We have said this in our review of each episode of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938, but this is a Lee Dong Wook show throughout. However, Episode 5 is where it takes a break to actually focus more on the story around him. Throughout the previous four episodes, we knew that this series had taken on a very fluffy quality. While Episode 5 was spared that, the storytelling itself did not feel up to par. Something about the screenplay felt a little haphazard. We can’t exactly put our finger on it, but it was there. Either way, here is a detailed recap of the fifth episode.

Spoilers Alert

Who Is The Baby, Lee Mi Ho?

Remember how Lee Yeon and Lee Rang fought off the goons at the end of Episode 4 with a smile on their faces and joy in their hearts? The continuation of that is that the brothers erase those people’s memories, and when they go back to General Ryuhei, they say that the baby just wasn’t there. But the General notices the signs of magical amnesia and understands that there is something at Myoyeongeok that he needs to combat. He remembers that his subordinate had fought with the owner of the inn, Ryu Hong Joo, on the train in Episode 2. She is their first suspect, and they summon her to the office. Hong Joo is placed in a tough spot because the General blackmails her with the life of one of her girls, Orchid, in exchange for the baby. Having no choice, Hong Joo sets out on her mission. By this time, the brothers already know that Lee Mi Ho is the indigenous god of fortune and wealth. This god decides where it wants to “nest,” and that is why all the brothers’ attempts to get rid of her have been unsuccessful.

The General wants the baby because she would lead them to the gold mines, and they need it for their mission. Ryu Hong Joo knows by now that the Yeon in Myoyeongeok is a double of the one she found in Manchuria. But she doesn’t address the issue for now. When she tries to kidnap the baby, her conscience doesn’t allow her, and she ends up including the brothers in her plan. Since foxes can shapeshift, Lee Rang will take the form of the baby, while the real one is kept with the Water Snail Bride. While Hong Joo takes the fake baby to the general, Lee Yeon and Shin Joo find Orchid and help her escape.

The plan is successful for the most part. Lee Yeon and Shin Joo look for Orchid in the police station. They are there under the guise of police inspectors and find Orchid soon enough. While escaping, Yeon has to temporarily shapeshift into Orchid, but at the end of it all, he and Shin Joo rescue her. Yeon sends a signal about the success of the mission through the weather to Hong Joo, and it is time for her to make the next move. Unexpectedly, the general’s forces have found gold in the river they were looking in, but it could have been a trick by the God’s carrot-eating caretaker. Once Hong Joo gets the signal from Yeon, she and Rang fight off the forces and steal back the map with the location of the gold mines.

Does Yeon Know That Moo Young Is The Masked Man?

When handing over Lee Mi Ho to the caretaker, the baby predicts that Yeon will meet someone he has been grieving over and that he is also going to lose his way once again. Yeon takes this to mean that he might not be able to return to his time, and he furiously asks Taluipa if she knows who the masked man is. Taluipa denies it, but the truth is, she knows everything about his secret identity. According to her, Cheon Moo Young was born with the “fate of a Gemini,” which means that he can either do great evil or plentiful good in the world. Taluipa had believed the latter for him, but when he had gone on his rampage, it had broken her heart to turn him to stone. Currently, she believes that if her future self has set certain things in motion, she must have done so with good reason.

Taluipa meets one of the ten kings of hell, the King of the Five Paths. She believes that it must have been his carelessness that allowed Moo Young to escape, but he says that it wasn’t him. The King hints at someone else, which Taluipa finds hard to believe but is forced to consider. Later, the King meets Moo Young and finds that he wants to reclaim his body. We are getting closer to finding out what Moo Young wants, and we expect that revelation to happen soon. Meanwhile, towards the end of the fifth episode of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938, Moo Young meets Lee Yeon, and the latter seems to know that he is the masked man as soon as he hugs him. It is possible that Yeon may have recognized his scent or his touch when they hugged. It is also possible that he has put the pieces together with the prediction of Lee Mi Ho. Either way, things are getting clearer, and we might finally know why Moo Young brought Yeon to 1938.

Final Thoughts

Lee Rang’s romance with the mermaid is finally progressing, and we think it would be quite a sight to see how Rang is when he is in love. People who fall in love with Rang seem to devote themselves to him, be it Yoo Ri and the child in the prequel or the mermaid in this series. Rang doesn’t lack affection in his life, and it is time he saw that. As for Yeon, we want to see the story get more complex and serious. Enough of the lighthearted fanservice. It is time for some serious action and magic, and we hope the future episodes of Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 deliver on that.