Early Access: Scripting Your Destiny E1 (Patreon)

E1. Given that this show is technically a web drama, since it's released by online streaming platform TVing, I'm pleasantly surprised at how promising this one feels, right away.

First of all, the production values immediately come across as very high, with the special effects of our god walking in what looks to be the supernatural dimension. A few scenes also stood out to me for being extra prettily filmed, like the slo-mo water splashes that we get at the end of the episode.

The introduction very quickly sets our context, of how every human being's life is written by a god, and is interpreted by humans as destiny. I also like the fiery effect of the words being burned onto the page; it makes the writing feel particularly final, like whatever the god has written, cannot be changed.

I am tickled by the fact that all our gods of destiny happen to be handsome, dapper young men who favor long flowy coats, but I'm not at all opposed to the idea, heh.

I am mildly amused at the echoes of Goblin that we get right away, with the bromantic type of connection between two gods of destiny, complete with the slo-mo long-coated dual hero tunnel walk, except that instead of groceries, they're carrying coffees. It's all quite unabashed and tongue-in-cheek, which should appeal to fans of Goblin. Unfortunately, I never did finish Goblin, so I'm sure I will miss any references that originate from Goblin's later episodes.

I rather like the idea of our female lead being a drama writer, because that creates a nice contrast between her and our god of destiny, where they both write the fates of others, except in his case, he writes the fates of real people.

I kinda love the makjang-ness of the drama that Che Kyung is writing; it's so OTT and hammy, and looks like a total hoot to watch. The proof of identity via rock-hard abs made me laugh out loud, it's so ludicrous and so funny. 😆

I do enjoy how our story gets right into the thick of things and doesn't waste time with getting our set-up done. By the time we reach the end of this short 30-minute episode, we've already got a feel for our leads, our god has expressed why he's so invested in the fate of Jung Ba Reum (because he wants to create a masterpiece out of Jung Ba Reum's destiny), and he has a reason for purposely seeking out Che Kyung's fate book and taking it over - because she happens to be Ba Reum's first love, and he wants to incorporate their loveline into his masterpiece. I feel like there are a lot of great possibilities, narrative-wise, and I'm eager to see where Show goes with this.

I'm nicely intrigued by our god of destiny's voiceover at the end, that love is a gift of the gods, for the courageous. It makes me wonder who is romantic endgame for our female lead. Would it be the one that's written into her destiny, or the one who's actually writing the destiny?