I wrote a first impression post a month ago about the age gap romance, My Fated Boy. Within two days of publishing that post, I had binged the whole thing, and weeks later, I am still thinking about that drama. So, what is a Fangirl to do but try and convince more people to jump down the rabbit hole with me? Join me as I share all my favorite aspects of My Fated Boy.

I started this on a whim since I have had a lot of trouble connecting with modern Chinese dramas the past few years. So often, I just can’t get into the school plot arcs that always seem like the same story over and over or their similar working/romance counterparts. We get it; the country loves plucky young girls who catch the eye of successful, smart, out-of-their-league men. This is totally fine if that is your favorite trope, but it just hasn’t been working for me for a while. The fact that this is the story between an older female and a younger man already breaks out of that traditional bubble. This was a very common trope in Korean dramas back when I started watching Asian TV, so it just hit that sweet drama nostalgia button, and I pushed play.

To start, this was everything that I was expecting it to be. The female lead was slightly damaged from life just wearing her down. Our leading man was sure of his goals and what he wanted now that he is an “adult.” Society is looking askance at the age gap between our leads. Not to mention that our leading man is not even a romantic blip on our leading lady’s radar since they had literally grown up together as young kids. It was everything you traditionally get, and then they started spinning those tropes on their head.

Every episode began with a glimpse of our OTPs as young kids. This could have been problematic if you really think about the age gap in terms of kids. However, the writer used it to benefit the eventual romantic relationship by showing how their knowledge of each other and how their past relationship just morphed into something more. Rather than feeling taboo or somehow dirty, it ended up giving us a fated vibe—a true OTP metamorphosis.

Helping with this positive support of an age gap relationship was all the support from the secondary characters. I think this might be the first time ever I have watched an age gap romance where “society” didn’t try to destroy their love. Instead, the friends, co-workers, and even the romantic rivals all ended up being supportive of our OTP. It was such an amazing twist and left me feeling happy as I watched. I didn’t realize how much I needed this change in the secondary character’s attitude until it actually happened. Even the bit of pushback to the relationship that occurred was more a matter of realism and the trials that would be faced by dating someone so younger and in the public eye, which helped with the next plot arc that I loved.

These people all understand the importance of COMMUNICATING!!!!!! Do you know how rare it is to find a drama that actually uses healthy communication in resolving OTP problems? It is literally the equivalent of a drama unicorn. But My Fated Boy has communication skills in spades between our OTP, friend groups, romantic rivals, even with family members. Never once does the show rely on the “we are in love” concept to throw away real-world problems. There is so much positive communication you just are left knowing that things are going to be OK with our OTP long term.

If you still are not yet convinced to give this show a chance, maybe the fact that our OTP has sizzle to spare will get you hitting play. I legit swooned during multiple scenes, and this OTP will definitely be added to my top ten at the end of the year. Also, we have covered this drama in a recent podcast episode, so you have yet another reason to jump on the My Fated Boy train.

What do you think? Is this maybe the drama that is going to get you through the next several weeks? Are there any other shows out there that you think I should binge? Let me know in the comments and be sure to check back in the upcoming weeks since I suspect drama binging is going to be how I cope with the next outbreak of Covid restrictions.

Til the next musing,

Kmuse

Dramas with a Side of Kimchi