‘Lovecraft Country’ Episode 6: 5 Things You May Have Missed in ‘Meet Me in Daegu’

Throughout “Meet Me in Daegu,” Ji-Ah must struggle with her existence as a kumiho, or nine-tailed fox. She is, as the show explains, a mythological creature who poses as a beautiful woman to seduce men and feed upon them. While there are different traditions attached to the kumiho (or gumiho), they don’t usually involve sucking the souls and memories of the victims. Nah, the kumiho often just needs to feast on the guy’s liver or heart.

In Lovecraft Country‘s version of the tale, Ji-Ah’s Umma (Cindy Chang) asked the Mudang (or traditional Korean shaman) to turn her daughter into a kumiho. Why? Because her husband was sexually abusing the child and she wanted revenge. However this bloodthirst came with a price. The kumiho needed to take the souls of 100 men to escape Ji-Ah’s form. And so that’s why Umma is so rabid for Ji-Ah to lure men into bed to destroy them with her nine tails.

It’s worth noting that the tale of the kumiho isn’t always presented as horror in Korean culture. Only 10 years ago, there was a popular Korean rom-com called “My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox,” which honestly looks like what Atticus and Ji-Ah could have had if not for that really awkward hookup…

Early in Lovecraft Country Episode 6, it seems that Ji-Ah is bringing a man home just so she can be coupled off. However it soon becomes clear than ensnaring a man into marriage by tricking him into a one-night stand (which is totally something I saw happen ages ago in K-drama The Yellow Handkerchief). No, she wants to murder him and absorb his soul.

The funny thing is her victim looks awfully familiar. That’s because he’s played by actor James Kyson, an Asian-American actor who has appeared in everything from Blade of Honor to Hawaii Five-O. He is most well-known, though, for playing Ando Masahashi on the hit show Heroes. 

Yup, our heroine killed Hiro’s BFF.

Way back when we were breaking down Lovecraft Country Episode 1, we noted that The Count of Monte Cristo was Montrose’s (Michael K. Williams) favorite book. Last night we learned it also has profound resonance for Tic and Ji-Ah’s romance. Ji-Ah was set to seduce Tic for the murder of her friends but then they bonded over the Dumas novel.

So what does Tic do immediately after solemnly touching this specific copy of the novel? He calls Ji-Ah. Though he says nothing, she is able to tell it is him and that he has gone home — against her protestations.

While this moment may not have made sense then, it feels all the more devastating now.

For weeks, we’ve been trying to make sense of Tic’s hallucination in the Braithwhite house. While the vision haunting Leti (Jurnee Smollett) was clearly about her virginity and Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) was haunted by his love for Tic’s mom, Tic’s fight to the death with Communist fighter Ji-Ah was… Well, we needed more context. That’s because his profession of guilt after seemed to imply he had killed her while their phone calls suggested not.

Now we know that Ji-Ah’s communist costume was a throwback to her BFF, whom Tic helped kill. Moreover, their intense fight — complete with Tic protesting that he didn’t want to hurt her (even though she was ravenous) — seems to be a restaging of their last meeting.

What this scene signified is Tic’s guilt over killing Ji-Ah’s communist friend and perhaps his guilt over leaving her so abruptly.

Uncle George might have told Tic he was a good boy, but we now know that’s not 100% true.

Because of the unique abilities of the kumiho, Ji-Ah can see all the memories of a soul’s life she consumes. But since she’s able to stop the process and save Tic’s life, she’s also haunted by visions of his life to come.

She sees him back in America, in the arms of a woman we haven’t met. Then buying a ticket home to Chicago. Next we see him undergo a baptism, get a glimpse of Leti’s worried face, and finally it seems, he is strapped up and sacrificed in a ceremony he can’t wiggle out of.

If this is how Tic’s life ends, then he is in big trouble. Not only because it spells doom for him and Leti and our heroes, but it suggests that the Sons of Adam win.

Now wouldn’t it be helpful if Ji-Ah could somehow get to Chicago to help Tic and his pals out? She is supposed to see a lot of death before she succumbs to darkness. Moreover, we’re sure Ji-Ah’s possible arrival in the South Side would also bring a lot of drama. After all, Tic and Leti are now officially a thing. Or are they?

Where to stream Lovecraft Country