Early Access: My Roommate is a Gumiho E2 (Patreon)

E2. This show is turning out to be sweeter, and yet, at the same time, more comedic, than I'd expected. It's an interesting combination, but not one that I'm opposed to. I find that thinking of this as a webtoon works really well, because that takes care of the comedic parts quite nicely, and I'm quite surprised at how I'm chuckling at my screen, given that I don't typically jive with the funny in kdramas.

Particularly during the broader funny parts, I find that I can totally imagine the scene unfolding in a manhwa, with Dam being illustrated with an exaggerated large mouth, to show her emotions. When I look at it that way, the way Hye Ri is playing is Dam, is actually pitch perfect.

And, with the use of this same manhwa lens, it's also easy to roll with Dam's reactions to the nugget of information that she could possibly die in a year, if Woo Yeo is unable to remove the marble from her. In a more realistic sort of story world, Dam's relatively light reactions would come across as unbelievable, but in a manhwa world, I totally buy it. It's amusing and it even endears Dam to me. Plus, Show does remember to sprinkle dollops of poignance into its story, like when we see Dam crying alone in the room, because at the heart of it all, she is scared that she won't live beyond a year.

I also commend Hye Ri for really leaning into the physical comedy. I found myself laughing out loud, at the scenes of her hard-dodging Sun Woo, particularly during the time when she's already mid-fall, when she realizes he's about to catch her, and she twists away from him and ends up rolling on the ground, to finish. Ahaha. It tickles me just to remember it. I was also amused at her very pronounced avoidance of him, when he sits down next to her at the gathering; her exaggerated actions and his bemused reactions make a pretty great combination, and I was nicely entertained.

For the record, I am not a fan of toilet humor, but I do think that Show reins it in just enough, so that it gets the intended effect, without getting too difficult to stomach. For example, I appreciated the "mute" that was applied, when Dam was on the toilet; other dramas would have probably leaned into it and reveled in the sounds. This show having the consideration of giving it to us on "mute" earned it brownie points in my book.

Plus, I just found it a nice touch, that Show would use this incident, to break the ice between Dam and Sun Woo. I'm amused that he'd thought that her response to his text, that she was busy unclogging the toilet, was another one of her efforts to avoid him, and I'm somehow rather gratified, that he realizes that she was telling the truth. Of course, trust Dam to be so relieved that she's successfully avoided ToiletGate, that she'd readily agree to buy him a meal, even though he's born in the year of the Tiger, and therefore should be on her Total Avoid list.

With Sun Woo, I'm pretty sure that his entire thing with Dam, is a curiosity aroused by the fact that she's actively avoiding him, while every other person - girl or boy - is falling over their feet to get close to him. I guess it was basically a challenge to him, to break down Dam's defenses, and get her to stop avoiding him. I'm supposing that it hurt his pride at least a little, to realize that not every single person thought of him as a demigod of sorts.

With the toilet incident, however, I do think that Sun Woo's genuinely amused by Dam, and perhaps this is where real interest takes the place of his reflex desire to win her over.

On a tangent, I'm just tickled by the fact that Bae In Hyuk, who plays Sun Woo, is playing the epitome of the uber popular dude in college here, while playing the complete opposite - a guy who actively disdains the popular kids - in At A Distance, Spring Is Green. I guess that's one way of showing some range? 😆

I actually really like the emphasis on empathy that we get, this episode. I like that when Dam challenges Woo Yeo to quit smoking, since she has to quit drinking and eating chicken, he actually does it. And, when he realizes that it's a lot harder than he'd expected, he actually starts to do nice things for her, to make her feel better. I thought it was sweet of him to cook spicy stir fried duck for her, since she couldn't eat chicken. It's too bad that after more than 900 years, he still can't cook well, ha.

I was pleasantly surprised by the scene in the storeroom, because when they got locked in there together, I'd thought that it would be a scene playing with the idea of hyperawareness, since they're stuck in the dark together. However, Show doesn't do that, and instead, turns the scene into an opportunity for Dam to understand Woo Yeo better. I love how she's so delighted by his personal collection of relics, and can't stop herself from asking him more about his life and experiences. For the first time, it feels like she's relating to him as a friend, rather than as a scary gumiho whose marble she needs to protect.

I like that Woo Yeo feels it too; that thoughtful look on his face, as he considers her enthusiasm, is burgeoning with poignance. It feels like this is the first time anyone's actually shown interest in him, for himself, and it seems like this is a new and novel experience for him.

As a matter of interest, in the scene where Dam talks with Woo Yeo to establish a way for her to address him, the term 오리신 ("orishin") that they agree on, is actually a respectful term that's used to address the elderly. My subtitles translate it as "senior" but that doesn't quite bring out the flavor of the term. It's more like she's addressing him like a grandfather, except that he's not related to her, and she's choosing a formal term of address to demonstrate appropriate respect and decorum.

I like the pause for thought that it gives Woo Yeo, when he realizes that Dam has his interests at heart too, when it comes to the marble. For all of the comedy that Show serves up around her misadventures with the marble, there's a lot of heart in the idea that she wouldn't want to get rid of the marble if it meant losing it, because of the repercussions that it would have on Woo Yeo. Again, this feels like a first for him, that someone cares about him.

On that note, I think it's significant that Dam wants to establish a term of address with Woo Yeo, because this means that she is starting to see their connection as a relationship. If you don't have a relationship with someone, you don't really need to establish a term of address, after all. And, I think it's significant that it's after these scenes of them getting to understand each other better, where she feels connected enough to him, to think of establishing a term of address.

This episode, we get hints that there is some dark past around a human who'd died because of Woo Yeo's marble, both from Woo Yeo's conversation with Hye Sun (we didn't get enough of her and her bombshellness, this episode!), and from the nightmare that we see him have.

We also find out that Woo Yeo is perfectly capable of taking back the bead from Dam. What? I'm really surprised by this, because Woo Yeo had moved right into telling Dam that the marble was stuck inside her, without much or any time to even observe her. Why would he choose to have her hold the marble for him, so that he could spend more time with her and around her? Are we going to get some backstory later, that he's actually seen her before, and already knew who she was, when the marble became dislodged and flew into her?

I appreciate the idea that Woo Yeo felt compassion for Dam, after seeing her crying alone in the room, and therefore wants to set her free from this marble prison that he's essentially put her in. However, does he actually take the marble back? We don't get to see that.

Also, what is this with the sudden wrist-grab and hug?? This makes me feel, all the more, that there's more to Woo Yeo being drawn to Dam, than what we currently know.

Overall, I'm enjoying this show quite nicely. It's more comedic than I'd expected, but I really appreciate how Show is weaving all these heartfelt elements into our story. It gives the silliness an emotional heft that I appreciate.