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Your Musings on this Drama (with Spoilers)

dapinaymrs

Hello everybody! 

I originally wanted to add a long comment to the threads about this drama. But I found that the threads had specific topics and none of them had one that discussed the progress of the drama as a whole or talked about the characters in depth.

I hope you guys don't mind, I've created this discussion so we can talk more about it.  

It has been a month since I finished watching this drama and unless I get my thoughts out of my system, my mind won't let me be. I hope you could share your afterthoughts on this thread as well. 

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Having watched the two previous installments. I was (and I'm sure a lot of us were) by now familiar with the writer's and director's tactics and style in presenting the story. I admit I was rather reluctant to pick this up because the last time the shipping business got too intense, I couldn't help but be invested in it--way too much. (For reference, I was on Team Chilbong and I knew beforehand the girl would not end up with him.)

Seeing the good reviews and posts on MDL, I was encouraged (so yes, thanks to you guys, I picked this up with hopes that I wouldn't be as heartbroken the last time). Unlike the first two, I was now more conscious not to do any shipping until the girl makes a decision on her own, expected friendship and more nostalgia. And I wasn't disappointed. 

Like what we've all noted this Reply had more family/community and friendship content while incorporating the romance in between. Although noticeably, the length of each episode was almost as long as a movie. I wonder if this was really necessary and if the side-stories were taking up the time towards the last quarter. Although I had a great time watching each episode, I still think 20 is too many. They could have at least shortened the time for the side-stories which can be removed without sacrificing or compromising the quality of the drama/affecting its plot. (eg: Mi Ran's menopause, singing contest, Bora's stubbornness--I get that she is obnoxious to her sister, ugh please do not rub it in. It doesn't help me like her or care about what happens to her! :| ) 

My only complaint here was the lateness of the romantic progress. As with the previous Replies, the husband mystery was still there. Even though it was greatly tuned down, it was still present. If you were smart enough to pick up that one clue in Episode 2, you would have known who Duk Seon ends up with as early as Episode 9--you would have been set from the beginning. However, if you were like me and did not ship til that 'dream' on Episode 17 or even later, you may agree that the time shown as a couple was too short compared to the span of episodes that took us to their pairing. 

I've observed two things when romance is belatedly shown in a drama: one is you are left craving for more because the drama is coming to a close, and two: you're not completely sold on it because you had already shipped another pairing. In both instances you are hung over--either out of frustration or anticipation.

I'm cutting this here for the meantime. I'm resting for the night and will come back tomorrow!.

Anybody who has deciphered Choi Taek, please feel very free to post what you've found out so far! I'd like to hear what you think of the drama and the characters!

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scarletquill
Okay, I've so many feelings for this drama that I do not know where to begin.

First of all, I believe, the point of this drama wasn't the romance or the husband game. It was saying farewell to a different era - an era of political turmoil in Korean history, a pre-Internet era. It was a much simpler life, a community-based life. Hence, the focus was on the family and the community. The posters pretty much say the same - "My family is my first love". Personally, I loved that focus, I didn't mind the length of the episodes or the dramas because this drama was detailed and nuanced if not anything. Personally, I LOVED the side stories and sub-plots; it was a very refreshing approach because we got invested in each individual in the community, which WAS the point of this drama. 
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scarletquill
I have to make a different comment regarding the love triangle. Let's get this started.

I admit when I found out that Park Bo Gum was going to be in the drama, I was excited beyond words. Since he was the first of the main cast to be casted in the drama, I assumed that he was going to be the main lead, which is why I was SO infuriated when he didn't make much of an appearance in the drama for six episodes, and throughout we don't really see his perspective of the story. That was a bit off-putting for me because he is one of my biases and I know the range of acting he is capable of. But in retrospection, now that eight months have passed since this drama ended as well as after several rewatches, i realized that Choi Taek's character subverts all main lead tropes. He is not an alpha male, he is quiet, keeps to himself mostly except when it comes to his friends, tries to melt into the background. However, like a baduk player, he knows when to be aggressive, and when to protect his interests. And this gave him the edge over Jung Hwan.

Tbh, I was frustrated with Jung Hwan. Even though I didn't ship him with Duk Seon, after a while, I just wanted him to make a move. And everyone who blames Duk Seon or accuses her for choosing Taek over Jung Hwan, I just want to ask them - if you were in Duk Seon's place, would you have even realized that Jung Hwan likes you? Yes, he does give a few indications but he never follows-up on them. And for a middle child like Duk Seon, who is neglected and feels insecure in her own self and identity, she needs someone to assure her. I doubt Jung Hwan could have done that for her when he's pretty much dismissive about her to her face, no matter what his personal feelings for her. The audience knows, but SHE doesn't know and that makes all the difference in the world. Heck, apart from Taek, no one even realizes till the end that she loved Duk Seon. And sure, that makes him a pitiful character. By the time, Duk Seon becomes aware, it is already too late. Sometimes, I wonder if he would have confessed even if he didn't know that Taek likes her.

Most Jung Hwan fans talk about how he stepped back for Taek's sake. Taek fell back too when he realizes that Jung Hwan likes her too, but he is never ashamed of his attraction towards her like Jung Hwan is, and for me, that gave him the brownie point. He admits, without being embarrassed or ashamed, that he likes Duk Seon. Jung Hwan, despite Duk Seon giving him several blatant signs that she likes him, fails to act upon them. Taek takes on his chances, risky though they might be, as they come. 

The narrative-style stopped focusing on Duk Seon's perspective after the pink shirt misunderstanding but it was CLEAR in episode 17 that she felt attracted to Taek, that she had already begun to see him as a man. Her attraction towards Taek did not need an external enforcement unlike her infatuations with Sun Woo or Jung Hwan, With both Sun Woo and Junghwan, she believed herself to be in love with them ONLY AFTER her friends told her that they might have a crush on her. With Taek, it was entirely her feelings, without being influenced by anyone else and for me, that made a huge difference.
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dapinaymrs
Thanks for writing your thoughts on this drama, ScarletQuill!

I maintain my thoughts regarding subplots/side-stories on this drama since all Reply installments are basically set in a not-so-distant past. The era is embedded in the background so while the drama doesn't explain what the events are, (ie 1988 Olympics, the height of student activism in South Korea, the deposed president visiting a Buddhist temple, Lee Moon Sae's popularity and the "Starry Night" program, even the taboo about people marrying other people with the same last names) we can infer that they happened at that time in SK. Therefore in my opinion, family and community scenes were very well presented. We can see that with the inclusion of the gang's parents, siblings and close friends. I still think some scenes can be shortened or cut off without sacrificing the quality of the drama and could have used the time to develop scenes for the romance. The lingering effect of this drama is in its romance, not the community. I'm even willing to bet after a year from now, what we'll probably remember is how good a kisser Taek was. ;)

So my issue is definitely with the way the romance is presented. I am sure as heck everybody else expected it like me. The writers said they wouldn't be focusing on the husband-hunting game. That's true to some point. It was still there, although they didn't hype it up or kept us on the 'blind' side. But then again, if the writers can show a full development for Sun Woo and Bo Ra's relationship, surely there must be a better way to show us the main pair's love story? 

I agree that it was frustrating to see Jung Hwan keep his feelings to himself or even avoid Duk Seon (I can't forget that couch scene where he moved away a couple of times and left). The audience knows and we certainly saw his journey through out the first several episodes. It was seen through the eyes and heard through the ears of the second male lead. I would have been more satisfied if it showed Taek's side in all of this. But since the beginning, he was always in the third-person perspective. His scenes with Duk Seon are sparse and they're either mistakenly seen as forgettable or red herrings (ie frolic at the beach, watched a movie together, took a picture together). So I think, instead of getting frustrated at the characters, I think the writers would have had a better way of handling that.

Also, yes, everything becomes clear in Episode 17. That dreamy kiss is the 'confirmation kiss' of this series.

[By the way, I didn't get notified when this thread got a new post. I wouldn't have known it. I thought MDL would have had that feature.]
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scarletquill
I agree with you. I too was frustrated with how little of Park Bo Gum and Taekie we actually saw in the drama, and how little romance development we saw. I also agree that the romance lingers in the minds of the audience at the end of the day but I guess the writers were trying to be experimental?

One of the greatest mistakes this drama made was the romance, tbh. It didn't any of the main leads love lines to develop properly. Junghwan's developed but he didn't end up with Duk Seon - it was merely an arc of character growth for him. I also didn't like that they didn't show him in the present because he was such a huge part of the drama, maybe bigger than Taek. On the other hand, Taek and Duk Seon's loveline was very quick - they zipped through. I was disgruntled; all TaekSeon shippers were. And we know how Team JungHwan's reaction was - they were furious. Ultimately, both sides were left disappointed. I wish we had seen more of Taek, more of his perspective because that would have been so interesting given that he is such a quiet child.  

And when I say I was frustrated with Jung Hwan, I meant it as if I am talking about a real person; I know he isn't to be blamed! That was his character trait and what happened with DukSeon is a huge character development for him. We just have to accept that bitter pill. What I meant was that if he had been a character in my life, I would have been frustrated with him and would have thought the same way Duk Seon did. I would have picked up on his interest on me, but if he didn't act on them, I would let go too just like Duk Seon. 
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Saroia

HI! I'm late in joining this forum by at least a year, but for some reason I can't let go of this drama 5 months after watching it. So many sweet moments in this drama: Ra Mi Ran awkwardly hugging Junghwan, Duk Seon's birthday outburst, her Gran's funeral, nearly every scene with Taek and his dad, Junghwan/Jung Bong and Sunwoo/Taek scenes in epiosde 17, etc. So many that it makes it hard to move on.My understanding of the love line was that the three of them had a lesson to learn. The obvious ones being that DS  had to learn to love someone for herself. not because they like her and JH had to learn to take more chances, hesitate less. The less obvious one being that Taek had to learn that it's okay to lose. In his case, learning to accept his baduk losses, initially stepping aside for his friend but eventually forfeiting a competition-something so important to him- to go to the concert with the woman he loved. He chose DS over baduk. They all grew and I would've loved to see them grow more if there had been more episodes.

 I guess I understood  and accepted why viewers prefered Junghwan. It is a preference after all and not a bad one. I loved  him too. Ryu Jun Yeol was amazing in this role.But what I didn't understand was how  some would complain about how quickly DS fell for Taek or how they didn't even see how either of them really fell. But no one was bothered by Duk seon's lack of interest in Junghwan after the "hajima" moment followed by her sudden interest in the following episode. Yes, the TK/DS  romance wasn't as well done as the  BR/SW one, but  JH and DS's development wasn't any better. Chemistry can only go so far.

 For instance, what I noticed with all the couples in this drama was that they each had these moments where they would be there for each other at an emotionally low point. And they would accept that company and reassurance of their presence.JH's parents had them about  Kim Sung-kyun 's  mom and Ra Mi Ran's menopause. Taek and Sunwoo's parents had them about Choi Moo-sung's feelings of being a bad father and  Kim Sun-young 's fears when Jinjoo fell. Sunwoo and Bora had them about their dads. Even Taek and Duk seon had smaller versions of those moments, with DS cheering Taek up and being there for him to lean on after he lost his match and  Taek being there for her in return when she was scared to go to the bathroom after seeing the flasher and telling her that it was ok to cry a little. JH and DS never had those scenes. Which is why chemistry and trickery otherwise, there wasn't as great amount of development as shippers keep saying there was.

About Taek,  I was wondering if someone could give me a hand with the "third person" reasoning? Because, while I do agree that more of Taek would've been appreciated, my impression was that there were several moments where we did see Taek's POV. Sure, not as much as JungHwan( not nearly as many brooding scenes) and sometimes they were short, but they were there. Taek realizing JH's feelings for DS was in his point of view. Wasn't ep 16 his side of things? I distinctively remember a moment where we're given a look of JH through Taek's POV and  most of his scenes in that episode to me were through his POV. Also, was I the only person that was really disappointed that we weren't shown how DS discovered her job? I mean, they spent a majority of episode 17 on the subject of dreams and how she didn't have one. But then we just skipped past it and we're just shown that she became a stewardess. For some reason, I was really looking foward to a flashback or even a conversation about it. Maybe I didn't have my priorities straight when I watched this, but I would've liked to be thrown a bone at least.

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