Are they or aren’t they? We get a fun week of push and pull between our gumiho and his college student roommate this week. As the two grow more attracted to each other, they work doubly hard to hide it, ignore it, or flat-out deny it.
EPISODES 5-6 WEECAP
Yay, we get to return to that super swoony moment that ended last week’s episodes, and I don’t mind watching that scene play out again. They even close the scene beautifully, with Woo-yeo gently ending the moment by suggesting they head out. Swooooon.
But My Roommate is a Gumiho is not a drama that merely doles out swoons — in fact, in this week’s episodes most of our swoony or almost-swoony moments are riddled with humor and hilarity. Or, they’re blatantly undercut with those infamous “record scratch” moments that kill whatever was in the air. Luckily, our drama knows how to balance the right amount of humor and romantic entanglements.
For the record, can I just say how I love that Dam finds herself attracted to Woo-yeo, knows she’s attracted to him, and that amongst all the reasons she tries to snuff it out, the fact that he’s a dangerous mythical beast is not her main objection LOL. That’s okay, Dam — when I see the way Woo-yeo looks at you in those hidden moments, I also willfully forget he’s not human. Hence the joy of this drama.
After that romantic dinner moment, both of our characters seem to have an increased awareness of each other. Dam tries to brush it off, but she jumps at a ride home from Woo-yeo — and he just as readily jumps at the opportunity to pick her up. Neither are where they say they are, and both fib to get this adorable ride happening, and I have no complaints. Also, Woo-yeo drives a pick-up truck?! This might be a dramaland first!
Even cuter than the actual ride together is all the excitement beforehand. Even when Hye-sun appears and tries to throw a spanner in the works and reveal her identity to Dam, Woo-yeo won’t let it happen. This scene is hilarious, as is his unbridled desperation. He eventually resorts to using his magic to teleport Hye-sun right out the truck so Dam can take her spot without any awkward moments. Squee!
But sadly, squees quickly give way to misunderstandings. Both Woo-yeo and Dam conclude independently that they need to squash whatever is blossoming between them. For Dam, it’s most just awkwardness and discomfort and the knowledge that it’s impossible, and the Beast would never care for Beauty. Woo-yeo, though, has deeper reasons for putting up his wall.
As Hye-sun likes to remind him, their relationships with humans do not end well. The fox bead slowly drains the life force right out of the women he has given it to — that’s the very premise of how gumihos become human.
Of course one glance at Hye-sun tells us she didn’t have a problem sucking the life (literally) out of the men in her past, but Woo-yeo? We know he’s different. And that sunset scene with Dam is enough to give you goosebumps.
Dam is more than a little confused about what’s going on (I do love this about her), so after an episode of experiencing this “some” relationship, the two have a little heart to heart on his front steps. She says that he’s special to her and she can’t pretend otherwise; he says the same. Except he then expounds to say that she’s like family to him — like a niece. *Record scratch*
Ah, Dam, she wears her heart on her sleeve in the most endearing way — I actually like her as much as Woo-yeo does at this point. She’s royally pissed that he sees her as a niece, and snarkily starts calling him uncle (samchon) instead of the formal oraeshin (elder) that she had been using.
Woo-yeo knows something is wrong, but can’t really find a way to placate her, so they continue to dance around each other. To the shock of her besties, in her outrage, Dam agrees to go on a blind date. It’s so tropey and fun the way this plays out — from Dam all dressed up for the date and Woo-yeo trying not to be affected, to the coincidence that Woo-yeo is sitting at the next table from her and her date. Poor Dam can’t reclaim the dignity that she felt she lost, but she’s also a little too near-sighted to notice that Woo-yeo takes some petty revenge on her assy date for how he’s treated her.
When the two finally have another heart to heart, it feels like all is right in the world again. Dam sees how much he really does care for her, and her ire is cooled. Woo-yeo teleports them into a museum for an illegal visit, and they not only bond, but share another charged moment when they have to hide in a dark corner from the security guard.
At the end of our episodes this week, we do get more insight on Woo-yeo’s troubled romantic past. His first love from his Joseon days died tragically because of the fox bead. It’s a lovely sequence, made even better because of the fun Jung So-min cameo, but it also leaves us with a lingering sense of worry. Woo-yeo has some heavy duty stuff to deal with. The more he admits to himself that he’s falling in love with Dam, the more he struggles with what her fate will truly be.
Heavy as that is, the drama doesn’t linger on the tragic doom, and instead it’s continually bright and funny — the perfect balance, I think, of romantic comedy/antics, and this deeper thread that keeps it from becoming too silly.
And speaking of silly, I love the whole escapade with Dam’s mother. She appears out of the blue, tricks her daughter, and winds up on Woo-yeo’s doorstep. Dam is horrified and begs Woo-yeo to use his magic on her mother — but in a great twist, her mind is too strong for him to manipulate. But fear not, this mother doesn’t seem to care at all that her daughter is living with a sexy older man. The family motto reigns supreme.
Before I close this weecap, a word on the poetic turn our drama takes with some of its more serious moments. They won me over last week with the beautiful dialogue in the dinner scene, and they did it again this week with more of the dialogue between Woo-yeo and Dam.
The first example of this was that moment where he tells her, “I thought you were just a passing shower, but somehow I’m still in the rain.” Kyaaa~ Jang Ki-yong’s delivery here elevated this from cringe territory (how it might read on paper) to this moment that made me hold my breath.
The second example was when Woo-yeo and Dam are at the pocha. Woo-yeo kindly lets her drink, and as she chugs back bottle after bottle (my stomach hurts just watching her), we get a hilariously edited display of Dam’s drunken behaviors. But we also get this moment where Dam is unloading about her feelings for Woo-yeo and what it’s like to be in his presence. “It’s soft and hot. I can’t either swallow it or spit it out. That’s how much I’m in love.”
I love everything about this explanation, and how we consistently get these very real explanations of Dam’s feelings. We are left to linger on it for a moment and enjoy — only to have it undercut in the next scene. Woo-yeo, we learn, thought she was talking about the steamed eggs she was staring into while drunk and confessing, hah! This show is definitely having fun. And so am I.