6 Scenes in ‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed’ That Give Us All The ‘Twilight’ Feels

Since premiering early in October, Tale of the Nine-Tailed has been delighting viewers (including the Metro editors!) with its special take on the fantasy genre and its unique interpretation of traditional Korean mythology and folklore.

Starring Lee Dong Wook, Jo Bo Ah, and Kim Bum, the fantasy action drama tells the tale of a male gumiho (or a nine-tailed fox) named Lee Yeon who has moved to the city and dwells among humans. He crosses paths with Nam Ji Ah, the fearless producing director whose motive behind many of the things she does lies in finding what really happened to her parents who disappeared when she was a child. Meanwhile, Lee Rang, Yeon's half-brother, does everything in his power to torment and make his brother pay for abandoning him (along with the entire forest of creatures), all these centuries ago.

At Metro, we love the drama for so many reasons. First, Tale of the Nine Tailed gives us compelling storytelling and fantastic production levels. Another thing we love is that the gumiho is a man (brought to life by none other than Lee Dong Wook!) and that he plays somewhat of a superhero who you can't help but root for completely—you want him to find and protect his love-for-a-lifetime, Ah Eum. And lastly, as we watched the first few episodes, we couldn't help but notice just how much this drama gave us all the Twilight feels and more in its unique blend of romance, action, and fantasy.

Because we just can't get enough, we list six scenes that totally stood out and had us swooning—just like how Twilight did, or maybe even more!

Contributing to this list of breathtaking, Twilight-like scenes are:

Grace Libero, People Editor

Justin Convento, Culture Editor

and Geolette Esguerra, Editor-in-Chief

1. Yeon and Rang fighting in Nam Ji-ah’s house (Episode 1)

Grace: The Tale of the Nine-Tailed left me wanting more because of how action-packed its Episode 1 was. That fight scene between Lee Yeon and Lee Rang in Nam Ji-ah's house was exciting. I'm into K-dramas that belong to the action genre, so I was instantly hooked on this one. In that scene, it was also established that Ji-ah is a fearless and empowered female lead, who wouldn't mind taking risks and going the extra mile in her quest for the truth. Lee Dong-wook's portrayal of a strong and powerful gumiho that's skilled in fighting was very natural and effortless; the role suits him and even his facial expressions are on point. Lee Dong-wook's Lee Yeon does remind me a bit of Robert Pattinson's Edward Cullen in Twilight in terms of the character's personality, aura, and charm. There was also a bit of comedy in that scene while the brothers were battling it out, but it translated well and didn't come across as trying too hard to amuse the viewers; that's something I appreciate and something I feel will keep me hooked on the series up to the very last episode.

2. Yeon rescues Nam Ji-ah from balcony (Episode 1)

Grace: I loved that last scene where it was Nam Ji-ah's turn to crash Lee Yeon's place. I found that scene by the balcony so beautiful and romantic. She knew he was extraordinary, so she let herself fall from the balcony, and he came rushing to her rescue as she had predicted (it felt like Bella Swan's cliff scene in The Twilight Saga: New Moon). The setting was so dreamy and whimsical, especially when they passed by the moon; I found that slow-motion fall so lovely and fairytale-like. I saw behind-the-scenes clips from this scene and I thought Lee Dong-wook and Jo Bo-ah displayed such great chemistry. Oh, and that dramatic moon scene was what further gave me the Twilight feels here when it came to the mood and the dark romance vibe.

3. Ji-Ah follows Rang’s instructions and rides the bus to Fox Ridge

Geolette: It was the creepiest moment when she followed Rang’s instructions to ride the bus alone to get to the Fox Ridge, and she met a young girl and a seemingly drunken man. As they were about to get on the bus, he falls, and Jia ends up helping him instead of getting on the bus, which turned out to be the best thing she ever did because she spotted Yeon inside. 

She carries him on her back along a long dark road, and she keeps complaining about how heavy he was.

When they reach their destination, Jia expects him to thank her, but he says he already paid her back for the favor. Because—turns out everyone on that bus was headed to their deaths!

The man naturally disappears and what we see is a big totem pole with a crack over one eye. Creepy!!!

This brings to mind all those taxi / riding your car stories in Balete drive that we had growing up. It still gives me the chills!

4. Brothers fighting in forest of the mysterious island (Episodes 3 and 4)

Justin: So I’ve said this on the Metro K-Drama Round Up sessions that talked about Nine Tailed but I’ll say it again! One of the reasons why I love this fantasy drama so much is because of the dynamic between the half brothers Yeon and Rang. In these particular episodes, it was revealed to the audience that Rang was actually once a compassionate and kindhearted child—half gumiho and half human—who looked up to Yeon. When Yeon left the forest for his once-in-a-lifetime love, a human woman no less, he felt betrayed and hurt, deciding then that he will kill and torment humans as he decides all are despicable creatures. Their fight scenes overall throughout the drama but in particular in the forest reminded me of the fight scenes in Eclipse, my favorite book of the Twilight saga, where we saw an epic battle between werewolves and vampires. Of course, the film was done over a decade ago and CGI has come a very long way, as evidenced in how well-done the production of this scene turned out to be.

5. Yeon tells Ah Eum, his forever love—”As long as I’m around, the wind belongs to you.” (Episode 5)

Justin: OH MY GOD. INTENSELY KILIG AT THIS SCENE! In this flashback, we see Yeon and Ah Eum, the seventh daughter of the king of the nation at that time, as she practices using a bow and arrow. We find out in this scene that an imposter had taken the real King’s place, an imoogi or evil Earth Dragon (the dragon you see illustrated without any feet) and she is determined to kill him. She is skilled as an archer even when facing unpredictable wind conditions and Yeon stands behind her to guide her, and says this line. It may not be the most action-packed scene but it was the line that had me melting… adding “someone who can control and give you the power of wind” to my ideal man, stat! (Laughs.) 

Kidding aside, the two face many trials together and apart, with them ultimately finding their way back to each other. His love and devotion to find her, all these years, reminds me of Edward Cullen’s love and devotion to Bella. Love may not be easily understood, but it is clearly present and fully there.

6. Favorite Girl-power Romantic Moment

Geolette: I love this scene from Episode 5 to Episode 6 where Yeon starts looking for Jia in the entrance of the Korean Folk Village, where he asked her to stay. He spots a woman wearing a hanbok who somewhat looks like his first love Ah Eum—and even with us, in the audience, knowing this, we are still drawn to how they go on that romantic chase to the bridge. It’s so predictable, yet so enduringly beautiful. And then, when she finally shows her face, she beams! When he saw this, he couldn’t help but kiss her! 

What sets this scene apart is how she reacts after, she asks him: 

‘Is the woman you just kissed me?”

“I am not the shadow of your past.”

BONUS SCENE: Any scene with fireflies!

Justin: As the former mountain spirit of the Baekdudaegan Moutain Range, gumiho Lee Yeon has an insane amount of power. The fireflies are symbolic for having always lit up the path to Ah Eum. In episodes 3 or 4, Yeon used fireflies to direct him to where Ji Ah was taken and kidnapped when they were on the island. In episode 5 or 6, Ji Ah realizes that the fireflies that found her and comforted her as a child was Yeon all along when he drops her off at her house after grabbing dinner. My heart totally melted!

What were your favorite scenes so far into this captivating drama? Do you agree with us? Let us know!

Lead photos courtesy of Viu and background photo by Sheena Wood on Pexels; gifs from Tumblr