My Roommate is a Gumiho finale
My Roommate is a Gumiho was a drama that brightened our days. Now that it has ended, we can’t help but feel sad that we can no longer laugh at the hilarious interactions between Woo-yeo and Dam.
My Roommate is a Gumiho was one of the most popular dramas in June. In this My Roommate is a Gumiho finale review, we explore what we loved about the final episode, and what we thought could’ve been better.
What we loved
1. Dam struggling to call Woo-yeo “oppa”
Image adapted from: tvN
Though this scene wasn’t in the final episode, it’s a cute moment that’s worth mentioning.
In the penultimate episode, Dam was seen struggling to call Woo-yeo “oppa”. Ever since she met Woo-yeo, Dam has been addressing him formally. Her friend, Soo-kyung, tells Dam that she should be addressing her boyfriend sweetly, and suggests using cute nicknames like “darling”, “baby” or “oppa”.
With Soo-kyung’s advice in mind, Dam chooses to call Woo-yeo “oppa” because it’s not as mushy as the other nicknames. However, she’s still hesitant to address him that way, and her first attempt fails because she said it so softly that Woo-yeo had to ask her to repeat herself. She’s embarrassed and avoids his questions, but judging from the smile on Woo-yeo’s face, it seems like he actually heard her clearly.
She tries to call him “oppa” again, but she’s interrupted by a lady manning a street stall. Later, Woo-yeo tells Dam that he heard her call him “oppa”, and tells her that it’s alright to address him informally from now on. He will also do the same.
However, they continue to address each other formally the next day, because they can’t break the habit.
2. Soo-kyung actually had a crush on Jae-jin
Image adapted from: tvN
After two girls accuse Soo-kyung of stealing Jung Seok’s notebook, Dam defends Soo-kyung and a physical fight ensues, with lots of hair pulling and scratching. At one point, a large bag of snacks is used as a weapon. It bursts open, sending snacks flying everywhere.
Jung Seok and a few other boys run to pull the girls apart. One of the girls says that Soo-kyung stole the notebook out of spite because she has an unreciprocated crush on Jung Seok.
Exasperated, Soo-kyung yells that it’s not Jung Seok she likes. Jae-jin is the person whom she has a crush on. This was unexpected because Soo-kyung and Jae-jin have been friends since their freshman year, and Soo-kyung has never done anything that hints at a crush. Everyone is stunned into silence, and Soo-kyung throws herself to the floor in embarrassment, lying flat on the ground to hide her face.
Soo-kyung’s confession shocked us too. We never expected her to have a crush on Jae-jin because she showed no signs of liking him throughout the drama.
Image adapted from: tvN
Later, Soo-kyung, Dam and Jae-jin gather in a street stall to drink and talk. Jae-jin confronts Soo-kyung about her crush on him and tells her to stop liking him. We think it’s a little harsh but perhaps it’s good to be honest, especially since their friendship is on the line. Luckily, they continue to be good friends.
3. Hye-sun & Jae-jin officially become a couple
Image adapted from: tvN
Hye-sun and Jae-jin are the cutest. Jae-jin’s nervousness around Hye-sun has resulted in many hilarious moments, while Hye-sun has a bold personality that’s the opposite of Jae-jin’s timid character.
Even though the two of them have been meeting for some time, Jae-jin refuses to touch Hye-sun. Hye-sun is perplexed and often compares him to men in Joseon. It’s no longer the old times, yet Jae-jin is behaving like the men in the past.
However, Jae-jin confesses that he’s behaving this way because he thought that he slept with her when he was drunk, and he has been feeling guilty about it. Hye-sun tells him that they never slept together, and it was all a misunderstanding. She slept on the sofa while he slept on the bed.
Jae-jin is overjoyed to hear that and tells her to close her eyes so that he can kiss her. He takes way too long, so Hye-sun just grabs his face to kiss him instead.
4. Woo-yeo returns as a human
Image adapted from: tvN
A large portion of Woo-yeo’s red bead has turned blue, signalling that he’s close to becoming human. He’s gradually losing his powers as well, and he believes that it’s because he’s becoming human.
However, his joy dissipates when he realises that he’s disappearing. It turns out that his powers are disappearing because he is disappearing, and not because he is turning human. If he cannot turn the red bead completely blue in time, he will vanish and all traces of him will disappear.
Though he feels sad, he is more worried about Dam, who will be left alone if he disappears. He sends her back to live with her family. Dam feels that something is amiss, and after seeing Woo-yeo flicker out of sight from the photo on her desk, she dashes out of the house to find him.
In her haste, she runs straight into the path of an oncoming vehicle. She’s on the phone with Woo-yeo, so he hears that she’s in danger of getting hit.
Dam finds herself pushed out of the way. Looking back, she sees Woo-yeo lying on the ground. He teleported to her to save her, and got hit instead.
Crying, Dam runs over to Woo-yeo, but he disappears in front of her eyes. She collapses on the ground and sobs.
After this, Dam is filled with grief, but she later realises that Woo-yeo has not disappeared from the photos they took. This gives her hope that Woo-yeo will come back. She stays in Woo-yeo’s house, waiting for him to return.
Hye-sun visits her and tells her that Woo-yeo asked her for a favour before he disappeared. He told Hye-sun to erase Dam’s memories if she has trouble moving on. Dam starts crying, but she tells Hye-sun that she doesn’t want her memories erased even though it means that she will need to live with the pain of losing him.
Image adapted from: tvN
Woo-yeo is revealed to be unconscious in another dimension. He hears Dam’s cries and a tear slips out from one of his closed eyes.
Dam falls asleep on the sofa. The next morning, she wakes up and turns around to find Woo-yeo sitting in the armchair opposite her. This scene reminded us of the first time Dam woke up in Woo-yeo’s house.
Dam runs over to Woo-yeo and they embrace each other. He reveals that he has successfully become human. We’re glad that they got a happy ending.
5. Seo-woo falls in love with Dan
Image adapted from: tvN
The drama’s final episode also shows what happens to the supporting characters. Sun-woo’s feisty sister, Seo-woo, is chilling at a cafe when a couple of boys suddenly grab her bag and take off. Seo-woo runs after them, but she trips and falls. The boys are laughing when an arrow pierces the bag and pins it to a tree, which shocks them into silence.
Image adapted from: tvN
Seo-woo turns to see Dan with his bow. He takes out another arrow and aims it at the boys. The boys run off.
Meanwhile, Seo-woo is staring at Dan as if he’s Hawkeye. She thanks him for helping her, and a cute animation of cupid shooting an arrow into Seo-woo’s heart appears. She has completely forgotten about her grudge against his sister, who broke her brother’s heart.
Image adapted from: tvN
Later at school, Seo-woo loops her arm around Dan’s, and boldly announces that she’s dating him from today onwards. Dan is obviously confused by her declaration and tries to pull away, but Seo-woo simply drags him by the arm.
6. Soo-kyung & Jung Seok are fated to be together
Image adapted from: tvN
Soo-kyung is a loyal friend of Dam’s and has a great personality, but she’s often mocked for looking older than her age. That made us upset, so we were really happy when we found out that Soo-kyung will get her happy ending – with none other than Jung Seok!
Image adapted from: tvN
Soo-kyung sees Jung Seok on campus after a presentation, and he tells her that he liked her presentation. Soo-kyung scoffs and proceeds to walk past him, but she trips over her own foot and falls right onto Jung Seok, who grabs her and helps her up.
Flustered, Soo-kyung turns to walk hurriedly away from him, but she pauses and looks back at him. One of her accessories has caught onto a loose thread from Jung Seok’s pullover, so a red thread is seen stretched between the two, resembling the red thread of fate.
We are sure that this means Soo-kyung and Jung Seok are fated to be a couple.
7. Woo-yeo adjusting to life as a human
Image adapted from: tvN
Now that Woo-yeo is back, it’s time for more cute moments between the drama’s main couple. Before Woo-yeo disappeared, Dam made a list of everything he needs to do when he becomes human. When Woo-yeo was a gumiho, he couldn’t appreciate food because he didn’t need to eat human food. Dam included “queueing up for delicious food” on the list, because she wants him to experience the anticipation of waiting to eat something delicious.
They appear decked in black formal wear, looking as if they’re heading to somewhere important, but they’re really just going to join the queue at a famous eatery.
Image adapted from: tvN
Unfortunately, when it’s their turn to enter, the owner informs them that all the ingredients have been sold out. For the first time, Woo-yeo experiences the disappointment of not being able to eat the food that he’s craving.
Image adapted from: tvN
Woo-yeo tells Dam that he will cook for them at home instead. He is known to be a bad cook, but he assures Dam that he’s a changed man – now that he’s human, he will be able to cook better-tasting food. However, he just ends up making a mess in the kitchen.
Image adapted from: tvN
Dam says they should order food instead, and asks Woo-yeo what he wishes to eat. This is the perfect moment for product placement, so of course, Woo-yeo decides that he wants to eat Subway sandwiches for his first meal as a human.
Image adapted from: tvN
After dinner, Woo-yeo secretly takes some vitamins because he has to take care of his health now. He’s no longer an immortal gumiho.
8. Hye-sun & Woo-yeo have the cutest friendship
Image adapted from: tvN
In our first episode review, we mentioned that we would love to see more of Woo-yeo’s friend, Hye-sun. We’re glad that she plays a large role in the drama!
Hye-sun is sarcastic and often annoys Woo-yeo, but the two of them have been friends for centuries. Even though she loves to gloat about the fact that she became human before him, she has been supporting him on his journey to become human.
When Hye-sun hears the news about Woo-yeo’s weakening powers, she enters his office with a banner on her phone screen that says “Adieu, gumiho”.
Image adapted from: tvN
After knowing that Woo-yeo is showing signs of vanishing, Hye-sun is visibly upset.
Woo-yeo visits her home to ask her for a favour. He wants Hye-sun to use her last wish to erase Dam’s memories, if Dam is unable to get over him when he disappears.
Hye-sun gets angry at his request, chiding him for asking her to use her last wish when she’s been saving it for an important time. However, her voice breaks and she tells him that he should find a way to stay, instead of telling her to use her last wish for him.
Image adapted from: tvN
Even though it’s her precious last wish, Hye-sun is willing to use it for Woo-yeo. She appears at Woo-yeo’s house to find Dam, who is struggling to cope with Woo-yeo’s sudden absence. However, Dam refuses to have her memories erased, and Hye-sun respects her decision.
Hye-sun and Woo-yeo seem to share a connection with each other – they appear to be able to sense each other’s presence, even after they become human. When Woo-yeo returns, Hye-sun senses it and cries happy tears at the university.
What could’ve been better
9. Seon-woo should have a happy ending as well
Image adapted from: tvN
Seon-woo ended up having a one-sided love for Dam, and he doesn’t get over her till the end.
In the final episode, Seon-woo is seen bidding his sister farewell as he leaves with his parents for the airport. It seems like he is heading overseas to continue his studies.
In earlier episodes, it was revealed that Seon-woo only got close to Dam because of a bet he made with his friends. In the end, he ends up really falling in love with her, but Dam feels betrayed.
We see Seon-woo for the last time when he is on the phone with his friend. His friend asks if they should place a bet on whether Seon-woo is able to get a girlfriend overseas in a week. Seon-woo declines and tells him that he is done with placing bets.
Though we were cheering for Dam and Woo-yeo, it would have been nice to see Seon-woo get his happy ending as well.
10. More of Woo-yeo & Dam after Woo-yeo becomes human
Image adapted from: tvN
We can’t get enough of the couple! After Woo-yeo became human, the two of them did share a number of cute moments together, but we would like to see more of Woo-yeo adjusting to human life.
Before Woo-yeo vanished, he had dreams of growing old as a human. In the penultimate episode, he strolls along a busy street, gazing at the people around him celebrating the joys in life. He sees a man proposing to a woman in a cafe, and a father carrying his child. It’s clear that he longs to go through the “normal” phases of life as a human.
Perhaps a marriage scene would have been nice, or even just a proposal scene.
My Roommate is a Gumiho finale – our final thoughts
My Roommate is a Gumiho has the perfect blend of romance and comedy. It’s a feel-good drama that’s perfect for those who are looking for a simple and lighthearted drama to watch. Of course, there is also the occasional frustration when Woo-yeo and Dam face difficulties, but it’s satisfying to see them overcome the problems in the end.
When the first few episodes of the drama aired, there were people who criticised Hyeri for her poor acting. However, as the drama went on, people realised that Hyeri was simply portraying Dam’s over-dramatic character.
My Roommate is a Gumiho concluded nicely. Honestly, our main gripe is Seon-woo being the only character in the drama who wasn’t happy till the end.
My Roommate is a Gumiho is the first gumiho drama after Tale of the Nine-Tailed, which aired in 2020. Hopefully, we get another one soon!
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Cover image adapted from: tvN 드라마(Drama) and tvN