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My Roommate Is a Gumiho: Episodes 11-12 Open Thread

Though our gumiho and his college student girlfriend want nothing more than to enjoy each other’s company and date happily, obstacles continue to stack up between them. Some are mystical, and ask important questions about fate, while others are relational in nature, and complicate their couple status.

 
EPISODES 11-12 WEECAP

As a sucker for second lead storylines of all shapes and sizes, so I have to say how much I’m enjoying the spin that My Roommate Is a Gumiho puts on it. The red thread that the mountain spirit tied between Dam and Sun-woo is the perfect mechanism for pulling the second lead (almost literally) into the story — and also putting the heroine in a place that’s pretty nuanced.

Usually, the heroine must turn down the tofu-hearted second lead, having a heart only for the hero. But here, while Dam has a heart for our hero, she doesn’t only have a heart for our hero. The red thread is pulling her heart towards Sun-woo, and she finds herself drawn to him against her will.

But it’s not only about the emotional or physical draw — their new fate also means that they are thrown together at every turn. This is another fantastic use of a storytelling mechanism to “explain” why our second lead turns up when he does, or just so happens to catch her fall, or start a part-time job at the same Subway chain location. Nary a drama has done this before. We accept drama fate and interconnectedness because it’s delicious (and it is), but it’s also fun to have a story that’s explaining the whys of all that coincidence.

This thread, of course, is a mounting threat to Dam and Woo-yeo’s relationship. It’s played for jealousy (in the swooniest sense), but once the two realize its gravity, it also becomes a thematic problem.

While Woo-yeo is worried about the strength of the fate that was created for them, Dam is in an even more complicated place: how much of her life and heart does she really control? I love that the drama asks these questions. And Hye-sun, in one of her wise moments, says this to Dam: “Why do animals want to become human? Because humans are the only ones who can decide their fate.”

While Dam wrestles with the idea of fate, Woo-yeo is slowly getting pushed to the edge. Between the strength of the red thread, the continued threats from the mountain spirit, and what we learn through his conversations with Hye-sun (his 1,000 years of life are almost up) — we see Woo-yeo get darker and more desperate.

As his opportunity window to become human is quickly narrowing, what’s growing at the same rate is his desire to become human. And that’s because of Dam. The dreamy echoes that we see of Dam and Sun-woo living as a happy, ordinary couple are practically an assault on Woo-yeo’s heart. I don’t think he’s ever felt the weight of his non-humanness as much as he does now.

Despite the fact that Dam says it doesn’t matter to her, it does matter, and it’s only Woo-yeo who understands the full gravity. So, the energy that he refuses to take from Dam (despite their blackout bead-retrieving kiss in his living room), he decides to take from a woman at the university who’s been hitting on him. He tries to play it off, but Dam is pretty quick to understand not only what Woo-yeo is doing, but why.

Because Dam is as pure-hearted as she is, she’s horrified by the fact that Woo-yeo is taking the lifeforce from another woman instead of her. It’s the first time, I think, that she realizes the inherent tragedy of the gumihos and their story — that they’re doomed to hurt the ones they love, and that in order to become human they must essentially steal the life of another. It shakes her enough to break up with him, we end on a teary scene with two very sad beings staring at each other.

Lest this week’s episodes appear too heavy and dark, there was also so much fun and humor sprinkled in that I think I laughed more this week than ever — the eye-tearing kimchi-making, the Yi Sun-shin moment, the confetti, and Shin Hyung-tak’s cameo as Sun-woo’s uncle (which effectively tempered the automatic groan I let out when Subway PPL found its way back into dramaland).

I’ve also really been enjoying the side character stories. Jae-jin and Hye-sun are so much fun together; when one is being a ditz, the other grounds them, and vice versa. I could watch them be secretly flustered at each other and fake dating all day.

But there’s also Dam’s bestie SOO-KYUNG (Park Kyung-hye, I love her) and her relationship with JUNG SUK (Kim Kang-min) — the dynamics here are the best. He clearly likes her, and she clearly likes him, but there’s this unrevealed incident in the past and a misunderstanding between them. We’ve been getting crumbs from the get-go, and I really hope they give this storyline enough airtime, because I just love it.

Kim Kang-min is even more of a newb than Bae In-hyuk and Kim Do-wan — and the only thing I like more than a new crop of fun actors, is a new crop of adorable fun actors. You can find me hovering over all of their careers. *rubs palms gleefully*

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i don't want to like him, Seon Woo, but he's become endearing... they are convincing me that this pairing seems inevitable, charming, meant-to-be... and it's breaking my heart cuz i want her to be with Woo Yeo....
;__;

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same....

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I am quite disappointed with where this drama is heading. My heart is not fluttering when WY smiles anymore. I remember the first time I felt goosebumps (in a negative way) because of his smile, it was in that past romance flashback scene. The background music was so eeire and now they keep using it when they show WY. I tend to cut a slack to dramas and movies because they are not reality, so I put up with a lot of things others wouldn't I guess, but WY's ominous side is getting too uncanny. The jealousy, lies, shape shifting, stalking are so off putting. I am glad Dam broke up with him..for like an episode lol

Also, it doesn't feel like WY is almost 1000 years old. More like 100, I would believe that but definitely not 1000. The way he carries himself and behaves would fit a baby gumiho and not an ancient person.

But Dam is still great, our 2nd couple is adorable and I want to know what happened between Dam's friend and that cute sunbae.

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Jang Ki Yong has this one smile (you know, small smile and a bit confused round eyes with a note of sadness) that I hate with all my heart. There are actors like Jung Hae In who play one character in dozens of dramas and then there are actors like Jang Ki Yong who have like five expressions in total.

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Jang Ki Yong presence made the main couple so boring in WWW. He is tall and that is that!

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OMG, me too. I find this "relationship" so toxic. She is so young, she deserves to live her life and not get stuck with a clueless, jealous, self observed oldman. In reality their relationship will not work.

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Woo yeo's ominous side is getting too uncanny. The show is turning from rom-com to horror, given the way he earsed the other professor's memory. That reiterated his predatory ways from the previous episode.

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The supporting couples are really stealing the show

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Are we sure that the marble is really Woo Yeo's one and not a hostage who tries to escape at the first occasion? Because he lost it pretty easily for a 1000 years old Gumiho.

I don't really care about the main couple. I usually don't really care about the difference of age but this time between the story and Hyeri's diction and ton of voice that sounds childhish, it's hard to forget about it.

I love Kang Han-Na's character, she's so funny and cute at the same time. I like how she dressed, when she can wear casual clothes when it's necessary, when Dam was wearing clothes that don't really suit her personality in the temple visit.

I like Sun-woo, he really changed since the beginning, poor him, he used to piss off a Gumiho by a old spirit...

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I continue to love Dam and her friends and Hye-sun, but Woo-yeo is getting annoying. He likes Dam, but I sense of lack of motivation and drive. It doesn't feel like he's in this relationship for the long haul. No anxiety over the deadline. And he doesn't seem to have much interest in being human even though he has fallen in love with one.

I don't care about Seon-woo's one-sided love, but I really like his scenes with his sister and uncle and in the dream sequence. Mopey Seon-woo is just blah.

I really like how the drama continued some of the humor that makes this drama so enjoyable, but Woo-yeo and Seon-woo both put a damper on things.

When the marble popped out of Woo-yeo again, I recalled Dam's rant the first week about just how frustratingly easy it was for the marble to pop out just because she bumped him on the chest. Like is he just not getting enough exercise? A tap on a chest is all it takes for the marble to pop out? how did he manage to survive 999+ years?

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I have this distant memory that the other person has to put a hand on WY's chest and be close to his face to get the marble out. Iirc it was in one of the flashback scenes when he kissed the gisaeng.

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Continuing the rest of the episodes with just Dam, her family/friends and Hye sun would be good, but this drama isn't about slice of life. The show really shines without characters of Woo Yeo and Seon woo, but part of the story belongs to WY, so the writer should atleast portray, what he has done, what he will be doing, what he can do to become human. Nevermind, looking at the preview for the next episode, the writer isn't interested in the conflict of gumiho's quest to turn human. Lee Dam: The Prey!

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“Why do animals want to become human? Because humans are the only ones that can decide their fate."

No, because they have no clue until it's too late about work-related stress and the joys of trying to calculate income taxes.

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I feel like the person who wrote the first four episodes is a different scriptwriter. This drama doesn't have enough plot for 16 episodes.

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Show could pretty much be renamed "Kang Han-na And Assorted Background Characters", and that leaves me with questions like...
"Did they know how well she would fit that role when they cast her or did they just luck out?"
"Were they even planning from the start to give her so many good lines or did they start just give her a few and then keep adding more when they saw how well it worked?"
"Is she getting paid what she's worth?"
"Did the nominal leads know when they signed on that they were going to be upstaged?"

PS: my second favorite character is Soo-kyung. I've gotten tired of both Woo-yeo & Sun-woo ("Woo-woo"?), and even a little tired of Hyeri.

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I know some my disagree, but can i say how much i love Dam's character? Firstly she is so honest in communicating her feelings. We see moments when she debates with herself to tell WY something but in the end her honest personality wins out. We see this clearly when he rejects SW. There is no beating around the bush. She is clear and direct in telling him she is not interested, and even in the most recent eps said she does not want to give false hope if he misunderstands her actions. It refreshing to have a FL that is so direct and honest with her suitors.
I also cant hate SW. he was a jerk at first but has done a complete turn around. He genuinely likes her and wants to stop her from getting hurt when she finds out WY is taking energy from that profesor. I think the red string is just amplifying his feelings. I also agree with @missvictrix that i am loving Dam's feelings pulled in two ways. she is such a nuanced character.

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What if this series is meant to be read as a metaphor for a naive college girl becoming entangled with a predatory older man? What do you think the ending should be? What if the gumiho was notorious girl chaser Leonardo DeCaprio? What if the gumiho was Woody Allen? These last two episodes they deliberately upped the ick factor to drive home the fact that this is an unnatural, unhealthy relationship. At least in Goblin he wasn't draining her life from her to feed his appetites.
I was shocked by the finale of 'I Married The Antifan'. The horrible second male lead and abused second female lead stayed together even though she had just attempted suicide in an effort to get away from him. Toxic relationships ought not to stay together simply because it a 'conventional Kdrama ending'.

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Poor Sun Woo! Honestly I feel nothing for the main OTP! Dam should choose SW and not date her non human professor.

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I don't understand why the mountain spirit is interfering in Woo-yeo's life when he never tied the red thread on Seo-hwa or with any other gumihos. Why Dam? Why before Woo-yeo's 1,000 years are almost up?

Seon-woo is becoming pathetic, but the reason why he and Dam started working at Subway was cute. I had wondered if Dan and Seo-woo go to the same school ever since we saw their similar uniforms. When Seo-woo hilariously took back her "we're over, oppa" as soon as Seon-woo offered to pay for her scooter, I thought it's not even his money before their father cut him off. Seon-woo's uncle was witty and perceptive.

I don't ship anyone in this show. Out of all the characters, I think Jang Ki-yong and Kang Han-na have the best chemistry especially when Hye-sun whined, "Why me!?" when Woo-yeo volunteered her for Dam's history club, but I can't ship them because he patronizes her ignorance.

Many thanks, @missvictrix, for the weecap!

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I know the male and female lead are only two years apart in age but they act as if the difference is about 10 years. And much as I like Dam's character I really cannot see how she could appeal to someone that mature. It's an odd mixture and I'm following this firstly out of curiosity to see how they are going to work it all out, and secondly in the hopes that jang Ki-yong will take his shirt off. Not too hopeful there, either!

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In last MRIAG open thread, I wished they would show Dam and Woo Yeo navigating life on the context he fails to turn human. The drama did a good job of discussing the limited aspects of a human compared to a magical species. The writer should have given us more of such scenes instead of a jealous gumiho.

Woo Yeo halting time during his lecture and having a moment with Dam, is supposed to be a cute moment, but it comes off as spooky, because the very next second he turns Seon-Woo's head away from Dam, with a force that evil super beings use to snap innocent human's head.

Also I find the show to be just as much wishy washy as Dam's character. In one episode, Dam will be concerned for her life, but in the next she is willing to sacrifice a small amout of her energy to be close to Woo Yeo. The drama tells us the main OTP are capable of haveing conversation regarding the conflicts in their relationship, but in the very next episode the OTP hides significant stuff from other. The same contradiction happens again with the episode 12 ending and episode 13 preview. The show isn't having a clear trajectory and it is becoming increasingly frustrating to watch the OTP.

During Dam's narration of her messy love life, she should have heeded to Soo-Kyeong's advice, " The female must be worried about her own future over her boyfriend". Maybe, the drama should have a time jump, make the guiho human and continue with the romance.

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I'm afraid to say that I love Seon Woo now, it's like I admit to say that I do a sin. I'd never thought I would forget swoony Woo Yeo and fell in love with Seon Woo. I'm so realte to Dam when her heart swayed. This drama is dangerous

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So agree! This love triangle is perfection and I usually hate love triangles!

Also, I love Seon woo too!!!!! What will his ending be? Please give him a nice girl or better yet a spin-off with him as the lead.

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I can't help but think Seon Woo would be best for her (I'm all about that stress free life). Woo Yeo and her are cute and all but from the moment they met it's always being complicated now their together and it hasn't gotten better.

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