'Tale of the Nine-Tailed' Episode 11 Review: Did Lee Rang really drug Lee Yeon or is all of this a ruse?
'Tale of the Nine-tailed' Episode 11 begins with Imoogi giving Lee Yeon one chance at making a deal. The two of them get into a fight as they test each other's skills and powers after which Lee Yeon (Lee Dong-wook) is told that the Imoogi (Lee Tae-ri) has control of everyone that Lee Yeon loves including his brother Lee Rang (Kim Beom) and Ji-ah (Jo Bo-ah). Turns out, the caretaker was used by the Imoogi to capture Ji-ah's parents because he knew how much she would want to free her parents and to what extent she would go. So while Lee Yeon is being given a deal by Imoogi, Ji-ah has found out how the president of the company she works for is actually the traitor from years past is also given a deal. To put Lee Yeon to sleep, in exchange for the safe return of her parents. She also begins to feel a tightness in her heart as she discusses this, and turns out she was always made to be the Imoogi's shell, sacrificed in the past by her parents and now, sacrificing for her parents.
As the gatekeeper of Samdo River has pointed out, this young woman's bane seems to be her family. In the meantime, Imoogi who now lives as Tae-ri, the intern wants to show Lee Yeon the full extent of his power. So he ends up pushing 132 people to their death all at once. Is Lee Yeon really a match for the all-powerful Lee Yeon? The last time around he was ready to sacrifice himself for Ji-ah so will he be pushed to do the same this time around for Ji-ah and Lee Rang?
Ji-ah ends up hiding from Lee Yeon after her meeting with Imoogi's caretaker and he tracks her down to her home where the two of them meet up and decide not to fall for the tricks of the Imoogi or the caretaker. However, the caretaker manages to trick Lee Rang into believing that he has yet again been abandoned by his brother. So he rushes out in anger, believing that Lee Yeon is with Ji-ah when in reality, he is making a plan against the Imoogi. Instead of letting the caretaker give her the information about her parents, Ji-ah ends up striking a deal with Taluipa. She promises to bring Imoogi to them. However, Taluipa doesn't believe that Lee Yeon would be able to change anything and says so to him too. She also points out how a part of Imoogi lives within Ji-ah, making this a fight that will hurt both of them. He says that doesn't matter and his answer is why Taluipa reveals where Ji-ah's parents are hidden.
While Lee Yeon gets busy with his plans, Lee Rang is losing his life little by little with no one to care about his well-being, and his obsession with being abandoned by his brother returns. The sign of friendship that Lee Yeon had provided, the flower from the mountain he and his brother lived in, is left behind by Lee Rang. He arrives at the Caretaker's residence and tells him that he will lure Lee Yeon in because he has now decided to live. We wonder, could all of this be a ruse to let the Caretaker lead both Lee Yeon and Lee Rang to the ground cherry?
We see Lee Rang and Lee Yeon meet as per the Caretaker's plans. Before Lee Yeon drinks the spiked coffee, Lee Rang tries yet again to see if his brother really cares for him. When he doesn't see a tad bit of consideration he lets Lee Yeon drink the coffee and even hands him over to the Caretaker, who informs the Imoogi, but he is kept occupied by Ji-ah and that is when we realize that Ji-ah, Lee Rang, and Lee Yeon are up to something. Turns out, our suspicions were right as we see Lee Rang transform back into Lee Yeon. The two brothers used shape-shifting to fool the Caretaker and managed to switch the deal by putting the Caretaker's life at risk. Lee Yeon also managed to find the ground cherry tree and bring Ji-ah her parents back by the end of the episode.
'Tale of the Nine-Tailed' will be aired on tvN on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10.30 pm KST and can be streamed on Viki Global.