We have seen Lee Yeon be clever plenty of times, but the tenth episode of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938, was when we saw him deliberately be a “sly fox.” That was probably the most attractive he has been since the series began. It did not matter that there was someone who could get the best of him because the Lee Yeon show is about how he can beat all odds to show up for his lady love. On that note, Lee Yeon’s time in 1938 was supposed to last a month. In Episode 9, we saw that he barely had 3–4 days left in this era. Does that mean that each day is going to be stretched out over 2-3 episodes, like this week was? We wouldn’t complain as long as the writers managed to keep it entertaining because Episode 10 was a bit slow. The zombie scenes were inspired a little too much by Train to Busan for us to find them enthralling. But keeping that aside, here is a recap of it.
Spoilers Alert
What Is Happening At The Bando Hotel?
First of all, we thought that the name of the bandit, who was Lee Rang’s right-hand man, was Dok Soo. Turns out, it is Lee Mi Yeon, and he gets ragged for it as it is a pretty name. Moving on, Yeo Hee gets bitten by a zombie, and now her time is limited. Lee Rang doesn’t know how to save her; therefore, he decides to die with her should the time come. But he gets lucky when he finds that Jae Yoo might know a solution to this. Hong Joo had told Jae Yoo not to get involved with anything happening in the hotel, but he had not been able to help himself when he saw his roommates in danger. Currently, he knows the solution to Yeo Hee’s condition because of something he overheard Moo Young say. The yacha is Moo Young’s creation, and when Hong Joo expressed her fear that it may harm her girls, he told her to give them some iris pistil in that case. Shin Joo remembers seeing some saffron in the hotel, and since it belongs to the Iris family, it could be used. Shin Joo, Mi Yeon, and Rang set out to retrieve that while fighting the zombies, and they get it, but there is still trouble since they run into the hypnotist’s assistant. Rang gets bitten by the zombies, but he has yet to turn into a yacha. They need to make the medicine in time to save him and Yeo Hee.
In another part of the town, Ryuhei is high on his victory about getting to marry Ginko. But when he drops her off someplace, the water snail bride sees him and recognizes him as a demon. She tells this to Ginko, who realizes that this must be the reason he killed her sister. But Ginko is not scared and is also extremely stubborn. After this revelation, she immediately tells her parents that she is willing to marry him.
What Happens In The Painting?
At the end of episode 9, we saw that Hong Joo and Moo Young had inhaled some of the poisonous fog released by a demon. His name was Ushiuchibo, a Japanese demon who operates through poison. The mountain gods are obviously unimpressed, but they need to fight him for the antidote. Unluckily for them, they don’t find it on him, but he ends up dead with a couple of strikes from Hong Joo. Since Moo Young and Hong Joo are weakened by the poison, Yeon sets off to find and chase one of the other demons, Yuki, who is quite smitten by him. He exchanges the golden ruler for the antidote and comes back to his friends. This is the part where he becomes the aforementioned “sly fox.” He bargains with his friends that if they want the antidote, they must help him fight off the demons. This had been Yeon’s plan all along, but he couldn’t have predicted how it would go. Regardless, he got what he wanted. Once he gives them the antidote, he sets off to find the demons, leaving Hong Joo and Moo Young behind as they are still a little weak from the aftereffects of the poison.
Who Is The Fifth Shinigami Mercenary?
Lee Yeon had done his homework, and he knew what the demons were capable of doing. But there were still some gaps in his information. He did not know what one of the demons did—the one whose name was Nyudo, as Lee Yeon discovered a little too late. Technically, the demon’s name is Unyudo, which translates to “body-switching.” Unyudo switches his body with Lee Yeon’s. Yeon is now in trouble because he injured Unyudo, and he is stuck with that wound, with his powers gone as well. The only silver lining is that Hong Joo stole the guardian stone from him, so the demons don’t have all the treasures with them. As Yeon tries to figure out his next course of action, Unyudo (in Yeon’s body) tries to lure Hong Joo and Moo Young to the demons’ lair. As for Yeon (stuck in Unyudo’s body), he meets Yuki and Oogama, and they refer to their boss. That is when Yeon remembers that there were five demons instead of four, and the last one of them must be in the hotel if he isn’t in the painting. So far, Yeon had been under the impression that the only danger Rang was facing were the zombies, but now that he knows that there is a Shinigami mercenary on the loose in the hotel, the urgency of the situation has grown manifold.
Back in the hotel, remember the hypnotist’s assistant who had felt a little too dull? He is the fifth demon, the boss of the Shinigamis, Satori. We always knew that something was wrong with him because of the way he escaped the zombies while no one else could. We see why at the end of the tenth episode of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938. It was because he was just as deadly as the others. All the zombies who had bitten him were lying dead in the hotel lobby. And in the room where Yeo Hee was with the other girls from Myoyeongeok, they were prepared to kill her before she became a yacha herself.
Final Thoughts
Episode 10 has left us feeling so sad. We don’t feel bad for Lee Yeon because we know that he will be fine. But Lee Rang and Yeo Hee do not deserve what is coming their way. We always knew that Yeo Hee might die because the future Lee Rang does not have her in his life. But for it to happen like this is unacceptable. The precap has made us think that Rang does not get to her in time. And even if he does, maybe the iris pistil doesn’t work at her advanced stage? However, Rang seems fine, and we are assuming that he would also have to take the medicine for himself, to overcome the effects of the zombie bite on him. Is it possible that Yeo Hee survives but is kidnapped by the mercenaries? We will only know next week.
