[Review] Reply 1988 Episode 20 (End)

So endearing I cried an ocean of tears. Happy times in Ssangmun-dong finally approach an end as our neighbourhood gang grows up and starts leaving the estate with their families. It is not our youth that we solely miss, but rather, the time and place that contains everybody's youth - our parents, our friends, our siblings, our neighbours. Everybody's.

I don't have to reiterate my fondness for the Reply series, and Reply 1988 has exceeded my expectations in bringing this franchise to yet another level. Apart from expanding the friendship line (towards the romantic direction), Reply 1988 has played extremely strong family cards this time round by dwelling very deeply on relationship building for every household, both internally and externally. Each family is a representative of the different types of struggle we are facing today, but with a tight-knit community spirit, they have overcome obstacles and created a memory of their very own. Nothing could tear this memory down, not even the neighbourhood that has already been demolished.

Undoubtedly, the cast contributes largely to the success of this drama, in particular Sung Il Dong who has the knack to move you to tears with his grim look. He has superseded the art of crying by not crying, and at the same time pricks your heart so much that you can only break down on his behalf. I couldn't hold back every time he engages in a deep emotional interaction with his daughters, it's just so poignant and realistic that you feel yourself in his shoes instead. That, we call it real stuff.

And once again, I have to say how much I adore Choi Taek in the show hahaha (yes, this is pure fangirling). Thanks Reply 1988, it's painful to let you go but I guess it's time. Goodbye, Ssangmundong; Goodbye, Reply 1988.