Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

A beautiful story

I watched Goblin 10 years after it first aired, and I have to say, I loved it. It won't share the 10/10 spot with Crash Landing on You, due to a few details I'm not completely happy with, but all in all it was a well-written, beautiful story.

Let me start by saying, I absolutely get why some viewers ditched the drama or are still vocal about the age gap. It isn't something we should accept as a society in real life. But let's keep in mind that it's a drama, it's fiction, and it's fantasy fiction at that. As soon as I accepted that, I finished it and enjoyed it.

In my opinion, my review is too late for writing about the story itself, so I'll just stick to the aspects that stood out to me.

1. They stretched the history of Kim Shin becoming the Goblin a bit too long and kept coming back to it too often, in my opinion. I understand they wanted the viewer to really understand where the Goblin came from, but it wasn't that complicated a history, like some of the Joseon-era, heavily political dramas out there. To me, they dedicated too much time to this, whereas they could've invested that time to flesh out other parts of the story some more.

2. I found Eun Tak to be quite irritating, but I also expected it, her being 19 and all. If I look back on my life, I also wasn't that bright with my decisions at that age. Nineteen is truly a limbo between adulthood and still being a teenager. Because of this, I understood her overly childish behaviour to be rooted in past trauma and her need for confirmation on multiple levels. Eun Tak was taking care of herself for 10 years already. Her age might have been small, but her experiences weren't. And her childish behaviour must have stemmed from feeling safe enough with Goblin to let loose a little. And childish or not, she knew how to communicate her feelings and wasn't stupidly impulsive.

3. Goblin wasn't a toxic man. Some dramas have these male leads who are bordering on abusive. Goblin wasn't that. He at least did his best to push Eun Tak away, albeit in an awkward way. Imagine living all these years, seeing everyone you came to love or appreciate die around you. Of course you'll become aloof, maybe even cold, simply to protect your own heart. Some would argue he could've been less mean to Eun Tak. But he understood his fate, and all of a sudden this girl proclaims to be his bride.

Her being part of his life meant he could finally retreat into nothingness. And then he starts to have feelings he wasn't expecting to have. He wasn't expecting to like her or want to protect her. So the struggle between wanting to leave and wanting to stay starts. He was pushing against her and against himself at the same time.

Furthermore, he also understood he's immortal and she's not. How would that even work? It's not crazy he tried to keep her at a distance. And even so, he at some point in his 900 years on earth was human too, so he experiences human emotions. Of course he doesn't know what to do with his feelings for "some little girl". Loving her unconditionally meant dying and leaving her behind. I think lots of commenters failed to see that struggle, because they stayed hung up on the age gap.

4. People were mostly raving about the bromance in this drama. Yes, it was quite endearing, but it wasn't my main reason for liking and sticking to the drama. The story itself was unique and interesting. I loved how every character had his or her own story. What I liked less was that they didn't flesh out the stories enough. The 16 episodes could've been distributed better. Also, I hated that they waited until around the 14th episode to introduce the main villain. Of course we saw him at work earlier on, but that final reveal felt very rushed. I really loved the relationship between Grim Reaper and Sunny and was sad to see they didn't get to be "more" the first time around.

5. I feel I have to properly address the age gap. First off, my 13-year-old isn't allowed to watch this one just yet. Because an age gap of 20 years isn't remotely normal and I'm absolutely not condoning it. I cringed more than a few times, especially because Eun Tak was written to have feelings for Goblin, but still was calling him Ahjussi and acting like a 16-year-old. The uniform wasn't helping either. As most have pointed out, they should've let the story start with her being in college. Maybe then we wouldn't all feel the ick. I'm glad they didn't "consummate" the relationship until she was an "adult". But even so, when you turn a legal age, you're not miraculously an adult. The actress did such a great job that the romantic parts were an uneasy watch. I wish they had her act more mature at times, it would've been less uncomfortable.

All in all, to me the story itself was quite beautiful, because it didn't feel like a fluffy romantic drama as most are. It also kept the same vibe throughout, and the consistency of the tone made me eventually like it very much. There was never a promise of a happy ending, and even though there was some gore and a hint of romance, it wasn't the main focus. At least not for me.

I think the writers tried to challenge mainstream dramas with this tale of an immortal. It made way for other dramas to follow suit. And even though they also challenged morally correct romance with this one, I think they pulled off a well-written, interesting watch. I gave it a 9, simply because I couldn't get behind the age gap.

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Goblin was a drama I was avoiding to watch for a long time and Idk the reason, But now I have watched this drama I can say I was little dumb for avoiding it this drama is best due to his it's story telling but mainly due to it's suspense making for things which I can't tell due to spoilers but I can surely say people will like it's suspense for almost every episode. Well I can say there were little things that should been done like giving characters little more screentime in episodes and explaining somethings which I didn't understand or maybe it's just me who didn't understand those things but anyway thanks for reading my review and please don't mind my english, I hope y'all have a good day. Hare Krishna

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sad love ?

Omg !!!!! I have so much to say but ill try my best to shorten it fr u guys , i'll try my best to avoid any spoiler 😃. If you've seen the 5 stars and hv already gone to watch the show you did a great job , but if you're still here reading this review ill give you guys some 'more than satisfactory' points so tht u go and watch this master piece!😁
First is the storyline ! Its unique and has its own plot twists... I love how each and every characters stories get together with each other forming a beautiful complete circle! The cinematography and directing is great! I love how chronologically they have arranged all the event's of the story , all the events fall in the exact place and time where they should be in both the past and the present storyline...! The dialogues were awesome , it had a great effect causing on the mood and emotional impact! I specially love how they sometimes tried to make the dialogues poetic for some of the characters lines wherever there was a heartfelt romantic or emotional scene!
The humor in this drama is super hilarious and sometimes savage 😂! Love how they try to give us some good giggles during an emotional scene!
Now comes the characters and actors , I loved all of them so i'll give separate credits😁 :-
Goblin/kim shin - the lonely and great god who's been alone all this time , saves and helps people a lotta times,waiting for his bride so tht she can remove the sword just so he could die and lift the immortality curse upon him since the last 900 years! If theres a problem , call him , he will be always there for you all you need to do is blow a candle😉. He is loving, caring & a great warrior.
Grim reaper - became a grim reaper bcz of the sins committed in his past life , now guiding the dead to the right way , this reaper is different than the ones you've seen before. He's cold , clumsy, cute and stupid!😁 but tht doesn't stop him from being a good person and being a really good friend!
Ji eun tak - an orphan , life full of miseries until she knows shes the goblins bride ! Falls in love with the 'ajussi' 🥰 . she has a really adorable 😍smile! On a dark silent night , she comes bearing the stars in her hands singing songs of angels without wings😌.
Sunny - 'SHE IS PRETTY'💖!!! She is the most straightforward yet cool , loving person you'll ever meet ! She deserves a lot more happiness!!!
Duk hwa - one of my most fav character 😍😎!!! A chaebol heir , handsome, goblins right hand , loves his end-room-uncle and goblin uncle,loves credit cards, silly yet smart, knows each secret from the age of 6 , will call NASA if the weather seems sus !😁
President kim - the TT dancer , trustworthy, obedient,adviser.
Things I loved the utmost - kim so hyun , kim min jae ,the chemistry between all the characters, hated the villain,suspense, the bromance , friendship, humor, ost !!!🥰 overall enjoyed every bit of this show , highly recommend to anyone who has a good choice for dramas !!!!

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Chorei. Chorei muito. Tem muito coisa nesse dorama. A história dos dois casais foi muito bem trabalhada, a trilha sonora tbm é muito boa. As histórias na casa de chá me fizeram chorar um monte, a história dos protagonistas tbm, tudo.
A única coisa que eu teria a reclamar é a diferença de idade dos atores E dos personagens. Se eu nn me engano os atores tem quase 20 anos de diferença e a personagens da trama tem 19 no começo. É umas das coisas que eu só fui me importar dps de terminar pq eles tiveram um carisma tão grande na série que eu só fui perceber as idades quando comentaram.

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must watch

Since Goblin is known as such a classic and must-watch kdrama, I finally decided to watch it - and didn’t regret it.
At the beginning this drama was a lot more mystical than I expected, but I got used to it pretty quickly and it didn‘t take me long to get invested in the story. I guess it‘s fair to say that Goblin has a quite unique story that is very emotionally investing and made me both laugh and cry. This drama definitely has its fair share of laughs and funny moments, but also serious scenes and moments that made me tear up.
I also loved the cast and their chemistry - especially the bromance between Kim Shin and the grim reaper never failed to make me smile. To be honest - I had to get used to the thought of the age difference between the Goblin and Eun-tak, but their chemistry was still great. I don‘t think I even have to mention Sunny and the grim reaper. <3
This drama has a lot of really pretty shots and scenes in Canada and Korea and I also really enjoyed the OST.
Would recommend!

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Tearjerker and healing drama with great chemistry and story

The show is really really good at start storAs fate would have it, Eun-Tak grows up able to see ghosts and is commonly referred to as “Miscellaneously Omitted Person” by this same Grim Reaper who just so happens to be Kim Shin’s best friend. With Kim Shin destined to be joined with Eun-Tak, the former is able to summon the Goblin every time she blows out a candle.
Believing herself to be the Goblin’s bride, this 19 year old is whisked up on an unforgettable journey of love, heartache and laughter across 16 unforgettable episodes.

With echoes of the past life bleeding through, the early episodes work to build up each of our main characters, who are joined by the mysterious Sunny who rounds out this quartet. There’s also a number of supporting players who lend their voice to this one too, including Duk-Hwa whose family have been indebted to the Goblin for years.

There’s also a mystery deity in a red dress called “Birth Grandmother” too. Although the drama doesn’t explicitly tell us, Koreans will recognize her as Samshin, the Goddess of childbirth and life.

The story does sag a little around the midway point though, taking a little too long to get to the crux of the drama. There’s a lot of will they/won’t they surrounding Kim Shin’s fate but as this one moves into its third act, the pacing does get a lot better. It’s also during these middle portion of episodes that an abundance of flashbacks are used to pad out the run-time.However, the chemistry between the actors is absolutely off the charts so it’s easy to look past this. Whether it be the budding bromance between Kim Shin and the Grim Reaper, the doomed romance between Reaper and Sunny or even the romantic angle between Shin and Eun-Tak, every single relationship is given a decent amount of time to grow and evolve over the course of the show.

There’s a lot of bittersweet moments leading up to the ending too, which will go down as one of the best finales of any Korean drama to date. No spoilers here of course but this one is worth persevering with during the slower chapters to reach this incredible conclusion. Be prepared to come with a pack of tissues though – this is one heartbreaking drama.

In fact, heartbreak and humour both go hand in hand here, with Goblin managing to perfectly balance both its romantic and comedic elements. The best moment of comedy comes midway through the show, as Shin and the Grim Reaper walk with shopping while the main theme “Round and Round” plays in the background.

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Goblin had me like…, that’s it ???

Like many international K-drama fans, i got soo many recommendations to watch Goblin. Considering its legendary status, I went in expecting to be completely obsessed. Instead, I finished it wondering... what exactly was all the hype about?

First of all, the romance, the heart of the drama just didn't work for me. The chemistry between the Goblin and the female lead was questionable from the start. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see them as a couple or root for them to end up together. It just felt uncomfortable. She was a high school student, and that age gap was impossible for me to ignore. I know she grows older in the second half of the drama, but by then it was too late. Her image as a high school girl was already firmly established in my mind. Since this is primarily a romance, I wanted to be invested in the main couple but how can you enjoy a love story when the relationship itself makes you uncomfortable? I had to rely on the 2nd lead couple’s romance to keep me going.

Beyond that, the first few episodes were entertaining. The humor, the bromance, and the quirky interactions were all there. But somewhere along the way, the drama seemed to lose its direction. The comedy faded, and the plot started feeling like it was making things up as it went.
Goblin disappears... then comes back. Okay, now what? Kill the female lead... and then reincarnate her? It felt like the writers kept pulling out one cliché after another instead of giving the story a satisfying conclusion.

I can appreciate the cinematography, the soundtrack, and the performances they were all excellent. unfortunately the story was really mid.

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