The Dragon King
We begin episode 3 of Tale of the Nine Tailed 12 hours before Ji-A grabbed Lee Yeon’s throat. A thirsty fisherman is desperate to drink, deciding to quench his thirst with toilet water. Only… he actually drowns himself with so much water. When Ji-A and Lee-Yeon show up, they find a clump of black hair that seems to have the scent of Pyung-Hee attached. With the survivors from The Galaxy being picked off one by one, Jin-Shik tries to save himself by hiding inside a tent. Only, an ominous voice of Mr Seo calls him outside where he sees the headless corpse and runs. The third survivor meanwhile gobbles down meat from his fridge. At least until Lee Yeon arrives. As they soon realize, the survivors were out at sea for 28 days and wound up eating one of their own to survive. After coming to this conclusion, the man passes out on the floor with that same clump of black hair in his hand. The pair keep searching and find the second survivor too; a strange portrait on the wall of the Dragon King. Only, the one on the wall – compared to the original – doesn’t have feet making it a snake. Lee Yeon has a bad feeling about this and tells Ji-A she should leave. We then cut to the shore where we see Pyung Hee crying. The mischievous Lee Rang arrives and reveals that her wish has come true. There’s “only one left” and he asks exactly what she’ll do to repay him. On the back of this, Lee Rang arrives before a strange well that holds an evil spirit. An evil spirit that happens to be Lee Yeon’s enemy. A she shows off a scar across his stomach, something clearly happened in the past and he’s determined to go to the Underworld with Lee Yeon. After phoning work and getting Jae-Hwan to research the island, Ji-A heads back to talk to the old ladies about the human head they referred to. Before she does, she speaks to Pyung Hee who happens to be reading a book. That book being Moby Dick. She immediately senses something up and as she changes form, Lee Rang appears in her place. He knows she’s searching for her parents and claims to have all the answers. Only, Ji-A realizes this would mean the fox is collecting on her debt and she declines. As he leaves, Lee Yeon shows up. Ji-A reassures him though, confirming that he’s the fox she’s betting on. Breathing a sigh of relief, he sits with her and eats noodles as they discuss his first love – specifically A-Eum. Midway through, he receives a call from Shin-Joo after he’s been outfoxed… by a fox. She’s taken his necklace and despite ringing Lee Yeon, simply tells the man to get it back himself. Ji-A receives word back from the station about the history of the island. Specific dates point toward the lunar calendar being involved in some way. Just before we find the answer to this though, we cut to the final moments from the previous episode as Lee Yeon arrives and saves Ji-A. It seems like A-Eun is the one possessing Ji-A but suddenly her complexion changes and the scar disappears. Ji-A is back and Lee-Yeon is clearly rattled. Lee Rang shows up and starts pelting them both with rocks. He tells Ji-A to run while focusing his energy on his half-brother. While they fight, Ji-A hurries back to the village and bumps into a woman that knew her parents. They prayed to the Dragon King for an easy labor to make sure their child (Ji-A) wasn’t born with complications. Only this is a lie that Ji-A sees through but unfortunately the incense causes her to pass out. This eventually brings Lee Yeon out to try and find her, especially as Lee Rang runs away. Just then, a whole flurry of fireflies appear and show him the way to Ji-A. It’s just as well too as this shaman decides to use her as a sacrifice to the island. Despite being stuck behind a magical line, Lee Yeon conjures forth his powers and breaks through the barrier to save Ji-A. A lightning bolt blasts her to oblivion as Taluipa senses that a human life has been taken. With the pair seemingly safe for now, the rest of the village have other plans. They circle around the well and silently look inside. With everyone gone – except Pyung-hee from the looks of it – Lee Yeon and Ji-A head out to investigate. As they do, the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
While a little slower than the first 2 episodes, Tale Of The Nine Tailed continues to build an intriguing and spooky tale. There’s just the right amount of tension and suspense here, with a lot of drama throughout. The whole idea of cutting back 12 hours to lead up to last week’s cliffhanger is a nice inclusion and the entire show does a great job keeping things interesting. The rivalry between Lee Yeon and Lee Rang is fascinating and the drip-fed bits of exposition really keep you hooked to find out what happens next. Quite what the future holds for these characters remains to be seen but one thing’s for sure – this one is far from over.
