Guardian or Goblin??

Let me start by clarifying, these two series are the same. The name of the series use to be formally called “Goblin: The Lonely and Great God,” however the title has recently changed to “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.” This epic love saga is written by none other than Kim Eun Sook who has also written several of our other favorites: “Descendants of the Sun,” “Heirs,” and “The King: Eternal Monarch.” She is an epic storyteller. I love her series for their poignant storytelling with the epic romance details, and there is always a bromance involved. This series is no different.

ALL ABOUT GOBLIN - PART 1!!

Main Characters:

Kim Shin – Gong Yoo

Ji Eun Tak – Kim Go Eun

Wang Yeo – Lee Dong Wook

The Goblin or Kim Shin, is a general who was loved dearly by his sister, devoted to by his soldiers, and betrayed by his King he swore to protect. He was pierced with his sword and in punishment declared to live as a goblin with all his memories until the day his “bride” would come to remove him of his sword and then he would be free. 900 years pass and he sees many lives come and go as he lives a lonely life. One cold night, he hears a cry of a woman dying after being hit by a hit-and-run driver. He sees her in a pool of blood and she begs for him to save her and the life of her unborn child. Although he states he shouldn’t muddle in human affairs with life and death, he feels empathetic and saves the woman. Later a child is born, the Goblin’s bride, Ji Eun Tak.

Ji Eun Tak first locks eyes with the Goblin as a she is leaving school; she assumes he is a spirit - which she has the ability to see - and walks right past him on a crowded street. Then, when she is celebrating her birthday alone, she wishes for 3 things - a part time job, something to be done about her aunt and her abusive family, and a boyfriend. As she blows out the candles on her cake, Kim Shin suddenly appears with Buckwheat in his hand. He gives her the flowers and says the flowers symbolize lovers. He is perplexed by her because she can summon him, he cannot see her future, and she appears to be able to follow him through special doors. She is mesmerized by him, because she thinks he is her Guardian God. Eun Tak tells him she loves him and will love him for many years.

At 9, Ji Eun Tak meets the Grim Reaper for the first time when her mom dies. She sees her mom’s spirit as she blows out her birthday candles. Not gonna lie, this scene made me cry. It was so sad. She later meets the Grim Reaper again when she is 19 years old. When the Grim Reaper senses a strong force of protection, the Goblin suddenly appears by Eun Tak’s side. Eun Tak tries to save the Goblin from the Grim Reaper by shielding his eyes, not yet knowing that Kim Shin is the Goblin (she suspected, but he denied it). The Goblin tells the Grim Reaper no one can take what belongs to him - meaning Eun Tak, as she is the Goblin’s bride. Ahh! Swoon! It appears that he was holding out on admitting it to her because he thought she couldn’t see the sword, but she can. She proves to him she can see the sword when she asks him to stay in Canada and not leave. When drinking and hanging out one night they decide to make a plan to pull the sword out on the night of the first snow fall.

Attempt #1 – the first snow fall – The Goblin takes Eun Tak to the field that he calls his beginning and his end. She hands him a contract that outlines her “effective value” in terms of pulling out and removing the sword. Eun Tak stipulates that Kim Shin will respond to being summoned on the first day it snows each year. He signs his name to the contract and it starts to snow.  He previously told her that she needs to pull the sword out so that he can become pretty. She asks if he has any last words, he says “The time I shared with you was all blindingly bright, Because the day was good, Because the day was not good, Because the day was just right… I loved each and every day.” Swoon! How romantic. She goes to reach for the sword but when she can’t grab it to pull it, it dissipates. She becomes flustered and thinks just like a fairy tale, you have to kiss the prince first and they share their first kiss in the falling snow.

…..Part 2 reveals more of what I love about this series, the second couple’s romance, and what happens after the kiss!

Swoon-worthy moments

Canada – Eun Tak ends up following Kim Shin through a door that takes him to Canada. There in Canada she professes that she thinks he is a Goblin and since she is the Goblin’s bride, she loves him. She tells him that there is a tale that states that if a person catches a falling maple leaf in their hands, that they will fall in love with the person they are walking with. Of course, Kim Shin catches one before she tells him this. She compares it the Korean story of first fallen cherry blossoms. She later memorializes the maple leaf by laminating it.

He saves her – Ji Eun Tak is kidnapped by a set of thugs looking for her mom’s insurance money, which her Aunt has promised to the thugs if they can find her and find out where it is. Eun Tak is in the car and being beaten when he senses her trouble, so he and the Grim Reaper suddenly appear and rescue her. He splits the car in half and asks her if she’s okay. She does the same, asking if he is hurt, because the car was split in half. The problem is that Kim Shin made the road disappear from the map for 2 days so no car can find them to rescue them, and she doesn’t actually say “Thank you”, which the Grim Reaper points out, several times. The scene is super sweet, and super funny.

He waits for her – he does this adorable thing where when he waits for her, he acts like a child. He wants her to call him to be by her side, but they bicker like an adorable couple every time they meet. He walks around carrying books and paintings, changing sweaters and clothes to look more sophisticated, anticipating the next time she will call for him. It is cute and chuckle worthy. And he gets jealous that she calls the Grim Reaper cute and him just some-some, the look on Gong Yoo’s face. The acting is phenomenal. When he is leaving and he wants to find her to tell her goodbye, and when he can’t he leaves out the door several times and comes back each time without her, his face is so desolate. He tells her – “It’s raining, because I’m depressed”, but my mood got better.  

Canada – Kim Shin leads Eun Tak to Canada for beef and in Canada they eat at a restaurant, they will eat here again, but he asks her to describe the sword. Afterwards they are in the garden, and she asks him to wait while she goes to do something, she hands him a book of poetry. He is reading the poem in the garden, and this is the poem. I think at this point in the story you realize he has fallen in love with the girl. The cinematography as she smiles and hops around the crosswalk, and then the camera looks at Kim Shin’s face and reflections of his past. It is a great moment. Made even more perfect by the falling maple leaf on the page of the book. Daebak!

Namchin – Eun Tak is at the house complimenting the Grim Reaper on his towels and Kim Shin has a bout of jealousy. Eun Tak starts listing off her birthday wishes and asks where her boyfriend is several times because the other two things have definitely come true, and Kim Shin says “Here! Right in front you! ME!” and gets shy and practically runs into the bedroom. The Grim Reaper is watching the whole scene from the couch. The Goblin thinks in the bedroom, technically I’m her husband, maybe I need to go correct myself. It’s a really funny moment in Goblin.

The Bromance

Okay – Let’s talk about my second favorite thing about this entire series - the bromance! Kim Shin’s Nephew, Yoo Deok Hwa moves the Grim Reaper into his house for monetary gain, and it sparks one of the greatest Bromances of K-Drama history. Any time these two actors are in the same scene it is comical and uplifting. They are so goofy, for lack of a better word. They play tricks on each other constantly, levitate objects at each other, and tell each other to leave repeatedly, but in the end, you can really see their friendship come through. Kim Shin makes a mistake in episode 3 about the Grim Reaper taking someone’s life, which is actually quite possible. Apparently, to be the Grim Reaper you must have committed a really bad sin. Kim Shin goes to apologize and says, “it doesn’t matter what you did in your past life, it doesn’t change how much I don’t like you”. Finally, the Goblin is leaving and heading to a new place, and the doorbell rings. They are both sitting on the couch and act like they are scared to open the door. This bromance is only made better by the inclusion of Deok Hwa. Sometimes he is involved in some of their bickering, and it strengthens their relationship. When Eun Tak can finally take out the sword and he can finally die, he goes through a manic-depressive state of mind. He invites his nephew and the Grim Reaper to come with him to the sauna (bathhouse) in a very overly confident manner in a very comical scene.  Oh they can hear each other’s thoughts too! There is a really funny scene when they are both outside and trying to remember the code to the house and they both admit they don’t use the door to open the house. Oh, and their argument when they talk about decorating Eun Tak’s bedroom is also really funny. Eun Tak speaks up and says it is her room so she should have a say, and Kim Shin grabs a pillow to sleep in the Grim Reaper’s room. It is evident how much these two have really become friends and started to rely on each other when they are sleeping in the same room and discussing looking at God as he was once a butterfly. It is a really special and important moment in the series.

The Music

Y’all this was the first OST I added to my YouTube playlist. Stay With Me by EXO’s Chan-yeol and Punch is the closing song of the series, and it is beautiful and powerful, and romantic. I’m not gonna lie, when I sing this song, I feel like I know the Korean... that’s how many times I have listened to it. It is one of my favorite songs. The way she sings “jebal” is breathtaking and the rap towards the end is perfect. Lasse Lindh – Hush displays the feelings that Kim Shin feels for Eun Tak and plays when he thinks of her. Crush’s “Beautiful” is the second most recognized song from Goblin, in my opinion. It talks about a Beautiful Life and a Beautiful Day, but is somber and melodic at the same time. This song is often used in flash backs. If you haven’t listened to this soundtrack, you are missing out on some amazing music from amazing artists.

The ghosts

Eun Tak can see ghosts; she forms a bond and beautiful friendship with these ladies and they help each other out. The ghosts help her by putting a cigarette into the hand of the school bully and getting her removed from school.  One ghost she helps by cleaning up her apartment and storing food in her fridge, so her mom is comforted that she had food and was taking care of her herself while not at home.  A different ghost shows her where she hid her mom’s bank book so that the money went to her and not the mean aunt.

So there it is, our review of “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” - Part 1.  What did you think?!  Thank you for joining us on this journey. 

Have a favorite K-drama you think we should review, comment down below!!  We look forward to seeing you back again next week!

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