give me frenemies jughead and veronica who argue about wildly pretentious shit and insult each other exclusively using obscure pop culture references while archie and betty look on uncomfortably
Reply 1988 is the best drama for me. I'm cheering for it because I want Reply series to win. I want PD Shin Won Ho, his team plus all the actors who worked on this series since 2012 to snatch the best drama award. Would I like Reply 1988 this much if I haven't seen the first two series? My answer is NO.
The way I see it, nothing beats the experience if you also got to see Reply 1997 and Reply 1994 before seeing the third one. Other Kdrama fans may have different stories on how they came to like the series but as for me, I can say that I appreciated the beauty of Reply 1988--its hits and misses, it's own charm because I did appreciate its predecessors first. I've enjoyed the elements & parallels in Reply 1988 because I've encountered them in 1997 or in 1994 first. They're all connected. I've been following the same timeline, I've been meeting people who exist in the same universe with lives that had also intersected at some point. So my vote for Reply 1988 is also my vote for the first two series. I'm blasting off my efforts now for all the best drama awards they missed to get in the past but still deserve to have up to this day.
Reply 1998 is just a simple drama. I know people who have the same principles or personalities as the Ssangmundong people. I personally experienced some of the things they were crying or laughing about. We tend to like a TV series if we can personally relate on it & its characters, but reply series brought this relatability to the next level. We're shot at the heart & our memories have been awakened. I'm not even a Korean but emotion is emotion, it just gets you. Its simplicity & honesty turned out to be the biggest reality that other fictional dramas will never ever obtain.
We were not given a drama inside a courtroom, troops out on a war or armies in a battle.We were not given a mysterious crime incident to be solved, we were not spooked by ghosts who returned for unfinished business nor got exposed to swords or scalpels. We had seen a simple drama that centered on neighborhood and families living in the same alley. We met people who dealt with real life battles and struggles who also faced the mysteries of everyday life. People who dealt with the ghosts of their pasts who got back through memories & flashbacks that were out of their control. We had witnessed people who had misunderstandings and fun bickering. We had seen them grabbing their bags late for school, holding on to concert tickets, staring at pictures reminiscing the good old times and eating food that parents cooked with all their heart. We got to live in Ssangmundong and got attached to people who really felt like real people, not characters.
Answer Me/Reply series provided answers in the form of lessons which can help you become a better person. It also provided questions challenging you to decide well on your life choices and aspirations. Hey, I haven't talked about the technicalities, extensive research, smart writing, cinematography, dramatic ironies, meta, motifs, symbolism & on-point soundtrack selection yet, what more if I did? This would be a perfect all-kill drama.
Baeksang, win or lose..this drama will always be in my heart.
‘I was still working on How I Met Your Mother when I was shooting the pilot, so I was going back and forth between the two shows. I was delirious the whole time, I feel like. I remember when we were shooting the scene where Emma pulls into Storybrooke with the yellow bug for the first time with Henry in the car, and he’s been talking non-stop the whole journey from Boston. She gets out of the car and slams the door. ‘All right! Enough!’ There was just something about that moment where I think that was the first time I really felt Emma in my bones. There was just something about that scene where it all clicked. It felt like a part of me.’ Jennifer Morrison
2. On Why people think JH is OTP + All camera on Master Choi Taek
3. First Love Argument, Three prophecies and TK’s chopstick skill
4. On Why team TK is totally plausible
5. All eyes on TK! Does he get jealous?
6. Baduk vs Chinese Checkers theory teaser
7. On why she’s focused on the details everyone else missed 1
8. On why she’s focused on the details everyone else missed 2
9. Preambule to why/when DS starts to fall for TK
10. Alternative reading to TK’s resting his head on DS’s shoulder
11. Wedding Jokes 1
12. Wedding Jokes 2
13. A Chocolate Theory
14. On Power Suits, Naked Body, and Burberry Man
15. It’s decided since beginning
16. On DS and her “Spiritual” father
17. On Carbon Monoxide poisoning and Dream Kiss
18. On tsundere fallacy
19. Three Prophecies 1
20. Three Prophecies 2
21. Crossing the line 1
22. Crossing the line 2
23. On Future Husband (Ep 9)
24. Run Forest, Run!
These are compilation of analysis done by packmule3 on soompi. I saw it on soompi and thought I’d put it here. Whether I agree with some of them or not, I find most of them well written and simply interesting.
I live for music moments in every reply series. Aside from the PD & the writer, I really want to meet the show’s musical scorers because I wouldn’t be crying buckets of tears or drown in feels if not for their brilliant and on-point scoring.
Here are my favorite music moments:
Episode 6: A Little Girl - Oh Hyuk
The rejection scene. The first heartbreak, it was supposed to feel sad and painful but I was smiling like a highschooler with a new found crush because of Sunwoo-Bora flashbacks. I really like the smooth transitions & how the camera moved from the outside going inside Sung's home. Hyeri's crying scene was moving but I easily moved on from the hurt after hearing a call from a certain someone asking her to watch a movie with him. *swoons*
Episode 9: Together – Noel
I love Sunwoo's family. My heart also cried in this scene where the ahjummas were talking to Sun Young who was questioning if life was just unfair for her. I felt her pain and nodded with her words as she blurted out how a good son Sunwoo was. Together is my most fave ost and I love the fact that the song was played twice in this episode. The remake for Sun Young's dramatic conversation with ahjummas & the original version when Taek's flashback was shown.
Episode 10 – A Little Girl by Lee Moon Sae/Oh Hyuk
Again. Yes. I really liked how Reply series played with the original version of the song & it's remake. They also did it with the past installments, and for this particular sequence—they played Lee Moon Sae's version first then Oh Hyuk's version was inserted flawlessly. I like the transition & of course, seeing Sunwoo with Bora again while that song was played gave me more feels.
Episode 16: Sad Fate – Nami
I really love replaying this scene. There's something about their shared sadness that makes this otp more rootable. I heard more in their silence. Nami's song was just perfect for them. This song grew on me because it was used for the last sequence and this episode was shown before the show took their new year’s break. Man, Park Bo Gum's micro-expressions totally killed me.
Episode 17: Let's Forget It – Yeo Eun of Melody Day
Jung Bong & his love letters to Mi-Ok, wow I'm so touched by this scene. The song perfectly fits the characters’ emotions and I really like how it was used, it started with the scene where Bora was eating the food Deoksun brought for her then transitioned to Jung Bong writing letters for the love of his life. The song will always remind me of JB, who says the song always have to be related to its album cover? Meeeeh.
Episode 19: You To Me Again -Byun Jin Seob
Everybody's favorite scene, I suppose? I LOVE THIS SCENE. It's definitely one of the best kdrama kissing scenes I've ever seen. All the bottled feelings were finally set free. The scene was prettily edited and well-directed. I also liked the voice-overs by the adult couple & the reveal of the dream-like kiss. Hyeri & Bogum surely had a really superb first onscreen kiss with each other, thanks to Shin PD and his team. Byun Jin Seob's song----wow, too much emotions in just one song. It makes you wanna tear up & smile at the same time. LSS until now.
Theirs is a relationship about the quiet moments. There were no great gestures, no dramatic confessions, no lavish proposals. Instead, it was a relationship characterised by lifelong handholding, of piggyback rides or princess carries when injured, of kisses at times desperate, at times, sweet. Of a love with no discernible starting point but just a natural progression into it. Of waiting by the phone for a call and of quiet excitement at a concert outing. Theirs is about waking early in the morning and staying up late at night for walks together in the neighbourhood alleys. Of returning to each other despite attempts to branch outwards towards others. Of smiles that brighten the whole face on seeing each other. Of utter delight at an “I love you” no matter how morose or upset they were before. Of effort to make time for each other despite other commitments, be it work, baduk. Of constancy and confidence in their love for each other that it survived being hidden and the pressures of being a public figure.
A love so deep that the thought of losing the friendship if a romantic relationship didn’t work out was almost enough to not risk it.
I have to admit it, I'm still sobbing about the finale of Answer Me 1988 and I'm still deeply reflecting on how amazing the show was. I’ve been a fan since Answer Me 1997 & the whole team really did come back with a bang in this installment.
FAMILY
Such a large cast! But you know what, I love them all. It's one thing for a show to make sure everyone gets to enjoy fair screentime, but it's also one thing for a viewer like me to appreciate every character's contribution to the story.
Everyone has their own identity, I'm still amazed on how pd shin did the immersion but it all turned out so good, they were all so in sync with one another.
Every family had their own story but it was Sun Woo's family that moved me the most. Maybe because I can relate to their situation and Sun Woo is the child I kind of wanted myself to be.
Just thinking about how considerate he was to his mom and his sibling brings tears to my eyes. Kim Sun Young is my favorite mom in the show, she totally won me over with her crying scenes and her laugh was contagious, I love her.
FEELS
The only show that got me laughing & crying every episode. I always say that watching Answer Me series is like watching real life events unfold in front of you. The acting was always on point and as a big fan of the writer, I was more eager to know what was going on inside her head instead of what the other characters were thinking. The show took a break for two years & I had faith since day one that she would surprise us & Chilbong wouldn't return in form of a new character.
For the record, Jungpal wasn't Chilbonged. He was a star of his own story. His arc was really good, letting go & admitting your mistake--it's part of maturity. I surprisingly liked how his arc was written though I wasn't able to relate much on his character, because in real life—I'm more expressive with my love for my family.
OST
I really have this big heart for Kdrama soundtracks but Answer Me's musical scorers were just too brilliant to be ignored. The selection of songs and how CJ E&M wonderfully produced covers of classic hits still amaze me.
My Top 3 faves are: Together by Noel, All I Can Give You is Love by December & Violet Fragrance by Wable. All the songs were good but these three songs make me remember my favorite people in the show. I also like Hyehwadong & A Little Girl, they remind me of the earlier days when the drama have just started. Everyday With You is really for the otps while Youth & Don't Worry, Dear are certified tearjerkers. As Time Goes By, Let's Not Forget It & Even When a Memorable Days Comes make me remember the goodbyes & reunions in the show. Being a music lover, musical scorings/soundtracks also add to my appreciation of the show. These songs already sound nostalgic to me as if I also lived in the same time as they did in 1988.
OTP
I think otp was just 20% of the series. The large chunk was actually allotted for family & friendship aspect and no I don't have any complaints about that. I was one of the lucky ones who enjoyed the show because I wasn't always wearing my shipper goggles.
Yes, I can proudly say that I'm on Team Taek but you know what makes me prouder? --it's how his story with Deoksun progressed in line with the neighborhood's story. Their sweetness, gentleness & understanding of each other perfectly match the whole mood of the show. They sure embody that heart-warming & familiar 1988 spirit.
Answer Me 1988 thank you for the memories.
I'm not usually thankful to TV shows I watch but with Answer Me series, I always feel the need to thank everyone because this show has a big heart.
You really know how to inconvenience someone. You keep appearing in front of me and I keep getting tangled up with you. But…you doing that…is because of me, I think. I think I did something to give you hope. Okay. Let’s date. I like you too. Don’t you dare tell your mom, and if you tell your friends, we’re done for. Got it?
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