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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of The Nine Tailed: Analysis and Theories

First and foremost, I would like to give my sincerest praise to the cast and crew of Tale of The Nine Tailed ! It is simply a wonderful and very thought provoking show! I strongly recommend it to everyone!

Now, I’m going to forewarn you all that this post will be very LONG, but hey you might learn a thing or two and be able to draw your own theories and/or conclusions after reading this post! I had previously posted some of these connections/theories on my Twitter, but I figure hey why not post them on Tumblr too !

What Is An Imugi/Imoogi? What Is It’s Goal?

In Korean folklore, Imoogis are lesser dragons that look like big snakes or kind of like a basilisk from Harry Potter.

One of an Imugi/Imoogi’s main goal is obtain a “Yeouiju” or a celestial orb which allows it to become full fledged celestial dragons which can rule the skies. In the context of TOTNT, there is such a type of “Yeouiju” in the form of Lee Yeon’s fox bead. Therefore, I believe that the ultimate goal of the Imugi/Imoogi is get Lee Yeon’s fox bead.

Side note, I kind of think that the Imoogi not only wants to rule the skies, but the ground too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sought to do so by raising an army of zombies (maybe thats who Lee Yeon was seen fighting in the intro credits) !

Why be content with just ruling the skies when you can rule the entire world? Additionally, he could have further ambitions to not only rule the world, but to also rule all realms like the heavens and the Underworld.

The Imoogi is very strategic into getting what he wants. By strategic I mean that he likes to use people as leverage or use their own weaknesses against them.

Therefore, I believe what happened originally during Ah Eum’s time is that the Imoogi had possessed her body in order to get Lee Yoon to hand over his fox bead. The Imoogi knew how much Lee Yoon had loved Ah Eum and would be willing to do anything for her.

However like Voldemort, the Imoogi did not anticipate the power of love and sacrifice. Ah Eum had temporarily gained control of her body long enough to do either two things: ask Lee Yeon to kill her or run into Lee Yeon’s sword thereby killing herself. In either cases, she fulfilled her promise to Lee Yoon which was that she would always protect him.

Now jumping back to the present time, we know that original target of the Imoogi’s plan was Ji Ah. Why? Because his lame self wanted to do what he did in the past and use her again to get Lee Yeon to hand over the fox bead. However, this time around, Ji Ah had Lee Yeon’s fox bead inside of her which offered protection from full possession by the Imoogi. So then the Imoogi’s minion (tv station president) took the next best thing which was Ji Ah’s parents to be used as leverage at a later time so that Ji Ah would hand over the fox bead.

However, things have now changed because Ji A gave away the fox bead to the fortune teller to save Lee Yeon. Now I have mixed feelings about this situation. On one side, I find it romantic that she’s willing to give up anything to save Lee Yeon. On the other side of it, I’m like girl why are you so stupid?! Lee Yeon literally gave up his mountain title in order to give Ah Eum/Ji Ah that fox bead. It’s almost like Lee Yeon’s actions were met in vain. Plus, when Ji Ah said she doesn’t believe in destiny or that sort of stuff, it also got me riled up because it was a contradiction to the whole premise of her character in the first place. From the get go, the writer wrote that Ji Ah believes in the supernatural and mystical. So then why wouldn’t she believe in fate and destiny?

Anyways back to more analysis. Without the protective effects of the fox bead, Ji Ah can once again be possessed by the Imoogi.

What the fox bead had done for Ji Ah was that it protected Ji Ah from the effects of the Imoogi piece aka horcrux that was inside of her. The notion that the bead had offered protective effects can be seen when Lee Yeon first gave it to her where a protective shield was erected and this was again seen in ep4 when Ji Ah cried. Also, it was confirmed when Sato said how Lee Yeon’s fox bead was meant to protect all beings, but instead Lee Yeon chose to use it to protect only one person.

The Fortune Teller’s Message

Something of particular interest is what the fortune teller told Ji Ah about the bead. He told her that even without the fox bead or moon, her life is still “blessed”. I think what the fortune teller meant by this is that even without the protective effects of the bead, her life is still “blessed” because she will always have Lee Yeon by her side to protect her.

What I think will happen next is that Lee Yeon will go back to the fortune teller to try and get his bead back. Meaning Ji Ah will probably confess to Lee Yeon later on just what exactly she gave up in order to get him back. And again the fortune teller will ask for something precious to Lee Yeon. There are a few things that are precious to Lee Yeon such as Ji Ah, Lee Rang, and Lee Yeon’s immortality. Now we know that Lee Yeon would never give up Ji Ah, so then this would bring about other two things into play: Lee Rang and Lee Yeon’s immortality. I think its more of a poetic justice if Lee Yeon trades Lee Rang in. However, I could also see Lee Yeon trading in his immortality since his dream has always been to become human. Who knows though!

Only One Will Live: Imoogi Vs Ji Ah and Lee Yeon vs Ji Ah

In Harry Potter, there was a prophecy that “for neither can live, while the other survives”. This same message is conveyed when it comes to the Imoogi & Ji Ah and Lee Yeon & Ji Ah.

We saw what had happened the first go around when the Imoogi had possessed Ah Eum. In the end, Ah Eum chose to sacrificed herself so that both the Imoogi and the piece of him inside of her would die. Thereby, she prevented the Imoogi from using her to get Lee Yeon’s fox bead. Now presently, the same situation is basically happening again. However, if Harry Potter managed to kill the piece of Voldemort in him and still survive then Ji Ah can essentially do the same. So, how you might ask? I think the solution greatly lies in getting the fox bead back in her. If Ji Ah can temporarily die in order to get rid of the Imoogi piece inside of her, then she can be revived by the protective qualities of the fox bead.

Even if Ji Ah survives against the Imoogi, it might be at the cost of losing Lee Yeon. The fortune teller even told our couple this, “If you two keep hanging out, one of you will die”. This same message is again heard in ep 7 preview when Taluipa’s husband tells Lee Yeon, “You or the girl. One must die in the end.” So can there be a situation where the Imoogi is dead and both Ji Ah and Lee Yeon are alive? Yes and it comes in the form of the Lee Rang factor.

The Lee Rang Factor

We all know that our little puppy, Lee Rang, may put up the facade that he hates his brother, but in reality, Lee Rang loves his brother a lot.

There was a clue dropped in ep.4 that hints in the end Lee Rang will be the one that saves both Lee Yeon and Ji Ah.

The hint was in Taluipa’s hand, the movie “A Better Tomorrow”. Briefly, the movie is about two brothers, Ho and Kit, who love each other a lot. However over the years, they began to develop great animosity and resentment towards each other mainly due to their differences in beliefs and professions. Ho was a criminal while Kit was an upstanding police officer. Eventually, Ho does see the error of his ways and seeks to atone for them. In the end, the two brother reconcile and Ho decides to join his brother Kit on a path of righteousness. Similar to Ho, I think Lee Rang will do the same. Lee Rang will atone for his mistakes and thus sacrifice himself to save Lee Yeon and Ji Ah.

What is Ji Ah?

Seems like everyone these days has been wondering what exactly Ji Ah is. Most people seem to think that she is part Imoogi. However, there has been a bunch of clues in the episodes that answers this question.

I believe Ah Eum/Ji Ah is Princess Bari, the first shaman goddess from Korean mythology.

Princess Bari was nicknamed the “Abandoned Princess” because she was the last and 7th daughter of a King who had no sons. Due to her gender, she did not receive any attention from her parents and was thus abandoned.

Eventually, her parents’ lives became endangered and in order to save them she had to travel to the Underworld to get the elixir of life. Such a tedious journey showed her deep commitment to the virtue of “filial piety” or one’s love and respect for one’s parents. She became a role model for many women during this time because she was willing to sacrifice herself for the very parents who had abandoned her.

As a reward for her strong adherence to filial piety, the Gods made her the first shaman goddess who’s job was to help and guide spirits.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Ep 7 Predictions

Lee Rang sends Ji Ah the eyebrows of a tiger glasses to create distrust between Ji Ah and Lee Yeon

In the following note seen in ep 7 preview, Lee Rang writes:

“Put it on and look into the mirror. There must have been something you have been wondering about. -Lee Rang”

Ji Ah will put on the glasses and see a small fraction of her past life which includes a scene where Lee Yeon kills her.

Because she only saw a small part instead of the whole story, she would think Lee Yeon killed her on purpose. Had she seen more of her past life, she would have know that it was her that asked Lee Yeon to kill her because she was being possessed by the Imoogi. Lee Rang may have also sent Ji Ah the glasses as a way to lure her to come to him.

Zombies!!

Also in the ep 7 preview, you can see Lee Yeon fighting zombies. I think the zombies he may be fighting were once the villagers that entered the well. Additionally, I think once the Imoogi sucks the life out of you, you become part of his zombie army. This is kinda like the Night King in Game of Thrones.

Like the Night King, I think the Imoogi will raise an army of zombies to accomplish total world domination. Maybe that is what happened in the past during Ah Eum’s time too.

The Imoogi just hungers for power and will not stop at nothing until he attains more. Well, let me prepare a blanket to hide under during Ep 7. Zombies and White Walkers freak the heck out of me!!!

Lee Yeon Moving In With Ji A

From the text preview on TvN website, it says that Lee Yeon will move in and the two will become closer. I cannot wait for this!!! I mean just look at Lee Yeon with messy bed head, wearing an apron, and showing the cutest smile!

And last but not least, Ji Ah helping Lee Yeon to get ready and their cozy movie night (I spy popcorn + mint chocolate ice cream; I bet they’re going to watch Toy Story 3). Okay I’m officially dead now.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Gems of the Mountain Spirits Theory

In Ep 6, it was mentioned that the four mountain spirits had four gems that were suppose to be used to protect all of mankind.

We know what two of them are: Lee Yeon’s fox bead and Sato’s moon mirror. The other two are still a great mystery.

In Korean mythology, similar gems or treasures were mentioned in the Dangun creation myth. Hwanung was the son of Hwanin (Lord of Heaven) who had longed to live on Earth in the Baekdu Mountains. And so his father, Hwanin, allowed him to go down and gave him three treasures to help him rule/protect mankind. These treasures included a sword, mirror, and bell.

These three items are similarly found in Japanese mythology. Like their Korean counterparts, the Imperial Regalia of Japan were also used to help rule/protect mankind. The only difference is that instead of a bell, the Imperial Regalia included a bead/jewel.

Combining these two sets of information, I believe that the last two gems of the mountain spirits is probably a bell and sword. I do wonder if the Imoogi will try and obtain these items later on to try and further his quest for total world domination. This also leads me to wonder if Lee Yeon’s sword is one of the gems of the mountain spirits. Maybe one of the other mountain gods had ended up giving it to him.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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HAHA TvN answered how Ji Ah was able to get into Lee Yeon’s place. Lee Yeon is technologically inept, so he set his key password as “0000”!

I bet his phone passcode and laptop password is also “0000” 🤣!

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of The Nine Tailed Ep 7: Thoughts and Analysis

Here’s just a really quick post on my thoughts and analysis! I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors as well as stuff that isn’t presented in an entirely cohesive manner! I am making this post after a long day of school work and classes !

Lee Yeon and Ji Ah

As predicted in a previous post, Ji Ah did indeed misunderstood Lee Yeon largely due to the fact she only saw a fraction instead of her past life. Obviously, Lee Yeon did love Ah Eum, but they had to sacrifice their love for the greater good aka saving a nation. Again, I am still sticking to my theory that the Imoogi wanted total world domination.

My theory is that upon killing the Imoogi who was impersonating her father, the Imoogi’s essence went into Ah Eum. Ah Eum knew this would happen, but did not tell Lee Yeon. Maybe Ah Eum was able to be possessed by the Imoogi because she was human instead of some sort of a mystical being.

So in order to prevent the Imoogi from jumping from person to person, Lee Yeon had to be the one who killed her. It’s similar to how Dumbledore told Snape that he must be the one to kill him. Although I do wonder now if at first Lee Yeon meant to use Ah Eum, but later fell end up falling in love with her. I could also see that happening.

So now lets talk about Ah Eum being the sacrifice. What if her father, the King, had exchanged his youngest daughter for the Imoogi’s help to make rain or something. For example, maybe the nation was suffering from famine due to a lack of crops.

Additionally, the trade of a sacrificial virginal bride could be seen as very valuable to the Imoogi because it could be one of the pieces it needs to becoming a dragon. So either he needed a sacrificial bride or a fox’s bead or maybe both to become a dragon.

CEO Station President

Throughout all of this, we know the CEO has been devoted follower of the Imoogi. However, I am left to question, what exactly is in it for him?

We know he was born probably during the time of the Goryeo dynasty and was branded on his forehead for crimes committed during “Myo Cheong’s Rebellion”. Upon doing further research on this, I found out that Myo Cheong was a Buddhist shaman who had was part of the royal court during King Injong’s reign. At this time in Korea, there were conflicts between two different beliefs systems: Buddhism and Confucianism. Myo Cheong tried to sway King Injong into moving Goreyo’s capital from Kaesong to Pyongyang because he phophesied that by in doing so, it would ensure their success against the Jurchens. At first, the King had believed in Myo Cheong. However, as time went on, the King joined the rest of the court in dismissing Myo Cheong’s ideas while portraying him as a crazy madman. This eventually lead Myo Cheong to form a rebellion against the King. The rebellion was short lived and it was later squashed by General Kim Bu Sik. So I think CEO guy is Myo Cheong.

I think the CEO had formed some sort of deal with the Imoogi. Maybe the CEO guy/Myo Cheong said he would help the Imoogi find a fox’s bead and/or bride in exchange for revenge against the very same royal court who had betrayed and humiliated him. After all in TOTNT its all about deals, trades, and debts.

Lee Rang

So now that we have discussed the deals between the Imoogi and CEO, I would like to next examine the deal made between the CEO and Lee Rang.

The CEO guy had saved Lee Rang’s life which meant that Lee Rang would be forever indebted to him aka his personal puppet till the end of time. Wow that really does suck!! Part of me feels like the CEO guy already knew Lee Rang would be in this type of situation and therefore specifically sought him out in order to save his life. I mean how valuable is it to have a fox be indebted to you with it’s life. Furthermore, it’s not just any other fox, it’s a fox who’s brother was a Mountain God with a fox’s bead. See where I’m getting at yet? It’s all about the fox bead and leverage. See my other post if you don’t get where I’m coming from.

Looking back on all of this, I am left to also wonder whether or not either the CEO or the Imoogi were the ones that were initially responsible for Lee Rang’s harsh and rough childhood. Maybe both the CEO and Imoogi knew little Lee Rang was defenseless because Lee Yeon had left for the Underworld to find Ah Eum and so they made the villagers burn down the mountains and sent Lee Rang’s now zombie mom to try and kill him. In turn, this lead to a whole cascade of events: Lee Rang hating humans –> Lee Yeon having to punish Lee Rang for killing humans –> Lee Rang hating his brother for stabbing him.

Episode 8 Predictions

I think in episode 8, we will revisit Lee Yeon’s past internal conflicts. I believed in the past, Lee Yeon had tried to save both Lee Rang and Ah Eum since they were equally precious to him. However, in the end, he lost both of them.

So in the Ep 8 preview, you can hear someone asking the question, “What are you most afraid of?”. Subsequently, this flashes to Lee Rang being surrounded and attacked by zombies while Ji Ah is in the car with her parents right before the accident occurs.

Lee Yeon will once again have to face making the same difficult decision as he did 600 years ago which is who should he try and save first from their nightmare. I believe this time around Lee Yeon will try and save Lee Rang first from the zombies while hoping Ji Ah can hold on a little while longer until he can reach her.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Lee Yeon x Fried Chicken

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Analysis and Theories of Ep 8

Welcome to another edition of Mind Melt On A Bun’s analysis and theories of TOTNT. I hope you all will enjoy this post, but fair warning it’s once again another VERY LONG POST! So if you want to turn on your thinking cap and face the risk of your brain blowing up into a million pieces then feel free to keep reading!

Snail Bride and Her Husband

Ureongi gaksi (우렁이 각시) or Snail Bride is a Korean legend which tells about a poor farmer who breaks a taboo and marries a woman who is actually a snail. One day while working in the rice paddy field, the farmer says to himself, “Who will I eat this rice with?”. To which a voice replied, “With me.”. Having heard this voice, the man turned around to see who it was, but only saw a snail. After having heard that, the man found that each day after returning home from work, a meal was always prepared for him.

The farmer was curious of who had been preparing his meal. So one day he pretended to go to work in order to catch a sight of whoever it was that had been preparing his meal. To his surprise, he had seen a beautiful woman emerging from the snail shell. Having been blown away by her beauty, he immediately asked her to live with him instead of returning to the snail shell. However, the woman told him it was not time yet and to be patient. Being the persistent man that he was, he eventually got the Snail to marry him.

The farmer became plagued with the fear that his beautiful Snail Bride might one day be taken away from him so he instructed her to never leave the house. The Snail Bride listened to her husband and did as she was told until one day when her mother-in-law told the Snail Bride to go and deliver lunch to the farmer. And so, the Snail bride did as she was told. However, along the way, the Magistrate who was enamoured by her beauty decided to kidnap her and make her his bride. Despite the farmer’s many efforts, he never found his Snail Bride and ended up dying of a broken heart and being reborn as a blue bird. Tragic I know !!!

Anyways, when applying this story to TOTNT, you will find that Ji Ah’s boss had shared many similar characteristics to the farmer from the Snail Bride myth such as persistency. Other clues that supports the ideal that Ji Ah’s boss is the farmer can be seen in the conversation between Green Juice Lady. The first clue is his fear of flying. This could be seen as a side effect of him being reborn in a previous life as a blue bird. I bet if Ji Ah used those Eyebrows of a Tiger Glasses, she would see him as a bird blue.

The second clue was in what the Green Juice Lady said, “ What are you doing here?”. I interpreted this as her knowing him in the past as well as her not expecting to see the farmer’s reincarnated self in the same vicinity as the Snail Bride.

Green Juice Lady Origin

In Korean mythology, there is a creature by the name of “Dueoksini/Dokeoksini” (두억시니는 ) that kills you by crushing your head (figuratively or literally). In Korean mythology, this creature is seen as an in between of a dokkaebi/goblin and a yokai. Because Dueoksinis have been mostly been forgotten throughout Korean literature, they are usually refer to as being a type of Korean Yokai.

Or the way I like to view the Green Juice Lady is that she’s basically Pennywise, Freddy Krueger, and the Boggart rolled into one. After all its like Frank Hebert once wrote in Dune: “Fear is the mind killer”.

Taluipa

In TOTNT, the character Taluipa is seen as being the goddess of birth and fate, Sansin Halmoni. Besides having the ability of controlling birth and fate, Taluipa also can also foresee the future as well as grant immortality (i.e her husband). Given all of this, it is likely that her child, Bok Gil, would’ve had some pretty powerful abilities because he came from such a superior mother.

Now not much is known about Taluipa’s son other than he had committed suicide. Furthermore, the act of suicide was seen as a such a bad taboo that ensured he could never be reborn/reincarnated. In the context of TOTNT, it is inferred that even if you sacrifice yourself for the one you love, it is still considered suicide.

Lee Yeon’s Original Plan For the Imoogi

I think originally Lee Yeon had planned to take the Imoogi into himself and subsequently kill himself. However, when faced with the possibility that this would mean Lee Yeon could not be reincarnated, Ah Eum decided it was better that Lee Yeon killed her because at least she could be reincarnated.

Now you may think that well if Ah Eum sacrificed herself for the one she loves, isn’t that contradictory to what I said earlier about how sacrificing yourself for the one you love is still considered suicide and thus meant you couldn’t be reborn? It really doesn’t and here’s why. Remember that at this time, Ah Eum already had the Imoogi inside of her so her death by Lee Yeon’s hands were not seen as a sacrificial suicide. Rather, it was seen as him killing a greater evil and preventing the deaths of hundreds. Thus, this meant that Ah Eum could be reincarnated. Had Ah Eum ran into Lee Yeon’s knife or stabbed herself in the temporary moment she gain back control of her body, then that would’ve been seen as sacrificial suicide.

If both Lee Yeon and Ah Eum were able to find a loop hole at the very last minute that ensured Ah Eum’s reincarnation, I am sure that this time around Lee Yeon will be able to find a better loop hole given that he has had more time to than previously as well as learning from his past mistakes as it pertains to the Imoogi. I largely believe that this loop hole will have something to do with the favor Lee Yeon had asked of Taluipa’s husband. Maybe the favor Lee Yeon is asking Taluipa’s husband for is the elixir of life that is located in the Underworld (Hint: read my posts about Princess Bari). I think that Lee Yeon will want it just in case either him or Ji Ah dies in their battle against the Imoogi. Such an elixir could revive them!

Taluipa’s Son/Bok Gil = The Imoogi

As previously mentioned, I had theorized that Taluipa’s son, Bok Gil, must have been one hell of a powerful being given that his mom was a powerful Goddess herself. As to what those abilities could have been, it is still a mystery. However, I feel like his powers would’ve been connected the ones Taluipa had (i.e birth, fate, and ability to see what others cannot see). Again, not much was mentioned about him other than he committed suicide and that his name was Bok Gil.

Now let’s look at the Imoogi, we know that he has the power of life (bringing the bird back to life), death (sucking the life out of his nannies), and rebirth (being reborn as that boy).

By the way, I think it’s interesting that the cycle of life, death, and rebirth is represented as an “Ouroboros” or a snake eating its tail. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyways back to what else we know about the Imoogi. We know that he was born in a leap year as well as being born in a place between the living and dead (btw Lee Yeon was born in 420AD also a leap year..possible connection somehow?). The Imoogi could also see what others don’t see such as your soul and your deepest emotions.

If you think about it, when Bok Gil committed suicide, his soul/body was neither in the land of the living nor the dead. He was in between those two realms or in limbo. Connecting this to the fact that the Imoogi said he was born in a place between the living and dead, there is a significant possibility that Bok Gil is indeed the Imoogi. Furthermore, if you look at the kinds of power the Imoogi has and the powers that Taluipa has, you will find that they are strangely similar or related. If that doesn’t convince you enough then just compare the voice of Bok Gil to that of the Imoogi!

Imoogi and Lee Yeon

Initially, I had thought the Imoogi had wanted Lee Yeon for his fox bead (a kind of Yeouiju) so that it could become a dragon, but now I am beginning to think there’s more to the story than just Lee Yeon’s bead. If indeed Bok Gil is the Imoogi then I am left to wonder what kind of relationship did Lee Yeon have with Bok Gil before he died. Furthermore, could Lee Yeon have been part of the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide in the first place? If Lee Yeon had been part of the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide, then I can totally understand why Bok Gil/Imoogi would want to try to exact his revenge and/or anger on Lee Yeon. Maybe Bok Gil was jealous of Lee Yeon for getting more attention from his own parents than he was or maybe Lee Yeon got the girl he was interested in or maybe Lee Yeon was really mean and had bullied him or maybe the person who Bok Gil had died for (aka a loved) was somehow connected to Lee Yeon. I don’t know, I’m just purely theorizing and for all we know all the Imoogi wants is just Lee Yeon’s fox bead so that it can become a dragon.

Black and White Imagery

Other things I found interesting is the usage of black and white in Ep 8. For example, the shirts Lee Rang and Lee Yeon wears, the colors of the stones of the “Go Game”, and the cars in the background of the parking lot Lee Yeon was in.

Typically, the color combination of black and white represents Yin/Yang, Good/Evil, and Life/Death. In either cases, the concept is the same. Both represent the concept of dualism or the ideal that everything is interdependent, interconnected, and interrelated. Meaning you can’t have Yin without Yang, Good without Evil, and Life without Death. Or in the case of Lee Yeon standing in between the two cars and the two doors, both Lee Rang and Ah Eum/Ji Ah’s lives and fate were interdependent, interconnected, and interrelated to that of Lee Yeon’s.

Episode 9 Predictions

Lee Yeon will get Lee Rang out of the Forest of the Preta and Lee Rang will realize that his brother never really abandoned him in the first place. Additionally, their time in the Forest of the Preta is like a blessing in disguise because it helped both brothers to resolve the misunderstanding that occurred 600 years ago.

Now with Ji Ah, I think she will overcome her fear of the car accident. However I think she will be faced with another fear of hers which is seeing Lee Yeon die. I think she will overcome this too, but the Green Juice Lady will pull out one last trick out of the bag. Instead of making Ji Ah relieve some of her worst nightmares, she will make Ji Ah live in a world where all her dreams have come true such as having her parents back and Lee Yeon by her side. The Green Juice Lady will do this as a way to make sure that Ji Ah would never want to leave. After all, why leave a world where all your dreams come true right? Plus, Ji Ah’s mentality will become weaker because she will start to believe that the dream world she is living in is a reality. Therefore, in order to win against the Green Juice Lady, one must have a strong mind that is not killed by fear nor weaken by fantastical delusions.

This kind of reminds of the creature, “Black Mercy”, from Super Girl. Briefly, “Black Mercy” is alien parasite that makes its host dream their perfect fantasy world while it feeds off of them. The only way for the host to get the “Black Mercy” to detach itself is for the host to realize that the fantasy world they are living in is not real. So for Ji Ah, maybe she would have to do the same on her own or it would take Lee Yeon coming into her dreamworld in order for her to realize this.

Last Remarks

For all of those who are still left confused as to why Lee Yeon chose to save Lee Rang first, you can check it out here:

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/633271037441818624/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-ep-7-thoughts-and

And if you’re too lazy to click/read all of that post, I’ll put it simply here:

In the past, Lee Yeon chose to go after Ah Eum first instead of saving Lee Rang from the villagers burning down the mountain. So this time around Lee Yeon did not want to make the same mistake twice and also Lee Yeon wanted to atone for his past mistakes. Plus, Lee Yeon knew that between Lee Rang and Ji Ah, Lee Rang had the weaker mentality so he would need more saving than Ji Ah would.

Happy Readings! I need a drink now after writing all of this !

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Red Tree Symbolism and How It Relates to the Final Outcome of Lee Yeon and Ji Ah

Sometimes the intro of a show will give us clues as to what the whole story is about. In the case of TOTNT, they gave us such major spoilers that I am so flabbergasted that I completely missed it all!

In Korean legends, there is a story called, “Red Flower for One Hundred Days”. The story began in a small seaside village (notice how the tree is located next to the sea) where there lived a man and a woman who were very much in love with each other and had planned to be married soon. Unfortunately, there was a grim customary in this village: a maiden must be sacrificed to the Imoogi that lived in sea in order to avoid a disaster from befalling on the village. On the year that the woman was suppose to be married, she was chosen to be the human sacrifice to the Imoogi. And so the man in a state of shocked, told the woman that he would go fight the Imoogi in the sea so that they could live happily ever after. Before leaving on his ship to face the Imoogi, the man told the woman that he would fly a white flag if he had defeated the Imoogi and a red flag if he had failed.

So from that day onwards, the maiden would wait by the shore every day and pray for his safe return. Exactly 100 days after the man left, she saw his ship approaching and as the ship came closer she saw a red flag. The maiden now having been stricken with grief had died even before the ship had even reached the shore.

Upon reaching the shore, the man had immediately set off to find his maiden so that he could share with her his joyous news. Sadly when he found her, she had already died. He did not understand how this could’ve happen until he had seen that his white flag had been smeared with the blood of the Imoogi. And so with a heavy heart, the man had to bury his beloved. Later on, it was seen that red flowers that had blossom around her grave for a 100 days before withering away. And so legend says that the red flowers of the crape myrtle tree contained the maiden’s spirit who had waited for her fiancé for a 100 days.

Analysis

So after reading that whole story, I finally understood the intro. Basically the intro was telling us the story of Lee Yeon and Ah Eum. Something of interest to note is the color chosen to represent the Gumiho. I mean they could’ve made the Gumiho like orange or something, but instead they chose to make him white. This could signify that Lee Yeon will win the final battle against the Imoogi. Remember that in the legend the color white signifies a win. Additionally, I think the whole sequence of the Gumiho dissolving and binding with the tree as indicative that Lee Yeon and Ji Ah will finally be together in the end.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Final Outcome for Lee Yeon, Ji Ah, and Lee Rang

In my mind, there are four possible types of endings for TOTNT: happy, sad, bittersweet, or happy open ended. Now as to which I think it will be? I predict that it will be a bittersweet ending.

A word of caution though, my prediction can change as the series draws closer to the end. For now, my prediction is one that is based off of contextual clues given from Ep. 1-8. So if you don’t want to let yourself get boggled down by my prediction of the final outcome for Lee Yeon, Ji Ah, and Lee Rang then please do as Baby Yoda does and enclose yourself in your little happy bubble and don’t read any further!

Final Outcome for Lee Yeon and Ji Ah

First thing first, we need to reexamine the story of Princess Bari. And for those who are asking who Princess Bari is? I will direct you to read my other post for a very brief summary under “What Is Ji Ah?”:

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/632988832099368960/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-analysis-and-theories

Long story short, I had theorized that Ah Eum/Ji Ah is Princess Bari, the abandoned Princess who ends up saving her parents and becoming the shaman goddess of the Underworld. There were some major things I did not include in my summary such as what had happened in between her journey to the Underworld for the elixir of life and when she ultimately became the shaman goddess of the Underworld. I mean I had already written so much in that one post that I grew exhausted to write more.

Princess Bari’s Marriage to Mujangseung

In the most famous version of Princess Bari, the Princess travels to the Underworld to where the elixir of life is located and meets Mujangseung, the guardian of the elixir and guardian to the King of the Underworld. Over a course of said time, the Princess ends up marrying Mujangseung and giving him children (Note: Some versions say its 3 sons while other versions say 7 sons). During her time as the wife of Mujangseung, Princess Bari learns how to make the elixir of life. Subsequently, she travels with both her husband and children to the land of the living to give the elixir to her parents. In return for having saved his life, the King offers her his seat to the throne. However, the Princess turns down her father’s offer and instead decides that the spirits of the dead would need her more to guide them in the Underworld. And so, the Princess lived in happily the Underworld with her husband, Mujangseung, while her children went on to becoming either the judges of the underworld (3 sons version) or Chilseong (The Seven Stars).

In another version, Mujangseung was once a heavenly god who had committed a terrible crime and was given the punishment of having to guard the mountains alone. His salvation from this punishment was to obtain a wife from Earth and have three sons. It was heard that in the mountains that Mujangseung was guarding, there existed a cave which contained the elixir of life. So Mujangseung proposed the following deal to Princess Bari, marry him and give him three sons and in exchange he would give her the elixir. Princess Bari agreed to the deal and eventually received the elixir after having produced him three sons. After giving her parents the elixir, Princess Bari returned to the mountains and found that her children were alone because their father had returned to the heavens. Upon hearing this, Princess Bari decided to take her children and return to the palace.

Mujangseung = Lee Yeon or Bok Gil/Imoogi

Something I want you all to recognize is that in the two versions of Princess Bari, the main difference is her choice of husbands. In one version, she ended up marrying the guardian to the King of the Underworld and living happily ever after. While in the other version, Princess Bari ended up marrying the former heavenly god who guarded the mountain, but had lived in a very unhappy marriage.

If my theory about Bok Gil being the Imoogi is correct then it would seem that Bok Gil is Mujangseung from the first version. For example, we know that Bok Gil is connected to the Underworld because he is the son of the second in command of the Underworld aka Taluipa.

On the other hand, Lee Yeon shares similar characteristics with Mujangseung from the second version. For example, Lee Yeon was a former heavenly god who had committed a taboo and Lee Yeon was also tasked with guarding the mountains.

Just to be clear, I am not implying that Ji Ah will end up with Bok Gil/Imoogi. Rather, I am saying that the writer will take some creative liberties with the Mujangseung character from the second version. She will rewrite it so that Mujangseung from the mountains will end up living happily with Princess Bari. Meaning that in the end, Ji Ah (Princess Bari) will be with Lee Yeon (Mujangseung) forever.

Meaning of Forever

Next, I know some of you will ask what exactly does forever mean in the context of Lee Yeon and Ji Ah? Well, I have a very complicated answer. We know that Lee Yeon has aspirations to become human. However, the only reason Lee Yeon wants to become human is because of Ji Ah. Lee Yeon wants to live at the same time as she does and not more. Meaning that for Lee Yeon, he would’ve found life to be unbearable if Ji Ah wasn’t by his side or as Ah Eum said, “I am worried how you will manage after I am gone.”

This then brings up two different scenarios:

Lee Yeon becomes human and lives out the rest of his mortal life with Ji Ah

Ji Ah becomes an immortal mystical being and lives forever with Lee Yeon

The first scenario could happen since Lee Yeon has mentioned twice now of his desires to become human. However, I feel that him becoming human would just take away a major part of who he is which is a Gumiho with superpowers.

With the second scenario, I think it would be much more interesting because it would show how everyone and everything in this show is connected. Here is what I am theorizing could happen. I think Taluipa will find out that the Imoogi is her dead son, Bok Gil. The discovery of this will cause Taluipa to feel a great sense of guilt for all of her son’s terrible actions. In order to make up for it all, Taluipa will grant Ji Ah immortality so that both she and Lee Yeon could have a life of being together forever. Plus this fits with the whole Princess Bari myth that the Princess becomes an immortal shaman goddess and we all know that the characters in TOTNT are based off of characters from traditional Korean folklore.

Again, if you need more evidence that Ji Ah is Princess Bari, please click on the link below:

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/632988832099368960/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-analysis-and-theories

Final Outcome for Lee Rang

So now that we have gotten to the sweet part of the ending, let’s get to the bitter part of it. Lee Rang will die.

This has been foreshadowed so many times starting in ep 4 with the video that Taluipa was holding. For reference, click on the link and go to the section titled “The Lee Rang Factor”.

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/632988832099368960/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-analysis-and-theories

So just how exactly will Lee Rang go down besides sacrificing himself for Lee Yeon? Well that answer lies in the in the rings that both Lee Rang and the CEO was wearing. To me, those rings signify a life long contract. This means that since CEO guy had saved Lee Rang’s life, CEO guy now owns Lee Rang. Therefore, Lee Rang must do his every binding whether that means protecting him against all harm or whatever else. If Lee Rang does not adhere to these conditions then it would result in his immediate death.

Their contract reminds me of the “Unbreakable Vow” in Harry Potter. Briefly, the “Unbreakable Vow” was a binding magical contract cast between two people, that if broken by either parties would result in the immediate death of the person who broke it. In Harry Potter, Severus Snape had made one with Nacissa Malfoy and the conditions of that contract was that Snape would protect Draco against all harm.

Additionally, if you remember in Harry Potter, Snape did not break his contract with Narcissa Malfoy. However Snape did end up dying by a lethal attack from Voldermort’s pet snake, Nagini. And in an indirect way, Snape had died for the one he loved which was Harry’s mother.

Going back to Lee Rang’s story, I think Lee Rang will die in a similar fashion as Severus Snape. Meaning he will sacrifice himself for the one he loves and die from a lethal attack from the Imoogi. Once that happens, the contract between Lee Rang and CEO guy will be broken. In turn, this will leave CEO guy in a be very vulnerable position. He will no longer have a puppet who must do his every binding such as protecting him. So then his last chance at survival will be largely dependent on his cherry tree of which he had used to prolong his life. In the end, I think it will be either Lee Yeon or Ji Ah that will destroy the cherry tree. Bye Bye Mr. CEO, you will not be missed!

Although it will be a tragic ending for Lee Rang, it is a justified ending for him. He would’ve been able to resolve the misunderstanding between him and Lee Yeon as well as repaying Lee Yeon for saving his life numerous amount of time. And in the end there’s no better way to die then saving the one you love. It just really sucks that Lee Rang will probably have no chance of reincarnation either since he had sacrificed himself for the one he loved. Maybe by some miracle Taluipa will allow him be reincarnated because after all it was her son Bok Gil/Imoogi that had caused all of these events to occur in the first place! Here’s to hoping there will be some sort of a happy ending for Lee Rang.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: The Marriage of Lee Yeon and Ji Ah

What did I predict? I predicted that Lee Yeon and Ji Ah would get married and live happily forever just like Princess Bari and Mujangseung….. AND BOOM FROM THE LATEST FAN PIC…THERE’S A RING ON JI AH’S LEFT HAND !!

For reference, read my other post about it:

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/633620923315077120/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-final-outcome-for-lee

I am now wondering just how much more they will follow the Princess Bari myth because if they follow it about 98% then that would mean we are going to get children for Lee Yeon and Ji Ah. If so, I WILL BE BEYOND ECSTATIC!!!!! HALF BABY FOXES RUNNING AROUND FTW!

Yep I am done!

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: More Analysis and Theories (Ep 9 & 10)

If you haven’t done so already, I would suggest that you read all of my other TOTNT posts before continuing to read this post because otherwise you might find yourself lost or confused as to what I’m talking about. For the most part, the majority of the theories that I have proposed here have came true which is great! However, there were a few theories, most notably my zombie theory that didn’t quite come true. Although I wouldn’t be surprised that if in the end we found out that the Imoogi had a hand in creating those zombies.

Now this post may leave you in a state of exhaustion upon reading it, but I can guarantee you that it will be well worth your time at the end of it ! Additionally, I would like to apologize in advance if I haven’t posted my theories or analyses right away, but I’ve been preoccupied with school work as well as tirelessly watching the US election. Needless to say, it’s been a very long week for me! I do want to write well thought out posts for you all, but at the same time I hope you guys will understand that these theoretical and analytical posts do require a great deal of time and extensive research. Anyways with that being said, let’s get to theorizing and analyzing the clues of which we were given in Ep 9 and Ep 10!

What The Imoogi Wants

Initially, I had strongly believed that the Imoogi was after Lee Yeon’s fox bead because it was a form of “Yeouiju” which could’ve helped it become a celestial dragon. There are of course other ways an Imoogi could be a celestial dragon:

1) Fox Bead/Yeouiju

2) Sacrificial Virgin Bride

3) Living to be 1000 years old

It should be noted that I am still somewhat uncertain whether in the context of TOTNT, an Imoogi would need to fulfill all three requirements to become a celestial dragon. In Korean mythology, it is heavily implied that the Imoogi only needs one of the three. Furthermore, in most of the popular myths about the Imoogi, it mainly seeks to obtain the fox bead/yeouiju. Thus, this is why I had initially concluded that the Imoogi in TOTNT was solely after Lee Yeon’s fox bead/Yeouiju and not anything else. However since TOTNT is an adaption of many popular Korean folklore, I think the writer is trying to incorporate all three requirements in their own unique way. Meaning that they are trying to add their own dramatic flair or twist to it. Now I’ve already discussed in great detail about the first two ways so now I want to focus on how I think the writer is trying to incorporate the requirement of living to be 1000 years.

1000 Years + More on Bok Gil/Imoogi’s Background

First, it is implied that Mountain Spirits are “celestial” animals (i.e bears, foxes, snakes, and tigers). By “celestial” I mean that you have to be at least 1000 years old in order to even be considered for this prestigious position. Therefore, at the time when Ah Eum had met Lee Yeon, he had just been recently appointed to that position. In the meanwhile, we as the viewers aren’t given any additional information as to what Lee Yeon had been doing up to that point. One thing is for sure, Lee Yeon must have been a real arrogant and egotistical ass. There I said it ! I mean just look how he behaved when he first met Ah Eum and Lee Rang! However, I think that by meeting Ah Eum and Lee Rang, they brought out Lee Yeon’s more compassionate side.

So you’re probably wondering well what the hell does this have anything to do with the Bok Gil/Imoogi? Well I’m getting to that! If you had remembered, I had theorized that Lee Yeon may have been the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide. Given Lee Yeon’s arrogant pretentious nature, I could definitely see Lee Yeon being completely unaware that his words and actions could’ve deeply affected others. One of those people was Bok Gil/Imoogi.

I believe that Bok Gil/Imoogi is around or exactly the same age as Lee Yeon. Bok Gil had probably died some time during the Goryeo or Joseon dynasty. What makes me believe this? Well just look at the kind of shoes Taluipa was holding. Those shoes are “Kkotsin” which were typically worn by men during those dynasties. Coincidentally, around the same time Bok Gil had died, Lee Yeon was appointed to the Mountain Spirit position. It raises the question, did Bok Gil kill himself before he was able to reach the “celestial” age of 1000 years old? I think so. Thus, he was unable to meet one of the requirements to become a Mountain Spirit.

Collectively, I think Bok Gil’s backstory will have a lot to do with our understanding of the Imoogi’s true motivations . For the Imoogi, it’s not purely about fulfilling the requirements of becoming celestial dragon, but it’s more about personally getting revenge on the person who took away his chance of ever becoming a Mountain Spirit in the first place. If you think about, you didn’t see him trying to go after Sato or any of the other Mountain Spirits or any other Gumiho for that matter. He specifically zeroed in on Lee Yeon.

Maybe the only wrongdoing that Lee Yeon may have committed towards the Imoogi was that he simply existed. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised that Bok Gil’s death and his hatred for Lee Yeon had all stemmed from a simple misunderstanding because let’s be real here, one of the central themes in TOTNT is misunderstandings.

Imoogis are typically seen as auspicious creatures in Korean folklore. Meaning that they are typically viewed as a good omen. Therefore, I think the Imoogi/Bok Gil was a good person, but because of his jealousy of Lee Yeon, he was driven towards depression and suicide. Upon coming back to life, instead of sadness, he was filled with anger and the need for revenge. I mean it’s easier to be angry than sad right?

Additionally, other theories I have for Bok Gil is that maybe his mother had foreseen he would meet the love of his life (Ah Eum) once he became the Mountain Spirit. However, this all changed when whoever decided that position belonged to Lee Yeon instead. If you think about it, Taluipa’s visions of the future are purely subjective just like Alice’s visions from Twilight. Meaning that the future is subjective because it is based on a person’s decision which can readily change.

Imoogi Changes His Decision of What He Wants

In the past, the Imoogi had wanted Lee Yeon’s heart. You might ask well what did the Imoogi mean by Lee Yeon’s heart? Did he mean his literal or figurative heart? The Imoogi could have meant his literal heart, but I think he meant it in a figurative sense. I think the Imoogi probably meant Lee Yeon’s fox bead which in traditional Korean folklore is the main power source/life force of a Gumiho, but I cannot say this with 100% certainty because TOTNT is after an adaption of many Korean folklore.

Now in the present, the Imoogi changed his mind of what he wanted from Lee Yeon. Why? Because he already knew that the fox bead has disappeared into the hands of the fortune teller. The Imoogi with his great powers could’ve easily gone after the fortune teller to retrieve it had this been his main objective. The Imoogi’s main objective isn’t to become a celestial dragon. Rather, it’s to get revenge on Lee Yeon whom he believed had stolen the life he was meant to have. The Imoogi had wanted Lee Yeon to suffer just as he had when he was alive as Bok Gil. He wanted Lee Yeon to feel the exact same pain of having to lose everything most precious to him. Man the Imoogi/Bok Gil is so immature! Taluipa, you need to discipline/talk with your son !

Is Taluipa a Snake/Dragon?

Other things I think would be interesting to know is what kind of species Bok Gil was. As mentioned earlier, Taluipa’s character is based off of Samsin Halmoni. In both Chinese and Korean folklore, Samsin Halmoni and Goddess Mago have been viewed as being the same. Mago was described as having long birdlike/clawlike finger nails. Furthermore, the Goddess Mago was associated with snakes, caves, and the “elixir of life”. See where I’m going yet?

Although it has not been revealed yet, I think that underneath Taluipa’s human skin, she is a snake/dragon. Therefore, this would also make Bok Gil a snake just like his mother. However, I am still unsure as to what kind of animal Taluipa’s husband is because as far as we know, he is just a regular human with immortality that was granted to him by Taluipa. If that is the case, would Bok Gil have been only half snake?

Does Taluipa Realize The Imoogi is Her Son?

I don’t think Taluipa has realized that the Imoogi is her son yet. If you remembered, I had said Bok Gil’s soul was in limbo. Therefore, when his soul traveled back into the land of the living, it had probably randomly jumped into whoever’s dead body was in that cave, thus this would make him unrecognizable even to his own mother.

Other things to note is that just as there is many foxes in the TOTNT, it should be assumed that there are also many snakes/Imoogis too. So Taluipa might not have realized that this one particular Imoogi was actually her son.

I think also that the Imoogi has the ability to cloud Taluipa’s psychic powers of clairvoyance. The decisions we make determines the kind of future we will have. And where exactly are decisions made? In our minds. We obviously know that the Imoogi has the psychic power to read others’ minds, but I think he also has powers that can block others from reading his. Without being able to see the Imoogi’s decisions which are made mentally, Taluipa cannot foresee what he will do next, only what he is doing presently. It’s about to be mother and son psychic power showdown ! Ouch, my brain hurts just thinking about that !

Resolving the Entangled Mess

In some of my previous posts I had suggested that Lee Rang will be the one that tragically dies. At the same time, I did leave room for the possibility of him having a happy ending through means of reincarnation. In this week’s episode, we were given another possibility of how Lee Rang might achieve a happy ending for himself such as untangling the mess.

Well what is this mess? I’m so glad you asked! Below is a chart that I drew as a visual aid to help you all understand the mess that currently exists in the world of TOTNT. I must say the mess in TOTNT is almost as messy as the US elections right now!

As you can see from my chart, the Imoogi has gotten Lee Yeon cornered in a sort of checkmate move. To win the Imoogi’s game, one must find a way to resolve the following two conflicts:

1) Lee Rang’s deal with the CEO

2) Imoogi piece inside Ji Ah

In doing so, one will then be able to remove the Imoogi completely!

Lee Rang’s Deal w/ The CEO

I had mentioned in a previous post that another common theme in TOTNT is deals/contracts. In ep 10, Taluipa’s husband advised to Lee Rang that he should try to think of a way to get around his contract with the CEO aka find a loophole.

What does “Quid Pro Quo” mean? It means that an item or service has been traded in return for something of equal value. The CEO had saved Lee Rang’s life and in return Lee Rang must comply with returning the a favor of equal value when asked. The favor the CEO asked Lee Rang was to bring Lee Yeon which essentially is a favor of equal value (a life for a life). Remember that if you choose not to comply, the power of the contract will force you to complete the favor anyway. However like with any deal, there is always a loophole. This loophole exists in the definition of Quid Pro Quo…of equal value.

Let’s look back to that chart that I drew earlier. What is the most precious thing to the CEO and is basically considered his life? THE CHERRY TREE! Without this tree, the CEO cannot survive. The CEO knew Lee Rang was being swayed by his brother as well as Lee Rang having knowledge of what his greatest weakness was. So then the CEO took precautions to ensure his greatest weakness could never be used against him by having the cherry tree be wheeled away to a safer location.

In order to avoid bringing/killing Lee Yeon, Lee Rang must find something of equal value to give back to the CEO to repay his debt. And that something of equal value is that damn cherry tree! Go Go Lee Rang! Find that cherry tree, return it to the CEO, and afterwards when the contractual rings break….KILL THE CEO !

While this does ensure the death of the CEO and the end of the contract between the CEO and Lee Rang, it does not ensure Lee Rang will survive in the long term. Meaning, Lee Rang cannot survive without the cherry tree either unless there is another means of extending his life (maybe elixir of life?). I do wonder what the typical lifespan of a half fox is. Things are implied, but yet there is no definitive answer as exactly how long a half fox can live. It also raises another question, can a half fox live forever provided that it does not get fatally injured?

Imoogi Piece Inside of Ji Ah

Now onto resolving the 2nd conflict which is how to remove the Imoogi piece inside of Ji Ah. Well I think it can go two ways:

1) Lee Yeon strikes up a deal with the Imoogi:

Lee Yeon will let the Imoogi take his body only if Imoogi would agree to removing the piece of himself that is inside Ji Ah. Now here’s the part where both Ji Ah and Lee Yeon could work together to stop the Imoogi once and for all. Remember that Lee Yeon is susceptible to the effects of evening primrose so when the Imoogi enters Lee Yeon’s body, it will also share the same vulnerability. Ji Ah could trap the Imoogi/Lee Yeon with evening primrose and then use her Shaman powers to remove the Imoogi. After all, one of the powers of a shaman is the ability to excise evil spirits!

2) Taluipa provides Lee Yeon with the elixir of life or turns him human

I will write out more of this theory later, but ngl guys I’m exhausted! Sorry!

Ji Ah = Supernatural Being=Shaman Goddess

In Ep 10, the writer is once again dropping clues like its freaking Christmas that Ji Ah is some sort of supernatural being. We got her female coworker asking if Ji Ah is even human. No she’s not human!! Then we saw how the Imoogi could read everyone else’s mind except for Ji Ah’s. Why? It’s the same reason why Lee Yeon couldn’t hypnotize Ji Ah. It’s because Ji Ah is a supernatural being (shaman goddess) that has hidden powers that makes her immune to powers of other supernatural creatures.

If you don’t still get it by now, I’ll give you this example: Edward Cullen and Bella. If you remember from Twilight, Edward Cullen could read everyone else’s mind except for Bella’s. Why? Because Bella had that special shield power which was later revealed once she became a vampire.

Therefore, just like Bella, I think Ji Ah has a bunch of special shaman powers that can be unlocked somehow. Don’t ask me how right now, my brain is struggling to write this sentence as we speak.

Last Remarks

Okay peeps, I struggled hard to try and write this. I am literally exhausted after staying up super late and waking super early to watch the US election results all week as well as doing my school work. So now I want to relax and celebrate the win of my President Elected, Mr. Joe Biden! I may or not write a separate post on what I think will happen in Ep 11. So stay tune!

P.S: If there are any other questions about TOTNT that I did not address, please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to try and provide you with an answer!

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Red String of Fate (Ep 9)

Just making a quick post for all of those who were curious about the string/rope that Shin Ju was holding !

Red String of Fate Legend

The Red String of Fate has been featured in many different asian cultures. The story is basically the same in each. In the Korean version, a young man meets an old lady (deity in disguise) who is seen tying two strings together. When questioned as to what she was doing, she replied that she was matchmaking. The man became curious and asked the old woman who he was fated for. She replied that his soulmate was a girl living on the other side of the mountain.

So later on, the man sought out his destined soulmate, but became appalled by her. Subsequently, he threw a rock that struck her in the head and ran away. Years later when the man became a magistrate, he found himself a wife. And on the night of the wedding when the man and his new bride were alone, the man asked the woman why did she cover up her forehead with red makeup. She responded she had done so because she was trying to cover up a scar that she had received as a little girl after being struck by a rock. It was then that the man realized that she was the same little girl who the old lady said he was fated for.

A difference between the Korean Version and the Chinese version of this story is the color of the threads and the reason why the man did not marry the girl. In the Chinese version, the threads that bind you to your destined lover is solely red and not a combination of red and blue like in the Korean version.

Additionally in the Chinese version, the reason why the man did not want to marry his fated lover due to differences in social status. This was in stark contrast to the Korean version where the reason why the man did not want to marry the girl was due to his immaturity at the time he met his fated lover. Other notable differences is the location where the string is tied to. In Chinese legends, the strings are tied around both parties’s ankles. While in Japanese myths, the string is tied from the male’s tumblebug and the female’s pinky finger. In Korean versions, the string is tied between the pinky fingers of both parties.

Regardless of whatever version, the concept is still the same. The string of fate is meant to keep two destined lovers connected regardless of whatever place, time, or circumstances. In the case of Lee Yeon and Ji Ah, that string allowed for Lee Yeon to connect to Ji Ah. Specifically, the string inscribed the character “pass through” on his hand. Thus, this allowed Lee Yeon to bypass whatever walls were between them and to communicate with Ji Ah while she was her in dream world.

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale Of The Nine Tailed: Ep 11 Predictions

Will Ji Ah give up Lee Yeon?

No, I don’t think Ji Ah will. Based off of Ji Ah’s past actions (i.e fortune teller), Ji Ah has shown that Lee Yeon is as precious to her as her own family is. She has already stated that she believes that only Lee Yeon can give her a happy ending. Will Lee Rang give up Lee Yeon?

No, Lee Rang won’t give up Lee Yeon either. The whole fight scene between Lee Rang and Lee Yeon is just misleading. It is just showing the effects of the contractual rings. Meaning the ring is compelling Lee Rang to do all the things he’s shown to be doing in the preview such as smashing Lee Yeon in the head and whatever else.

I think what is going to happen is that he is going to send Ki Yuri to find the CEO’s cherry tree. I mean lets be honest here, Ki Yuri has skills at finding things or people for Lee Rang! On her quest to find the cherry tree, I think she will encounter the Imoogi at the broadcast station.

Will Lee Yeon give up his body to the Imoogi?

No, Lee Yeon won’t give up his own body either despite the Imoogi’s threats. From the previews, it seems that Lee Yeon will once again go to see Taluipa to find out a way to remove the Imoogi from Ji Ah’s body. I believe this will happen after the fight with the Imoogi, but not before the confrontation with Lee Rang.

In this scene where you see Ji Ah running, I think it’s because she thought Lee Yeon got hurt or whatever. Plus at this point, Lee Yeon was probably missing for a long time because he had to deal with the fight with the Imoogi, going to visit Taluipa, and the fight with Lee Rang.

Other Things

Looks like Ji Ah will have another dream and this time it will be one that includes the nanny that the Imoogi had killed (notice the missing fake finger nail?). Or maybe given Ji Ah’s shamanistic powers of guiding dead spirits, she will help the dead nanny to move on.

On the plus side, it looks like when Ji Ah wakes up from the dream, Lee Yeon is next to her (look at blurry figure to her right).

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alleycat60 · 1 year ago

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: 3 Imoogis Analysis/Theories

UPDATE: Please read new post on the retraction the two Imoogis theory!

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/634742323270533120/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-retraction-of-two-imoogis

I’m still sticking to the other things I said about Taluipa and the Sword though. So just read only those parts in the original post below!

Just making a quick post for all of those who were wondering if there’s just one Imoogi or multiple after that plot twist seen at the end of Ep 12! I will do a more extensive post for Ep 11-12 either sometime this week or next week! As always, please be sure to read all my other posts for additional info! Let’s get down to looking at clues and analyzing them !

Imoogi/Dragon #1: Taluipa

Previously, I had theorized that there was more than just one Imoogi, but I didn’t quite get the details exactly right. Although I still think Taluipa is either an imoogi or dragon underneath her human skin. How come? Well Lee Yeon mentioned that Taluipa could just turn anyone into stone. Remind you of anyone from Greek mythology? Medusa !

Imoogi #2 & Imoogi #3: Bok Gil Imoogi & Ji Ah Imoogi

If you remembered, I had said that Bok Gil must’ve have had some pretty extraordinary powers given that his mother Taluipa was a supreme goddess. Now, those powers (reading minds, giving life, taking life, and ability to be reborn) were on full display in recent episodes, but not in the way you might have expected.

What I think originally happened was that an Imoogi spirit had taken over Bok Gil’s body after he committed suicide. In turn, this allowed it to inherit/use all of Bok Gil’s former powers. We shall call this one Imoogi #2 henceforth.

Now before we get to Imoogi #3, let’s reflect back on that conversation between Lee Yeon and the CEO. The CEO told Lee Yeon that in order to make an Imoogi sleep again, he would need the following ingredients :

Water

Bodies of living people

Blood of sacrifice

Power close to divinity

However, the CEO actually tricked Lee Yeon. These ingredients were still the recipe for waking up an Imoogi.

Lee Yeon had fell for the trap that was set up by Imoogi #2 and the CEO. When Lee Yeon performed that ritual, he actually awoken Imoogi #3 which was in Ji Ah’s body.

Imoogi #2 and Imoogi #3 had been working together from the start to obtain more powerful hosts. Once Imoogi #2 got ahold of Bok Gil’s body, it sought to get another powerful body for its buddy, Imoogi #3. However, things didn’t go according to their plans when they failed to get Lee Yeon’s body because Ah Eum had sacrificed herself.

Imoogis on their own don’t have powerful abilities with the exception of Taluipa who probably is now a celestial dragon. Basically, Imoogi #2 and Imoogi #3 were complete failures at becoming a celestial dragon so they decided to wreck havoc on Earth and gain more powerful abilities from the bodies of celestial beings.

How to Kill An Imoogi:

In another post, I had briefly discussed the Four Gems of the Mountain Spirits and how I believed one of the remaining two would be a sword. In Japanese folklore, the sword was used to slay an eight headed and eight tailed dragon/serpent (Yamata No Orochi). [See links below for my post as well as info about the Japanese Imperial Regalia and the slaying of the dragon/serpent with the sword (Kusanagi No Tsurugi).] Therefore, I think the sword that could kill an Imoogi’s spirit is one of the Four Gems of the Mountain Spirits.

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/633002528248872961/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-gems-of-the-mountain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Regalia_of_Japan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusanagi_no_Tsurugi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamata_no_Orochi

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