Stream K-Dramas at OnDemandKorea

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Reply 1994" Episode 18

It's finally time for the main cast to become adults, with all of the general unpleasantness that entails. Haitai gets the worst of it. Finally free from the rigors of mandatory military service, he returns to normal life. And even though everybody is now two years older...very little has actually changed about his dating situation. Sure, Haitai can meet ladies, but he inevitably ends up losing them in the saddest most comical of ways. I love the despondency on his face near the end of this plotline, when Haitai just can't make up his mind whether to even try anymore.

Advertisement

Even amidst the humorous moments this episode (bizarre late nineties gadgets make a special appearance), "Reply 1994" is overwhelmed with the weight of having our characters realize the world is a large, uncaring, basically unchangeable place. Anyone who's familiar with South Korea's recent history will notice a certain alarming event creeping up for which there is no defense or reprieve.

What's particularly ironic is that, for the first time, Na-jeong and Rubbish have a relationship dynamic that actually appears to be well-balanced on the scale of "is this really annoying or just pretend lover annoying". So when the larger world creates a rift that threatens to destroy the relationship, it's just that same cold reminder that it makes no difference what the actual quality of the romance is. That kind of thing is really just completely beyond personal control.

It's a fairly gloomy statement, so it's pretty easy to forget that it seems pretty clear that every character is going to end up with a happy ending. Two candidates for Na-jeong's husband are cleared beyond all doubt, and the implication for why this explicit statement is being made now is because they found love elsewhere. Now that the nineties are basically over, everybody has to move on from these references and find something new.

The ending here is particularly fitting in this context, as we're now clearly in a nostalgia story within a nostalgia story, as characters a few years removed from college reconnect and all of a sudden everything takes on a whole new context. What once seemed romantic, back in the throes of first love...may not seem so romantic anymore. That's the feeling of real life settling in, of realizing that certain things in life are more important than love, even if no one ever wants to admit it. The message is a fairly deep and serious one, and makes for excellent television here.

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.

❎ Try Ad-free