I had put off watching this show for so long, after having been disappointed in the Korean version of it. I was happily watching along, glad that I finally broke down to watch it, enjoying the wonderful interplay between the main couple, when, at about episode 24, it went completely wrong. I forced myself to finish it, all the while wanting to throw something at the tv, until resolution FINALLY came in the last 20 minutes of episode 36! I’ll start with the good, so you don’t have to finish reading if you don’t want spoilers.
CAST: Watch this show just for Xing Zhao Lin, if for no other reason. He plays Wang Xi Yi and is absolutely wonderful. In everything else I’ve ever seen him in, I’ve found his acting to be wooden, and his lack of facial expressions bothersome. He was literally the star of this show. He really loosened up with his expressions, and got to show his comedic, as well as his dramatic skills. The scene where he was making the rocking horse was spot on – you could really feel his love and his desperate sadness. The scene was beautifully filmed. In a room full of color and furniture and busyness, his acting kept you focused on him every second. The rest of the cast was good, but he was a standout.
CHEMISTRY: The chemistry between the main leads was stellar. A few excellent kisses that turned up the heat a notch, a lot of playfulness between them and it was just fun.
STORYLINE (of the first half of the show): I always like a good Cinderella storyline, and this one was enjoyable. He watched out for her from the beginning, building her up, doing things for her, etc. I also liked their communications through WeChat, when she didn’t know it was him. They were getting to know one another again.
Now for the stuff that just irked me no end - spoilers ahead –
CHARACTERS: Liang Jie as Chen Jia Xin was very good throughout, but her character took a sharp turn to the negative a little more than halfway through. I think the writers were going for strong and assertive, but she turned into someone that was just not very nice. Granted, at the beginning she was a bit of a doormat (honey, fight for your man, for Pete’s sake!), but I had a hard time figuring out why Xi Yi would love the new her when she was so bitter. The character of Dylan – I actually really liked the way he was written, as opposed to the character of Anna. Oh, my word, where do I begin? She was self-absorbed, delusional and to a certain degree, just downright evil. They threw everything into this character, each plot point was to serve to keep the main couple apart. And there were no consequences for her – other than not getting the man she wanted.
WRITING: I WISH there were more Asian dramas that would write a realistic couple with realistic problems, and have them actually resolve them by just talking to one another. That almost never happens. There is one hidden motive after another, just an endless stream of misunderstandings that could be resolved by communication.
ENDING: Why, oh why, do most of the Asian shows stretch out the problems, episode after episode (in the case of this show, over about 15 episodes), then only spend 15 minutes in the final episode for resolution? There are literally so few shows that spend a decent amount of time showing the couple after they get together (Legend of the Blue Sea is an example of an EXCELLENT ending). I know that angst carries the storyline, but we’ve invested in these people and would like to be given a little more. In the case of You Are My Destiny, we should have gotten to see into their future a little bit to know about future children (but not silly like Strong Woman Do Bong Soon). It always feels to me like they ran out of time and/or money and were told to just throw something together for an ending.
So, in general, I’d say that if you don’t have any other show that you’re dying to see and you want to enjoy some good acting by Xing Zhao Lin, watch about the first 20 episodes and then skip to episode 36.