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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Reply 1994" Episode 12

Part of the advantage of "Reply 1994" taking place over such a long period of time (we are, at this point, definitively in 1995) is that the romantic plotting gets a lot more room to breathe. Since there's no pressure to fully resolve all the lovelines within a few months, we often get to see extended reflective scenes where characters just sort of realize that even after several months not a whole lot has really happened.

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This episode contrasts this by making it quite clear that in this much time, several relevant things have happened. It's mainly Na-jeong's romantic plotline that seems to be stuck in a rut, and the fact that it's been going on like this for so long is extremely relevant this episode as Rubbish starts trying to act cute. You know who's actually cute together? Sam Cheon-po and Yoon-jin. It's because they aren't trying so hard.

Take all the other characters who are trying to suddenly make a show of how much romantic bravado they have. They come off as the immature college students they really are- trying to make something happen based on how they think they're supposed to act. Actually genuinely liking another person means having a surprising degree of patience for whatever their normal quirks are. It's not something that can be forced.

In more general terms the episode is a bit of a disappointment- a big hullabaloo is made over a wedding that the characters are attending, but the actual ceremony is skipped over entirely. Granted, maybe there was no compelling reason for us to see a wedding between people who aren't actually relevant to the story in any way, but it would have been worthwhile just getting the main cast's reactions to these events. This episode is cute and funny, yet doesn't seem interested in going the full distance trying to pull off humor. It seems content to just be a normal slow-moving daily life episode.

That's often a complaint of mine regarding this drama, I'll admit. Still this episode at least manages to do something with this particular mood that really shakes everything up in the third act. Essentially, all of daily life seems to be perfectly happy and normal, and then one of those moments happen. Those world-shattering events that really breaks the illusion that an individual person's, slow-paced dramatic plotlines actually mean something. The event may seem rather sudden and out of nowhere, but then, isn't that how it is in real life too? Regardless, whatever props I can give "Reply 1994" for its moment of seriousness here, for it to really matter characaters need to react to it beyond the scope of just this one episode.

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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