This second season of Tale of the Nine Tailed is unusual since Korean TV doesn't run much to sequels. This one is a prequel as Lee Yeon is sent back to 1938 to retrieve a precious, supernatural object that has been stolen. While there the quest becomes increasingly complicated — of course — and it takes 11 more episodes to get everything wrapped up.
It wasn't as good as the original series (my review here) but entertaining overall. The first three episodes were extremely light on story with a lot of time devoted to broad humor which felt like a real waste of time and talent. However, it began picking up speed and plotlines from there and turned into a good series by the end.
As a prequel, it worked as long as you don't worry too much about timeline continuity. Which we didn't. You do learn a lot about Lee Yeon's past as a mountain god and meet a few of the other mountain gods from the area. (Don't worry. None are as awesome as Lee Yeon.)
We also learned a few things about the Japanese occupation of Korea during WWII, indigenous gods, and other tidbits of Korean culture. Not to mention zombies and time-travel thrown in for good measure.
As an American it was fascinating to see how the Japanese villain was equivalent for Koreans to what a Nazi villain would have been for us. I hated that villain so much.
We also had wondered how any tale about Lee Yeon would be possible without his true love. No problem. There is always the brotherly angst and heartache of striving for little brother Lee Rang's love. And, of course, Lee Rang's struggle with trusting his brother. Which, to be fair, was just as absorbing as a romance.
If there's a third series we'll be ready to watch!
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