REPLY 1998 - EPISODE 2

It's late fall now, and Jung Hwan's goofy dad unboxes the "new" VHS camcorder. He decides to shoot some home movies, much to the consternation of his largely humorless family. Meanwhile,�Grandma�is with Deok Seon's family, and they're sad she has to go home. Cue more fights, and a fight averted thanks to quick thinking, when Deok Seon decides to wear her sister's denim jacket.

At Taek's baduk (Go)�victory party, we learn that he's a world-class baduk player, winning a lot of money. Despite being a world class baduk player, to the kids, he's just their friend Taek. Deok Seon asks Taek what he wants for his birthday, because it's coming up, but Sun Woo has the perfect answer. They head out to eat some ddeokbokki (spicy rice cakes).


Looking sharp!

Grandma passes away, and by the time Deok Seon gets to the reception, a party's in full swing. She just can't understand why everyone's celebrating. Finally, the uncle enters, and he and Deok Sun's dad start crying and hugging each other, and at last she gets it: they were just trying to be strong.

Days later, they head to bed after yet another party (Taek's birthday), and Deok Seon catches her sister reading her diary, teasing her about the flowery writing and how she gave a boy chocolate.



Cut to the present, where the adult Deok Seon still has the diary and shudders when she reads it. Her husband (no, we still don't know who) is there, grousing about how he never got chocolate. Deok Seon insists that she gave him chocolate, but cut to the camcorder to uncover the truth. We see a scene where she stealthily slips chocolate into someone's bag before they file out of Taek's congratulations party. It turns out to be Sun Woo... �

As much as I might have had reservations about Hyeri taking over the role of a pivotal character, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. She plays a teenager really well and very convincingly. Hyeri also has great chemistry with her male friends, and that's important. I think it may have something to do with the great characterization and I have to salute the writers. They always put in these little bits into the Reply series that just really makes it come alive, and Doek Seon is no exception.


The five friends as kids.

So we're guessing husbands again. All the buzz I read said that we would not be... and that there would be romance. But I'm going to guess that it's not Sun Woo. Why not, you might ask? Because the Reply series just loves doing things like this. They drop enough red herrings to make you think one way, and then they yank the carpet out from underneath you and have to switch gears. But it's not going to work this time! You hear me? :)

Taek is really quiet. He just sits by and seems to let things happen to him. It's kind of hard to get inside his head, but I think he's a giant introvert. There's probably a ton of things he wants to say, and he doesn't have enough confidence to say it out loud. I think he likes Deok Seon, and I'm hoping that he doesn't have the Second Lead Syndrome, because that would be sad. I like the fact that Deok Seon even flirts with him: "Hurry and finish your milk, so I can marry you." I dunno, I figure at least three of these boys will be dumped by the end of the series, but I don't want one of them to be him.


"What's with the suit? Are you a grandpa now?"

When we saw Grandma and they saw her off, I figured there was going to be another death. I just didn't expect it in the very same episode. When does an elder not die in a Korean Drama? Okay, I can think of a few, but not many. They all do it for dramatic effect, a way to tug on the heartstrings. I like the way they turn it into a struggle to understand the adult heart, and I love the way they do this.

And a short note: the cinematography is just awesome! I love the scene transitions... they're so natural so that one scene plays off another perfectly. The scene where Deok Seon runs home to return the jacket is spliced together with the video game that Jung Hwan's brother is playing and with Olympic marathon scenes. It's all just beautifully realized, and they outdid themselves this episode. Keep it up, guys!

I'm loving it so far. How about you?

SEE ALSO: Hyeri reveals her InBody measurements and declares that she is going on a diet