Rich7

So thoughtful and well written, thank you! I guess I'm quite the slug as I missed many of the
references you cited that apparently went right over my head. Now I have another good excuse to re-watch this wonderful drama with new eyes. Live and learn...

Sweet Li! I like the thought of seeing her go from "gentle" to "heroic". One of my favorites for sure.

At this point they would be quite lucky to get her.

Wow! A really wonderful editorial, thanks. So timely, in this crazy world we should take every opportunity possible to celebrate friendship. I’ve watched 4 (almost 5 since I recently finished Reply 1997) of the dramas covered and now I’m excited to add the others you mentioned. FWIW I started by binging seasons 1 & 2 of Hospital Playlist and discovered the same folks are behind the Reply series and went back to the beginning with 1997. I’m lukewarm on 1994, but waiting for a time without any distractions (and to prepare emotionally) to get into Reply 1988 since I’ve read nothing but stellar reviews on this particular drama.

Good to see some CDrama represented and for anyone on the fence and thinking about Hidden Love and The Rational Life I enjoyed them both and they’re worth your time. So many great recommendations in the comments, so I’ll add a few of my own. Here’s to friends:

CDrama
I’ll second Bookgirl529’s Delicious Romance
Meet Yourself
Nothing But Thirty

KDrama
Itaewon Class
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha

My sincere thanks for a really thoughtful and detailed analysis! I'll be perusing your past reviews for sure. As an aside, it's an unfortunate reminder of just how much I'm missing in so many of these dramas by not speaking Chinese. Sigh....

Yes, absolutely!

She's good, but IMHO nobody pulls of the "casual gun on shoulder" look better than IU in Hotel del Luna. Now that's to die for...