★★★★★
The 2020 South Korean drama starring Lee Dong-Wook as Lee
Yeon, Jo Bo-Ah as Nam Ji-Ah, and Kim Bum as Lee Rang. Written by Han Woo-Ri and
directed by Kang Shi-Hyo. 16 episodes, each about 65 – 70 minutes.
Brief synopsis: Nam Ji-Ah is a tv show producer whose
parents mysteriously disappeared after a car accident in 1999. She last thing
she remembers of the incident is that she was rescued by a man with a red umbrella.
On the same globe but in another world, Lee Yeon is a 1000 year old gumiho who’s
been demoted from his mountain god position. He’s spent the last 600 years
completing missions for the Deceased Immigration Office and searching for the
reincarnation of his lost love, Ah-Eum. Although it’s been over twenty years
since Ji-Ah’s car accident, she’s surprised to find her rescuer at a wedding
venue with the same red umbrella. Knowing there’s more to him than meets the
eye, Ji-Ah decides to investigate him thinking he might be able to help her
find her parents. The truth about Lee Yeon comes to Ji-Ah sooner than she
realizes as her world is turned upside down by the world of nine-tailed foxes
in a paranormal life and death struggle for survival.
Lee Dong-Wook shines in this drama! If for no other reason,
watch Tale of the Nine Tailed for his stellar performance. However, I
might suggest that there are more reasons than that to see this drama!
Although Lee Yeon certainly gets our excitement up right
from the get-go, all the characters in this drama had something to contribute. Lee
Rang is certainly not the least of these. Lee Rang’s character is so much
deeper than his initial role in the first three episodes, where he just acts as
a catalyst to get the plot rolling. His character development us the most
exciting to watch as he goes from the sly fox that would trade his brother for
a pair of glasses to the younger brother that would rather die than watch his
brother fall at the hands of Imugi. It takes the whole drama, but Lee Rang
eventually chooses to be Lee Yeon’s rescuer, just as Lee Yeon was his.
This drama is going to ask you two questions: “What is most
precious to you?” and “What do you fear most?” Could you actually give up what
is most dear to you for something you want? Or could you face your darkest fears
and overcome them on your own? Eodoek Sini asks her victims what they fear most
and challenges them to face those fears, although in her ideal world they end
up getting torn apart by the realization of those hidden terrors. She sets up
the scenarios for Ji-Ah and Lee Rang with intent to divide Lee Yeon’s
loyalties, to leave Lee Rang to perish, but Lee Yeon unexpectedly throws himself
into Rang’s world of fears. It becomes a chance for Rang and Yeon to restore
their relationship. In the moments when our worst fears become realized, maybe
we don’t need to look that far to recognize that we can overcome those fears
with the help of family and friends.
Lee Yeon says “If nothing else, I’m good at waiting.” He
tells Ji-Ah “I will always be waiting for you.” Ji-Ah comes to echo his statement.
Both characters have done their fair share of waiting, but what does it mean
when you are willing to wait even more? The kind of patience that turns 24
minutes into 24 hours and more must not be easy to come by. The concept of
waiting is one revisited in the drama, right up to the end. In the final
episode, Ji-Ah asks “How did you get used to waiting?” Lee Yeon replies “It’s
not that I got used to waiting. I just couldn’t get used to being apart from
you.”
It’s hard to miss the red umbrella that Lee Yeon carries. It
becomes his trademark, part of the costuming that sets our main character
apart. The drama doesn’t explain why the umbrella is red, other than maybe
because it matches Lee Yeon’s red-brown hair and maybe because it was part of
the uniform set when he was the god of the mountain 600 years ago. Red
traditionally symbolizes masculine energy and the sun. The red in the umbrella
helps identify Lee Yeon as our main lead, but also the ancient dignity that his
character is supposed to carry.
The drama does have its weaknesses, however. First, the
persistent “one of you has to die” is a little excessive. We understand that
the screenwriters were just building up anticipation for the climax, but the
plot twist is not that difficult to absorb. Second, there’s a slight observable
plot repetition that doesn’t seem necessary. Lee Yeon and Imugi appear to go
around in circles with the same antics from episode 11 to 15. Third, the final
episode could have been improved. Lee Yeon’s return almost looks like an
afterthought. We wish he would have returned in a more triumphant way, but the final
episode really makes it look like his return was only contingent on Lee Rang. Moreover,
Lee Yeon comes back as human, never to return to the Deceased Immigration Office,
but then the episode ends with his sneaking off to bring another AWOL paranormal
anomaly to justice. Did we miss something? Did he get his supernatural gumiho abilities
back when we weren’t looking?
Yet something that we weren’t quite expecting from the drama
was Taluipa’s, the Director of the Deceased Immigration Office, character arc.
Her character got a bit of a bad rap for most of the drama. She’s
administration for all of the undertaking of deceased souls, but she’s blamed
for a) the stressful relationship between herself and her husband, b) the
suicide of her son, c) Lee Yeon’s 600 years of service missions, and d) the
apparent fate of Ji-Ah’s demise. But she makes a new decision in episode 15— “I
will save her.” She’s only been doing her job, but this time she’ll do what she
wants to help the people she loves.
Overall, Tale of the Nine Tailed is entertaining for
all 16 episodes and is a drama that is hard to break from. We loved seeing Lee
Dong-Wook in this kind of role and his talent is undeniable! This drama is
highly recommended if you’re looking for something like Goblin or Gu
Family Book, or if you’re just looking for that next drama to fall in love
with. 5/5 stars!
Comments
Post a Comment