So, rewatched kpdh while on a flight and I had a few thoughts.
Note, this is a combo of random things I realized, noticed, and assumptions/headcanons. Enjoy lol.
Saja boys seem to cast some kind of spell at the soda pop performance, able to prevent anyone from questioning everything thatâs happening. Zoey falls under it partially, as does Mira, as we see from the âmagiciansâ and ânice demonsâ comments, plus the Abby thing.
On the rooftop Rumi canât quite keep up with him, but in the bathhouse she was able to pin Jinu. I think she is used to fighting solo in confined spaces and with her girls in wide open spaces where Mira and Zoey can keep demons âpinnedâ so Rumi canât kill them.
âIâm the only one who canâ -Jinu
âIâm nothing like you.â -Rumi
Jinu is working to both isolate Rumi (knowing Mira and Zoey donât know about the patterns) and to make her reliant on him in a way that would push a wedge between Mira and Zoey.
Demons created by Gwi-ma seem to be afraid of him, but act with malicious intentions and with joy at hurting others. When Rumi pins the demon during takedown and asks if heâs a prisoner he finds it amusing and tries to attack her.
Mira doesnât give off the âreluctant but crushing on themâ vibes with Abby or Romance, she seems genuinely uncomfortable and upset about it. Zoey doesnât like baby next to her but with mystery (whom sheâs shown interest) sheâs ok with it. And of course Rumi is debating with Jinu the whole time.
(And during the internet shipping gag, when Zoey says âyou look so cute togetherâ itâs obvious how enraged Mira is because she genuinely hates the demons. Maybe a good indicator to Rumi that anything with patterns in Miraâs eyes doesnât deserve loveâŚ?)
While talking to Rumi, Mira slowly gets closer, but not close enough to crowd her just close enough to keep her from hiding. Meanwhile, Rumiâs body language is stiff and stressed, and itâs clear Mira sees it.
I think Jinu was mildly intrigued that Rumi wanted to date him when she sent âsave the dateâ, but was thinking along the lines of âI can use her attraction to me against her.â Meanwhile, Rumiâs trying to help him and at the same time help herself.
(Rumi has begun thinking of herself as a mistake, likely once the patterns spread almost all the way down her hands.)
Another example of the magical influence of the Saja boys is when Bobby gets ditched by the girls and his phone suddenly pops up saying he should join the pride. I think the magic used targets people at their lowest, and with Bobby thatâs thinking his girls donât need/want him anymore. (Plus on the train all the phones have the same message + soda pop playing.)
Mira and Zoey say they support her, but clarify that itâs her voice they need. So Rumi goes to Jinu because she thinks that unless she sabotages the Saja boys her voice will fail again.
(And, as we see in that convo before free, Rumi feels like without her secrets she can finally breath again, and sing. Jinu, whoâs been working to isolate her and using her insecurities against her, has become the source of comfort to her.
Whether itâs romantic or she sees it more as platonic I dunno, but to me it moreso reads as a found family style thing then anything else. Like how in free, she says that unless they let go of their secrets then they will be stuck in darkness. For Rumi itâs with her patterns, and Jinu itâs the truth of what he did to his family.)
All that said, I do think Jinu planned to help Rumi. Right up until he was brutally physiologically tortured by Gwi-ma right after, and he was reminded of how he left his family behind. Hence why his new found family with Rumi becomes⌠a source of further shame.
In the after scene, Rumi doesnât share what sheâs afraid of, just agreeing sheâs afraid of similar things to her girls. (Also, I think Zoey is used to speaking a lot and isnât bothered by being corrected, at least by Mira or Rumi. I say this because both during the whole âDEMO-Magicians!â And the âGOLDE-Takedownâ when she says the wrong one and they just give her a side eye that I think she knows isnât anything mean.)
Also, to Mira and Zoey the golden Honmoon is keeping them away from Rumi, and once they complete their duty they can relax. So for them, achieving it isnât the most crucial part, itâs a path to them finally connecting with Rumi in ways theyâve been unable to until then.
I find it interesting that Mira and Zoey make Rumi the center for both songs and choreography, especially for Golden. They do it to such an extent that they leave the stage for a few moments during the song, as if to say âRumi is the center to our perfect worldâ because thatâs how they view her.
Also I adore how Rumiâs voice is physically destructive, because itâs just that powerful. She has such strong vocals that she can empower the Honmoon to golden or rip it apart in minutes.
âŚMira and Zoey knew it was Rumi, behind the stage. They kept interrupting her while she was obviously panicked and distressed. They felt betrayed, yes. They saw her affect the Honmoon, yes. But they still lifted their weapons to Rumi in warning.
They chose their duty over her in that moment, saying their resolve to protect the world was greater than their love for her. And so she ran.
She ran to confront Jinu.
âWhat we had was real! I know it was!â
She is trying to desperately hold onto the idea that the one person she trusted with her deepest secret felt that connection, that understanding.
Because if not even Jinu can see her as anything but a demon? Then thatâs all she is.
We see what the loss of hope does to Rumi, how it splits the Honmoon apart, because thatâs what empowered the Honmoon. We see Mira and Zoey moments later, shocked to see that happening, but of course theyâre surprised.
No hunter has ever been hurt the way they were.
And no hunter had their partners, their hunters, point their blades at her and confirm her worst fears.
You knew I was a mistake from the very startâ
She assumed Celine only ever saw her as a mistake because of the constant reinforcement that something was wrong with Rumi. And the conversation under the tree doesnât help, where Celine canât even touch her.
Canât even admit that she failed to accept Rumi.
âOur faults and fears must never be seen, thatâs the only way to protect the Honmoon!â
Thatâs when it clicks for Rumi. The Honmoon isnât something that could last without the hunters pretending to be perfect. Pretending to be something inhuman.
So, she does what was born to do, what she was born to be.
She goes to remake the Honmoon.
The Saja boys have to use a full sing, another layer of their magic and Gwi-maâs influence to get the crowd to walk into the flames.
And all it takes to stop that? A single note from Rumi.
When she starts singing, Mira and Zoey are freed immediately, because all they wanted, all they needed, was for Rumi to be willing to reach out to them for once.
And the second time she does, they reach back.
Because the most crucial part of being the guardians, the hunters, are that they are not alone.
And Rumi is not alone. She never was. All she had to do was let them in.
Now Rumi knows it. She doesnât have to be alone, she isnât defined by her mistakes or lies.
And her eyes are trained on the one person who doesnât understand that yet. Jinu, whoâs watching from above, unable to act against the girls or Rumi.
And ultimately, he decides to show she was right. He finally chose to help another instead of himself. And in doing so, he was freed. He got his would.
The soul that was given to Rumi.
We see it, as they defeat Gwi-ma. He healed from a blow struck by anger, but when he was struck down by Mira, Rumi, and Zoey holding hands and seeing each other, truly seeing each other? That was their trust, their love, and it annihilated him entirely.
