"Answer Me 1988" Episode 14 recap

One of the nicer parts of "Answer Me 1988" is how incredibly even-handed the drama is with character focus. Part of this is probably just a necessity of production- if Deok-seon was actually the focus the way lead characters normally are I'd expect Hyeri would have collapsed from exhaustion due to overwork by now. Instead, her role here is subdued to a mild act of heroism while focus instead shifts to Jeong-bong and Mi-ok. In case you don't remember who those characters are- Jeong-hwan's older brother and Deok-seon's shorter female friend.
The plot point? Ironic nostalgia. First, while (some) people think the eighties were cool today, back in the eighties people thought the fifties were cool. Which is ridiculous and nonsensical yet totally in keeping with the time period- and especially the thought process of young people in any era. Another intriguing angle is taken with phones- and how the absence of cell phones made dating much harder than it is in the present day.
Or do they? Think about it- while the entire restaurant scene is heartbreaking, the end is truly touching because back then, ambiguity and guilt were much easier to pinpoint when so much information was so hard to know. Contrast the present day, where instant messaging and a lack of mutual friends makes it very easy to be rude and mean to a person without intentionally being rude and mean. If SMS had been a thing, Bo-ra could have ditched Seon-woo at the concert guilt-free.
And what a shame that would be. Seon-woo agonizes over what to make of Moo-seong (Taek's dad) for reasons that are fairly obvious, especially after the scenes we see in his room. Airing out these frustrations to Bo-ra is able to help Seon-woo move on and realize that everything is going to be all right. It's no coincidence that the major catatlyst for this breakthrough is Moo-seong himself being that same shoulder to cry on for Seon-woo's mother.
Even though all of these scenes are, strictly speaking, minor storyline events, all of them pack a real strong heartfelt punch that, for all the eighties trappings, tends to hit universally, reminding us that fashion notwithstanding we're not all so different on the inside, and good advice never really changes through the ages. Take Dong-ryong's word with Deok-seon. Overthinking things isn't any way to go about life. True love and compassion, in whatever form, are what manifests when you just want to do whatever you can to help.
Review by William Schwartz
"Answer Me 1988" is directed by Sin Won-ho, written by Lee Woo-jeong-I and features Seong Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa, Ra Mi-ran, Kim Seong-gyoon, Ryoo Hye-yeong, Hyeri, Ko Kyeong-pyo and Ryu Jun-yeol.

Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink