In the final week of our drama, we follow our hero as he attempts to complete his journey from nine-tailed fox to full-fledged oppa. Though he has a faithful young woman at his side to help him reach his goal, the two face many obstacles along the way, and a final test of that will either make or break their love.
EPISODES 15-16 WEECAP
Our gumiho and his girl wake up the morning after. Ignoring the fact Dam has just slept with a non-human (if you think too deeply about it it’s a tad creepy), the two are more in love than ever — and adorably awkward around each other. Dam is on a mission to teach him humanity, and Woo-yeo is an eager student. With the fox bead about 90% blue, and Woo-yeo’s powers weakening, the two take it as a sign they are getting close to their goal.
In fact, they’re so stable and their story feels so complete that our attention turns to our other couples for much of the finale week. First, we get to watch Jae-jin and Hye-sun come to a real understanding, and clear the air about the night they “slept” together, the fact that she was a gumiho, and the news that Jae-jin must complete his military service immediately. Their relationship is (finally!) sealed with a kiss (and a cameo by Oh Jung-se), and they’re adorable.
Then we get the big reveal of Soo-kyung and Seok, and the anger she’s been harboring against him. The drama really pulled the rug out on me, though! I could have sworn that Seok was crushing on her, and vice versa, but we learn that Soo-kyung’s crush from freshman year was on Jae-jin (who is disgusted when he hears this, lol). Soo-kyung assures him it only lasted three weeks, but her anger against Seok for mistaking her for a professor, and accidentally passing around her love letter to Jae-jin, lasted for years.
When it all comes to light she’s able to move on, and though this was funny, I felt a gush of ship disappointment. Did the drama trick me for no reason about these two? I could have sworn there was some chemistry going on. Thankfully, my drama intuition was not wrong; before the drama ends Soo-kyung conveniently trips into Seok’s arms, and all is right with the world again, because there’s no reason these two weren’t end game. Romance crumbs for the win!
We even get a little more closure for Sun-woo in our finale (though I still would have liked to see his story end differently). He goes off to study abroad with newfound clarity… and his wild little sister gets a massive crush on Dam’s little brother Dan, after he saves her with his mad archery skills.
These two were also written in the drama stars, so it’s fun to have them come together as the drama wraps up. If there’s one thing I enjoyed the most about the drama’s finale, it was all these little easter eggs and cute storyline wrap-ups. No character left behind!
But getting back to our lead couple, the road to humanity is not as easy as it sounds. After all, learning to be human is about more than the good manners and good attitude that Dam tries to teach her gumiho. She might fail sometimes (her cursing out the school ulzzangs was hysterical!), but her heart is in the right place. But is that enough?
One evening, the truth hits Woo-yeo like a ton of bricks: he sees himself “disappearing” from earth (in a way that’s reminiscent of You From Another Star). He looks down and his hands are fading away, his reflection is fading away, and even his image in photographs is slowly disappearing. He’s horrified to realize the loss of his powers means the opposite of what they thought. He’s not becoming human: he’s dying.
At first he keeps this secret from Dam. She’s joyful and bubbly when they’re together, not even suspicious of his clingy ways or sad glances. He wants to spend every minute with her, and they do — until he changes his mind and decides she needs to be away from him to spare her the pain that she’s in for.
The moment when Dam finally figures out the truth and rushes to him, is the moment when everything culminates. As drama heroines are oft to do, she runs with abandon into the street, with only her loved one in mind. She’s on the phone with him in tears when the Truck of Doom looms in, about to barrel into her. But something pushes her out of the way just in time. That something is Woo-yeo, who was able to teleport to her aid, save her from the truck, and die in her place.
A story always feels ghastly quiet once the hero has disappeared from it, and My Roommate is a Gumiho is no exception. Dam mourns him with Hye-sun, but refuses his request: that she take Hye-sun’s fox bead and forget him. Dam chooses to remember Woo-yeo instead, even if that means only heartbreak. And so, she stays in his house, cares for his yard, and waits for him.
Winter turns into spring, and one afternoon, apropos of nothing, Woo-yeo appears opposite her in the living room. We’re told that the mountain spirit permitted him to become human because he has learned the true lesson of humanity: love, patience, and sacrifice.
Though it might feel a bit manufactured at this point, it also fits together quite well — that he couldn’t have earned his humanity without first dying, and that he couldn’t have returned if someone that loved him hadn’t been waiting for him. And so, the two are reunited, and become the coolest (and fully-human) duo, living life to the fullest — and that includes waiting together in long lines for the best restaurants in town.
We end with the red thread of fate connecting Woo-yeo and Dam, proving that one really can choose one’s fate.