This review may contain spoilers
Magic, Fluff, and some other stuff
Usually I only watch hidden gems, and leave the popular dramas to people that have FOMO or something. However, after about 2years or so, I figured I’d give this drama a chance. after watching this entire drama, I’ve realized that this drama is heavily overrated, the fandom of this drama is overly biased, and majority the reviews on these platforms have next to no substance. Most reviews (I’ve read a couple high rated reviews) just praise the MLs, praise the visuals, mention the faulty age gap, criticize the FL for being childish, praise the secondary leads relationship(or lack thereof), then give the drama 10/10 (undeservedly so).I won’t be doing any of the said above.
First of all, I won’t give a reiteration of the story. If you wanna know what it’s about, read the drama synopsis.
2ndly, for the life of me, I don’t understand this obsession fans have with couples with varying ages, but I’d like to think that fans mention it to put themselves on some moral pedestal.
3rdly, I really believe this drama could’ve been great. Hell, it could’ve been amazing. If there’s one thing that encompasses all the problems this drama has, it would be that it focuses on the past too much. It also made the ML cold, dubious, and doubtful that he would ever find his bride. There should’ve been more focus on the present, letting the leads establish a better relationship on screen, instead of the ML constantly giving the FL whiplash and making her doubt herself more than she already does. The FL does such an amazing job, and is so mature whenever she’s faced with a difficult situation. When the Goblin presents himself in her life, she accepts her new destiny with stride and determination,and that is what makes her the best, most redeemable character in this show.
Circling back to all the flashbacks, it becomes quite evident that the only person that can account for what transpired 900yrs ago (why 900 though? why not 50, or 70? wtf even is this?) is the goblin himself, yet he’s supposedly carried this vengeance in his heart all this time. I can’t even remotely fathom why the writers of this drama thought this was such a great idea, but I’ll give my 2 cents.
— It’s impossible to hold onto a grudge for that long. Furthermore, these are PAST lives, so as far as I’m concerned, anyone that was reincarnated, the people of their past are their ancestors. Not only do the characters of the present not remember anything, they are NOT the same people. They have their own personalities, their own minds, their own souls. so the concept of them being the same people falls flat for me.
ngl, I hated episode 13 & 15 for making me cry, but ep13-16 were the only episodes worth watching. around these episodes is when you actually see chemistry between the FL & ML, and the Goblin is actually concerned about Eun Ji Tak. The final episodes wrecked me, not because it’s such a great drama, but because the acting really is exceptional, and the FL is excellent at portraying emotions, especially when she’s devastated.(also the viewers of ep 14 are the most insensitive fucks I’ve ever seen. I read the timed comments, you know who you are, worthless degenerates). just for clarification, I hate crying.
The best thing about this drama is Eun Ji Tak, the Grim Reaper, and the music. that’s it. also, why would anyone make a drama whereby everything revolves around the FL, only to kill her in the last episode? seems counterintuitive, but wtf do I know?
This may be the first drama I’ve ever watched where I’m just waiting for it to be over. it wasn’t terrible, just makes no sense how all these supernatural beings have all these powers, but they’d rather only intervene in terrifying situations when they want to.
what really leaves me baffled is how the acting is so amazing, but the story itself is such trash. I only finished this drama because I was already too invested. unfortunately, I don’t recommend this drama. If anything, go watch Seo Bok instead; it’s underrated, and most likely makes a load more sense than Goblin. Also, Gong Yoo’s birthday is in 2 weeks(July 9), so go celebrate watching something worthwhile( that’s not Goblin). 💙
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Usually I would feel tired and stressed, and seriously this has kept me up and about!
I always looked forward to the next episode. It entails all kinds of emotions.
Comedic, really uplifted my day. Heart wrenching as well, every moment was well connected.
I really loved it, and I thought that they made a good match despite the age difference!
Don't hesitate guys, just watch it! I didn't even watch the trailer, nor know anything about it,
I just went on and watched it! and I really loved it! Kuddos to the writer, which has the same one as "Descendants of the sun" and "The Heirs". It's really nice
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Allow me to expand on some of the specifics of why Goblin was life changing. If you know me you know that I am obsessed with character and character development. This drama is chock-full of amazingly written characters and all go through massive transformations. The stagnation in the Goblin and Grim Reaper's lives disappears when they meet their soul mates. As a plot device this use of love and lovers is refreshing as it is definitely the men who change for their love (instead of the usual over-accommodating woman who plagues dramaland). Aside from character there is the aesthetic. Goblin had a massive budget and it is clearly seen in every facet of the drama. The cinematography deserves unending praise, the acting is of the highest quality, the plotline is refreshingly unique. Their sets, wardrobes, worlds are immersive in the utmost. The atmosphere these minor details create lends itself perfectly to the story and makes the mood created by the actors and writers to be all the more real. Goblin's melancholy, something that so many dramas try and fail to achieve, was breathtaking. As I have said before I love sad dramas. This drama made me cry every episode, and not because it was ridiculously melodramatic. Most of the time it was the side stories I cried over (the Grim Reaper's side plots). These stories, so superfluous to the main plot, show the exacting attention to detail that was used in this drama. They were moving, beautiful, heartbreaking stories and they left you feeling both empty and full. Full of life and a love for humanity. Goblin's greatest achievement, in my opinion, is empathy. Every character (or at least every character we don't necessarily hate) can be empathized with. Every episode you can change who you most identify with and yet never feel disconnected from any other character. This is a feat so difficult to accomplish that I have only ever encountered it in Anna Karenina before.
I know this review wasn't the most informative but I feel that the emotional response to Goblin that I and so many others felt is the best possible recommendation and review I can give.
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This review may contain spoilers
Super famous but didn't convinced me...
Watched this drama about a year ago because it was literally everywhere,and seemed like a must-have if you like K-Drama like me! So i said to myself:"Why not give it a try!?". It turned out to be a pretty basic K-Drama. Music's and places were gorgeous,and the story in itself had a strong basement for a really wonderful and well made show but sadly turned out to be the classic dramawith a good add of romance. Also I've founded it really confusing since they didn't closed al lot of questions, like the one about the headstones and the relationship with the place in Canada. Plus they added A LOT of repeated scenes nearly the end of the show, especially the one pf him walking in the snow tempest. Sadly I'm notgonna give this show a rewatch was reallyhard and boringto follow in many pieces...Was this review helpful to you?
But anyway, I think this drama definitely deserves all of the attention it's been garnering. With a storyline as unique as this one, it's no wonder people find it so refreshing. Plus, the cinematography is just beyond amazing, making me especially envious of the fact that I don't get to live in their so-called reality. The villain, however, was introduced a little too late in my opinion. I would've loved to see him earlier on in the series.
On the other hand, the chemistry on this set was absolutely incredible. I'm super thankful because it was for this reason that these actors were able to grace us with so many fantastic ad-libs to look back on in the first place. All of the actors/actresses had their fair share of memorable moments but ultimately, I don't think anything will ever compare to the bromance between the Goblin and the Grim Reaper.
Even though the original soundtracks did a fine job at capturing its overall theme, there are only a few that I could actually see myself listening to outside of this drama. That isn't to say that the music was bad. It just didn't fall under my preferences. The soft ballads, however, felt like whispers of the heart: soft yet powerful. And for those, I loved every second of it.
Overall, I had an interesting time being taken on this emotional rollercoaster. Unfortunately, I wasn't nearly as satisfied with the ending as I was with the rest of this drama. At first, it seemed like a happy ending but the more I seemed to think about it, the sadder it truly was. It's sort of like the feeling you get when you receive a delicious-looking cookie, but the taste just doesn't turn out as good as it looks. As far as recommendations go, I would still encourage people to give this drama a try. And although I wish I was given a better ending, it's not bad enough to the point where I wouldn't rewatch it.
With that said,
Llama out.
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Astonishing visuals, hollow story
First few episodes were kinda cute. Characters were well written, great chemistry between main characters with smart humour with surprisingly good bromance. But after few episodes you gonna ask yourself: Hey, how come these episodes are THAT long (almost 90 mintues each) and we are in the middle of the show and nothing actually important happens? Well thats the main issue with this show. Im used to slow paced story in korean TV shows and im ok with it but this is just over the top. The thing is that screentwriters didnt come up with a strong story in the first place so as with many other korean dramas, they make up some lazy plot twists in the middle of the show without giving you any clue whatsoever. I dont really like that cause it makes the show cheap. The story feels extremely slow, the main twist is very sudden without any deep reason and the last few episodes are just straight up slow torture cause at that point nothing makes sense. If the show had like 8 episodes 1 hour long, it would be much better.Neverthless the show was very well shot with strong soundtrack, great interiers, design and everything and thats probably the reason why so many people really like this show. Also i really enjoyed realationship build of main couple
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Beautiful and thrilling series
It has everything you could ever want, romance, supernatural, great story and cast. This was my first K drama and it was fantastic 😊😊😊😊I would do anything to experience watching it for the first time again.
Lee dong wook really outshone himself. What a great actor I will take a look at his other work as well as the other actors of this show.
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One of the best
This drama is one of the best out there for story, acting, music, and production value. If you haven't watched it yet you should! The acting was absolutely amazing. All of the characters had chemistry and you could tell they enjoyed what they were doing. The bromance between the Goblin and the Reaper even became famous, but this time it actually seems like the actors truly became friends. The story was great, it pulled at your heartstrings. I laughed, and cried, and was scared (there are some spooky parts and I was watching this alone in the dark at night, so don't judge me -_-). The ending was sad, yet wonderful. The especial effects are actually really good. The music is great. All in all a well made drama, and I highly recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
As a Gong Yoo fan, I was gobsmacked.
Okay. Let me tell you this, I am a big Gong Yoo fan. I'm part of the older generation where I get to watch kdramas VCD days. And I've watched all Gong Yoo movies and dramas and knew that he will always be that movie and TV star A-lister.So I watched this while it was still airing and I am already utterly disappointed within a couple of episodes. I already knew what's gonna happen. The pain they're trying to go through for the Tokkaebi to find someone who will actually and finally can kill him. His bride. Nice premise, but you won't get surprised where it took you because it was set up right at the beginning. Even with the characters. The moment Kim Min Jae's character went into the screen, I knew who he is in the present. Because who else would it be? Everything was just so obvious.
What really made me held on was of course, Gong Yoo, and the adorbs KGE, although I'm not really in love with the ajusshi thingy.
So yes, to give it a chance before going here for ratings, I watched it again, and feelings remained the same, if not even lower. I am so sorry.
The cinematography was top-notch.
The music was also so so so so good. The scoring. The OST. Main OST was an earworm,
But that didn't actually save the drama for me.
Will I watch it again?
Maybe not.
I guess I was really not a fan of writer. Maybe the last drama that I liked from her was Secret Garden, which actually took me three years to finish. I dropped it two times in two years, until I picked it up.
But this, I'm not sure why I held on and was disappointed still.
This is my opinion.
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Emotional ? Rollercoaster
The only reason I gave this drama a chance was because of Gong Yoo. I've been his fan since Coffee Prince and haven't seen him in many K drama since. Although the story starts off a little slow, it quickly picks up and draws you into the main characters lives and issues. With this drama I laughed, I cried (and I mean ugly cried) along with the characters. I would highly recommend this drama to most people if for no other reason than the OST, however this drama (in my opinion) had everything. Two thumbs up!??Was this review helpful to you?
1This review may contain spoilers
Problematic and detestable.
I have a lot of problems with this show, but I'll start off with the most major one, the age gap. She was a 19 year old girl in HIGH SCHOOL and he was a grown ass middle aged man (939 but whatever he looks 50 in the show). Would it have killed the writers to make the fl a little older?? Or at least choose an older and mature looking actress?? Even the actors themselves had a 10 year age gap in real life I can only imagine how awkward it must have been... I was so uncomfortable watching their so called "romantic" scenes because all I could see was a father-daughter dynamic. She literally calls him "ahjussi" for god's sake. It is so creepy and vile that so many people support this and even more so, ROMANTICIZE IT. How and why are people not seeing a problem with this??The story is nothing special, I was bored out of my mind and sometimes, I would play a game where I would try and finish the dialogue of what a character was saying or try to predict the next scene or plot point, that's how clichéd, boring and predictable this was. I was bored even while watching this on 2x speed. And of course all the 3 main characters are magically reincarnated with the same faces and personalities and conveniently meet each other again. What was the point of dying if that was going to happen? The constant flashbacks to Kim Shin's life 900 years ago were so boring like bro move on it's been a century 😭😭👎👎. The main leads had no chemistry whatsoever, maybe this show would have been a little less detestable if Kim Shin and Ji Eun-tak were father and daughter instead of "lovers". The second lead couple also had no chemistry. Eun tak's character was plain and boring, she is a blank slate with no personality or mind of her own. Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook's visuals and bromance carried the show in all honestly. I genuinely cannot fathom how this hot mess came to be the 4th highest rated TvN show and most popular show on MDL...I honestly see this show as a stain in LDW's career, he has so many hits like A Shop for Killers, Strangers from Hell, etc...I wonder why he chose this show...
I could go on and on, but I think I've said enough. This show is a hot piece of garbage and I regret watching it. Watch this show if you hate yourself and like seeing minors getting groomed.
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