Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938: Episodes 1-2
by DaebakGrits
In a year full of K-drama sequels, Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 feels more like a campy Wild Wild West-themed do-over than a continuation of our previous story. This is mostly because our favorite nine tailed fox travels back in time to 1938, a period when most of the Season 1 plot is irrelevant. In the past, he’s reunited with his younger brother, and our story sets us up for an epic bromance, which was — let’s be honest — the best part of the original.
EPISODES 1-2
Our sequel opens in media res, with LEE YEON (Lee Dong-wook) bound and staring down the barrel of a Japanese soldier’s pistol. Unfortunately, in all his centuries roaming the earth, Yeon never bothered to learn Japanese, so he bumbles through trying to use an app on his totally-out-of-time-and-place cell phone to translate the soldier’s questions. When that doesn’t work (because navigating a touch screen while his hands are tied behind his back is difficult), he breaks free of the ropes and easily fights off his human opponents.
Then, using the shoulder of the last-soldier-standing to steady his rifle, Yeon aims his gun at a man in the distance who’s casually lighting a cigarette. That man is LEE RANG (Kim Bum), and Yeon is none too pleased with his younger brother’s smoking habit. He shoots the cigarette right out of Rang’s mouth, and Rang, annoyed by Yeon’s brotherly advice — “Quit smoking, you punk!” — retaliates by blasting Yeon with a rocket launcher. Looks like Yeon is going to have a long way to go to repair his relationship with his brother… again.
You might be wondering, how exactly did Yeon wind up in 1938, at the height of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Empire? Well, thankfully, our story rewinds to approximately four months after the events of Season 1. We see Yeon make a deal with TALUIPA (Kim Jung-nan) and resume his previous work of protecting the living — under the condition that Rang would one day be reincarnated, and that Yeon would be allowed to die when his wife, Jia, dies. So, of course, when a man wearing a red and white mask steals the crystal that maintains the boundary between the living and the dead, it’s Yeon’s job to retrieve it.
There’s just one little problem — the Masked Man escaped through a door that transported him to 1938, and after following the man to the past, Yeon has a mere 16 hours to locate the crystal and return to the present time. Should be a piece of cake for a nine tailed fox, right? Except in chasing after the Masked Man, Yeon is distracted by a familiar face — a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Yoo-ri — and gets caught in the middle of a bombing and Korean independence protest outside Gyeongseong Station.
In the chaos, the crystal is picked up by a thief, and after an epic chase on horseback — accompanied by a catchy OST and a lot of impractical rifle spinning — Yeon follows the thief to his hideout. There, Yeon is reunited with his brother because, as it turns out, the thief is a member of Rang’s gang of bandits. Yeon is overjoyed to see his brother, but Rang isn’t exactly overflowing with brotherly love. This is why, when the opportunity presents itself, Rang drugs Yeon’s drink, frames him for the Gyeongseong Station bombing, and turns him over to the Japanese soldiers. Ahhhh… there’s the bromance I so adored in Season 1!
Now that our story has caught up with itself, the Masked Man abruptly returns and stabs Rang in the back (literally) — and just when it seemed like Yeon was getting through to his brother! Although Yeon doesn’t have much time before the door to the present closes, he can’t leave Rang to die, so he scoops up his brother and follows Rang’s instructions to carry him to Myoyeongak. At the gisaeng house, Yeon meets DONG BANG-SAK (Young Hoon), an eternal being who promises to heal Rang if Yeon brings him Uturi’s sword, the only weapon capable of killing Bang-sak.
Luckily, Yeon knows exactly where the sword is located because, in 1938, Yeon himself was in possession of it. The Yeon of 1938 was also heavily medicating his broken heart (RIP, Ah-reum) with opium, so Yeon easily steals the sword from his former self — well, until 1938 GU SHIN-JOO (Hwang Hee) sounds the alarm and forces Yeon to go head-to-head with a younger version of himself.
Meanwhile, the comatose Rang has an out-of-body experience and wanders around Myoyeongak as an unseen spirit. He witnesses Bang-sak drain the youthfulness from a young girl, turning her into a child-sized ajumma. When Yeon finally returns to Myoyeongak with the sword, Rang possesses the child-sized ajumma and warns Yeon that Bang-sak is a leatherback turtle, one of the Ten Longevity Symbols. Together Yeon and Rang chant a rhyme that reveals Bang-sak’s true form, and Yeon uses Uturi’s sword to cut the weak point in Bang-sak’s neck. When Bang-sak disintegrates into hundreds of glowing orbs, one enters Rang’s body and heals his injury. I don’t quite follow the logic here, but I’ll accept it because, well, magic.
Although Yeon saved Rang, he missed his deadline to return to the future, but the 1938 Taluipa reveals that there’s a way for him to reopen the door. The information comes at a price, though, and she will only tell him the secret if he retrieves the stolen Legendary Pipe, which is powerful enough to blow up an entire mountain. And so, Yeon and Rang begin their next adventure on a train, where a Japanese passenger is rumored to have the pipe. Rang and his bandits have a well-timed plan to steal the pipe, but neither Rang nor Yeon account for the presence of RYU HONG-JOO (Kim So-yeon), a mountain god with a massive crush on Yeon that’s borderline delusional. She takes the pipe from Rang’s bandits and offers to give it to Yeon — if he marries her.
When Yeon rejects Hong-joo’s marriage proposal, a battle royal breaks out on the train as Yeon, Rang, Hong-joo, and the Japanese agent they stole the pipe from all try to retain possession of the powerful artifact. The whole fight on top of the train is rife with bad CGI, and thematically the gunplay and accompanying OST felt like an American western, which brings me mixed feelings. While the chaotic skirmish between swords, guns, and even bigger swords was certainly an entertaining series of scenes, the overly prevalent western genre feels misaligned with this particular period in Korean history.
The rooftop train battle ends with Yeon in possession of the pipe, and when he returns it to Taluipa, she tells him that the door to the future will reopen in 29 days — during the next lunar eclipse. She also sadly explains that Yeon’s actions in the past will have no impact on his future, meaning Yeon can’t save Rang from the tragic fate that absolutely wrecked all of us during Season 1. So Yeon decides to make the best of his remaining time in 1938 and be the big brother he never got to be. And first up on Yeon’s big brother bucket list is a clothing shopping spree. While Rang’s glow up added nothing to the overall plot, watching him go from scruffy cowboy to a dapper bad boy with a sexy undercut was totally worth the detour from our regularly scheduled programming.
After spending some wholesome time with his Rang, who is still totally suspicious of the cell-phone-carrying-Yeon-from-the-future, Yeon tries to track down the Masked Man. For some reason he asks Hong-joo to put her ear to the ground and tell him if she hears anything about a man running around in a red and white mask. In exchange for whatever information she digs up, Yeon has to — wait for it — judge a beauty pageant in her stead. Say what now?
A completely disinterested Yeon attends the Miss Joseon beauty pageant where he’s reunited with SUNWOO EUN-HO (Kim Yong-ji), the Yoo-ri lookalike. Eun-ho is a reporter and the daughter of a wealthy and influential family with close ties to the Japanese. But considering Eun-ho was the one who threw the bomb outside Gyeongseong Station that instigated the anti-Japanese protest, it appears she’s secretly in support of Korean independence. She’s also recently made friends with CHUN MOO-YOUNG (Ryu Kyung-soo), the man behind the mask. While his motives still remain ambiguous, his cryptic words — accompanied by equally disjointed flashbacks — suggest he has a personal vendetta against Yeon.
The beauty pageant, which nearly bores Yeon to tears, turns into a horror flick when the winner transforms into a — for lack of a better word — zombie that goes on a killing spree. Yeon figures out that the pageant winner was infected with a parasite while getting primped at the beauty salon, so he and Rang go get jobs at the salon to suss out the source of the parasite. Cue: slow-mo flower boy montage in lieu of a proper interview.
The brothers do a little sleuthing, and eventually the indigenous god who put the parasites in the salon’s shampoo reveals herself. As a god of wood stoves, she couldn’t get with the changing times. But the mastermind — and the supplier of the parasites — was none other than Moo-young, who, for some to-be-determined reason, captured the zombie beauty pageant winner and boxed her up for a rainy day.
With another case closed, Yeon and Rang take a leisurely night stroll around town. Finally, Yeon is reunited with present-day Shin-joo, who followed Yeon through the portal to 1938. Poor Shin-joo has had a rough time since arriving in the past, what with him first becoming a prisoner and then narrowly avoiding being a guinea pig for Japanese biological weapons. His little side adventures were quite humorous, but I’m glad all three of our boys have reunited, especially since there’s no telling what our villains have in store for them.
I’m not quite sure we can call Moo-young a villain just yet, though. I mean, sure he stabbed Rang and nearly killed him, but I suspect his motives are going to fall into a gray area. That would allow room for a redemption arc, which seems supported by the fact that Hong-joo and Moo-young appear to be friends. Hong-joo is a bit crazy, which makes her unpredictable, but surely she wouldn’t hug a man out to kill her dream guy, right?
Instead, I think our true villain will be Eun-ho’s brother-in-law RYUHEI KATO (Ha Do-kwon) and whatever demon he’s aligned himself with in the Japanese government. Not only is this a given based on what we’ve seen of his character, but it seems appropriate for a villain of this time period to be a Japanese nationalist.
Although, if I’m being honest, I’m a bit disappointed with how the drama has (so far) utilized the setting and time period merely as an excuse to dress our beloved brothers in stylish historical garb, and put rifles in their hands for them to trick flip. As mentioned earlier, this is a pivotal point in Korean history, and while I don’t mind that the story is infused with action, humor, and fantasy, a good bit of the costuming, soundtrack, and action sequences feel extremely westernized and decidedly un-Korean. Is it entertaining? Absolutely, but I hope as our story progresses it’s able to find a happy medium between quality and fanservice.
Not going to lie, though, I’m totally here for the fanservice, so I should probably stop being so nitpicky and just enjoy the bromance and eye candy. Lee Dong-wook and Kim Bum are an absolute delight on screen together, and their relationship 100% deserved its own spin-off season. Let’s just hope this season ends on a happier note.
RELATED POSTS
- Premiere Watch: Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- Lee Dong-wook fights his past in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- The hunt begins in new Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 teaser
- Lee Dong-wook faces old foes in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- Swordfights and dapper suits in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- Meet the characters of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- Lee Dong-wook time-slips in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- Gumiho Lee Dong-wook returns in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
- Tale of the Nine Tailed: Episode 1
Tags: Ahn Gil-kang, first episodes, Ha Do-kwon, Hwang Hee, Kim Bum, Kim Jung-nan, Kim So-yeon, Kim Soo-jin, Kim Yong-ji, Lee Dong-wook, Ryu Kyung-soo, Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938
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1 💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 9:09 PM
Kim Bum in that haircut and suit is H O T holy smokes, I need a minute…
*minute taken*
and I really thought for a moment there they were gonna drag out Shinju continually missing Yeon, especially because of the Liminal Space Tram, as a gag for the entire show, poor Shinju; thankfully, they did not.
Now that I've got that out of the way, I'm going to complain, so this is your warning line:
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I wasn't going to start this. I've literally been saying for two years that I wasn't going to start this, because I think it is unnecessary, doesn’t need to exist, and jeopardises the good of the original show. (And also I’m allergic to time travel. We been knew.)
Well, I guess I lied, shame on me. I was baited by the trailer. Not by the return of the characters or the return of the world, to be honest, but by the trailer looking like outrageously fun cracky fantasy and wanting to like and watch another cracky fantasy show badly enough that as the airing date grew closer, I knew I was going to click play on it, despite all the red flags.
And then I spent 95% of the first two episodes being annoyed, for all the reasons I was originally going to avoid this for. We never learn, do we, lol.
I dislike when tv and movie producers capitalise on fanservice, nostalgia, emotional baiting or equally egregious things, to try and justify continuing a story for ratings, views and money, and in the process constantly retconning and rehauling their original story in order to do so. This is hardly the first production to do so, nor will it, alas, be the last. But it is an element of the wider industry I truly hate. (hello, Marvel and Disney.)
The original 9 Tails was perfectly capable of standing on its own. It wasn’t perfect, but it was fine as a one-shot story, no matter how the ending was handled, or if you think Lee Rang should’ve sacrificed himself for his brother or not.
When it was good it was REALLY good, and when it was campy and ridiculous it was fun, and when it was bad it was tolerable because of those really good parts. I loved it. It was enjoyable from start to finish and I would defend it as actually being a good show just as much as I would rant about parts of it, in order to tweak it into being an even better show.
And sacrificial death is one of the most powerful tools in the entire realm of storytelling. Sometimes, you can just let a sacrifice and death happen. Not always, it depends on the story, but you can just let some characters stay dead. It is ok.
I think some kind of sacrifice was necessary for the ending of 9Tails but I probably would’ve done it differently to what is officially “canon”.
But even as much as I would've written the ending of 9T somewhat differently, I would not need a second season to do so.
My problem with this second season, is that it feels very redundant and superfluous in...
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 9:09 PM
... and of itself, but it also throws into jeopardy a lot of the really good parts and the development of the first season, and makes them also redundant and superfluous. Which is a shitty and unnecessary thing to do to your actually good extant story.
I could not watch these two episodes and disconnect them from everything I know and love about the first season. It would be easier to just discount this entirely as canon, which is what I will end up doing, but in the process of watching, I cannot separate them from the damage they logically do to the original story.
For example, the first show set up the tension and backstory between Lee Rang and Yeon over the course of 9 episodes, drawing out the pain and the outward antagonism between, and then developing them as brothers and redeeming that relationship and Lee Rang over time. It wasn’t rushed, it wasn’t unjustified, and it culminated in Episode 9 which is not only the best episode of the entire show, but in general just a very good episode of television. The narrative payoff to their characters in this arc was so satisfying and it’s what made Rang’s death that much more impactful/ tragic (depending on what way you swing).
This show, speed runs all of that, in an I admit rather self-aware voice over, and then in a flashback, in a mere few minutes. And THEN speed runs half of Lee Rang’s redemption arc AGAIN in a SINGLE EPISODE, because it needs Lee Rang and Yeon working on the same side for the rest of the show. This undermines anything the first show was genuine about and trying to do, almost mocking the emotional stakes of the first show, and makes this show looks tacky and cheap in comparison, because it is. And it’s even worse that it used these emotional stakes and the audience’s emotional connection to Lee Rang specifically as a character, to draw them back in for round two.
But that’s not all.
Every time I WANTED to enjoy the nods to mythology, the campy fights and gags, the plethora of ridiculous swords, and Kim Bum looking fine as heck, I was constantly reminded that this entire show exists at the expense of the first season, of logic, and of its own craft, and I would get annoyed:
“Whatever you do, the reality you’ll return to won’t change.”
Why are we here then.
Is this all you are going to do to try and explain away every inconsistency your show has and every hole you keep shooting in it? Is this your one-line wonder cure all?
Or will you pull more contrivances out of your arse later to try and a. amend the normal time travel inconsistencies that inevitably exist here†, b. justify your supposed in show motivation being letting Lee Rang reincarnate and c. brush farther over these lines that you dropped in the pilot week, that create more problems than they do fix them, because one-line wonder cure alls don’t work.
(†Lee Rang having clearly met and knowing this Yeon that is Not the Yeon he knows, both of them meeting Yuri’s doppelganger/previous...
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 9:10 PM
... incarnation, the implications those have on characters and development that happen in the original timeline and show, as more examples.)
But these issues are the consequences, not the root problem.
We’re not here because Hot Evil Mask over here getting Yeon trapped in the past and threatening 3/4 of his loved ones THERE, without Ji Ah, makes any sense, when it’s really just that Jo Boa didn’t sign on for a second season (because she’s smart apparently). And let us not pretend that this is truly about getting Lee Rang reincarnated, because all that would’ve needed was a footnote in the original show. And it’s certainly not interested in challenging the issues of the first show, namely the Old Annoying Hag’s entire character being a contradictory asshole and the fact that it wrote itself into a Fate Hole for no reason.
No, we’re here because Kdramas have caught the Perpetual Storytelling Disease, when them not being that was actually one of their greatest strengths. God have mercy on us all.
It’s just that in doing so this drama ends up committing a great deal many more creative crimes, adding insult to injury, as it were.
“Oh well, it doesn’t matter, because… the future remains unchanged…” is the laziest writing in existence and is pathetic and disrespectful to your original story, the characters and your craft.
There is no point to this show and everything it does to try and justify its existence just digs its own grave another foot deeper. (McGuffins! McGuffins everywhere!)
And I should’ve listened to my gut and not started this at all. That dang trailer. Lmfao.
I strongly wish, as I have always wished, that they had decided instead to write a different fantasy story, in the same manner as the first part, but unrelated. A cameo if you must. Same universe if you can't help it. But a new story. And new fun characters to sink into. New myths and legends and magic explored. (But maybe we can keep Kim Bum in that haircut).
Because I was *finally* warming up to its OTT Extravaganza the characters again by the end of episode 2, but none of the above will stop being, true, apparent or stop annoying me, lurking at the back of everything, even if I keep watching.
Will I keep going? Uh… we’ll see. Probably, for a time😅😅😅
>>> Side complaints:
- “Let me die on the same day as my wife” ≠ “The contract will end the day your wife dies”
- I can’t find Hong Ju hitting on Yeon funny or anything else because I am an OG OTP fan and Yeon is a Dedicated Wife Guy™ and if you screw that up on top of everything else *I* will commit crimes. Well, more of them. And also because if you switched the genders nobody would be finding that amusing.
Okay, Complaining Over. 🤣
sicarius essaius minusculus (aka an SBE): 1546 words
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 9:32 PM
Post Script:
I just reread my 9T (OG) Episode 9 Comment, and now I'm even more mad at this for undermining that, so... yeah, cool.
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nerdy
May 9, 2023 at 2:53 AM
Agreed with everything. At least the show could have kept the serious tone in brother's relationship and capitalised on one major element:
Yeon loves his brother, but he loves Ji Ah more.
If only he ditched his little brother to keep Ji Ah safe in his timeline, but still got stuck in past timeline, I think that betrayal would have played interestingly in brother's dynamic and give a lot more plausibility to Rang's anger.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 9, 2023 at 12:57 PM
Rang's anger comes from centuries old conflict and him self sabotaging himself for the entirety of those centuries thinking Yeon didn't love him and abandoned him, you know, like how the first one takes time to explore and develop.
Rang's anger here feels cheap and unplausible, just as much as him suddenly being less angry feels shallow, because it's trying to ride the coattails of its predecessor and it hasn't ,earnt anything.
I don't actually believe Yeon loves Ji Ah MORE than his brother. That's not really consistent with how the first show played out. It's a different kind of love sure, but I don't think I would quantify it in that way.
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Peridot
May 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM
@sicarius
Enjoyed your little essay :)
I just wanted to say that I am glad I decided to stick with my decision to not watch this season. Early on, I wondered how the writers would reconcile this new plot with the whole story (and internal logic) of the first season. From what I gather--based on your posts and the recap--we are dealing with an alternate reality (?) or fake reality (?) that will have no actual consequences. I like your comments about the relationship between the two brothers, and how it was repaired gradually in the first season (and in a way that made sense).
I also think that if they liked the mythology/world of the first season, they could have written a completely new story set in that same world.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 8, 2023 at 9:40 PM
I mean I refuse to watch this show for this reason and now I'm kind of glad I refused to watch this show for this reason because of... well.... this reason.
I admit I was kind of half hoping that somehow the show could manage an era appropriate romp that in no way destroyed the point of the original season, which I also really enjoyed (and also despite its obvious flaws). But, well, here we are.
So I guess it shall remain unwatched. Thanks for taking the hit.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 9:46 PM
I guess I was half hoping that too...
*stitches up her wounds* you're welcome 😭
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 8, 2023 at 10:16 PM
I am semi-curious now as to just how hot Kim Bum is since Kim Bum being adorably hot is practically a genre in and of itself.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 10:25 PM
Er... Very...
Eazal
May 13, 2023 at 3:10 AM
Reason I keep watching.
2 Bunny Sonaki
May 8, 2023 at 9:21 PM
I entered this reluctantly because not all sequels are good. But what I watched is a setup for what looks like a breathtaking ride. Even the flash-forward flashback and the jump between the timelines in episode 1, not for a second did I find it confusing. I was keeping up with everything.
Lee Yeon from the future meeting his past self was hilarious. And the scene where past Yeon cries for his first love cracked me up. Also, the line about future Lee Yeon knowing the best that no one too anything from him and stayed alive.
Lee Rang is finally again on the screen. It won't be an overstatement if I said I finished the first part only because of the bromance. I had zero interest in the female lead or the imugi arc. Yeon-Rang bromance is on fire. So is Rang's new haircut. Though he looks the best all the time.
Another thing that cracked me up was the FL introducing herself to Rang as his sister-in-law and her continuous moves on Yeon. Though I think she might be hiding something especially when she hugged the other guy saying she is happy he is still alive.
From the looks of it, Yeon was friends with the antagonist's brother but killed him so the latter is here for revenge. Sounds interesting. If I have any complaints, it would be too many characters and mystical characters that need me on my toes all the time to not miss anything.
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Blue (@mayhemf)
May 9, 2023 at 3:22 AM
I thoroughly enjoyed the double Lee Yeon scene. It was the high point of that episode. Him cringing at his own past self was fun.
And their fight was great. And future Lee Yeon calling his past self being extra dramatic with his gumiho appearance 😂 pffttt.
That’s your thing Lee Yeon. You are so EXTRA!
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Bunny Sonaki
May 9, 2023 at 3:43 AM
I can watch this scene on replay and not get bored
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3 Ally
May 8, 2023 at 9:32 PM
So let’s get this out there early: I’m just here for the pretty, and Gosh is this show pretty. I rmreallt did like the train cars and how they did the camerawork there. I like the costumes, how everyone is styled. I like the new story line too. I remember thinking last time how random this world-building is. And it still is! And no butterfly effect? Even more random. 😆
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 8, 2023 at 10:15 PM
Ergh Ally getting me curious about the time travel theory of this show....
Nooo. I refuse.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 10:25 PM
It's not a theory, it's the lazy one-line wonder cure-all cop out I talked about and quoted.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
May 8, 2023 at 10:30 PM
Oh, wow, really, that's it?
Is it possible to double nope out?
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 10:46 PM
Lol, yeahp.
😂😂
Ally
May 9, 2023 at 6:01 AM
I like a good time slip plot as much as the next guy, but I know I won’t get that in a kdrama. I’m sure the historical inaccuracies would send a history buff off a cliff too. But KDW looks better than he ever has here and I just want to put Kim Bum in my pocket and keep him forever after seeing these first two episodes. And the female leads are all strong and can hold their own. It’s worth the watch for that.
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4 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
May 8, 2023 at 11:29 PM
Silly me. I'm too superficial to worry about the things that irritate our resident assassin. I had too much fun -- I don't even care about Rang's hair but I LOLed at the coffin closing.
The 2.5 hours went by fast. The recap makes it plain that more happened than you can fit into just two episodes (even if they are long-ish) without magic. So magic it is.
When it comes to deploring the epidemic of sequelitis in kdramaland, I'll save my rants for Arsedal, Poong, and yes, even Dr Romantic 3, although I'll forgive the latter if they can work in a good coffin gag or even make Mr Gu appear at least once a week.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 8, 2023 at 11:53 PM
That's what I'm for though, right. Being irritated by things others aren't... 😂😭
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5 Kurama
May 8, 2023 at 11:46 PM
So I guess I will watch it only for Kim Bum 😍
I think if they really wanted to do another show in this realm, they should have wrote a story about Rang.
Yeon lived his life to find his love and he did, the end.
It didn't make sense that Rang agreed to follow Yeon so easily when in the first season, he was very opposite to it.
Kim So-Yeon looked great! I don't like her obsessive character but she was beautiful. (Her last news about her husband who doesn't let her turn on the heating before November is kinda weird)
It was fun to see Mr Sunshine's set back.
As a Swiss person, I really liked the Tissot PPL 🤣
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jillian
May 9, 2023 at 1:32 AM
Kim Bum is absolutely gorgeous here.
The Tissot watch is like another character and not just a ppl with the amount of screentime its getting. I do not mind. Its a great watch.
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6 jillian
May 9, 2023 at 1:26 AM
I am here for the the bromance alone and I am not ashamed. Yeon and Rang's complicated relationship was my favorite in S1. (They were my OTP so I was devastated with the events in S1 as everyone else who watched s1) I am happy to see more of their reluctant bromance (at least for Rang) i this season. I do not understand Taluipa's claim that his actions here with not impact the future events. Why is there no butterfly effect? So it means Rang will misunderstand Yeon again at the end of this season? Unless Taluipa is wrong somehow.
I enjoyed the first two episodes and will definitely stay for the next 10.
I am glad that they did not drag Shin Ju's suffering. I was happy for him when he finally reunited with Yeon.
About Hong Joo, the lady is crazy but I like her brand of cray cray. I am hoping she will not taxidermy our beloved lead no matter how much he irks her.
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7 Blue (@mayhemf)
May 9, 2023 at 3:15 AM
This show is crazy, silly but fun. Within 15 minutes I safely tucked in the logic brain and it was more fun that way. Like Yeon says it’s like a fake western movie.
My favorite part was all the action. We got plenty of those.
And they threw a kitchen sink load of indigenous gods. We even got zombies and a cure all under 6 minutes 😅.
I guess the main villain (brother in law) is a collector of powerful goods that he can utilize to make himself more powerful.
The show clearly wanted it to be about bromance with no romance. But I didn’t feel Yeon’s desperation to leave. So I guess this show is about let’s have a 29 days bonding with my brother and go back to my wife.
So will Rang remember all this when Yeon leaves? Because this is not supposed to affect the future. And the big part of the future is the brothers reconciliation. Oops. Sorry. Logic brain got activated.
I am here for the fun, and this show is a lot of fun. Ridiculous fun. And LDW is great as she cheeky fox.
Will be continuing.
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DaebakGrits
May 9, 2023 at 6:14 AM
My working theory on this is that Yeon's actions won't change his future, but maybe it will create a new branch/alternate universe in the time-space continuum where Rang lives. Unless this all turns out to be a dream/illusion, traveling to the past would have to have some repercussions, but it's possible that Yeon can only return to the future he came from -- not the one he created.
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Gikata
May 9, 2023 at 4:24 PM
I'll also go with alternate universe explanation - it's the only one that sort of makes sense. Plus I wonder if that one short stint was the last we've seen of 38's Yeon... Maybe we'll get Dramatic Family Reconciliation in a totally different way and 80 years earlier this time.
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8 Miss_elly
May 9, 2023 at 3:39 AM
I enjoyed the first two episodes a lot. I’m just giving up on any reality and enjoy the ride. Bother brothers working together is a treat. I did like how they kinda/sort of explained how he was still a fox after being reincarnated to a human in an attempt to redeem the last 20 seconds of season 1
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9 kiara
May 9, 2023 at 7:20 AM
I'm here for the gun flip and Kim So-yeon. She deserves at least 4 episodes.
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10 minnie
May 9, 2023 at 9:22 AM
Gun-flips, a great role for Kim So-yeon and an overdose of male goodness. What more can you ask for? 🤣🤣🤣
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11 Gikata
May 9, 2023 at 5:21 PM
Somehow it was pretty fun? I even think I liked it more than Season1 opening week. Or it's just me being in TERRIBLE mood lenses thanks to another show? Maybe both. Anyway, it WAS fun. Crazy, shameless fanservicey, over the top campy fun that totally feels like a fix-it fanfic rather than canon sequel/prequel/spin-off/whatever. But since we've already established my temporarily increased appreciation for fix-it fanfics, especially those where my tragically lost favorite character returns alive and kicking, it was all good. The pretty - '30s will forever be one of my beloved eras style-wise and cast looks extra fabulous here (except poor Shin Joo, where is his makeover?)! The explosive combo of comedy western and chilling korean horror that I really loved about original show! The increased budget (it can't be just me, right? you can SEE cash poured into this season in every frame)! The lack of lameness that was Imoogi (as mush as I am side-eyeing Hong Joo's obsession with Yeon, I'll take her with a giant anime sword over that guy anytime)! The more (?) sympathetic, or at least interesting villain (Moo Young, ofc, japanese demon guy seems evil by default)! The meta humor (Yeon cringing at his past self had me rolling - oh no, I think I'm kinda starting to like him now *scratches head in embarrassment*)! Aaand The Bromance I'm very happy to see back with all its original spark, even tho there were some inevitable tweaks. Then again, 80 years, especially in a turbulent 20th century, IS a long time, so I can accept that this Lee Rang is kinda softer than his New '20s version. He's yet to mellow down enough for me to consider it OOC - I'd say he's mostly intrigued and confused for now, which is fine.
Not sure what to make of new characters yet tho. As I've said, Moo Young's personal vendetta seems more valid to me than Imoogi's facepalm of villain origin, and I like his weird revenge-bonding dynamics with Eun Ho. Who apparently has a very high tolerance for craziness around her, awesome))) Hope Hong Joo isn't all about chasing Yeon either. And Rang's gang are so cute! I do feel like things aren't gonna end well for them, unfortunately... *sigh* When will I finally learn to trust my intuition and genre savviness in order to NOT get attached to characters that are obviously doomed since the start?
Based on the latest data - never lolWell, I have 5 more weeks to do that, let's try!Required fields are marked *
12 FiyaShady
May 10, 2023 at 10:25 PM
Is it necessary to watch S1 first before watching this series?
Seems like S2 have better impression for me, but I don't want to get lost if this season connected with previous one.
Appreciate your advice, Beanies 😊
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tabong is ironing the crosswalk
May 11, 2023 at 6:06 PM
Nope.
Imo, it's better if you don't watch the first season, that way you won't have any resentments (yes, I'm kinda salty). 😆
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drororo
May 13, 2023 at 9:56 PM
DON'T WATCH SEASON 1!!!!
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13 drororo
May 13, 2023 at 9:44 PM
can't believe I'd say this but... I LOVE THESE FIRST EPISODES!!!!
okay, following their flashback sequences.. let me backtrack a bit.
I hate season 1 with passion. the only good thing about it is Rang, and even that, after the green juice ghost, nothing (other than Rang), NOTHING really matters. until Rang dies and single-handedly brings the awesomeness back. and then Yeon turns out to still be a gumiho after all those cliché shits and I was like.. what? and then we all heard about how someone thought it was a good idea to turn this series to a THREE season series and I was like... WHAT?! and then we all heard about how all the casts all would come back in and I was like.... WHAAAAT???!!!!
but okay, seeing the handsome brothers (and Shinjoo!), also having Rang alive and well again, who am I to deny these temptations. but I came in with a lower than an underground basement expectation, cos as I said before (and forgive me to keep reiterating if someone reading this actually loved the previous season- it's not you, it's me), I think season 1 should just die. or vanish. like how Rang vanished. bye.
but these first two episodes changed my mind.
like I'm blown away by how unserious it is. by how different and FUN this show could be without all the romance and I don't know.. bad characters? (bad acting too, whoops) even the bad CGIs (comparable to the first one, but I found myself dreading to watch it on the first one, and found myself cracking up over it here) CAN'T CHANGE MY MIND about how delightful this show could be.
and I hope I don't jinx myself since it's only the beginning. but when all the loopholes and things that don't make sense failed to disturb my enjoyment of these episodes, I would be surprised if this turns out to be equal or worse than the previous season.
also, I love Hongju. she's a firecracker.
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14 redfox
May 24, 2023 at 8:26 AM
this has zombies? and actionses? and westernses? not to mention foxes. cmon im all sold. yes. might not be everyones salad mix but sure is mine.
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15 redfox
May 27, 2023 at 6:06 AM
contestant from Busan! LMFAO
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16 Aleisha
March 20, 2024 at 9:40 AM
Is there a site where I can download the dialog transcripts in Korean?
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