Kim MC
This review may contain spoilers
Very, very well played drama
I'm usually not someone who writes a review unless it leaves an indelible imprint and "Yumi's Cells" did just that. This will be reviewed in three parts: the beginning of the relationship, the middle and sadly, the end.
The beginning: Yumi is suffering after a betrayal of a long term relationship and meets Woong through a blind date. After a somewhat rocky start, the attraction builds between and they finally become a couple. What is so fascinating and believable is the total organic and awkward movements of their first dates. Woong is instantly smitten and Yumi is trying to understand how to emotionally move forward. Everything is perfect in these first four episodes in its portrayal. Also, I'll never get past Woong's lustful dinosaur taking over. I never loved an animated creature so much in my life.
The middle: Woong and Yumi have an established relationship that is constantly tested by Woong's employee, Sae Yi. She's enjoyed Woong's adoration for a while and he was her fallback soother when her outside relationships crashed. This was an absolutely realistic portrayal of the third ghost in the party of two. Woong is reluctant to take her actions serious and the constant possession of Sae Yi towards Woong grates on Yumi's nerves and rightfully so. There comes a breaking point of the three when Yumi, in a mature manner, tells Woong in front of Sae Yi, that she's used him for years and he allows it. As she walks away, she tells him that's he a good person and should be surrounded by good people. I loved the dialogue between the two leads because every emotion is subtly played in every word they spoke. Thankfully, Woong chooses Yumi and I think I cheered in my tv room when that happened.
The end: Woong reluctantly moves in with Yumi after his business experiences financial hardship. What starts off as a rocky cohabitation ends up being something both enjoy. Their easy companionship moves Yumi to blurt out the words "would you like to get married?" Instead of Woong being upfront and honest about where he is in his life and what he is coping with at work, he shuts down emotionally and moves out. When he places her key on the kitchen table, the chasm between the two starts to grow and seeing Woong having lunch with Sae Yi (without Yumi's knowledge) , almost shouted his positional thoughts in the relationship. At the end, he states he's not in the same relationship place as Yumi and walks away. There's no music, no words of thought spoken to the viewer, just the deafening quiet sound of water from a fountain as Yumi watches him leave.
This is the most well written, best acted and most accurate portrayal of a relationship, of the give and take emotions every couple has, the very realistic reasons that it doesn't work out. I'm not a crier but seeing Yumi's reaction during their separation had me in tears. When a storyline draws you in to the point of feeling the characters, it's in a master class of storytelling. "Yumi's Cells" did just that and the characters are going to resonate in my memory for some time.
The beginning: Yumi is suffering after a betrayal of a long term relationship and meets Woong through a blind date. After a somewhat rocky start, the attraction builds between and they finally become a couple. What is so fascinating and believable is the total organic and awkward movements of their first dates. Woong is instantly smitten and Yumi is trying to understand how to emotionally move forward. Everything is perfect in these first four episodes in its portrayal. Also, I'll never get past Woong's lustful dinosaur taking over. I never loved an animated creature so much in my life.
The middle: Woong and Yumi have an established relationship that is constantly tested by Woong's employee, Sae Yi. She's enjoyed Woong's adoration for a while and he was her fallback soother when her outside relationships crashed. This was an absolutely realistic portrayal of the third ghost in the party of two. Woong is reluctant to take her actions serious and the constant possession of Sae Yi towards Woong grates on Yumi's nerves and rightfully so. There comes a breaking point of the three when Yumi, in a mature manner, tells Woong in front of Sae Yi, that she's used him for years and he allows it. As she walks away, she tells him that's he a good person and should be surrounded by good people. I loved the dialogue between the two leads because every emotion is subtly played in every word they spoke. Thankfully, Woong chooses Yumi and I think I cheered in my tv room when that happened.
The end: Woong reluctantly moves in with Yumi after his business experiences financial hardship. What starts off as a rocky cohabitation ends up being something both enjoy. Their easy companionship moves Yumi to blurt out the words "would you like to get married?" Instead of Woong being upfront and honest about where he is in his life and what he is coping with at work, he shuts down emotionally and moves out. When he places her key on the kitchen table, the chasm between the two starts to grow and seeing Woong having lunch with Sae Yi (without Yumi's knowledge) , almost shouted his positional thoughts in the relationship. At the end, he states he's not in the same relationship place as Yumi and walks away. There's no music, no words of thought spoken to the viewer, just the deafening quiet sound of water from a fountain as Yumi watches him leave.
This is the most well written, best acted and most accurate portrayal of a relationship, of the give and take emotions every couple has, the very realistic reasons that it doesn't work out. I'm not a crier but seeing Yumi's reaction during their separation had me in tears. When a storyline draws you in to the point of feeling the characters, it's in a master class of storytelling. "Yumi's Cells" did just that and the characters are going to resonate in my memory for some time.
Was this review helpful to you?
