I will admit something here. I dropped this drama three times! The first time, I barely lasted 20 seconds, so maybe that doesn't count. The second time I made it a whole 5 minutes, and the third time I made it to 10. I just could not stand the lead actor. He was weird, and that laugh was so awkward, but not quite in a good way like Dokko Jin from The Greatest Love. I thought there was no way I'd watch it.
But then something really awesome happened. One of my drama besties started texting me about how amazing her new drama was, and how much chemistry the lead couple had. I scoffed when she told me it was FTLY. So I decided it would get one more shot from me before being relegated to my growing dropped list.
And thank god for that! I started it up for the fourth time, and this time I made it to when the leads met. And then I was 6 episodes in before I even realized what was happening. This weird, annoying character had somehow managed to work his way into my heart, and I was absolutely hooked. That annoying laugh? I was now looking forward to it. His weird behavior? Suddenly romantic. It was like a switch had flipped, and there was no turning back.
I hope you forgive all of that insane rambling! I swear, I do have a point! Three of my other Kdrama friends had also started and dropped this drama after the first few minutes, thinking it wasn't going to be up their alley. That makes me think there might be even more of you out there who are hesitant about this drama, and I really, really want to encourage to give it a shot!
Lee Gun is a caustic, lovable jerk. He is the quintessential CEO character, a little brash with people outside of his circle and definitely a little self-serving. Kim Mi Young is the exact opposite, known as the post-it girl because she is easy to get rid of and she admittedly has no backbone or ability to say no. They are as different as night and day, and yet when they come together they are the absolute best versions of each other.
In terms of character growth, this show is the absolute best. I don't think a single character made it through this show without maturing and changing. This drama was sad at times, and I will admit to a couple scenes that had me bawling like a baby. But even through all of the tears, it is absolutely worth it.
If you've made it all the way to the end of this inane review, I hope that you will consider giving FTLY a shot. The romance, the story line, the characters, all of it combines to make an absolutely unforgettable story.
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This review may contain spoilers
Have you ever asked yourself what's more important in a drama? Plot or acting? Can a good performance turn a mediocre plot into something unique? Fated to Love You answers this question with a decisive Yes.
Let's have a look at this plot. Aside from it being a remake of a popular Taiwanese drama, this is a collection of old clichés: doormat girl meets obnoxious rich guy, an incident of some sort occurs and compels them to live under the same roof, meddling – and maddening – relatives, random humour, misunderstandings, birth secrets, the 'other girl' and the 'other guy', all spiced up with a lot of noble idiocy (although this might be one of the few cases when the noble act is frustrating but comprehensible). It's not hard to see why I treaded on this very makjang field on tiptoe.
Therefore, my overall 9 has to be ascribed entirely to the impeccable acting and one of the best thought of OST of songs I've come across. Try out the first 10 minutes of this show, and you'll have no doubts the whole thing is going to be played on style, rather than plot substance. The performance of the whole cast is brilliant, but the two leads manage to outshine everything and everyone.
What could have resulted in two trite, annoying characters in lesser hands, becomes one of the best matched couple in melo/romantic comedy. Even when their plot-line drags – and it does, here and there – they are both able to sustain the silence and make it resound.
Jang Hyuk… wow, the man can act. Yes, I suppose this is a very superfluous statement for the many of you who know him, but this is my first time and I was enchanted. The character he creates here has no grey areas: Gun is so over the line he goes from hysterically funny to heartbreaking in the space of a few minutes. At times the two aspects are interwoven, and the viewer gets glimpses of his pain through his laughter. But his best trait in my opinion is that he doesn't give a dry fig about what people think of him: he goes on doing what he believes is right in the craziest of manners.
It doesn't hurt that the actor is seriously hot. Seriously. When he cuts his hair – this is not considered a spoiler, is it? - I was so distracted here and there I forgot to watch the drama and just watched him.
This said, Jang Na Ra is downright brilliant. For the first time in my drama addicted life, I loved a 'weak' heroine. There's a special quality about the rendition of her character that turns her weakness into strength, and her compliance into endearing sweetness. One can see why Gun falls in love with her, because the viewer experiences the same. Possibly, we all know from the start that Kim Mi Young will eventually change, and yet she keeps her true, generous nature intact. With her beautiful, huge eyes she speaks volumes and her chemistry with Jang Hyuk on screen is tangible.
Notable mention for Song Ok Sook, aka Mi Young's mother. I enjoyed every minute of her antics and rejoiced in her relationship with both her daughter and her son in law.
I already mentioned the music. As a rule, I only like instrumental pieces in dramas. I'm making an exception here not only because the songs are beautiful, but because each piece is chosen with the utmost care, emphasising in turn the fun, the suffering, the romance, the absurd. Isn't this what an Ost should do? Perfect score from me.
Because I believe the plot to be absolutely secondary in this drama, I'm sure it lends itself very well to future re-watching.
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After the first episode I was convinced I had made a mistake, and was completely turned off. She was such a doormat, the look of it was so cheesy, and his laugh was out of control... I had no idea how hooked I would be. As far as K-Drama Rom-Coms go, this one is now among my favorites.
The story is indeed over the top, with moments of deliberate cheese, random fantasy cgi, and completely unrealistic scenarios, yet the story had enough heart to make it all seem completely plausible. This drama made me cry multiple times, surprisingly & literally LOL more than I think I ever have at any drama, and these cartoonish characters suddenly became completely realistic to me. It got me totally invested in their relationship and totally addicted to the show. Yes, it's still mainly just a love story, with most of the usual K-Drama love story elements (like a conniving ex girlfriend and damn near perfect yet hopelessly friend-zoned 2nd lead), but It deserves a lot of credit for doing exactly what's expected extremely well.
The cast is exceptional. It's pretty big task balancing slapstick comedy, heartbreaking drama, and romantic chemistry, but Jang Na Ra and Jang Hyuk make it look easy. I've never seen either in a drama before, and I was impressed. Jang Na Ra portrayal of Kim Mi Young may annoy viewers who prefer a stronger leading lady, but I liked watching her character grow while still staying true to herself. Jang Hyuk's Lee Gun was my favorite. He was hilarious, he was charming, he was touching, and even his laugh grew on me. I loved the entire supporting cast ("hamo hamo"), particularly Mi Young's mom. The weakest characters to me were actually the unrequited loves of the leads, but I thought they were still very good. Daniel Pitt and Se Ra were less colorful than the other characters, but I was invested in their story lines as well.
The music was great. If I can keep hearing the same songs over and over again, and want to sing along instead of punch myself in the head, then that soundtrack is a success!
I could see myself watching this again, mostly because Lee Gun is so entertaining, but also because the story is so well done. I also don't see it losing any of it's charm with repeat viewing. There were really no dull moments, no repetitive episodes just filling up the time, and the last episodes didn't drag, wasn't rushed, and left no loose ends. I also really loved the ending. It did have the potential to be extra corny, but I thought is was perfect.
Overall, I say this is a must see for rom-com fans. I can't compare it to the original, since I didn't see it, but I think I now understand it's popularity. If you're not that big on rom-coms, but you're ok with entertaining stories that don't try to reinvent the wheel, then you may be pleasantly surprised by Fated to Love You just like I was.
My recommendation is to give it a chance, and you probably won't regret it :)
Also, I really want one of those Ellie Kim bags... seriously. And yes, I did just stalk Yook Sim Won on the internet for one. Lol!
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There are a lot of things that make a drama great: direction, screenplay, plot- among other things. But then there are dramas like Fated To love You, that don't need anything else except the one thing they have: phenomenal acting. Jang Na Ra and Jang Hyuk are simply brilliant at what they do. Which is why, what would've been an otherwise mediocre drama ultimately, became an excellent show.
Lee Gun is, to be frank, a weirdo. There's extra and then there is this guy. From his ridiculous pretend action moves, obnoxious laughter, tacky slow cap to his nonsensical rambles- he's truly one of a kind. But these eccentricities are what make him so completely endearing. His laugh, when he is happy, is so contagious that it would split your face in a huge smile. While the same laugh, when he's upset, would break your heart into smithereens. The pure and untainted love he has for Mi Young will warm your soul and his kind, kind heart would grant him a permanent spot in your heart.
Mi Young, on the other hand, is just precious. Jang Na Ra’s acting is so utterly genuine that it's impossible not to fall in love with her character. Mi Young is gentle, fragile and innocent and yet, there is a silent strength to her. The way her personality develops throughout the show is amazing. She grows from a girl who hides from the world to a woman who's confident in her skin and the change is totally believable.
Their relationship is goals and their chemistry is fire ( damn those kisses ????). There is a total balance of power between them and that is what makes the romance so great. He is a billionaire in his own right and she's a very successful artist. There are many scenes where our guy takes the back seat and let's our girl handle the reins. They are strong for each other and they're strong together and it's all just varying degrees of perfection.
Fated to love you has the best second male lead to date. I love Daniel Pitt. Literally every time he came on the screen I was like ‘It's okay if you didn't get the girl, darlin’ I'm still here and I'm ready to be yours.’ lol. Usually in romance dramas, I find the second male and female leads kind of annoying but surprisingly, in this show I wanted to know more about Daniel and Se Ra’s story and when it finally unfolded, it was completely heart warming.
Secretary Tak, Dragon, Mi Young’s mom and her crazy ass family, Grandma Wang, The triplets, The Lawyer- basically every character in the show is lovable.
Hamo Hamo.
Goodbye My Love sung my Aille is without a doubt one of the best OST’s ever. No matter how many times I listen to it, I can't get enough. The background music throughout the show is perfectly timed and exactly what a particular scene needed.
All in all its little bag of tricks, its quirkiness, its over the top-ness and ultimately its authenticity is what makes this show a true gem.
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My rating: 9.0
In Short: The first half of this drama was absolutely hysterical. As soon as the angst hit, the drama was a bit more middling, but still enjoyable. The Jang-couple chemistry was great.
Pros: A great cast, and a wonderful set of side characters. I particularly enjoyed Mi Young's mom, Secretary Tak and Dragon. I also quite liked the music.
Cons: Could have been trimmed down to 16 episodes with great effect. The noble idiocy was a bit too drawn out.
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Sure, for some “fate” may be an elusive term, it may be non-existing in our time and space for others, and perhaps at the end of the day “fate” is for the wishy-washy people that can’t get out of a peculiar disillusionment of love (only viewing it as perfect) and would rather live dream-like state. Still, in this instance, I prefer living in a dream-like state while watching some drama’s, in this case, what FTLY you has is a combination of metaphors, life lessons, joys, emotional pains, and of course endless possibilities concerning the belief (and questioning) of true love/destiny.
STORY:
Although FTLY was adapted from the Taiwanese version, it definitely lived up to its expectations for being a lighter, more romantically charismatic series. From the beginning to the conclusion of the series, the melodramatic edge to the story filled up necessarily when needed for the plot development, and found that it didn’t drag along the story relentlessly, which was a positive aspect to this series. The humour/comedy in this series is one of the best entertaining factors in this series; I suggest that this is its strongest point for being funny even in times when there were serious moments.
CHARACTERS:
Lee Gun: You will always remember Gunnie. There are many reasons why, and I'm sure those that have seen it are probably going to agree. His bright, sometimes enigmatic appearance/expressions on screen right from the beginning brings this series into a often sweet, but charming edge. He is not the regular main lead trope that constantly berates/belittes the main lead girl. Gun is actually a decent human being. As a male lead he treats Mi Young with sympathy and respect, which I thought was commendable. Of course given the circumstances, all the characters express and act on certain things because of events, but Gun is admirable in his character. If anything, this makes this series redeemable because of the fact that Gun isn’t the stereotypical kind of male lead.
Kim Mi Young: Ahh, Mi Young, my heart bleeds for this woman. She indeed goes on an interesting journey of self discovery and independence, from a “post-it” girl to a wonderfully, talented girl that has the rest of the world ahead of her. Watching a character blossom into their own individuality, while grappling with emotional pains was visceral but also bittersweet. I really felt a “realness” with these characters, and Mi Young especially. The acting just felt natural, definitely not forced. I enjoyed Gun and Mi Young’s chemistry, so in addition to these interesting back histories of each character it was nice to see a couple on screen convince me of their bond.
Daniel: He was breath taking. His character is un-predictable, especially in correlation to Mi Young. Of course I couldn’t help myself by *fan girling* anytime I saw him or Gun on screen just smiling and of course, existing. But there was depth to his character, and I thought at least emotionally speaking, that there was nothing I didn’t like about his character. At the risk of spoiling any more details about these characters, I must say that there are plenty of reasons to watch this series. Aside from the good laughs, good cries, and overall good impressionable moments/dialogue; these characters are sure worth while watching over the course of time. I can go on and on about how wonderful they all are, but I’m pretty sure you get the gist!
SOUND/OST: Simply beautiful. I was already enjoying the music by the second episode. There was a combination of upbeat to melancholic music in terms of the atmosphere/mood of the series, which I thought was played out well. Most of all, the sound was memorable for certain moments in the series. You expected a certain theme/song for certain characters and then certain scenes with characters interacting. It was thoughtfully well done!
OVERALL IMPRESSION: From start to finish I fell in love with this series. It has a refreshing element to it in the sense that the humour and romance was balanced very well. I mean, I found myself bursting out in laughter for certain things Gun would say or do, and I'm sure if you have a funny bone that you'll enjoy it as well. Aside from the melodrama aspect to the drama, I do believe it did justice to audience members in keeping the story line engaging. I guess I was indeed fated to love this series even before it started because I still haven’t gotten over how wonderful it truly is.
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Story
The concept of this lovely drama is the fated love between the 2 leads. The fate that you can't escape no matter what is thrown at you because it is written in the stars! The drama gathers all the cliches, archetype/classic lead characters, absurd coinsidences, silly comedy scenes, illnesses, main leads pushing each other away while they love each other, amnesia, time jumps, annoying 2nd leads, unnecessary love triangles ect. However, against all odds, those are what make the drama work. How all the cliches placed next to each other, all the silliness, ridiculousness, absurdity just works out, clicks so perfectly and brings the most wonderful results one can imagine.
Best thing this drama has to offer is the romance. Fated to love you starts as a pure comedy and very quickly it develops to a very funny but heartfelt romance. Soon after though, it sends you to the sky, it drags your pitiful ass down to hell, destroy your feels, and then, in the most fulfilling way, it shines and thrives giving you one of the most profound romances i've watched in kdramaland. It delivers emotionally on so many levels, it has such an exquisite sentimental impact that i believe it will stay indelible in my memory forever. Not many rom coms were able to convey and create such affectionate and passionate atmosphere. I'm really thankful i watched it.
I'm happy to say the drama is fast paced, it barely gets dragged (mostly gets slower around episode 15, but still completely enjoyable) and ends leaving you feeling completely accomplished! The only reason this isn't a 10 is because of all the cliches and the fact that most of the situations were totally ridiculous, but i guess that was this drama's biggest charm.
Acting
The acting was overall impeccable but the shining star of this is definitely Jang Hyuk. He is probably the first and only actor that i prefer in comedy than melodrama but he's amazing in both. His character was a little cringy in the beginning, and his acting could be described as over the top, but he left such a strong, memorable impression with his acting that made me fall for him completely. He made the drama what it is, his acting is one of the best things this drama has to offer along with his chemistry with Jang Na Ra. One of the best chemistries i've watched, a blast to watch them on screen!
Jang Nara along with both the 2nd lead roles and the full supporting cast gave a stunning performance.
Recommend/ Rewatch
This is must watch pretty much for every drama fan out there. Rom-com fans feast your eyes, this is delicious in every way. Melodrama lovers, i hereby promise you, you won't regret watching this. As a meticulous melo fan this was totally up my alley, it conveyed much more feelings than i expected on many levels; you won't be dissapointed believe me. If you can turn a blind eye to the cliches and just go with the absurdity of the whole plot, the drama will thoroughly and generously reward you!
Lastly, If i ever make a list of dramas worth rewatching this will definitely be in it!
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This review may contain spoilers
This is a makjang drama featuring all the possible common kdrama cliches you can think off, the main offenders being: amnesia, a bitchy ex gf, a second male lead trying to get the female lead, a time skip, and the worst case of noble idiocy I've ever seen in my kdrama watching journey of some years.The drama starts well, the humor although over the top, is hilarious at times and the story and characters seem to be a good enough reason to continue watching, that is until the male lead's hereditary disease manifests and he loses his memories of the last 3 months as a symptom, those months are conveniently the ones he spent with the female lead of course.
As if that event wasn't dramatic enough, right after the male lead gets his memories back, he decides to go on the noble idiocy route and break up with the female lead apparently to protect her from the sadness of knowing about his disease instead of discussing it with her. But no, that's still not all, right after they break up, she turns around to go back to him but gets hit by a car on the way and loses their baby. That was when I simply couldn't handle anymore ridiculousness.
What comes after is a time skip and after that a bunch of frustrating episodes filled with misunderstandings caused by the male lead's noble idiocy that is still going strong after 3 years. Oh my God.
The only good things about this drama are the acting, some funny scenes and the ost.
This could have been a 16 or 18 episodes drama had they not dragged the noble idiocy plot device for so many episodes, and that could have perhaps, saved the drama from being so hopelessly frustrating in the second half.
Still I powered through those difficult episodes because of the male lead's heartwarming relationship with the female lead's mother and because, despite everything, I grew fond of the characters.
Side note: also the ending was so cheesy, and childish lol
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Acting/Cast (I'm also going to talk about character development here...so if you are sensitive to a little bit of the plot since it can be hard to draw the line, do skip ahead)
Jang Hyuk: Damn this guy can surely act, there's no doubt about that. He acts not only through his voice and his eyes but through his hands too (there was an article on this hehe) He really managed to show the emotions of Geon during all his moments, be it conflict, sadness, happiness, perviness, you name it. He managed to show Geon's crazy and yet precious side in a way not many other actors would have been able to. In fact I would think that among all the acting in this show, Jang Hyuk's was one of the strongest.
Jang Nara: And who can forget our Jang Nara portraying the ever-so-adorable Dal-peng-ie. During the course of the entire drama, Mi-young made some smooth transitions from a post-kid girl to a mature and confident woman who knows how to stand up for herself. Props to Jang Nara for making Mi-young so lovable to all us viewers. Mi-young was really a representation for all those seemingly normal girls out there who wasn't all that normal after all :)
Choi Jinhyuk/Wang Jiwon: Sad to say, I've never had much to say about second-leads, this could be my own bias. But as second-leads I guess they did what they had to do and they did it good. Choi Jinhyuk played that typical too-nice second lead well as he really got all of us viewers aching for him and I'm glad Wang Jiwon was also allowed to portray Sera in a more human way.
Park Wonsook: As Geon's grandmother, I was hoping she could have had more scenes and played a greater part in this story. But since this was due to the limitations of the script, it has absolutely nothing to do with the actor's ability. Park Wonsook definitely delivered the funny as Geon's grandmother :)
Choi Wooshik/Park Heebon: I'm very happy with the character development for these two characters. As you know korean dramas tend to have a side-lined couple and this two were an adorable pair. Even though Yong wasn't that good-natured initially it was understandable. He eventually made the cut and his innocence and adorableness and his eventual pushing for OTP made up for it :) I'm glad Ji-yeon continued being part of the plot even when she and Mi-young went their separate ways. The two actors definitely made these 2 characters very likeable.
Choi Dae Cheol: I remember not having very high hopes of Choi Dae Cheol initially as Geon's secretary as Anson from the TW version was simply wonderful, but of course this actor proved me wrong. Secretary Tak had his own set of funny as he always competed with Yong to get into Geon's good books. As Secretary Tak, he was really wonderful and helped to bring in a lot of funny into this show.
Song Ok Sook: I really liked Song Ok Sook's portrayal as Mi-young's mum as their relationship was really heartfelt and the way this actress conveyed the heart of a mother was also really heartbreaking so much kudos to this actress!
Oh Sulmi/Lee Mido/Im Hyung Joon/Jung Eun Pyo: I'm quite upset that the two sisters didn't really have any interaction with Mi-young to show their relationships as sisters. This is especially so for the oldest sister who barely had like what 5 lines? in this show. So again, this is largely due to the limitedness of the script. For the soap suds duo, I was generally okay with the acting and especially loved the new term they coined ;D
Music:
There was a range of music from VIXX's Ken's light hearted tune to Ailee's and Jung Dongha's emotional tear-jerkers. Megan Lee's Ready for Love was also great for OTP moments. Jeff Bernat's song was pretty cute too, do give a listen :)
Rewatch value:
Since this was a rom-com, and a pretty great one while I'm at it, it definitely has high re-watch value. The chemistry between the 2 Jangs is a huge PLUS (their chemistry is definitely not one to belittle) There can be slow parts especially from episodes 11-17 but they're important for the plot I guess, and there is a lot a whole lot of meta and funny to make up for it. Definitely worth the watch and rewatch and rerewatch and...*snail signs*
Overall: DAEBAK for all those rom-com lovers and all those SSBG watchers who enjoyed it but lamented the lack of some you know rice-cake making or some K I double S. Okay that's it HAMOHAMO I'll miss this show :)
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It is a drama that is funny and sad at the same time. It makes you happy and anxious but it always makes you look forward to what is yet to come. You can never get enough of it. At least that's how I felt about this drama.
Since I haven't seen the original taiwanese version, I didn't really know what was going to happen (although I was spoiled a few times because people couldn't stop sharing their knowledge) so I was often surprised with the happenings in the drama.
"Fated to Love You" started with being a really funny drama. There was a lot of comedy and love, which is exactly what you expect from a romantic comedy. At that time I watched one or two episodes without subtitles (although I didn't understand a word of course) because I just couldn't wait for the next episode and for the deep love you could watch on-screen.
But the cuteness didn't last long. In the middle of the drama (11/12 episode) "Fated to Love You" somehow took a melodramatic turn which I actually didn't hate. Because it didn't feel out of place and it somehow fit perfectly into the the story.
The thing that I may have "disliked" (oops, sorry drama, I really love you to bits) is that I sometimes had the feeling that the drama dragged on (after episode 14 a bit). The angst continued on too long. Not that I actually minded it because I could watch the snail-couple until the end of the world.
But to be honest, this few episodes made me actually think of deducting 1 point from the overall score, but that wouldn't have been fair because this drama was just awesome to the core and I just loved it so much. Really, there are no words that can describe how much love I have for this drama and all the characters. I simply loved everyone of them. If you are patient and don't judge anyone of them and actually give them a chance, they will prove you at the end that they are worth your love.
Just don't be judgmental and try to put yourselves in their places. I promise you, you won't regret it.
Learn to love them and you will enjoy every moment of interaction between each of those characters.
Another thing that I really loved about this drama was the music. It was simply awesome. Whether we're talking about the OST or the other soundracks that were played throughout the show, the music was simply genius and it accompanied the scenes perfectly. It sometimes made you laugh and sometimes made you cry.
All in all I am really glad that I have discovered this drama because it's a masterpiece in my eyes. In the last few weeks I was sucked in to deeply in the World of Mi Young and Gun and the rest of the other beautiful persons as that I could forget about them in the near future. This drama will always have a special place in my heart.
PS.: I f you have any tips on how I should move on, don't hesitate to tell me. Thank you!
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