[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

7 hours ago, packmule3 said:

Long before shippers FROM BOTH SIDES of the aisle discovered who the Future Husband was, I called it for Taek. [...]

But I totally didn’t understand why the TK shippers were hesitant at all. 

3 hours ago, chickfactor said:

 

I wasn't hesitant.

There were a lot of people who were not.

 

I agree with chickfactor. A whole lot of people.. Taek's room is too open-minded and welcoming to be playing "I told you so" in an unilateral, authoritarian sense. Also, the beloved script is the writer's creation; none of us personally penned it. We are all but fans and admirers and interpreters. So dear roommates ... please, please let us not adopt party lines and dogmas. What happened to the days when we welcomed every voice and respected every opinion? Dissent and disagreement are essential ingredients to any lively discussion (and civil society lol). So please, let us never claim one theory or another is the absolute, indisputable truth. Questions are good. Skepticism is divine. Let everyone speak their mind without fear of dismissal or insult. 

Spoiler

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but pack you shared a long post in the main thread around 12/29/15? Your post had truly, truly amazing insights into TK's perspective in the early episodes, and completely transformed how many people examine camera angle and dialogue nuances. My ardent admiration of your eye and intelligence fully cemented then. Your words were also shared extensively on both shipper threads. But to be completely fair, JH shippers also celebrated, because your post contained this portion:

Spoiler

4. The writer is a professional; she’s adept at making the 2nd lead male look extremely appealing, and viable as a romantic lead.That’s her job: to create a CREDIBLE rival to compete with the male lead for the girl’s heart.  No matter how tempting she’ll make TK to be, she’s only using a secondary character as foil to highlight the admirable traits of lead character who’s been predetermined at the very start of the drama.   

Around that time, I was already firmly holed up in Taek's room, so another post you shared in a different thread had me questioning my own brain (that's how much I respect and value your insights ... your intelligence blew large holes in my shipper's heart that day lol):

Spoiler

Logically, I know it's going to be JH, but the LWJ the scriptwriter had perfectly fine-tuned the story that in any eventuality she decides to switch leads, TK is also PERFECTLY suited to be the lead, too. That's how good this story is.  And while, of course, JH is easier to understand because he's the lead, the secondary character TK has to be examined more closely to see what makes him a plausible rival. What makes him tick?

If JH is such a hero, then why is there even a close challenger?  It's like the varsity team playing against the junior varsity team. If Varsity CANNOT beat JV by 20, 30 points, then there's something wrong with the Varsity team. They're supposed to WIN handily. The next course of action then for the players is to assess the weakness of the Varsity team and then explore the STRENGTHS of the JV team, in order to copy, modify, appropriate, adapt, or adjust whatever that needs to be done.  

 

The atmosphere in Taek's room after episode 12 has been one of cautious optimism. One only needs to glance at the first pages of our thread to gather that. Though since day 1, this thread has been a chorus of mixed voices (and that's wonderful!). Some people love/treasure/adore Taek but could not believe he's the husband. And that's okay! But many of us, even in the early days, "saw" Taek the way Mama Sung (Ilhwa) saw him in episode 2: as the star of the show. 

The examples are too numerous to list, but here are a few -- 

Spoiler

mellinadear posted THIS in the main thread on 11/3/15, after EPISODE 2. 

Quote

LOL it's just 2 episodes and look at everyone choosing who the husband is. Writer-nim,Im looking at you.

To me, I have decided that its taek [...]

Everyone choosing the obvious (SW & JH)..What if TK ends up being the smoker. All we know is that he's the quiet one and blabla but he might end up surprising us.

 

Spoiler

chickfactor posted THIS in the main thread on 12/2/15, after episode 8

Quote

I cannot get over Duk-Seon doing that goofy dance in front of the TV. Someone needs to make a gif of that. It is the best scene ever.

Also, I'm gonna vote for TAEK. I love Jung-Hwan, but I'm calling it right now, it is TAEK. Sorry JH shippers.

When the finale airs, and Taek wins, everyone can treat me to a bowl of ramen. Ha ha.

 

Spoiler

allegramente never for a moment doubted Taek as end game. She's aways called for a reading of the script over established kdrama tropes. For instance, on 12/24/15, she wrote,

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Why should we infer the outcome of 1988 from 1997's and 1994's? The "text" should speak for itself, or why can't it?  How is Taek a Chilbongie?

And two days later, on 12/16, she again wrote,

Quote

[...] the way Taek is introduced, presented, and laid out scream "sit up and pay attention!" He is constantly present even when he is away off screen (we get TV and radio broadcast, conversations, et al) that I'd be extremely surprised if he is not the endgame. Taek, as a character, is a gift to the discerning eyes.

 

Spoiler

Lacking the courage of fellow roommates quoted above, and weighed down by kdrama tropes, I didn't dare believe that TK's end game until episode 13. But by episode 16, I was 100% sure TK = husband. After that episode, I laid out my reasoning in a stupidly long post (do NOT click spoiler button if you've already read ):

Spoiler

Nearly all the episodes have a consistent structure that I believe represents the overarching story as a whole.

The episodes so far contain the following elements:

1. Non-linear story telling (i.e. flashbacks galore)
2. Critical information withheld or missing
3. A reversal or surprising revelation near the end.

 

In this sense the show is constantly playing one-upmanship with viewer assumptions and expectations. Let's take an early example: in Episode 1, we assumed DS lost her place as a picket girl. It wasn’t until D-day that it was revealed, retroactively, that she got to take someone else’s place. That information was withheld from us and was never told “in real time” on screen. Same with SW’s crush on BR. Critical scenes/information were withheld, and were only revealed non-linearly at the end of episode 6 for the big reveal. Basically the list goes on and on for every episode, from important arcs such as TK-Papa bear’s relationship and Sunyoung finding cigarettes in SW’s room to Taek’s aborted confession in ep. 16.

What's ironic is that people keep on saying R88 is so obvious and predictable, YET at every turn predictions completely go wrong and shippers are left surprised and/or confused. See a pattern here? I believe individual episode structure also represent the direction of the story at large:  What’s been told in the beginning matters less than what will be unveiled at the end.

And guess which character’s arc aligns most closely with the aforementioned structure? Choi Taek's emergence from the story has consistently subverted drama conventions and viewer expectations. The hit list has been pretty dead-on so far... "Choi Taek is so innocent he can't possibly be a smoker". CHECK. “Choi Taek doesn’t seem like the type to be popular with girls.” CHECK. "Choi Taek is so clingy he'd never back off" CHECK. "Choi Taek is so oblivious he needs someone to tell him that JH likes DS." CHECK. “Choi Take needs mothering; he can’t even take care of himself, much less other people” CHECK. Etc etc etc, over and over again. What's left is this: "And anyway the husband is Ryu Jun Yeol." Guess which way the narrative is going to swing?

The reason why I was never fully onboard with JH’s story is because it felt (to me personally) that the writer was holding back on her creative/intellectual powers when crafting his arc. JH’s destiny has been fairly predictable since the beginning: everyone could spot the tsundere thing, the eventual crush on DS, his noble idiocy etc. For a show so careful with its storytelling, it’s like the writer just decided to flash everyone at point blank, and left few things to guesswork. It’s incredibly anti-intuitive from a narrative perspective if he’s to be the husband—why start the JH/DS loveline with the strongest scene (boner! boner! boner!) in your book and proceed to dial it down from there? (bonus: didn’t Chilbong’s entry into the husband game start off with a real kiss and his glorious abs? Suddenly JH’s half naked scenes seem less indicative of any real outcome.)

PD Shin & writer Lee are smart people, and given what's been presented in the episodes so far, I do wonder if they're trying to venture outside of the kdrama cosmology. I'd assume both are well read people. Outside of kdramas, unreliable narratives/narrators and metafiction are the film-and-fiction zeitgeist of the modern era. Taek’s transformation from “obvious” second lead to Mr. husband is actually more fitting to the tone and style of R88 than JH being end game.

--

The writer may be setting up JH as the one to move on

For a show so obsessed with reversals and so-called "twists", R88 isn't random and doesn't commit itself to out-of-nowhere developments. In this sense its surprises are even more enjoyable; if you want to leap really really high, you gotta crouch and prep for it. SW's feelings for BR may have surprised people, but clues were thrown everywhere in the preceeding episodes. Same with TK bowing out of the confession-- they built up tension with all those suggestions of TK preferring to "die than be second place", and yet if anyone's truly watched episode 15 (TK asking a hospital director for a favor, even though he hates favors on principle; TK giving the baduk center director money to take the interview crew for drinks, even though he hates interviews on principle), you'd see his backing out from miles away. 

Watching this show, I get the sense that writer Lee is someone who throws out bread crumb trails / paving stones to prep her narrative course. 

Watching ep. 16, I'm sniffing out her bread crumb trail. And it's telling me JH will move on.

Remember guys: one little isolated detail may be random; repeated "random" details = foreshadowing. When in doubt, refer back to Chekhov's gun: "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."

Yes, I know that plane is blue. But let's not talk about that.  

Paper airplane makes two separate appearances in the episode. Seeing it, I'm reminded of the bus. It's interesting that TK-DS are represented by organic symbols (fish, sea, water) while JH-DS modes of transportation. The crane is another organic symbol: according to Jong Bong, "If you fold 1,000 of these tiny paper cranes, they become real cranes, and fly away. Also, they grant the wish of the one who folded them." Earlier in the episode, we have a scene of Jung Bong diligently taking notes from DS, wanting to learn and know everything about Mi Ok. Jung Bong's efforts parallel the the sincerity and dedication other characters like SW and TK in realizing their love, and the honesty in their approach. Whereas JB-SW-TK make their hearts known to select friends and/or family, JH's love is still very much obscured in shadows. In the crane scene, JH sweetly wants to help out, but is limited by the fact that he doesn't know how to fold cranes. In itself this fact symbolizes a teen boy's endearing inability to command the ins and outs of love. But when juxtaposed against TK's development in the past 6 episodes, JH's end game position suddenly looks unfavorable. And then there's that ambiguous scene of JH holding the airplane and wanting it set it free and yet hesitating once again. I read it as a foreshadowing of his daring to "fly away" in the future. 

Our ancestor DR has spoken. Girls, listen to the oracle! 

Again, in two separate scenes, JH is shown circling that math problem in an endless loop of frustration (until it literally looks like a black hole). Our boy is confused. Our boy is walking in circles deep in the woods. DR: "How many days have you been on the same problem?" BINGO. Yes, how many episodes has poor JH angsted over the love triangle? When the concept of "moving on" is introduced, the camera zooms in and lingers on JH considering the idea. 

--

DS is the key and our girl has spoken.

In a post on the MT, I guessed that R88 episodes are grouped in a 2-4-4-4-2-4 sequence:

• Episodes 1-2 [2 eps] – Exposition (i.e. who what when where why); key characters and themes introduced.
• Episodes 3-6 [4 eps] – DS→SW, JH→DS. DS’s teen-girl crush on SW explored (“all I can give you is candy/heart” present, post cards, intense determination, cute dressing up / primping / aegyo). JH’s crush on DS explored (alleyway, bus, back-hug, trench coat commercial, and umbrella scenes). TK →DS hinted. TK enters the husband ‘race’ end of ep. 6, while SW is eliminated from the pool.
• Episodes 7-10 [4 eps] – JH→DS, TK→DS, both JH and TK’s feelings are explored with equal weight. DS is a participant in these scenes, but she does not develop romantic feelings for either boys … until very end of episode 10, when she confirms JH’s feelings, and that brings us to the next arc—
• Episode 11-14 [4 eps] – DS→JH (JH→DS on hold). DS’s cute, determined nature again comes to the fore, as she goes after JH. Ep. 11 was full of JH/DS goodies. Yet starting from ep. 13, decreased screen time for JH. TK→DS developed- we learn about the depth of his feelings. Also, DS-TK bond/friendship/whatever is developed and explored.
• Episode 15 – 16 [2 eps]-  A period of transition. DS→JH ends (in that she’s not actively pursuing him anymore, though arguments could be made for her still having feelings), TK→DS continues but is put on hold at the end of ep. 16. DS emerges as an individual (college struggles, DR’s pep talk, decision to fight for college after all). Hints of possible DS→TK.

• Guess how many episodes are left? 4 chingus. 4 again!

And that this episode grouping/sequence is completely in-line with DS's heart:

• 2 episodes to establish DS as the kind-hearted & determined 999th place middle-child
• 4 episodes of her crushing on SW
• 4 episodes of her being “neutral”, all while spending time with JH & TK in a level ‘playing field’
• 4 episodes of her crushing on JH
• 2 episodes in which she re-examines her heart, steps back, grows as an individual, and sets her heart on college

And that right before the coming of a new arc, it is in fact DS who signals shifts in the narrative:

• End of Ep. 2, when it's revealed she'd written about a "first love" in her diary
• End of ep. 6, when her crush on SW is terminated
• End of ep. 10, when she discovers JH’s feelings
• End of ep. 14, when she rescues class president, ends her pursuit of JH, and considers DR’s words of wisdom

Basically, whenever there's a major re-shuffling of the love lines, DS's feelings in the end of the immediate episode before will tell us what's going to happen next (she likes SW, SW eliminated from husband pool, her twisting the telephone cord = she likes JH, her convo w/ DR & giving up on JH). 

Also, whenever there's a major shift of her heart in the next episode, DS is shown "keying" viewers by wearing pajamas and/or using the phone.  How clever of the PD. The phone is a representational play on "reply / answer me" (preview teasers also show characters using the phone). And the pajamas! Get it? This is DS before bedtime, at her most vulnerable and private state. It's a throwback to the literary/artistic tradition of granting viewers private access to a female character by showing her "in her boudoir" (art too! All those intimate eastern woodblock prints and western oil paintings showing women before baths, before bedtime, before getting dressed.)

Soooo ...

if my mapping of episode structure is correct ...

if we assume the last 4 episodes will form a new arc in regards to DS's feelings ...

... then the end of episode 16 must feature a scene of DS in pajamas talking on the phone, keying us on the dude for whom she's going to have feelings. 

Did we get a scene like this? 

Oh man ... the production team isn't too subtle this time around, huh? 

BONUS:

To borrow liteultwin's words: "PD SHIN, STARE AT ME IN THE FACE AND TELL ME THIS ISN'T FORESHADOWING."

 

Sorry for the compilation guys ... but my point is that our ship = collective effort. And with all collective efforts, our voyage has been driven by teamwork and a sense of community. By now everyone's familiar with the baduk reading of R88. But without shooastrid's groundbreaking initial post, our rich understanding would have struggled to lift from the ground. The fish symbolism? Lady6532 pointed it out first. The 4:33 clocks in Taek's appa's shop? Solved by minibunny. The yin-yang kiss? CSI work by tam & onlys1b, with mangachickava discovering the yin-yang / fish connection. Taek's room did so well from the beginning because we were tolerant and welcomed so many people onboard with the promise of free intellectual exchange.

As a spectator watching from the sidelines, I personally enjoyed reading all of the chocolate theories, and find the various explanations offered intelligent and provocative. However, I find it saddening that there seems to be a campaign to elect "the voice of authority". Unless someone here holds a legal passport with the name Lee Woo Jung, none of us has the right to disregard another roommate's theories as ungrounded or illogical or speculative. Every precious member of Taek's room understands the script just fine.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

ahhh! sorry, I forgot that scene's BONUS NO. 3:

Suntaek's leitmotif: all things related to water. Sea, fish, turtle, snow, etc etc. 

Suntaek love is as eternal as water.

Changes form with the seasons.

Strong and yet softly malleable. 

No clear beginning.

No end.

(Ep. 9's very important suntaek baduk championship took place in Guangzhou, a city by the sea. All his other China matches are Beijing or Shanghai ... and tbh, I don't think Guangzhou is traditionally a typical host for Baduk competitions, so the location choice for ep. 9 seems very intentional.)

Spoiler

 @mangachickava I know I know, sexy yin yang fish kiss

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

On 2/2/2016 at 7:57 PM, 13infamyss said:

I`m gonna mention this now in case I forget to comment on it by the time we get to rewatch Ep 19.

Not sure if anyone shared this thought yet, anyways, I always laugh when ever I watch this scene, to the point that I have overlooked once again a very thoughtful gesture here by Taek!

This couple right here has never really changed over time.

Duk Seon lies and Taek lets her get away with it everytime.

Everytime.

He knew he was right, but he didn't fight over that fact with Duk Seon.

He made a fool of himself in front of the interviewer by taking his answer back and instantly agreed with her that their first kiss did happen in 1994. 

It was as if it was natural thing for him now to do that - that Duk Seon is always right and he always gets the facts wrong

It's sooooo adorable that they have carried this habit till today. Somethings have never changed.

^I can actually picture Young Taek having this "I'm in trouble again" look on his face 

When you first watch this, you'd think: Uh-oh he's in trouble. How could he mess up the year of their first kiss?! (I thought it was because he didn't know all this time)

But little did we know, Taek was actually right, and that he just let her get away with it again!

 for @13infamyss, who is so wonderful at picking up suntaek's deep emotional undercurrents. 

I love that the 2016 couple scenes always carry "cues" that evoke some detail or pathos behind TK-DS's long relationship. We should do a big compilation post one of these days. For now, just focusing on this moment alone, there's plenty material to cover.

Bridging off of @13infamyss's post, from this scene we also got--

Husband Taek intuitively knew DS's bathroom request is more than just a bathroom request, and followed his wife, knowing she'll want to 'talk'.

Which brings us back to Tuesday Feb. 14th, 1989:

When most kdramas literally throw the heroine under the bus (or under the ocean *cough mask cough*), and the hero is required to play superhero and leap off buildings (though I do love you Healer hehe), I really appreciate how the writer chose the bathroom here. 

"Going to the bathroom" is a simple but banal human actively. Common and instinctive but deeply private and less-than-romantic. 

Notice JH and DR's reactions to DS's bathroom runs (and I won't even bother screencapping their "ews" when DS heads to the bathroom in ep. 10):

Spoiler

Although DS is close with all the Ssangmun-dong boys, TK stands out in this instance. 

No "ews". No "geez." With the other boys and with her family, Deoksunnie often resorts to 'loud' pleas to be noticed and understood ("do I look pretty?" "How do I look in my new jacket?" "I like fried eggs too!!"). But TK has always been able to read DS's needs and be there for her in the least intrusive way possible. He takes in all her little white lies and accommodates her vulnerabilities. He sees beyond the surface antics and understands her intimately.

Between suntaek, nothing flashy or convoluted is required. No elaborate secrets. No dramatics and histrionics. Their bond is profound but simple-- a steadfast holding of the hands; the assurance she won't change and he'll be there. 

He'll be there. Waiting just for her.

Deoksun-ah, you got your wish:

--

Also, the set design for ep. 12's restaurant scene says so much about the emotional 'geography' of DS's heart:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with R88's color scheme, SW = RED, JH = BLUE, TK = GREEN, DS = YELLOW (lol notice that yellow light cast over LMY's posters?? PD Shin, you detail oriented beast). 

The set design here = the chambers of DS's heart. Near the door is SW's red-- that surface blush of first crush. The middle period comes JH, a coming-of-age exploration of what it might mean to think someone likes you and that sweet possibility of having a " omg boyfriend for reals". 

And then, in the back ... in the deepest chamber of her heart, is TK. Dear, wonderful TK who is always in the back of her mind, forever embedded in its deep recesses. Her love for him has always been there, but it's a matter of subconsciousness vs consciousness, sexual awareness vs innocent devotion. 

--

Bonus no. 1:

Traffic lights - red light or green?

Sorry JH, your fate was clear in Ep. 9, but Ep. 18 had to make it literal. Evil PD, really.

Spoiler

--

Bonus no. 2:

6 pm, the hour of Taek

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

18 minutes ago, phikyl said:

I’ve noticed in the adult scenes that TK and DS do not wear wedding rings. The wedding ring typically symbolizes a lifetime commitment in a standard relationship but TK and DS do not have a “standard” k-drama relationship so they don’t have the standard props either. [Instead of flowers and candy, TK gives DS mittens and a trophy vase] Instead they have items that are unique to them and therefore more meaningful] Could this be the writer purposely doing the opposite of what the audience expects to show that just because a relationship goes a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s the “right” way or “right” relationship? Sort of poking fun at the audience for being so caught up in the JH/DS loveline just because it's standard k-drama tropes? The lack of a ring can’t be explained away by Baduk because a wedding band is typically worn on the left hand while TK plays Baduk with his right.

There might be a more practical explanation for this...

The practice of wearing standard wedding rings is a relatively recent and eurocentric/anglo-american social construct. While the tradition has roots in medieval grimmel and poesy rings, the "double ring ceremony" thing didn't become accepted popular practice until the late 19th century, as part of the department store revolution to sell more rings and thus romanticize the ritual significance of marriage. 

As far as I know, East Asian societies don't traditionally require rings for marriage. If people in Korea wear them now, it is a recent adoption, borrowed from fashionable "western" practices (like Christmas). Back in the 90s, wearing wedding rings wasn't all that common (dear Korean soompiers, please correct me if I'm wrong!!!)... so you'd have to be pretty hip and westernized to wear a band everyday. All the older Asian couples I know don't wear rings. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

Guys, a gentle reminder...

When posting in the MT, be as gentle and sensitive as possible. Respect people's feelings and do not engage in battle if you spot a troll or hater. The show is over and we have nothing to prove to people who are intent on simply bashing the show. Let us remain reasonable in our use of language. Remember, we want to preserve the main thread. Soompi users have spent months sharing and engage with the show on there. It would be a shame if r88 fans, collectively, lost all that work. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

OMG guys, while re-watching the episodes, I've been keeping close tabs on the dates of major events. I'll post a full list of suntaek dates when I'm done with the valentine's contest project, but here's something kinda interesting:

Sunday 1/29/1989 was the day after DR's b-day (and the date of JH's dad's birthday). We know DS's pursuit of JH began after she "confirmed" his interest after the blind date question.

Friday 3/10/1989 was when DS saved the class president. Earlier that day, she told her friends that "I was wrong again this time" (i.e. JH = SW). 

The night of Saturday 3/11/1989 was when DR and DS had that conversation in the stairwell, during which the Sage told her to figure out her own heart.

I know people have observed the literal shortness of DS's interest in JH. But you guys, the girl literally chased after the guy from 1/29 to 3/10. February of 1989 had only 28 days ... so that makes a grand total of 40 days. 

Also,

Monday 2/13/1989 was when TK rested his head against DS, and left our girl stuttering. The morning after (LOL) features DS cheerfully dressing herself in another spotted "baduk" outfit, while the camera zooms in on the dolls. And guess what, green and yellow are facing each other, while blue looks sadly on. The following scene featured "DS annyeong" from TK. The PD basically set up this point as a shift in the narrative, because afterwards DS was half-hearted in her chasing of JH (dressed up for his birthday on Sunday 3/5/1989, but focused her attention on TK). And don't forget Tuesday 2/14/1989, when Burberry man makes his appearance and TK was her sole support. 

So ... that leaves only 14 days (i.e. 2 freakin' weeks) during which DS was going after JH full-speed. 

lol. poor boy. 

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

3 hours ago, heolaaa said:

Sorry for my question.

are there somebody who can read Chinese language ? can you guys explain these article/screencaps talking about?

 

 

Thanks before

 

The power of Reply 1988! Charismatic actor Park Bo Gum is rapidly rising to No. 1.

On 1/28/16, CJ CGV hosted their 'Seoul Film and Media Forum' and issued a semi-annual report on actor reception (note: the word they used, 好感，means the extent an actor is viewed "favorably" and "positively" by the public). According to poll results from the CGV research, 25.3% of 2015 audiences casted their support towards Park Bo Gum, catapulting him to number one, a result that's also reflective of Reply 1988's broad popularity. On SNS, Park Bo Gum's ranking has risen 35 spots from last year to claim the "number two" spot. 

EDIT: the smaller article posted by @heolaaa also stated that Ryu Jun Yeol received 11.6% of the votes in that same poll, which puts him in a distant second in the rankings. 

hehehehe 

[DISCLAIMER: LOL my chinese is really bad!! Took two years of it in university, so read the above translation with a grain of salt]

--

On a semi related note, I often visit douban.com to brush up on my failing Chinese. That site is a super legit hangout for Chinese fans of film/tv/art/music, and I've been constantly amazed by the level of intelligence shown in the ratings and comments left by douban users. Anyway, R88 current has a 9.3 rating on Douban (with over 13,000 votes casted), which is higher than R94 and R97. And SUNTAEK is a total favorite with douban netizens, yay! The photos with the most "upvotes" are all DS-TK stuff. So guys, don't let the Soompi atmosphere get you down. It isn't representative of the mood at large. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

On 1/19/2016 at 0:14 PM, mellinadear said:

So I visited the MT and I saw some of us still trying to defend TK. Why waste your time? Its cool tryna defend and all but if some people are not willing to see other POVs, why bother? I see no sense in it. It just further brings unwarranted insults. 

yeah most of those salty comments made me stare at the screen like this:

but TBH, eventually it becomes a matter of this:

and this:

 

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

Color theory explained, part 293587194875489

So as we've learned from team JH's obsession with raddishes, yellow-red-green are the colors of LYFE.

team JH assumed, for 80% of the show, that green = JH, yellow = DS, and red = taek

when in fact all three colors are for Taek LOL. two of these ssangmun-dong kiddos will become his family (yay mr.stalker and deoksunnie <3)

Also, his birthday hat:

See how the fringe around his head is GREEN? You know what this means?

the anointed one

the CHOSEN ONE

baby I can see your [green] halo, halo. Thanks for choosing him (UFO abduction notwithstanding). Thank you, pd shin. Bless. 

 I had too much sugar this morning. Forgive me roommates... <3

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

2 minutes ago, nearsea said:

OMG,where did you read this? Please share the link with us =]].This could be the best remedy for getting over the withdrawal lol.

I also want to stay on the same ship.Maybe we could create a new thread..co-linking to this one =/.

 

the I HAVE NO RICHARD SIMMONS CLUE WHO THE HUSBAND CONTENDERS ARE, BUT I'M WITH TAEK'S ROOM DAMN IT thread.

Here's the article. According to PD Shin,

Quote

"After 1988, I think 1974 is another important year in contemporary history. There were many big and revolutionary events such as shooting of Yook Young Soo, opening Seoul subway, first Choco Pies, Water Gate incident, carnation, and etc. I want to make a drama that feels like looking at dusty and old photos. Simple but beautiful old days, I want to portray the youth of 386 generation. We're considering it as the next project."

 

Article says 'Reply 1974' will start to shoot in this year's summer at the earliest.

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

2 hours ago, nicola_nikka said:

I guess I'll see you all in Reply 1974 LOL 

omg, PD shin said filming might begin as early as this summer. Hopefully there won't be a husband hunt ... but if they throw us another one ... 

I need to sign a blood oath and pledge to be on the same ship as everyone here, LOL. That's how emotionally attached I am. I love every one of you girls as much as I love suntaek. It'd be a Sartrean nightmare if I end up in the same ship as some of those hardcore JH shippers [shivering intensifies].

BTW @13infamyss WELCOME BACK!! omg I missed you. I've always looked forward to your insightful posts. <3

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

On 12/10/2015 at 2:15 AM, chickfactor said:

It just seems so clear to me that Taek is the endgame. I can't offer detailed analysis, it's more of a gut feeling? I do love watching JH's puppy love developing, and I would love to see DS's reaction to it, now that she's getting a clue about how he feels.

There will be flirtations, there will be heartache. It will be a blast to watch.

And Taek will emerge the winner of the husband jackpot in the end! And just like at his baduk tournaments, he will be a graceful winner.

Everyone buy me dduk-boki at the final episode, because I will be right about this! Muahahaha. (me, not a graceful winner)

 

@chickfactor also wrote THIS in the main thread back on 12/2/15 (and LOL her post was totally ignored ... it got 3 'likes'. I added one to boost it today haha.)

Quote

Just want to jump in and chime in my love for this show. I've been trying to break away from K-dramas for a while, but some amazing series always get me back into it again! (Damn you, K-dramas for entertaining me!)

I cannot get over Duk-Seon doing that goofy dance in front of the TV. Someone needs to make a gif of that. It is the best scene ever.

Also, I'm gonna vote for TAEK. I love Jung-Hwan, but I'm calling it right now, it is TAEK. Sorry JH shippers.

When the finale airs, and Taek wins, everyone can treat me to a bowl of ramen. Ha ha.

 

GUYS did we ever officially do this? Because we need to do this. I apologize for the #foodp0rn ahead:

And don't forget yellow and red kimchi radishes (with a generous addition of GREEN onions lmao)

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

13 minutes ago, mellinadear said:

After watching the subbed episodes, I'm gonna watch the whole show again and this time,I will savour everything like I never did before. 

lol my exact plan. Shall we have a re-watch party here in Taek's room? 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

omg, thank you @mangachickava @melissala @Yesin Lee @kilaalaa Mell, neasea, and EVERYONE for holding the fort.

I'm busy with work and a few write ups I'm supposed to do for the 'master baduk project' (lol)... but thank god y'all are still here. It's like a healing balm for my heart, because I am not ready to move out of Taek's room. This thread is richard simmons precious to me.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

@kilaalaa

Thank you.. THANK YOU. I'm literally crying right now. 

8 minutes ago, kilaalaa said:

TK: For me, I don't especially want to go back to that time. I like it better now. 
TK: But if we were to go back in time, there's one thing I want to do. 
DS: What?
TK: With the rest of the gang, hanging out in my room all night. 
TK: Playing Blue Marble, eating ramyeon, watching A Better Tomorrow... If its not hanging out with the rest of the gang, I don't particularly want to go back to those times.

Guys, omg, guys, we did get Taek's first person narration...

in the form of his 2016 self.

So richard simmons poignant.

He's doing well now. For all the fond memories of 1988, he likes the present even better. He's older and aged and no longer young. And yet he's happy.

Thank you r88, thank you.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

Spoiler

From @liteulkwin (posted 12/9/15)

Quote

It's not about what the boys do for DS or how much more they deserve her, really ... at the end of the day, it's about how she feels- whether a connection is there or not.

From @hafunohane (posted 12/16/15)

Quote

- What if it's actually THIS simple? what if at the end of the day, it's just a story of two childhood friends who grow up together realizing that they can grow old together? finding each other's flaws endearing (DS with the dance, TK with the swearing), complaining about their clumsiness, but still bringing them food? laughing together while playing stupid snack tricks? keeping each other's secrets and letting them finish their crying? naturally holding hands, putting a piece of meat on their bowl but also occasionally steal a portion of their rice? the above beach scene, even with the slo-mo, feels like a great moment between two very close people more than anything to me.

 

@mangachickava (1/10/16)

Quote

when DS really likes someone she says NO ( piggyback)...she isnt clear at all with her true intentions. SO this is why TK being an empathetic person works soooooo well for their relationship. HE has mastered the craft of observation, of understanding the TRUE intentions of the moves of his opponent so that he would be ready to match them. He is confident in that he loves DS, his eyes will always be on her (the middle child that felt ignored). TK can 'read" DS 

From @onlysb1 (posted 12/19/15)

Quote

I think if they end up together I'll be confident to name this as slow burn romance which is beautiful to read or watch when it's executed well. Because I've a strong feeling that Taek was waiting  DS to be ready to accept him as not a lover but someone she would  never want to be separated...He knows he is difficult and he acknowledges DS just as strong.

From me (posted 12/19/15)

Quote

I seriously don't understand the need for confessions. In my opinion, relationships are always stronger than "courtships", and genuine bonds stronger than ritualistic procedures. We as drama watchers (and manga readers lol) have been primed and conditioned over the years to over-value the romantic idea of a "first confession."

But I'd like to argue that true love obviates the need for a "confession." It's my opinion that the strongest relationships are those that grow organically, without the need of confessions. That they love each other is the certainty. Not the confession part. 

It's my dearest wish, *IF* Taek is the husband, for DS to realize she loves him, EVEN THOUGH she can't even be sure he loves her back.

Quote

A piece of my heart will always be in Taek's room.

From @mustardmaimai (posted 12/16/15)

Quote

 perhaps that is merely an indication of how the show itself loves Taekie a lot - not so much for his worth as a romantic hero - but as someone who brings to the show a new and even risky dimension. 

Quote

Taek’s entire way of perceiving and loving DS also veers away from stereotypes. For Taekie - and my god the depth this boy-man carries - there is no moment of illumination. DS is still the same DS and he doesn’t seem to have gone through any major shift in his consciousness to find that he loves her. He simply loves her like he always has. It is as natural to him as breathing. And so, and this is what had initially left me feeling confused, he doesn’t find a shift in his own behaviour. He continues to treat her the same way he always has. Being in love, loving DS cannot mean anything different from what has gone on so far for him. There is no inner conflict, there are no mind games. There is no coyness. 

And guys, guysguysguys, in the larger scheme of things,[...] I can tell you that that is the kind of love that endures. It is a love that is so deep it appears almost invisible. It is a love that is so obvious it almost escapes one’s attention.

 

Dear roommates ... I know I was one of the loudest complainers when the show ended without a suntaek proposal, relationship affirmation, wedding, baby making, and other couple-dom milestones.

But in retrospect, isn't it amazing how we basically got all our wishes fulfilled? Instead of a typical kdrama finish with all the conventional pomp and circumstance, what we got instead was something much truer to the show's inner core. 

That lovely moment when you realize writer Lee Woo Jung has, emotionally speaking, been hanging out with us right here in Taek's Room.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

3 hours ago, amareally said:

Hi... I've rooted for JH from ep 2, and tonight I'm lying on the bottom of the ocean with my ship that sank just 3 hours ago... 

Trying to make sense of how I was 'led on' the whole time but got bamboozled at the end won't 'heal' me or give me answers either. But your post and when you mentioned what the shaman said about JH being "...someone who will do fine on his own" gave me MY closure. Like JH tonight with your post, I have said my 'confession' and I placed my 'ring' on the table.. I'm saying goodbye to my first love. Good night 

Much . I'm so sorry you're going through what you're going through. Seeing Ssangmun-dong wrecked (even for a few seconds on screen) has been my scar this week. All we can do is stay strong and weave our own closures. Time and distance heals all scars.  .. though like that last scene, a piece of my heart will always stay in Taek's room.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

26 minutes ago, kaqueski said:

It is indeed bitter end for JH, but overall the story was already planned this way.

I felt bitter for JH for much of episode 20...

but now thinking about it, I think the writer made a wise decision. Even if she introduced a loveline for him 3 episodes back, it'd basically reduce him to another Taewoong or Chilbong.

JH's character has been given so much justice that this time he doesn't need some random girl to appear on screen as a consolation prize.

His arranging of his parent's wedding, his blessings to TK-DS, and his comforting of SW were indications that he's grown strong and has moved on. A personal transcendence is more important than a celebrity cameo. We're truly supposed to trust that fortune teller when she says "he's someone who'll do just fine on his own."

We're supposed to trust JH-- trust that in the future, in both life and love, he'll be treading solid ground.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

Quote

TK: Does it look like our relationship has changed?
JH Dad: Of course not. The relationship the two of you have, its not like you've only known each other for 1-2 days. 

This dialogue exchange = everything. It's completely wiped out my initial frustration with the lack of a suntaek proposal, wedding etc.

Infinite bananas for you @kilaalaa. You save my heart right now!!! omg. Without your translations, I'd seriously be dead confused about this finale. The husband game thing is so emotionally grating that I'm a bit worn out ("surviving" the hunger games doesn't = your limbs are in tact lol). I think 98% of my shock right now comes from missing the squad and missing Ssangmun-dong (that end montage was a bit unnecessarily brutal, IMO, and leaves you with such a melancholy twist in the gut <-- though who knows, maybe in a few days I'll think it's brilliant?). 

... anyways, stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, I'm ultimately content with the show. It needed a big injection of courage at the end, but it really did stick to its guns and convinced me that "last love is family". So for this, and for the bravery that was most of its run, thank you R88. 

EDIT: OMG, I completely misunderstood the finale. Yes, it had some flaws, but god, I love it. I love it so much.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

26 minutes ago, allegramente said:

They break the rules...

OH MY GOD

Thank you @allegramente

thank you

I've been trying to figure out for weeks what that "fail" baduk move meant, aside from comedic factor.

crossing the line.

crossing the richard simmons line. 

breaking the rules. Overcoming tropes, genre, past reply history... etc

This show has so much thematic unity it scares me.

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

25 minutes ago, Yesin Lee said:

Daebak! after 1 week my status is now "FAN LEVEL: HOOKED" hahaha. Really I'm now hooked! for spending all my time on soompi LMAO

Girl, not gonna lie. Our thread mushroomed quite a bit after you hopped onboard, lololol. much love. 

24 minutes ago, melissala said:

Whoa so even Hyeri confirmed it with the hello/goodbye.  Can't believe there is still a debate going on. 

Wait wait what? I'm behind on the news. Help a sista out. Hyeri actually confirmed what?

OOPS. SORRY I SAW. oh dearrr poor shippers .. maybe they think she's helping PD shin play troll ? lol 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

BLESSED SHIP!

HOMEWARD WE SAIL!

YOU'VE WORKED HARD CHOI TAEK 9 DAN!! 

YOU'VE WORKED HARD WARM-HEARTED DEOKSUNIE!!!

YOU'VE WORKED HARD TAEK'S ROOM / TEAM CSI!!!

Thank you @hafunohane for being that awesome reluctant-captain-turned-true-believer; may you forever enjoy that #nightsword. Thank you@st4rdust for your fairy magic and infinite humor. Thank you @Phuong Tam Nguyen, our head detective and investigator. Thank you @gerimisore for beautiful art and such generosity of spirit. Thank you @packmule3 @shooastrid @liteulkwin @Jéssica De Freitas Maciel @mustardmaimai for your amazing analyses and posts. Thank you @minibunny for figuring out that 4:33 theory. Thank you @sarsu for defending our ship against trolls. Thank you @kilaalaa @syaiira for being our Korean-to-english interpreters. Thank you @rembrandtz_5e20 for reminding us of Taek's empathy. THERE ARE SOOO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE HERE, omg. I feel drunk from all the girl bonding and loooove. Thank you ALL for such a lovely month spent.

I'm shaking with joy and relief guys ... shaking. Just shaking. How did we become so blessed? We basically traveled from resigned heartbreak (lol except for psychics @chickfactor @mellinadear @allegramente) to having all our wishes fulfilled. Best ship ever. Best show ever. TK-DS is LOVE. I will never, ever, ever forget Taek's room. 

 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

last ost cover - which features TAEK'S ROOM whoohoo!!! 

YOUNG TAEK and DS OMMA

Thank you @Yesin Lee for the heads up!!! 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

4 hours ago, hafunohane said:

In ep 6, Sungdaddy had a convo with Papabear about trading TK for his very own children. "How about a three for one exchange?" We know how badly Sungdaddy wants TK to be his son in law. LOL.

LOL three for one

.. brb ... *laughs up a hemorrhoid* 

thank you THANK YOU hafu. Brilliant post and oh-so-funny. Hafufufufufufufu [drifts off into laughter] God I love you guys, my sexy dangerous roommates. 

[Park Bo Gum ❤ Girl's Day Hyeri aka REPLY 1988 TAEK x DEOKSUN]

Hi guys!  The mods have been merciful; my account is still here .. for now. Thank you darlings for your warmth and humor... a piece of my heart will always be in Taek's room.

I know some of you expressed worries in private messaging regarding blue's long promised 'novel' over at the MT, and wanted some commentary on it. PM3 would do a better job than I, but as of now the mods have set posting limits on her accounts, so she's effectively been censored from posting regularly (I think).  I'm hoping this post won't be deleted as well (as 95% of it analyzes the show) ... oh well, long live freedom of thought (lol).

Here's my 'Cliffnotes' summary of said novel. Basically Blue's argument contains five points:

Spoiler

1. That smile scene in ep. 1 = initial confirmation; the episode sets up the "spice" and "kick" of a bickering relationship
2. The series has maintained JH's "blossoming and deepening love", whereas DS-TK is shown in "spurts". Her main support: on-screen presentation of JH's POV during Taek's admittance of feelings in episode 10, and JH as a narrator in ep. 18
3. "Thematic" consistency for all Reply series-- i.e. the same franchise = the same plot direction. Linear plot line for '94 and '97. JH's arc is mostly linear, so he must be the husband. [My note: she's got thematic unity and plot structure mixed up; the two are different concepts.]
4. Present day clues = null; most of them could be applied to both husbands, so smoking Taek explains nothing. 
5. No first person POV or narration for Taek; his story is told in relation to others; his characterization is built upon other characters' understanding of him. 

And that's it. Okay, taek a deep breath and relax a little. Five points. Not too bad, right? Perfectly sound analysis, though not as dangerous as our roommates' minds here. 

And here's my commentary...

The Primacy of 'Firsts' 

Spoiler

 

While the idea is laughably silly in real life, kdramas really do support the cliché of 'first = best'. You know ... first love, first confession, first kiss, first male lead always gets the girl (side note: RJY is not billed as the 1st male lead in official TVN websites) etc etc... Many JH shippers have firmly maintained, since the beginning, that TK does not stand a chance, because like Taewong and Chilbong his entry into the husband game is delayed. JH must be the husband because he's essentially first in line: first to be setup as a husband contender (ep. 1's smile), first to do swoony things for DS, first to take the couple picture, first to go noble idiot, first to confess, etc. There's even a war-cry of "doesn't matter if TK does it better, Jungpali will have done it first." 

If R88's setup was like any other kdrama, I'd bow out immediately and concede to this point. Sink and drown, wave my white flag and all. 

Blue's analysis is a reductionist one: if Reply 1988 is reduced to Reply Kim Jung Hwan, then yes, certainly the show is all about him as a protagonist and his struggles to fulfill his first love. 

What they've got wrong is this: R88 features multiple narrators, multiple stories, multiple 'main' characters, and multiple OTPs. While JH has narrated one episode only (ep. 18), DS has been a consistent first-person POV narrator throughout the show. If I must identify ONE character as the "main" of R88, it would be Sung Deok Seon .... not Kim Jung Hwan.

And here's the kick: JH is only 'first in line' if we consider the R88 narrative solely from his POV. 

DS, on the other hand, is running on a different clock, marching to the beat of a different drum. 

For Sung Deok Seon:

• SW is her first crush
• TK is first in priority (re: DR and DS's conversation in the staircase, and other moments we've observed here in our thread)
• The bridal run was her first romantic-sexual "awakening", and the first time she's reminisced about a 'swoony' moment alone in her room. 
• TK is her first kiss
• From DS, TK is the first to receive feelings undiluted by suggestions from friends or the assumption she'll be loved right back. 

 

Basically, one cannot respect Deok Sun's POV and arc as a main character and still argue that JH got 'first dibs'. 

 

The Bickering OTP Trope

Spoiler

 

Not gonna lie, I fall for this one a lot. My past shipping history tends to favor tsundere, bickering, and tension over comfy fluffy affection (usually the domain of the forever friend-zoned second lead). So in this regard, I'm not 'biased' towards Taek (no seriously, in high school I was one of those girls reading HP draco and tom riddle fanfics LOLOLOL). 

Rom-com and chick lit writers love the bickering OTP trope because it provides a vehicle for: 1. sexual tension 2. comedic undertone 3. "that jerk had it coming"; satisfaction of seeing the 'cold' hero on his knees once he's in love 4. delaying the "getting together" until the kiss in the sunset and fade to credits (i.e. an excuse not to develop the actual relationship, because long-term relationships are difficult to write, whereas cute bickering writes itself).

Again, if R88's setup was like any other kdrama, I'd bow out immediately and yield to Team JH.

Blue's analysis is again reductionist: it assumes that only JH and DS bicker.

But like, LOL, she bickers with DR too right? So are they also destined? Haha, I kid. This is my main point: TK & DS's dynamics also contain a bickering side. "So you're a man, huh? Then take it off. (DS)" "Bora must have been you in the past life. (TK) Want to die? (DS)"  "YAH! (TK)" "Sung Soo yeon! (TK)" "Hey, I'm popular elsewhere. (DS) Where? (TK)" (ep. 18). 

And here's the kick: while JH-DS is primarily characterized by their bickering dynamic (ep. 1 begins with their bickering ... and by ep. 18 they are still bickering in the car ... what happened to development? 2015 couple bickered in the beginning, but by ep. 18 one could spot the deep affection between them), bickering is but a single facet to TK & DS's complex relationship.

People watching the show tend to forget that by 2015, LMY and her hubby will have been married for decades. For the writer to setup a convincing prelude to a long marriage, bickering should be an ingredient-- but it absolutely cannot be the motivating force (unless it's Reply We Got Married Divorced.) @mangachickava has written many a brilliant analysis on why a bickering relationship is ultimately inconsistent with DS's emotional needs.

The Question of POV

Spoiler

 

This is something Team JH brings up a lot. Why allow access to his inner thoughts if JH's not the husband? Why show his reaction to TK's confession to the boys? Why allow him to narrate ep. 18? There must be a greater purpose..!

I've kinda sorta addressed the narrative "purpose" of JH's POV in a MT post:

Spoiler

Have you guys noticed that, out of all the male Ssangmun-dong characters, JH is the most relatable? Characters like DR, JB, SW, and TK have such 'hardcore' unconventional traits that their identities are incontestably their own (DR by any other name would not be DR .. like I can't say some other character in a drama is a Dongryung). How many of us are class presidents? How many shove garlic up our butts? How many can't park nor tie their own shoelaces?

But I'll bet my last banana that everyone here can find a piece of their heart in JH. 

This is because the writer likely formed JH to be an audience surrogate. I'm not bringing up this term as an insult. All popular fiction needs an audience surrogate. Can you imagine Sherlock without Watson? Tolkien once admitted that "The Silmarillion" was less popular than LOtR because it lacked an audience surrogate. This is because as viewers or readers we yearn to identify with a character and experience that particular fictional world through their eyes. Have you guys noticed that JH is always watching, observing, or narrating? Through him we as audiences also watch, observe, and narrate. 

R88 is amazing in that it weaves together several narrative arcs. TK's arc can be read as an allegory of a single baduk match. SW's is about the metamorphosis of loss into attainment (it is through his father's death that he matures into a competent young man, falls for his BR, and gains an even larger family). In my opinion, JH's arc is a near-perfect bildungsroman (a.k.a. the coming of age story, the novel of education, the novel of formation etc...). 

 

But what I didn't dare write in the MT is this: JH is the narrator of his own story-- and his own story is but one of many narrative arcs in R88. JH's POV is most often framed as that of a spectator watching from the sidelines, rather than someone caught in the crux of the action.

A consistent theme in JH's story has to do with his hesitancy, and how that flaw essentially pushed him to the peripheries of the love triangle (also, his secret keeping meant that DR & SW would not have had the chance to support his love). This thematic idea is explored through POV shots-- we get so many scenes of JH looking but not speaking, considering but not doing, peeking through windows but held back by the looking glass.

It's also a reductionist error to assume POV = narrator = main character. First of all, JH is not a narrator per se; the first time we hear his first person voice is episode 18; the majority of the show is in fact narrated by DS and BR. Second, he is a narrator-protagonist only to the extent of his own 'coming of age' tale. Within the broader fabric of R88, he is an observer. And we all know one can be a spectator-narrator-observer without necessarily being the main character (e.g. Great Gatsby's Nick Carraway).

 

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf A Non-Linear Plot? 

Spoiler

 

Tbh, I blinked at the argument that JH's linear arc = husband. No writer would be caught dead thinking that a linear plot is a thing of marvel. Are any of the R88 episodes linear in structure? This is probably her weakest argument. My response is to just quote something I wrote before:

Spoiler

The episodes so far contain the following elements:

1. Non-linear story telling (i.e. flashbacks galore)
2. Critical information withheld or missing
3. A reversal or surprising revelation near the end.

In this sense the show is constantly playing one-upmanship with viewer assumptions and expectations. Let's take an early example: in Episode 1, we assumed DS lost her place as a picket girl. It wasn’t until D-day that it was revealed, retroactively, that she got to take someone else’s place. That information was withheld from us and was never told “in real time” on screen. Same with SW’s crush on BR. Critical scenes/information were withheld, and were only revealed non-linearly at the end of episode 6 for the big reveal. Basically the list goes on and on for every episode, from important arcs such as TK-Papa bear’s relationship and Sunyoung finding cigarettes in SW’s room to Taek’s aborted confession in ep. 16.

What's ironic is that people keep on saying R88 is so obvious and predictable, YET at every turn predictions completely go wrong and shippers are left surprised and/or confused. See a pattern here? I believe individual episode structure also represent the direction of the story at large:  What’s been told in the beginning matters less than what will be unveiled at the end.

And guess which character’s arc aligns most closely with the aforementioned structure? Choi Taek's emergence from the story has consistently subverted drama conventions and viewer expectations. The hit list has been pretty dead-on so far... "Choi Taek is so innocent he can't possibly be a smoker". CHECK. “Choi Taek doesn’t seem like the type to be popular with girls.” CHECK. "Choi Taek is so clingy he'd never back off" CHECK. "Choi Taek is so oblivious he needs someone to tell him that JH likes DS." CHECK. “Choi Take needs mothering; he can’t even take care of himself, much less other people” CHECK. Etc etc etc, over and over again. What's left is this: "And anyway the husband is Ryu Jun Yeol." Guess which way the narrative is going to swing?

The reason why I was never fully onboard with JH’s story is because it felt (to me personally) that the writer was holding back on her creative/intellectual powers when crafting his arc. JH’s destiny has been fairly predictable since the beginning: everyone could spot the tsundere thing, the eventual crush on DS, his noble idiocy etc. For a show so careful with its storytelling, it’s like the writer just decided to flash everyone at point blank, and left few things to guesswork. It’s incredibly anti-intuitive from a narrative perspective if he’s to be the husband—why start the JH/DS loveline with the strongest scene (boner! boner! boner!) in your book and proceed to dial it down from there? (bonus: didn’t Chilbong’s entry into the husband game start off with a real kiss and his glorious abs? Suddenly JH’s half naked scenes seem less indicative of any real outcome.)

PD Shin & writer Lee are smart people, and given what's been presented in the episodes so far, I do wonder if they're trying to venture outside of the kdrama cosmology. I'd assume both are well read people. Outside of kdramas, unreliable narratives/narrators and metafiction are the film-and-fiction zeitgeist of the modern era. Taek’s transformation from “obvious” second lead to Mr. husband is actually more fitting to the tone and style of R88 than JH being end game.

 

Present Day Clues = Null

Spoiler

The smoking thing is so much more than just a clue ... but I won't even bother.

Though I largely agree with her. Devoid of narrative logic.. clues are just clues.

Moving on.

Who the #&*$ is Choi Taek?!

Spoiler

 

Team JH has largely ran circles around Taek, gawking at him as if he's some great exotic bird... They'll form one assumption (e.g. DS mothers him, he's clingy, he's a plot device to stop JH/DS) only to scratch their heads later and go, "he's too confusing... I don't get it." 

Blue's strongest argument is that JH's POV is featured more frequently than TK's. Given episode 18, I'll concede to this point. Though this does not mean we won't hear TK's first person narration in ep. 19 or 20.  Also, I'd argue that TK's POV is explored with equal punch and poignancy as that of JH's. I mean, sure, during Taek's confession to the boys, the camera zoomed in on JH's face and that sad guitar bgm played on. But TK's moment of realization was even more sophisticated in direction and writing: an ordinary squad hangout session transforms into a private moment of grief; the realization hits him and a god-awful silence falls; and then the background music).

To argue that Taek's POV is unexplored is a sad case of selective-viewing. R88 has had many a Taek-centric episode. Episode 6 is a major access point into his inner world, as are episodes 7 (relationship with papa bear), 9 (Taek as a baduk player; smoking), 13 (relationship with papa, "is it okay if I lose?"), 15 ("he hates interviews and asking favors... but"), and 16 (TK's POV regarding JH's feelings, the ultimate decision to give up on his first love). 

If both JH and TK's POV have been explored, why do the two characters seem so different? Why does Team JH insist TK is undeveloped?

My answer is this: reliable vs non-reliable narrative.

JH's arc is a case of reliable narrative (the "linear" quality Blue so loves); TK's arc is an example of an unreliable narrative (described by Blue as "spurts" lol). 

There's no confusion to JH's characterization. We know every episode the dude is going to hesitate, swallow his words, hide behind some tsundere behavior ... only to step up near the episode's end and do something sweet/warm/lovely/swoony. This formula has not changed for 18 episodes. What the audience expects, the audience shall get. The virtue of genre. 

But with Taek, what the audience expects, the audience shall not get. His arc lacks the transparency of JH's 'coming of age' story. On the level of metafiction, what is happening instead is this: the writer, the narrative, the viewers, and JH are playing a game of baduk against Choi Taek 9 dan. And he is winning.

First, as a ranked 6 dan player, he is kept out of the game for nearly 6 episodes (see handicap in baduk, and refer back to @shooastrid's brilliant baduk posts). But during this time, Taek surveys the board and makes his presence known. Baduk is all about maintaining your presence, and Choi Taek is technically never absent from the show (people are always talking about him- parents, friends, colleagues, random hospital people, DS's friends, freakin' Michael; his room is HQ, he is seen on TV and newspapers, etc etc etc). 

And then the writer (and by extension, viewers/the narrative) keeps on pitching moves against him: he sucks at using chopsticks, he can't work a walkman player, he's described as a 'god of idiots', he doesn't go to school, he's away all the time, baduk takes up 99% of his brain space, he's in a slump, he can't take care of himself, someone needs to mother him or he will starve, he appears fragile, he might die if DS doesn't love him back, he hates asking for favors so don't ask him to ask for one for you, he's too competitive to let DS go, his first kiss might be a dream, he can't park so no way he's gonna beat JH's jeep ... etc etc, the list goes on. 

But with each move 'against' him, Choi Taek 9 dan counter-attacks and gains further momentum. Over and over again he proves to be stronger than the 'handicaps' inflicted against him. Over and over again he subverts and rebels against drama tropes, cliches, and viewer expectations. ... until finally, in the last episodes, we sense him closing in on end game. 

This is a case of brilliant, brilliant writing. If Nolan, Nabokov, Kesey, and others are experimenting with unreliable narratives... why can't a kdrama writer? About time. I adore characters who are so complex, so bursting with life that they seem to "escape" out of the story itself. Whereas JH reduced his own agency via hesitation, TK fought for and earned agency every step of the way. And for this, he's going to receive all the pizzas and bananas in the world (and his Deoksunie).

 

Bonus: what about DS as a protagonist-narrator? Why ignore her voice?

Whose story has she consistently told, in her own POV and her own voice since the beginning?

JH or  ... dangerous roommate TK?