Destined (2023)

A true roller-coaster of emotions. I very much enjoyed this drama.Even if It was a classical one, it was one of the good ones, the evolution of the main character along with the other characters,from a carefree young boy who spent money like there's no tomorrow to a wise and mature man. The acting was excellent, they made me fell like i was with them and felt what they felt. They really expressed the beauty of ancient china, all that interior designs screamed richness and beauty. They filmed really extraordinary views , i dont know how much green screen they used but it was a pretty good job.

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Marry first, fall in love later and achieve great things together

“Destined” is a Chinese costume drama that tells the journey of two people, Gu Jiu Si and Liu Yi Ru, who were married by chance, fell in love as they achieve victories and went through hardships together, and grew as individuals and as a couple.

This drama has romance, familial love, friendship, love for the people, burden to help the country, and loyalty - themes that would appeal to you if you're looking for a story that transcends beyond the characters' personal ambitions.  I laughed at the funny and light-hearted moments, cried at the emotional and heart-tugging scenes, and celebrated with them in their victories. There is also some political intrigue, strategizing and battle scenes, since there are forces bent on wreaking havoc in the country.

Liu Yu Ru (FL) is responsible, smart and business-savvy.  Despite being the only legitimate daughter of a cloth merchant, she and her mother were mistreated because her father favored the second wife.  To forge a better life, she initially had set her sight in marrying into the influential and scholarly Ye family.  Gu Jiu Si (ML) is the only son of Yangzhou’s wealthiest family. He is witty, has excellent martial arts skills, and despite his infamous reputation, is actually kind-hearted; he once fooled around but gradually changed and became a serious learner, a good husband and responsible leader, partly due to the FL’s influence, who gave him the needed push and encouragement.  I like how their relationship developed and their love for each other blossomed throughout the drama.  They have a healthy relationship, they complement each other, and there are no silly misunderstandings between them.  Together, they are a power couple.

Bai Jing Ting’s portrayal of Gu Jiu Si is spot on! His comedic timing is gold, and he can also carry the heavy scenes.  He is really a versatile actor, and one of my favorites.  Song Yi also gave a good performance as Liu Yu Ru.  Her LYR is gentle yet tough, savvy yet kind, loving yet firm. Their chemistry is natural and doesn’t feel forced; hence, the growth of their characters and their relationship flow organically. 

The supporting cast is commendable too, and those that stand out to me are Ray Chang as Zhou Ye, a dependable and loyal friend; Zhang Hao Wei as Ye Shi An, the idealistic scholar; and Li Xin Ze as Shen Ming, who's loyal and street smart, and the funniest of the three. Together, they are like the three musketeers.  I also like Zhao Yuan Yuan as Qin Wan Zhi, the badass female warrior and a good friend to LYR.

One thing that I don't quite understand is how Luo Zi Shang (played by Liu Xue Yi) survived and eventually became a powerful figure. It's not well explained in the drama. 

Final Verdict: Despite a few unanswered questions, I like this drama and enjoyed watching it. The story is balanced and well-paced, and the characters are generally well-written, so I would gladly recommend it!

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WOW! This drama is the definition of "Beautiful". Every emotion-sad happy excited disappointed—is captured perfectly in their life journey. The 4Brothers never disappointed me, they really support each other and I love this! No betrayal!

Bai Jing Ting did a very very good job of portraying Gu Jiu Shi, his acting is "perfecto"! He merged into the character so much, so natural, as if he lived as Gu Jiu Shi. Gu Jiu Shi is such husband material tho, no need to mothering him (in terms of romance), he knows already what the bare minimum to give from a man to his partner is! Perfecto! Gu Jiu Shi is such a gentleman!

As for Liu Yu Ru, WOW, she is the definition of HIGH VALUE WOMAN! She is definitely my role model! Wise, kind, considerate, hardworking, smart, oh gosh, no wonder Gu Jiu Shi and Luo Zi Shang are so attached to her. I mean if I were them, I would be the same!

And Gu Jiu Shi's mother, I really want to have a mother-in-law like her, very sweet to her daughter-in-law

This Gu Family tho is such a FAMILY GOAL!

From this drama, I did not only learn about romance, but also get a free business and military course hahaha!

So messages from this drama:
- Be a high-value woman
- Be wise
- Be a gentleman (know what the bare minimum to be given to partner is)
- Remember your partner, best friends, and family are your biggest support, so support and be loyal to each other
- Bad person is not always born bad
- Be independent and hardworking
- Be confident

This is the best historical drama that I have ever watched so far, for this year!

Whoever wrote the story, you are a GENIUS!!!

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Idealistic story to love and build your character and country

It is an idealistic story about becoming the best version of you. Tbh, if not for the story and the plot I would have sacked it halfway. The ML and FL have a really poor chemistry. I still think the FL doesn't fit the role. Or maybe more doesn't fit with the ML. Sometimes I feel like they are really awkward with each other. I don't know, maybe because of the age gap. Don't expect a heart fluttering story. but the plot is good enough to keep me watching till the end. That villain guy and the stupid crown prince really get under my skin. Wanna end both of them myself.

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Worthy Watching It!!!

First , The concept was good and then the actors were perfect with the roles and their acting was also too good . Second , The relationship between the main leads was beautiful , of course the popular concept of hate to love and I loved it . Next , The storyline kept improving and I loved it . I did not get bored , It was worth watching it . The concept of females doing business at that times and main lead and his father supporting that was also something I loved it and the way main leads love each other is also something gets stronger with the plot . So watch it and I am sure you can love and enjoy it .

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It was okay

Trigger Warning: Stay away from this if you suffer from anxiety or are an empath. Also, if you've been traumatized by Song Yi's performance in Luoyang where she said the ML's name - Erlang - every 2 minutes then you may want to sit this out because she nearly "Giusi"-ed us to death in this one.

Okay, the story was multi-layered and the production quality was above average, however, at the end of the day it is just another one in a long line of historical dramas with themes of revenge, arranged marriages, and betrayals.

One of the biggest disappointments for me was the glaring lack of chemistry between Bai Jing Ting and Song Yi and if I'm being honest the problem lies with Song Yi who, when she starred in Luoyang, failed to have even a smidgen of spark with Wang Yibo (How?!!!).

Bai Jing Ting, otoh, had insane chemistry with his co-leads in New Life Begins and Reset (which are the only two of his dramas that I've watched). As an afterthought but one that greatly diminished my enjoyment of the drama, the acting in the last two episodes was just a tad bit overly dramatic and cringe. Particularly Zhao Huan Ran (Fan Yu) and Mickey He (Jiang He). I just couldn't take either one of them seriously and they both were integral to the climatic scenes which tied up all the mysteries of the preceding episodes.

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Truly Destined and then, Appreciation and Affection Follows

I wanted to watch this drama and I am mighty glad that I did. I highly recommend this drama to others.

What I love:
- Acting is top-notch from almost everyone.
- ML and FL look good together and have chemistry.
- The wedding scene is the absolute grandest that I have ever scene in reel life (and for me, maybe even in real life).
- This drama is full of intriguing ups and downs. There are parts where things are hilarious, e.g. when FL went to get ML back with a super huge sword, and there are parts where I feel deeply sorrowful e.g. when Gu family's loyal guard died guarding their Gu mansion, when the very nice merchant died while protecting ML and FL, when the Qin female general died protecting the Zhou family. This drama is certainly full of intrigue and full of moments which tug at the heartstrings.
- I also love the good people in the drama e.g. ML's two loyal friends, the very nice merchant who felt indebted to and was immensely grateful to FL, Gu family's loyal workers, Gu family's mother/ FL's mother-in-law (who is the best mother-in-law yet), Zhou Ye, Fan Xuan. . .
- I love how ML is deeply secure and that he recognises how very competent his wife is and he does not dismiss her or tamp her down. He is all right with "eating soft rice" which is cute and endearing.
- I love how ML and FL make their marriage work and the trials and tribulations that they go through to be a real and loving couple who lives and dies for each other.
- I love how competent and talented FL is in earning a lot of money which she freely gives and uses to benefit others.
- I love the happy ending at the end.

What I hate:
- The bad people e.g. Fan Yu, FL's second mother and her daughter who was just like her, Wang Shan Quan, Wang Rong. . . incompetent and immensely wicked people who committed heinous deeds and who were tremendously selfish.
- So much bloodshed. So many good people e.g. ML's good friend, ML's loyal Gu family's guard, Gu family's loyal soldiers, Zhou family's innocent women and children. . . died (when they should not have). Such pain and sorrow!

All in all, the acting is top-notch. This drama production is high-quality. The plot is riveting. Thumbs-up!!

I recommend this as a must-watch (especially for more mature viewers who may find school-age type of dramas kind of unrelatable due to generation gap or just plain boring). It is a pretty breath-taking drama!!

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Good acting and production overshadowed by a messy plot

This show had tremendous potential. The premise was very interesting and seemed to be a coming of age/revenge story of a young man's personal growth. Unfortunately, that wasn't the actual plot. I don't know what the plot was.

The romance was ok. It only took Jiusi and Yuru 28 episodes to kiss and consummate their marriage. Other than that, they had affectionate and cute interactions with almost no sexual chemistry. But, when they kissed, they made out on screen and it was hot. This makes me totally confused about the logic behind Chinese censorship.

The revenge plot was a big deal at the beginning. But, then it completely fizzled out into nothing. The evil magistrate, who killed Jiusi's family, got stabbed to death by a girl. So, what was the point of that storyline at all? I guess halfway thorough the show, the writers decided to switch the direction from revenge to political intrigue.

The whole drama could've been completed in 25 episodes. After the rebels were defeated and the new emperor took the throne, the story should've reached its logical conclusion, but the writers dragged it for another 10+ episodes to meet the maximum allowable threshold of 40 episodes. On top of that, the drama had long draggy conversational scenes about nothing. I didn't care about everything a character was feeling at a particular moment. I zoned out through most of the conversations or fast-forwarded through half of them.

I ended up skipping the last 10 episodes and just watched episode 40.

The music was good, the acting was great. But all the positive things were completely overshadowed by a totally incoherent plot.

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Its a story of friendship, love, heartache and personal growth.

The incredible story of Gu Jiusi and Liu Yuru. The friendships, bonds, and love for one another and the people around them. Bai Jing Ting has once again stolen my heart with his fantastic acting and great chemistry with his co-star Song Yi. While our villain who has taken the world by story Luo Zi Shang played by Liu Xueyi deserves an ovation. Now I have watched just about everything Lui Xue Yi has been in and this was completely out of character for him. You can tell that he didn't just play the role he was the role. I was not disappointed with his performance at all.

Since words have seemed to escape me I will say this. If you loved the pace and aura of "Love Like the Galaxy" and "Who Rules the World" Then I will say this drama is right for you. It did everything right. From start to finish. There was NO BAD ENDING HERE! (For those who know what I mean you get it!!!)

This drama has joined the ranks of Eternal Love (Ye Hua/Bai Qian Story), Princess Weiyoung, One and Only, Love and Destiny, and Ashes of Love. These are my favorites of all time.) So if you agree with the few I mentioned then you know this drama is right for you!!!!!

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A decent Wuxia drama with good acting, but too long and draggy. Probably better with 30 episodes

Finally, I finished "Destined." starring Bai Jing Ting and Song Yi. The story is about Liu Yu Ru, the only legitimate daughter of a former cloth merchant living a stoic life with her mother in a household where they're mistreated despite their status. Due to a misunderstanding, she is married off to Gu Jiu Si, the notorious son of Yangzhou's wealthiest family, infamous for his idle lifestyle and indolent ways. At first, Gu Jiu Si does not like Liu Yu Ru, believing her to be calculating and scheming. As she settles into her new life, she learns business from her welcoming mother-in-law while growing closer to Gu Jiu Si. However, the storm clouds of war are gathering on the horizon, and the Commissioner of Yangzhou creates endless days of terror, forcing the Gu family into unimaginable circumstances. As the couple grows closer through their hardships, the benevolent pair becomes destined for greatness.

The story is good and believable; however, I found it a bit too long and fell asleep watching it. I also FF many scenes and episodes to move the story along. The acting is good from the entire ensemble. BJT and SY did a good job, but I think the one who acted the best was Zhao Zi Qi, who played Gu Jiu Si's mother.

I give it a 7.0 rating, and I would give a higher rating if the drama were to be cut short by 10 episodes. The first 25 episodes were good; 25-35 were too boring and repetitive. The last 5 episodes were more interesting after the Emporer died.

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One of the best drama for me!!

First the story-line, it's great and solid, well packed and the ending wasn't rushed. And this is the best chemistry I've ever seen in any drama, I feel like the leads are real marriage couple!! Every actors and actresses are talented, and they really choose the perfect pairing, every single character shined with their plot and emotions, I've watch some dramas of Song Yi and I wasn't really satisfy but here she improve soo much!! Bai Jing Ting did a awesome job here too with his character and shout out to actor Liu Xue Yi for portraying the emotions very well. And the cinematography is really suit with the drama, I like the costumes and accessories and the OSTs are really great too!! This is one of the best drama for me and definitely in my Top-3 list!! ( Overall 9.5/10 )

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A Great Costume palace Drama

destiny is a good drama, even though there are some flaws in this drama but it doesn't reduce the quality of the story in this drama. and as usual bai jing ting always acts well, the chemistry with the female lead is also good. I always like stories where the main character is smart, wise and good at fighting. destined is a drama where we can see all the intelligence in business, the intelligence in managing the court and intelligence in war strategy.
this drama is a package of everything. I like this drama because there is a bit of vibe from the drama the story of minglan where the female lead has a problem with her family and the female actor is so smart in handling everything......

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