Let me start by saying that I, having watched none of the other 3 or 4 versions of this drama, had absolutely no prior knowledge of the plot, characters, or other elements of the show and therefore have no intention nor ability to compare this remake to the rest of them. Anyway, overall, this drama was a very enjoyable watch. However, the quality of the story decreased tremendously as the story went on.

Chen Jiaxin (Liang Jie) is a quiet, somewhat cowardly girl who preferred to suppress her emotions deep down rather than to face them head on. When she boards the Costa Venezia Cruise, all she really wants is to have a memorable trip with her boyfriend. However, fate has other plans for her. Aboard the cruise, she meets Wang Xiyi (Xing Zhaolin) a businessman with a strong sense of responsibility. After a huge turn of events, the people the two of them arrived with both leave their sides, and before they know it, the two strangers are accidentally legally married with an unborn baby. When I first read the plot description, I was doubtful that such a plot would work. It was glaringly obvious from the premise that the plot would be riddled with misunderstandings, scheming, and hidden feelings, but seeing as there were multiple versions of the drama, I figured it couldn't be that bad. Besides, I heard the chemistry between the leads was wonderful. With that in mind, I embarked on the 36 episode journey called "You Are My Destiny". After the first few episodes, it was apparent that my misgivings of the drama were misplaced. There were so many things to love. The characters, themes, OST, acting, and chemistry are all very solid. Not a single character was perfect, but they were all endearing nonetheless. However, by the last quarter of the drama, I started to notice that it was rapidly losing momentum due to dragginess and dumb scenarios. Not only were the leads in completely different countries, but they were also distanced from each other due to a huge misunderstanding that could have been solved in a few words. All of a sudden, the plot started to rapidly deteriorate from what it had once been.

Let's start with the good things. The drama started out very strong. At the beginning, the pacing was perfect, and there was a good mix of sweet moments and interesting plot developments. I could feel the chemistry between the leads radiating off the screen. They seemed very comfortable with each other and acted very well. Not only were the leads wonderful and intriguing, but all of the supporting characters were also very well developed. Not a single character was ignored. It was so easy to fall in love with all of them. The OST was also one of my favorites. I loved the the song "You Are My Destiny" by Ding Dang. The song is just so meaningful. Ding Dang's voice was great for the song, and it was written to fit the drama perfectly. There were some very good themes and changes from the norm as well. The most obvious one is that the leads are forced together by an accidental pregnancy. I had expected the male lead to be the typical brooding, narcissistic CEO type that looked down on people who didn't have heaps of money lying around. However, the male lead never looked down on the female lead and even encouraged her to be more confident in herself, saying that even the plainest people had their own strengths. He never held the fact that she was a common worker over her head. I was also very relieved that he didn't pressure the female lead into giving up the baby.

By far, the most unpleasant part of the drama was the fourth quarter. At the climax of the drama, many crazy things happened. All of the characters started to act up and became unbearable to watch. Even Dylan, the sweet, sunshine-y second lead, became absolutely terrible, and my prior good impression of him went right down the drain. Everyone acted like small children and went backwards on their character development. The leads were in completely different countries and had a misunderstanding that made them resent each other, so they did not get many scenes together. When they did get scenes, they were yelling at each other or one of them was pretending to be someone else. I would've been able to suffer through these excruciatingly boring scenes and still maintain a high 8.5-9.5 rating if the ending hadn't been so rushed. It was so abrupt and awkward that it left no closure at all. I still can't believe that the second female lead understood her flaws ten minutes before the end of the drama and solved everything over text. It was so stupidly unbelievable that I'm quite convinced that even I, an amateur wannabe writer who sucks at writing coherent reviews, can write a more complete ending than that. It was absolutely distasteful how we got a whopping TEN minutes of "happy ending" after a buildup that took about 4 or 5 episodes to bring it there.

I guess the main takeaway here is that "You Are My Destiny" is a drama that starts out without cliches or flaws but slowly turns into a train wreck. I do not regret watching it because there were so many beautiful moments and lovely characters that brightened up my life, but I am disappointed at how quickly it turned itself into a mess. I am glad I watched this and discovered two more wonderful actors to add to my Favorites list, Liang Jie and Xing Zhaolin. I would not advise people to stay away from it necessarily, but please keep in mind that the ending might not be satisfactory, and it is a good idea to watch the second half at 2x speed because they will drag like crazy.