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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Reply 1994" Episode 21 Final

The camera deliberately tantalizes us this episode. It constantly feels like we're just going to be one misstep away from Na-jeong's husband being suddenly and unexpectedly revealed, but no, those little pitter patters are just the inevitable outcropping of having nonprofessional friends videotape a wedding. If nothing else, "Reply 1994" certainly ends the same way it started out- mocking the viewer and getting away with it because comedy.

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For what it's worth, the question is resolved with a fair amount of time to go before the final true ending, and the episode hits the same hard notes it did with the apparent break-ups we had last time. I'm not sure we've ever actually heard Na-jeong's husband say "I love you" before. This is significant- when these characters have finally arrived at this emotionally powerful moment, that's the time when those words actually mean something. They're not just meaningless jabber- rather, what we see is a genuine visceral emotional punch to the gut, as they realize that the prospect of further separation is completely unbearable.

And so every little apparent inconsistency of the drama's vagueness is finally put into full focus. Surprisingly there hasn't actually been that much audience tantalizing. The montage of previously vague events with a full spread camera viewpoint is surprisingly short, as "Reply 1994" once again demonstrates that this is a drama about friendship principally- not the central mystery, which in all honesty, wasn't much of a mystery considering which man the drama has been focusing on.

As a final note this is all right. Unfortunately once we've finished with the whole husband / value of friendship thing the remaining runtime just feels kind of awkward. The conflict between Na-jeong's husband and her parents has little urgency, given that we know the marriage moves on unimpeded. And the extra bonus story about the 2002 World Cup is...well, you know, maybe I just had to be in Korea at the time to appreciate the energy of that moment because the whole incident really fell flat for me.

It's the same mix of good and bad we've seen throughout this drama's run, so there's not much to say at this point. Oh, except for the commercials! In the later parts of the "Reply 1994" the actors have been doing in-character ad spots. These have been mildly diverting, albeit strange. But the drama really topped itself this time with an ad that specifically states who Na-Jeong's husband is- which I saw mere minutes after the reveal was finally made during the actual program. Now that's coordination.

Review by William Schwartz

"Reply 1994" is directed by Sin Won-ho and written by Lee Woo-jeong-I and features Go Ara, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa and Jung Woo.

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