Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 (구미호뎐 1938) is a sequel to the much-loved fantasy Kdrama of the same named and is directed by Kang Shin-hyo and Jo Nam-hyung. The Kdrama stars Lee Dong-wook, Kim So-yeon, Kim Bum, Ryu Kyung-soo, Kim Young-ji, and Hwang Hee alongside other cast members.
The sequel brings the gumiho Lee Yeon away from his happy ending and back to the year 1938 where he once again comes face to face with his brother Lee Rang and Ryu Hong-joo. Now, he has to find a way to return to the present and to his loved one, but this isn’t something that will come to him easily.
The show will have 16 episodes and be broadcasted on tvN’s Saturday-Sunday 9:20 PM KST timeslot previously occupied by Pandora Beneath the Paradise. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 episode 1 has a run time of 74 minutes.
The synopsis of the show reads:
A K-FANTASY ACTION UNFOLDS AS THE NINE-TAILED FOX (PLAYED BY LEE DONG-WOOK) MAKES A CRASH LANDING IN THE YEAR 1938, AN ERA OF CHAOS, AND HE STRUGGLES TO RETURN TO THE PRESENT.
-Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 Episode 2 Recap Contains Spoilers-
Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 episode 2 begins with Lee Yeon and Lee Rang on the train together while Lee Rang’s men and Shin-ju are elsewhere. A flashback shows Lee Yeon asking Taluipa for help to get back home, however, the woman won’t be giving him the solution easily and gives him an errand in exchange for the solution.
This brings us back to the present where Lee Yeon is looking for a flute that is in the hands of a Japanese soldier. Lee Yeon wants to confront every Japanese in their compartment, however, Lee Rang stops him and tells him that he has a better idea while hinting that there is a tunnel coming up.
Meanwhile, Ryu Hong-joo too boards the train and begins her preparation for an upcoming event. Elsewhere, Shin-ju finds out where they are headed and remembers the events related to that place that would kill them. He then discusses escaping with the other captives and succeeds in convincing them.
The tunnel soon arrives and the chaos begins, with Lee Rang stealing from the people in the cabin and causing havoc while Shin-ju lights a fire which makes the officers dash into their makeshift prison and the attack begins. Hong-joo doesn’t stay behind either as her underling gets the flute for her.
Lee Rang’s underlings arrive where she is and try to get their hands on the flute but Hong-joo isn’t one to mess with as she teaches them a lesson but soon has to fight the Japanese who was carrying the flute. She soon finds out that the man isn’t a human and throws him out of the train.
Meanwhile, the men go to Lee Rang and tell him what happened following which he goes to Hong-joo with Lee Yeon. The latter soon finds out that there is something wrong with the way he is being welcomed to the cabin and soon finds out the reason for the same when Hong-joo appears in front of him.
She demands to marry him and hands the flute over but is met with Lee Yeon’s rejection after which he gives the flute to Lee Rang and tells him to escape. However, Hong-joo has been angered and orders her underling to get the flute back while she begins attacking Lee Yeon.
Meanwhile, Lee Rang and Hong-joo’s underlying get into a fight as well but are soon interrupted by the Japanese soldiers who are searching for their captives. While Lee Rang doesn’t pay much attention to the exchange happening between the soldiers and his people, when he sees a dog running in the middle of the firing, he plays his part and soon shoots the soldiers down.
Elsewhere, Lee Yeon and Hong-joo continue to exchange attacks on the roof of the train but soon the latter breaks through the roof and lands inside the train with her hand around Lee Yeon’s neck. Lee Yeon sees Lee Rang in asks for his help only to be ignored by the latter as he escapes.
Lee Yeon then throws Hong-joo outside the train and is relieved that he finally got rid of her, however, she is not one to give up as she soon rushes up to the back end of the train and stops it. She then goes to where Lee Yeon is only to have him escape with Lee Rang who came back to get him.
On the other hand, Eun-ho faces the suspicion of her family and is checked for the bullet wound on her shoulder only to have nothing found there which surprises her. She then returns to Moo-young and questions him about it only to get an unbelievable answer which she finds funny.
She notices him making a coffin and asks about it but doesn’t get much other than a request to lay inside it to check. The two then exchange stories of their siblings and we find out the hatred Moo-young carries towards the killer of his brother.
Meanwhile, Lee Yeon takes the flute to Taluipa only to find out that the gate will open after 29 days on the night of the lunar eclipse. Until then, he has to stay in 1938 while keeping the guardian stone safe. He decides to stay with Lee Rang for the next 29 days, but when the latter refuses, Lee Yeon intrigues him with the cell phone in his hand and successfully catches his attention.
The two then go for some shopping after which they return to Myoyeongak only to find Hong-joo welcoming them as the owner of the place. Lee Yeon tries to escape but is unable to fight against Hong-joo and promises to stay at her establishment. Later, when Hong-joo is asked if this is all worth it by her subordinate, she makes it clear that she needs to have Lee Yeon, even if she has to make a taxidermy out of him.
Meanwhile, Shin-joo is robbed of his belongings by Lee Rang’s men and is wandering aimlessly dressed as a beggar and looking for Lee Yeon. The next day, Lee Yeon approaches Hong-joo with a request to find the man in the red-white mask after finding out the position she holds in the current time period.
She agrees to his request in exchange for help with has to do with an event taking place later that day. It is the Miss Joseon contest and Lee Yeon is made to take her place as a judge for the event where he comes across Eun-ha and is struck by the similarity between her and Yu-ri.
The event soon comes to an end and the winner is announced, however, some irregularities are seen in the winner and soon she shifts form and begins attacking everyone nearby. Lee Yeon tries to stop her and saves Eun-ha in the process as investigating this case was the request made by Hong-joo.
The winner escapes from the event venue and is captured by Moo-young waiting outside while Lee Yeon questions Eun-ha regarding these attacks. He asks about the similarities between these people and ends up at a beauty salon with Lee Rang.
He asks Lee Rang to turn into a woman and investigate but is met with a big no after which he points at the sign for hiring help at the salon. The owner of the salon is struck by their beauty and decides to hire them, even when it goes against her rule of not hiring male help.
The two begin investigating the people and products in the salon while being flooded by women who are trying to hit on them in the salon. They notice that the mirror at the salon are all broken and get Lee Rang’s men to get a new mirror while Lee Yeon sends one of the products to Eun-ha to investigate.
Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 Episode 2 Ending
Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 episode 2 ends with the two getting nothing from the product and returning to the salon which is more crowded than the previous day. They get back to their work of washing the customer’s hair and serving them coffee when suddenly, Lee Rang goes out when his men come with a small mirror but when he turns to enter he witnesses the customers all attacking others.
He soon breaks into the shop and helps Lee Yeon fight these women and ties them all up. They then turn to find the culprit who is the timid worker at the shop. She is a small kitchen god who did not like the changes that had been taking place in recent times, but when Lee Yeon hints at how much worse it is going to get, she calms down.
However, the bugs that entered the bodies of these victims came from somewhere else and she reveals that it was from a man in a red-white mask after which she burns down and dies. The two are shocked when the scene shifts to Moo-young in the forest and looking at the winner of the contest who has becomes the perfect result of his test.
Suddenly, Hong-joo attacks him and is shocked to find out that he is the man in the red-white mask who has been causing chaos all along. However, she puts everything aside and is glad that he has returned safely.
Elsewhere, Lee Yeon and Lee Rang bring the women at the salon back to their senses and leave. However, while Lee Yeon hums a tune he is surprised to hear the same tune from someone else. He then turns to find Shin-joo who followed him and the two have a very romantic reunion at last.
Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 Episode 2 Review
Episode 2 has made a lot of things clear for us today and we can see where the story will be going during this very peculiar season. With Moo-young out for revenge, well we know who is his target, and Hong-joo ready to do anything to get her hands on Lee Yeon we can say that the upcoming journey is definitely one to look forward to.
Today’s episode finally brought an end to the premiere week of this season and we can all agree that we are already loving the show. The Lee brothers duo playing their magic while the other gods stir things up on a daily basis, there is only eagerness that we are left with at the end of this weekend.
Finally, the cast has once again caught us all up in their magic while the plot has assured us that this season isn’t one to be missed. This is both reassuring for the fans of the show and exciting as we all look forward to the upcoming weekends.
What do you think about this episode? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 on Prime Video.
Also Read: BTS’ Suga “Channels His Inner Taehyung” With ‘Savage’ Response on Being Asked to Speak in English