Destined With You Episode 1 Recap and Review: The new South Korean fantasy romance drama, Destined With You (이 연애는 불가항력) stars Rowoon, Jo Bo-ah, Ha Jun, and Yura in lead roles. The JTBC series is directed by Nam Ki-hoon and written by Noh Ji-sul.
The new K-drama revolves around the lead characters of Lee Hong-jo (Jo Bo-ah), a civil servant and Jang Shin-yu (Rowoon), an ace lawyer. The two come face to face after Hong-jo unexpectedly finds herself in the procession of an old wooden box. It contains a forbidden book that was thoroughly sealed 300 years ago. Things begin to change course after it lands in the hands of Hong-jo. In the meantime, Shin-yu is suffering from a mysterious illness that runs throughout his family for generations. Soon, they both realise that the key to saving Shin-yu from the curse is in the hands of Hong-jo and amid the same, there’s a sweet romance that blossoms between them.
Jo Bo-ah recently starred in 2023’s Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 as Nam Ji-ah, as for Rowoon, he was last seen in 2022’s Tomorrow as Choi Joon-woong. Ha Jun previously played Shin Joon-was in Missing: The Other Side Season 2, while Yura’s previous role was in Chae Yoo-jin in Forecasting Love and Weather. New episodes of Destined With You arrive on JTBC on Wednesday-Thursday at 10.30 PM, a timeslot that was previously occupied by Miraculous Brothers.
– Destined With You Episode 1 Review Contains Spoilers –
Destined With You Episode 1 Recap
On a rainy day near Mount Onju, Lee Hong-jo (Jo Bo-ah) finds herself fallen down on the floor in a deserted, dilapidated shrine. In front of her appears, Jang Shin-yu (Rowoon), looking all sharp in a crisp suit. Taking a look at his attire, Hong-jo thinks she is dead and assumes him to be a “handsome grim reaper.” She offers to come along with him to the teahouse as well. In response, Shin-yu clicks a photo of her and leaves.
After this brief moment of the two coming face to face in the present day, a flashback takes us through their lives and how the duo have been connected through work. She is a righteous civil servant who isn’t afraid to take responsibility whereas he is a sharp lawyer whose eye misses no detail. In the flashback sequence, a case that Shin-yu won six months ago is shown where he defends a case against a construction worker who willingly jumped from a site to earn insurance money for his son’s cancer treatment.
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Another major detail about Shin-yu is also revealed as we see a bloody red hand touching his face and he is seen communicating with the same. It is presumably a curse that he is dealing with that is later also shown to be the reason for his ill health as he suffers from a brain genetic disorder. In the meantime, the second lead also gets an introduction as we meet Kwon Jae-kyung (Ha Jun), who also works at Onju City Hall. Hong-jo instantly falls for his charm and also saves him from a protestor who tries to attack him.
As for Hong-jo, the civil servant receives a transfer to City Hall’s Park maintenance department and soon ends up taking a huge responsibility as she is appointed to take care of the demolition of an abandoned haunted shrine after a YouTuber ends up losing his life there. The shrine has a connection to Shin-yu’s family who owns the property and hence Hong-jo finds herself meeting Shin-yu unexpectedly when she tries to look for the owner to sign off on the demolition.
The two share a banter after she realises he is the same person she assumed to be the Grim Reaper and the one who left her at the shrine without helping her. After trying to convince him to give up the shrine and help the city department to demolish it, she learns that she needs the permission of a shaman who used to perform there.
On meeting with the shaman, Hong-jo instantly receives permission to do so. It is then revealed by the shaman in a mysterious conversation with Shin-yu that all the pain and suffering will go away once the wooden box hidden at the shrine reaches its owner, and the owner happens to be Hong-jo. The episode ends with Shin-yu finding the wooden box.
Destined With You Episode 1 Review
As the first episode of the series, this one does a good job at not only introducing the characters perfectly but also creating the mysterious vibe that is at the centre of this tale. The fantasy drama certainly intrigues with the whole Red Hand sequence and also the haunted shrine scene. The character of Hong-jo played by Jo Bo-ah instantly makes a connection. Her bright personality makes you want to root for her. As for Rowoon’s Shin-yu, he comes across as an interesting persona given he seems cold at first but there surely will be more layers to him. The chemistry between the leads is also building up great from the first episode itself.
The episode also packs a punch with the technical elements as it provides jump-scares in the scenes of the shrine where the background score also helps enable the creepy vibe. With the mystery of the wooden box and its element also being introduced in the first episode itself, the build-up for what happens next is certainly heightened.
Destined With You Episode 1 Ending
The final moments of the episode saw Shin-yu finding the mystery wooden box that was hinted at by the shaman. As for Hong-jo, after successfully completing her first task since moving to the City Hall, she is unable to celebrate the same since her team doesn’t welcome her properly. As she has an emotional moment after feeling left out at her workplace, at the last moment, Shin-yu turns up and asks her to accompany him as the episode concludes.
The performances from both Rowoon and Jo Bo-ah feel authentic. The supporting cast also looks like they are packing performances and in the first episode particularly, Ha Jun and Yura also stand out.
Destined With You Episode 1 is streaming on Netflix. New episodes air on JTBC every Wednesday-Thursday at 10.30 PM.
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