A review of the K-drama, Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, starring Lee Dong-wook and Kim Bum
Not going to lie, I was a little reluctant to watch a season 2 of a K-drama that I really enjoyed the first time around, especially when I heard the premise that our fox hero would be traveling to the past without his beloved. All I could think was, they better not mess up this couple! But the pull of seeing the amazing nine-tailed fox brothers fighting together in a 1930’s Korea was too enticing, so I gave it a go. And I am so glad that I did!
Overall, this drama did not disappoint – it was a jam-packed 12 episodes that brought together fantasy, horror, romance, action, and comedy in a way that not only made sense but was an absolute joy to watch. Lee Dong-wook and Kim Bum once again dazzled the screen with their amazing acting and brought to life another fantastic story from the fox brothers. Here’s how I rank each of the sections in my rating scale:
Story (9/10)
From start to finish, I was entranced by this story. It has so much to offer:
- Time travel – yes, please!
- Romance story for Lee Rang – we’re rooting for you!
- Breathtakingly beautiful brothers fighting alongside each other – these are tears of joy
- Shinigami and zombies and ghosts – oh my!
- Lee Yeon meeting himself in the past – need I say more?
The premise of the story is that Lee Yeon, our infamous nine-tailed fox, is sent back in time to retrieve an object that was taken there by our antagonist. The year in which he was sent was 1938 (hence the title of the show), a turmoil-filled time in which the Japanese were occupying Korea. Lee Yeon finds himself stuck in 1938 for a set amount of time after he misses his first opportunity to return home. As he is there, he ends up uncovering a much larger plot than he first thought as well as fighting a high-ranking and established demon that was part of the Japanese occupation.
The only reason I am giving this a 9 and not a 10 is that I felt the pacing was a bit off towards the end, rushing a lot in the last two episodes to tie stuff up – this is where the four less episodes than the first season could be felt. Additionally, there were some big questions left unanswered. Obviously they are setting up a season 3 story (which makes me giddy), but it just felt like some pretty huge questions to leave completely and utterly blank, not even a hint of where this might be going.
Characters (10/10)
In the original Tale of the Nine-Tailed, I fell in love with every single one of the characters – they were a big highlight to the show, so I was thrilled to see the return of so many of them in this season 2. Additionally, there were many new characters that I fell in love with just the same as before. Not only was everyone fabulously written, but the actors were also amazing. I could not pick a single favorite. Some of the highlights for me were Jang Yeo-hee played by Woo Hyun-jin and Cheon Mu-young played by Ryu Kyung-su.
Jang Yeo-hee is in love with Lee Rang, which if anyone knows this fox brother well, is not an easy position to be in. Woo Hyun-jin played the part so well and gave us a lovely romance to root for throughout the show.
The character of Cheon Mu-young caught me off guard. I was not expecting to like him as much as I did. While he seemed fairly one-dimensional and a bit flat at first, this character grew on me throughout the show and eventually was much more than first perception. Again, a great job of building this character throughout the show was done by actor, Ryu Kyung-su.
Excellent character writing and excellent acting made me care for every single one of these characters, so this definitely deserves a 10 out of 10.
Binge-ability (10/10)
This is where I basically rate the ability of this K-drama to suck you in and make sleep something you do only if necessary. And the big checkmark goes here! If it weren’t for the fact that when I originally watched this (yes, I have watched it more than once at this point) it was live as it was coming out which meant only two episodes a week, this would have for sure been a binge. And yes, the second time, it was!
Repeatability (10/10)
There are some dramas that you automatically know you will be able to watch again in the future and yet again later. In fact I have already watched it again since I originally viewed it. This one will be on repeat for sure.
TOTAL 39 out of 40 Delicious Cupcakes!
This puts this drama solidly at the top of my list right now. And it absolutely deserves to be there. I knew I would like this drama, but I was surprised at how much I actually did. The nine-tailed fox brothers did not disappoint! The drama, the action, the comedy, the romance – all of these were perfectly executed and I loved every minute of it!
Stay tuned for my other reviews to keep seeing this rankings list build itself.
Where to Watch Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938
If you want to give this a watch, you can watch it on Amazon Prime with a subscription.
