Not Sure...

Rating this drama is really hard and my rating before ep15, when I almost dropped this drama, and after would definitely have been very different.

At first, I didn't care much for any of the main leads and didn't see any romance at all between them. The ML just acted like some obsessed, entitled rich guy who doesn't have any respect for personal boundaries. He also constantly berated the FL, groundlessly blamed her (amongst other things for not returning his feelings/ not taking him into consideration --- why would she when she simply does not feel that way and barely knows this dude who's suddenly obsessed with her?!) and was just an overall jerk to absolutely everyone.

I was really annoyed that they tried to sell this horrible behavior as him being smart or in "love". Honestly, even up to this point I haven't figured out when, how or why the FL actually started to return those feelings.
BUT, when the whole coma thing happened, his true and deeper feelings suddenly seemed more tangible and believable. He matured so much in those episodes so that he even realized his "solution" was probably the most selfish thing he's ever done. Another great moment was, when he actually gave up a lot of what he had before because his mother wouldn't give in.

Still, their love story is messy and even after finishing the drama it fails to make sense to me. Is the connection through his accident and her father enough to justify their relationship and make it "love"? I might have to re-watch it someday, maybe I'll see the development of both their emotions clearly then. As for now, it pretty much feels like the FL just gave in to a rich kid's temper tantrum.

I also never really came to understand the whole reason behind the body swap. Did I just not pay enough attention? Like, who was that person who gave them the drinks? Was that her father? What did he have to "save" her from? And how was the body swap supposed to help? Also, what was the point of this composer guy side character that Oska was chasing after? So confusing! I honestly think I will actually have to re-watch some day to answer my many questions, lol.

The ending was satisfying though. I must say that I really cared about the side characters as well and was happy that their relationships got just the right amount of screen time! Oska in particular was such a great and loveable character who showed the most steady growth throughout the series. And his and Gil Ra Im's relationship seemed the most natural and believable. I also liked the whole realistic portrayal of his and Seul's relationship and esp. how she went through stages of regret, rage, forgiveness etc. I didn't like how it ended for those two, though, because obviously she still didn't trust him in the end and them having to keep living in such a way doesn't scream "happy" ending to me, but I guess it sadly was very realistic... However, the development of Seul and Gil Ra Im's relationship was nice and I loved how Oska and Seul rooted for her and Joo Won and tried to help them out.

I also liked that Gil Ra Im kept working after they got married and had kids and I enjoyed seeing her and Joo Won as parents, just living a "normal" life and being happy (and angry lol) together. Are they my favorite couple ever? Not really, because I'm not that into the whole cat and mouse relationship type...
What really got me was Hyun Bin's acting and, of course, OSKA and his growth and relationship with Gil Ra Im! There were so many funny moments that I enjoyed. Overall, I also like that Gil Ra Im generally wasn't a pushover and made Joo Won work hard in order to get and keep her. She wasn't the typical overall perfect FL who's kind and gentle and just an addition to the ML etc but someone who also got upset, rough and feisty and kept working hard for herself and her dreams no matter what. She wasn't overly nice but treated others with respect and knew how to pick her battles.

As for cliches, there were plenty but it kind of just fit into this drama. Although I'm really not a fan of the "letting you go for your own sake" moment...
However, something I absolutely hated was how it seemed totally okay and natural for rich people to look down on and mistreat everyone else. Is that a reality? Maybe. But that doesn't mean a drama should condone it. I felt like Joo Won's disgust towards poor people never really changed. Yes, he "accepted" Gil Ra Im and fell in love with her "despite" her being poor, but he gave her lots of sh** for it and in the end took her into his world with him and that was that. Maybe some people would find it too cliche or overdone but I really wanted a resolution for this (like the department store doing some charity events (even "just" for families of firefighters who died) or something like that) because it just annoyed me so much!

In the end, would I recommend this drama? Yes, but prepare to be confused and at times infuriated, haha.

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I did not expect much when I started watching it because, let's be honest, the story itself doesn't sound that special or creative but since the drama consists of only 6 episodes I thought I'd give it a try...and boy am I happy that I did! Seriously, I can't believe how much fun I had watching this! All of the characters are somewhat loveable and a bit quirky and even thought there are clichés here and there, overall, everyone's just really awesome. The two main leads though, they are really on another level...I read in one review that their acting really makes you think they actually found a way to switch bodies and I totally agree! Especially the male lead played the role so ridiculously well I almost couldn't believe it. I watched it all in one go and was kinda disappointed when it ended after what felt like a short time but all in all it was really well-rounded concerning the main story. I loved how they kind of hinted at a possible second season with the second female lead in the end although as a lot of time has already passed since this came out it probably won't happen anymore. Anyway, if you're looking for a short drama that a lot of hilarious moments, offers a lot of loveable characters and superb acting then you really should give this a try! I'm sure I'll even rewatch this because the male lead's acting is so incredibly awesome!

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I wanted to give this a 10 after finishing it but now that I thought about it a bit I just couldn't. Goblin left me with so many weird feelings... the last couple of episodes are very emotional and it's just a bit too much to process right away. The fact that the show ends with the Goblin being immortal for real without any means to eventually die made me incredibly sad. Yeah, the girl gets reborn and finds him again and has four lives left...but what happens after that? Everyone else is either dead or alive without any memory of him - this thought left me absolutely depressed after finishing the last episode. There are also lots of other things that don't really get explained well or at all so that was pretty dissatisfying, too. What makes this show great is the beautiful cinematography, the great acting and awesome mix of drama, intensity, comedy, supernatural and historical and even philosophical elements and of course the bromance.

However, the romance was kind of weird...at first there were a lot of fake 'I love yous' which somehow turned into real ones yet this process of falling in love is only comprehensible considering the Goblin because Eun Tak brings so much light and joy and variety into his so far loooooong and kind of dull immortal life, plus she's his destiny and only chance of finally dying (which is why it's even more sad that he had to become immortal for real in order to be with her again). From her point of view...well, he's tall and handsome and basically invincible, sweet and funny and oh, rich... however, there's no real visible or emotionally tangible development of her romantic feelings for him. The kissing scenes are cute but there is no real chemistry, however, things change after he comes back to life and she is 10 years older and obviously more mature. Up from that point the romance becomes tangible, realistic and beautiful and, sadly, also heartbreaking. It's too bad that that period is very short and Eun Tak actually returns to him as a high school student....

As mentioned before, the bromance was amazing and I absolutely loved the dynamic between the Goblin and the Grim Reaper and the development of their friendship as well as the story of their shared fate. Deok Hwa (what happened to him in the end? I was a very frustrated that he kind of got left behind in the last couple of episodes) was also great and there were so many funny moments between those guys that lightened up the otherwise kind of heavy mood this drama mostly conveyed.

As for the secondary couple Sunny and the Grim Reaper...I think their story was a much more relatable and deep love story but for some reason I did not really like Sunny as a character and also felt that there was no real chemistry between them which made their love story kind of a wasted potential.

Overall, as for the acting, I really loved how the Goblin was portrayed although I found it strange how he behaved like a silly love-struck teenager when he began falling for Eun Tak but maybe that was to emphasize that it truly was his first love in over 900 years? I mostly loved how human and how (emotionally) well connected to humanity the Goblin seemed despite being a sort of demi god. I'm not sure what exactly it is but he kind of gives off this calm and serene aura that just makes you feel comfortable just looking at him.
The Grim Reaper was also great and became more lively and loveable with every episode despite his past mistakes.
Looking at Eun Tak not as a part of the main couple but as a character by herself, I thought the acting was brilliant especially the difference between her bubbly high school personality (ok, it is debatable how realistic this is in her situation but it seems a typical thing in k-dramas that poor girls beaten by life remain cheerful and optimistic...), after the Goblin died and she became depressed and after he came back and she seemed way more mature and down to earth even in her 'bubbly moments'.

Soooo, all in all, despite the huge plot holes, actually tragic ending and plain weird romance, this was still one of the best dramas I have ever watched because it made me become so extremely emotionally invested (seriously, I actually had to write this review in order to be able to process my emotions about this!). It's a bit sad that it stayed so much on the surface of philosophical aspects like the whole fate question, death/immortality, true worth of life in itself etc. because in the end, it makes kind of hard to summarize what Goblin was all about. But still, even this weird mix was great and very enjoyable to watch so I can recomment it without any doubts!

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Apart from Ji Sung's acting and maybe a few others (like Chae Jung Ahn and Lee Tae Sun maybe), this drama felt like a complete disaster. Everything was just TOO MUCH...especially the crying scenes....there was just wayyyyy to much of that. Oh and Jeong Geu Rin...I don't even know what to say...that character...was simply awful and downright annoying. The story itself is quite interesting but everything just felt very dragged out (maybe because of all the crying that took up almost half of some episodes?!) and despite Shin Suk Ho most of the characters seemed overdone and more like a charicature of a great idea(l) than an actually well played and well rounded character. The romance...well, I'm glad that's the only part where they did not overdo it but still, everthing that was there was really cringy and kind of held the story itself back instead of adding to it. I'm really glad that there was no clear cliché "happy ending" in the romance department because that is the only thing that made the last two episodes actually bearable and somehow even better than the rest of the show. All in all, I'm not sure if I would ever recommend this show to anyone. If you're a huge Ji Sung fan it might be worth it because his acting is really great in this drama...if not, then there are certainly better dramas about the entertainment industry with a less cringy story/acting...oh and music, too, because that wasn't all that great either...

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