"Answer Me 1988" Episode 15 recap

Story has never really been a strong point of "Answer Me 1988". There's very little conflict to speak of, and what conflict we do get tends to be solved without much aplomb. Note how Seon-woo's reaction to the big emotional discoveries of the last episode is to...play catch with Taek's dad. Even bearing in mind the rather mild twist that comes out of that exposition, there's not really much more to that scene than what's right there on the surface.
That's how I felt about most of the story this episode. It all just felt like stuff we've already seen. There's Deok-seon and Jeong-hwan acting weirdly icy around each other. Taek always seems just about ready to confess his feelings to Deok-seon only to just arbitrarily decide not to. Seon-woo and Bo-ra are a couple. That's cute, although there too I was mostly struck by the complete lack of conflict, until the cliffhanger when the relationship finally gains some sort of new dynamic.
As lukewarm as I felt about this episode, I don't think the issue is plot. It might be more that the jokes just weren't all that funny or memorable. The only time I really laughed was with the whole phone scene- and those were cheap, easy laughs. I did find myself wondering whether automatic dialback was a thing back then. For that matter Jeong-hwan's headphones seem suspiciously small and compact considering this was the eighties. Did small headphones even exist back then?
All that's left is speculation, so why not- I think Dong-ryong is Deok-seon's husband. Yes it's completely out of nowhere but to date neither Jeong-hwan nor Taek have been very good at actually talking to Deok-seon. By contrast, Dong-ryong has some kind of fun vaguely flirty moment with Deok-seon in nearly every episode- it just never looks like that because of the drama's direction. The extended scene here where Dong-ryong is grabbing Deok-seon's hand is very easy not to notice.
Dong-ryong being the husband would also offer resolution to one of the drama's few conflicts- how Deok-seon's family appears to have run out of money. This, of course, is all just wishful thinking. "Answer Me 1988" has always been more about exploring the moment than it's been about providing storylines that can be packed up in neat little packages. Take the entire scene at the school. We all know this was pretty much the only result Deok-seon could expect, regardless of her new name. Even if a convenient solution also manages to show itself.
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.

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