Marshmallow-Chocoholic
Europe
' 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.
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?
