Who wants to live forever? Ever since I first saw the movie Highlander, about the immortal Connor MacLeod, I have always been wondering about that question. Yes, there are certainly some cool things about never having to worry about dying. But on the other hand, it also brings with it a lot of pain. The one thing that would hurt me the most would be to see everyone I care about pass on, while I continue with living. So, to answer the first question I began with: not me. And with that out of the way, I will start with my review for the Korean drama series Goblin, that focuses a lot on immortality.
Goblin starts in the past where we first meet up with general Kim Shin, who continues to be succesful on the battlefield for his king. After returning from another battle where he emerged as the victor, he is betrayed by the king who is jealous of his succes. Kim Shin is killed by his own sword, on orders of the king. However, instead of dying he gets reborn as an immortal Goblin, a protector of souls. The sword he was killed with, pierces his chest, and can only be removed by the woman who will be his bride. Once that happens, he will finally be able to move on to the after life and find peace. After having lived for 939 years, he might finally have found that woman in the form of the lovely highschool student Ji Eun-tak. But Ji Eun-tak also has a very troubling past, and a secret of her own: she can see ghosts. Kim Shin, meanwhile has found a kindred spirit in an amnesiac Grim Reaper, who guides souls to the afterlife. This is the beginning of a great, tragic but also very funny adventure….
First off an apology is in order to the wonderful Kay from Kdramakisses. I have promised to write this review for so long that it almost seemed it would never be finished. I finally managed it, so Kay this one is for you. (And go ahead and visit Kay’s blog while you are at it, the number 1 source for Korean dramaseries). Goblin is an absolutely heartwarming series, that is almost impossible not to like. The best thing for this series are it’s characters. Ji Eun-tak, played by the wonderful Kim Go-eun, is a character that I guarantee you will fall in love with. The acting portrayed by Kim can’t even be called acting. It is so natural, that she simply convinces in every single scene. But the two male leads, Gong Yoo as Kim Shin and Lee Dong Wook as the Grim Reaper, are also one of the reasons you should watch this drama. Their comedic bickering, and warm friendship is an absolute delight to watch.
Goblin is a very unique series that mixes a lot of different genres together. When the series first begins, you would think this was going to be a big, bloody historical piece. But when the series moves towards the present it turns into kind of a comedic romantic drama with fantasy elements. Later on in the series, it shifts tones again, to include a few horror elements. This might put off some viewers, but I was not disturbed by it for a single moment. The humour for this show was absolutely terrific, and for someone like me, who usually doesn’t like comedy, that is telling a lot. There were a few scenes that literally gave me tears in my eyes from laughing. Don’t be fooled though this is definitely not a comedy. It is however a feel good show, even though there are also a lot of sad things that happen throughout the series.
The series runs for 16 episodes (18 if you include the two special episodes that focus on the making of the series), but not every episode was of the same quality. Especially during the middle of the series, I found the series to be a bit slow. Luckily the pace picked up again in the later episodes and it all ended in a pretty satisfactory way. Goblin became one of the most succesful Korean dramaseries ever made, passing even the recordbreaking Descendants Of The Sun, and it is hard not to see why. With a great and very unique storyline, fantastic characters, and a terrific atmosphere this series will leave you with a smile on your face once you finish it. And sometimes that is all you need.
I give Goblin a 8 out of 10 score.
Yeah, immortality is an odd prospect. Sure, there are perks but how long before you’re lonely and bored enough to want to die?
As for this series, it sounds like a fun and unique piece. You do describe a lot of various elements but they must make a very entertaining combo.
That poor guy though, having to walk around with a giant sword through his chest. Couldn’t the king have used a small knife or something? xD
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Lol, yeah, that was what I have been wondering as well. Hasn’t he been punished enough? Well I guess not. (Although the effect of him walking around with a small butter knife in his chest would have been weird I guess lol 😂). But yes, this series has a lot of interesting elements that have been put into a blender, but in the end provided a highly entertaining series 😊
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Interesting idea. Did I read you correct? Thw protagonist spends the better part of 900 years with a sword impaling him?
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Yep, you read that correct he spend the better part of 900 years with a sword impaling him (though luckily it doesn’t show, except for him and his bride 😂). Bit true, it was a very unique and interesting series. Especially considering the fact that I really can’t compare this series to anything really.😊
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Brilliant post! 🙂 My friends are obsessed with this Korean drama, which is really popular across Asia. After reading your review, I do feel like watching it. Korean comedy has such unique flavour, and is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Besides, Gong Yoo is wonderful in Train to Busan. 😄
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Thank you 😊 It was an absolute fun ride this series. I can really understand why it is so popular in the first place. The comedy is one of the things that makes this series such a wonderful watch. As for train to Busan, there is a very funny easter egg in this series for that film 😊
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I would absolutely say that immortality is a curse! Unless you have someone immortal with you, then it would be better. Fun even.
Whether or not you get along with them or not *wink*
And there it is. You know what I feel is unfair? You writing awesome reviews and getting dramas to move up my to watch list (which has around hundred k drama titles alone) like it had a speed pass or something!
“I forgot to mention this show includes a prequel of Titanic” ? Got me good!
Seriously though, sounds great.
BUT, I still have Beethoven Virus (because of Jang Keun Suk from You’re Beautiful), Pinocchio, W, Goblin (humph), Weight lifting Fairy Kim Bok Jun, Tunnel and Legend of The Blue Sea on the top of my list.
Ahh… I need more hours in a day. Maybe twenty more?
Have you watched ‘You’re Beautiful’ ? The plot is a bit cliché but the actors are amazing( they all are though) and the main guy lead is practically a male version of me! XD He changes later on.
I would have actually even said Jang Kuen suk was my favourite actor, but these two guys keep me from doing so (*cough* Lee Jong Suk *cough* Lee Minho *cough*)
Aish! I just realized that I went overboard and practically wrote a post In the comment! Yah!
The review was really fun to read! Hopefully, I watch some drama that you watched too and discuss it together! All I need to do is clear that list up before my school starts in a week.
I’m doomed.
Oh, well, Fighting!
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Lol, you are definitely right about that. Allthough spending all of my immortal life with someone I could not stand would also take the fun out of things 😂
Haha, I’m sorry. It has taken me quite a while to finally be able to write this review, because of pretty much the same reason: too little time in a day 😉 My list of Kdramas is definitely way too long as well. There are so many good shows I still have to watch. Tunnel is on my list as well, as is Pinocchio. And then we have a new series that premières next week called Circle. Also still on my list are Beautiful Mind, Healer, Bad Guys, Solomon’s Perjury….the list goes on and on 😂😂 Lol I guess you like those two actors huh 😂
As for You’re Beautiful I have not yet watched that ine, but I have now added it to my list. Thanks for the recommendation. As for your comment: no worries: always cool to see this much enthusiasm, and it is always cool to talk like this 😊 Haha….yeah I feel your pain. I am glad there are still things like weekends to catch up,on things, although those are too short as well 😉 Looking forward to whatever you decide to watch. Even though I might not have seen it yet, I’m sure it’s probably on my list as well.
Aish! Now I went overboard with my response as well lol 😂
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Yeah,this was long too 🙂
How about let’s both watch Pinocchio next? I don’t know how well that will work out but, worth a try!
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Sounds like a plan 😊 Pinocchio will be the next K-drama I am going to watch. Probably will watch another one as well (was planning on watching a historical Kdrama as well, something I haven’t done yet 😊). But cool idea. Hope it will be an enjoyable drama, but I have heard great things about it 😊
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Acacia, I definitely agree with you re You’re Beautiful (its relatively an older drama from 2009) but soooo good. Have you watched Heartstrings? It’s a follow-on from You’re Beautiful (starring Park Shin-hye and Jung Yong-hwa).
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Oh my! There was a sequel?!
I didn’t even know! Looks like I’ll be calling my watching partner home soon 😀
Please, call me Auri.
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I remember you telling me about this when we had discovered each others post in January. (Time sure has flown). I was in the middle of another show at the time and with Fargo just completed on my watch list, I may seek this out. Sometimes finding these dramas online can be tricky and I’ve never usually liked K Drama for some reason, but your review is written in a pleasurable way and sounds immensely interesting to give this a chance when I can. 🙂
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Yeah, crazy isn’t it. To think we are almost halfway through the year. I guess it is true what they say: time flies when you are having fun 😊As for this series it really is a very unique show, and a highly enjoyable watch. The characters alone make it worth it. Another Kdrama that you might like is D-day, which is a series about a big earthquake that hits the capital city of Seoul. It is actually the first review I wrote for my blog niet almost a year ago. Hope you will enjoy the series, and more importantly I hope you are feeling better as well. Take care, and thanks for the kind words. Always appreciate it 😀
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I’ll be sure to have a look and seek for it. I’ve usually watched more Korean movies. And thank you for asking about my health. It’s a struggle no doubt but one I’ve kept discreet. Blogging is a challenge of course so I’m on when I can write but thank you for caring. ☺
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Yay! I was thrilled to see this review 🙂 We shared a lot of the same feelings about the drama for sure. It had a few shortcomings, but it truly was a unique and remarkable series that got so much right from its epic story to its characters to the OST and breathtaking cinematography. And the amazing actors simply brought this drama to life.
Goblin is a drama that I think everyone should give a try at some point. And I’ll always remember you’re excitement for the drama while it was airing before I had watched it. It made me even more ready to see it, and I’m happy it lived up. I’m really glad you enjoyed it so much. Wonderful review, and no apologies necessary, it was worth the wait 🙂
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I love watching korean dramas and i super love this drama!!! I’m so in love with gong yoo and lee dong wook ❤️
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Glad you enjoyed the series as well. Both of them were very good in this series, and one of the reasons this drama was so much fun to watch. Thanks for your comment 😊
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Hi, I really liked your blogpost! Since i am starting my own blog, i wanted to know how one can avoid copyright infringement of photos. Thank you in advance and keep writing!!
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Thank you very much for the kind words: I appreciate it 😉 As for your question…it is a not of a tough one. I think it helps to place a comment on your blog, that you don’t own the pictures. But also, as I am doing this blog for fun, and not making money out of it in any way, it’s also pretty safe. If you would have a blog that generated some kind of income, it would really be a whole different matter alltogether. Copyright would than definitely be a more important issue. So all in all, I think you will be safe if you postbthe occasional picture. Good luck with your blog…I hope you will have fun. I have been blogging for a year now, and it has been an amazing journey where I have met some great people from all over the world. That for me has been the most fun in all this 😀
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Thanks a lot for your reply! I hope you continue to do well!!
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This series is totally unique and I like how you wrote about it too. Brought out elements I didn’t think about.
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Thank you for the kind words, appreciate it 😊 Yes, I absolutely loved this series. It really is one of the best Korean dramaseries that I have seen, because it is unique but also has this very heartwarming quality to it 😊
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Goblin is seriously my fave and idk what to watch next now that i have finished it!
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Haha, it really was a truly wonderful show, and I really enjoyed it as well. There a couple of interesting series that you might like: Pinocchio is one, Decendants of the Sun is another. And I also highly enjoyed D-day. All of these can be found on Viki, and are well worth the watch 😊
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Alright. Thank you for these. I will definitely watch these and let you know how it went! 🙂
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Your post is very nice. I had written a similiar one on whether the goblin needed to suffer this whole “eternal life punishment”. Although he meets Eun Tak in his next life, its said in the show that a person can be reborn only a few times. So eventually the goblin would be alone again after Eun Tak has finished living all her lives right? Thats kind of a sad ending i feel.
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Thanks very much for these very kind words, appreciate it a lot. Goblin was a truly fun series, but you raise a good point, i had not even thought about it that way. I do think it’s one of the stronger points for Korean dramas though. They don’t have typical Hollywood endings 😊
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Phenomenal review Michel! This definitely sounds like my cup of tea! And now I’m upset that Netflix here doesn’t have it.😒
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Yeah, Netflix is getting better at providing Korean drama, but not every show is on it unfortunately. You can watch Goblin for free right here: https://www.viki.com
It is a completely legal website that has a huge offering of Asian dramas. Besides the occasional commercials during episodes it presents them in high quality too.
Thank you for the kind words 😊😊😊 Goblin is a really fun series that I know you will highly enjoy. I hope this helps 😀
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Ooh! Thank you for the link Michel!🤗
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Thank you for your post Raistlin0903 – I think I might try to watch Goblin again 🙂 I couldn’t quite get into when I first started because of the 900+ year age gap! In terms of a Kdrama period drama – I would recommend 100 days My Prince?
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Haha…yeah, that 900 year plus age gap is definitely something to get used too 😂 Overall though this is really a very beautiful and heartwarming drama, that really is worth the watch, and one I highly recommend 😊😊
Thank you for your recommendation! I will add it to my way too long to watch list! 😊😊And of course thank you for the great comment as well 😊😊
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