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Mar. 25th, 2021 11:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsI think it will be quite hard for any "powerful ageless being falls for plucky mortal" kdrama to ever eclipse Hotel del Luna in my heart, but Tale of the Nine-Tailed is a perfectly enjoyable and fun expression of the form if powerful ageless beings falling for plucky mortals is the trope you're here for.
If, on the other hand, the trope you're here for is "semidivine being has complex relationship with chaotic neutral-to-evil younger brother whom he loves but wishes would stop acting out his abandonment issues via elaborate vengeance plots," Tale of the Nine-Tailed is a fantastic example of the form. I'm so angry this show made me care deeply about a murderous eternal enfant terrible who has spent six hundred years acting out over the tragic death of his puppy!
The cast:
Lee Yeon, a more or less righteous nine-tailed fox and former mountain god who tragically lost his position and his human girlfriend at more or less the same time, and has been kicking his heels for centuries hunting down evildoers while waiting around for her to be reborn again. Career goal: house husband. Favorite movie: Toy Story 3.
Nam Ji-Ah, the reincarnation of ... you guessed it! Now the no-nonsense producer of a moderately trashy urban-legends TV show, a job which she uses to pursue her secret mission of finding the beloved long-lost parents who disappeared in a car accident when she was nine. Calmly and effectively stabs no less than three people with various household implements in the first episode alone and carries that energy as far as she can through the first half of the show, but, as is often the case, gets increasingly placed into the imperiled love interest box as the show goes on. It's not her fault! She's great and she's doing her best! I just wish a little bit that we'd spaced the stabs out. Saved one for the last couple episodes when they're fighting the actual big bad. You know.
Lee Rang, the aforementioned chaotic neutral-to-evil baby brother, who has never forgiven his older brother for a.) abandoning Lee Rang to go be in LOVE when Lee Rang's PUPPY was in PERIL and then b.) getting MAD at Lee Rang for killing a village full of PEOPLE about his DEAD PUPPY FEELINGS; now, several centuries later, alternates between 'developing elaborate plans to cause his brother agony' and 'calling him twenty times in an hour just to be annoying' in a way that perfectly captures peak nemesis and peak bratty younger sibling energy simultaneously. Ugh, he guesses his brother IS the most important thing to him! Cringe!
The second leads! He's Lee Yeon's loyal gumiho sidekick-slash-butler who moonlights as a vet; she's Lee Rang's protege, a Russian gumiho who was raised in an abusive zoo until Lee Rang rescued her (by killing the zookeeper). He's kind to all creatures great and small; she's cheerfully amoral, loves violence, and hates feelings; it's a match made in heaven! We were rooting for these kids all through.
Ji-Ah's coworkers, whom she loves! Great at supernatural research, also unfortunately great at being hostages.
Lee Rang's respective father and mother figures, the gods in charge of the underworld, who badly need couples counseling and are not going to get it.
An evil snake.
An adorable small child, who, in the absolute funniest plot reveal of the show, gheaf bhg gb or Yrr Enat'f orybirq chccl, ervapneangrq! PHR GUNG ERQRZCGVBA NEP.
If, on the other hand, the trope you're here for is "semidivine being has complex relationship with chaotic neutral-to-evil younger brother whom he loves but wishes would stop acting out his abandonment issues via elaborate vengeance plots," Tale of the Nine-Tailed is a fantastic example of the form. I'm so angry this show made me care deeply about a murderous eternal enfant terrible who has spent six hundred years acting out over the tragic death of his puppy!
The cast:
Lee Yeon, a more or less righteous nine-tailed fox and former mountain god who tragically lost his position and his human girlfriend at more or less the same time, and has been kicking his heels for centuries hunting down evildoers while waiting around for her to be reborn again. Career goal: house husband. Favorite movie: Toy Story 3.
Nam Ji-Ah, the reincarnation of ... you guessed it! Now the no-nonsense producer of a moderately trashy urban-legends TV show, a job which she uses to pursue her secret mission of finding the beloved long-lost parents who disappeared in a car accident when she was nine. Calmly and effectively stabs no less than three people with various household implements in the first episode alone and carries that energy as far as she can through the first half of the show, but, as is often the case, gets increasingly placed into the imperiled love interest box as the show goes on. It's not her fault! She's great and she's doing her best! I just wish a little bit that we'd spaced the stabs out. Saved one for the last couple episodes when they're fighting the actual big bad. You know.
Lee Rang, the aforementioned chaotic neutral-to-evil baby brother, who has never forgiven his older brother for a.) abandoning Lee Rang to go be in LOVE when Lee Rang's PUPPY was in PERIL and then b.) getting MAD at Lee Rang for killing a village full of PEOPLE about his DEAD PUPPY FEELINGS; now, several centuries later, alternates between 'developing elaborate plans to cause his brother agony' and 'calling him twenty times in an hour just to be annoying' in a way that perfectly captures peak nemesis and peak bratty younger sibling energy simultaneously. Ugh, he guesses his brother IS the most important thing to him! Cringe!
The second leads! He's Lee Yeon's loyal gumiho sidekick-slash-butler who moonlights as a vet; she's Lee Rang's protege, a Russian gumiho who was raised in an abusive zoo until Lee Rang rescued her (by killing the zookeeper). He's kind to all creatures great and small; she's cheerfully amoral, loves violence, and hates feelings; it's a match made in heaven! We were rooting for these kids all through.
Ji-Ah's coworkers, whom she loves! Great at supernatural research, also unfortunately great at being hostages.
Lee Rang's respective father and mother figures, the gods in charge of the underworld, who badly need couples counseling and are not going to get it.
An evil snake.
An adorable small child, who, in the absolute funniest plot reveal of the show, gheaf bhg gb or Yrr Enat'f orybirq chccl, ervapneangrq! PHR GUNG ERQRZCGVBA NEP.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 05:02 am (UTC)I'm here for that.
Lee Rang's respective father and mother figures, the gods in charge of the underworld, who badly need couples counseling and are not going to get it.
I'm probably also here for this.
Is there a reasonable amount of turning into nine-tailed foxes in this show, or just being supernally charming and other fox-hobbies?
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Date: 2021-03-26 05:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 07:40 pm (UTC)Totally.
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Date: 2021-03-26 07:25 am (UTC)That was hands-down my favourite bit of the show, which is saying something in a drama with leads who are so good at communicating and so amused by and pleased with each other!!! :D :D :D
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Date: 2021-03-27 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 07:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-27 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 11:07 am (UTC)I thought you had your last two pictures mixed up before I looked more carefully at the first, I want you to know.
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Date: 2021-03-27 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2021-03-27 04:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 06:31 pm (UTC)GASP.
But wow, excellent way to increase the reincarnation plots :D
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Date: 2021-03-27 04:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-26 07:27 pm (UTC)"Ji-ah...calmly and effectively stabs no less than three people with various household implements in the first episode alone and carries that energy as far as she can through the first half of the show, but, as is often the case, gets increasingly placed into the imperiled love interest box as the show goes on."
I was so excited to the gifs of her being stabby and badass when this started airing! And so sad when they petered off and stopped. The siblings stuff sounds great but I really wish these shows would stop damseling the FL halfway through.
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Date: 2021-03-27 04:30 am (UTC)This is another reason Hotel del Luna is top tier: no bait-and-switch, GCS is introduced as a damsel from the get-go and steadily remains one through all 16 episodes and we love him for it!
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Date: 2021-03-27 03:17 am (UTC)One day....I'll be capable of watching things.....
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Date: 2021-03-27 04:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-05-02 12:42 pm (UTC)