just 8 years late...
After 8 years, I finally sat down to watch Goblin, one of the most popular k-dramas ever. Did it live up to the hype? did it fall flat? Down below I break down what I liked about the show and what I liked less.What I liked
- Lee Dong Wook with his slutty trenchcoat and funny hat 10/10.
- The show probably has the most recognizable soundtrack around. Hits different.
- All of the friendships in the show, probably the best part of the show tbh. Specially the dynamic between the goblin & grim reaper.
- I loved the character of Sunny, kinda obsessed.
- Loved the themes of death, god, immortality etc. Genuinely interesting
- The overall pacing is slow, but at least it's even which is the most important thing for me.
What I couldn't wrap my head around
- Ok, let's just get it over with and talk about the main romantic couple...it just didn't work for me at all. I normally don't mind age gapes that much, however, the main female lead acts more like a 12 year old than a 19 year old. I like Kim Go eun as an actor and she does a good job here as well, but it's more about how the character is written. I don't get why they didn't just age her up? Go Eun was like 24-25 during filming, there was no reason for her to be 19. They could just have made her a university student and written her in a more mature way and the plot would still make sense. Because of this, the main couple just have 0 chemistry, they act more like very fond siblings.
- Some of the editing and camerawork was a bit iffy at times, not a huge issue for me though.
- The ending seemed a bit rushed.
To be honest, this was a pretty difficult show for me to score, so I settled for an 8/10, even though I was planning on giving it a 7.5/10 first. Goblin for me is a show with a lot of great aspects that do a lot of heavy lifting for the show, but also some critical downsides. I did enjoy this show overall and felt emotionally invested in the characters. Do I get why this is one of the most popular k-dramas ever? yeah I can see it. Is it one of the best k-dramas in terms of entertainment and quality? No, absolutely not. Does it live up to the hype for me? Unfortunately, I can't say that it does, but it's still a steller k-drama.
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Despite the episodes being very long (which it didn't feel like), it really was enjoyable.
The low rewatch value is due to the fact that the episodes are 1hr and 30mins long, but this should not refrain you from watching it. I think it is a must-see.
I would rate the cast as 12/10... but you know it doesn't work like that.
It was really fun to recognise the references made about actual kdrama actors and even some kpop groups ^_^
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Definate Re watch.
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It did start out a little slow, but by episode 3 there were so many twists and turns and it just makes you want more....
I enjoyed every single bit of it, and is quite different from your typical dramas, maybe cus there's a magical kind of element to it?
I would definitely recommend and watch again!
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Unlike other vampire/immortal concepts, Kim Shin looks 40, acts 40 and he has the power and wealth of someone who is 40. Meanwhile, Ji Eun Tak looks 17, acts 17 and she has no power or wealth at all to her name.
The fact that Ji Eun Tak is world-weary due to a traumatic life, and Kim Shin is currently on a playful/mid-life crisis streak does not solve this fundamental problem. All the cinematography and production budget in the world couldn't solve this problem.
I really liked the character of Wang Yeo (the grim reaper), and his scenes somewhat redeemed the show for me. . . but not by enough.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes - 3
In fairness to the show, I didn't watch far enough to see any complex themes. But, in the first five episodes it is your typical vampire/immortal romance (except more highly morally problematic than normal). There were hints of complexity developing.
Character Growth -3
Not up to the point I watched.
Nuanced Women -7
Ji Eun Tak is competent in her wise beyond her years but still has bursts of childishness. (The burst of childishness did NOT help with the romance hinted aspects).
Cinematography/Production Values - 10
It's really really gorgeous, with lots of real life sets and large production values.
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Hit or Miss
ive seen so many rating of 10's for this drama, it was misleading or just wrong. im fine with the age difference in the drama but it didnt feel like there wasn't any chemistry between the two leads. someone pointed out that the relationship was more of a father and daughter relationship, and i can completely agree on that one.the story is indeed intriguing, but it went nowhere from the episodes i have watched. its like someone thought of a great idea but it kinda fell flat from the true vision that "Goblin" could have been. along with that, the episodes SHOULD not have been an hour long. it felt fluffed up or dragging out the slow pace that the drama didn't really start off with. the first two episodes are the highlight of the 6 episodes i watched, but after that the pace started to begin slow and i just couldnt take it anymore.
after the first few episodes. i sticked it out to see if it would change my mind, but unfortunately it havent and will end up in the drop pile >: but thank you Goblin for ur OST.
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This review may contain spoilers
I enjoyed watching it!
It's nice to just rest while watching and enjoying the bromance and the funny moments. However, i didn't expect to cry so much at the last episodes. I enjoyed it but if i cried a little bit less it would have been great.Was this review helpful to you?
My Sept 2024 Recommendation Challenge
Long time this in my PTW, thanx to TianD and Recommendation Challenge, I've finally watched this...The reason this so long in my PTW, because the duration of each episode. Make me watch more than 1h per episode, it's quite tormented. Haha... It always bored me at some point.... And as I predict, some episodes of this drama quite bored for me, those episodes make me feel when this will end and continue to the next one... Haha... So yeah, that's quite lowering the score for this drama for me. But of course there're also some episode that can evoke my emotion, so yeah it quite help the score for this drama.
Story about Kim Shin (KS) a general that's curse to be a goblin, due to his sin of killing innocent person just because he's stubborn & want to approach the king... With that curse, KS live immortality to wait for his bride to be born to kill him. After 900 years, KS help a woman & her baby, and with that decision, KS made his destiny, cause the baby that he saved is his bride...
19 years later, KS meet Ji Eun Tak (ET), the baby that he saved & also his bride. ET can see ghost as long as she remembered, and all the ghost always greet her as the goblin's bride. Cause when KS saved her, he also give her a mark & that mark indicate that ET indeed is the goblin's bride.
But that's mean everything went smoothly for KS & ET...? Of course not. ET has prove herself as the goblin's bride for KS, and little by little KS & ET are getting closer & closer to each other. They start to prove they're indeed the soulmate for each other & little by little their feeling for each other also grown into full blossom... So... How their relationship ended in the end...? Can they avoid the fact that ET born to kill KS...?
I think that's pretty much the story without giving any spoiler. Haha... Now let's talk about what I like and don't.
What I like:
+ The chemistry between Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun. They quite suitable for each other.
+ Gong Yoo & Kim Go Eun are good actor/ess. I can see how captivated KS of ET from KS's first glaze of ET. And the grow of their relationship. How devastated when ET has to lose KS. Everything portrayed perfectly...
+ The interesting story of Grim Reaper & Sunny. Really funny to see Grim Reaper act like an idiot when they first met...
What I don't like:
- The long duration of each episode...
- The unclear Samshin Lady... Who the heck is this lady. See even MDL don't give the name to her... At first I thought she is the GOD, but turn out no... So who the heck is this lady...?????
Overall, this just another drama for my list. TianD said, "Goblin is a hit or miss." For me this is a miss.. Haha... And really until I finished write this, I even don't know what score to give this drama. So a little fair warning, I can still change the score many months from now... Haha....
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