‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938’: Episode 2 of Season 1 Gave a First Look at What The 1930s Was Like
The hit 2020 fantasy K-drama, Tale of the Nine-Tailed, is returning with a long-awaited second season. Lee Dong-wook returns as the leading character, a gumiho named Lee Yeon. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 has Lee Yeon forced back to the past as he desperately looks for a way to return to the present. But fans may notice the first season of the K-drama gave a small teaser of Lee Yeon in the 1930s.
Lee Yeon meets his rebellious brother again in ‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938’
The first season ended on a good yet happy note as Lee Yeon gets to live a somewhat normal life. The characters faced peril with Nam Ji-ah (Jo Bo-ah) alive. Because of this, fans got a happy ending as Lee Yeon finally gets to be with his true love after spending decades looking for her. For Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, Lee Yeon fights desperately to return to his present.
According to Soompi, the season storyline reads that Lee Yeon has mysteriously been teleported to1938, a time period he has already lived through. Lee Yeon ventures to uncover the truth and how to return. But there are a few obstacles. He faces the Mountain Goddess of the West, Ryu Hong-joo (Kim So-yeon), and the Mountain God of the North, Cheon Moo-young (Ryu Kyung-soo).
Hong-joo wants something from Lee Yeon, while Moo-young was once his former friend but seeks revenge against someone. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1939 brings back Lee Rang (Kim Bum), Lee Yeon’s brother, who sacrificed his life in the present to save his brother. In 1938, Lee Rang was in his rebellious and murderous phase and loathed his older brother.
Fans are excited to watch the new storyline and its time period setting. It will allow for new dynamics, costuming, and weaponry. But Lee Yeon in the 1930s was teased before in Tale of the Nine-Tailed.
Lee Yeon is seen in the 1930s looking for Ji-ah
The premise of the fantasy K-drama is that Lee Yeon is a mountain god and gumiho who gave up his post. It was mainly due to an incident that forced him to lose his true love. But beforehand, he gave her his fox bead that would lead to her reincarnation. While working for the Afterlife Immigration Office in the present, he meets a reporter named Ji-ah. She is the holder of his fox bead and his true love.
Tale of the Nine-Tailed showed a few of Lee Yeon’s stories from the past as he heartbrokenly looked for his true love throughout the centuries. In Tale of the Nine-Tailed Episode 2, fans can speculate the one time Lee Yeon found a look-alike was in the 1930s.
After fans learn what happened to his true love, it shifts to him finding a woman that looks just like her in the Joseon era. But she does not have his fox bead. The scene then shifts to a saloon/sitting area. Based on the clothing and color palette, it closely resembles what fans see in Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938. Lee Yeon is seen wearing a blue pinstripe suit and glasses. The lookalike of his true love wore a suit-style ensemble.
Another clear indicator of the 1930s is that she smokes from a long pipe. The character description for Lee Yeon for the new season reads that 1930 was when he relied heavily on opium. The drug was often smoked through long pipes that became more intricate using long Sherlock Holmes-style pipes.
Will Ji-ah return for ‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938’?
When the second season of Tale of the Nine-Tailed was announced, fans were curious to know if Ji-ah would return. But based on the storyline, it seems unlikely. It was confirmed that Jo Bo-ah is not part of the cast list for the new season. The storyline will likely hint at Lee Yeon living happily with her in the present before he was swept away to the past. There might be an ongoing theme of mentioning her as Lee Yeon works to return to his time period.
Knowing that a version of Ji-ah does exist in the 1930s, the K-drama may have her make a cameo appearance or have Lee Yeon remember her. But the Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 will heavily focus on Lee Yeon reuniting with his little brother. Jo is scheduled to appear in the 2023 Netflix K-drama Destined With You alongside Rowoon.
Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 will air on May 6.
