The thread is open.
I’m watching this, and I’m rushing to get “My First Impressions” out by tonight. Wait for it please. 🙂
gifs from dramashii’s tumblr
Yes, Rowoon plays an attorney but I’m ignoring anything legalese. It doesn’t matter much to the plot anyway…except that their meeting could be considered a force majeure. 🙂
Let’s enjoy the show.
This is on my watch list because it’s in Netflix so I’m in. ☺️
I did notice it on Netflix. Will keep it on the watch list for now.
Kalimera @Packmule3!
I am glad that you have started watching this one.
I took a glance on the first two episodes. It seems interesting for now.
RoWoon caught my radar while I was watching “Tomorrow / Dae Il”.
Let’s see how this will go!
Okay! Just posted “My First Impressions.” Hope you can watch this show and comment. See you later.
Rowoon caught my radar when I watched king’s affection. I also enjoyed him in don’t wear that lipstick And, I think it was, extraordinary you. He is beautiful and I tend to pay attention to idol Actors. This is how I get introduced to my k pop, for the most part. I really enjoy SF9. Some of their music is great for moving to while i’m doing my housework and dancing.
Oh, thanks, @monmor. You reminded me to do something.
I’m blocking all “Destined With You” threads on this blog from his oppa-fans. 😂
@Packmule3!
I laughed so hard reading this! LMAO!
Hahaha. You know me well, @Cleopatra.
Of course I do @Packmule3!
I have missed (reading you) and that is totally true… <3
Seriously, though. I was sifting through gifs last night but most of the gifs were just on the male lead. SOLO. That had me scratching my head. Didn’t these people watch the episodes? Why is the focus all on this actor’s face and his suits? Did I miss the memo that this drama is created for fan-service? Why aren’t they discussing the story?
Yes we do not want this thread to be hijacked by his oppa fans!
They Hijack ratings too
I have to agree with @Monmor in this one.
I don’t know what is happening these days, but if I enter MDL, their comment section is full of fan-wars. There are a few people who really enjoy the plot and are writing based on that. The majority is fighting about a show and what they like the best.
Anyway, yes I understand that Rowoon is handsome. He is dashing on a suit.
Based on his latest works, though, I have concluded that he wants to be seen for his acting craft and not only for his looks. His fans should pay attention and act wisely.
I don’t have Netflix *sigh*. Will have to wait until this fully airs and I can coughcoughdownloaditcoughcough.
LOL, I’ll be by to read you all!
Unnie,
You should! LMAO!
@packmule3, @Cleopatra, @GB and people new to me, So happy to read and comment again. This is my big pleasure site and I’ve missed it since my husband got seriously ill. He had a huge cancer surgery and is now on the mend. I do believe that along with science, we can have miracles.
Getting back on topic, I am enjoying this drama. I am fascinated with Shamanism and the stuff of phony Shamans like the hilarious General McArthur Shaman in Behind Your Touch and the wonderful Seo In Guk in Cafe Mindamnang. The General McArthur Shaman is apparently a thing in South Korea according to Google.
I like our female lead.I think that we can’t have a raving beauty as a low level civil servant. I was raised by a great aunt who always said that she liked people’s faces that were not conventionally attractive. She liked to look at people who had what she called a “studying face” where you learned their beauty or ugliness as you came to know their character. I think that’s where they’re going with Jo Bo-ah. There is also the trope of the plain girl getting the handsome guy in the end. It is a trope that always resonates with me.
I am looking forward to seeing how this drama. Develops. And I kept thinking about being caught red handed (my non sequitur).
I am excited by this one. Not 1 but 3 men are under her spell. I am not sure if her original crush drank the potion or not? I like that the Rowoon character is written as knowing he is under a spell and not acting blindly.
He is doing some ugly acting or is some of that special effects?
Hi all! I dipped into this. It looked intriguing and then I got put off by that strange red (bloody?) hand appearing from somewhere and appearing to climb all over Rowoon.
So even our ML, suits and all, couldn’t keep me watching.
But I’ll dip in to see how you all find the rest of this drama.
@OAL – I always like the idea of the plain girl who gets the gorgeous guy and your great aunt’s idea of the ‘studying face’ is great! I also believe that we can have science and we can have miracles, some of them silent ones… so glad your husband is on the mend.
Ancient witchcraft in the modern day!
I’ve managed to watch Episode 3, and am in for the plot twist! But of course it had to happen this way, so we’ll not be sure for the longest time if Aeng-Cho’s spells work.
Loved Hong Jo’s expression of horror at the end, LOL.
Kalimera Everyone,
Episode 3 was pretty decent.
@GB Unnie, I think Hong Jo is time to realize that you cannot play with spells. I mean what did she expect? That everything will go according to her plan?
Life is unpredictable and that happened.
I also feel that SY would be the one affected by the spells, since her previous reincarnation cursed their bloodline. That’s why he had the car accident.
When HJ was doing the love spell ritual, he was affected by the magic indirectly.
He is somehow drawn to her…Well, he had that bloody hand for so long. LMAO!
@monmor,
Only SY drank the love spell’s potion. So basically is just him.
I think her Team Manager Gong Seo-Goo didn’t, he truly likes Manager Ma, that’s why he was worried about her.
The MVP of Episode 4 is definitely Rowoon… 👌🎉
@Cleopatra, I agree about the MVP. His acting has improved a LOT and I’m glad. I had a lot of laughs in episodes 3 and 4, but the switches from laughter to pathos or serious topics isn’t jarring.
I don’t know quite why, but SY loving/hating being in love reminded me of the film Dr Strangelove and his uncontrollable hand. Especially when SY’s legs wouldn’t move but he had to leave to go to the toilet and when he couldn’t stop his heart from beating fast. @Old American Lady may know what I’m writing about.
I get the feeling that there will be trouble if HJ ‘takes’ another man from Nayeon, SY’s now ex. But I also think that HJ and SY’s mother might hit it off by the end. HJ is longing for a mother like his.
I laughed when the boss told his staff that they could call him Gong YOO. Mrs Ma needs to appreciate him a bit.
The staff include some of my favourite comic actresses. Mrs Ma/Lee Bong-ryun has a huge resume including many theatre and musical theatre roles.
I was impressed with Show’s presentation of the Cure Disease spell. It was filmed respectfully and beautifully, The background music and voiceover capture a mood like I’ve seen in many epic Kdramas. The garden under moonlight, candlelit table, SY’s suit, and HJ’s white dress gave overtones of an intimate wedding ceremony. The red silk cloth covering the table made me think of traditional Korean wedding clothing and decorations. The spell specified that the cloth be embroidered with plum blossoms, which herald spring. In Korean culture plum blossoms signify perseverance through hard times (winter) and the renewing of life (spring), which is perfect symbolism when curing a disease and, perhaps, ending a generations-long curse. I think the ritual, looking like a marriage ceremony, not only foreshadows HJ’s and SY’s future as a couple, but binds them in the present with their fate that started in the past. Two people, each with two incarnations, intertwined in past and present, are ritualistically connected as HJ writes “life” on SY’s palm. (I don’t think HJ knows it, but the same one afflicted by his curse, and the one we see gripped by The Hand.) To make the spell work, HJ must sincerely hope the recipient of the spell–SY–is healed. Honest concern for another’s well being is a form of love.
At the start of the Cure Disease spell ritual, Show makes a point in letting us see that SY’s right hand, the one affected by the curse, involuntarily twitches when he sees HJ. He may not consciously know it, but his right hand responds to his long connection with HJ.
At the beginning of Episode 4, when SY and HJ are parting ways in front of her home, Show delightfully subverts the Kdrama tropes “I miss you!” [bogo siposso] and “Don’t go!” [hajima] with SY doing them unwillingly because of the Love Spell. “Don’t go!” turning into “Go away!” as soon as HJ leaves his sight is especially funny.
@Fern,
Kalimera! I have spotted that Rowoon is good at comedy on “Tomorrow”. You should check his encounter with the Hanja there and see the similarities with how the OTP met over here. It’s kinda META.
Rowwon was a ray of sunshine yesterday…
And I am being very careful when I will say that I find too cringy the way Hong Joo reacts when Jae-Gyeong is around.
The only scenes Jo Bo-Ah nailed it in Episode 4, were WHEN Ha Joon’s Kwon Jae-Gyeong was not involved. Especially when she was at the beach commemorated her Father’s death. I do hope they will tone down those antics, because they are not cute.
@Welmaris,
Rowoon acted pretty cool in those situations. I liked his split personalities. He doesn’t want to be drawn to her, yet he doesn’t want a way out of the love spell.
Most people are too focused on his pretty face and figure, but he is working on his acting skills for some time now and I am happy for him. He wants to become a better actor than he is at the moment.
Even though, he won’t read my comment, I am going to say Bravo to him and his efforts!
@Cleopatra, I agree with the cringey cuteness when Hong-jo meets up with Jae-Gyeong. It’s hard to watch, but I think it’s in the script and demanded by the director. It made me think of a bigger question, I’ll call 1.: Why do girls/women in C and K-dramas always fling themselves on the bed and kick their feet no matter what age they are? Okay for teens/first loves, but later is strange to me.
2. The shrine turned out to be on private land, therefore the park district offices are not responsible so why would the mayor receive complaints? And if he did, he was, at the time, SY’s future father-in-law so they could work something out. I guess the demolition was necessary for the storyline. I didn’t hear if SY’s family paid out any damages to the deceased person, whether or not they were liable.
3. Yet another question: The young man who appeared when HJ first tried to fix the overhead light, was he the boyfriend she allegedly stole from Nayeon? But he’s an apparition so is he dead? She seems as un-shocked by his apparition as SY is by the hand.
4. Did HJ’s beloved father die in the river or were his ashes scattered there? We haven’t heard much about her mother, except her thoughts when she overhears SY’s cheerful mother in the background of a phone call.
5. Why didn’t SY stop the car as soon as he started to feel odd? I get that he turned around, perhaps to find an exit but I kept wondering why he didn’t put his emergency lights on immediately and slow down. Just me being mumsy again, I suppose.
6. I wondered if the geraniums/pelargoniums had a meaning, both related to HJ planting them and SY crashing into them despite HJ’s ancestral red hand trying to get him to crash into something more substantial.
One general site said that they are used to fight infection in folk medicine.
For meaning, I can find that they symbolise happiness, good health and friendship on one site. Another site says:
White – White geraniums were once believed to repel snakes and were planted near homes or areas where snakes were a problem. They also are thought to promote fertility.
Red – According to Wicca beliefs, a red geranium planted near the door will warn the occupants of approaching strangers by facing the direction of the stranger. They are also considered a protective flower that symbolizes good health.
Pink – Pink geraniums are often used in love spells.
The type planted in the roadside pots were upright/horse-shoe pelargoniums. They are associated with positive emotions, with the exception of the Victorian symbolism of stupidity or foolishness. This old symbolism has basically fallen to the wayside as this cheery flower is typically considered a harbinger of happy thoughts and emotions.
I recall a board member criticising the use of pelargoniums in the grounds of the boarding school where I worked, saying that they looked ‘Mills & Boon’ which is the Brit version of Harlequin. He didn’t understand that they are a boon for gardeners — a quick spot of colour, pest resistant and zero maintenance over a season. They weren’t in garish colours and our school gardeners had enough on their plates taking care of the trees, lawns, vines, shrubs, roses, etc. Harrumph.
Credit to Wikipedia and to https://www.petalrepublic.com/geranium-flower/#About%20Geranium%20Flowers
Hey my dear @Fern,
I will try to answer to your questions little by little.
I know that it is required from her. Still, as you have written in your 1., I don’t like it. It is not a cute thing to see a full grown woman behaving like that. It also makes her like a caricature, when in reality when HJ is with SY she is behaving very differently. It is like I am watching two personalities at once.
And I don’t like the discrimination regaring the female characters vs the male ones.
2. Most likely there is a law that said it and of course it had to move the storyline. I don’t think the Mayor can ask such a thing from that powerful Jang clan, even though his daughter at the time was dating their son.
3. I don’t remember that one. At all.
4. So far, we don’t know WHERE he died. We know HJ’s father saved two people so he will be blessed. The Shaman told her that his spirit (?) is not at the river but at the sea. There is no info about the mother whatsoever.
5. I think that although he knows he has a terminal illness aka curse, he doesn’t want to believe that. If you are in your early 30s, you need some time to accept that you cannot control your body. Most likely he thought he could handle it.
BUT for me that scene is significant for two reasons.
1. He felt indirectly HJ casting a spell, because she is the current reincarnation of the Shaman.
2. The Bloody Hand of the Shaman, also participated in the spell, because she was the one initial who wrote it.
So, he had both a surge of energy coming from the CURSE and the SPELL.
6. I have to search for it, but I think someone else will beat me to it.
@Cleopatra, the strange young man (ghost or wish?) is in episode 2 at 23.21. When HJ falls off the chair, he says, “You should have let me do it. Why would you do this?”
She replies, “Because you are not here.” He disappears. “Please can you come?” When she next looks at the wooden box, the lock has opened.
I liked that SY changed to a self-driving car. This gives him even more opportunity to stare at the FL in the passenger seat. I say even more, because I often feel that drivers in K and C-dramas look at the passenger for too long and I’m always mentally shouting at them to watch the road.
@Fern,
That is actually the SML. She wanted him to be there, but he wasn’t…
@Fern, The Yeo Yeon-suk character did the kicking thing in Hospital Playlist after he got together with Maggot girl(this character has negatively affected my impression of this actress whose work I now avoid).I found the behavior annoying then, as I do now. I wonder whether this behavior is somehow a cultural norm? It strikes me as odd whenever I see it.i guess it is all about how we’re socialized.
@Fern, I believe the answer to your point #3 is that dazed after bumping her head, keenly aware of her lonely existence and wanting someone there to comfort her, HJ imagines her crush, Jae Gyeong, being by her side. He’s not easily recognizable because his bangs are down; at work he wears them glued back, off his forehead.
As for HJ’s cringe-inducing behavior when in Jae Gyeong’s presence, I think Show is trying to have more fun with tropes. The hair tucking behind ear, foot twisting on toe, etc. are aegyo gestures used in Kdramas. HJ isn’t aware she manifests those mannerisms until SY calls her out on her fidgeting when with JG. As HJ gets to know JG better as a person, instead of as a shallow crush, I hope the fidgiting stops.
@Fern, you point out that the lock on the wooden box magically pops open after HJ imagines JG coming to her, then speaks aloud “Please can you come?” I think the lock responds to HJ’s wish that JG becomes her lover because the Love Spell is in the book inside the wooden box.
@Cleopatra, OH, I was completely fooled by Jae Gyeong being out of context, out of hair gel and out of work clothes! 🤦♀️ I had to go back to check his face. So he’s a wish and not a ghost.
@Welmaris, yes and also after the lock opens, he moves in downstairs. I hope he’s not the alley’s midnight molester.
I liked the twist on the broken high heel with Mr Gong losing the sole of his shoe and running off from Mrs Ma. He being Cinderella to Mrs Ma’s Prince – Lol.
@OAL, at least there was one male to break the stereotype! And he was supposed to be about 40. 🙄🙂
@Fern,
Don’t worry. It’s okay to miss something. Yes, he was a wish.
Regarding what @Welmaris also wrote, I had a theory that I was thinking since last night.
Let me write is here: Maybe in the past, all of them were involved. Not only HJ and SY, but also his ex and Jae Gyeong. And now they are all together again in the same timeline.
In the past, the ex girlfriend and Jae Gyeong and their actions or lack therefore, could have ended with HJ’s demise and SY’s curse. Of course it was SY who killed HJ in their previous life, but if they were there then they are needed in the present timeline too.
So, now in present, HJ and SY should follow their destinies and not try to go against it.
SY hasn’t realized yet that his dreams have to do with their previous reincarnation. He is also having them after the love spell and the cure the disease spell. So, basically it is like HJ’s psyche is reminding him what happened in the past with her that resulted to the…Bloody Hand relationship.
I forgot to mention that SY’s father is messing his son’s life big time. He said to his son’s ex girlfriend to stay with him because he is selfish.. *facepalm*
Yes, I get very stressed when the characters are not watching the road when they are driving.
The female lead is doing the aegyo behaviors that the fl did in Secret Garden.
@Fern,So true
@Cleopatra, I was also wondering if more than two of the characters were together in the past. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the owner of the construction company – the one who gifted/bribed the law firm employees with watches. He thinks himself very entitled – Droit du Seigneur type of thing. Another baddie, possibly in his past life as well..
It’s true that SY’s father is making a mistake but not maliciously. I think he is hoping not only to keep the family line going, but so SY will have loving company as his illness progresses. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know the latest developments in his son’s life and how much trouble keeping Nayeon and SY together will cause for SY and HJ.
On another tangent, I wonder who the two people HJ’s father saved despite dying himself. Could it be HJ and her mother? I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
I’m glad I’m not watching this at the same time as See You in My 19th Life or I’d get all the past lives mixed together. It doesn’t help that so much Joseon era filming is done in the same locations, at the cultural heritage sites around Seoul.
Talk about inhabiting different roles! I’m wrapping up my rewatch of D.P. Season 1 and thought I recognized an actor’s snaggle tooth. I was right! But I have a tough time juxtiposing Hyeon Bong Sik in the two roles in which I’ve seen him: Gong Seo Goo, Manager of Onju City Hall’s Environment and Greenery Department in Destined with You; and Chun Yong Duk, top brass of the 103 Division of the ROK Army in D.P. Season 1. In the latter his ambition drives him to brown noses his superiors, kick the asses of his subordinates, and cover up anything that might reflect poorly on him even if it is dangerous in the bigger scheme of things and unfairly pushes blame on others. In the former he’s lazy, whiny, cliquish, and blames HJ for his being passed over for promotion. The latter can project a menacing air, depending on who he’s with. The former is petty and pitiable.
yep!!i was right when i go to this blog reading about this drama..i hope you all will dissect the drama scene by scene per eps..i still don’t know if this drama worth to discuss but the early eps has intriguing plot..
We can’t really predict if and when the drama will derail but while we’re still interested in the drama, yeah sure, you can expect to see the posters here dissect “scene by scene per episode.” Bitches gotta bitch, you know. 🙂
@yzabella, please dissect this drama along with us!!!
EPISODE 4
I was entertained. It was a bit unexpected for me but to see so much in the way of ‘sincere’ love confessions spoken from lover to beloved in tones of such acrimony got me hooting with laughter. The horror on the face of the beloved and the denial-cum-contradiction-cum-reluctant confession of the lover were scenes to behold, and Rowoon kept his face straight or disgusted with himself LOL.
I may dip in from time to time and see what gives. I’ll be in for the laughs! 😆😂😜
@Fern,
You have noticed Kim Kwon! I love him! Well to clarify this one, I love his acting very much! He is handsome in his own way and he has an aura whenever he plays. I knew he would participate in this one, when I saw a post on his IG. He made a cameo because of the Director, they have worked again in the past.
He was also in “Navillera” playing Song Kang’s ex-friend that bullied him. I have also watched him in “He is Psychometric” and I haven’t still watched the latest episodes because I cannot accept what happened with his role in the end.😐 These days he is in “The Killing Vote”.
I think that only the male descendants of the Jang clan know about the curse and not their mothers. They know about the hereditary disease only.
Well, he should ask his son if he really cared about his ex girlfriend first and then he should go and meet her. She is clingy and she doesn’t understand when SY set his boundaries. He told her to wait for him and she went to his condo.
It is not revealed who are the people that HJ’s father saved. It could be revealed later on or maybe not.
I’m still wondering what really happened in the past between the two girls and the boy our Fl “stole” and how the girlfriend (now ex) explained it to our ML. If she purposefully painted our FL in a bad light, that’s a point deduction.
However, I can’t really deduct points from her for how she’s handled her relationship with the ML. She pointed out during their dinner he doesn’t share much and they don’t see each other often, but it didn’t come off as too naggy. Then when she showed up at his apartment, I wasn’t as bothered by her assertiveness because she was immediately apologetic. I’m thinking of both those scenes from memory so maybe if I rewatch it will seem more grating. He was very unclear when ending things and THEN the father met with her and asked her to hang around. If I were in that situation, how would I respond? If I really thought I was only getting broken up with because he was trying to save me from taking care of him during his illness. Which also seems to be a thing in kdramas. The noble idiocy? of the sick person to take away the choice to stay or leave when there’s times of sickness and not health.
I’m sure later they’ll make her seem crazy and clingy but her behavior so far seems pretty reasonable. Is it just me?
I started this drama this week, a little late to the ongoing drama but the mystery and the comedy is hooking me well.
I absolutely laughed so hard at the cheesy lines that he can’t stand himself saying but yet say. Such a good reversal of line usage!!
Episode 4 is the best so far.
OK gonna catch up with all your comments before this.
@birdie007, I think we have to learn more about Nayeon’s past dealings with HJ and the boy she liked. If it wasn’t clear that both she and he had or wanted a relationship, it may simply have been a miscommunication. She didn’t completely lay the blame on HJ.
To me it did seem invasive to be setting things up in SY’s flat after he said he didn’t want to be with her and without his consent. However, it also seemed like a desperate move and was spurred on by the father’s request. I think Nayeon should first have had a heart-to-heart talk with SY about his illness and should have confirmed that she would be loyal to him. I think she could have done that without revealing that his father asked her to do it. Then it would be not her unilateral decision. But I am a Westerner and appreciate that there could be cultural differences.