If your K-drama-trained eyes are yearning for more after the Tale Of The Nine-Tailed (also known as the Tale Of Gumiho) wrapped up, then you might want to consider the spin-off focusing on Lee Yeon’s brother Lee Rang (played by Kim Bum). The mini-drama, titled The Untold Story Of The Tale Of The Nine-Tailed, made up for the halt in production of Episodes 13 and 14 of the original series to “ensure better production” according to reports.
It’s quite rare for K-dramas to have special episodes or spin-offs that are more or less still part of the running story; usually, specials only come in the form of commentaries from the cast. So it's no wonder that this has been quite anticipated.
Before we dive into the details of the Tale Of The Nine-Tailed’s spinoff, here's where we are in the original story for some background.
Despite the initial discussions about Lee Rang being the main antagonist in the drama, we learned that his love-hate relationship with his brother makes him a secondary hero (sort of) in the story as well. Sure, there were times when we thought he was going to betray his brother again because of their bitter past, but lately, it seems like they’ve gotten over their differences.
Now, on to the spin-off's details.
The three-part spinoff provides a prequel for the RaRi couple
Yes, you can binge not just one but three episodes for this spinoff, mostly focusing on Lee Rang’s relationship with his ‘sired’ companion Yoo Ri (Kim Yong Ji). All three episodes of the spinoff were squeezed in between the airing of the main drama’s episodes because it doesn’t really provide much context for the main plot but rather provide a backstory to the second 'couple'.
And while Lee Rang and Yoo Ri’s relationship is not exactly romantic, its interesting how the three-part storyline provided some much needed explanation about their familial bond.
Both familiar and new characters are featured in the mini-series
The Untold Story Of The Tale Of The Nine-Tailed may somehow be independent of the main arc, but it still maintains a connection through familiar cameos. We won't spoil the details but the initial teasers featured Lee Yeon’s friend Goo Shin-Joo (Hwang Hee) and the reincarnation of Lee Rang’s puppy Kim Soo-Oh (Jung Si-Yul) as part of the supporting cast. We also got a glimpse of a mysterious elderly character who seemed to have a friendly relationship with Lee Rang.
We got to see a side of Lee Rang we never saw in the main drama
The Tale Of The Nine-Tailed zoomed in more on Lee Yeon’s character and his interactions with Ji Ah. Although we got a glimpse of Lee Rang’s shenanigans from time-to-time, it’s still mostly centred on his complicated relationship with his brother and not his story as an equally powerful Gumiho.
That changed based on what we see from the spinoff. We learned that behind the alluring yet scary facade and the sometimes angsty personality of Lee Rang is a more caring and thoughtful individual. This might have something to do with his warm relationship with Yoo Ri, but we can definitely see it translating to his other wish-granting escapades.
(Cover photo from: @tvndrama.official)
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