5 Things We Loved And 3 Things We Hated About "Hwayugi" Episodes 9 And 10

It’s the halfway point for tvN’s “Hwayugi,” and the drama took a more serious turn this week, upping the stakes and leading us on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Characters grew, relationships changed, and feelings were confronted — so let’s sink our teeth into what we loved and hated about Episodes 9 and 10!

Warning: spoilers for Episodes 9 and 10 below!

1. Loved: Oh Gong vs. children

Just because you’re a centuries-old divine being doesn’t mean you have nothing new to learn. Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi) certainly learned a lesson in babysitting this week: dinosaurs are always the answer.

When he accidentally makes young kids cry? Dinosaurs.

When he needs to communicate with ghost children? Also dinosaurs.

Although, we are hardly surprised that Oh Gong is so good at relating to children when he is somewhat of a child himself!

2. Hated: keeping Sun Mi in the dark

Can someone please tell Sun Mi (Oh Yeon Seo) that the black bell doesn’t mean what she thinks it means?

Because it’s hard to watch her be so happily deluded when the reality of the bell is a lot more sinister.

And it’s going to be downright painful to see how crushed she is when she finally learns the truth behind it.

3. Loved: Oh Gong and Ma Wang getting along

Is that real friendship we see brewing between Ma Wang (Cha Seung Won) and Oh Gong? The two took a break from antagonizing each other this week, instead acting surprisingly civil towards one another. It seems like now that Oh Gong has experienced his own heartbreak, he is more empathetic to Ma Wang’s romantic woes, even going so far as to offer him some (small) comforts.

Because sharing *any* alcohol is a huge sacrifice for Oh Gong.

4. Hated: Ma Wang’s manipulation

Ma Wang may have been getting along well with Oh Gong, but he also did a fair bit of meddling in Oh Gong and Sun Mi’s relationship, lying to Sun Mi about Oh Gong’s feelings for his own purposes. We can forgive Ma Wang because his end goal was to make Sun Mi become Sam Jang again, thereby reconnecting her with Oh Gong in the process. But it was still agonizing to watch him play games with Sun Mi’s heart when his words clearly hurt her so deeply.

5. Loved: Oh Gong’s selflessness

It’s no wonder poor Sun Mi was so easily misled when Oh Gong himself was also lying to her.

Thinking that Sun Mi wants nothing more than a normal life, Oh Gong attempts to give this to her by stoically pushing her away.

While Oh Gong had obviously misread Sun Mi and this scene was absolutely heart-wrenching, it also showed tremendous growth on Oh Gong’s part, and was the first time we have seen him put someone else’s wellbeing before his own in such a huge way.

6. Hated: the lack of communication

As touching as Oh Gong’s selflessness may be, his and Sun Mi’s inability to tell each other how they really felt was incredibly frustrating. We know they were each just scared of being rejected by the other, but it was brutal to see them both in such pain.

And equally tough to see Oh Gong act downright nasty.

7. Loved: Sun Mi making peace with her childhood

It’s easy to understand why Sun Mi releases the troubled spirit of herself as a child to a demon who kidnaps unhappy children; after all, her childhood was far from pleasant. But Sun Mi realizes that rather than sending that part of herself away to live carefree, it is better to accept and heal it, leading to this symbolic and touching moment in which Sun Mi confronts and reassures her younger self.

Making peace with her past was an important step for Sun Mi to take towards loving and accepting all parts of herself — including Sam Jang.

8. Loved: Sun Mi accepting her fate

Because once Sun Mi embraces her childhood, she is ready to re-assume her destiny as Sam Jang. While being Sam Jang has given her a lonely and difficult life, it has also made her special, and given her a unique opportunity to do good in the world.

And we’re proud of her for walking back into her fate. We’re also glad that doing so finally allowed for some open communication between her and Oh Gong — and, of course, the reactivation of the Geumganggo… although we’re not convinced that it is entirely necessary any more.

“Reactivation.”

Now that Sun Mi has accepted her fate and she and Oh Gong have stabilized their relationship, we’re eagerly awaiting what “Hwayugi” will bring in its second half! Catch “Hwayugi” Episodes 9 and 10 on Rakuten Viki, or start watching below:

[viki]https://www.viki.com/videos/1123028v-hwayugi-episode-1?utm_source=soompi&utm_medium=soompi_news&utm_campaign=soompi_link&utm_content=5-things-loved-3-things-hated-hwayugi-episodes-9-10&utm_content_id=1116813wpp[/viki]

Hey Soompiers, what did you think of this week’s “Hwayugi” episodes? Let us know in the comments!

hgordon stays up way too late on weeknights marathoning K-dramas and trying to keep up with the latest K-pop releases.