Danger and desire are in the air as our drama takes a slightly darker turn. Our gumiho and college student no sooner clear up the confusion between them when a whole new barrier gets in the way of their growing attraction. The stakes are high, and so is the tension.
EPISODES 9-10 WEECAP
The more we get to know Woo-yeo, the more I think he’s a gumiho man-child, and not a wise 999-year-old being. It takes him quite a bit of time to realize, and accept, that Dam remembers everything about him. He lingers around her endlessly, as if he’s hoping it’s true, but when he finally confronts her about it, it’s a great scene of emotional honesty between the two.
I do love this drama’s tone, and how it jumps about. We get so much wacky comedy out of Dam and her friends — but the drama’s romance is in full swing now, and with that comes all the tension, the longing, and the epicness we could hope for. I’m all for it, somehow, because the drama doesn’t take itself too seriously. It does goofy and epic at the same time, and loves every minute of it.
It’s fun to see Hye-sun’s role crystalizing, and this also goes back to my earlier comment about how little Woo-yeo actually knows. It’s always Hye-sun who is reminding him about their tenuous relationship with humans, and of the danger — and heartbreak — when they get involved.
She’s a fun character who’s a bit removed from real life, even after earning her humanity, and mimics the duality of the drama. On one hand, she exists for hijinks and silly (and such a fun love line developing with her and Jae-jin!). And on the other hand, she exists for narrative guidance, since without Hye-sun we wouldn’t have a mechanism to learn anything about gumiho/human relationships.
We spend Episode 9 waiting for the two to reunite after Dam’s memory was (ostensibly) wiped, and when they finally come clean about their feelings, it’s at the temple where they once bonded.
After a confession and embrace, the cuteness comes back full-force. The two go on a date, and it’s full of some serious hilarity, and great dramaland meta (thank you Woo-yeo for watching My Name is Kim Sam-soon). They’re also suddenly in this cute, giddy phase that’s adorable to watch, and strangely uncomplicated by their new professor/student relationship.
But then we hit the end of Episode 9. We’ve gotten hints that Woo-yeo is experiencing “hunger” for the first time in many centuries, and things get a little hot when that comes out as desire for Dam. In a sweeping moment, the two have their first kiss (such a great OST here!) — but then things turn dark. We see Woo-yeo’s eyes flash red, and their kiss goes from passionate love, to this almost animalistic aggression that causes Dam to tap out for a breather.
Cue my favorite thing this show has done yet: take on this trope (which I’m tempted to compare to Twilight but won’t) where the romance reaches danger, and where the hero and his sexual desire become a threat to the woman. Such a delicious archetype! I definitely wasn’t expecting My Roommate is a Gumiho to head in this direction, especially after Woo-yeo’s character seemed so staid in the first few episodes.
Woo-yeo is horrified over what happened inside of him during their kiss, and he takes Hye-sun’s advice: no skinship with Dam at all. He takes this quite literally (to the point of grabbing Dam by the scruff of her blouse rather than her waist, to keep her from falling) and it causes a whole new layer of confusion for Dam, who is as giddy as ever over Woo-yeo.
Is the life-and-death-stakes tension as fun with a heroine who doesn’t realize it? Not really. So the story gratefully has Dam also understanding the danger. The two eventually decide that they will keep dating, and Dam will hold out as best she can as her life energy is slowly absorbed by him. Before she gets too weak/ill, it’s Woo-yeo’s job to figure out how to keep her safe — and really, how to become human, because there’s a heavy foreshadowing that their relationship is doomed otherwise.
Our mountain spirit returns this week, still hanging around Dam, and existing to randomly threaten Woo-yeo and remind him how dangerous he really is to Dam. But he also adds a level of complication. In a Puck-esque move, he ties a thread between Dam and Sun-woo. They’re now linked by this thing they can’t see, and it’s going to prove Problematic (with a capital p!)
Sun-woo is as smitten with her as ever, and I rather like him mooning over her. I even like them together… if Woo-yeo wasn’t a character in this drama. With Woo-yeo as the hero, there’s no way I can’t root for him and Dam, especially with this delicious tragic setup we’re getting now. The only downside? The episodes aren’t coming fast enough.