Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 Episode 4 (2023)

Episode 4 of Tale of The Nine Tailed 1938 begins with Yeo-hee patching up Rang while he’s sleeping. Yeon and Shin-ju are there and when she leaves, they encourage Rang to wake up. When he doesn’t, the pair hilariously trade banter about how this would play out for Rang when he learns that the girl is half-mermaid.

Rang has heard enough and stops pretending to sleep, and demands that they both leave. When they do, Rang realizes he needs to repay Yeo-hee’s debt to the half-mermaid. And her wish? She wants to fall in love.

Rang is a typical male and completely misreads her obvious signals and believes that he’s got to play matchmaker for her. However, the pair do set up a “date” for later on in the episode.

Outside, Yeon hears rumours about the red and white masked man, getting him closer to finding out the truth. The man tells him that there’s a cultural mansion behind Joseon Bank which is owned by Park Ga, who has made a fortune from gold mining. It seems like he’s been robbed but the only thing stolen was a jewelry box, while all other valuables were left behind. What is Moo-yeong looking for?

Shin-ju is the one to sneak into this mansion but whilst looking around, he’s held up at gunpoint by Sun-Woo Eun-ho. He recognizes her as Yoo-ri of course and tells her this is the beginning of their love and encourages her to hug him.

Instead, she shoots the guy in the stomach and he eventually rushes out, trying in vain to avoid as many gunshots as possible. Shin-joo meets up with Yeon in the alleyway, who eventually comes face to face with our masked assassin. Now, we know who this is and Yeon squares off against Moo-yeong in a flurry of traded shots. However, it’s Rang who manages to turn the tide of battle… but there’s a problem.

When Yeon and Rang turn a corner, a whole bunch of villagers are also wearing white and red masks, and they attack. Yeon stops everything though when he finds out that these guys have actually been paid off with gold to serve as human shields. As this fight breaks down, Moo-yeong looks over the Yeot he’s discovered.

Shin-ju, Rang and Yeon find the golden ruler, which happens to be treasure of Hyeokgeose of Silla. Legend has it that whoever has this ruler is able to revive the dead and make his name known.

Taluipa is here too and she questions Moo-yeong’s intentions that night. He admits to her that night that he’s here to revive his dead brother and take back everything he’s lost. However it seems Moo-yeong may actually be infected with something, as he reveals his chest to show a horrible scar or black growth of some kind.

Moo-yeong eventually meets with Hong-joo but she doesn’t recognize how different he is now. He regrets becoming a mountain god but still has his revenge to drive him forward. At the same time, Rang meets with Yeo-hee for a date where they decide to go horse riding. She has dreams of riding with Rang but instead, he stands beside her and decides to teach her how to ride on her own. She actually enjoys herself, with a big smile on her face, while Rang hilariously suggests she join a bandit group.

When the pair do finally talk together, properly, Rang points out how this world does not have a place for a half demon, which is obviously what they both are, and have in common. It’s a pretty touching chat between them and finally, as the day come to a close, Yeo-hee gets her wish and ends up on a horse with Rang.

Back at Myoyeongak, a strange baby with seven red marks on her forehead shows up outside. Shin-ju tells the Foxes to look after them but instead, they decide to “casually” lose the babe, dropping her off at someone’s doorstep. However, when the baby keeps showing up at their gate, it seems there’s something awry going on here.

When they observe the babe, they notice that the marks actually seem to show the Big Dipper constellation.

The pair try to look after the babe, and when she starts crying, they do everything they can to dissuade her. Seeing these two hanging out acting as dads, is absolutely hilarious. Eventually, the baby manages to fall asleep…b ut only because Rang fed her makgeolli (unfiltered Korean rice wine).

While the baby is asleep, Yeon shows up to see Hong-joo and is shocked to see her smoking opium. She’s not deterred by it and neither is Yeon from the looks of it. As they both sit together, they agree to ask each another three questions each. If they can’t answer a question then they have to strip down one layer.

When Hong-joo asks Yeon what she means to him, he admits he can’t answer her. He doesn’t want to try and trick or dissuade her. Instead, he turns and asks her about who the masked man is. She can’t answer and looks set to strip down… but Yeon stops her and covers her back up again, dropping off some snakeberries that hold significance to their past, as shown through some revealing flashbacks.

Hong-joo decides to leave with Jae-yoo and head for Manchuria. At the same time, Rang heads out with the lucky baby and realizes that she’s great at predicting results so he uses her to gamble. And as a result, Rang makes a small fortune in downtown. He even comes back with a whole bunch of trinkets!

Meanwhile, Moo-yeong shows up at his brother’s grave, touching the stone affectionately as he remembers the past, climbing up the steps with his brother. He feels lost without him and wants to make sure he’s on the right path. At the same time, Shin-ju and Rang discuss a new name for the baby, eventually deciding on Lee Mi-ho.

Yeon takes Shin-ju aside and expresses his concerns over him growing too attached to the baby. At the same time, a fortune God eating carrots is greeted by Kato, who shows up and demands answers. He wants to use the guy to find out where more gold is located and wants to use him to do so.

While the God is imprisoned, Kato tells his subordinates to do everything they can to make him talk. It turns out the only thing he actually wants is a baby. The lucky baby that Rang happens to have!

The police put out wanted posters, promising a big reward. That’s bad news, especially when the trio of Foxes end up out and about and are forced to flee from the townsfolk. Yeon makes it all the way back home, avoiding the angry mob following, where he finds Mi-ho alive and well.

So much for growing attached; Yeon ends up getting super invested in looking after Mi-ho after all this, deciding to take charge of his recovery and also getting the place all fixed up for little Mi-ho. He even starts blowing bubbles with Rang.

However, the Japanese, led by Detective Jung, show and want them to hand the baby over. Yeon and Rang make swift work of the men though, laughing and joking around while they beat them, as the episode comes to a close.

The Episode Review

So it’s now clear that this whole endeavour with the baby looks set to pave way for something far more expansive with the overarching narrative, given it’s also entangling the fortune God and the Japanese. This seems like it was always going to be the case, given the way this story has been playing out, and Hong-joo is set to nestle right in the thick of all this.

Beyond that, the humour this episode has been great. Shin-ju and Yeon’s teasing about Rang’s date with the half-mermaid is genuinely brilliant, while the little moments involving baby Mi-ho toward the end are similarly endearing.

Regardless of the plot, it’s the comradery between Rang and Yeon two that really helps this stand out as a better proposition to season 2. As I said though, it’s far from perfect, but it’s enjoyable enough to watch all the same.