Destined With You (Review)
(이 연애는 불가항력; aired from August 23 to October 12, 2023; available internationally on Netflix; 16 episodes)
Any K-Drama fan can guess the story of Destined With You from its English title. It’s a typical Korean romcom where the main characters met in the past (Joseon era) and meet again as reincarnated selves to fall in love again. Still, the premise of the show revolves around the mysterious spell book: Lee Hong-jo (played by Jo Bo-ah, perhaps best known from Tale of the Nine Tailed), a civil servant at Onju City Hall, obtains the book and tries to cast a love spell on her crush. But she ends up bewitching Jang Shin-yu (Rowoon known, for example, for the memorable role in The King’s Affection), a skilled lawyer. In my opinion, the spell book should be included in the title of the show, since it is one of the few differentiating factors of the show, otherwise having quite a generic plotline and generic title.
Main leads are definitely among the strengths of the show. Jo Bo-ah, as Hong-jo, has a cheerful personality and garners instant sympathy from the audience. At the same time, Rowoon, as Shin-yu, seems to be her opposite — ironic and arrogant, yet charming. A romcom wouldn’t be complete without love triangles: Ha Jun plays Kwon Jae-kyung, Hong-jo’s initial crush and therefore, Shin-yu’s rival. Kwon Jae-kyung’s character blurs the line between an ally and antagonist in the show, which might be confusing at times. On the other hand, Shin-yu’s girlfriend, Yoon Na-yeon (Yura), is a somewhat generic antagonist and a rival to Hong-jo. Besides this, the pair of main protagonists face obstacles in the form of a deranged stalker pursuing Hong-jo and various problems related to the aforementioned spell book and their mutual destiny.
The motive of a spell book and magic is definitely underused in the show, especially in the second part. Instead, the series focuses on workplace drama, which is very typical for K-Dramas. Elements of magic and mystery add to the atmosphere of the show, as seen in Alchemy of Souls or It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. Unfortunately, such an atmosphere was lacking in Destined With You. In the first episode, it seems that the writers intended to include some horror elements, especially with depictions of the curse Shin-yu suffered from. However, this idea was quickly abandoned in later episodes. In short, the creators missed the opportunity to make the show truly stand out.
In addition, the show also has problems with pacing. While it begins quite well, and the first episodes are strong, it slows down significantly toward the middle of the season. Around the halfway point, we see more flashbacks to the Joseon era, but unfortunately, they are not well integrated and affect the pacing considerably. The editing of these flashbacks can be confusing at times — I wasn’t always sure whether they were seen by just one of the main characters or both, leading to uncertainty about who exactly remembers what. Unlike some other shows, where information they acquire from flashbacks is crucial for the present relationship between main leads, here they remain relatively unaffected, leading to question if those sequences were really necessary.
Another curious decision by the show’s writers revolves around Shin-yu’s relationship with Yoon Na-yeon. For most of the show, they are actually in a relationship, with Na-Yeon being his official girlfriend. Despite this, Shin-yu is pursuing and dating Hong-jo simultaneously, essentially cheating on his girlfriend. It seems to me that cheating and breaking relationships are particularly shunned in Korea, as is evident in other K-Dramas. Therefore, it’s somewhat unusual to include such a plotline in Destined With You. Interestingly, the writers themselves seemed uneasy with this decision. Throughout the show, they kept revealing that Na-Yeon is truly a bad person, piling up numerous heinous acts she committed during the show and in the past. Perhaps, in the writers’ minds, this justified Shin-yu’s infidelity — as if cheating is acceptable if your girlfriend is a villain.
In general, though, Destined With You is rather funny and lighthearted romcom, mostly thanks to Jo Bo-ah’s Hong-jo good-natured personality. Nevertheless, the creators clearly struggled between attempts to make the show somewhat original and following the typical tropes of K-Drama romantic comedies. Also, it seems that the show was juggling too many different arcs at the same time, like workplace relationships, spell book and mystery arc, Joseon era’s flashbacks, Shin-yu’s curse, Shin-yu’s relationship with Na-Yeon, Hong-jo’s relationship and past with Na-Yeon, Hong-jo’s stalker, and some others. All of that meant that the show sometimes lacked focus and was difficult to follow.
Destined With You on Wikipedia and MyDramaList
