i’ve made it to the last four episodes of reply 1988, which mean a WHOLE lot of tears for me, whether we’re talking about wholesome friends and family moments, first loves coming to an end (i am NOT READY, if yeolri weren’t dating i would be a soulless lump right now), and of course, it means the end of the show i love with all my heart (or all that’s left after JH’s sad smiles *i’m tearing up as i write this ughhh*)

ep 17

i first wanted to talk about the EXCELLENCE of the music direction. there’s a scene where deoksun’s reflecting upon having a dream, and the song “as time goes by” by choi hoseob starts to play. the scene then shifts into deoksun visiting bora at her hostel, and once deoksun sees how small the room really is, she bursts into tears, and that’s when the remake of “as time goes by” for the r88 ost (sung by yoo kihyun) comes in. i love how the sisters’ relationship is peppered with these warmer moments— while i remember deoksun and bora for their HILARIOUS FIGHTS, these scenes are the ones that warm my heart.

i was moved to tears by deoksun not having a dream of her own— maybe it’s because i don’t really either??? starting college applications were rough because i didn’t really know what path to choose, and i’m still not 100% certain with my future… but you can really see how much this lack of a dream weighs upon deoksun, and it breaks my heart ever so slightly

jungbong’s short story with miok was devastating. jungbong is mostly comic relief throughout the show, but his scenes with miok are so cute, and you can see how happy they are around each other. it’s heartbreaking to watch how he becomes super quiet post-breakup. the song that plays when jungbong gets his final letter from miok is “let’s forget it”, made for the ost by yeoeun of melody day (originally sung by kim wansun). fitting, as miok’s last words are “please forget me.” T_T poor JB

sunwoo and bora’s breakup is so painful to witness. sunwoo always has this look of joy when he’s around bora— a sweet smile, and eyes full of joy. when he saw bora and told her about his wish for her, that look was there, full of hope. and when bora utters those words “let’s break up” and he remembers them, you can see the look in his eyes has disappeared completely, and the smile slowly fades off his face… oh, sunwoo ! </3 and throughout the scene, you can see bora’s lip quivering— it’s difficult for her too.

now, let me talk about the romance that does progress in this episode… deoksun and taek ◡̈ i have to admit, during my first watch, the kiss angered me so much that i fast forwarded through it LOLOL but after truly watching the series, it made me happy. taek relies on deoksun for comfort, and deoksun feels so comfortable around taek, and they BOTH make each other so happy that i can’t help but smile.

and still, even though i know what is coming, even though i know that deoksun and taek are meant to be, despite everything… junghwan still makes me cry. my heart bleeds a little bit when jungbong tells him so softly “i just want you to do what you want and be happy”— and it’s revealed that the reason junghwan wants to join the air force is to fulfill his hyung’s dreams :,( JH and JB’s relationship throughout the show is filled with super small moments. it neither has the constant warmness that sunwoo and jinju have, nor the bickering and tears that the sung siblings have (well, the OTHER sung siblings lolol). i would say the kim brothers are not as open about their love, but display it through gestures, like in ep 8, when jungbong asks his brother about his nosebleed post-surgery. and in this scene, junghwan blinks back his tears, because of how touched he is that his hyung cares about him, and laughs it off.

i think i’m gonna save the rest of my junghwan dissertation for another post, just because i wanted to include pictures of him LOLOL

anyway, wish me luck for tonight… i wonder if i’ll be able to make it without crying through the first 20 mins at least TT
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    Ngl, I always thought that Taek/Deok-sun kiss looked really weird LOL

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      … LOWKEY same AFSDGHJK i feel like compared to how realistic the show is they tried to make it like a super memorable kiss?? but i’d have appreciated it more if they weren’t on other sides LOL

      and after thinking about it, taek’s bed stops at his head, and there are like bookshelves and stuff not so far away from him, so how could deoksun have positioned herself?? i’ll have to check out the kiss in episode 19, but the logistics are a bit messed up asdfg

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        “but i’d have appreciated it more if they weren’t on other sides LOL”

        RIGHTT couldn’t they have just been, you know, side by side? LOL

        They look like the yin/yang symbol…… maybe PD Shin was trying to be symbolic….. LOL

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    The spider man kiss! ♥️♥️♥️
    They made it look so easy and effortless 😍

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    I have rewatched this show many times and still get angry. The otp still feels forced to me. But the last time I watched it I ff’ed everything and only watched Bora and Sunwoo’s story 😁 It was such a breath of fresh air and was like a lovely little show by itself. Bonus, I didn’t get angry 😁

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      i kinda understand that, however, i have a different perspective.

      JH’s love story breaks my heart to PIECES, just wait for my ep 18 recap), but i think there is much more to this show than just the romances. when i saw 18 the first time, i was in shock. i was angry at the show and felt like i’d been led on, and when i watched the first part of 19, i was still mad, because my favorite ship had been tossed away.

      and then i saw the second part of 19, with deoksun’s speech, and was moved. i watched 20, and was also moved. maybe because I’ve seen the show so many times, i understand why taek is the one, and not junghwan– even tho i would totally choose JH, deoksun didn’t see his love often. (reply 1988 is my favorite show ever, the only criticism i have is the lack of screentime for JH and DR in the final 2 eps)

      while i love junghwan to pieces, in the end, the romance isn’t what makes this show what it is– it’s the friends and family dynamic, which is arguably the focus of the show in my opinion!

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        It is not that I love JH more. I actually like SW not JH. My problem is that the writer doesn’t make me see Taek as lover material at all. He ends up feeling just manipulative to me. And this happens with every rewatch, meaning there it no subtle hints or cues that I have missed the first time around.

        And I know the romance isn’t what makes the show. I wouldn’t have rewatched the show many many times if I didn’t know that 😊

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