Updated: 5/17/2021
He quoted from “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but he made up the last line, “He could not understand why anyone wouldn’t fall in love with her.” 🙂
The quote should be, “To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he
could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else’s heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter.”
The next line should have been, “He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell.”
Here’s my proof — from my old copy of the book.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
My first impression: This is a low-key, low-brow version of “Doom at Your Service” but it’s highly entertaining mainly because of the antics of Hyeri’s character. (It doesn’t hurt, too, that the male lead actor is an eye-candy.)
Spoilers ahead:
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@agdr03, here’s our funny scene in gifs.
Source: kimgoeun’s tumblr
BTW, that wasn’t the male lead. Here’s the male lead.
source: mostlyfate’s tumblr
Now tell me that he doesn’t look hunky.
Let’s enjoy the show!
I’m laughing again at seeing it 😂
Thanks to kimsogeun’s tumblr! 👍🏻
Hyeri and the guy got that scene perfectly! 😂
I just added another gif set. The cigarette-stealing scenes. I was laughing there, too. Since he banned her from eating chicken and beer, she was smart to retaliate and ban him from smoking cigarettes.
He was smoking a cigarette when they first met, right?
Do you think there’s another gumiho in the city? There’s a report of an individual getting mauled.
Yes, he was smoking on the side when they first met. ☺️
Yup, the stealing cigarette scenes were funny too. And he did get irritated after stopping for awhile. 😁
Oh for sure there’s another Gumiho. I thought the first scene when she went home after taking in the marble, someone was following her already, but was that her brother?
I liked that he feels bad for her and does things to make her feel better like cooking food which wasn’t nice. 🤣
Yes, it was supposed to be her brother.
There were many scenes like that when the director made it appear as if something horrible was about to happen. Like the blood in the kitchen.
Yes, as her roommate, he’s very nice and solicitous. But when he’s with that lady gumiho, he could be very insulting. Maybe because the lady gumiho doesn’t know her boundaries. Hyeri’s character (I’ve to find out her name) in contrast is polite and mannerly.
That struck me in their first encounter: how apologetic she was for a fault that she didn’t commit. And that probably made a good impression on him. Coming from the old world, he would put premium on courtesy and respect.
Hyeri’s name is Lee Dam. 😉
Ah ok. I know right? The sounds make it ominous but it’s nothing, like when they got locked in the basement. 😊
I just finished episode 2 and he knows how to take the marble out but his not doing it. I should have realised he’d know how to take it out but he’s taken aback that it turns blue so I see it that he’s given up on becoming human before but now the chance is there. ☺️ Is the back story something like he fell in-love but the lady died anyway?
How funny that Dalmi’s sister is the exact opposite here in this drama. 😁
Yes, the actress who played Dalmi’s sister did a 180 degree in her role here. I think that’s why the Gumiho guy disses her, because for one, she’s all beauty, and no brains, and for another, she’s conceited, and doesn’t see anything wrong with that.
Yes, I had a feeling he knew how to get back his marble — or at least he discovered the method recently — but he wanted to “drain” her life force just a little bit more. He needed to turn the marble blue because this was his last year. The time limit was a millennium, and this was his 999th year.
I don’t know his back story. 🙂 As usual, I was just speeding through the episode, and pausing only when there was something funny.
But yes, I should write down the details of his transformation.
I am not too interested in fantasy romances right now, but my shallow heart did flutter at the sight of ML, so I will follow the discussion and maybe give the drama a try in order to counteract the anxiety induced by Bossam and Youth of May.
Oh yeah definitely no brains for Dalmi’s sister here. 😬 But she’s asking the right questions to him which makes him think.
I thought most of the time that he passed his marbles, they didn’t turn blue at all, it was only with Dam.
I thought it was very funny too when he showed Dam his gumiho appearance. 😂
This was such a strong start to a series. Light and funny. She is hysterical and the ML is fine to look but also really good at soul weary. And as the gumiho/human woman said “still annoying for 700 years” 😂! And speaking of the male lead. Have you seen this scene from Search: WWW? (Perhaps it was here that I saw it). A nice subversion of the objectification of women at work. https://youtu.be/tGxXFPMPRJk
@Good Twin, the camera did that same slow-moving, EXTREME close-up shots of the ML’s lips, nose, etc., that I thought we were looking at a female cross-dressing as a nobleman. He really had fine features.
But he was quite a smooth talker, wasn’t he?
Gisaeng: Anyway I’m afraid that one of those scholars might get bewitched by a gumiho. I hear a wicked monster who devours on people’s liver has recently been seen in the city. She bewitches people in an instant with her dazzling beauty, but she’s actually a fox who has been around for centuries.
Gumiho: If that rumor is true, I should stop coming to this gisaeng’s house.
Gisaeng: What do you mean? If you stop coming here, what do we have to live for?
Gumiho: But I thought the most beautiful women of Joseon are here with me right now. I’m a coward so I’m afraid one of you might try to eat my liver.
Gisaeing: (giggles)
That line was so cheesy. Reminds me of a pick-up line at a bar.
Guy: I think I’ve seen you somewhere.
Girl: Huh?
Guy: Weren’t you on the cover of Vogue recently? Girl: (lol)
Hahaha. You don’t need to have a shallow heart to feel something for the ML, @Snow Flower. You just need to have a ticking heart. Come on, now. He’s good-looking and manly.
My only problem is he was pasty white in some scenes. I generally like that healthy, tanned look on men.
There were some scenes that I found witty. Like, when Lee Dam said that there family motto was “Live your life on your own!”
hahaha. What kind of family motto was that? Isn’t togetherness the whole point of being a family?
I also laughed when the taser and the pepper spray she meant to use as self-defense should the Gumiho attack her, ended up as her host gift to the Gumiho. The Gumiho obviously had no need for the taser and the pepper spray. lol.
Anyway, this was fun show. As @ Good Twin said, the drama started strong.
His cheesiness mellowed over 900 years of ennui. I love when Lee Dam says something along the lines of “I can’t kiss boys and this and that” and our ML says “this and that?” Hyeri commented on how confident young women are now and how she used that for this character. She said even though she is only 5 years older irl it’s a generation away and she drew inspiration from the confidence of college students for her character
@PM3,
I haven’t watched anything of this drama, but I just read the conversation you transcribed, between the Gumiho and the Gisaeng.
Good sense of irony… The Gumiho who is afraid that we will eat his liver! A reversal of the conversation.
I note this in a corner, maybe this drama is funny to watch. 😉
@Good Twin, thank you for that memory. Between Jang Ki Yong and Lee Jae Wook in www – gosh. I can’t hear online game music without thinking of JKY now. It was my first time watching Lee Jae Wook, too. I was really impressed.
Lee Dam is messing with an immortal with her cigarette ban! Brave of her. I thought that he low-key enjoyed having her frightened of him at first. But when she turned the tables and started acting as he had it was funny and caught him off guard. I think he became jaded after centuries of repetition.
@Fern, agree, Woo-yeo was never successful in becoming human for years so he wasn’t expecting it to happen anymore. That’s why he was surprised to see the marble turn blue. 😊
Maybe by the end of this series I’ll have JKY as my June crush. 😜 Vincenzo was last month. 😂
This have been full of laughs! And Hyrei is really comical here with all her eye rolls and gosh her eye balls are so white and bright!
I am wondering what makes the marble blue, the right amount of energy for him to turn human? The purpose of the marble was to take the energy from the human right? Do you think the reason why he isn’t changing to human is because he finds no reason to do so since the one he really loved died hundreds of years ago? Or he is waiting for her to reincarnate?
This is off topic a bit, as it’s a photo-shoot of the leads. @agdr03, just to grease the wheels –
@grace, yes to me, it seems that way base on what the turned human gumiho lady said to him. She said ‘ I thought you’d given up becoming human after that’.
That’s what I gathered too from his dream but then i might be overthinking it too. ☺️
That’s most likely the reason, @grace. His real love died and he was a picky person. He told the lady gumiho in Episode 1 that he’d rather wait than take an individual who disgusted him. He had a discriminating taste.
It was also funny when he used his superpowers to levitate his precious vases out of Lee Dam’s reach. Otherwise she’d vomit in them. 😂 I hope the writer continues to write comical scenarios to amuse us with. This is waaaay entertaining for me than that Lee Dong Wook drama.
We shall see @agdr03. That’s the usual plot right? He was waiting for his true love.
There are lots of male eye candies in this show. I’m a bit disappointed though that our Start Up actor has a crybaby role here. I’m crossing my fingers that his character improves.
Yup, the usual plot that’s why I thought Soo-yeo was surprise when Dam ( should we call her Dam or Hyeri? ) said that she cares for the marble too while she was eating that pizza he bought for her.
Hahaha our Start Up guy has learned his lesson to love himself first because Dam said it to him. 😁
I know right? The playboy looks ok too. Where is he from? I’ve never seen him before too. 😆
Who’s Soo Yeo? Is he the hero?
Dam or Hyeri. Either one works. I think Hyeri is just showing her normal personality while exaggerating some mannerisms for comedy. She isn’t performing a role that’s any much different from her persona in showbiz. Do you know what I mean? 🙂The role fits her because the character is similar to the image she projects to her fans.
Yes. The playboy looks good too. I’ve to remind myself that he couldn’t be another gumiho. He’s a tiger.
Is @Fern joining us here?
Sorry it’s Woo-yeo, our gumiho. ☺️
You’re probably right. I saw a guesting for both of them. They were dancing and JKY was doing it but Hyeri was doing the works and the hosts said to stop her. 😂 It was funny. 😁
Our playboy is a tiger and a toilet fairy. 🤣
@Fern was here a little earlier but I know @Arihsi is watching it too. Come! 😁
Yes. Hyeri’s good at comedies because she doesn’t mind ruining her looks and appearing silly for the laughters. She’s a physical actress.
But her strength can also be her weakness. Because she uses her body, exaggerated facial contortions, and mannerisms to INDICATE an emotion, it’s harder for her to express a sentiment requiring physical restraint, like showing grief or compassion or understanding WITHOUT moving a muscle. To me, she looks awkward in those moments; her eyes are like the eyes of dead fish.
Oh well. At least, she’s funny and entertaining.
Ah, this is the one with Kang Hanna and Kim Do wan from Start Up! Will watch it. The first few scenes are funny and I’m in need of comic relief. I do agree that the ML is a hunk. First time to watch both ML and FL or a story with a gumiho.
I like the lightheartedness of this drama! And I love Kang Hana in a comedic role 😀
However, the I’m not convinced by the playboy Sunbae, who is supposed to be super handsome, the kind that gets every girl. He looks like a normal guy, a tad bit serious. He doesn’t give off enough flirty vibes. It might help if he didn’t have black hair. I read the webtoon, so maybe my expectations are too high.
Also, the actress that plays FL’s girl bestfriend at uni does not look like she’s in her early twenties. I was thinking “is she supposed to be a mature student?”
Hope they keep up the funny in the upcoming episodes 😄
Yes, I’m here, just enjoying myself. Looking up bits on YouTube and elsewhere about the actors I’m not too familiar with and generally amusing myself well between bouts of being my daughter’s chauffeur.
@agdr03, tiger and toilet fairy! 🤣
I knew you would watch it haha!
I am watching it and loving it so far. Hoping it does not lose the momentum.
Why? How could you tell, Nearsea? 😂
yeay!
an open thread for MRIAG 🙂
i agree that the male lead is an eye-candy and he kinda a look like Hyun Bin a bit in certain angle.
ML was in Search:WWW and was, most memorably for me, the abusive loan shark in My Mister. That was a small but really great role. Pretty much everyone in My Mister gave a great performance (even IU was really good,) but he was particularly memorable and nuanced. My Mister was pretty serious and heavy, and not everyone’s cup of tea. It is one of my favorite shows, though.
I am enjoying this show quite a lot so far. It is light and entertaining without being just silly. I was hesitant to try it after Tale of the Nine Tailed (though even that had a really goid Kim Bum performance.)
The issue “issue” I am having is that talk drink of water (tdow) looks a lot like the tiger shorter drink of water. They could be siblings! They even dress boringly alike. Kinda wishing second make lead from True Beauty was cast here. But it is early so I’ll wait to see how this all plays out.
*tall drink of water
Yippee! Episode 3 is up! I’ll watch after dropping the boys to school! 😁
Okay. Will join you, too. Just got home but I bought dinner for two on my way home. 🙂 See you later.
Enjoy dinner with hubby! ☺️
I’ll catch ya later, doing some things before I get on to it.
I take back the boring clothing comment. Tall drink of water looked great in that suit!
I’m just sipping tea here, @Good Twin. Sipping tea.
–hahaha.
Squealing here! That archery scene! Waaaa! 🥰🥰🥰
🙂 I’m working on my “Bossam” post. I forgot that I didn’t finish it earlier. lol. Will join you later.
No worries! I’m watching it now because I have to go do some errands with hubby. ☺️
‘This fox is definitely enchanting me!’. I’ll second that, Dam! 🥰🥰🥰
Ooohhh tall drink of water and small drink of water is getting enchanted by Dam! Bring it on! 😂
That’s our word for the day, enchanted. ☺️
Loved the “Toilet Fairy” segment… Poor Tiger, he got a Nutjob XD .
On another note, the female Gumiho is really hot. She might not be the most talented fox in academic subjects but she could be more sage than meets the eye.
A beautiful scene, the one in the basement. Now she gets that all he has been longing for and has been working towards can be destroyed last minute. Her understanding and them meeting in the middle was nice to see. He deciding to quit smoking (a habit he had since 1592) to share her pain for not being able to eat chicken nor drink was a nice touch.
Right now watching episode 3.
She really did her best to disgust him with the JangJangMyeon and her Toilet Fairy reference :puke: but she undid her hard work when she pressed him to take a bus and dared him to adventure into something different. Before that he was gambling with his friends, now he is smitten.
A nice contrast in their treatment of the rain theme. Tiger guy gets smitten when she invited him into an adventure (to run under the rain and to take a bus – she was the dashing one), but Gumiho receiving her since he was worried about her and asking her to be mindful of his worries. A homecoming.
This drama gives me the vibe that its theme (so far) is the bumpy road to get to know each other and to show vulnerability as a first step to love.
Hope you are all well. Thus far I like what I see.
Hi, @FGB4877. Yes, I got the feeling that the Tiger Sun Woo may not be all that unsuitable for Dam ultimately. She has so far tried to put him off and he in only more interested. I’m not sure that he is the evil Gumiho — wouldn’t he have attacked her on the date? Unless they didn’t get to a place that had no cctv. I wondered if Gumiho picked up a vibe from him when Sun Woo touched Dam’s hair and she had an extreme reaction.
I’m looking forward to Gumiho getting more depth of understanding of human emotions. So far, the actor has only had to display a few cool faces. I’m awaiting some more extreme emotions from him. Disappointment, fury, consternation, joy. Are Gumiho’s normally depicted as detached in kdramas?
I agree with you and @TY that Kang Hana is great here and may not be the air-head she’s pretending to be. I’ve never seen her do comedy but she is very good.
FGB4877,
I didn’t know what to expect when you commented about Hyeri’s ill-fated attempt to turn off the Tiger guy. Yes, her prattle about the black noodles and toilet turned my stomach. But when she walked in the light rain, and turned back to call him, I must say she did look enchanting.
Mr. Fox/Orishein warned her that she shouldn’t smile because she looked pretty.
Another scene I found funny was when it hit her that she didn’t have to try so hard about grossing out anybody, she just had to be herself.
Her comment loops us back to the beginning when Mr. Fox said, “Whatever doesn’t move my heart disgusts me.”
Since whatever she does is, objectively speaking, disgusting and repellent to him,
the fact that she has failed to disgust him is a sign that she has already moved his heart.
I like your observation about the difference between Tiger and the Fox. Tiger had to be coaxed out of the tunnel to join her in the rain while Mr. Fox went out in the rain to meet her.
Hmmm…what’s the Korean folklore about Fox Rain again? I’ve to look that up in my old notes. Something about the tiger and fox getting married, and the cloud, an unrequited lover, shedding tears and raining on them.
Yes, Fern, for a second there in Episode 2, I thought Tiger SunWoo was the one involved in the news about a gruesome murder. But he couldn’t be a gumiho. He’s a tiger. 🙂
I didn’t watch Lee Dong Wook in his gumiho drama. The only other gumiho drama I watched was “My Girlfriend is a Gumiho” with Shin Mina and she was cute as a button there.
Re. beauty
I think this actor’s right side is more handsome than his left side. The camera is always shooting from that angle. hahaha. Plus, the fold in his left ear seems to be a bit misshapen.
But yes, he needs to show more emotions. That’s why I described him as a “statue” in one of my comments. The first time Lee Dam met him, she wondered if he was human or signboard, then she settled on angel. I said the answer should have been statue. 🙂
This was my note today!
Reasons Dam never dated :
1 – she becomes small in front of the guy she likes.
2 – she becomes too relaxed with guys she’s not interested in.
3 – she turns down guys knowing exactly what she’s like.
I liked that she outright said to Fox that he is not her type. Did he blink there? 😆
What a line up – Pizza, Chinese Food, Tteokbokki, Bossam
Gosh, I thought *I* was fussy. Fold in his left ear indeed! 😄 I’ve seen more unusual ears in dramas. I suppose if much of his income comes from modelling, he and his agency may be strict about how he’s photographed.
Those actors from ‘Start-Up’ who are in this drama; one plays a heartbroken, hapless student and the other a non-academic femme fatale. They are bound to meet soon. 🥰
Thanks for sharing your notes, @agdr03.
If you have time, can you also make notes for Mr. Fox’s bad habits or reasons why he never dated — or at least why he avoided dating? The Female Gumiho has been dishing out a lot of juicy details about him.
What do we call her? I’ll never remember their names with so many dramas dancing in my head right now. 🙁
Yes, when I saw the delivery guys on their motorcycle going up the hill, I just knew that Orishein ordered them for her.
That scene when her brother and friend confronted Mr. Fox because they thought he got her pregnant and he didn’t want to marry her was comical, too. I wanted to know how the director stopped the action in midair. Was it all just computer-generated?
Dear @Fern and @Packmule3, in “My Girlfriend is a Gumiho” (2010) with Shin Min-Ah the lore was that when a Fox cried then a gentle rain followed (but to be honest Hong sisters tend to play a lot with Folklore).
@Fern, if you want a comedy about Gumihos, “My Girlfriend is a Gumiho” is just lovely. I fell in love with Shin Min-Ah’s Gu Mi-Ho but at the same time she hit bullseye my cat lover’s spot. It is also a story about learning and knowing about each other in order to care, then fall in love. It is an emotional favourite that was my third drama, so I might not be objective. It is recapped by GirlFriday and JavaBeans in old DramaBeans, so their quality is top notch.
Another Gumiho comedy I didn’t fully watch was “The Thousandth Man” (2012). A family of three foxes (a mom and her two daughters) had been living together since the Goryeo dynasty. There are several versions of love: younger sister is a taker (a seductress) while the eldest one (who is in peril of dying if she doesn’t get her 1000th liver when she reaches a 1000 years) is a romantic one, since she wants to love and be loved enough for men to willingly offer their livers. The problem is that as her 1000th man she falls for someone that might be in need of her compassion to keep living and force herself to decide between her and her beloved. Home scenes and fights are not to be missed. I did read the Raine recaps. Here is the recap of episode 1:
https://rainesdichotomy.com/2012/08/28/the-thousandth-man-episode-1-recap/
Grudge of the Gumiho I did not see since it appeared to me as a wailingfest, and those I avoid. The recaps indicates an excellent watch though.
Hope I piqued your interest 😉
Yeah the scene with the friend and brother was funny. I thought the questions that the friend and brother fired at Mr Fox was funny too – are you going to marry her? are you going to take responsibility? he kept saying no, point blank! 😂
Will take notes. 👍🏻
I think we can call Mr Fox’s friend ex gumiho because she’s not a gumiho anymore 😆
@agdr03, good evening and thank you for that list. Dan’s friend said that’s why she never dated. Yet, she told Fox he wasn’t her type. I think I blinked, too. Or gaped. 😲 What IS her type, I wonder? She admires him, though. That’s a start.
They are such a funny pair. She’s over the top, impetuous, impolite and chatty. He says the minimum needed to convey meaning, is courteous, measured and doesn’t show his emotions to others. What they have come to establish towards each other is generosity and concern.
That duck meal he prepared for her should have been delicious, right? Didn’t the director troll us with his flashy cooking skills?! I’ve only cooked duck once or twice, but I think it can get tough if not cooked properly.
I nitpick very competently, Fern. 🙂
I don’t know what’s up with this director, though. He’s always shoving that actor’s face in the viewer’s face. I wished he’d back off on the close-up shots and give us a bit more long shots (or “establishing shots”) so we can get a feel of the setting and the characters’ place in it. Long shots also set up the mood of the action.
Also, focusing too much on the ML’s face isn’t good because it gives the impression that the character is smug about his appearance. I can understand the camera focus on Hyeri because her facial reaction serves as comedy, though.
@FGB4877, thank you for those recommendations.
The only other drama I’ve seen about foxes is a C-drama Eternal Love of Dream, but I think it’s different from most gumiho legends. I liked it, but couldn’t finish it – it was sooooooo long.
Yes, the director trolled me with the cooking scene, too. I thought Mr. Fox’s cooking skills would be at cordon bleu level.
Pffftt.
And Dan should know because she eats like she’s been starved. When she said it didn’t taste good, I believed her.
But hey, Mr. Fox deserved points because when Ms. Ex-Gumiho asked him what would Dam like, he knew that it wouldn’t be clothes, shoes, accessories, but food. lol.
Hahaha @Fern, me too. There might be a loveline for best friend and ex gumiho. 😁
You’re probably right about the duck dish. It looked yummy but I was so surprised that it wasn’t. 😆 He cooked a whole wok of it too.
True about the too much close up but I liked the archery scene because he apologised with the stuff toy that she really likes. 🥰
I agree about the director focussing too much on Mr Fox’s face. It’s fan service to the detriment of the action. It’s almost boring, because his expressions, as we’ve said, are awaiting more human emotion.
Yes, Dam would eat almost anything edible, so it must have been truly rank. Yes, he feeds her and food is the way to the heart. I felt bad for Dam when Mr Fox said that she didn’t have to exaggerate her bad manners to put off Mr Tiger. She looked so chagrined.
Re. the archery scene —
If Dam’s purpose in his life to teach him how to become human, then I think she already has a head start. He “read” her body language well, and did the archery for her.
I think I prefer straightforward movement in this drama than the push-pull set-up in “Doom at Your Service.” There was one segment when FL in DaYS also had to teach Mr. Doom how to read human emotions. So he followed her all day and made a pest of himself. He only “passed the test” when they were in train and he “read” that she wanted to sit down because she was tired. That scene was anti-climatic for me. The writer had built it up, only to end it with a garden-variety flirtation. I don’t know…there’s something off about that screenwriter.
@packmule3, about Tiger Sun-woo, it was said that he was born in the year of the Tiger, but if he were a disguised gumiho, he might put out information like that anyway. Dam did have a reaction when he touched her. The touch seemed very deliberate. He knew that she didn’t want to be touched; that was why he was interested in her. Was it proprietary in front of Mr Fox? Was it a test? I didn’t like it. I was glad that Mr Fox was there to protect her.
@Fern, I thought it was confirmed that Tiger Sunwoo was indeed born in the year of the Tiger when Mr Fox pulled Dam to him and away from Tiger Sunwoo. He protected her like he usually did whenever a Tiger-born approached her.
Yes, I didn’t like that hair-brushing thing. My gut reaction was: “What the heck? Did he just piss on her??” 🙂 Do you know how dogs piss on fire hydrants and light posts to claim the territory from other dogs? In my mind, that’s why Tiger Sunwoo did when he reached out and brushed Dam’s hair without her permission. And to do that in front of another guy? Yup, that’s a dog fight waiting to happen. lol.
Isn’t it weird how we end up talking about animals in this drama: Tiger. Fox. Dog. Duck. What’s next?
@Packmule3… “Tiger. Fox. Dog. Duck. What’s next?”… Uhm… Dam is a Pig? XD .
Very witty. Very very witty, FGB4877.
Thanks for making me laugh.
No, thank YOU for giving us this Blog and this community =D . It makes my day to know you laughed ;D .
One more comment before I head off to work.
The post-it notes on the wall. It would be romantic if that wall were to become their message board for the duration of her stay at his home. So when he’s gone, or she’s gone, it will be something tangible for the person left behind to read.
I think that Dam told Mr Fox that Sun woo was a Tiger when she was trying to get advice on how to avoid his attentions.
SunWoo probably is a Tiger. I was just flirting with the idea of him being the evil gumiho and how he might be hiding it. It shall have to be someone else. Will our Mr Fox and Ms Ex-Fox recognise them from other eras?
@Packmule3: more than that, the Post-Its could become the chronicle of their growing relationship.
Dear @Fern, we don’t know a lot of the rules of this world. It could be that a Gumiho immediately recognizes another of its kind, but given that they didn’t recognize each other in the restaurant when the three were together it is most possible that Tiger guy is just a regular human (or a very young Gumiho that our long-lived ML doesn’t know).
I guess that from a script economy POV Tiger being another Gumiho makes sense, but ¿wouldn’t be deeper if he was only a regular but spoiled kid just heading to the heartbreak that will teach him a lesson or two in being a good person? (sorry for the double question mark, question was very long).
Also, if there are Gumihos in this show then there are another beings that could be called upon the Korean Folklore. Thus far the recurrence of a misterious killing spree both in Joseon Hanyang and in modern-day Seoul could be used to press forward the plot, both as a potential threat to her and to him (the ancient killer could want to tag the blame on ML). We will see where the writer wants to head.
Hope to read you soon!!! =D
That line Mr. Fox said at the end of Episode 4 is from “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Note: he made up the last line, “He could not understand why anyone wouldn’t fall in love with her.” He meant that for Lee Dam. Sneaky fox. 🙂
The quote should be, “To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he
could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else’s heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter.”
The next line should have been, “He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell.”
I posted a screenshot of the paragraph from my copy of the book. It’s on the thread.
Episode 4 spoilers:
@FGB4877, having seen Tiger Sun-woo with his sister, I don’t think he’s a gumiho. Simply, as you say, a regular but spoiled kid. He asked Do Jae-jin what sort of guy Dam likes. The reply was someone good looking but more about their personality. They have to be the “nice and kind type.” He will have to figure out how to become more like that if he can. But he also does seems to like her just as she is, which means he is moving away from dating her as a bet towards being truly attracted to her.
Regarding Gumiho rules, I guess they can recognise each other. In Episode 4, Hye-sun recognised Mr Fox Woo-yeo in Dam’s shape right away.
Oh my goodness! Dam tells Woo-Yeo that she thinks it’s strange that Sun-woo could have feelings for her. Woo-yeo replies, “You could be Fermina Daza to someone.” Then, in offering the long quote about Fermina Daza – Mr Fox is both explaining the ‘special feelings’ Sun-woo has for Dam as well as his own. How attraction is inexplicable and not universal. That was gorgeous.
@packmule3, I had to look Fermina Daza up. I’ve never read “Love in the time of Cholera.” Yes, he’s a clever and very well read fox to come up with such appropriate quotes. He’s also supporting her confidence. It’s a gamble in a way that she will only apply it to Sun-woo and not to himself. Or is that his intention?
Who wouldn’t fall for that? I would.
A nice touch: when they were at the Noraebang, Gumiho at first was apalled by her singing… then started to find it cute. Like JWon finding SHwa singing adorable.
Yes, this Drama is about getting to know each other. What makes Dam such a lovable character is in part that she is upfront in who she is.
Also loved the confrontation at the café. She is walking in the dark streets and see him inside, seated and surrounded by a garland of flowers. She longs for him and he sees her through the same garland. She enters and asks him to be as warm as he used to. She will sit up and go away, so when she sits down again he will restart and ask how her “date” went. Love Dam to a bit, since she is not afraid to ask difficult questions and speaks from her heart.
That was a really beautiful scene in the cafe. @packmule3 thanks for sourcing the quote and where the quote digressed. In some way the true last line of the quote would seem to reflect Sir’s restraint. The “bad” boy Tiger is just going for it without hesitation. I do hope we see some more emotion from Sir as he presumably progresses to becoming human. Despite the growing attachment he still seems 950 years older than Dam. Also isn’t the marble part of what is attracting the Tiger to Dam? At the nightclub the tigers all seemed to be buzzing around her.
The show continues to be a delight. And this whole string of comments on this show has been delight as well. Lots of warmth and good cheer – like Christmas!
Kalimera!
I knew that this was out, but Doom At Your Service has my full attention at the moment. I haven’t read your comments, to be spoiler-free.
So, I just wanted to leave her this amazing fan made video by Felicity Queen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OF0f-bwbw
The Neitzche and Marquez references got my attention, so I think I will also start this during the weekend. 🙂
Good morning and thank you for that Felicity Queen video, @Cleopatra. It expresses the sentiment so well. The episode ending is really an unexpected pearl in this drama.
This is my opinion only: If someone said that quote to me at such a moment, I would succumb to hero worship and wouldn’t be able to consider a normal guy ever again. But isn’t Dam a normal girl, and better off with a normal guy? Or is she heroic as well in her own way?
Hey @Fern!
I am glad you liked it!
I wanted to share this thought:
From the video I’ve got “Gabriel’s Inferno” vibes.
It is Sylvain Reynard’s novel. That book has intextuality with Dante’s Inferno, while here we have Marquez. I think it has to do with the trope of “Professor – Student’s relationship”.
I will write more when I will watch the Episodes!
@GoodTwin, the garland was for me a metaphor on being on the same page (emotionally) and reaching out. She was in the dark about what was really happening, he knew (as Dam’s friend said, the problem was in his head) but did not know what was the right thing to do… and a simple act of bravery on her side broke the standstill. So far I really like this show, and I love Dam to bits. Since she has no experience in dating she tends to process males as brothers (a role she is comfortable with) and deal with them as such.
Hi everyone, i finished watching 4 eps on Gumiho. Thank u so much @Fern for made me wanna watch right away. It was fun and relaxing watching this drama..
So far my fav scene is when Gumiho told Dam about the Fermina Daza. I like the Gumiho character here, he is gentle and calm, and old soul..
I also like their relationship progress so far. The scene in the cafe when frustrated Dam having a conversation with Mr Fox was nice too. Although she’s just a college girl, she is mature enough to say about what she feels towards him.
And why Kang Ha Na and Kim Do Wan scene still not much.. hahaa their characters here are interesting – they would be funny as a couple.. I will be patiently waiting for this.. but I hope to see their screen time more in the future, hahaa..
I haven’t read Gabriel’s Inferno; it sounds good, @Cleopatra.
@FGB4877, I liked that both Gumiho and Dam saw the other framed by the same beautiful garland like a matching set of portraits.
@moonstar512 and @Good Twin, I agree that Gumiho is an old soul. Even the song and ice cream he picks as modern are old fashioned to Dam and she doesn’t hesitate to tell him so. Ouch! Speaking as a person whose children are young relative to my age, I have to say that keeping up with the latest is exhausting. Can you imagine keeping up with trends for 9 centuries?
@Fern, I’m so sorry I only saw your post about greasing the wheel, just now. It didn’t come up on my email.
But thanks 😊, I enjoyed that and they comfortable enough.
Is Hyeri still dating the Reply 1998 guy? Sorry I forgot his name.
I’m late in watching episode 4.
@Fern, @moonstar, et al.,
Yes, Gumiho is an old song. That song “Apartment” that he sang in the karoake place was also song sung by Hyeri’s mom and friends in “Reply 1988.” So we could date the song to at least 1988.
Will finish watching it later. 🙂 I cheated and watched the beginning and the end only.
@agdr03, I don’t know who she is dating. I hadn’t heard of them breaking up…
@packmule3, I feel a ridiculous amount of gratification when my daughter has any older song on her playlist. The other day she was playing a really pleasant cover of ‘Country Roads’ which dates to 1970-ish John Denver.
Trivia on that John Lennon song, “Country Roads.”
That “West Virginia” in the lyrics should have Massachusetts. The songwriter was originally from Massachusetts. lol. But it was a good thing he changed it because, even though both states have four syllables, “Massachusetts” doesn’t have the same ring to it as “West Virginiiia.”
My sons and I mostly share the same taste in music. I’m sure they like the newer songs, but they don’t play them when I’m around. I’ve this thing about lyrics so most rap music is garbage to me.
But I do know they have old classics like Elvis, Beatles, and Broadway hits on their playlist. Before Covid, we always watched a musical as a family Christmas gala. Since they’re too old to be dragged to Nutcracker ballet, pwahahaha, musicals became the default holiday show. 🙂
@agdr03 and @Fern
hyeri dating ryu jun yeol, jung hwan character in repply 1988. they confirm dating since 2017 and still going strong till now.
https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/06/hyeri-ryu-joon-yeol-couple-spotted-enjoying-a-date-once-again
@packmule3
I agree with you about preferring this set up over the push and pull at Doom. This story is actually going forward, and it’s funny. I can’t stand it when the ML pushes FL away too much. But I am already invested, so I’ll watch both.
I laughed at the scene where the brother and bestie confronts Mr Fox! I hope they keep it up.
Also playboy Sunbae is growing on me, he seems quite genuine.
Dear @packmule3, I look forward to returning to musicals. Just when it seems safe to go to the big city, there seem to be travel warnings. Maybe this autumn or winter… I think it’s been nearly 3 years since I’ve been to London. I’ll stick with pastoral scenes for now.
@TY, I know what you mean about invested in Doom. I miss some of the gentle humour of the early episodes.
I think Sunbae in MRIAG has potential as you say. But he won’t quote long passages of novels from memory in appropriate situations, will he?
@anis, thank you for that article!
Dear Friends, Apartment by Yoon Soo Il seems to be from 1982. The link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br6B27qdiP0
On another note, when people ask me to play an old one, I play this just to troll:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z8rt3hHUEY
Or this which is the XVIII century forerunner of a familiar song made famous by Elvis Presley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqAxVrBwoqg
Anyway I concur with Mr. Gumiho, it is hard to keep up with change and the loss of reference points. I guess that like in the INXS song, for him 21st Century is yesterday.
Hope to read you soon!!! =D
I’ll make a write-up for this drama, @FGB4877, just to have things organized.
I can’t see your links because I’m not on my laptop. Will check them out later.
But I thought it was funny that Mr. Gumiho put his hand in his pocket (do guys still do that???) while he sang “Apartment.”
I also laughed when I saw that ex-Gumiho-lady named him “Pox” on her cellphone. I’m not sure whether that’s a wrong grammar or just the way Koreans pronounced “Fox,” but it was too funny. She made him sound like a plague, you know, “chicken pox.” 🙂
Fern,
I’m rewatching Ep 2 and I think you’re right. The Tiger Sunwoo might not be a Tiger all. He was class of 2017, but he could have served military straight out of high school.
@packmule3, it is really great that you and your sons share the same taste in music. Oh I miss to watch musical performance offline. I had this thing with ballet performance, I am not a dancer but I could somehow cry seeing the ballet performance.I don’t know when we ever have that opportunity again.. seeing musical or ballet or any other performance directly.
I just know the trivia about West Virginia vs Massachusetts. Thank you for this. I like the song Country Roads ☺️
I also noticed the “Pox” contact name of the ex-Gumiho, and yeah right it led us to the terms of Chicken Pox the plague rather than the Korean pronounciation of Fox. Looking how funny the relationship between Gumiho and exGumiho lady, I think it is the pun that he did on purpose.. lol
@Fern, I can imagine it is very exhausting to keep up with the latest trend. Well I still don’t have children yet, but if I compare my knowledge in music now to what the teens listen nowadays, I have no idea. Lol. I think that in terms of the music theme of our life, we stuck in that era when we still have so many dreams and we feel the most energized (in my case, in late 90s or early 2000s). The song that launched 20yrs ago still feel like a yesterday song in my head. Hahaha..
@FGB4877, thank you for those links. You would be either the funniest or most exasperating DJ ever.
@packmule3 and @moonstar512, my older daughter told me yesterday that the CDs my husband and I played in the car when she was little are some of her favourite musical memories. We still have the CDs but no CD player.
Oh, Pox reminds me of ‘A Pox on Your House’. Like Mercutio’s dying curse in “Romeo and Juliet”, which activates late in the play. But in her case, it’s probably just a typo. But Ms Ex-Fox is up to mischief, I think, and more clever than Mr Fox believes.
Catching up on this thread!
@packmule3, but when Tiger Sunwoo touched Dam’s hair she had the same stomach pain till gumiho ‘healed’ hear back home.
I am rather confused by which year they are. So Tiger Sunwoo is her senior (probably a year 4?) but taking a year 3 class as her? But his friends are also taking the same course.
Lol on the Ms.Ex-Gumiho naming him “Pox”, she seemed to have problems with language, taking 70 years to learn 1000 words. My kid would have done better. A mistake we totally expect from her. I am curious about her relationship with him, as to why she keeps bugging him and teases him. She doesn’t avoid him like plague, it is more like the other way round. 😛
What does she want out of Mr.Gumiho or that they are they only gumihos around. I remember what happened of a murder earlier that had no evidence and it seems like there is another gumiho around….or was it done by Ms.Ex-Gumiho?
Ref other Gumihos in the area:
@grace, the murder in episode 1 was of a female, so if by a Gumiho, the Gumiho would presumably be male? I thought they lured members of the opposite sex, but perhaps not here. But in his flashback, Mr Fox mused that the legend of eating livers was only that?
Also, at the beginning of the 1st episode, when Do Jae-jin is getting drunk, Soo-kyung says, “That softy always gives his everything to girls.” Dam replies, “One day I’m afraid he’ll give up his organs.” If it’s foreshadowing, I think there’s traction for your theory that Ms Ex Gumiho isn’t Ex- after all.
@packmule3, yes. Jae-jin says Sun-woo returned to school. Later, in the bar Jae-jin mentions Sun-woo being discharged, so military service is possible.
@Fern, I am an amateur flute player, not a DJ so it is no problem at all ;D .
I think ExGumiho is way more sage than credited for. As a sidenote, liver is the seat of courage in Korean folklore, so eating a liver could be a metaphor of rendering someone useless by gaslighting, emotional manipulation and emotional violence, etc. My theory. I could be very wrong.