Goblin
Goblin OST: Lasse Lindh- Hush
Synopsis:
Kim Shin was a general in the late Goryeo period, but after killing countless people in battles, he was made into an immortal being by the gods. This is his punishment as he cannot die until he finds a bride who can pull out a mystical sword in his heart and turn him into ashes. About 900 years later, he finds his bride, Ji Eun Tak. Although he doesn't believe Eun Tak is his bride at first, he begins to fall in love with her. And once he discovers she can, in fact, pull out the sword, he no longer wants to die.
Both Eun Tak and Shin put off the sword removal until he finds out that if she doesn't end his life, she's fated to die soon. Shin decides to find a way around their fates so that they can both live together. However, Shin must pull out the sword in order to stop 900 year old evil spirit Park Joong Hun from harming everyone around him. 10 years later, Eun Tak has forgotten Kim Shin, who has ended up in some kind of icy purgatory. She brings him back due to a contract she made with him 10 years before. She remembers him and they get married, but she sacrifices herself to save a bus of children. A few decades later she returns to him in her second reincarnation, with 2 more to go. It's unclear if Kim Shin will live for eternity.
Meanwhile, a grim reaper (without a name at this point), moves in with Kim Shin due to the deities' workings. He runs into chicken shop owner Kim Sun (Sunny) and bursts into tears. He finds out that Sunny was Kim Shin's sister in Goryeo in her past life. He then finds out his past life was the king Wang Yeo who was manipulated by Park Joong Hun to kill his wife Kim Sun and Kim Shin. His final sin of committing suicide led him to become a grim reaper. Wang Yeo and Kim Sun fall for each other again as the reaper and Sunny, but once they find out their past identities, they find it impossible to be together. Even when Kim Shin is gone, the gods let Sunny keep her memories. Sunny is the reaper's final soul decades later and they both move on to the afterlife together. In both of their next lives, they meet again as different people and fall in love without the burdens of their past lives.
Reaction:
I loved this drama so much, even before finishing it, that I forced by 24 year old hipster brother to watch it. Unfortunately, he didn't make it past episode 2 on account of it being too "highbrow," but he has no stamina. And for all the haters who thought the plot was too thin, Goblin was never about the plot. There are plot driven dramas and there are character driven dramas. Goblin is a character driven drama.
Kim Shin held a grudge against Wang Yeo for 900 years and yet he couldn't recognize that he was living with him, developing a bromance. And once they learned their true identities, they never seemed to truly forgive each other and move on. But in the mean time, it was so wonderful to watch their friendship develop. They needed each other to grow.
There is nothing more powerful than time. And it seems plenty of it is needed in order to push for character development. Thankfully, this drama gave us lifetimes full of character development. Even in the next life, Sunny made the same mistakes, but she grew stronger on her own. Kim Shin learned the value of life after his sword was dripping with the blood of hundreds of dead bodies. Wang Yeo learned to love himself, for the only love he thought he had was corrupted by a power hungry eunuch.
There were a couple things that did bother me about the drama. First of all, I think Kim Go Eun did a good job with her role as Ji Eun Tak, but maybe Eun Tak wasn't written well? She came off as extremely immature and insincere at points. When the goblin was falling in love with her, I thought, "her? really?" And that's not something you want to think about your heroine. I liked her a lot more as a soulful 29 year old. Though Kim Go Eun is still relatively young, she seems to have an old soul and that's why it was so awkward to watch her play 19 year old Eun Tak.
Another thing that really bothered me was why Kim Shin ended up pulling out the sword. He finally pulled out the sword so he could get rid of Park Joong Hun's soul (can't really say to kill him, since he was technically already dead). Kim Shin seemed to have come to the conclusion that the purpose of his immortal life was to defeat Park Joong Hun. Really!? He was punished for 900 years for that??? Don't get me wrong. Park Joong Hun was as evil as villains get. But Kim Shin's immortal life should have had a purpose only for him, not to defeat someone else. It was his punishment. I just wanted there to be more meaning behind all the suffering.
I thought the ending was done quite well. Sunny and Wang Yeo got to spend one life together free of their past life burdens. They deserved that; they deserved to spend one life being happy. And Eun Tak found Kim Shin again in her next life just like she promised she would. I do worry, as all Goblin fans did, what Kim Shin will do once Eun Tak dies for the last time. He may live to live now, but he literally has no friends left in his life. Can he really be happy until the end of the Earth's destruction completely alone?
Most of all, when I was watching Goblin, I truly felt like I was watching history being made. I've never seen anything like it before, in dramaland or in any television category. It was so beautifully crafted, with a sweeping epic story, amazing actors, and provocation for deep philosophical thought. And with the arrival of new (ok not so new by the time I actually publish this post) and incredibly refreshing drama Missing 9, I'm excited for what the rest of 2017 has in store for dramas.
Thank you deokkaebi, every moment with you shined.
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