Tale of the Nine-Tailed is about a gumiho (Lee Dong Wook) that handles problems between the living world and the spirit world who is seeking his lost love and the PD (Jo Bo Ah) of a program about urban legends who is trying to prove the gumiho is real and solve a mystery involving her parents.
Lee Dong Wook plays Lee Yeon who is a mythical nine-tailed fox (gumiho). He used to be a mountain god but was sentenced to handle problems with the spirit world because of an incident involving his true love that was killed. He seeks to be reunited with her reincarnation.
Jo Bo Ah is Nam Ji Ah. Her parents disappeared when she was a child which led her to become the PD of a show about urban legends as she seeks the truth about what happened to them. She meets Lee Yeon and becomes suspicious that he may be connected.
Then we have Kim Bum as Lee Rang. He is half human/half gumiho and is also the half-brother of Lee Yeon. He suffered a lot in his past because of what he was which led him to hate people and his brother. He is quite the villain and creates lots of havoc to get what he wants.
Tale of the Nine-Tailed is the kind of show that is right up my alley. The fantasy romance elements are strong along with an interesting mystery and plenty of thrills. The drama had a strong opening that drew me into an engaging story. The pacing and plot developments were then good throughout the series.
I loved all of the fantasy aspects and that the production overall was pretty good with solid effects. The historical flashbacks were also gorgeous to look at. We get a decent soundtrack that really enhances the drama too.
The romance between Lee Yeon and Ji Ah is a big one. These ill-fated lovers shared a forbidden love hundreds of years ago, and it ended in tragedy. They get a do over in modern times, but the same fate threatens them again.
This pair has a fun banter between them in the early stages of the series. Then as they grow closer, the romance picks up. There is a lot that Ji Ah doesn’t know about her past life and their past relationship though. Those secrets create plenty of issues for them.
I really enjoyed seeing how dedicated Lee Yeon was to Ji Ah. He goes through a lot to try and give Ji Ah a happy life, but he sure does face a lot of problems in doing so. Ji Ah also appreciates Lee Yeon and becomes a valuable partner for him as they face their enemies.
We get a little love/hate bromance in Tale of the Nine Tailed too. Lee Yeon and his half-brother Lee Rang have been at odds for hundreds of years. They also had a tragic past that tainted their relationship.
Lee Rang goes full villain and does his best to cause trouble for Lee Yeon, but it is evident that Lee Rang is acting out and still cares for his brother. Lee Yeon faces an uphill battle in trying to get through to him. We get some really great moments between this duo as they face their issues as well as some good character growth from Lee Rang.
This is the kind of show that has tons of wonderful supporting characters. Many of them will win your heart with their stories and current relationships. Others are of the villainous variety that add lots of drama and tension to the show.
We get lots of big relationship developments throughout the drama between all three of our main characters as well as the supporting ones. The series did well as building up these moments and making them satisfying. I really enjoyed seeing these relationships develop and grow.
There was a lot of great payoff in the ending episodes of the drama involving everyone. I was pretty satisfied with the direction the story went and how everything went down. We get some incredibly emotional moments for our characters.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed Tale of the Nine-Tailed. Dramas like this are my bread and butter because of the great mixture of elements involving fantasy, romance, thrills, and mystery. It’s always nice to see shows like this come together so nicely and treat the audience to such a fun story.
My Rating: 8/10
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