REVIEW: Yumi's Cells (Season 1)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-watch value: 3 out of 5 stars
SYNOPSIS
*From MyDramaList*
Controlled by a complex network of cells, each and every human on the planet is kept running by an unseen operating system that is, for the most part, completely ignored. Though humans never give much thought to how they manage to function, day in and day out, the cells within the human body are constantly at work, doing their part to keep their human alive and well. Which is why on the outside, Kim Yoo Mi may appear to be just like every other single working woman in the world, but underneath that ordinary exterior lies something truly extraordinary.
Having recently suffered a painful breakup, Yoo Mi’s love cells have fallen into a deep coma. While the surrounding cells work hard to revive their fallen compatriots, Yoo Mi spends her days stuck in the grind of everyday life. With a heart still broken and no romantic prospects, Yoo Mi’s love cells might have been in serious trouble had it not been for the sudden appearance of Goo Woong. An emotionally stunted game developer, Goo Woong has no idea how to express his true feelings, but after meeting Yoo Mi, he finds himself wanting to try. With his own love cells unexpectedly sparking Yoo Mi’s back to life, things between the two start to get interesting. With both Yoo Mi and Goo Woong’s cells working overtime, the two find themselves drawing ever closer. But will the efforts of this small collection of cells really be enough to bring two hearts together forever?
(Source: Viki)
~~ Adapted from the webtoon "Yumi's Cells" (유미의 세포들) by Lee Dong Geon (이동건).
RAMBLING
*Beware of spoilers*
If you hate Pixar’s Inside Out, I’ll tell you right now, you’ll dislike this show. I myself am not a huge fan of Inside Out, and I avoided this show like the plague because I hated the hairstyles and the animation style of the cells. But I found myself easily breezing through episodes, slowly becoming casually invested in Yumi’s love life. As it turns out, I thought Yumi’s Cells was quite good!
It’s a little bit simplistic to personify every passing human emotion and habit as an individual cell dedicated to that one thing. But in the context of daily life, and specifically Yumi’s daily life, it was entertaining to see all these competing feelings literally vying for attention and power in the limits of Yumi’s mind. The fact that Yumi’s food cell was often a King Kong-sized giant in her mind was funny and relatable.
Kim Go-eun (aka the Goblin’s bride!) stars as the title character. I found I liked Go-eun in this show slightly better than in other works. (I’ve seen her in the movies Monster, Memories of the Sword, and Tune in for Love and in the shows Cheese in the Trap, Goblin, and The King: Eternal Monarch.) She’s not as bubbly as she was in Goblin, nor as stony and resourceful as she was in The King: Eternal Monarch. Here she’s this melancholy office worker tired of her humdrum routine. Ultimately, she reminded me a lot of Son Ye-Jin’s character in Something in the Rain. Carrying on with a broken heart, existing but not living, no prospects, no passions.
Yumi came alive once she started liking Woong (played by Ahn Bo-hyun from Her Private Life and My Name). I knew they wouldn’t end up together, and I had this feeling from the get-go since they were so wildly different. I convinced myself that opposites attract and people don’t necessarily need to have everything in common to make a romantic relationship work. But once their priorities lists were revealed, I said “Oh, there it is. There’s the problem.” I couldn’t decide if I respected her or not for always placing her lover, no matter who it was, first on her internal list of priorities. But on the other hand, I totally held it against Woong that his number 1 priority was always himself.
In looking at the full picture now, I think the only way they would have worked is if they each placed the other as their first priority. If that happened, then the fact that Woong did not want to get married would have been resolved neatly. If Yumi came first, he would have considered her feelings, wants, and needs and gotten married.
The way it played out, however, was that Yumi always considered his feelings, despite bravely voicing her own, and didn’t want to lose him over something as silly as marriage. The couple went through ups (the euphoria honeymoon period) and downs (Yumi’s distrust of Woong and his questionable relationship to Sae-yi), but they acquiesced to each other and bonded.
Let me be clear: I was pretty much always on Yumi’s side. While Woong was a fun hang, he came off as more of a lumbering oaf, an emotionally bankrupt man-child who wasn’t ready to be vulnerable with anybody. Yumi was emotionally complex and way more mature. I took Yumi’s side when he lied about knowing Sae-yi’s intentions and manipulative habits. I took Yumi’s side when Woong lied to her about his failing business and gave up his apartment in secret. I took Yumi’s side when she asked him if he wanted to get married. (They aren’t spring chickens anymore, so I think a serious relationship warrants a marriage talk at the very least.) I took Yumi’s side when she felt awkward and suffocated at his friend’s wedding. (Those idiots from his school revealed that Woong, like everyone else, had a huge crush on Sae-yi in school, despite her being conceited. If he liked Sae-yi, and she’s the worst, why did he like Yumi?) I backed Yumi when she asked him what was it he liked about her. And I supported Yumi’s decision to break up.
Woong never let go of his pride, and like the saying, it caused his downfall. Although he was happy to be with her, he was embarrassed to be living with Yumi, seeing it more as a reflection of his professional failure. And he moved out without considering how she’d take the gesture—I’d like to call it prideful neglect. He was a terrible communicator, and I felt so sorry for Yumi, who was left to decipher his meaning throughout the relationship.
Some moments that stuck out to me were:
(1) His retaliation after she thoughtlessly pulled up his night of diarrhea on her birthday. The open concept, no privacy bathroom in the beach hotel was a comedic blunder that, in a budding relationship, completely traumatized her. He laughed after she asked him not to, and she blurts out that she never laughed at him when he was going through his toilet ordeal at her house. He takes it negatively, as it insults his fragile pride, and out pops his petty cell. While I did appreciate that they finally got over themselves and had sex in their awesome hotel room, his behavior wasn’t okay.
(2) He did cover for her blatant lie at her friend’s wedding. A destination wedding in Hawaii the following year… she word vomited a whole mess of lies trying to look cool in front of her ex, and Woong never rats her out; he joins up with the lies and covers for her. Later he even excitedly looks up the islands that make up Hawaii to answer the question the ex threw at them, and jokes lightly with Yumi about it.
(3) He never did piece together why he liked Yumi. It reminded me of that old animated movie The Swan Princess, when Odette asks Prince Derek “But what else?” I mean, it’s nice that Woong was mesmerized by her looks, but uh, there should be more to it than that. (The Swan Princess “What Else Is There”? Clip: https://youtu.be/Wc-zcGlyCT8)
Now, I have to mention the second male lead Yoo Ba-bi (Bobby?) played by Park Jin-young from GOT7! It’s my first time seeing him in a meatier role (I think he had a supporting role in Legend of the Blue Sea that I caught.), and I loved him. He seemed to have the same gentle spirit as Yumi, as well as the same generally melancholy personality. From what I gathered, he was very giving in his own romantic relationship and long suffering. He had a lot in common with Yumi, and CRUCIALLY, he supported her budding career ambitions and writing talent. Woong lost major points with me when he discouraged Yumi from making a career switch. A creative career for a brand she’s already familiar with in a high-demand department with higher pay? Are you joking??
I’m pretty satisfied with how Season 1 ended because Yumi made the best choice. But I’m curious to see how her relationship with Yu Bobby plays out and what kind of trouble they’ll encounter—a new second male lead? The year 2022 is shaping up!
Did you see Yumi’s Cells? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!
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