A handsome gumiho mountain god is sent back in time to retreat a precious magical stone and bring it back to the present for safe keeping.  Along his journey, he will be reunited with many familiar faces, including his 2 childhood best friends and his younger brother.  But he isn’t the only one who wants the stone.  He will encounter powerful enemies and try to recruit trusted allies in his task, so that he can safely return home to the present and to the wife that he has promised to love until the end of their days.  

Kim So Yeon as Ryu Hong Joo

Ryu Hong Joo is Yeon’s childhood friend.  At one time she was the guardian spirit of the western mountain. In 1938, she runs the best high-end restaurant in the area.  She has always had a crush on Yeon, and when she hear that he is in town, she is determined to finally win his heart.  But she soon finds herself caught in the middle of a fight between Yeon and her other childhood friend, Moo Young.  And her best solution seems to be stealing the ancient treasures for herself and getting away before either of them has any idea.  But Yeon has other plans for their powerful trio, and he hopes to use Hong Joo to his advantage, so he can get back to the present on time and go back to his normal life.  

Hong Joo is bold and powerful.  But she also has a soft, protective heart.  As a child, that need to protect extended to Yeon and Moo Young.  But now it encompasses all the girls who work and live with her, as well as her loyal bodyguard, Jae Yoo.  The addition of Hong Joo to this season was absolutely brilliant.  Her character is fiery and outspoken.  And there is just enough romantic tension on her part to make up for Yeon’s lack of an onscreen love interest.  I loved Kim So Yeon in this part.  She is a pleasure to watch and I love seeing her strong female charisma.

Ryu Kyung Soo as Cheon Moo Young

Cheon Moo Young was Yeon’s other childhood friend and mountain god.  But when Yeon kills Moo Young’s older brother, Moo Young vows revenge on his old friend.  It is his stealing of the guardian stone that lures Yeon back to 1938 in the first place.  Moo Young has always had a crush on Hong Joo, but she only saw Yeon.  Now that they are all back together, Moo Young is hoping to show Hong Joo his sincere feelings for her.  

 ♥ Relationships

Ultimately this drama is driven by the fun characters and their chaotic energy.  It gives us romance, family, and friendship backed by witty dialogue and touching interactions.  And many of these characters get a chance to shine as we learn their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations.  Whether you love Rang’s innocent bravado, Hong Joo’s spicy determination, Yeon’s sly “foxness” or any of the other interesting counterparts, it is the characters that keep us coming back to this drama.  And the endless onscreen combinations are always enntertaining.

♥ Humor

For me, the touches of humor in this drama were perfectly delivered.  It’s hard to pick a favorite moment, although I did especially love the “Three Men and a Baby” routine.  I found myself continually giggling because of their crazy antics.  And while it could have been cheesy in the hands of lesser writers and actors, it never got old for me.  I think the decison to move away from a heavier romantic theme in favor of more fun moments was one of the things that made this prequel so much more enjoyable for me.  

Past/Present Connection

I found the whole disregard for the past timeline and how changes to the past may effect the present to be kind of strange in this drama.  Many of these characters, such as Rang, are characters we have met and feel like we know.  So how do you explain the fact that he had already met the love of his life by 2020 when we first met him.  And how does Eun Ho fit into the present day story?  Is Yoo Ri a reincarnation of her or are they just mysterious doppelgangers?  And if the 1938 Yeon is now hanging out with Moo Young, than he shouldn’t have any need to travel back in time in the present.  The whole timeline concept is just kind of a mess.  

Weak Villains

This drama gave us a steady stream of villains.  But the one thing they all had in common was that when push came to shove, they were all pretty easy to beat.  Their powers felt wildly inconsistent.  They would seem almost unbeatable for a time and then some magic switch would flip and they would be taken out without much fanfare.  Even Satori and Ryuhei, who were supposed to be legendarily unstoppable, both went down with a quiet whimper.  Given the build up for these showdowns, I just expected more nail-biting suspense.  

“Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938” gives us plenty of happy endings.  Yeon gets the guardian stone and races back to the door to the present just in time, as a nervous Taluipa paces nearby.  After pausing for a final, emotional goodbye with Rang, he and Shin Joo hop back into the present and all is well in both the past and the present.  A follow up scene gives us an update into life in 1938 after Yeon’s visit.  Hong Joo has gone back to running the restaurant, and her employees worry that she is drowning her sorrows in food.  Moo Young has decided to become the person Hong Joo always saw him as, by practicing medicine as a traveling doctor among the poor of the city.  Later we see the 1938 version of Yeon, flanked by his best friends, Moo Young and Hong Joo, as they fight against the Japanese who are threatening their city.  And in the present, we see Yeon finally meeting up with Ji Ah.  The couple embrace under his umbrella.  The fox is home with his one true love.