I went from thinking this could be the drama of the year to being completely over it… I don’t even want the…
Shinyu’s under a black magic spell that won’t let him break up with Nayeon. The signs are there. There have been at least 5 black magic spells performed so far. The one that won’t let him leave Nayeon is the blood on the wood signs and Nayeon saying she doesn’t want to let Shinyu go while holding his hand after she proposes and he’s trying to turn her down (Episode 5).
Is this drama going good till now? I recently finished LOST YOU FOREVER and in drama slump right now, so wanted…
Yes. I'm enjoying this quite a bit for the dramedy, romance, and mystery. There have been TONS of breadcrumbs regarding the magical mystery if you keep on the lookout but they haven't gotten to the big twisty reveal yet. Everything is not as it appears and most lines have multiple meanings. 😉
There are two key things we were not shown. Shinyu agreeing to be Nayeon's fiance and Hongjo explaining the spells to Nayeon. We are just told that those things happened later. Also, it's super suspicious that Nayeon told Hongjo that the stalker could be after her. When she was with Shinyu, she was only talked about how he was being stalked. I seriously doubt he would have said anything about this to Nayeon as he barely shares anything with her. Why would Nayeon suspect Hongjo would be stalked when the stalker sent her pictures of her boyfriend? She even called Hongjo a "nothing".
To everyone claiming the male lead is cheating: all the magic hasn't been revealed yet. We don't know what he has been choosing to do of his free will versus what he may have been forced to do by magic. I'm certain this show is going to reveal that and it's going to be 🤯.
They just introduced white magic (good spells) versus black magic (bad curses). There have been breadcrumbs that someone has been doing black magic this whole time: the vlogger said he saw someone at the haunted house before he died, fish heads in the water Hongjo had to clean up, blood on the signs in the woods, the garden owner carrying black preserved flowers late at night, a strawman dressed with Hongjo's nightgown and stabbed with Shinyu's name. Someone is trying to control things.
이홍조 Lee Hong Jo Lee - the second most common surname in Korea; means ‘plum’ or ‘plum tree’ but can also mean ‘different’ or ‘that’. Hong - as a name generally means ‘great’, ‘expand’, ‘wide’, ‘vast’, or ‘flood’; but as a word it means ‘red’. Jo - means ‘key’, ‘team’, ‘dynasty’, ‘company’, ‘billion’, or ‘article’.
Hongjo - means ‘blush’, ‘bloom’, ‘flush’, or ‘glow’.
That Hongjo’s name literally means ‘to blush’ is pretty funny since she does this often. Even though her father meant one thing, when you put the characters together, it means something else. I couldn’t find any reference to Jo meaning ‘morning’ so I’m uncertain how he got that. Since her name also means 'red', it is a possible nod to her being the red hand as well. There is a big flower and plant theme in this show. The fact that her surname is a plant that bears fruit is interesting. Coupled with the her name meaning ‘bloom’ which can refer to the act of a flower opening up or the actual flower itself. I’m pretty sure this was the odd joke that Jaekyung was making outside of Shinyu’s office when he called Hongjo a flower since her name can mean ‘plum bloom’. Also, with the Fair Skin Spell, I have a feeling the co-workers might have mentioned that her skin was glowing, like her name. It’s also intriguing that her name means ‘key’ as she was the key to opening the box and I think she is the key to breaking Shinyu’s curse.
장신유 Jang Shin Yu Jang - means ‘archer’; only 2% of the population has this surname. Shin - means ‘almighty’, ‘deity’, ‘god’, ‘providence’, ‘shoe’ or ‘sour’. Yu - as a name can mean ’abundant’, ‘rich’, or ‘plentiful’; as a word means ‘existence’, ‘group’, ‘possession’, ‘genus’, ‘race’, ‘sort’, or ‘sign of the cock’.
Shinyu - means ‘nudity’ (only on Word Hippo, otherwise I could find no meaning).
With a name like that no wonder Shinyu is an arrogant rich boy who thinks he’s god. Though I do think it’s funny his name can potentially mean 'nudity' since he woke up without clothes on after drinking. He is a lawyer who successfully hits his targets like an archer. He felt like he was ‘possessed’ by the Love Potion to act on his feelings for Hongjo. His name also means ‘providence’ which means divine guidance and care. He is definitely on a trial-by-fire journey to try to sort out his life and survive long enough to live it with the help of his shaman.
Sources: Behind the Name, Word Hippo, Parenting FirstCry, Collins Dictionary, Wikipedia, Google Translate.
Yes, that's why Shinyu and his family attended the funeral. He explained that when he went out to dinner with Nayeon later. I believe he said 1st cousin once removed. Then he asked her to figure out how many degrees away from him that was and she was stumped.
Is the magic real? Are the curses real? Are the spells real?
Don't only look at what the characters believe. Look at what the show is revealing: a florescent sign blinking YES. The big question is how does it work?
As I've mentioned before, Hongjo opened the lock on the box by asking aloud for Jaekyung to come help her (which he did by moving in downstairs and giving her constant advice as her sage guide). So magic can be utilized verbally through words of intention. It's likely that only shamans, witches, etc. can do this magic but that is unconfirmed.
Curses vs. Spells (aka Violation vs. Revelation)
What separates a curse from a spell? When Hongjo accidentally dropped the box in the woods, they found a book of curses in a hidden panel. Why would there need to be a separate book of curses unless they do the exact opposite of what the spells do. Curses are always forced upon someone to bring about something terrible. They are done without consent and violate the person's being through misfortune, torment, or death. The spells in Hongjo's book are all about good things happening. To be truly good though, they must allow for consent and choice. They can't be forced onto someone. So what if the spells work by revealing the truth or path so that the good thing can happen but people still have to choose to accept it.
Let's start with the Fair Skin Spell. Both Shinyu and Jaekyung already think that Hongjo is beautiful. Nothing needs to be revealed to them. However, Shinyu's assistant and Hongjo's co-workers note how pretty she's become. She honestly looks the same as she always has but, now that her beauty has been brought to their attention, they are just acknowledging the truth.
The same goes for the Love Potion. It reveals your true feelings to yourself. What you do with them is up to you. Even from the beginning, there are many moments where you can see Shinyu's heart melting when Hongjo reveals little things like she doesn't want to eat lunch alone because she's always alone. After he drinks the Love Potion, he starts to become aware of his feelings for her but that doesn't mean the potion caused the feelings. He's doing his best to brush these feelings aside until he begins to suspect he drank the Love Potion. Once he confirms that he did drink it, he lets his inhibitions go.
However, Shinyu's still struggling with his head versus his heart. This isn't like any typical love potion I've seen or read about in other media before which usually has the affected person completely infatuated, only able to see the best in the one they think they love, and often unable to refuse the other person. Shinyu on the other hand is overly silly and cute in his affection in one breath; then in the next breath is arrogant and incredibly insulting as he constantly denies that he's fallen in love. As soon as they deem the spell 'not real', he's suddenly able to restrain himself, except when he doesn't want to. It's only then that he begins to fully allow himself to believe he's in love with Hongjo. Even though she didn't drink the love potion, Hongjo is going through a similar head versus heart battle herself. She's mostly in denial except for little moments where she inadvertently shows her feelings. Blushing is often involved.
The main reason the Love Spell was needed for their love to blossom is because they have both kept themselves isolated due to their self preservation against bullies or the burden of the family curse. While they have a few people in their lives, Shinyu has his his parents and lawyer friend and Hongjo has her landlords, they don't share important things with them. By giving Shinyu the opportunity to release his silly emotions, it caused them to be in 'forced proximity' aka it gave them a reason to hang out and get to know each other when they normally would have kept to themselves.
Back to the other spells that have been done. For the Disease Curing Spell, his doctor could suddenly read in a medical journal about a new experimental treatment that has been successful and use it to cure him. For the Disaster Adverting Spell, is it a coincidence that a lost dog interrupted their spell to negate the Love Spell and then Mr. Dog-Shelter-Volunteer volunteers to test whether the Love Spell is real which breaks their belief in the spells? At least temporarily.
As for their destinies being not being able to be severed, that was pretty obvious from day one when they met in the haunted house. I take that back, it was obvious even before they met, when Shinyu was joking with his coworker that his office was haunted and he hadn't yet seen the face belonging to the red hand that likes him. (He also notes he's not having an affair with the red hand. *wink*) Shortly thereafter, he meets Hongjo in the haunted house. She reaches up towards his face with her right hand just like the red hand and mistakes him for a handsome grim reaper she'd like to take her to the teahouse. Then he takes a picture of her face. If this doesn't scream that Hongjo is the owner of the red hand (probably past life Hongjo) than I don't know what does. Afterwards, Shinyu has a Joseon-era dream of a man giving a woman flowers and it turns out the box she is the owner of is beneath their meeting spot on his ancestral land. Their destinies have always been inseparable. The Love Spell didn't do that. The Shaman gives them the information they need when they need it. She doesn't give straight answers. She gives them things to ponder and work out.
The Jang family curse is in full force when his extended cousin is the one who died vlogging the haunted house and everyone at the funeral notes that only the Jang men in Shinyu's family have beaten it so far. Except we know Shinyu is a ticking time bomb and his manipulative girlfriend is cheating on him while forcing him to stay in the relationship through family pressure. Hongjo seems to be cursed too. Her mom died in child birth. Her dad died saving people when she was in high school. She's been bullied by multiple groups in school and work. Now she possibly has not one but two stalkers. They are both being tormented and violated. What if the superpower needed to defeat the curses is their connected destiny? Which is why to win, they need to accept it. But like all good things, they have a choice.
It has been mentioned that the Shaman who wrote the book was dismembered by the Jang . The Jang being noble family…
I really love you pointing out the flower analogy! I couldn't quite figure it out before but now it makes sense that she is the caretaker and he is the flower. But I also think she is the radiant sun that his flower self needs to thrive. Yes, their love must bloom.
(Pandora's) Box provided sage guides in the form of love interests. As I mentioned previously, Hongjo was able to open the box by saying, "Please, can you come?", out loud while thinking about Jaekyung being there to help her. With all of the questioning he's done both to Hongjo and Shinyu regarding their relationship and the preview next week showing that he's been told about the love spell, I realized he is the guide for their relationship to make themselves ask the hard questions, reflect on what they truly feel and lead them to action towards each other. Jaekyung is there to help her just like she magically asked. After she first opened the box, Jaekyung rejected her love confession, even though we learn later that he does indeed like her but feels he's too cold and odd to be good for her. However, Jaekyung's rejection is the very thing that compels her to cast the first spell to begin her journey towards her fate that is entwined with Shinyu. Even in this, Jaekyung was unknowingly her guide to help her do exactly what she needed to do at the right time.
It may be a cruel fate for a sage guide to be a love interest (almost as cruel as it is to be a Second Male Lead) but people need a reason to care for and meddle in someone else's life. If you're not family, a longtime friend or co-worker, or a wise old person sought out for advice then love interest is most reasonable choice. But I did say sage guides, plural, because there is another one.
Kim Wook (forever Imoogi in our hearts) has unwittingly become a sage guide for Shinyu's parents. With the opening of (Pandora's) box, all hell has broken loose and whatever curse was put on their family is in flux. It appears the curse could be temporarily curbed if you truly fall in love as Shinyu's parents did since his mom was an actress and not the normal choice for a respectable rich wife. They noted at the beginning how his dad and grandfather were bucking the trend in not dying young. It was also interesting how his father met with Nayeon separately to convince her to stay by his son's side despite the fact that he broke up with her. I'm sure this was in an attempt to save his son's life by keeping Shinyu's love by his side to curb the curse. Though he doesn't know Shinyu and Nayeon have never truly loved each other.
Which brings us back to Shinyu's parents' marriage falling apart after the box was opened because their love is entwined with the family curse. It is likely that with Shinyu's mom's love wavering for her husband, his health will start to rapidly decline. His stomach being too upset to go stargazing with his wife might have been the start of it. While their fate is tied to the outcome of whether Shinyu and Hongjo's relationship is able to break the curse, they also have their own things to work through in parallel. And like Hongjo, Shinyu's mom called up her own sage guide to help with her issues in lawyer and potential love interest Kim Wook, whom she's now running into coincidentally as well.
The Villainess Trio. Our villains are now emerging. From the beginning we had the horrible Haum Construction CEO Lee Hyunseo, now back and making shady deals with Onju's corrupt mayor, who is also the father of Nayeon, Shinyu's two-faced, vain girlfriend who's in charge of the latest Onju city project they are all working on. Shinyu left his prestigious law firm to fight corporate corruption, especially against Haum. This will now pit him directly against his girlfriend and her father.
Which bring us to their past lives and the origin of the curse. It's safe to say that the past is repeating itself with a chance to change the outcome in the present since this is clearly a reincarnation story. This means many people from the past are together in the present, including the villains who won the first time around. Nayeon joked that she was a princess in a past life. With her father mayor in the present, it would not be shocking if her father was previously a king and his daughter a princess, desperate to get her way and marry a handsome nobleman, Shinyu in his past life. He wasn't interested in her so she had a shaman put a curse on him, that he needed to fall in love to survive. Only to be thwarted by Shinyu falling in love with a court lady, Hongjo in her past life. So Princess Nayeon had her father's loyal henchman, Haum CEO in his past life, kill Court Lady Hongjo, who died in the arms of her love, Nobleman Shinyu, reaching up to caress his cheek with her bloody hand to comfort him with her final breaths. But after Court Lady Hongjo died, he still refused Princess Nayeon and died young. Unfortunately, the curse didn't just apply to him but included his entire family line. Obviously this a speculation, but I've seen enough reincarnation stories to have a rough notion of how this plays out. Facts are that Shinyu has been dreaming about his past life, saw and chased a vision of Hongjo in a court lady hanbok through the Changdeokgung Palace, and has a comforting bloody hand of one whom he killed haunting him because of his family's death curse. The rest we'll find out soon enough.
Destined With You has me intrigued. There are things I like about it (mostly Rowoon and the mystery), things that annoy me (the bad co-workers), and things that confuse me. After 4 episodes, I finally feel like I'm starting to understand what the writer is trying to do.
However, Netflix strikes again with a generic drama title that is very confusing and doesn't capture the depth or meaning of the Korean title in the slightest. (Thank goodness Viki got Doom at Your Service first cause that title is fire, even if it's not literal. I'm still shaking my fist at Netflix naming very accurate Korean title, Forest of Secrets, the boring and bland non-specific Stranger. Just why?!)
The Korean title is 이 연애는 불가항력.
The first part 이 연애는 means 'this love'. But the final word is the Korean translation of the French law terminology 'force majeure' (aka major force) which they translate as 'irresistible force'. It's a clause that is commonly used in contracts that negates some or all of the terms of a contract when an 'act of God' occurs, like a natural disaster, which would make one or both parties unable to fulfill their responsibilities. This is interesting as it gives the real title multiple meanings.
The most literal translation would be 'This Love is a Force Majeure' referencing Shinyu's profession and him being a stickler for adhering exactly to the contract terms, including verbal contracts like the ones he has with the Hongjo.
The next translation is 'This Love is an Irresistible Force' which implies that this love is almost against their will. They can't help but fall for each other. Currently, we have a quite literal interpretation of this with Shinyu accidentally drinking the love potion and now having unwanted thoughts and emotions regarding Hongjo.
Another potential translation extrapolated out of force majeure is 'This Love is an Act of God'. This implies this love is outside of human control, like destiny created by God or gods, depending on your religion. This is where I think Netflix got their generic 'destined' title. Unfortunately that 'destined' title completely negates that this writer has our leads intentionally playing with words. Not only on a banter level but also testing the letter of the law with their verbal contracts, some which are intentionally made and others they've made unknowingly. Words carry weight in this drama; not just through their emotion or meaning but in a magically binding way.
What if casting the spells isn't enough to activate them? What if the spells need words of intent to activate them?
Even though Hongjo doesn't believe it yet, she is a shaman or witch. Her words alone opened the lock on the box that held the spell book. They weren't just any words; they were words that had deep intention attached to them. After day dreaming her crush was there for her in a time of need when she was home alone, she half pleads, 'Please, can you come?' A few days later, Jaekyung has moved into the first floor of the house she rents.
When Shinyu drinks the Love Potion, nothing happens. He treats her the same way he's been treating her when she barges into his office to try to take care of the person who ran into the flowered-potted median. Any discomfort he's showing can be attributed to the fact that he is the culprit who ruined the median she is ranting over. It does however remind him how dangerous his illness has become triggering his urgency to cast the Disease Curing Spell as soon as possible. It's not until after he sees that the Love Spell is missing from the book and tells her, 'Because if you get a boyfriend, it's thanks to me.' that he has his first heart-fluttering sign of love when she tries take the book from him. He doesn't seem to have any moral issues with her using the love spell and is even trying to take credit for it since he gave her the box. After he discovers that he mistakingly drank the love potion, he's only upset that he's the one who drank it instead of her intended target. But what if drinking the love potion wasn't enough? What if it needed to be activated by his words of intention? His intention was for her to get a boyfriend.
Old Shaman to Shinyu: 'You killed her. The owner of the bloody hand that caresses your cheek. Karma will swallow you and you will struggle in horrible pain. But all the pain and curses will end. Finally, the owner of the wooden box showed up.'
Now back to our title, 'This Love is a Force Majeure'. The longstanding family curse appears to have been caused by Shinyu killing someone in his past life and curses can be considered a contract that binds people to their bad fate. If a contract is made in perpetuity, maybe the only way out is a force majeure happening. Note that 'will swallow' and 'will struggle' are future tense, they hadn't happened yet. Karma definitely seemed to swallow him whole when he unknowingly drank the love potion. It's also interesting she said he will struggle in horrible pain. We've seen him in physical pain due to the curse, but what if mental and emotional pain are added on top of this due to the love potion. The majority of this show will likely be showing him struggling through these trials as he unpacks his past life to save his future. (Hopefully... *crosses fingers and side-eyes Heartbeat*)
It's unlikely that the Disease Curing Spell is enough. It might be able to cure him of the disease but only once the magical curse has been lifted. So both spells always needed to be cast in tandem to break his curse. It's not a coincidence that Shinyu was in extreme distress when he ran into the median that Hongjo had planted the flowers on at the exact same moment she was casting the Love Spell. It caused a ripple in their fate. The beginning jumpstart of their love which needs to grow strong enough to cause a force majeure to break the curse or curses. Since Hongjo may not just be lonely, but cursed with loneliness. The signs are there. Her family is all dead. She doesn't have a boyfriend. She doesn't seem to have close friends even though she's quite friendly. Shinyu suggested that she's the reason she is alone. The Old Shaman also pointedly laments that her god wouldn't allow her to be in a relationship. This story becomes richer if Hongjo has a bad fate to overcome for herself, not just to help the male lead overcome his, but one that must be overcome together.
I'll end this with a little poetic fun from Google translate and deleting the last Korean word in the title one syllable at a time.
이 연애는 불가항력 - this love is irresistible 이 연애는 불가항 - this love is inevitable 이 연애는 불가 - this love is impossible 이 연애는 불 - this love is fire
It will hopefully be available in your local theater that plays foreign films. Korean films are popular enough that they usually show them within a month of their release in Korean in most countries.
I'd love to know why they decided they would be Manchester United & Liverpool fans in the drama or do them two…
They were paid handsomely by the English Premier League Football for prime product placement. Just King the Land was paid for by Nespresso and Thailand Tourism. Or See You In My 19th Life and many other shows have Subway.
A black magic spell is forcing Shinyu to stay with Nayeon. Rewatch episode 5 carefully for the bloodied wood signs and the proposal scene.
Also, Ariays on tumblr translated the webpage Hongjo was reading about Shaman Aengcho and Lady Yoon. This post is very spoilerly and contains their theories too: https://www.tumblr.com/kalena-henden/728727803344945153
They just introduced white magic (good spells) versus black magic (bad curses). There have been breadcrumbs that someone has been doing black magic this whole time: the vlogger said he saw someone at the haunted house before he died, fish heads in the water Hongjo had to clean up, blood on the signs in the woods, the garden owner carrying black preserved flowers late at night, a strawman dressed with Hongjo's nightgown and stabbed with Shinyu's name. Someone is trying to control things.
이홍조 Lee Hong Jo
Lee - the second most common surname in Korea; means ‘plum’ or ‘plum tree’ but can also mean ‘different’ or ‘that’.
Hong - as a name generally means ‘great’, ‘expand’, ‘wide’, ‘vast’, or ‘flood’; but as a word it means ‘red’.
Jo - means ‘key’, ‘team’, ‘dynasty’, ‘company’, ‘billion’, or ‘article’.
Hongjo - means ‘blush’, ‘bloom’, ‘flush’, or ‘glow’.
That Hongjo’s name literally means ‘to blush’ is pretty funny since she does this often. Even though her father meant one thing, when you put the characters together, it means something else. I couldn’t find any reference to Jo meaning ‘morning’ so I’m uncertain how he got that. Since her name also means 'red', it is a possible nod to her being the red hand as well. There is a big flower and plant theme in this show. The fact that her surname is a plant that bears fruit is interesting. Coupled with the her name meaning ‘bloom’ which can refer to the act of a flower opening up or the actual flower itself. I’m pretty sure this was the odd joke that Jaekyung was making outside of Shinyu’s office when he called Hongjo a flower since her name can mean ‘plum bloom’. Also, with the Fair Skin Spell, I have a feeling the co-workers might have mentioned that her skin was glowing, like her name. It’s also intriguing that her name means ‘key’ as she was the key to opening the box and I think she is the key to breaking Shinyu’s curse.
장신유 Jang Shin Yu
Jang - means ‘archer’; only 2% of the population has this surname.
Shin - means ‘almighty’, ‘deity’, ‘god’, ‘providence’, ‘shoe’ or ‘sour’.
Yu - as a name can mean ’abundant’, ‘rich’, or ‘plentiful’; as a word means ‘existence’, ‘group’, ‘possession’, ‘genus’, ‘race’, ‘sort’, or ‘sign of the cock’.
Shinyu - means ‘nudity’ (only on Word Hippo, otherwise I could find no meaning).
With a name like that no wonder Shinyu is an arrogant rich boy who thinks he’s god. Though I do think it’s funny his name can potentially mean 'nudity' since he woke up without clothes on after drinking. He is a lawyer who successfully hits his targets like an archer. He felt like he was ‘possessed’ by the Love Potion to act on his feelings for Hongjo. His name also means ‘providence’ which means divine guidance and care. He is definitely on a trial-by-fire journey to try to sort out his life and survive long enough to live it with the help of his shaman.
Sources: Behind the Name, Word Hippo, Parenting FirstCry, Collins Dictionary, Wikipedia, Google Translate.
Is the magic real? Are the curses real? Are the spells real?
Don't only look at what the characters believe. Look at what the show is revealing: a florescent sign blinking YES. The big question is how does it work?
As I've mentioned before, Hongjo opened the lock on the box by asking aloud for Jaekyung to come help her (which he did by moving in downstairs and giving her constant advice as her sage guide). So magic can be utilized verbally through words of intention. It's likely that only shamans, witches, etc. can do this magic but that is unconfirmed.
Curses vs. Spells (aka Violation vs. Revelation)
What separates a curse from a spell? When Hongjo accidentally dropped the box in the woods, they found a book of curses in a hidden panel. Why would there need to be a separate book of curses unless they do the exact opposite of what the spells do. Curses are always forced upon someone to bring about something terrible. They are done without consent and violate the person's being through misfortune, torment, or death. The spells in Hongjo's book are all about good things happening. To be truly good though, they must allow for consent and choice. They can't be forced onto someone. So what if the spells work by revealing the truth or path so that the good thing can happen but people still have to choose to accept it.
Let's start with the Fair Skin Spell. Both Shinyu and Jaekyung already think that Hongjo is beautiful. Nothing needs to be revealed to them. However, Shinyu's assistant and Hongjo's co-workers note how pretty she's become. She honestly looks the same as she always has but, now that her beauty has been brought to their attention, they are just acknowledging the truth.
The same goes for the Love Potion. It reveals your true feelings to yourself. What you do with them is up to you. Even from the beginning, there are many moments where you can see Shinyu's heart melting when Hongjo reveals little things like she doesn't want to eat lunch alone because she's always alone. After he drinks the Love Potion, he starts to become aware of his feelings for her but that doesn't mean the potion caused the feelings. He's doing his best to brush these feelings aside until he begins to suspect he drank the Love Potion. Once he confirms that he did drink it, he lets his inhibitions go.
However, Shinyu's still struggling with his head versus his heart. This isn't like any typical love potion I've seen or read about in other media before which usually has the affected person completely infatuated, only able to see the best in the one they think they love, and often unable to refuse the other person. Shinyu on the other hand is overly silly and cute in his affection in one breath; then in the next breath is arrogant and incredibly insulting as he constantly denies that he's fallen in love. As soon as they deem the spell 'not real', he's suddenly able to restrain himself, except when he doesn't want to. It's only then that he begins to fully allow himself to believe he's in love with Hongjo. Even though she didn't drink the love potion, Hongjo is going through a similar head versus heart battle herself. She's mostly in denial except for little moments where she inadvertently shows her feelings. Blushing is often involved.
The main reason the Love Spell was needed for their love to blossom is because they have both kept themselves isolated due to their self preservation against bullies or the burden of the family curse. While they have a few people in their lives, Shinyu has his his parents and lawyer friend and Hongjo has her landlords, they don't share important things with them. By giving Shinyu the opportunity to release his silly emotions, it caused them to be in 'forced proximity' aka it gave them a reason to hang out and get to know each other when they normally would have kept to themselves.
Back to the other spells that have been done. For the Disease Curing Spell, his doctor could suddenly read in a medical journal about a new experimental treatment that has been successful and use it to cure him. For the Disaster Adverting Spell, is it a coincidence that a lost dog interrupted their spell to negate the Love Spell and then Mr. Dog-Shelter-Volunteer volunteers to test whether the Love Spell is real which breaks their belief in the spells? At least temporarily.
As for their destinies being not being able to be severed, that was pretty obvious from day one when they met in the haunted house. I take that back, it was obvious even before they met, when Shinyu was joking with his coworker that his office was haunted and he hadn't yet seen the face belonging to the red hand that likes him. (He also notes he's not having an affair with the red hand. *wink*) Shortly thereafter, he meets Hongjo in the haunted house. She reaches up towards his face with her right hand just like the red hand and mistakes him for a handsome grim reaper she'd like to take her to the teahouse. Then he takes a picture of her face. If this doesn't scream that Hongjo is the owner of the red hand (probably past life Hongjo) than I don't know what does. Afterwards, Shinyu has a Joseon-era dream of a man giving a woman flowers and it turns out the box she is the owner of is beneath their meeting spot on his ancestral land. Their destinies have always been inseparable. The Love Spell didn't do that. The Shaman gives them the information they need when they need it. She doesn't give straight answers. She gives them things to ponder and work out.
The Jang family curse is in full force when his extended cousin is the one who died vlogging the haunted house and everyone at the funeral notes that only the Jang men in Shinyu's family have beaten it so far. Except we know Shinyu is a ticking time bomb and his manipulative girlfriend is cheating on him while forcing him to stay in the relationship through family pressure. Hongjo seems to be cursed too. Her mom died in child birth. Her dad died saving people when she was in high school. She's been bullied by multiple groups in school and work. Now she possibly has not one but two stalkers. They are both being tormented and violated. What if the superpower needed to defeat the curses is their connected destiny? Which is why to win, they need to accept it. But like all good things, they have a choice.
(Pandora's) Box provided sage guides in the form of love interests. As I mentioned previously, Hongjo was able to open the box by saying, "Please, can you come?", out loud while thinking about Jaekyung being there to help her. With all of the questioning he's done both to Hongjo and Shinyu regarding their relationship and the preview next week showing that he's been told about the love spell, I realized he is the guide for their relationship to make themselves ask the hard questions, reflect on what they truly feel and lead them to action towards each other. Jaekyung is there to help her just like she magically asked. After she first opened the box, Jaekyung rejected her love confession, even though we learn later that he does indeed like her but feels he's too cold and odd to be good for her. However, Jaekyung's rejection is the very thing that compels her to cast the first spell to begin her journey towards her fate that is entwined with Shinyu. Even in this, Jaekyung was unknowingly her guide to help her do exactly what she needed to do at the right time.
It may be a cruel fate for a sage guide to be a love interest (almost as cruel as it is to be a Second Male Lead) but people need a reason to care for and meddle in someone else's life. If you're not family, a longtime friend or co-worker, or a wise old person sought out for advice then love interest is most reasonable choice. But I did say sage guides, plural, because there is another one.
Kim Wook (forever Imoogi in our hearts) has unwittingly become a sage guide for Shinyu's parents. With the opening of (Pandora's) box, all hell has broken loose and whatever curse was put on their family is in flux. It appears the curse could be temporarily curbed if you truly fall in love as Shinyu's parents did since his mom was an actress and not the normal choice for a respectable rich wife. They noted at the beginning how his dad and grandfather were bucking the trend in not dying young. It was also interesting how his father met with Nayeon separately to convince her to stay by his son's side despite the fact that he broke up with her. I'm sure this was in an attempt to save his son's life by keeping Shinyu's love by his side to curb the curse. Though he doesn't know Shinyu and Nayeon have never truly loved each other.
Which brings us back to Shinyu's parents' marriage falling apart after the box was opened because their love is entwined with the family curse. It is likely that with Shinyu's mom's love wavering for her husband, his health will start to rapidly decline. His stomach being too upset to go stargazing with his wife might have been the start of it. While their fate is tied to the outcome of whether Shinyu and Hongjo's relationship is able to break the curse, they also have their own things to work through in parallel. And like Hongjo, Shinyu's mom called up her own sage guide to help with her issues in lawyer and potential love interest Kim Wook, whom she's now running into coincidentally as well.
The Villainess Trio. Our villains are now emerging. From the beginning we had the horrible Haum Construction CEO Lee Hyunseo, now back and making shady deals with Onju's corrupt mayor, who is also the father of Nayeon, Shinyu's two-faced, vain girlfriend who's in charge of the latest Onju city project they are all working on. Shinyu left his prestigious law firm to fight corporate corruption, especially against Haum. This will now pit him directly against his girlfriend and her father.
Which bring us to their past lives and the origin of the curse. It's safe to say that the past is repeating itself with a chance to change the outcome in the present since this is clearly a reincarnation story. This means many people from the past are together in the present, including the villains who won the first time around. Nayeon joked that she was a princess in a past life. With her father mayor in the present, it would not be shocking if her father was previously a king and his daughter a princess, desperate to get her way and marry a handsome nobleman, Shinyu in his past life. He wasn't interested in her so she had a shaman put a curse on him, that he needed to fall in love to survive. Only to be thwarted by Shinyu falling in love with a court lady, Hongjo in her past life. So Princess Nayeon had her father's loyal henchman, Haum CEO in his past life, kill Court Lady Hongjo, who died in the arms of her love, Nobleman Shinyu, reaching up to caress his cheek with her bloody hand to comfort him with her final breaths. But after Court Lady Hongjo died, he still refused Princess Nayeon and died young. Unfortunately, the curse didn't just apply to him but included his entire family line. Obviously this a speculation, but I've seen enough reincarnation stories to have a rough notion of how this plays out. Facts are that Shinyu has been dreaming about his past life, saw and chased a vision of Hongjo in a court lady hanbok through the Changdeokgung Palace, and has a comforting bloody hand of one whom he killed haunting him because of his family's death curse. The rest we'll find out soon enough.
However, Netflix strikes again with a generic drama title that is very confusing and doesn't capture the depth or meaning of the Korean title in the slightest. (Thank goodness Viki got Doom at Your Service first cause that title is fire, even if it's not literal. I'm still shaking my fist at Netflix naming very accurate Korean title, Forest of Secrets, the boring and bland non-specific Stranger. Just why?!)
The Korean title is 이 연애는 불가항력.
The first part 이 연애는 means 'this love'. But the final word is the Korean translation of the French law terminology 'force majeure' (aka major force) which they translate as 'irresistible force'. It's a clause that is commonly used in contracts that negates some or all of the terms of a contract when an 'act of God' occurs, like a natural disaster, which would make one or both parties unable to fulfill their responsibilities. This is interesting as it gives the real title multiple meanings.
The most literal translation would be 'This Love is a Force Majeure' referencing Shinyu's profession and him being a stickler for adhering exactly to the contract terms, including verbal contracts like the ones he has with the Hongjo.
The next translation is 'This Love is an Irresistible Force' which implies that this love is almost against their will. They can't help but fall for each other. Currently, we have a quite literal interpretation of this with Shinyu accidentally drinking the love potion and now having unwanted thoughts and emotions regarding Hongjo.
Another potential translation extrapolated out of force majeure is 'This Love is an Act of God'. This implies this love is outside of human control, like destiny created by God or gods, depending on your religion. This is where I think Netflix got their generic 'destined' title. Unfortunately that 'destined' title completely negates that this writer has our leads intentionally playing with words. Not only on a banter level but also testing the letter of the law with their verbal contracts, some which are intentionally made and others they've made unknowingly. Words carry weight in this drama; not just through their emotion or meaning but in a magically binding way.
What if casting the spells isn't enough to activate them? What if the spells need words of intent to activate them?
Even though Hongjo doesn't believe it yet, she is a shaman or witch. Her words alone opened the lock on the box that held the spell book. They weren't just any words; they were words that had deep intention attached to them. After day dreaming her crush was there for her in a time of need when she was home alone, she half pleads, 'Please, can you come?' A few days later, Jaekyung has moved into the first floor of the house she rents.
When Shinyu drinks the Love Potion, nothing happens. He treats her the same way he's been treating her when she barges into his office to try to take care of the person who ran into the flowered-potted median. Any discomfort he's showing can be attributed to the fact that he is the culprit who ruined the median she is ranting over. It does however remind him how dangerous his illness has become triggering his urgency to cast the Disease Curing Spell as soon as possible. It's not until after he sees that the Love Spell is missing from the book and tells her, 'Because if you get a boyfriend, it's thanks to me.' that he has his first heart-fluttering sign of love when she tries take the book from him. He doesn't seem to have any moral issues with her using the love spell and is even trying to take credit for it since he gave her the box. After he discovers that he mistakingly drank the love potion, he's only upset that he's the one who drank it instead of her intended target. But what if drinking the love potion wasn't enough? What if it needed to be activated by his words of intention? His intention was for her to get a boyfriend.
Old Shaman to Shinyu: 'You killed her. The owner of the bloody hand that caresses your cheek. Karma will swallow you and you will struggle in horrible pain. But all the pain and curses will end. Finally, the owner of the wooden box showed up.'
Now back to our title, 'This Love is a Force Majeure'. The longstanding family curse appears to have been caused by Shinyu killing someone in his past life and curses can be considered a contract that binds people to their bad fate. If a contract is made in perpetuity, maybe the only way out is a force majeure happening. Note that 'will swallow' and 'will struggle' are future tense, they hadn't happened yet. Karma definitely seemed to swallow him whole when he unknowingly drank the love potion. It's also interesting she said he will struggle in horrible pain. We've seen him in physical pain due to the curse, but what if mental and emotional pain are added on top of this due to the love potion. The majority of this show will likely be showing him struggling through these trials as he unpacks his past life to save his future. (Hopefully... *crosses fingers and side-eyes Heartbeat*)
It's unlikely that the Disease Curing Spell is enough. It might be able to cure him of the disease but only once the magical curse has been lifted. So both spells always needed to be cast in tandem to break his curse. It's not a coincidence that Shinyu was in extreme distress when he ran into the median that Hongjo had planted the flowers on at the exact same moment she was casting the Love Spell. It caused a ripple in their fate. The beginning jumpstart of their love which needs to grow strong enough to cause a force majeure to break the curse or curses. Since Hongjo may not just be lonely, but cursed with loneliness. The signs are there. Her family is all dead. She doesn't have a boyfriend. She doesn't seem to have close friends even though she's quite friendly. Shinyu suggested that she's the reason she is alone. The Old Shaman also pointedly laments that her god wouldn't allow her to be in a relationship. This story becomes richer if Hongjo has a bad fate to overcome for herself, not just to help the male lead overcome his, but one that must be overcome together.
I'll end this with a little poetic fun from Google translate and deleting the last Korean word in the title one syllable at a time.
이 연애는 불가항력 - this love is irresistible
이 연애는 불가항 - this love is inevitable
이 연애는 불가 - this love is impossible
이 연애는 불 - this love is fire
[I originally posted this on my tumblr here: https://www.tumblr.com/kalena-henden/727246329802342400/destined-with-you-has-me-intrigued-there-are]