Tale of the Nine-Tailed (2020)

That ending was a... choice

There's a lot to be said about this wonderful yet somehow disappointing take on gumiho and Korean lore, and having just finished it I find that I have surprisingly complicated feelings for something that, in the beginning, I was confident that I would end up either loving or hating it.

I feel a bit bitter.

The drama's strengths lie in its production, its cast, and some of its characters. Some, not all. The brothers Lee Yeon and Lee Rang were hands down the most well thought out part of the story as both characters had a lot of depth to them, and their actors had a lot of chemistry on set. From the very beginning, LR's grudge is made clear and we're given context to their very strained relationship. As the story leaves more pieces for us to put together, we come to understand his character a lot more. Better yet, their relationship and LR's character as a whole have by far the most growth out of the whole cast. Even, I as someone who didn't care for LR in early episodes, grew to appreciate his role in the story.

The rest of the cast, for the most part, was a compliment to their chemistry. Ki Yoo Ri and Gu Shin Ju did a fantastic job portraying the slow-developing second couple and, honestly, their chemistry was a lot more compelling than the main pair. They're fun, they're cute, and the more you see them together, the better they look together. The Gatekeeper couple was such a treat, too, in a different way. Watching them fight and bicker and then, eventually, come together again, was so nice. For me, the main problem and the reason I was never 100% onboard was Nam Ji Ah's character. I found her very likable and refreshing in the first few episodes but that started to taper off around episode 4 or 5 where I started to find her grating. The actress's acting was passable, but a lot of times it didn't feel genuine. Her motivation was clear in the beginning - to find her parents - but as soon as they were back, the story forgot about them unless it needed a hostage or a funny little couple scene between NJA and LY. It felt a little strange. Then, this character who in the beginning we were shown was strong-willed, motivated, and could take care of herself was now in constant need of rescuing. And I mean constant. She was practically helpless throughout most of the story. In episode 13 she even fell victim to the 'woman fainting because stress' trope. There were also many scenes where she had to 'play the villain' so to speak and act as Imugi, which... was a choice. She didn't make for a great villain. The acting was cheesy and over-the-top, which I came to expect from other aspects of the show like the dialogue (which was absolutely cringy in some spots) but when you have a villain you want to look threatening, that's not a very good sign. I have more gripes with her character at the ending, too. A lot more.

Before I move on, Lee Tae Ri was an odd choice to play the villain. It's not that he's a bad actor, but he doesn't really have a threatening or large presence. He made Imugi's level of threat seem kinda silly, honestly, so I never felt like there was any real tension when he was on screen.

The plot... let's be honest, it's a hot mess. It's coherent enough to understand and enjoy, simple enough that you've seen this story a thousand and one times already, but if you think about it too long, it starts to fall apart. Just take the very first scene where NJA's parents go missing. We understand that attack to have been orchestrated by Imugi's minion KHR, but who was it that actually attacked them? Who was it that LY saved NJA from that night? They were shapeshifters, we can assume maybe they were foxes like the others? But why did they do it? Why did they listen to KHR? Better yet, what was the point of taking NJA's parents to begin with? Was it just to use them as leverage years later? That seems a bit silly - they could have taken them at any point after Imugi was revived to the same effect. With Imugi's illusions we've seen that he can get whatever he wants whenever he wants it. It just feels unnecessary. I loved the scene itself and it was a great introduction, but there wasn't much reason for it other than giving NJA a flimsy character set-up. In fact, if the parents had just been killed that night I probably wouldn't have much to say about it - it could have been a harsh introduction into the world we were about to step into. The problem is really the fact that it ties back to the main villain.

There are numerous other examples of the show taking weird turns like that or having just badly written scenes, but if I tried to write them all out we'd be here forever. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we never got closure on why NJA's parents visited that island where the Imugi ritual was performed, did we? Why did they bring back her parents if they were going to practically forget about them immediately after? The girl gets to see her mom and dad who she knew were likely dead after so many years and there's a short few scenes about them reuniting and then it's like they were never gone in the first place. They never even get an explanation for where they were or why they were there all that time. Anyway. My point is that there are a lot of holes in the story, and even more bad choices. It didn't make me hate the show but as I saw more of them, I started to realize that this wasn't the drama I hoped it would be.

Let's skip the tedious middle of the story and skip to the ending. A lot of the build-up was instead filled with mushy, cheesy scenes between LY and NJA, the couple with the least amount of chemistry in the story. Then our climax hits and it goes exactly how everyone expects - almost. Going into the last 2 eps, I expected LR to die instead of LY. You know, that old 'redemption in death' trope again. I accepted it. But then LY went through with his initial plan and there was crying and tears and LR held his wine bottle like it was a newborn baby and... that was it. I hoped. To be honest, I was fine with that. LY dying, NJA learning to move on, and their love ending on a bittersweet note might have had me applauding the show for not giving us a candyfloss ending. My favourite moments in the whole drama were seeing LR interacting with his newfound family, upset and lonely over the loss of his brother but finally, after so long, finding happiness in the company of others. He didn't have his brother, but he had a family.

And then they made him a damn martyr and had him sacrifice himself for his damn brother. They gave their most well-developed character a cheap ending. If he had died fighting Imugi, I would have been fine with that. If he died because his time was up (they alluded to him being at the end of his lifespan several times and then they, I don't know, forgot about it? Decided they didn't care?) then I wouldn't even have been upset. But instead, they waited until he had his happiest moment and took it all away, not even giving him a proper goodbye. What message does that really send us? He only lost everything once he grew as a character and became a better person. And I'm not saying that his growth nullifies all the terrible shit he's done in the past - it doesn't, he's a murderer and the fact that he's docile at the end of it doesn't change that - but it's only once he started on a better path that he meets his end, and I'm not sure I can get on board with that.

To me, NJA dying would have made sense. No, not there, I don't think anyone should have sacrificed their lives for LY to come back regardless of who it was. But her sacrificing herself earlier on would have made sense. The Gatekeeper was right - she was the reason so many people were dying, even if it wasn't directly her fault. While I can understand LY's desperation to not have history repeat itself, even if they weren't characters that we saw on screen, a lot of people died in the story. An insane amount, even. Saving her while all of them were dying was in fact pretty selfish of the both of them. A lot of heartache from the characters could have been avoided that way, too. Would it have been a very satisfying ending? Not sure. But what we have isn't really satisfying, either.

I did enjoy some of the scenes after LY returned, but ultimately, I don't think they were needed. Maybe I'm just bitter. If I based my rating solely on the ending, it probably would have been a 6. But I can't ignore the fact that I did enjoy the early episodes, and later on I enjoyed most characters outside of Imugi and NJA. It was a cringy, sappy journey that a part of me regrets going on, while another part is happy to have at least had the journey, even if it led down a road not worth travelling.

EDIT: A FEW THINGS I FORGOT TO LEAVE COMPLAINTS FOR AT THE ENDING:
-LY is supposed to be reincarnated except is brought back as himself but human. An adult. How does that make sense? Why did they not explain that?
-LR being reincarnated as a 10-year-old boy... when he died a few months ago? Does that make sense? No. Nothing does, apparently.
-That very end - so is he not a human after all? Is he lying? I get that maybe he can still use his special sword umbrella but why did his eyes change? Is he still a fox? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT?

I'm angry all over again.

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Without beating around the bush, The Tale of Gumiho ( or the Nine Tailed Fox) ‘s beginning did offer the criteria of being a brilliant fantasy show ; a stellar cast, fairly strong scriptwriting from episode one and of course the intriguing plot scenario of a lovelorn nine-tailed fox ( Lee Dong Wook) desperately yearning to be human again and overcoming the emotional scars of his past.

The Tale of Gumiho does certainly have one gift for drama watchers by offering us a stellar cast line-up. Finally seeing Lee Dong Wook reprise a fantasy role again had to be an undeniable selling- point for most drama watchers.

In place of wearing a prim and proper black hat as a certain Grim Reaper, however, Dong Wook steps into his new character, Lee Yeon, by sporting freshly dyed auburn red hair and brightly coloured suits as part of his foxy persona. There is no denying the fact that Dong Wook is undeniably Dong Wook in his performance - with a mixture of a sarcasm , comical wit and angst-driven ambiance surrounding his performance as Lee Yeon, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing this mysterious trickster instead. In a similar manner to Dong Wook, Jo Bo- ah was stunningly brilliant as the female lead, Nam Ji- ah through her heart-driven wit and capability to portray a female lead with rationality and intelligence in the show .

Yet sadly, however, as far as the scriptwriting is concerned both characters undeniably fall short of expectations through how they are dealt with after the opening of the drama. Without revealing too much it’s fair to say that although both characters did respectfully have emotional attachment to viewers through their experiences, some of the cliches that the scriptwriters had included just didn’t live up to expectations for these characters to be more than plot devices. ( Ji- ah’s rationality and intelligence as a lead is seemingly flung out the window by the halfway point of the drama, our main antagonist, Imoogi played mostly by Lee Tae- Ri has little intrigue for
watchers over his motives whereas characters such as the Snail Bride, Taluipa and Hyun Eui-ong who should’ve have had some of the most intriguing involvement in the storyline, were simply played for comical effect instead). By the ending of this drama there was little development or actual intrigue around most of these characters.


On the other hand, perhaps the one thing ( alongside the fairly good OST ) which most certainly can be praised in regards to one element of the scriptwriting, is how they dealt with Kim Bum’s brilliantly sardonic and emotionally complex portrayal as the antagonist- antihero role , Lee Rang.Of course, there is no denying that Rang did step often beyond the points of morality in the drama even from episode one, yet revelations of Lee Rang’s complicated past and his partially morally-guided actions throughout the drama such as saving his faithful sidekick Yu-ri ( Kim Yong Ji) from animal abuse in a zoo, a puppy from being tortured by a group of teenage thugs and Kim Soo oh ( Jung Si yul) from child abuse, adds more intricacy to him simply being labelled as an “ evil” or “ twisted” character.

Surprisingly, Kim Yong Ji’s performance as Yu- ri , also had better characterisation than the majority our main leads as well. As a character, Yu- ri appears at first as somewhat detestable by her animalistic desires to eat humans and to deceive a married couple behind the truth that their daughter is dead. Yet as Rang reveals more about Yu-ri’s past, it soon becomes apparent through her growing relationship with the veterinarian Shin Joo ( Hwang Hee) that Yu-ri is again not entirely an evil character, but simply doing what she must in order to survive. It is only a shame that whilst Yu- ri undeniably had a good character progression by the ending of the show, the circumstances of Lee Rang, Lee Yeon and Ji-ah felt lacklustre in comparison. It wasn’t that the ending of the drama wasn’t good, however, the means in which the scriptwriters had got us to this ending felt rushed and lacking in both emotional investment and intrigue for watchers.

Overall Tale of Gumiho was a fairly enjoyable show, however, it was severely flawed by character progression of our main leads as well as their relationship, and the overall ending deliverance of the drama. Perhaps the two saving graces of the drama were the casting choices and evidently Kim Bum’s performance as Lee Rang due to being a complicated and intriguing antagonist up until the ending , where sadly his final character twist and progression felt too rushed. Whilst Tale of Gumiho is worth a watch, don’t watch it if you’re looking for a masterpiece, as there are certainly better fantasy dramas out there.

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Overpromises but under-delivers - a confusing tale of lost potential and underutilised characters

(Brace yourself, I was a Lit student so here's my walls of text. Sorry for typos etc.):

Enjoyable fantasy drama with a lot of undelivered potential, saturated with fan service moments, over the top product placements #coffeebay, misuse of secondary characters, all in support of a no longer justifiable love story of star-crossed lovers aka the Mary Sue leads.

I'm being generous in rating this an 8/10 (7.5 as a review) as I feel that all things considered the drama waivered about 4 episodes in with the start of the lovey dovey fan service moments, which, at the time I didn't mind, until the drama's quality continued to decline about episodes 7 to 8 and by the time of my bitterness in writing this, having just watched the ending, I feel that this drama should be rated at around 7.0 to 7.5 and that's if you aren't forgiving of the fact that this drama has a lot of plot holes and fails to continue its strength in storytelling Korean myths/folklore.

The premise of an action filled drama with a compelling love story backdrop about star-crossed lovers with intertwined fates was enough to entice me as I'm a sucker for those types of "fated to love you"/"loving you against all odds and through time, here and now" stories as a romantic. BUT to sum up, "Tale of the Nine-Tailed" to me initially felt like hopping on a rollercoaster, excited and anxious, then you get taken for a ride and reach a few heights, mid-heights, before then you're told to exit even though you've only had two minutes of enjoyment.

In sum:
* Weak, and illogical storytelling
* Underutilised secondary characters
* Underutilised fantasy/thematic elements
* Mary Sue leads who get what they what in expense of dispensable secondary characters
* Arbitrary, inconsistent and underfleshed rules of TONT fantasy land that make zero sense when you consider things altogether

LOVE/CHEMISTRY:
Look, I was aware that there were some people criticising Bo Ah and Lee Dong Wook as having no chemistry from the first episode in. I beg to differ. I did actually think that they had chemistry and felt that some of the initial judgment were a bit harsh as this was a new pairing. My favourite scenes were of Bo Ah as Ah Eum and their flashbacks as those really cemented the "star-crossed lovers with intertwined fates" theme. I loved the lake scene and especially Yeon crying as he gives Bo Ah the fox bead. I especially loved the parallel in Bo Ah crying and in the fox bead coming out, proving to Yeon that she was his reincarnated lover. I thought that that was one of the best scenes of this drama. I was also aware that at that point, some watchers thought that the reveal occurred prematurely and I disagree as at that point there was still a lot to play with.

BUT after that episode everything started to slow down and focus only on the "instalove" and THAT is the biggest weakness of their romance. The reliance on the past as a foundation of their present love. Although Ah Eum was clearly Ji Ah, she was still a different person, but the "instalove" prevailed and after the finding of the fox bead that that suddenly meant that although Ji Ah was still a bit embarrassed that essentially she already at that point loved loved loved Yeon, which made bloody zero sense. There were very little moments of building tension that is required when creating romance. The greater the tension, the better the climax.

Here, what annoyed me was that the writing was pretty much telling whoever's watching to assume that their intertwined past was enough to support their present romance and that they didn't need to talk in depth about that past apart from road trips here and there, over the top and cheesy dates featuring sponsors (I see you Coffeebay!), and out of the blue confessions that for Ji Ah's initial characterisation seemed out of the blue for her to say.

Conclusion - the romance lacked the necessary foundation for me to care, at least, to really care about why they loved each other so much because it wasn't believable. Why did they fall in love with each other in the present? I still don't know. Sure, Ji Ah was saved by Yeon and for that she might have been grateful, but why was she so open to loving a fox/non-human when she lost her parents to supernatural creatures? Wouldn't she harbour hatred against them? Why was it so easy for her to come out of her initial "strong girl" characterisation and suddenly become a lovesick girl whose only concern apart from the rescuing of her parents is her one and only love who she loves partly because there's an internal consciousness in her that remembers him (at least that's kind of implied) and partly because he's Yeon, the lead.

JI AH & YEON:
This is getting too long already but Ji Ah started off as a promising character. She was strong, got her shit together, but also had vulnerability from losing her parents and navigating her life all alone. But when she fell in love, and fall in love she did, she lost her strength and became a lovesick girl. The individual traits that defined her disappeared, and her love life became the focus of the show, so much so that that became her identity and the Ji Ah before Yeon became non-existent. Her life at the broadcasting station was very little spent, and really, I can't remember what was even the point of establishing that she works at the broadcast station when we saw very very little of what she did. The thrill of episode 3 in seeing Ji Ah as someone who was proud of her work, because it was rooted in something personal for her (finding her parents theme) was so admirable because she was a PERSON, her OWN PERSON, and not a person in love whose only identity is being in love.

Yeon, on the other hand, I thought was just a guy who was doing his best with all the responsibility bestowed upon him, and with very few people who could really understand the depth of that responsibility. BUT, now I have to agree with those other bitter watchers who say that he was selfish. He only did care about his own wants regardless of his self-sacrificing nature. At least, episodes 14-16 really shows that all he cares about is his lover and it doesn't matter what gets in the way, as long as he is happy. Actually, look, that is probably unfair, BUT the writers also ruined this character because Yeon lost his cool guy demeanour and became 50% baby and 50% cheese, which, to be fair, was funny in very small doses, but quickly became irritating because it made him look like an idiot, and made Rang's frustrations against him much more justified.

Also, what annoyed me was how readily okay the leads were in dispensing their friends. Of course, in fantasy land, sacrifice for a good cause is an honourable way to go, and dying for a great benefit is looked favourably upon, but where is the benefit in dying for the leads whose love story never really developed into a mature romance apart from the cringy sweet fan service moments? What was so important in their love story apart from the third party Imoogi that made sense for these secondary characters to be so readily available to risk their life for the happiness of one? Because they're a main character? It just does NOT make sense. Had the romance been stronger and believeable, and had there been greater foundational work emotionally, I would be all support but there was literally nothing apart from the third party Imoogi ruining their love, whose a questionable mission was never ever fully explained, that tested their love.

STORYTELLING:
What absolutely annoys me about the storytelling in this drama is a lot is implied, and nothing is explained. No debrief, nothing. Nada. There are many examples of this that sometimes you're like "Huh, they didn't explain that but oh, it's a new episode so let's just accept that that's what happened."

One such example is the rift between Yeon and Rang which was explained in one episode that although Rang believes Yeon abandoned him, that he didn't and never has. YET, we never get a full on explanation of why Rang believed this and what exactly happened in between those times. There was no debrief and after a few lines here and there, we are just made to accept that Yeon NEVER abandoned Rang and that Rang was just being an emotional baby.

Going back to Yeon's characterisation, the writers made him and Ji Ah too perfect that they made little to no mistakes and received the best of luck in almost all aspects of their life that they lacked relatability and became Mary Sue. It would have been more compelling had Yeon had to abandon Rang for a good reason and that his mistake in doing that led to the brothers' breakdown. Yet all the mistakes in this drama are mistakes that everyone else makes but the leads. It would have been better if the leads weren't so "perfect" - if Yeon had used Ji Ah to capture the Imoogi as his duty to the Gods before falling in love with her, if Ji Ah wanted to use Yeon to defeat the Imoogi but ended up falling for him.

I also didn't get the purpose of the Imoogi. For all the foundational work in trying to prove that the Imoogi was an all evil being, the taking Yeon's body to cause chaos to the world plan felt 'meh'. Personally, his plight would have been more believable had there been a long enough flashback scene where he speaks to Bok Gil and we were given enough view of the past for us to understand why he so badly wanted Yeon's body and why he had initially taken over Bok Gil's body. What I feel the writers could have done was shown a lot more of the past to set the foundation for the present.

Another example of the implied but not explained storytelling is when Ji Ah loses the fox bead to the blind fortune teller. First of all, how did she even know that she had it. She just said yes to the exchange and got Yeon. And although there might have been a scene where they discussed this, it was very brief and probably did not explain why she thought that the fox bead was useless. Also, if she's a director on the supernatural, wouldn't she be aware of its value so what was the point?

Another thing that wasn't explained was that the Imoogi wasn't able to read her mind? Why was that? I was hoping that here at least, and pertaining to the Princess Bari myth that she would have untapped supernatural connection, but alas, nothing. Nada. This was not explained. She was just a useless human after all.

OTHER COMMENTS (Okay I'm sleepy and I just need to get this out of my chest now. Tomorrow is a new day haha)
* There was also so much potential to delve into the stories of each individual from TOTNT that would have supported the creation of the fantasy world and probably helped establish in the believability of the rules of TOTNT's fantasy land. For example, Snail Bride could have got a flashback of her own instead of just having stories told about her. Green Evil Spirit could have also had a flashback about her own story. And definitely about the Imoogi exiting the well, and meeting Bok Gil, and even Bok Gil's own flashbacks with his wife. Even Moon Guy only had one episode and only appeared in the ending. The drama could have all these elements and could have allowed them to have greater importance instead of just making Yeon the main character who is an all-powerful, all-everything lead that saves the day and gets the girl.

* Continuing on from the underutilised characters. Soo Hoo could have been developed greatly - they could have given him the ability to heal, or at least allowed the side characters to also have powers. Ji Ah's friends could have also been a lot more useful and not just used as character decorations with very little screen time that it was actually hard to believe that they were at all even friends. Also Ji Ah's parents appeared only once or twice after getting out, what was even the point when it was almost as if they weren't even there??? The writers could have given them greater importance or even connected them to a fantasy source, because, after all, Ji Ah's mother had nightmares about her own child. Why was that? Again, that wasn't really ever fully explained.

*The fox bead - as much as this was set up as a very important element, it came and went and only appeared in the final episode, and again with very little explanation. If you're going to set up an important element (the fox bead is a love motif), you can't just forget about it and then realise that you set it up and tack it on the ending. It does NOT make sense.

* What happened to the villagers in episode 3? Whilst it was implied that they became the sacrifice that turned the Imoogi, there was no debrief about Ji Ah's story project there and about that island? Nothing.

* Also how did Yuri even fix her mess with her adopted parents? Shin Joo said he'd fixed it but why wasn't that even show. Even as a subplot, that was important in Yuri's characterisation. Why did they just ignore that?
--
Okay, that's all I can fit in. I feel better writing this review and getting those feelings out of the way. Don't get me wrong, there were some very good moments that I enjoyed, some cheesy moments that I enjoyed, but I couldn't forego logic for so long so here's this review.

Would I recommend this drama? Look, we all have different tastes and for the most part, I enjoyed watching this, but the ending really did leave a bad impression on me as I felt that my investment in the drama became exploited all for a "cool"/"unheard of" k-drama fantasy ending. If you choose to watch it and you start noticing what I've said, it's your choice to stick out; however, if you're part of the other camp that is able to turn off your logical reasoning and support fan service moments then by all means, watch this, be fan and go enjoy it. Otherwise, if you're on the fence, what's a few hours here and now?

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Another generic fantasy drama that is only good because of the secondary characters

Tale of the Nine-Tailed started with a very good plot and the first episode was incredible, however, over the course of the episodes the story went downhill. I expected a lot more from this story, I thought they were going to innovate, but in the end it ended up being one more generic fantasy drama with terrible special effects and a main couple that despite having chemistry in the kissing scenes, did not convince during the most emotional scenes .

The story also had several inconsistencies in the script and the plot of the main couple was often erased by the secondary characters who often steal the show during the episodes, so I connected with the secondary characters much more emotionally than with the main 2 .

For me the characters that stood out the most in this drama were Lee Rang, played by Kim Bum, and for the character Ki Yoo Ri, played by Kim Yong Ji, I found their story much more interesting than the maqin ones and I think that they had more chemistry than the main couple, and they didn't even have a romantic relationship.


Another point that I found very negative in the story was the ending and when I say this I am not referring to the fact that a certain character has sacrificed himself, as I already expected it, but rather because of the many holes and lack of explanation that this ending had .

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Story was not bad, but lack of couple chemistry I guess?

The whole vibe of the story is a bit like vampire/dracula as the main character travels fast, strong and have some sort of power. But I really fancy this kind of story so it is definitely a go-go for me no matter what the rating was.

To summarise what I like and dislike about the show for people who are contemplating whether you should go ahead watching!

Things I liked about the drama:
- Handsome male leads with charming characteristics, I meant both Lee Dong Wook and Kim Beom! (Extremely hopeless 2nd lead syndrome here, Kim Beom SO COOL AND CUTE HERE!!!!)
- Unusual warm-hearted brotherhood
- Exciting fighting scenes with effects (More in the first half of the drama)
- Genre (if you enjoyed fantasy you will like this drama)
- Cute second fox couple too (I prefer them than the main ones)

Things I disliked about the drama:
- Female lead (Honestly she had a pretty good acting but I don't know why I felt she is not so suitable for this role)
- Chemistry between the couple (LDW had a pretty good chemistry with Yoo Inna in previous show but not this one), I don't feel the love between the two hence unable to feel the sadness when they broke apart, which it is actually a huge part in this show.
- Although it is a HE, but some parts of the ending are quite speechless and not well explained. Personally I think they should have just cut short the lovey dovey scenes for the couple and do more explanations on the ending (Please don't read below if you do not want spoiler)
***SPOILER***
I don't understand why they made it so deliberately to kill the 2nd male lead just to save the male lead (when all the bad things have already settled down and back to a peaceful life, yet adding in such scene just because 2nd lead is alive). I understand how they wanted to bring out the brotherhood between the two but it was so unfair that they can sacrifice 2nd male lead life but not the male lead ones, duh. So who is the hero here anyway? Also, no explanation on how male lead return, what happened to him and why he became a fox etc.

Lastly, one word to conclude my review: Overall a nice piece and good story that is worth watching but I don't enjoy the couple that much!

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A riveting, gripping folklore-inspired love story

The Grim Reaper in "Goblin" strikes again with another non-human character... this time he plays a gumiho, which is a nine-tailed fox commonly seen in East Asian folklore.
Like Goblin, this is a love story between a non-human and a human; and like Goblin, there are past lives and many twists and turns of fate involved.
But unlike Goblin, I'd say the support characters are even *more* true to the folklores they are based off of, hence making watching "Tale of the Nine Tailed" a really cool cultural activity as well for those who are interested.
(There are some YouTubers who actually do a folklore analysis of the episodes, but the channel I watch is in Taiwanese--

I'm very impressed with the storytelling. With fantasy there's always the risk that multiple lines get opened up and then the scriptwriter contradicts their own storyverse logic / fails to tie up the loose ends at the end
but Tale of the Nine Tailed was interesting from start to finish, and the end really did feel like the end of a story.
(of course, you'll see why they needed to do a spinoff for Lee Rang, but that's something for another day--
The reason it's not 9/10 or higher is I usually reserve those points for very thought-provoking or tight scripts with heavy use of literary devices, and Tale of the Nine Tailed is... a regular "good plot-heavy drama" in my books.

The casting was superb. All the major characters held up their end, and I'm especially impressed by the growth of the female lead Cho Bo-ah, who, as you'll see in the drama, played a very complex character.
Lee Dong-wook's microexpressions are always A+ and add not only depth to his character but also the occasionally-necessary comedic relief.

Long story short, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a consistently-good-throughout fantasy drama without the stupid "male lead gets cancer," or "leads have a misunderstanding" sort of draggy drama tropes.
The story was tight from start to finish and it would make for a wonderful binge watch (though I had to suffer waiting every week for 2 episodes haha...)

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Not feeling it. sorry...

Had been looking forward to watching this when it aired, but I didn't want to start something and have to wait a week for the next episode. Also, there were other really good ones to watch anyway.

First off, I didn't feel there was chemistry between the leads. Visually, they didn't pair well together in my opinion. Haven't watched any other of the FL's dramas so if I am just basing it on this one, she doesn't come off as leading lady material for me. Sorry! to her fans....

The story started out interestingly but as the episodes progressed, I just started finding it boring. Had to skip through some parts actually.

The role of Granny was also a big NO for me. Her character is wrought with flaws. First, she isn't GOD. So, to have her change the time when someone dies, (on what seems to be an outdated computer no less) is just ... DUH?? The way she treats her husband is also irritating.

Yu ri, was also another character that seemed useless. While the actress was very pretty, her acting was overly done,

The only likeable character for me, surprisingly, was Rang. Hope to see him in lead roles

overall, felt that this was just a waste of time to watch....

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ON POINT

I started this drama with a 8.5 and things just got better and better. I became obsessed with Lee Dong Wook with his performance in Goblin and dear God I wasn't let down here either! This drama deserves every bit of high praise possible and for good reason. You're gonna come across characters you love to hate, and when the plot gets thick af, it still holds it's perfect structure. This isn't your typical supernatural romance AT ALL. And there isn't just one couple you'll become obsessed with. Everything from costumes to backstories were flawless. There's a lot of cuteness considering it's part of the main plot but luckily not enough to over power anything. I highly recommend if you're a fan of any member of the cast, enjoy romance, history and/or supernatural.
THAT ENDING HAD ME SCREAMING!!!!

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Aaaaand now I'm a mess.

With the final episode done, my face tear stained, eyes puffy, and nose looking like it could put Rudolf to shame... I wonder what I'm supposed to do with my life now.

I feel like a mess. A huge mess. I have been stalking my own TV since freaking OCTOBER! You know the second a new episode dropped, my nose was in the TV and best bet, I haven't made plans to do anything in fear of missing a episode. Lol

구미호뎐 was so gosh damn phenomenal. I just want to spend the rest of my days talking about how much I loved every inch of this show. I have this weird obsession with 구미호 anyway so when I heard there was going to be a show about it starring two of my favorite people - There was nothing else left to do except wait. I needed no other reason because I was instantly hooked. Whoever thought to put Kim Bum and Lee Dong-Wook in a show together... I love you. and thank you for traumatizing me. Okay not really thankful about that last part, but thank you for putting this amazing masterpiece together.

This show is the perfection of a roller coaster without going on those monstrosities (I said what I said) --
There were characters I adored from the start and ended up HATING! There were characters I hated that I ended up loving... but funny enough it ended with me loving everyone. Well... minus the bad people. Hot or not, I still don't like you 이무기 (Imoogi)!! Even though there were a lot of times I wished you weren't a dickbag.

ANYWHO! Every single episode held so much that sometimes I felt like I held my breath the whole time, only able to breathe when it was over. Lol It held a bit of a trance, I suppose. Not complaining. I love shows like that. It's rare for that to happen as well - So I know this show will stick with me forever and will always be a favorite of mine.

Everyone's acting was off the charts amazing, there wasn't a single terrible person that was casted and I really really REALLY hope this wins awards. That's how amazing I believe it is. Not only the whole show, the cast, storyline, even the MUSIC.. just... EVERYTHING should be won when it comes to this show! I'm talking Parasite level of awards. Fight me if you don't agree. lol

I knew getting close to the end it would be sad. It's inevitable, but COME ON!!! I wasn't expecting THAT! I don't think I have cried quiet that hard since I watched Goblin.... and my face turned purple from crying so hard watching that. You can imagine how I looked watching this...... please don't imagine. I'm sure it's scary AF. Lol

The only and I mean ONLYYYYY issue I had with this show isn't even really just a issue, more of a confusion? And that's how it ended the way that it ended. I don't understand? Was he? Wasn't he? kinda thing. So I am really confused. I'm kinda hoping they release some kind of statement about it or extra little piece to explain how that happened when all through the show - we heard different. While I'm happy, I'm confused and maybe a little scared? Also... I wish it could have ended happier, if you know what I mean. If you watch it, and I hope you do -- I hope you'll agree with me that that person deserved happiness too.

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An exciting "tail" of romance, action and suspense, definitely worth watching!

I came to watch this after seeing Goblin and completely falling in love with Lee Dong Woo. He is such a charismatic actor and he really portrays his characters so well. I immediately felt the dynamic between the two lead protagonists, it was so natural and well written, and the emotional rollercoaster of family bonds between the fox brothers was very well done too. This is the first drama I have seen with Kim Bum in and I was completely awed by his performance, even more so after I looked him up and found out this was his first job after his discharge from the army. I find the fact that he can go straight back into acting after such a long break, and with a challenging role at that having to portray a character with so much emotional baggage is really impressive, and a testament to his talent as an actor. And lets not forget about the support characters, I think they did a fab job of choosing this cast, they all really did such an amazing job, all the actors seemed so invested in their characters and it showed in their portrayals.

Thats enough gushing over the actors, what about the plot...

I find Asian folklore fascinating so the storyline really appealed to me and I loved what they did with it, I am all for plots that take legendary creatures and characters from traditional literature and drop them into modern settings, so my review may be a little biased since all the elements of this series were already bound to appeal to my tastes. T

hat being said...I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS SERIES!!!!!

I loved every second of it, I didn't think there was a moment that the story dragged, there were some good plot twists and many moments that had me on the edge of my seat, and many more that put a smile on my face, the little touches of comedy were refreshing in an otherwise very suspenseful setting. I liked how the story wasn't all tragic or all bitter or all hopeful, even though its a fantasy there were elements of the plot, the relationships in particular, that felt very real and gave our characters some humanity.

The only criticism I could possibly give this (and its so minor it barely even counts as a criticism) was the ending, I have noticed this with a few other dramas where the characters go through so much and have to fight to achieve their goals throughout the series, then at the end they are just given a happy ending so easily due to some miraculous event or whatever, I think it just sort of makes light of all the struggles they had to go through. Even though I did cry, and I still appreciated how it turned out, it still just seemed a little too easy. I might not be making much sense, I don't know how to explain it better without giving major spoilers, you might get what I mean but either way I still give the series 10/10

I could go on and on about this but then it would just become tiresome to read. Please don't let the bad reviews put you off, I thought this was a brilliant series and definitely worth watching, if not for the plot then for the fabulous bromance between Lee Yeon and Lee Rang.

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From a fantasy to a flop

SPOILERS AHEAD

This was the biggest disappointment for me as a drama this year.
I was so excited to watch this and for the first few episodes, I rushed home, settled down and switched it on. The mythology, the characters, the little twists, and the ease into this fantastical world made this exciting. Then we hit episode 4-5, and instalove set in and the story went downhill.
The fantastical world? Brief flashes of what felt like the outside of the Narnia closet.
The mythology? Delegated to artifacts and uninteresting backstories read aloud by the characters.
The characters? I went from loving detective, whip-smart Ji-Ah to not caring if she died and wishing she'd just not appear on screen. Also, close to 1000 people die, no self-sacrifice, but your bf gets into trouble and it's a gun to the head? She ended up being incredibly selfish and whiny, I want my parents back, I want this, I want that.
The charisma of the stars was drowned by the constant weeping and lamentations put into every episode. This went from drama to DRAMA.
I wanted so bad to explore the fox-side of Yeon, instead we get one scene where we see fiery tails and they never appear again. He was the Guardian of the Mountain. Cool story bro, but uh, yeah, never really explored what the hell that entailed except for I guard the mountain and yadda yadda, next.
I read a prediction blog of how this would end, and had the writer's followed suit, and made Yeon king of hell and Ji-Ah the administration lady, I woulda given it an extra half star. This person managed to outshine the writer's ending with their own prediction. How I wanted it to end like they guessed! Instead, Yeon's human and whining about human shit (but then he's not human? Wtf, I dunno.) Rang dies and gets reincarnated, like nah, it's fine, wasn't enjoying the family of four, let's ruin that.
The more I write, the angrier I get, this had so much untapped potential and given a clever writer, this could have been my new favourite kdrama. But alas, another drama lost to damsel cliches, unnecessary filler, and weak endings.

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