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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Reply 1994" Episode 17

Binggrae's adventures with friends unrelated to the main cast continue. I think it's pretty clear at this point that his wallflower-like appearance in the drama isn't just an excuse of the script not having much for him to do. This is the essential part of his personality that seems to follow him everywhere. It's not the most exciting storyline, granted, but the way his plotline finally resolves is just plain adorable, and leaves a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

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We're in more ambiguous territory with Na-jeong and Rubbish, whose more madcap adventures hit another apex in a bizarre flashback. Granted, we know from the way this flashback has been primed that Rubbish must have done something really stupid. But "Reply 1994" still manages to deliver with an event that simultaneously seems too dumb to be real yet is exactly the kind of dumb a young idiot like Rubbish would come up with. The fact that the conflict creates an obvious, hilarious sight gag, well, that's just a bonus.

The drama's overall storyline is closing in on the driving question of the mystery- just who is Na-jeong's future husband? Another character is clearly removed from contention this episode. And at this late stage it's getting pretty hard to ignore that, earlier misdirections notwithstanding, "Reply 1994" is almost entirely about the relationship between Na-jeong and Rubbish. It's hard to imagine that the final coupling could be any other guy without feeling like a giant cheat here. A lot of the cast has just simply not been present for most of this time.

Not that I'm complaining, since this just gives us more time with Sam Cheon-po and Yoon-jin. Granted, they don't actually have that much to do this time around. Their visit with Haitai this time around feels rather dull. While military service is a huge part of youth, there's only so much exciting stuff that can be done with a character when by definition he's separated from pretty much every other character in the main cast.

The main charm that goes into "Reply 1994" is the way that it deals with everyday life, and how those moments evolve into genuine friendly relationships. Compare what we see of the couples this time to the hilariously awkward date way back in the drama's second episode. It takes real character and persistence in order to make that kind of emotional connection last this long. Even in its less outrageous moments, the subtler humor in this drama goes pretty far when considered along that baseline.

Review by William Schwartz

"Reply 1994" is directed by Sin Won-ho and written by Lee Woo-jeong-I and features Go Ara, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa and Jung Woo.

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