"Answer Me 1988" Episode 9 recap

The first portion of this episode moves pretty slow. It's just a token variety of the usual simple character jokes and pop culture references that "Answer Me 1988" always uses as a placeholder. There's nothing terribly bad about this. The jokes are cute enough but the material is uninspiring. That much changes after the first commercial break, at which point an unexpected event results in Taek unexpectedly getting to spend quite a bit of time with Deok-seon.
Yes, Go is involved. While I wasn't terribly impressed with the last time "Answer Me 1988" devoted a lot of runtime to Go, here we're given a good frame of reference. Even if Deok-seon loves Taek (like a brother), she knows absolutely nothing about the game of Go. Her presence seems superfluous. Yet what Deok-seon is good at is, quite unintentionally, her ability to make a generally dour atmosphere seem bright and cheery by just, well, being herself.
Just as Deok-seon was aghast at the notion that Seon-woo could look at Bo-ra and somehow see positive character traits, so too is Deok-seon is completely unaware of her own positive traits. That gives her a very sweet if literal girl next door quality that really gives the whole "guess the husband" game a very legitimate vibe. Initial concerns notwithstanding, I can see why Han Hye-ri was given this role. All Deok-seon really needs to do is be attractive without being self-conscious, and Han Hye-ri really pulls that off.
Bo-ra's story point, while it takes awhile to start up, is also fairly interesting. I don't think Bo-ra actually likes her college friends very much. Yes the whole two-timing thing is certainly a good enough excuse, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Bo-ra would rather mouth off to guys with guns than attempt approachment with a woman who was supposedly her best friend. The funny thing is that for all her bluster, Bo-ra is kind of lonely and does want attention- just as an equal, not an idolized older sister.
For the record I still really like the adults, and the scenes at the hospital reminded me of a fact that up until now I'd only ever abstractly noticed. Moo-seong struggles with the emotional pain of having lost his wife, and Seon-yeong struggles with the financial pain of having lost her husband. Both of these story points have, in different ways, highlighted the way the local neighborhood in "Answer Me 1988" has to come together to help each other out. And that's just really sweet- exactly the kind of sentiment I love to see from this drama.
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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