In this week’s K-drama review we are talking about a drama full of action, suspense, a bit of horror, bromance and love. This time we are sharing our thoughts about the 2020 tvN production ‘The Tale of the Nine Tailed’.
Nine Tailed Fox
Written by Han Woo-ri and directed by Kang Shin-hyo and Jo Nam-hyung. ‘The Tale of the Nine Tailed’ tells the story of Lee Yeon (Lee Dong Wook) a Nine Tailed Fox who abdicates his position as the mountain spirit of Baekdudaegan to save his first love who dies after the evil spirit Imoogi possesses her body.
Lee Yeon gives his fox bead to Ah-eum (Jo Bo-ah) with the promise that they will meet again when she is reborn.
For many centuries, Lee Yeon has seen mani Ah-eum look alikes but none of them were her reincarnation or had his fox bead, until he meets Nam Ji Ah.
Nam Ji Ah almost died as a kid and her parents mysteriously disappeared after their car accident. She doesn’t believe that they died as no bodies were found, and becomes obsessed with the idea of one day finding them and decides to become a producer of supernatural documentaries.
Working as a producer she meets Lee Yeon, who saved her after the car accident. She recognizes him and starts to follow him trying to find information about her parents’ whereabouts.
Brotherhood
Lee Yeon also has a younger brother who is half human. When he was still the mountain spirit he rescued him and brought him up. However, after he left the mountains to see Ah-eum, villagers set fire to the mountains, making his younger brother Lee Rang (Kim Bum) escape to survive but going after revenge and killing innocent humans.
Lee Yeon finds out what Lee Rang did and has to execute him, Rang on the verge of death is saved by a mysterious man. After all this happens, Rang resents his brother Lee Yeon and it leads him to create dangerous alliances.
Folklore and myths
‘The Tale of the Nine Tailed’ is a story that is filled with myths and powerful folklore creatures. This drama gave viewers narratives about the stories and made it even more interesting to watch.
Lee Yeon is a fascinating character that lives as a human but serves the afterlife gods, sentencing creatures that endanger the balance between both words. In doing so, he also recruits Goo Shin-joo (Hwang Hee), a fox who dedicates his life to serve Yeon after he saves his life.
Storytelling, brotherhood and family are a big part of this drama. I really liked how the story developed giving watchers a full view and narrative about the characters and their stories.
Love or Duty
From the beginning of the story, I thought that this drama would side more with the fiction and mystical aspect. Romance took over a huge part of it. It was still interesting to watch but I would have loved it if the romance plot was used to complement the main narrative rather than being the one driving it at times.
As a rom-com lover I liked it, but I felt that the mystic, supernatural side of it that I loved was left on a side. Nevertheless, the drama had great character development and plot.
You can watch ‘The Tale of the Nine Tailed’ in Viki, and check out the trailer below.
