her bully supervisor and his mother with his best friend, further added to the confusion. In short, it's a mess.

One saving grace is Rowoon's visual appeal. He looks great in suits and portrayed a lovesick puppy convincingly. However, I feel sorry for Jo Bo Ah. Who was her stylist for this drama? Her hair color doesn't match her skin tone and washes her out completely. Her character is also way too weak and foolish, but I do enjoy the chemistry between her character and Rowoon. Truthfully, that's the only reason I stuck with the show until the end.

Final thoughts: The drama has an interesting plot, but sadly, the writing and execution didn't meet expectations. It is watchable, but don't have high expectations.

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Can’t stop looking his lip XD

I like early eps..then the love potion start to ruin it.. this story about their met again from another life.. He cursed by something from his past life.. and she’s the key for break the curse.. but in the end I actually don’t know how he can be heal XD because she is a normal person not like her past (she kind like a witch in her past life). Romance is cute.. everytime he talk I always focus with his lip lol maybe thats why Rowoon is a good damn kisser lol he actually know how to move his face to have a good angle position XD well you will like the romance after eps 10.. Their character also have a problem.. our male lead take a long time to break from his gf.. he dont even care or love her.. and our female lead never learn from the lesson.. she always careless and put her in any danger situation..once okay twice hmm third whattt… so far is good if you focus on romance but dont expect to much with the story…

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Could have been much better at only 12 episodes

I'll start this review by saying this is only my personal opinion, so I would appreciate if people would refrain from being ugly. This review is also full of spoilers, so if you don't want to know them, don't read past the portion about what I liked about the show.

What I liked:
1) Rowoon - visually and professionally. I felt that his portrayal of Shin Yu was very understated, yet he put his emotions out there when it mattered. The episode where they FINALLY explain the back story fully (maybe episode 12?) was wonderful. You could feel his love and despair. When he was uptight and self-centered, he was funny in a non-over the top way. Once he and the FL got together, I loved their chemistry and the cuteness factor. And the costumers did an awesome job with his wardrobe.
2) Bromance between ML and 2ML - they were antagonistic, but their encounters with one another were always amusing.
3) Chemistry between ML and FL - yup.
4) The CONCEPT of the script. The idea felt original and interesting when reading the synopsis and watching the trailers.
5) I like how they resolved the "curse".
6) The fireworks scenes, just beautiful. The costuming in the historical part of the drama. The cinematography in the snow (the spreading of the blood) in the historical part was beautiful.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

What I didn't like:
1) The EXECUTION of the script. The whole thing felt very repetitive. The storylines ran on too long. Especially the stalker storyline. How many different scenarios did they come up with for him to get away, be on the loose, and terrorize her? I mean, how many times did she really need to break up with him "for his own good"? This would have been more compelling if the script had been tightened up.
2) FL's character. I love Bo Ah as an actress. This character was working my last nerve. So many drunk scenes, and that was the only time she spoke up. She was just a pitiful doormat of a person, letting everyone walk all over her. Her trying to be cute when she was around someone she liked, changing her voice and her mannerisms. Then she moved WAY into stupid territory - which ended up making me angry, like yelling at the tv angry. There is a stalker out to kill her, yet she's alone in the park, alone at the hospital, alone in the neighborhood. He's tried numerous times to kill her, but by all means, open the door when he rings the doorbell! Then, when she finds Shin Yu bleeding in the stairway, she just spends an inordinate amount of time saying his name. Maybe you should call EMS? There was another time that she managed to drag his dead weight to the car (when she's half his size) to drive him to the hospital - wow, that's strong. Then the bleeding in the stairwell scene - not a character problem, but he'd have been dead if he'd lost that much blood.
Her constantly saying that she wasn't going to see him anymore for "his own good". Then, who drags someone all the way to the snow to break up with them??!?! That would have been an amazingly uncomfortable ride back to town.
3) Crazy gf, and I mean crazy!! I know that, for him, it was an arranged relationship, but she apparently didn't get the memo. That her behaviors were allowed to continue on through all 16 episodes was painful to watch.
4) Her coworkers. Oh my gosh!! They were awful! They were mean, loud, and entirely too over the top. Eventually I skipped their scenes, they were so intolerable. Also, there was no need to use up as much time as they did with the office romance of the bosses - no one cares.
5) His family - his mom was portrayed as an airhead, and his dad was just downright verbally abusive. In fact, there were an inordinate number of unlikeable characters in this show.
6) Costuming for the women - what is with the short shorts as work outfits? Then, add boots. Just not a good look.
7) The character of Shin Yu at times. I really didn't like how he kept breaking up with the GF but then kept meeting with her. He didn't say anything when a wedding date was sent. He knows that the gf is pretty much terrorizing Hong Jo, but doesn't really address it. Also, the way he allowed everyone, including his family, treat Hong Jo. I know that respect is valued in Asian cultures, but, to me, respect needs to go both ways. There were so many times that I was waiting for him to "man up", but he never did.
8) The relationship between the leads was very messy, I thought. Was he affected by the potion, was he not? Her becoming attracted to him - that didn't totally make sense either. Then they went from push and pull to not being able to be without one another and crazy in love. It didn't really flow well, I didn't think. That said, I loved their chemistry was lovely.

Should you watch it? Again, it's personal taste, but I found a lot to be lacking. But if you are all about Rowoon and can put up with a frustrating script, go for it!

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A really good romcom

When I went into this I had no expectations at all but there's rowoon so how can I resist haha
I watched the first episode like a month ago and wasn't able to finish it cause it didn't really vibe with me.
Bur after watching all those cutesy scenes and the chemistry on youtube I decided to give this a go.
So here's what I feel:
This had soooo much potential....could have literally been one of the best in this year. Like look at the cast jo bo ah and rowoon are such a headstart.
I really don't like how they didn't bother to expand on the fantasy line like that could have literally been the main plot instead of the romcom. I hate that they didn't use any spells or delve into the whole thing.
That aside THE CHEMISTRY ohmygoddddd it's amazingggg like you could watch the show for the romance it's that good.
As I said i went into this with zero expectations but I was pleasantly surprised finding myself smiling at literally all of their scenes. And love how the director didn't shy away from putting in loads of kisses hehe.
I feel like the actors did a great job but the plot was a bit lacking.
Anyways good for a one time watch if you're here for the chemistry.....

PS: They really dragged this one....would've absolutely loved it if it were 12 episodes or less

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