This review may contain spoilers
This show is the third in the Reply series. It seems to be the popular consensus that 1994 was the worst one. I personally enjoyed it a lot, especially the husband hunt. This show has its own charm. There’s a lot more focus on the families as a whole, as opposed to the children finding family in each other. There were so many moving and heartwarming moments that had nothing to do with romantic love, but familial love, friendship, aging, loneliness, and growing up.
Although it’s right to say that romance isn’t the main focus of the show in this instalment, the husband hunt continues in this show. I hesitate to say that it doesn’t overshadow the rest of the show, because I would otherwise have overwhelmingly positive comments to give, if not for what I felt was a botched conclusion to the husband hunt. It wasn’t about who the husband was, but the way the story was . To avoid spoilers, I can’t elaborate further.
I avoided writing this review in the heat of the moment right after finishing the show. In hindsight, the husband hunt fades into the background of the show and the families come to the forefront. Even then, I find that some of my unhappiness and not-so-positive opinions remain.
What’s really great about this series is how the producers always aim to cast unknown actors and make them stars. I have only watched Park Bo-gum and Go Kyung Pyo before, and haven’t watched the rest. I loved Ryu Joon Yeol, Ryu Hye Young and Ahn Jae Hong. I don’t know what it is about Hyeri that I didn’t 100% love, but she definitely did a more than decent job.
One particular standout performance I must highlight isn’t from one of the young leads, but from veteran Ra Mi-ran. She takes on the emotions of her character and makes them her own compelling emotions, and pulls the willing audience along with her on her journey.
The episodes can get slightly draggy, many of them almost stretching to 2 hours (ohmygah). I still highly recommend watching this.
Was this review helpful to you?