Destined With You Season 1 Review – An interesting K-drama set-up ruined by hammy performances

Episode Guide

Episode 1―| Rating – 3/5
Episode 2―| Rating – 3.5/5
Episode 3―| Rating – 3.5/5
Episode 4―| Rating – 2.5/5
Episode 5―| Rating – 3/5
Episode 6―| Rating – 4/5
Episode 7―| Rating – 4.5/5
Episode 8―| Rating – 4/5
Episode 9―| Rating – 3/5
Episode 10―| Rating – 2/5
Episode 11―| Rating – 2.5/5
Episode 12―| Rating – 2.5/5
Episode 13―| Rating – 3/5
Episode 14―| Rating – 3.5/5
Episode 15―| Rating – 3.5/5
Episode 16―| Rating – 4/5

An interesting K-drama set-up ruined by hammy performances

Korean dramas are in a league of their own and the genre is seeing unparalleled popularity in the present time. One recent addition to the list of popular K-dramas is Destined With You starring Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah. The show aired on Netflix internationally and fans all over the world had mixed reactions about this one.

The show follows the story of Jang Shin-yu and Lee Hong-jo who have a past life connection. Shin-yu gives Hong-jo a box with a spell book and coincidentally ends up drinking the love potion Hong-jo had set out for someone else. Confused about his sudden feelings for Hong-jo, Shin-yu asks her to try and reverse the spell while suffering from other health issues that are a result of his actions from his past life.

The show has 16 episodes in total and each episode has a runtime of over 1 hour. The plot of Destined With You is well set up but it fails in it’s execution. The trope of “damsel in distress” does not work well in present time and it does not suit Jo Bo-ah playing Lee Hong-jo.

We have seen Bo-ah give a stellar performance in Tale of the Nine-tailed but her performance in Destined With You is unnecessarily exaggerated and hammy. Moreover, many other characters from this show seem to be giving a hammy and insincere performance. Rowoon (who plays Jang Shin-yu) does a good enough job at his role but even his good looks and mediocre acting skills cannot save the show.

The chemistry between the male and female lead is cute but it seems forced, given the fact that the story of the drama is all over the place. Another annoying aspect about this one is the forceful inclusion on comedic elements in the main story. There are several side stories going on in Destined With You that have little to no connection with the ongoing main story.

The office romance between Hong-jo’s colleagues have no significance to the main plot and seem like fillers, added to increase the runtime of the episodes. 

The interconnection between the past and and the present storylines was one of the key elements of this drama when it was initially teased. This very element that made the drama seem entertaining in the first place was badly executed in the final few episodes of the show.

The first few episodes generated mystery with the introduction of the “Red Hand”. However, this detail was soon forgotten as the episodes progressed. Destined With You is a show that started off as an interesting watch only to turn into one of the most disappointing dramas of 2023.