cnguyen1031
This review may contain spoilers
So I finally finished You are My Destiny. As most know by now, this was a remake of the 2008 TW drama "Fated to Love You" (also had a 2014 Kdrama remake and apparently a japanese one as well). I personally haven't seen the other remakes, so I can't speak for them. This review will honestly be a lot of comparisons to the original because FTLY honestly is one of my favorite TW classics, so it's really hard for me to not do constant comparing.
STORY:
I think personally, I prefer the original story. The story was honestly classic TW drama. Over the top and dramatic, a bit ridiculous at times, and fairly unrealistic even for 2008. BUT all of that said and done, this drama had a charm to it that made me remember it even 12 years later. This remake modernized the story a lot and made it much more realistic and down to earth than the original, but honestly it took away that magic charm that the original had and turned it into basically another standard modern drama.
****SPOILERS****
Main story changes:
THE PREGNANCY:
FTLY was an accidental pregnancy. The leads had no idea who the other was until after the slept together and their getting together was essentially a plot against the male lead.
YMD the two leads accidentally sleep together after a drunken night on a cruise ship. This is one of the biggest changes that I honestly didn't agree with. Obviously it was more realistic, but now you have an accidental situation turned into a guy cheating on his girlfriend and a girl who drunkenly sleeps with a guy she barely knows and becomes a third party in a relationship. Obviously the intention wasn't to harm anyone, but regardless, these two technically had an affair and even though they are both good people, this isn't anything that can be "redeemed" in any way.
-- this change to the story was the hardest for me to accept because in FTLY the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy were completely unwarranted and it was truly no one's fault. In this version, the FL just spends the entire drama feeling guilty - and rightfully so - and it really just made it hard for me to feel sorry for her at some points.
"STICKY NOTE GIRL":
FTLY this was the overall theme of the FL pre-miscarriage. She was basically used and forgotten by everyone in her life. She lived her days doing things and helping others and got NOTHING for it. This was not only in her work life, but also in her family where she was the least appreciated and cared for by her mother. This detail is really what made the ML so important in helping her become stronger and more confident. It also really pushes that change in personality where you see her become a completely different person post-miscarriage.
YMD: The FL is well loved by her mother, she has a great best friend/coworker who stands up for her at work, but yet she's still a "Sticky note" (only for the very beginning and only at work). There was honestly not as much reason for her to be this "sticky note" personality and it again, only really showed in the work place. This really broke down that character development for the FL as in this version, you already see her becoming stronger and more confident (after she joins the ML's company as the assistant to the Director). Then post-miscarriage, she's supposedly changed so much even though really she had already begun changing before she went to Hungary. Meh.
"THE REVEAL (of the truth)"
FTLY - They had this whole set up where the FL talks about what "happened" that day and it's accidentally recorded on camera, which is how the ML finds out about the real truth. It was such an important moment as you really saw everything just click for the ML and he finally understands why the FL ran away from him and was so afraid to be near hin that day. He confronts Anna and then is able to really love the FL without the feeling that he did anything to hurt her back then.
YMD - The "reveal" is just so downplayed. It felt super rushed to me, and then there's really no ending for it. Dylan "tells" Xin Yi the "truth", but XY knows what really happens from Anna's expressions. But he just runs to the airport, where he just so happened to have a copy of the real divorce papers waiting for Jia Xin? Meh. Anna honestly gets no form of retribution for what she did and then the story just ends.
Overall when it comes to the story, again, it is modernized and it's definitely more realistic - but honestly, there are so many modern dramas that are basically the same set up, and now this show becomes one of many.
ACTING:
Most people know that the leads of this show were the OTP in The Eternal Love and that was a huge selling point for this drama. I think honestly everyone loved this pairing so much because the Eternal Love was basically 75% cute romantic moments. This drama was NOT that. It was more focused on the real lives between the two and so it required a lot of actual acting and portraying of emotions. Personally, I think that even though these two have cute chemistry, they are still really young actors, and this drama showed that there's room for improvement.
Shoutout to the side family characters though. The FL's mom, the ML's grandma and aunt, I think were honestly all really good.
******************************
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This drama was ok. It is not my favorite of 2020 and it honestly isn't very memorable to me. But again, I think I had low expectations knowing that it was a remake of one of my favorite TW dramas. If I had never seen the original and watched this one, I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more, but again, when you want to remake a famous and classic TV show, you need to be prepared for comparisons to the original.
STORY:
I think personally, I prefer the original story. The story was honestly classic TW drama. Over the top and dramatic, a bit ridiculous at times, and fairly unrealistic even for 2008. BUT all of that said and done, this drama had a charm to it that made me remember it even 12 years later. This remake modernized the story a lot and made it much more realistic and down to earth than the original, but honestly it took away that magic charm that the original had and turned it into basically another standard modern drama.
****SPOILERS****
Main story changes:
THE PREGNANCY:
FTLY was an accidental pregnancy. The leads had no idea who the other was until after the slept together and their getting together was essentially a plot against the male lead.
YMD the two leads accidentally sleep together after a drunken night on a cruise ship. This is one of the biggest changes that I honestly didn't agree with. Obviously it was more realistic, but now you have an accidental situation turned into a guy cheating on his girlfriend and a girl who drunkenly sleeps with a guy she barely knows and becomes a third party in a relationship. Obviously the intention wasn't to harm anyone, but regardless, these two technically had an affair and even though they are both good people, this isn't anything that can be "redeemed" in any way.
-- this change to the story was the hardest for me to accept because in FTLY the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy were completely unwarranted and it was truly no one's fault. In this version, the FL just spends the entire drama feeling guilty - and rightfully so - and it really just made it hard for me to feel sorry for her at some points.
"STICKY NOTE GIRL":
FTLY this was the overall theme of the FL pre-miscarriage. She was basically used and forgotten by everyone in her life. She lived her days doing things and helping others and got NOTHING for it. This was not only in her work life, but also in her family where she was the least appreciated and cared for by her mother. This detail is really what made the ML so important in helping her become stronger and more confident. It also really pushes that change in personality where you see her become a completely different person post-miscarriage.
YMD: The FL is well loved by her mother, she has a great best friend/coworker who stands up for her at work, but yet she's still a "Sticky note" (only for the very beginning and only at work). There was honestly not as much reason for her to be this "sticky note" personality and it again, only really showed in the work place. This really broke down that character development for the FL as in this version, you already see her becoming stronger and more confident (after she joins the ML's company as the assistant to the Director). Then post-miscarriage, she's supposedly changed so much even though really she had already begun changing before she went to Hungary. Meh.
"THE REVEAL (of the truth)"
FTLY - They had this whole set up where the FL talks about what "happened" that day and it's accidentally recorded on camera, which is how the ML finds out about the real truth. It was such an important moment as you really saw everything just click for the ML and he finally understands why the FL ran away from him and was so afraid to be near hin that day. He confronts Anna and then is able to really love the FL without the feeling that he did anything to hurt her back then.
YMD - The "reveal" is just so downplayed. It felt super rushed to me, and then there's really no ending for it. Dylan "tells" Xin Yi the "truth", but XY knows what really happens from Anna's expressions. But he just runs to the airport, where he just so happened to have a copy of the real divorce papers waiting for Jia Xin? Meh. Anna honestly gets no form of retribution for what she did and then the story just ends.
Overall when it comes to the story, again, it is modernized and it's definitely more realistic - but honestly, there are so many modern dramas that are basically the same set up, and now this show becomes one of many.
ACTING:
Most people know that the leads of this show were the OTP in The Eternal Love and that was a huge selling point for this drama. I think honestly everyone loved this pairing so much because the Eternal Love was basically 75% cute romantic moments. This drama was NOT that. It was more focused on the real lives between the two and so it required a lot of actual acting and portraying of emotions. Personally, I think that even though these two have cute chemistry, they are still really young actors, and this drama showed that there's room for improvement.
Shoutout to the side family characters though. The FL's mom, the ML's grandma and aunt, I think were honestly all really good.
******************************
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This drama was ok. It is not my favorite of 2020 and it honestly isn't very memorable to me. But again, I think I had low expectations knowing that it was a remake of one of my favorite TW dramas. If I had never seen the original and watched this one, I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more, but again, when you want to remake a famous and classic TV show, you need to be prepared for comparisons to the original.
Was this review helpful to you?
