Imagine that you’re checking out places to live in, and you find a house with these three roommates:
- A goblin with magical powers, including the ability to see the future
- A grim reaper who has no memories of his past but can see everyone else’s
- A high school girl who can see ghosts and is the goblin’s bride
Would you want to live with them? I know I would.
In a sense, that’s what I felt like when watching Goblin. I’m living with these three wonderfully quirky characters.
Here’s my Goblin review (also known as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God).
For those who haven’t watched Goblin
Should you watch this?
If you enjoy fantasy and supernatural stories, you should watch this drama.
If you enjoy superb cinematography, definitely watch this.
If you want a good cry, definitely watch this drama.
If you enjoy storytelling that spans different timelines, you should watch this drama.
What is Goblin about?
For those who have watched it
Goblin Quotes
Episode 3
“Do you perhaps know that saying? To humans, there are four stages of life. The stage of sowing the seeds, the stage of watering the sown seeds, the stage of harvesting the watered seeds, and the stage of using the harvested seeds.” – Eun-Tak to Goblin
Episode 4
“In your life, only your decisions are the correct answer.” – Goblin to the boy he saved in the first episode
“You changed your own life. For that reason, I have always cheered you on.” – Goblin to the boy he saved in the first episode
Episode 5
“Sometimes in life, a strange genre suddenly gets into the mix. What genre was your day?” – Eun-Tak listening to her iPod
“Though I have at times regarded this life as a reward, in the end my life was a punishment.” – Goblin to God
“If God really does only give you how much you can handle, I wonder if he didn’t overestimate me.” – Goblin to Grim Reaper
Episode 6
“Life is just a brief borrowing and a brief stay anyway. Hell doesn’t only exist in hell” – Eun-Tak to the Grim Reaper
“And nine is the closest number to God’s perfect number ten and is incomplete.” – Grim Reaper to Eun-Tak
“Since you live forever, maybe you have plenty of time to waste; but because I’m an ordinary human being, time is gold and money.” – Eun-Tak to Goblin
Episode 7
Episode 9
“I’m so scared. So, I wish you would keep telling me that you need me. I wish you would ask me to do that as well. A permission that’s like an excuse, I wish I had it. With that excuse, I wish I could continue to live with you.” – Goblin to Eun-Tak
“A human’s desperation can open any door. Maybe once in a while, one of those doors becomes a variable in God’s plan.” – Goblin to Grim Reaper
Episode 10
“Before death, everything is regret” – Goblin to Grim Reaper
Episode 11
“They say a human has four lives. A life where you scatter seeds, a life that waters the scattered seeds, a life of harvesting those seeds, and a life to use what you harvested. The fact there are four lives like this, doesn’t that mean there’s a past life and a rebirth?” – Eun-Tak to her boss
“Even if I die tomorrow, I have to live today. Going to work, preparing for college, walking on the sidewalk, and coming back home. That’s what life is.” – Eun-Tak to Goblin
Episode 12
“God just questions. Fate is the question I throw, the answer…you can find it.” – Deok-Hwa (as God) to Goblin and Grim Reaper
Episode 16
“The thing that God hopes for us is to forgive ourselves and realize an ardent life.” – Grim Reaper to the lady Grim Reaper
“A human’s sacrifice is a domain that God cannot pre-determine and foresee” – Grim Reaper monologue during Eun-Tak’s car accident
The good
Superb Cinematography
The cinematography was my favorite thing about this drama.
So many scenes are epically shot, beautifully framed, and masterfully colored. You can’t help but be pulled into the moment. The way things were filmed really added to my enjoyment of watching Goblin.
My favorite shot in the entire drama is when the grim reaper and goblin walk in to save Eun-Tak. The slow motion, lighting, and CGI just made the supernatural elements feel so epic. I wish I could be saved in that way.
There are also scenes that are simply gorgeous in a more subtle way—like all the moments in Canada. The warm, golden brown and yellow colors and autumn leaves blended so well together. It made Canada the perfect setting for the quiet and romantic scenes.
Minimal Confusion with Storytelling Across timelines
Time is such a tricky aspect in storytelling. When you try to blend the past, present, and future together, things get complicated fast. It can be very easy, especially for me, to get lost in how events and characters are connected. But I thought Goblin did a great job handling it.
The drama weaves together fate across timelines, reincarnations, and delayed destiny in a way that actually makes sense. It’s layered, but it never feels overwhelming.
The Unique Concept of the Grim Reaper Character
I really liked the concept of the grim reapers in Goblin. They were more than just guides for the dead. They were complex characters with their own backstories.
Grim reapers were once humans that committed a grave sin in their past. As punishment, they are reincarnated as grim reapers with no memory of their past selves–not even their own name. What’s ironic is that they have the power to see the past lives of others by touching them. It’s these little details that made the grim reapers one of the more interesting characters in the story.
Goblin and Grim Reaper’s Slow Character Development
I thought the show did a great job showcasing Goblin and Grim Reaper’s character development. By the end of the show, they truly felt like different characters.
The Goblin starts off jaded and tired of his immortal life. Even when he realizes that Eun-Tak is his bride, he doesn’t try to love her. He just sees her as the key to ending his existence. But over time, we see her slowly break down his emotional walls. Just by being with her, his outlook on life begins to shift. He starts to find meaning in life again, becomes more joyful, and eventually wants to live just so he can stay by her side.
The Grim Reaper begins as exactly what’d we expect: stoic and reserved. He doesn’t think much about himself or his past and just focuses on guiding souls into the afterlife. But everything changes when he meets Sunny. Suddenly, he’ curious about her. He breaks the rules, follows his heart, and questions his own identity and past. He seeks forgiveness from the Goblin and encourages Eun-Tak to live on It’s kind of interesting how a grim reaper, who is associated with death, ultimately become someone who wants to celebrate life.
Goblin and Grim Reaper’s Incredible Bromance
I absolutely loved their bromance on screen. It wasn’t something I expected and it turned out to be one of the best parts of the show.
They added the comedy needed to bring the divineness of the characters down to a human level.
Both Gong Yoo and Dong-Wook killed their roles as the Goblin and Grim Reaper. They really made their characters feel special.
Kim Go-Eun as Eun-Tak/Goblin’s bride
I thought Kim Go-Eun absolutely killed her role as Eun-Tak. She brought a perfect mix of cuteness and emotional depth to her character. Her snarky little expressions and big dimples really lit her up on screen. When things got serious like when she lost Goblin on the rooftop, her performance was heartbreaking. Her raw emotions in her voice and face just hit really hard. She made me tear up in so many scenes, and I rarely cry when watching kdramas.
The romance between Eun-Tak and Goblin
I thought their romantic development was really well done.
At first, it was a little weird. How can a 900+ year old goblin fall in love with a high school kid? That’s an extreme-level of oppa romance. But over the course of 16 episodes, they really made it work. They brought this fantastical love story down to something that felt real. They did normal people stuff together. Go on dates, hold hands, travel, etc…
Everything felt believable. So much so that when either of them died, I cried. Their romance had a lot of emotional depth.
In the end, Goblin gave Eun-Tak the family and love she always wanted while Eun-Tak gave Goblin a life that was actually worth living.
The music fits the heavy emotional aspect of the drama
Goblin is very heavy on the ballad genre of music, which at first, I wasn’t a big fan of. The show felt pretty light in the beginning, so all these ballads didn’t quite fit well. But as the show went on, things got more serious and emotional. That’s when I started to enjoy the music way more because the music fit much better with the heartbreaking and bittersweet themes.
And it’s because of those intense emotional moments that make the music much more iconic. Like if I’m listening to a playlist on YouTube and I hear Beautiful by Crush, I know it’s immediately from Goblin.
Here is my favorite song from the drama:
The opening song to the drama is also so good! There’s just something magical about this song. I usually skip kdrama openings, but I watched the opening way more because of song.
The bad
The bad guy didn’t feel all that bad
He was shown to be really evil in the beginning, but his evilness really faded away. In the end, it was just him haunting people and looking scary. In reality, he didn’t cause much havoc. So there was a lot of tension lost in the story with Goblin trying to seek revenge.
What I thought could’ve been better
Who is the Lady in Red??
I still have no idea who the lady in red is. If I had to guess, she’s the personification of fate? It would’ve helped if she said who she was from the beginning because she clearly plays a role in reuniting all the characters together.
Grim Reaper and Sunny’s romance
It just felt a little weird. Off balance. Like the romance didn’t quite make sense. It was so drawn out. She found everything he did endearing, which felt a little fake. I didn’t quite believe it.
I don’t know how to improve their romance because it’s romance between a human being and a grim reaper. Yes–they had a past life together, which makes it even more complicated, but if you were to take that out of the picture and just see it as a romance between a grim reaper and human being…that’s a bit tough.
Exploring more of the side ghosts storylines
It would’ve been interesting and a bit fun to see more the backstories for each of our random ghosts. I felt a bit sad when the ghosts ended up leaving Eun-Tak because they were with her until the very end of the show.
Life themes in Goblin
Some of these life lessons are more religious based, which was actually quite interesting to write and think about.
The Greatest Sin Is Giving Up on Yourself
We all mess up. Some of us carry mistakes that feel too big. But no matter how far we think we’ve fallen or become a mark in somebody else’s eyes, our worth isn’t erased. We’re not defined by our worst moments. God never intended that when He designed us. What He desires is for us to forgive ourselves, ask others for forgiveness, and to keep moving forward in life. Like the grim reaper said, “The great sin that we committed is the sin of throwing out our own lives.”
Love Can Be The Greatest Source of Joy and Pain
Love is like a double edge sword. Love can bring immense joy and sense of fulfillment. We see that with Goblin – before he fell in love with Eun-Tak, he was absolutely jaded with his life. Once he fell in love with her, he seemed more joyful and wanted to live again just to be with her.
But when we lose our love, it brings about such intense suffering. We see that pain so intimately with both Eun-Tak and Goblin when they lose each other.
This begs the question – is it worth loving others and receiving love?
Tomorrow is Never Guaranteed
So live as best as you can in the present because tomorrow is never guaranteed. You could get married the day before and then die in a car accident the next day as Eun-Tak did.
The Human Mind Will Never Understand God
We will never understand how and why God works the way he does because we live and think differently than He does. We are given free will though, which I believe to be the tool to use to figure out how to live this crazy life in this mysterious world.
Re-watchability
What I watched before this?
Overall Rating
I am very pleased with how Goblin turned out. It does a great job story telling with unique characters, interesting viewpoints on religion and life, and high quality and superb cinematography. The entire Goblin cast did a great job!
I hope you enjoyed this Goblin review!
Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.
