Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

I want to first preface this review by a few points: 1) I haven't watched the complete drama and am basing this review on the first 6 episodes only 2) This is the first review I've been compelled to write about a TV show (in any language).

I've been looking forward to watching Goblin for a good while now because of all the rave reviews I've been seeing online. The drama appears to be heralded as one of (if not 'The') best Korea has to offer, which I'm quite surprised about. Six episodes into the show, I expected the pace to have quickened and the story to have developed further. To me it appears as though the writer created a promising premise, and an interesting universe, but did not think deeply about the main conflict of the story and how that will pan out over 16 episodes. A story needs to have enough substance to be able to fill each episode effectively. 'The Goblin is cursed with immortality and only his bride can emancipate him from this anguish - but will she?' seems to be as far as the writer got. The painstaking process of waiting for her to make a decision is simply boring and holds no tension beyond 1 or 2 episodes. To me, the show appears to be all style, and no substance.

I understand that not every drama needs to be fast-paced, or each episode does not need to end on a cliff-hanger for a drama to be good. Sometimes, the emotions between two people in love, or the lingering tension created by the threat of something tearing them apart, is enough to sustain interest from an audience. But this only works if the two main leads have undeniable chemistry. Unfortunately, the age difference between the leads kills all the chemistry, and makes it unsavory to watch. The female lead behaves even younger than she is while the Goblin appears too mature and stoic. I feel like I'm watching an Uncle supervise his niece as she frolics about like a child. Even Gong Yoo's superior good-looks is not enough the light the spark here. And I don't blame the actors either - they've done a good job with what they've been given.

Of course, when we have an immortal being like the Goblin, his age difference should be irrelevant because eventually there will come a time when the girl will catch up to his age and surpass it. The writer could have used this idea to showcase a love-story that blossom over her lifetime. But alas, I don't think that's where the show is heading.

I'll keep going for another episode but sadly, this one might be going into my Dropped pile.

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Not for me

Decided to watch this because I've commonly seen people talk very highly of it. Unfortunately, it was not my cup of tea. I gave up at around episode 6 and just read episode summaries for the rest so that I could finish the story without having to sit through any more of the episodes.
The first episode was okay but for me personally, it was not very intriguing. I wanted to drop it but, I had seen this site and so many people raved about it so I figured I had to power through because many people deem it to be "one of the best dramas". So I powered through for a couple more episodes but I just could not get invested in the show. The episodes were quite slow and it felt like the story was taking forever to happen. Unfortunately for me, the "bromance" between the goblin and reaper was just not enjoyable for me. It just felt childish and cheesy to me. The romance of the leads did not sit well with me either. For starters, the goblin literally looks like a 40-year-old to me (No offense main guy but that's just how I see you sorry). I did not enjoy the fact that he literally fell in love with a highschooler. The 900 something year age gap would not have mattered if they had a younger-looking actor but they did not. Additionally, KGE played this role too well and literally looked and acted like a 16-year-old to me. Don't get me wrong I love KGE normally. I just wished they had aged up the main girl character to be older, a college student at the very least. Also, I don't know if it's just me but I think because I watched this drama, but KGE just always looks so young now. In her other works she just always looks like an 18-year-old to me and its hard to believe that these roles have her in her late 20s (Not saying this as a bad or good thing I'm just simply stating it.)
There were some things I did like though! I love the music and OSTs, they are wonderful and added so much emotion to these scenes. I still listen to the album occasionally these days. Stay with me and Beautiful are my favorites. I did like how they traveled, it was really pretty to see. Especially in Canada, the background looked great. I also really like the cover image of her leaning on his back, I'm not sure why but I just think it looks good.
I really wanted to like this show but it is just not for me and I am ok with that. I respect that other people love it though as everyone's preferences are different.

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Words cannot express how good this drama is. Goblin goes above and beyond any drama I have ever seen. The acting, the story, the music; everything is just so superb. I cried my eyes out, and I laughed even harder. When I finished this drama (the first time) I immediately watched it all over again. The music is so good that I'm still listening to the OST on Spotify a year and a half later. I fell in love with each and every character like they were real people in my life. If I could recommend any drama, it would be Goblin. The only flaw this drama has is that it didn't have even more episodes. We can only hope one day they make a sequel.

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Should you? Would you? Could you?

You should watch this one (YES! )
You would recommend this to others. (YES!)
You could watch this again. (YES)

I just can’t believe what I saw. What a story! What direction! What acting! If one gets down to analyze this drama, you will end up confusing yourself so just go with the flow. This is a perfect combination of a good story that is executed by great direction and brought to such good life thanks to these amazing actors. If anyone of these elements would go wrong, then you would have a mishmash of a drama. I cannot credit any single department for the success of this one but all in a whole.
I cannot imagine anyone writing such a concept of a grim reaper and a goblin cohabiting with the potential goblin's bride! It’s too bizarre yet so beautifully executed. The concepts of divinity and reincarnation are so well explored in this.
The actors are amazing in their respective roles. The interaction between the goblin and the grim reaper is just too hilarious. Each one of them brings their character to life with such conviction. I can go on and on raving about Goblin but would love for you to see it.

An eleven on ten for this one.

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After watching Goblin, I find that the thing I love the most about it is the chemistry between the cast members, and not just the main couple but, for example, between Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook. I think that the OST is very very nice, and at times when I heard it in the background, I felt that it was suitable and made the scene even better. I feel that the story is quite unique and the uniqueness of it was handled well. Although I didn't love the ending all that much, I really loved the general story and the process to which the ending ws reached, thus I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch it.

TLDR: The story was great, the ending ok, amazing chemistry, would recommend

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My first kdrama as an adult (not counting the ones I watched as a kid when I didn’t really have a choice). I’m was not into kdramas so I wasn’t part of the Goblin hype when this was released.
I’ve been on drama slump lately (I’m into cdramas), so I thought I’d try this just to see how I go.
I ended up loving it a lot! 9/10 because there were just scenes I found too slow, dragging and repetitive. I’ve been listening to Stay With Me since 2016 because I liked it so I was surprised at how powerful the OST is. I’m the type who gets really emotional on OSTs, so OSTs are a big factor for me when watching dramas. Now, one of my favorites is Round and Round, gives me nostalgic feels.
Believe it or not, from 2016 I never knew what the story is about even if it’s so popular, I didn’t come across spoilers. Maybe because I just didn’t really pay attention haha!
Loved all the characters and all of their chemistry. Kim Shin is such a cutie!!

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After 6 episodes the attraction of this program imho is in inverse proportion to the volume of the romance scenes between Kim Shin and Kim Go Eun - and it seems to be increasing………ep 8 excellent, if a bit heavy - even kim go eun was good…..getting up to episode 13 I shared the consensus that this was a top-flight drama.

I put off watching the final episodes 14 - 16 because I was reluctant for it to end. Now I've watched ep. 14 which is clearly sequel in nature. I have to say I found it a hard slog, the sparkle has gone, the interaction between Goblin, Grim Reaper and Deok Hwa sadly missing. If this continues I would have to say it was a mistake. They should have finished with ep.13 and maybe a brief "follow up" finish. Don't mean to be b*****, but the idea anyone or any supernatural entity would span the universe in eternal love to chase Kim Go Eun stretches credulity.

Taking the plunge again at Ep. 14 better but I find the central romance utterly unconvincing, partly because it just goes on far too long - there's a limit to the sweet endearments and exchanges you want to hear.

Finished at last! A suitably complex and, I'm glad to say, unpredictable ending. Ah, if only life - and death - were like that. Turned whimsical again at the end, but inevitable I expect. Isn't it wonderful also how time can pass in a camera shot in TV dramas? Preferred Grim Reaper and Sunny and Deok Hwa to Goblin and Eun Tak, though the latter did improve markedly towards the end when she stopped playing all "kittenish". Which reminds me, what happened to Deok Hwa amidst all the complex comings and goings at the end?? So annoying.

The production values, background scenery and camera work were excellent throughout and the fashion sense fabulous - but when my mind keeps going off the story to the clothes and background scenery, annoyingly missing the subtitles, desperately waiting for the next scene with Grim Reaper and/or Deok Hwa, it's clear that it's not entirely absorbing my admittedly volatile brain. Music almost entirely good. Re-watch value? well not any time soon, but the fashion, design and memory of the comic parts may tempt me. Still, there's nothing else for it, but to give it 10/10 for the overall achievement.

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Bromance takes it all

I wholeheartedly understand why people love this drama so much. It has many flaws, but it's still a ton of fun. In particular, the music of the main theme stays with you forever and adds a special element to the show that I haven't noticed in any show since.

Everyone has written about the unstoppable bromance between Gong Yoo's Kim Shin, the tormented god, and Lee Dong Wook's Grim Reaper. And if you watch any behind the scenes footage of the show, you can see why. They were just having the time of their lives working together.

Unfortunately, there are a couple big flaws that prevent this show from being close to perfect. For one thing, we learn very little about our brave heroine Eun Tak, which diminishes our stake in her story. We don't get to see much of her past or her thoughts about the state of her life or the relationships she has with friends or family. And now that I think about it, I can't name any character that we get to truly know in depth. A few well placed monologues would have been useful to this end. I wanted to know about each character's history and past struggles, and how they feel now. Second, the main villain in the show is pretty absent until the very end. There was so much potential around exploring the heart of the issues faced by Eun Tak and Kim Shin and how they are trying to protect each other and deal with their own issues, but it wasn't harnessed.

One last thing I enjoyed was the filming in Quebec. I'm a Canadian and that was quite a surprising treat to behold!

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