I already knew the R88 end game, so I was prepared for it. But I understood people's frustrations and surprise who live watched it. Since jungpal and taek's actions were typical of 1st and 2nd ML respectively (IMO atleast), I guess people were blindsided by the reveal. Even I would've been. Similar thing happened in APAD/YWFP as well, although I was rooting for the right guy all along.

the best form of plot twist is when there IS no plot twist. Watch Red Moon, Blue Sun and you’ll know what I mean
Agree with you completely. Show kept us on our toes all along and I didn't know who to believe. Everyone was suspicious and I loved it.

I was surprised by how many people were able to guess the plot twists in black. I was barely managing to keep count of the numerous plot threads. But I'm still pissed with the ending. Otherwise the show was brilliant in integrating all the plot threads.

... Reply 1988... it broke my heart because I fell for the first fake out, that Sun Woo was the first lead and thought that Jung Pal ending up with Deuk Sun was the twist... I’ve never been able to call myself good at plot twist prediction since...

Nice writing OP! I would like add that another kind of plot twists, the bad ones: when writer don't trust his skills and don't engage in guessing game with viewers by not putting ANY clues on the screen, it felt often like cheating, or if he change his mind so deep in the game that plot twist is like overwriting most of the plot and doesn't make any sense for the viewers.

I immediately clicked when I saw the photo. I feel you, girl. My heart still hurts when I remember/see/read/hear anything about Reply 1988 and my precious Jungpal. Before R1988, I never had any experience of having second lead syndrome (ever!).. plus RJY was the last person on the list for the said future husband when we were introduced to them in episode 1. BUT once the slow reveal of his character depth happened while dealing with his growing feelings for DS, I found myself rooting for him even despite the hints saying otherwise. My heart shattered along with his and the final reveal left me in denial for weeks. This show made me a fan of RJY to the point of checking out everything that he starred in (yes, even Lucky Romance). I wanted more justice for his character but I guess it's what makes R1988 special--the way they realistically portrayed the friendship and how the love triangle was dealt with between the two guys. Reply 1988 will always hold a special place in my heart as the show about family, friendship, love, youth, and pains of growing up.

I, too, loved Reply 1988 - tho I watched it long after it was finished (because it has always been included in discussions). I'd like to add one of my most memorable plot twists in My Ahjussi. With IU's character changing from the spy to the friend.

Ah I totally understand your pain! I was swept away by the moody second lead the first time I laid my eyes on him but then again I LOVED Taek!!! Ugh! My heart was half happy and half sad!

I am in the minority - I wasn't too heartbroken when the husband was revealed, and was actually happy he was the one. I used to root the Duk Seon with Jung Hwan too, but over time I felt something was not right with their dynamics. I end up feeling uncomfortable with the way he called her ugly and stupid (like a child pulling pigtails of the girl he likes). I thought it was cute at first too, but then I realized Duk Seon was one of the lowest self-esteemed female leads I have ever seen. Rewatching their scenes together, my heart actually broke when she responded to his name-calling. If he said “hey ugly” she knew it was her he was talking about and would turn her head to him 💔 She needed somebody who boosted her morale, who made her comfortable and carefree whenever they are together and not walk on eggshell. And I`m glad she found that somebody in Taek.

Anyways I don’t have issues with plot twists. For me what makes them great if it’s backed up by plot. I might not like the outcome, but as long as I can somehow justify why the end happened with the plot thrown at me, I’ll let it go and move on. Reply 1988 had subtle hints that he could be the husband - little scenes as they were each episode, but rich and fulfilling. You see them grow together overtime. Reply 1994 - errr I was on Trash-camp too, but had my heart swayed to Chilbong overtime. But I wasn’t too heartbroken with the ending cuz it does make sense she would pick her oppa over Chilbong. She was consistent with liking Trash all throughout the series.

God’s Gift 14 Days to this day still burns me as that totally just kicked me in the gut in the finale. That’s legit something you wouldn’t see coming until the end. 😪 I’m glad the male lead’s next drama was a great one that I can “somehow” forgive him for picking God’s Gift. Somehow.

Haha, I'm like you. I'm spectacularly bad at guessing stuff, so everything is pretty much a twist to me. I do like good twisty dramas, like Squad 38.

I have not seen Black, but the infamously bad ending kind of makes me want to watch it just for that. I'm curious to see why it was so bad.

it was the featured picture of this post which made me login after ages on DB.. simply cause plot twist and R88 made my heart bleed, literally. so badly that I had to muster up my courage for whole 2 months before finally watching last 2 episodes after all that confession-turned-joke in 18th epi. I still cry buckets just by recalling what all happened.

still that plot twist hurt me the most. and yes lovely write up....

The damage R88 gave me was permanent. As much as I love the PD-writer duo, and RJL, I have not rewatched this season. I’m still in denial and will probably always believe the writer changed his mind midseason. Yet, the best plot twist was when JP and DS announced they are dating IRL. 😂 (Still strong!)

How did people sit through the “Guess the Husband” game for three seasons in a row?

Well, the first season was a no brainer. Yoon Yoon Jae (Seo In Guk) was the absolute male lead and all other contenders were far behind in the credit roll. The kiss happened in episode 2, but the kiss was just a kiss, and nobody knew the first kiss is always the answer. On the last episode I was actually thinking “Why are you still making us guess the husband when she’s already giving birth? No way in hell she would break up with him and pick his brother in last 30 minutes of the drama.” So there was the attempt to fake a twist, but not really, cuz they didn’t really want a twist, but let’s play along and pretend we all don’t know who it is yet... thingy. (Btw, must watch this season, the beginning of all seasons!)

Season 2 took a little longer to guess, but it was also pretty obvious that the one who takes care of her most, and longest, will win. Everyone was waiting for a kiss to seal it, which happened already way earlier. We all missed it cuz it was not romantic, and didn’t seem like a kiss.

So by season 3 most fans of this serial had a short “husband checklist”, like “not the most handsome”, “definitely grew up together”, “protected her anonymously”, etc.... that Jung Pal passed with flying colors. And so the sense of betrayal by the writer is quite strong.

I’m ok with twists if I expect a good twist. Not if the drama has been playing it safe, progressing in a clear path, and someone suddenly whacks me with a bat. No!

Like someone else mentioned, 38 squad or some detective procedural, or mysteries, these genres are where plot twists are appreciated. Not in romance. I hate plot twists in romance. It drains all the emotions I have invested and I leaves me feeling empty. You can even kill them or separate them, but don’t switch the one they have been loving.

Reply 1988 didn't feel like a plot twist to me because I'd seen 1997 and 1994 so I knew not to fall for the writer's games. The only part that annoyed me was that they didn't make it clear that the first kiss between the couple was not a dream and then in the next episode they made it seem like Taek didn't remember the kiss and Deoksun was disappointed. In the second episode DS told Taek to drink his milk so he could grow up and marry her, and DS's mom said she wanted Taek as a son in law. So even though 80% of fans online thought Junghwan was the husband I clung to my belief that it was Taek. Plus Junghwan did things like never confess his feelings, insult her and leave her at the beach alone with Taek. Basically he was too passive to be taken seriously.