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Long time not found very enjoyable historical drama. This drama make me laugh & cry with them.The story start from a girl named Liu Yu Ru (YR) that comes from business family, that even though she is the legitimate daughter, but her father prefer & more love her step sisters (from Concubine). So from the injustice in her home, she plans her future life where she can married to good family so she can support her mom, Ye family is her goal. But life turn upside down when she meet Gu Jiu Si (JS), a playful rich man, that never have consequence for his action including everything that come out from his mouth. As the result, YR find herself engaged to JS in the end. And their story begin.... ^^
At first of course YR try to avoid her destiny to married to JS, but in the end she accept her fate & finally she even manage to change JS. Her action of course supported by JS's parent that also want to see their son change into better man. Mean while there's a man in the shadow that ready to turn their world upside down, together with the changing politic in the capital city, that make Gu family loses their support. In this drama we see how support from family & friend, together with clever & smart decision from YR & JS make their journey full of story that we can watch together. Haha...
What I like:
+ What I really like about YR is what ever life give her, she take it, try her best & sometimes even punch life back in its face. Haha... Really like how in the end she really can stand & make the power for herself.
+ The chemistry between Bai Jing Ting & Song Yi quite good. Love to see they love each other, not to the point lovey dovey but enough for us to feel their love for each other.
+ Bai Jing Ting give us good performance for JS. We can sense that even though people see him as aloof rich man, but he is kind man & later on we can see how he grow up become smart & mature man.
+ All the friendship JS, Ye Shi An, Zhou Ye & Shen Ming is one solid friend, they willing to do their best to support their friend. We also have Fan Xuan & Zhou Gao Lang, (the emperor & his right hand man) even though in the end they kinda grow apart, but that also one lifetime friendship.
+ How love never make people stupid here. Like even though Luo Zi Shang (ZS) love YR, but he never stop or even pause his plan even for the sake of YR herself.
+ We can see the strong woman here. Like YR & Ye Yun (YY). How YY herself also turn herself around after what Wang Shan Quan did to her.
Now the minus:
- They never really give the deep background of our villain, ZS, Never at least until the last episode we finally understand why he did it & where the grudge come from. And that just one stupid misunderstanding in the end,
- The obsession of Fan Yu to become emperor never really explained. His swift in the character is the one that make my eyebrow raised the most. I know this not a story about him, so we don't get too much explanation about him. maybe if the episode longer we gonna get some explanation about this. But I mean how a boy that at one time really trust, adore JS & I can say a good kind hearted boy can change to become jealous, sentiment and all the obsession about the throne itself. Maybe the explanation lays in the last interaction between him & his father, where we can see how hurt he is that his father is more trust JS than him as his son.
Overall this really one good drama that I enjoy very much...
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good start, good drama, but story is very unoriginal
Destined (2023) - 8,5/10 -cdramahistorical cdrama witth quite nice and :unusual: start of :forced marriage: and hate/love relationship.
Still in middle and end drama it goes to old thousand times used :fight for throne and court intrigues:
main leads personality changes in course of the story to better. As for chemistry between all pairs. Its good but its lacks something.
plot - ML is notorious son of provincial wealthiest family[Gu family]. FL is is only legitimate daughter of former merchant, sadly her father dotes on concubine and she lives in :hell: together with her mother. FL tries to marry into famous scholar family of city to run from oppression, but unluckily she crosses way with ML and pisses him off. ML in his prankish retaliation publicly confessed his love for her and destroyed her :honor: that way + closed her chance to marry into scholar family. Sadly for ML his parents heard of it and made him marry her, partly too cause Emperor tried to force marriage between ML and princess in attempt to :steal: their family wealth that way.
genre - romance, historical, wuxia
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Destined for each other!!
Destined is an intense emotional family drama which focuses on the couple Gu Jiusi and Liu Yuru and how they fight with the situations that arise in their life,withstand all the difficulties,go through life and death situations,but still stand strong with each other.It is my second drama of Bai Jingting after Reset,so as expected ,his acting skills were on point,From being a spoilt scion to a responsible person who protects thereafter,his transformation was nice.Also,i like the way he always supports his wife and her decisions throughout their journey.
Liu Yuru,though accidentally and unwillingly tied the knot with Gu Jiusi,has always been one responsible,loyal,caring and loving wife and daughter in law.Song Yi's performance was also on point.
Liu Xue Yi as Luo Zishang,though is cruel,has his own reasons to become like that.He is the much needed villain an the actor was also good.
All the cast were good in their roles.
The story was directed in an engaging manner right from the first episode itself.There were comic,emotional,tensive,patriotic moments in the drama.
I would highly recommend to watch it .You will not be disappointed.
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Strong start and fizzled into the the most pointless story in existence
I wish I could review this show in each of its arcs because if I could, the strength of the initial Yangzhou arc would've made this a 9/10 show. 9 stars only because every time they moved away from the main couple, I was antsy to get back to them. Which probably should've been a sign of the problems inherent in this show: not understanding its strengths (the main relationship, containing the stories to the family, acting), side characters without depth, nonsensical over-the-top villains... which ended up being the rest of the show!!! Honestly, I was with the show until about episode 25, because by that time, it was really digging its heels in with the emperor/palace/political plots. And then suddenly, we're dropped into the court plotting and IT WAS POINTLESS. WHY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT THIS KINGDOM? WHY ARE WE SUPPOSED TO THINK THESE OTHER CHARACTERS MATTER?????????? The ENTIRE last 10 episode arc did not need to happen because the only reason it happened was Luo Zishang being wrong about his entire motivation for revenge -- WHICH COULD'VE BEEN RECTIFIED BEFORE THAT ARC STARTED.I'm getting pissed off thinking about this all over again.
Bless the actors for making the most out of what was clearly nonsense in that script, particularly Liu Xue Yi. Let's get you some better scripts, my dude.
At least we'll always have episode 9...
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It's Refreshing. Very Recommended
The characters' growths *chef kiss* It's very refreshing to me, that when I watched this drama the role reversal of how the woman becomes the provider and head of the family. I mean, sure, the ML was amazing too with his principles and his actions prove that. Again so refreshing when her in-laws were good and kind people.Their love story was slow burn and I enjoyed that. Their mutual respect for each other gradually turned into love. Still, I love that moment when I screamed at the screen, now give me the first kiss scene and then it happened few sec later.
I love how this drama showed their up and down and every phase/stage of their lives. I cannot stop watching from one episode to next. I also love that we got to watch their friends stories. Feel sad for Zhou Ye though.
I wonder why they decided to keep both ML and FL looking so young when it had been like 10 years probably since they both married and they went through a lot of things.
Good casting because I can't help but think Zhou Ye really looks like his father the great Commander. The way I was shocked when I saw the ML former fiancée to be, that princess face, lmao her face looks so modern iykwim. The lips filler lmao.
Can't believe they made me cried over the villain. Well
-301123
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acting and production were the only good things!
the story had lots of hole, second part was annoying to watch because of story.only the great casts and their acting and good production saved the drama.
i like the production but some emotional and important scene became silly because of the story.
i can't forgive the writers😭
not have enough value to rewatch, i was patient to not drop it!
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Best relationship growth!
One of enemies to lovers drama I really enjoyed this year!Plus good costume with good production, BJT as Gu Jiusi x Song Yi as Liu Yuru really delivered the story of their relationship growth perfectly.
But overall, this drama really have good package in casting and acting. I haven’t read the novel so cannot compare about the adaption, but have read about some dissapointment about how the story was being told in the drama.
Really satisfied to watch to the end even tho the half of their relationship really hurtful to watch because of the hardship these two have to get through. Their chemistry between each other is just top notch! Love it!
As much as I like this drama but I have to make it 9/10 even tho I really enjoyed like majority of this drama because the war scenes really too draggy in the middle.
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This review may contain spoilers
What I like:The reason I watched this: Bai Jing Ting
The reason I keep watching: Song Yi's character - is strong and intelligent
The seal that keeps me watching: Episodes 10 and 11 (the later part of episode 10 and the early part of episode 11)
The reason I watched it again for the 3rd time: episodes 10 and 11 (also the reason why I wrote this review. I do not know what was it on these episodes, but the first time I watched it, I felt so nervous as if I was one of the characters, and the relief I felt when Xifeng admitted defeat)
What I do not like:
Some "punishments" are not enough for me to give that high level of satisfaction example episode 9
The reason behind the main villain's reason for revenge and how they tidied it up at the end. Like really?
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WORTH WATCHING
SHORT STORYLINE: it's about a couple which married by accident, and agree on a divorce later on. But out of loyalty they help each other, a friendship was build which leads to a love relation and real marriage. Both as POWERCOUPLE overcome a lot of challenges and survive near-death-situation, and sacrifices. The story is with a historical background with several federal states and an empire which falls apart, war, poverty, famine and a lot of suffering of the common people is the result. A lot of people die. The Couple becomes a leading stone to a new empire.The series impresses with its QUALITY of costumes and attractive, well-developed and CUTE(male lead) characters who show progression throughout the story. The male lead's acting is strong, showcasing a convincing range of emotions, while the female lead, though competent, lacks expressiveness and struggles to convey emotional depth, which can make her performance feel flat. The script could have added more pivotal scenes to enrich their relationship, as some key moments are merely mentioned in passing. The CHEMISTRY BETWEE THE LEASD isn't convincing, with the male character showing more believable growth, whereas the female character remains largely static and unemotional. But nonetheless I love the strong character of the female lead character, she becomes a STRONG WOMAN who goes her own path and builds her own life. The pacing is decent, but the second quarter drags due to excessive dialogue that makes the relationship feel overly sweet and lacking tension, diminishing the drama’s potential. Also I miss more funny scenes. However, the series stands out for its original, non-predictable story, quality filming, and WELL-EXECUTED FIGHT SCENES that avoid excessive exaggeration. Despite some issues with the romance, the show remains engaging with its well-crafted characters and unique narrative, making it worth watching.
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unsatisfactory ending
I loved the lead actors. there wasn’t enough scenes of seeing the villain pining for the FL. The writers should have made it more salient themi would believe the villain was really obsessed with the FL but I barely felt it. Would have rated higher if the ending wasn’t so bad. The bad guys didn’t pay much for what they did. doing is easier than living with guilt and regretalso I dislike stories where one’s revenge was based on false information that could have been corrected if the characters just communicated properly. To me it’s such lazy way to write a story. I feel duped ever time when the truth comes out and the villain realizes all the hurt they caused was for nothing😞
😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😔😏😏😏😔😔😔😔
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This one is way underrated! It deserves more recognition
This is a really good story, especially the love story between the 2 leads. Juisi and Yuru’s love story was one of the best ones I have seen portrayed in a Cdrama. This is definitely proof that kissing scenes and implied sex don’t make a romance. Their relationship is definitely a slow burn, but their partnership, friendship and ultimately love is evident in all they do. I like that they really are a pair working together. They even arrive at the same conclusion from different angles multiple times. She is soft spoken but fierce when necessary, and above all she is brave and smart. He is a spoiled child when the story begins, but one with a good heart. He grows into the best kind of hero. But I especially love his sense of humor and a bit of his childish delight. He keeps this even though he grows up. Watching this is riveting TV.What bumps this drama down a bit for me is the stuff outside the main romance. The bad guy is more like the kind who stomps around wearing a black cape and laughing evilly. He is “behind” all of the chaos that happens, but our heroes know it and still don’t take him out. It feels like we are told he is bad rather than shown it. He never really seems like a compelling bad guy to me and more like just an obstacle for plot purposes. Much of the palace intrigue is less than logical and the selflessness of our main couple means they have to start over 3 times before they finally get their happy after. It makes the story drag quite a bit in the back half.
Overall, watch it for the romance and the palace intrigue, but it would have been better if about 10 episodes had been cut.
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Destined is my joy. Bai Jing Ting is my enjoyment.
Destined (2023) is a Woman in Business Period RomCom Drama. This is one of my favorite Chinese dramas of the year.Apart while together. Destined hones in on a comedy while being a serious drama. The star, Bai Jing Ting, tries his hand at comedy, while reeling in the serious aspects of this story too.
The Story
A pampered son of the richest Costume Drama Plutocrat, has a spat with the daughter of a modestly well off Merchant. The differences are irresolvable. As with happenstance, the two end up in a arrange marriage. He is a bon-vivant and she is prim and proper. This is great fodder for laughter as the two try to cohabitate peacefully. Destined stars Song Ye as the prim and proper Liu Yu Ru and Bai Jing Ting as the spoiled but kind-hearted Gu Jun Si. He begins to teach her business and she pushes him to the highest scholastic achievements. They both “better” each other has walls are broken down to expose love.
Destined is a refreshing Costume drama change. Few things produce more of an anachronism than a Comedic Costume Chinese Drama. I have not seen Bai Jing Ting in a RomCom yet, but this seems to be the year that many Asian dramatic actors are challenging themselves to try comedy. Bai Jing Ting has never given his audience the same acting performance in his dramas and this extends to his attempt at comedy. I found myself laughing a lot. Bai Jing Ting, as Gu Jun Si, utilizes body language and gestures to aid in his comedic performance and his comedic timing is spot on.
Song Yi as Liu Yu Ru plays the straight part in this Chinese drama series. She gives some of the most endearing dialogue about women in business and love, sending goosebumps up my arm. Song Yi’s demur sweetness was so right for this part. Her character, Liu Yu Ru, is portrayed as a high intellectual and a quick learner, becoming the asset to her husband and the longing of other men.
Quote: This business is about Military supplies. Confucius said, “To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business and sincerity; economy and expenditure and love for men; and employment of people at the proper time”. Husband teaching wife what the client needs to hear. From Destined
This RomCom is a high Yes! from me.
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