[Drama 2015] Answer Me 1988 응답하라 1988

[monsterlife]

3 hours ago, alleverything said:

If I would have the time and patience to read this thread back (I don't), I would see most of the people who are being all confident and DUH about Taek and DS now. But you were ALL saying "Oh well I know Taek will not be the husband", "Junghwan is the husband but I'm rooting for Taek even though I know it won't happen". The best thing is, you even called yourselves the Taektanic or w/e because you knew it was going to sink. I mean come on.

This is what most Taek/Deoksun kept saying for the majority of the drama, probably up until the 2 week break. I know you're celebrating now, and that's nice. But please, don't act like you don't see where us "aggressive, blind Junghwan stans" are coming from.

I am guilty of this and I already explained to packmule why. But I never even once consider jumping to JH-DS ship. JH is cute but there is nothing in their story that made me want DS to end up with him. Like someone already pointed out here, she likes TK more than anyone outside the family and I just want a confirmation that she likes him more than just a friend. 

Also:

- the husband is so obvious it is jungpal

- tk-ds shipper are so delusional (until episode 18, can you just imagine?)

- she treats him like her younger brother

- she mother him so much

- can you stop it? It is all trolling, why not look into the story more? 

- ds likes jh. It is so obvious. You are making things up. You see things that are not there.

Everywhere. Not just on soompi. It makes a person like me to doubt. I ship them since episode 2. I joined soompi in episode 6. I got called a drama queen for lamenting that I feel so alone in my ship. I was in despair when jh realized tk's feelings and we were shown his angst. But I hold on to it because of the manito game. Her actions after china sealed the deal for me. And I like playing the husband game. Keep my expectations low and wait to see if I got it right.

[unkyung]

i just thought of soemthing. If both couples get married, they would be the daughter in law of basically the same household. Would the in laws also force the two daughters to celebrate their birthday together? Lol

[Nikkaquarian]

 in commemoration of reply 88' D-DAY.

So this particular one is on EP. 9, Remember when DS thought JH stalked her and then he said "goodnight" and peeked through the window to see her sneeze? if you dont here:

Cut from that scene and all of a sudden naeul comes in and they exchange a dialogue, (the director is an absolute genius because we get to peek from the window too like JH did) and DS says this^ 

 

[solelyseoul]

2 hours ago, angelxglo said:

why do i feel like i've been played for 16 episodes? I'm not upset that JH is not the husband. Both Taek and JH are good catches so who in the end is the husband is really based on the personal perference of the viewer. The writer literally spent 17 episodes telling the story from either DS or JH's POV, which makes no sense if Taek is the husband. If the writer felt that JH and Taek will not be able to start from the same footing and gave JH a handicap, i personally think that the first half of the series should've been enogh cuz JH already had me by epidsode 3... by episode 10, i wanted to marry him instead.

Instead of showing JH needlessly pinning over DS for so many episodes, we really should've focused on DS and Taek's development within the appropriate timeline and not having to move backwards in time from the future. this latest episode just feels like the writters were pulling on our legs by trying to keep the suspense of guessing the husband till the end. Honestly, i'm not angry that JH is not the husband since Taek earned his place next to DS, i'm just upset that the writer needlessly kept the suspense of husband hunt till the end. i would've been totally satisfied if JH learned about DS's feeling towards Taek, sulked, and then moved on.

....that is why I have decided to re-watch ep 1 onwards from TK's perspective. I hope I will be able to enjoy it as much as I did eversince JH and DS were stuck in that emotionally-erotically charged alley scene . Heh heh. 

[hushhh]

Five Stars on Dramabeans. 

http://www.dramabeans.com/2016/01/answer-me-1988-episode-19/

Taek doesn’t even wait for her to finish her sentence, and leaps to his feet to kiss her. Damn, this boy is a closer. Her eyes flutter closed as he kisses her again and again.

[Misstwilightfan1416]

http://www.dramabeans.com/2016/01/answer-me-1988-episode-19/

[sk]

Now that the husband hunt is over I'll concede and say they got me real good this time around! 

I believe they never changed the script although the reveal came as a big hard blow to my biased heart. But one thing, I'm not sorry I rooted for the love that also very much COULD'VE BEEN and to have journeyed this drama with the most compelling character the journey of first love, friendship and dreams. This has been a bittersweet ride and yes beautiful entertainment. Thank you and so long reply series!

[rahmaasls]

LET'S PRAY 1% CHANCE FOR THIS HINT!!! :")

[MrsSoJiSub]

I applaud the other side because ya'll got yours and you saw what I and many others were over looking. There is not need to be pressed or stay pressed and mad. At the end of the day choi taek is PBG and i will follow his work because man even though I supported the other side, I loved me some Taek...and Kim Junghwan is RJY what a brilliant actor that made me brood and feel the feels for so long. Both will come out with more projects that I will follow and such.

It is not that deep and please all let's just not become that kind of fandom (looking at you AM 94 and all the ridiculous "i been Chilbonged" richard simmons). This was a really great drama and I learned soooo much from each and every character. I love the whole squad (not as much as I love my Jungbong and Junghwan). A the end of the day, they are all just fictional characters and let's just not even though we could LOL. It was hard (and the alchohol helped LOL) but i am looking forward to tomorrow's episode and the e-n-d. I am sitting here signing me some 90's heart break songs (N*SYNC 'Gone' and Whitney Huston "I Will Always Love You' is on replay) but goddamns as the korean song says i even loved the pain.  

It was all worth it and I regret nothing. The parents Kim wedding was some of the cutest richard simmons I seen and even though I was wrong...they looked so happy and kind of cutesome (oh lords whyyyyy) outside of Deok Sun's house...The Sungs milkshake truly does bring all the boys to the yard LOL. Too bad my Junghwan lives there and must see it too  It kills me but the journey has been worth the none reward LOL the meme of snatching crowns still kills me. Dong Ryeong gonna get with Joey Wang? If so get it boy.....

[yumeaki]

What is this pain in the heart that I felt the whole morning? It continued as I rewatched last episode, this time with c-sub, and then the pain suddenly gone when Jung Hwan told Jung Bong "the second daughter is coming back now". Wahahaha. My first laugh this morning. Trust JH to make me LOL. I totally love this caring and considerate guy. The last part of ep 19 was so much more watchable seeing JH planning out the wedding.

 

I think i may have accepted DSxTaek better if they show us DS change of feelings earlier. We saw JH's emotion from the very start but they never focus much on DS's inner thoughts. She fleet from one to another and it's only in ep 17 that we see that she has a flicker of feeling towards Taek. Now I know many can argue that she always taking care of him shows a subconscious love but it's up to individual interpretation. In reality, I may behave like DS. If I like JH but feels that he didn't reciprocate, I move on. But this is a drama! If you don't invest time to develop the couple, how do you expect the viewers to cheer for them? It was only 2 episodes that hinted that she likes him! 2 episodes! I can't feel for DS and Taek. They are sweet but I just don't feel it. I prefer SW & Bora which shows a more realistic progress and there is enough time to show their development and have me fall for this couple. 

 

I don’t think the writer changed the ending. She probably planed it right from the start but I begin to think that the writer is going for the surprise element. She has hidden Taek in the first few episodes and then surprised us that he is actually one of the husband contenders. She wrote JH in a traditional reply husband way and focusing his feeling so that viewers think it is ornamryu. However, she did dropped hints here and there to show why Taek is the husband (earliest hint being the smoking part) and at the end surprises the viewers with Taek being the husband. BUT! If you want surprise and ignore viewers attachement to the first character based on how you create the story flow, then don’t be surprise if people are upset with you.

 

Now I don’t dislike the writer. In fact, I still like Reply 1988 for the focus on family and friendship theme. The love triangle is also used to highlight friendship. People said JH don’t act and hesitate but really, neither did Taek when he finally found out JH likes DS. He only started to take firm action after JH gave him blessing (Wait he didn't. It's only until DS blurt out that that kiss is not a dream.) I appreciate this constant theme of friendship running through the drama. I also love how memorable the writer created each and every individual characters and how she created a wonderfulcharacter named JH. I just wish the writer planned more time developing husband and wife relation. I simply not invested in them now.

 

On a happier thought, looks like DR has a girlfriend. Not sure if they will show her. It already took so long to show his mom so I wouldn't expect much. But good to see that he is doing well in business

 

 

[Shorti Inji]

It's weird because at first it seemed from the story telling that JungHwan would be the husband.  

However, when I saw Taek and DukSeon hang out together on the beach, I was won over.  They were so awesome together and had such great chemistry.  Look at how they smiled at each other and had fun.  Compare that how Deok Seon reacted to JungHwan at the concert.  She was sort of asking for affection / his coat and he didn't give it to her.  

The other scene that was interesting was when Jung Hwan saw how Duk Seon was dancing and concluded that she didn't see him as a man.  Then Taek came in and was shocked.  Deok Sun motioned for him to come dance with her and he had the biggest smile and they did.  

 

Oh oh oh, and why would DS stay over and stare at Taek if she didn't like him?  (That's just creepy/weird.)

So despite how the story unfolded, this is how it unfolds in real life too.  Slowly, they understand their feelings.  I think Deok Sun liked Taek too after their "dream kiss" but things were crazy and she didn't want to risk his friendship.  That would just make the group dynamic awkward. (It's happened to me where the group dynamic is awkward.)

 

Favourite scenes today:

-The gang finding out SunWoo dated Bora and is dating Bora.  I love Salamander's reaction.  He felt so left out.  "Why did everyone know except me that Sun Woo had a crush on Bora? Are you really my friend"- type of rant / moment.  He even got made at Jung Hwan and hung up on him.

(Aside: I think DR and DS awesome buddy buddy friends.  In Episode 17 he was like Where are you DS?!?!?)

-The renewal of the wedding vows was so touching.  Mi Ran is such a great actress, she was so emotional yet controlled.  And did you look how her husband looked at her with such love and thinking that's she's beautiful?

 

 

Noteworthy Dialogue:

I wonder if JB took up law so that he would seem respectable to ManOk's dad.  Her dad's a successful business person that makes suits so not that educated.  So it's nice that ManOk told him to do what he wanted to do.  This echoed JB telling JH to not do what JB's dreams were.  I like how JB knew his brother better than his friends.  His friends thought that JH only picked the dreams because he thought it was cool when in fact it was because of JB. (JB never did accept JH's rejection of the idea that he was only doing what JB wanted to do.)

 

 

 

 

 

[Nikkaquarian]

" She jokes that sending their kids to Seoul University is useless when Dong-ryong will make the most money of all of them because he’s so good at running a business. Even Dong-ryong’s dad admits that he regrets hitting him so much for not studying in school. "

trans: dramabeans

I always believed in DR! and i didn't know exactly what profession he'd have other than being an entertainer and now that i think about it, being an entrepreneur really fits him well!  He always tried to mix their food to make it equal, haggled from his classmates porn dvds, sold some himself and does a lot of things that are very entrepreneur like! and the way he said life isnt always about grades, how could i not notice! Good job to DR, though we thought he failed, he actually made more than them and is very happy at what he does 

 

[Shorti Inji]

I'm live streaming tonight!!!!!!!!! (my first time for this drama.)

[unkyung]

How many hours until the live stream?

[Meliere]

3 hours ago, ajengau said:

"Taek is so adorable but I'm absolutely #TeamJunghwan"

"I'm #TeamTaek but I'm 100% sure that the endgame is Junghwan"

"Tho I know for sure that the husband is JH, I'm holding on my 1% hope that it might be Taek"

"Tho I love Taek so much, this is not even a husband hunting. Everyone can already tell who the endgame is."

Just before that one week of break, I'd been reading these kinds of post like hundreds of times for more than 2 months. Now they're telling us to shut up together 'cause all of a sudden it simply makes sense.

 

I promise I'm not telling you to "shut up". That would be a hypocritical action on my part. I still remember the sadness I felt after episode 11, when my brain was certain JH is 100% end game. So Team JH, all that you feel, I promise I've felt one time or another from episodes 6-11. 

However, I want to defend TK-DS shippers . You are right: ours is a ship that started with 1%; many of us were hesitant to even dare hope, in case we relive the kick-in-the-balls horror of Chilbong's fate. 

But this is not to say TK-DS shippers have been buoyed by the sheer strength of delusion, and simply got lucky this round because the writer decided to throw in a "twist" for the sake of a twist. 

Many TK-DS shippers are simply not active in the main thread (until today, my MT post count is under 5 lol). Thus from the atmosphere here, it may seem that no one was aware of end game. But this is simply not the case. Many people in the suntaek thread correctly predicted/knew end game since episode 2, and a notable number of us were confident about Taek being end game since episode 14. 

I will never argue with anyone regarding emotional choices-- the heart and the mind are separate entities, and we all are free to love who we love. Some people are set on loving Taek. Others will always carry JH in their hearts. That's great. The show gave us powerful, lovable characters. I don't want to argue which romance or otp is "stronger".

What I do love are intellectual debates. IMHO it's a shame that team TK analyses have at times been discredited and simply ignored (or *gulp* censored). You're baffled how "all of a sudden it simply makes sense" for us. Well ... no. It may seem so to people who've scrolled right past Team TK's analytical posts, but that was done on your volition. 

For instance, after right after episode 16, I mapped the show's narrative structure and direction (main thread post). At that time I also predicted that DS will love TK for the entirety of the last four episodes, but I didn't post that part of my analysis out of respect for the MT as a neutral space (it instead went to the TK-DS shipper thread).  I understand many people here will never emotionally accept the show's trajectory. But I'm hoping some of you will be open-minded enough to appreciate writer Lee's craft, and recognize the incredible care with which she's planned the show. For those who feel "blindsided" after ep. 19, I'm hoping that something as "neutral"/cerebral as narrative direction can offer you some explanation.

Analysis below the spoiler cut (note: this was written after ep. 16, so it does not incorporate new info from latest episodes):

Spoiler

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:

PD Shin, stare at me in the eyes and tell me this isn't foreshadowing:

 

[kentangbakar]

10 minutes ago, unkyung said:

How many hours until the live stream?

4hrs more

[theobrominebeagle]

I'm gonna miss these guys T_T (lol Ja Hyun and DR)

 

 

[valNK]

I've lived in 1988 for almost 3 months.

Anyone please tell me how to come back to 2016 TT_TT

I'll miss them so much TT_TT

 

Cre: IG@ minminji_1101  (Man Ok)

 

[YeongYi]

I'm teamjunghwan from day one. i feel empty inside but glad for the TKDS shippers out there. the main point is that the writer is trying to convey the message of hesitation leading to having to let go your first love, which was awesomely done. the execution part about DS and TK to me was a bit confusing, at least to me (maybe i was always overlooking the clues .-.) since I am biased, I never picked up or overlooked of DS's feelings for TK until the recent episodes (probably cuz of confirmation bias - only noticing things that confirms our belief, in this case JHDS as my otp). i have to admit TK and DS are adorbz but it just didn't get to me as natural because TK was an underdog all along when we (or at least I) least expected it. I tried to stay neutral and be teamDS but really couldn't when JH had all these emotions and i got dragged in... DS was so difficult to read T_T 

JH's character development was my favorite and he'll always be memorable.

i also really liked @packmule3 's extremely detailed explanations and interpretations of all the clues, which was so reasonable that i really gave it an effort in thinking about TK as the potential husband. 

all in all, since i've invested in JHDS all along, it's difficult to let go and feel happy for TKDS wholeheartedly... it'll take some time. but everyone, keep calm and don't start shipping wars c:

[uzzie-zera]

How is everybody holding up?! in a few hours we will have to bid farewell to our lovely gang from Ssangmun-dong. And the lovely parents.. I hope we could also bid farewell to all the ship wars. Seriously MT has been quite scary over the course of 2 months with all the heated argument on who will be the husband. That other fans of the drama are even afraid to post anything ... or mention anything related to Taek.. which is quite sad.. I hope the ship wars didn't over shadow the real story drama has given us. About family, friends, love and dreams. Now that we can watch the drama with English subtitles we can binge watch :-)

Everyone is welcome to visit our DukSeonxTaek thread so you can understand the story in our POV and the amazing clues dedicated SunTaek shippers have gathered (we have a master list!!) or you can  just watch it again without focusing on who the husband hunt and just appreciate the drama and characters itself.!!!

 

KUDOS to the hard working shippers who gathered all clues and ship their  team 'till the end. And invested their time and feelings. Now we can all go back to normal life :-)

bravo to PD-nim and Lee Woo-Jeong writer-nim... (the story and the characters were that good and believable that they were able to divide the viewers and eventually took sides)

Let's enjoy the last episode later, ne?!

I'll definitely miss this drama!!!!