Saying goodbye to Yumi's Cells was bittersweet. It felt like saying a final goodbye to a dear friend. For a while now, it has been such a constant in my life, so when the final episode came to an end, I couldn’t help but tear up.
This season has felt rather different from the other two, and I feel a little unsure about how to rate it. It has been really good, and I can understand why a lot of people say that it is one of their favorite seasons. For me though, it has been the weakest.
The acting was, as always, amazing. This is to be expected from Kim Go Eun. She has and will always be the star of this show. Kim Jae Won as Sin Sun Rok impressed me, though. I don’t think I was the only one who was surprised and a little apprehensive about his casting. He nailed it though. He really embodied his role. You could truly feel all his emotions, his exhaustion, his tiredness. I really appreciated how convincing he was, as an introvert who is daily fighting exhaustion myself.
Where this season fell slightly short was the romance. Yumi’s feelings for Sin Sun Rok felt a little unfounded at times. I understand that part of the premise was love taking one by surprise. Still, the feelings came somewhat out of the blue. I missed that sizzling chemistry, the feeling that here were two people who just had to be together. The relationship felt slightly rushed and less developed than the previous ones, despite being her final match. A lot of this comes down to the 8 episodes. With this season being so much shorter and them getting together rather late, we didn’t get to see all the layers and growth of the romance, which this format does exceptionally well. In the previous seasons, the characters got together quite early, and we got to see how the relationship evolved over time, all the little nuances of being with another person. This season was much more focused on the lead-up to the romance than the romance itself.
The cells were, as always, delightful, so funny and cute and insightful. It is hard not to love them. They did, however, feel slightly less integral to the story. While they were present, we didn’t get to see them navigate being in the relationship for long. All those small conflicts, as well as the romantic growth, were missing, which meant they didn’t get to shine in the same way.
That said, this season had many wonderful moments. The tiny throwbacks to other seasons were lovely. And while a new OST would have been awesome, the original is so strong that it felt nice to revisit. It is still my favorite soundtrack, and having it here felt more like a nod to the earlier seasons than a lack of a new one.
Overall, while this season felt a bit more rushed and less developed, it was a pure joy to watch. I may have come off a little critical, but that is only because the other seasons set such a high standard. Watching it, in many ways, helped me through the week and made me look forward to every single Monday.
It feels a little bittersweet to let go. I know I can always revisit the story, but finishing season three still held the feeling of a final goodbye. And so, goodbye Yumi. Thank you for everything. You meant a lot to me.
what did you guys think of this season?