Hi everyone!

Today, I thought I’d share my episode 1 notes on Yumi’s Cells 2, because I am loving it, along with everyone else on Patreon, and I was wondering if you’d like to join us? 🤗

These are my episode 1 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️

Episode notes:

E1. Yumi’s Cells is BACKK, and it’s picking up exactly where it last left off, both in terms of story, and in terms of awesomeness, and I find myself picking up exactly where I’d last left off too, in terms of just how much I luff this show.

Heart-eyes activated, within mere minutes of pressing play, y’all.

I mean, it is definitely sad and poignant, to revisit the breakup between Woong and Yumi.

After all, Woong is a genuinely nice guy, who sincerely cares about Yumi. And, the breakup has nothing to do with fading feelings on either side.

So, it feels like such a wasted opportunity, to allow this love relationship to be put to an end, like this.

But, as Show tends towards, this is such a great depiction of what happens in real life too, isn’t it?

A lot of relationships don’t work out, and it often has nothing to do with either party being a bad person, or either party not caring about the other person anymore. So often, it has to do more with things like timing, and circumstances, and that does seem to be the case here too.

This episode, it becomes clear that beyond the happy face that Woong shows on SNS, he still misses Yumi.

That shot of him sitting on the basketball court, staring at Yumi’s profile (where he still has the heart next to her name!), with a mournful expression on his face, and tears in his eyes, tells me that he really does miss her.

At the same time, it feels like his Reason cell’s taken over, and decided that this just isn’t a relationship that could work right now, given his circumstances.

As we’d seen at the end of Season 1, he and Yumi had been spending less and less time together, and had been growing distant, and a lot of that had to do with his company, and how business was going.

That last bit of bad news, must have been the nail in the coffin, for Woong, that had made him decide that it was best for both him and Yumi, that they stop trying to make something work, that ultimately wasn’t working.

What Show does brilliantly, this episode, is explore all the nuances of Yumi’s response to the breakup.

The initial denial, to the warring emotions, of wanting to hold onto her pride, but also wanting to call Woong and pretend the breakup had never happened, to the varied attempts to make herself feel better, from eating sugary pastries, to shopping, to drinking beer – which then brings out her True Intentions cell – is all perfectly spot on.

The way Yumi jumps through multiple hoops, just so that she can see Woong’s latest SNS updates on his friend’s profile, also feels so true to life.

That’s exactly what lots of people do, after a breakup. We look for ways to see how the other person is doing, just so that we feel a little less disconnected from them.

And then the way Yumi goes through the thought process, of wanting to throw away everything she has that is related to Woong, and the related thought process, of how it would be wasteful or irresponsible, to throw away each specific item.

It’s all so true to life, that I feel vindicated all over again, in have felt similar feelings, and done similar things, myself.

And the way Show interprets all of that in terms of cell activity, is so perfect as well.

Like how every other cell refuses to acknowledge the official breakup notice, and so in the end, it’s Reason who has to accept the notice, because at least he sees that it’s important.

Or like Pride getting into a fight with Pathetic and Emotion, over Yumi wanting to call Woong, to pretend that their breakup never happened.

Or like all the cells hanging on for dear life on that ship in the midst of the storm, determined to all survive well, so that Yumi can show herself to be a strong, independent woman, in the wake of her breakup.

In the midst of all this, Bobby – whose name is apparently spelled Babi after all – really comes across as the perfect soothing balm to Yumi’s emotional wounds.

The thing that strikes me the most about Babi, is that he clearly respects Yumi’s boundaries, but manages to show care and concern, in just the right, smallish amounts, so that Yumi doesn’t find him burdensome.

At this point in our story, Yumi’s colleagues know that she’s gone through a breakup, but he doesn’t actively talk with her about it, and remains as cordial as ever.

And the first chance he gets to talk with her alone, which is when he drops off that document to her, he simply asks if she’s ok, and then says simply, “힘내요,” which is like a casual variation of “fighting” or “cheer up,” but translates literally as, “be strong.”

I like that literal translation a lot, and it feels perfectly encouraging without him overstepping any boundaries – which is exactly the general vibe I get from Babi, through Yumi’s post-breakup phase, and which is exactly what (I think) she needs.

Ruby suddenly having an interest in Babi is a perfect segue into the whole concept of Yumi’s interest groups, and I freaking love how Show handles all this like it’s some kind of kpop fandom, hee!

Such great little cameos, with Minho and Gong Yoo getting interest groups, particularly since Minho had played Wugi, Yumi’s crush, in Season 1! 🤩

I love how the Babi interest group goes underground as a private group, because Yumi’s convinced that Babi likes Ruby, and it therefore wouldn’t be appropriate for her to have an interest in him.

And then, it’s just so perfect, when various little happenings cause different cells to show up at the group’s door, demanding to be fans too. It’s hilariously perfect, and I couldn’t help giggling each time Babi’s fan cells grew in number.

It’s so funny, in such a meta way, when Reason yells at the other cells that Babi isn’t an idol or anything, so why should they be fans?!?

Tee hee hee! Such a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that Jinyoung is, in fact, an idol, heh.

And, how could Babi not have fans among the cells?

He’s so caring and gentle and encouraging, and thoughtful and considerate, all at the same time! It’s just bonus that he happens to be clean-cut and handsome, too.

It’s so cute that when Yumi decides to accept Babi’s invitation to the live performance at the park, is when the Babi fan club decides to go public instead of staying private.

That’s exactly in line with Yumi’s decision, isn’t it, because she’s decided to go out in public with Babi, to that performance.

GUH. I LOVE how thoughtfully conceptualized this entire show is! 🤩

I do think that Babi’s confession is a little early in the game, but I can imagine that he’d take a chance and go for it, given that the conversation kinda naturally opens up the opportunity.

It’s quite perfect, really, the way he talks about how Yumi’s feelings are often reflected in her expression, and then how he says that he doesn’t know what she’s feeling right then, but would like to know – because she’s someone whom he’s always interested to know more about.

This comes across as so down-to-earth and so sincere, all at the same time.

And then, his expression looks so open and sincere, as he says, “Let’s date.”

I know Yumi’s in shock right now, so I’ll squee on her behalf: Eeee!!! 😍😍😍

*This show is being covered on the Foundation (US$1) Tier on Patreon as a bonus show!*

To view episode 1 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!

You can find my Patreon page here, where episodes 1 through 5 notes are already available. Just look for the tag “Yumi’s Cells 2” or click here.

Episode 6 notes will be out on Wednesday, 6 July 2022! I hope you’ll consider joining us!

It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? ❤️

PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for July, which you can find here!