Reply 1988

Assalamualaikum, so last week..or not, I have done the second series of Reply. So, here is the last series of that. If I were to compare between all series, I prefer the first one and the second is my least favorite. So, I hope this review can help you enjoying the drama ~

not mine ; credited to the rightful owner

Title : Reply 1988 / Eungdaphara 1988 / 응답하라1988

Episodes : 20

Network : tvN

Genre : Family, Romance, Drama

Related : Reply 1998, Reply 1994

Cast : Hyeri, Go Kyung Pyo, Ryu Joon Hyul, Lee Dae Hwi, Park Bo Gum

Plot :

The drama started in the year of 1988, where Olympics were held in Seoul. For the 18 years of their life, Duk Soon, Sun Woo, Jung Hwan, Dong Ryung and Taek had live together in one neighborhood and befriend with each other. The family of these five teenagers are also closed with one another. Even thought living in a half-basement house, Duk Soon remain bright and happy. Sun Woo is a model student in his school together with Jung Hwan, whose family became rich overnight. Dong Ryung is a teenager who loved dancing and gave up on his academic even thought his father is a teacher. Lastly, Taek is an international go player. He had given up on school and only had the other four as his friend.

So, this is the last season (as of now) for the Reply 19s seasons.

SPOILER ALERT

I personally like this drama better than the last one but still it could not beat the first one. Hehe. As I said, I am not a fan of a spin off. But, here I am. Unlike the other two season which only focused on the family of the main female character, this season had all family of the teenagers involved. I guess that was how the old time was like. Give and take between the neighbors.

And once again I am thankful to the director, producer, writer and basically all of the production team to keep Song Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa in this type of drama. Honestly, they really suit with each other. Their character really kick off well. I think I can enjoy just watching them arguing over and over again. As for Hyeri, I had never watch her acting but I can say that she really suited this kind character.

Just like the last season, this season had many potential husband for Duk Soon. The first one, Sun Woo. I always thought that the first man that the female lead shows interest in is the person who she will ended up with. Because, as far as I remember, the previous season showed so. But then, Sun Woo was actually interested in Duk Soon's older sister. Poor girl. Then, we had Jung Hwan who acted all cold towards her but actually loved her. I honestly thought and hoped  that he would be marrying Duk Seon because I personally liked his character. Who had thought that Taek will be the husband of Duk Soon. Well, it is Park Bo Gum we are talking about. And in my very personal view, I didn't actually enjoy this pair being together. Maybe it because these two lacked heart-fluttering scenes. Maybe.

For me, I liked the plot and how the story carefully arranged and unfolds. However, there are too much things going on. And with that on board, the runtime of one episode almost went to two hours. And for that reason, I once again had to double and triple the speed. 

Unlike the second season, I can say that I had more joy while watching this drama. And for that, I would gladly rate this one as 8.4/10.

-thes