[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비

[xxyy]

http://supermunchee.blogspot.com/2010/02/lee-dong-wooks-army-pictures.html

Stalking at its best....

So goblin and grim reaper path crossed since 2010  when they are discharged from army

well they may have been friends before but i m happy to see this photo....

this remind me of the movie "windstruck"...the final scene.....where both characters were in the same photo years back....

anyways..thought i'd share this...love it <3

[miss-guided]

I've read in some other sites that Lee El's character is the Samshin Halmang, but I wonder if maybe she's actually Bari/ an Ogushin.  It would somehow make sense, I think? Since Eun Tak's character is kinda similar to that of Bari.  And when Lee El's voiceover said that Grim (and Sunny) have a high price to pay, she definitely seems mad at Grim, which if he's really the King, would make sense since in the first ep, Shin's second in command asked the king if he didn't fear heaven.  

If Grim's the King, it would also make sense since he ordered the deaths in the first place.  Since he mocked that the gods don't listen to the people, it would be probable that he got sentenced to being a reaper.  I know that Shin was imagining someone who's 17 years old, but he forgot that when he resurrected, it had been years later already (since the Eunuch was shown to have aged into an old man), so the king probably died at a more mature age (and they only showed a portrait of the queen, but not of the king).  If he's the king, maybe he cried not because he knows Sunny, but because of the ring - which belonged to the queen.

Also, if he's both the reaper AND the king, then is it possible that Shin's death scene will be recreated for his final (and imminent) modern death? I could definitely imagine Eun Tak telling Shin that she'll be right behind him.

[starryknights]

34 minutes ago, mrukki said:

I don't think we need to discuss whether if the Queen was KS's sister. As javabeans's recap mentioned, it was stated in the promotional information that the Queen is KS's sister, I think that should be as good as canon. 

I didn't notice the female grim reaper in the Goryeo world, I did notice the woman in the Goryeo world but couldn't make that linkage. Whatever it is, the new grim reaper is probably not from the Goryeo. She is likely a reincarnation, that's the only way GR being the King will make sense. If the new female grim reaper is from the Goryeo time she should have been in the grim reaper circles as long as GR has. Given the names of the characters from the promotional material, it's also safe to say grim reaper is definitely the king.

I however really like the new theory going around that ET is a reincarnation of the Queen's child that was never meant to be. I don't think that's weird at all. She is a reincarnation and not KS's niece, biologically she is the child of her biological parents, it's only her soul that is connected with KS. Someone asked who ET's dad was but it was mentioned in the first episode that her dad ran away.

Personally I don't know how this drama will end out. I know however that it's highly improbable that ET will pull the sword out next week. I don't doubt that she can see the sword however. Her manner of interaction is fishy, which leads me to think she's hiding something. Maybe the sword is not always clear or she knows very well what pulling out that sword will mean. She's too hesitant about talking about the sword for her to be telling the complete truth.

Now, for the high points that no one seems to have mentioned yet. Was the grim reaper trying to mooch off the restaurants TV? Hiding in a restaurant like that with his hat on. Absolutely hilarious. Drama loving GR is the best! Everyone has already mentioned drunk Goblin. But that really was too funny and requires a mentioning. Note, he got drunk on two cans! How am I suppose to survive a week? 

i can't believe the preview(?) at the end of ep 4--she's not gonna do it, right? it's too soon! and we still haven't gotten any clues as to whether there are loopholes of getting around kim shin not turning into ashes, so i'm not mentally prepared! this is all so sad, really. i hate that she doesn't know the meaning behind pulling out the sword and he's not telling her the truth. i mean, can you imagine how shocked and traumatized she'd be if he just disappeared into ashes??? omg, i can't. they better not do that! i agree with you that she always seem kinda hesitant to talk about the sword when he asks her about it and kinda dodges his questions, but i believe her that she sees it.

lawl, grims was TOTALLY mooching off the restaurant's tv to tune into his drama, which is so random and cute! see, i'd never expect these silly and adorkable sides to both the goblin and grims, so this is such a nice surprise to see them be so silly. drunk goblin is hilarious, sexy and funny! i definitely wanna see more of #drunkgoblin ahahaha it didn't hit me at first that he was drunk, then he stumbled and started offering to buy all the toothbrushes, and i'm like, omg, ccccuuuuttteeeeee! then he didn't even remember he met up with her the next day! 

i know i'm gonna die waiting for friday already idk why i do this to myself T___T

18 minutes ago, LanA said:

Yes, die by turning into ashes, that's what I think and what the GR mentioned in ep 4. I don't think he can live a mortal life after the sword is being removed.

but but but he has to! i need to know that there IS a loophole to all of this!

[snowynight_stv]

I am very happy that this drama is airing because I had waited for it. My reasons for waiting was 1) interesting plot 2) Gong Yoo 3) Kim Go Eun . So far it never disappointed me. I like the way Kim Go Eun acting. It suits her role. And Gong Yoo... this man! He's a natural actor! I didn't like Lee Dong Wook since "My Girl". His acting wasn't natural to me in that drama. But here.... of course his acting skills have been improved since 2006 XD! I like how cute our Grim Reaper is!   And Yoo In Na. I didn't like her in My Love From Another Star maybe because of her role but then I watched Queen In Hyun's Man and I didn't like in it either! So I was a bit unsatisfied when I saw she is second female lead in this drama! But after watching her role in drama, I was surprised! And I think this is the power of writer-nim! XD

All characters are charming in their own way and it's very satisfying!

I love chemistry between Goblin and his bride! They're so adorable!

The chemistry between Grim Reaper and Goblin is also one of a kind! XD

Hope it doesn't pull "W"!!!

[liddi]

Took me more than a month after MLSHR to finally come back to kdramaland and when I finally did, it was thanks to Goblin. Did not have any preconceived notions going in, since I did not really know the cast apart from KGE. This is the first drama I've watched of GY and LDW, having only caught GY in Train to Busan. However, they have totally sold me with their performances and bromance, on and off screen. Spot on comedic timing and I love love love Goblin and Reaper's petty fights and repartee far more than their quasi-heroic moments. Absolutely on board with the hilarious bromance triangle between Goblin, Reaper and k-Andy Lau, while chortling with glee to see nasty Commissioner Ahn of 38 Task Force here as Grandpa's straight-laced secretary who cancelled Duk Hwa's credit card lol. As for GY and KGE's chemistry... I never saw it coming, but they are absolutely cracktastic together with such amazing chemistry that it makes every scene they're in together such a treat. KGE is truly a joy to behold and a breath of fresh air each time she is onscreen - can't imagine this is the same girl who maimed and killed in Coin Locker Girl - what an incredible actress. The cinematography is stunning, the soundtrack perfect, and the script so far is snazzy and fun with unexpected moments of poignancy and sadness. My only real concern now is the rest of KES' script, and I hope she will give us a strong story to tie all the wonderful elements that are already prevalent in the drama together, all the way to the end, with tight and cohesive pacing. Please let it be so!

Thank you for all the insightful posts... I see some familiar faces here  I do have a question from Ep4 about the young boy in Paris who grew up to be a lawyer (played by the talented Nam Da Reum). With every death, those who were innocent were given the gift of the tea to wipe out their memories, while the evil were condemned to suffer with the remembrance of their sins haunting them. Yet with him, why was he not offered the tea by Goblin? Instead he is given directions to the afterlife. My only conclusion is that he has been deemed worthy to have eternal peace and go to a far better existence in the afterlife (e.g. heaven), rather than be reincarnated and continue to live yet another life on earth. Do you think that makes sense within this universe?

In any case, am well and truly captivated and firmly on the Goblin bullet train along with my daughter. Fingers and toes tightly crossed that it continues to deliver all the way to the end. 

[Maria Brimstone]

I read that a lot of other people on other forums and stuff are kinda angry that ET is being so pushy and needy with Shin. But I totally understand her actually. This is the first time since her mom that she's had a proper home to return to with nice people to share the house with. To her, after moving in, her life is stable. She thinks that everything is alright now because she doesn't have to worry. She thinks that her life is set, steady and safe now that she's accepted as the Goblin's bride. She doesn't know the truth and what being the bride entails. She just sees it as a good thing because to her, it's an escape. It allowed to be free and she thinks that she will have happy times ahead of her. For once she feels protected. Since so long ago, being the Goblin's bride gave her a purpose. I think the reason she was snippy with Shin this episode was because she was desperate to make it work. She wants it to last. 

[SunnySun26]

the OSTs are doing so good, Stay with Me never left top 10 and after the last 2 ep, the OST is #2 on Melon and #3 on Instiz (top 3 all the charts), 10cm one is #1 on Instiz and #10 on Melon, Hush is also #4 on Instiz.

I hope all the OSTs are gonna do good, just like DOTS.

 

 

 

[Guest ireumimolla]

Hello everyone! I'm delurking because I've become too addicted to this drama for my own good. Seriously, I'm loving everything about this drama so far - from the cast, to the laughs and tears the story brings, to the cinematography and symbolisms, everything! 

And because I'm in love with this drama, I was so curious about all the flower and plants that we've seen in the 4 episodes so far. Just wanted to share my thoughts. If something similar had already been posted before, please pardon me as I only started lurking on this thread last week and can't back-track all the pages. OK, here goes:

1) Sunflower

Seen in Episode 1, after our Goblin, Kim Shin, was left to die in the field.

Sunflowers are said to constantly be facing the sun, and considered to be a symbol of faith and loyalty. Kim Shin was respected by the villagers and the men under him when he was a General. He was also a loyal man himself. The (wilting) sunflowers are seen facing him, so they may be representing the people who were loyal to him but were killed as a result of his choice of action.

(See the rest under SPOILER)

Spoiler

2) Cabbage

The Halmeoni's gift to Eun-Tak in Episode 1.

Cabbage is known as a symbolism of Luck across various cultures, especially to the Chinese (wealth and prosperity). The Halmeoni is wishing Eun-Tak all the best (at least until they meet again in a later episode).

3) Buckwheat Flowers

At the end of episode 1, Kim Shin hands over Buckwheat flowers to Eun-Tak, claiming that it it means 'Lovers' when she asks about their significance.

Now, I've never heard about this before, so I spent quite some time consulting Google, but I didn't manage to find any proof to back up Kim Shin's claim. The only info I found about Buckwheat (link below) is that it symbolises Money and Protection. Hmm. Someone who knows and can back up Kim Shin, please enlighten me?

http://www.photovault.com/Link/Food/PlantsHerbsSymbolism.html 

4) Maple Leaf

Maple leaves everywhere! In the Quebec scenes in episode 2. Eun-Tak says that catching a falling leaf on its way down will make the love with the person you are walking with come true. Well, she's pretty close. The maple leaf is known to be an emblem of lovers. It is also a recurring character (object? hehe.) in later episodes.

5) Spinach

Also in episode 2, Eun-Tak is given spinach by the now young and sexy Halmeoni. She tells her to share it with her abusive family members. Spinach can symbolize inner strength and the will and determination to see things through to the finish. The Halmeoni, who we know can see things in the future, may have known of what was going to happen later that night and the small help that the spinach came to be might have given Eun-Tak just a small encouragement, and allowed her a brief respite from her aunt and cousins.

And I guess all (or most) of us also know that spinach literally gave strength to Popeye, right? Hah.

6) Dandelion

Seen in Episode 2, during the graveyard scene in Quebec. The white (puffball) dandelion has many symbolic meanings. It can symbolise intelligence, as well as clarity, purity, cleansing, spirit/soul, space, and new beginnings. In this particular scene, it can have several meanings as Eun-Tak watches Kim Shin brooding at his own grave.

7) More flowers

I'm telling you, this drama is just so, sooooo pretty. Sighs.

Disclaimer: All information are not mine. I just googled everything out of curiosity and just wanted to share with everyone who's also loving this drama like me. However, all gifs are made by me. Peace out! 

[Chellsee]

11Dec2016:  tvN Official FB update.

 

[autumna]

56 minutes ago, miss-guided said:

I've read in some other sites that Lee El's character is the Samshin Halmang, but I wonder if maybe she's actually Bari/ an Ogushin.  It would somehow make sense, I think? Since Eun Tak's character is kinda similar to that of Bari.  And when Lee El's voiceover said that Grim (and Sunny) have a high price to pay, she definitely seems mad at Grim, which if he's really the King, would make sense since in the first ep, Shin's second in command asked the king if he didn't fear heaven.  

If Grim's the King, it would also make sense since he ordered the deaths in the first place.  Since he mocked that the gods don't listen to the people, it would be probable that he got sentenced to being a reaper.  I know that Shin was imagining someone who's 17 years old, but he forgot that when he resurrected, it had been years later already (since the Eunuch was shown to have aged into an old man), so the king probably died at a more mature age (and they only showed a portrait of the queen, but not of the king).  If he's the king, maybe he cried not because he knows Sunny, but because of the ring - which belonged to the queen.

Also, if he's both the reaper AND the king, then is it possible that Shin's death scene will be recreated for his final (and imminent) modern death? I could definitely imagine Eun Tak telling Shin that she'll be right behind him.

 

I thought the ring and Sunny affected him? He seemed to be in a trance with her it has to mean something that after one meeting he cannot stop thinking about Sunny..

[Chellsee]

The Lonely Shining Goblin: Episode 4

I find it endlessly entertaining that our goblin is a mercurial god who feels so many feelings—you’d think that a millennium would give a guy some perspective, but he feels everything so acutely, making for some hilarious highs and gloomy lows today. In a meta sense, the character is perfectly in step with a drama that swings wildly from wry comedy one minute to melancholy soul-searching the next, and I enjoy the unexpected emotional twists of starting a scene in a dark mood and undercutting it with humor, or starting with light comedy and suddenly dropping a two-ton weight of emotion on the scene. You never know where you’re headed, which is the fun.

EPISODE 4 RECAP

Thunder claps and lightning strikes, as Eun-tak points at the sword embedded in the goblin’s heart. She admits that she’s seen it from the start and asks, “What am I now? Am I still not the gobin’s bride?”

Shin stares at her in wonder for a long beat and says, “I think you are.” She can’t help but smile, not really understanding what it means to be the goblin’s bride, and asks cheerily if she’s become useful now, and if this means that Shin won’t leave. He says he won’t leave for the time being… “Because I might have to prepare to go someplace farther away,” he finishes. Nooo, not the death talk already!

Read more under spoiler:

http://www.dramabeans.com/2016/12/the-lonely-shining-goblin-episode-4/

Shin asks why she didn’t mention the sword before if she really saw it the whole time (yes, suspicious that), but Eun-tak says she was trying to be polite at first, and then got scared about the consequences later. “What if you ask me to get married right away? What about college? Do I become a goblin?” she asks.

She wants to know her first order of business as the goblin’s bride, and Shin suavely tells her to wait right here… and then ruuuuuuuns into Reaper’s room flailing like a big geek. “She sees the sword! She pointed at the sword, like this!” he shouts, unnecessary demonstration included.

Reaper tells him to get out, but Shin is freaking out: “She can see the sword! She’s my bride! I’m going to die!” Naturally, Reaper is unfazed by death and counters, “So what, isn’t that a good thing? Weren’t you looking for the bride in order to die?”

Shin deflates and stammers, “I… was… nearly my whole life.” Reaper asks if he’s happy or scared that he found the bride, and Shin starts pacing around the room saying that he is relieved at the thought of ending this immortal life, “but I’m not always sick of it either…” Ha. He admits that part of him wants to live, and Reaper jumps on that to say he’ll just take Eun-tak then.

Reaper complains about the paperwork involved, but he figures that she was meant to die, and Shin quickly starts backpedaling. Eun-tak gets sick of waiting outside and rings the doorbell, and Shin turns into a drama queen and declares, “Death is calling me.” Ha. Reaper: “If it’s ringing the doorbell, it’s a kind death.”

Reaper points out that it’s not like Shin said terrible things to make Eun-tak resent him and want him dead, and Shin sighs, remembering all the cold things he said to her, “I’ll just die. That’s cleaner.”

Reaper and Goblin head out to answer the doorbell together, and Eun-tak launches into a rehearsed sob story about her sad life, now abandoned by Aunt with nowhere to go. She’s hilariously bad at it, but Reaper takes her side, especially when he hears that Shin plans to stick around.

Eun-tak asks to live here, even if Shin has to adopt her (oh because THAT’s going to make this less icky), and swears that she can grow up quietly on her own, like a cactus. Reaper consents immediately, and Shin glares.

She continues her comically bad sob story, and Reaper whispers into Shin’s ear, “I know this story. I saw the drama!” Eun-tak concludes that once she was abandoned by Aunt, she knew there was no god, looking pointedly at Shin. She begs him to save her.

He rolls his eyes and asks how a girl wanting to be saved could knowingly ask to live with a grim reaper. Thinking quickly, she says that it’s always darkest under the lamp, “so you be my lamp from now on, so this ajusshi can’t take me.” Reaper starts to say that his friend Shin is going to let him take her, but Shin interrupts him and sends Eun-tak inside. She doesn’t need to be told twice, and gapes at her surroundings.

Goblin and Reaper bicker about outing each other’s secrets, and Shin gets mad at Reaper and says his friendship lasted for all of five minutes before threatening the poor girl. Reaper counters that Shin is the one who left her out there in the cold.

Shin comes up with an idea to get rid of Eun-tak, and slides her an envelope of money. It’s the 5 million won she’s been praying for, but she slides the envelope right back and says it’s too late—she’s already seen his house. She calls it perfect for raising children in, and asks what type of wife he wants, doing her best to be coy and flirty.

He reminds her that she doesn’t like him, and she takes it all back, and then thinks in her head that he’s handsome and cool and his eyes are like stars. She assumes that he can hear her, and Shin admits that he was lying about that. He doesn’t know exactly how he heard her when she was kidnapped, but he thinks it might have to do with her birthmark.

Eun-tak immediately drops the sweet act and calls him a con artist, angry that she spent so much energy trying not to think of him, and making herself think other thoughts just to justify thinking about him all the time.

Shin: “Why are you sneaking in a confession that you were thinking of me? It’s confusing.” She doesn’t really get his meaning and asks if she’s supposed to unpack her bags or not, and Shin tells her there’s another solution.

Cut to: Grandpa showing Eun-tak her new suite room in the hotel where Deok-hwa lives, just one floor down. Deok-hwa is surprised to run into Eun-tak again after the bookstore, and Grandpa doesn’t ever explain why he’s speaking to Eun-tak in jondae and offering Deok-hwa’s services like he’s a butler.

Deok-hwa argues that Grandpa has an army of secretaries for that, but all Grandpa has to do is offer to maybe unfreeze a credit card, and Deok-hwa is at her service with a bow. Grandpa says that Deok-hwa isn’t trustworthy, and hands Eun-tak a business card so she can call him if anything happens.

She gapes to realize that Grandpa is a chairman, and Deok-hwa happily adds that this makes him a third-generation chaebol. Grandpa drags him out by the ear and bids her goodnight.

Eun-tak takes in the giant suite in awe, and then runs around screaming, “Daebak!” and trying everything out. Her fun doesn’t last very long though, and she realizes how lonely and scary it is in that giant room all by herself.

Downstairs, Deok-hwa asks who that girl is, and Grandpa just says to treat her well because something very important is in her hands. When Deok-hwa asks what, Grandpa says it’s Deok-hwa’s credit card.

Deok-hwa stomps over to Uncle Shin’s house to complain about Grandpa, but finds Shin sitting glumly in front of a row of pill bottles, for everything from depression to insomnia. He’s back to speaking in sageuk tone, and says he’s become very sensitive, and his mood keeps changing from happy to sad to lonely to shining. As if it’s a deathly affliction to have feelings.

Shin pops the pills and shuffles away, and then Reaper shuffles over to take the same pills, saying that he has the same symptoms, and wonders what it means when you cry the instant you meet a woman.

At work the next day, Eun-tak folds napkins while listening to a TV program about mental health, and the guest expert is none other than Samshin Granny, talking about the telltale signs of manic-depressive disorder.

As she describes the symptoms—sudden shopping or bouts of over-confidence—we cut to Shin buying everything he sees on the home shopping channel, and then suddenly flexing in front of Deok-hwa and Reaper, challenging, “Who wants to go to the sauna with me?” Pfft, so that’s the source of your confidence, is it?

Samshin Granny says the biggest sign is obsessing over ailments like a hypochondriac, and we see Shin complain to Reaper that he might have stomach cancer. Reaper is unsympathetic and says he still wouldn’t die even if he had no stomach, and says that the bride is supposed to pull out his sword anyway.

Shin’s mood flips instantly and he screams, “Oh, so I should just die? I’m the bad one, I’m just being sensitive and I should just go and die because I don’t deserve to live! Why don’t you go and tell her that?! Tell her to go pull out the sword and kill me!” Reaper asks if he’s going to cry, and Shin whimpers back in a broken voice, “I’m barely holding it in.” LOL. Depressed goblin is hilarious.

Eun-tak heads out to go to school and pauses at the gloomy weather and sudden downpour, wondering if Shin is depressed. He’s sitting in his garden staring at the maple leaf she gave him, and Eun-tak stares up at the sky and gets a little huffy, assuming that he’s unhappy about her being the goblin’s bride.

She’s doubly annoyed at the inconvenience of rain on her way to school, when Deok-hwa rolls up in a fancy sports car and offers to give her a ride. She asks him to speak in banmal, but he refuses (still actually using half banmal anyway, as is his habit), knowing that he’s being watched. Sure enough, Grandpa’s secretary is on his tail.

Deok-hwa makes a big show of rolling up to the front door of her school and opening Eun-tak’s door in front of all her classmates, while she makes futile attempts to hide. He threatens to do it again tomorrow if she doesn’t get out of the car, so she complies.

The mean girls sneer and talk about her, and that’s the first time Deok-hwa hears her name. “You’re Ji Eun-tak?” he asks, remembering her name from the background check he did. He realizes now that the goblin book she bought wasn’t a coincidence, and that she knows his uncle.

Deok-hwa is dying of curiosity to know about the punishment [beol] gold [geum] that Shin inflicted on Aunt, but Eun-tak doesn’t know what he’s talking about and assumes that her aunt had to pay a fine [beol-geum].

Aunt and her kids take those gold bars to a jeweler to exchange for money, and they’re so cagey about where they got them that the jeweler calls the cops, who say these gold bars were stolen.

Aunt swears to the detective that they didn’t steal them from the bank, and that they belong to her niece. But when asked for this niece’s name or their home address, they can’t seem to remember, like that memory has been wiped clean. Well that’s satisfying.

Deok-hwa is lightning fast on the uptake, as usual, and asks Reaper why Eun-tak is the goblin’s bride. Reaper just muses that it’s a joke of the gods, and Deok-hwa interprets that to mean that Shin’s depression is caused by Eun-tak not being his type.

Reaper is plenty depressed himself, and Deok-hwa points out that the plate he’s freezing with his bad mood is one that his uncle particularly cherishes, but at the mention of Louis XIV, Reaper breaks the plate out of spite.

Deok-hwa gulps and says he won’t tattle, and suggests that Reaper try talking to the woman who made him cry. He figures that maybe it’s not their first meeting at all, and even though Reaper doesn’t remember, that woman might remember him.

But Reaper says it was definitely a first meeting, reenacting her hair flip and her puckered lips. Deok-hwa is riveted by the lips and wants to know where the story goes, but that’s all he gets. Afterwards, Reaper goes back to the bridge where he met Sunny and stands around hoping to run into her. But don’t you have her phone number? Do you not know how to use it?

Elsewhere, an elderly man dies in a hospital bed, accompanied by a woman who holds his hand until the very end.

Shin gets dressed in a black suit and ignores Reaper’s teasing about whether he’s headed to a wedding or a funeral. (“Is that why they call marriage digging your own grave?” Reaper wonders aloud.) Shin asks Reaper how his English is, and says that he needs his help today.

Eun-tak heads home to her giant suite and looks around, hoping to see Shin. She tries to focus on her homework but can’t stop wondering why he’s suddenly cut off communication, and finally ends up on his doorstep, demanding for him to stop avoiding her and let her in.

She threatens to light the ginormous candle she’s carrying with her, as if the size will somehow give the summons bigger impact. She doesn’t light it though, and wonders in a shaky voice if she’s still supposed to do nothing but wait, and how long.

The old man who just died approaches the Reaper’s tearoom, but it’s Shin who sits there waiting for him. As he comes through the door, the old man transforms into a young boy—the same boy that Shin helped in Paris in the sixties. Shin says it’s been a while, and the boy marvels that Shin hasn’t aged a day.

Shin asks why he didn’t write down the answer that he gave him for the math test he was taking the day they met, and the boy says that no matter how he tried to solve that math problem to get the answer, he came up with a different one every time. So he wrote down the wrong answer anyway, saying that it was a problem he couldn’t solve. Shin replies, “No, you solved it well. Your choice alone is the answer to your life.”

The boy smiles to finally realize what that meant, and Shin praises him for becoming a lawyer and helping lots of people in need. The boy says he wanted to repay Shin for the sandwich, and says simply that he didn’t really have another choice once he knew that Shin existed.

Shin counters that he gives lots of people sandwiches, but very few progress the way he did. He says most people just linger in the miraculous moment and demand another miracle once they know he exists. “You are the one who changed your life. And because of that, I always rooted for you,” Shin says warmly.

The boy smiles and says he always knew, and then asks where he’s going next. Shin instructs him to go back out the way he came: “The afterlife is a U-turn.” The boy reaches out for the door handle and turns back to look at Shin one last time, back in his old man form. And then he walks through to the other side, where a staircase that stretches up into the heavens is waiting for him.

Shin thanks Reaper for the help today, and Reaper asks why he bothers doing stuff like this, when it’s not like someone makes him do it. Shin says, “Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be cool.” Ha.

Shin stands around waiting in what looks like Eun-tak’s lobby, when his hands start to smoke. Eun-tak puts down the candle she just blew out in her suite and asks where he’s been and why he’s avoiding her. “Am I an abandoned wife?” she asks. He insists that he was busy, but she calls him out on being avoidy, and tells him to go ahead and try to run away. “I’ll blow all of these out!” she cries, pointing at the hundreds of candles she’s got lit behind her.

Shin just asks where she got all these candles without money, and she says Deok-hwa oppa bought them for her. He grouses at that. She asks why she can’t live in one of the many empty rooms in his house, admitting that Deok-hwa oppa told her they were empty. He grouses again, and I can’t tell if it’s because of what Deok-hwa did, or the fact that she keeps calling him oppa.

Eun-tak argues that she’s been waiting for days, and asks if the rain was because she made him depressed. He lies and says no, but she says she’s prepared herself to hear anything from him. He counters that he’s the one who needs to prepare himself, not her.

He pops open a beer and asks if she’s eaten dinner. Eun-tak ignores him and muses, “I said I can see the sword, and now I can’t see you. This isn’t why I told you.” She asks if they can’t prepare for whatever is coming together, but again he changes the subject and suggests room service.

She finally relents and agrees to dinner, though she turns down fancy room service in favor of convenience store snacks. He finds it adorable and offers to buy her everything in the aisle, looking tipsy after a second beer.

He insists on walking her home afterwards, and Eun-tak asks about her wish to get a boyfriend—can she not date other men if she’s the goblin’s bride? Still drunk, Shin says that he’s not really behind the idea, and tells her not to expect a boyfriend in this lifetime. Lol, that’s mean. Eun-tak: “Why not?” Shin: “Because I don’t like it.” Oh, I like drunk goblin.

She gets mad and asks why: “Do you like me?” He hesitates and gives the world’s most half-hearted “no” in response, and Eun-tak counters, “Your no is quite often not a no.”

She asks how he’s lived up until now, and he says, “I lived waiting for you.” Taken aback, Eun-tak changes the subject and wonders if it rains when he’s depressed, what happens when he’s happy. Perhaps his good mood makes flowers bloom, she wonders, but he quickly denies it. He confirms that he can fly though, and promises to show her next time.

Eun-tak asks how many brides he’s had before her, and he stops to look at her and says, “You’re the first and the last.” She says that even if she were the first, how would he know that she’s the last? “Because I’ve decided that you are,” he answers. Swoon.

She asks what happens to him if she decides not to be his bride, and Shin says he won’t be able to pull the sword out, because only she can do that. “I have to pull the sword out in order to…” he can’t say the truth, so he ends with, “To be pretty!” You want to be prettier than you are now? Also, should you be telling her this stuff?

Eun-tak says it must be like all those old fairytales, where the prince finds true love and so the frog becomes a prince, the beast becomes a prince, and the goblin becomes… a broom. She doesn’t like that one, and decides they’ll wait until they need a broom to pull out his sword.

Shin bursts into laughter and says that he’s crazy for laughing in his current situation. He agrees not to pull out the sword just yet, and to spend today laughing with her. She suggests the first day of snow (of course, because this is a drama), since you’d need a broom when it snows. He grows a little somber at that, but agrees to have her pull out the sword on the first day of snow. Noooooooo.

On her way to school the next morning, Eun-tak sees people milling about taking pictures, and looks up to see her street lined with unseasonal cherry blossoms. Ha, that liar, he totally blooms flowers when he’s happy!

Deok-hwa greets Shin with a stack of morning papers, all announcing the bizarre spring bloom in the middle of autumn, and says tauntingly, “Something good must’ve happened in the night.” He guesses that Shin was drunk, and yells at him for causing yet another inexplicable weather change.

Shin is embarrassed and hungover, but covers up by arguing that Deok-hwa is still using banmal, and snarks that they should just be hyung-dongsaeng from now on. Deok-hwa doesn’t mind that at all and steamrolls ahead, “Hyung, who were you with last night and what did you do?” Shin bellows in his god voice and blames his actions on the sedative, not the beer, and hides in bed like a coward.

Deok-hwa takes him out for hangover soup and leads Shin to an empty table at a restaurant, not realizing that Reaper is sitting there (wearing his hat, making him invisible to Deok-hwa). Reaper says he’s here to catch the last episode of his morning drama, a typical makjang that’s playing in the background.

As they eat, Shin suddenly asks Deok-hwa if he bought him snacks last night. Dude, do you not remember anything? Reaper asks if he forgot everything after two cans of beer again, and Shin yells, “It was the pills, not the beer!” scaring Deok-hwa, who thinks he’s talking to an empty chair.

The morning drama ends on a shocking birth secret, and everyone in the restaurant except for Shin turns to the TV in unison, jaws on the floor.

Deok-hwa sips on a yogurt on their way out, and sight triggers a sudden memory for Shin: Eun-tak sipping on her milk last night as they were walking. He screeaaaaaams like he’s seen a ghost, and Reaper asks if he’s just now reacting to the birth secret in the drama.

It starts to come back to him in little bursts, and Shin remembers telling Eun-tak about pulling out the sword. He grabs his hair and goes into a flown-blown panic in the street like a crazy person, and tells (still invisible) Reaper about the drunken sword-talk.

Reaper says he can’t do anything about it now and that dying now would still be considered a reward, and Shin flips his lid, yelling that he’s going to light Reaper’s hat on fire.

The whole time Deok-hwa only sees his crazy uncle talking to nobody, and starts to worry after his mental health. A man passes by and gives them strange stares, and Deok-hwa whispers that Shin is a stranger. Reaper goes on his way with a chuckle, and Shin is about to light his hat on fire when Deok-hwa interrupts. Shin gets petty and asks, “Do you know me?” and walks away, and Deok-hwa is amazed that he heard that and trails after him.

Sunny gets her makeup done by her friend, who asks if she’s got a new boyfriend to get pretty for. Sunny sighs that she’s hoping to snag a new boyfriend, and is getting pretty to wait for his call, except he’s not calling. The friend guesses that he’s playing push-and-pull, but Sunny wonders why he’s been pushed when she made sure to pull. She hangs out waiting on the bridge where she first met Reaper, but he isn’t there today.

Reaper clearly has Sunny on the mind though, because he walks down the street and every single woman he sees has Sunny’s face. Even the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman he passes is her, and he gasps.

Sunny and Eun-tak sit in the empty chicken shop just staring out the window, and Eun-tak asks why she’s always looking out there. Sunny says she’s waiting, though she doesn’t know for what: “I’ve spent my whole life waiting for someone.”

Eun-tak asks if it’s a prince on a white horse, and Sunny says she doesn’t like younger men, and would prefer a king on a white horse. They look out the window together, both waiting.

At school, Eun-tak contemplates Grandpa’s business card and thinks back to all the graves she saw Shin visiting in Quebec, all with the surname Yoo.

The mean girls snatch the card out of her hand and ask if that rich guy who dropped her off gave this to her, or that ajusshi from last time, accusing her of sleeping around. While the bully is talking, someone slips a cigarette between her fingers, and she doesn’t even seem to realize it when she brings the cigarette up to her lips.

The teacher catches her red-handed, and the bully swears that this is Eun-tak’s, and she was trying to get her to stop. Thankfully the class president speaks up in Eun-tak’s defense, and after the bully gets sent to the office, Eun-tak looks up to see her four friendly neighborhood ghosts waving at her with a pack of cigarettes. Ha, that’s cute.

The ghost girls follow Eun-tak out after school, proud of themselves for a successful revenge plot. At first it seems like Eun-tak is trying to ignore them, but she finally turns around and whispers, “Thank you for earlier!”

Suddenly the ghosts freak out when they see a car approaching and vanish, and Eun-tak turns around to see Shin pull up in his car. It’s not a white horse, but it’ll do. He gets the whole slo-mo treatment as he gets out, and Eun-tak tries hard not to smile.

She asks why the sudden car, and he says simply, “I wanted to brag about having a car.” He asks if he made any mistakes last night, though he seems to already know the answer to that. He agrees to dinner and suddenly pulls the car over in the street.

He comes around to open her door, and when she steps out, they’re magically transported back to Quebec. She jumps for joy, and he says it’s to thank her for the maple leaf she gave him. She asks, “Is this our honeymoon?” and he orders her to get back in the car, so she quickly takes it back.

At dinner Eun-tak picks up her steak knife and waves it in front of Shin, calling it a sword. He backs away, and she enjoys teasing him. He brings up his sword and tells her not to misunderstand, and asks her what his sword looks like.

Eun-tak guesses that he’s doubting her and stabs her steak for emphasis. She says the hilt has a tiger on it, and Shin says proudly that it’s a white tiger and it’s super cool. Well I guess that takes care of that doubt.

Eun-tak says she did some reading about him, but nowhere does it say anything about that sword of his. She asks how it got to be there—did he stab himself, or was it someone else? “Someone I never thought would do so,” he answers.

She withdraws the question, realizing that it’s a painful story, and then asks how old he is. He says he’s 939, and she feels bad for asking that too, since it’s another sad story. She figures it’s nice to have a long life and not age though, and he asks if she’d like to live a long time, “Even if you stop in place and everything passes by you?” “You’d be there,” she points out, “You’d still be there, so I think it would be nice to live a long time.” The answer surprises him.

As they go for a walk, Eun-tak says he seems cheerful for someone who’s lived so long, and Shin says he can’t very well be sad all the time, for a thousand years. He calls himself a strong goblin who accepts his fate and lives well, and she chuckles at that.

He figures that there’s no such thing as ten-thousand-year-old sadness, or ten-thousand-year-old love either, hence no reason to be sad for a thousand years straight. But Eun-tak says she thinks there is, and he asks which—sadness or love? “A sad love,” she decides, and asks if he wants to wager on it.

She tells him all the things she learned about goblins in her “research,” like the fact that he gets lonely easily, is ill-tempered, quick to change his mind, and likes dank and dark places. He pouts and wants to hear some positive traits, and she says he gives humans blessings, and wrath, and doesn’t ever make a family for himself. She thinks that’s why he neglects her in the hotel, and he counters that it’s to give her a chance to think things over.

He tells her that she could still choose not to be the goblin’s bride, and Eun-tak gets hurt all over again, thinking that he doesn’t want her to be his bride. She asks if maybe he has another woman lined up, or dislikes her so much that he’d rather have no bride than her. “I’ll just pull the sword out and prove that I’m the bride then!” she declares, and reaches for it. Ack, no!

Shin jumps back in alarm and she chases him around and around, and demands gold with his goblin club instead then. He says he doesn’t have a club, which she finds suspicious since all goblins have one, so he reaches his hand into the fountain behind him… and a sword materializes in his hand. Ah, so that’s how he does it.

She’s so thoroughly impressed at his coolness that he gets all puffed up like a giant dork, and he explains that the sword is his club. They get into a cute water fight at the fountain, and she gets annoyed when he keeps poofing away just out of reach. She asks how come she doesn’t have any powers like him, thinking it unfair. She wishes she could make gold appear and asks him to do it, and he lies that he can’t.

Eun-tak says she has something to do because she doesn’t know when she’ll ever be back here, and leaves him with a book of poems to read called The Stars Might Take Your Pain Away. She goes to the hotel to write a letter, and sends it down the mail chute, hoping that it gets delivered.

Shin reads the book of poems and sees that Eun-tak lovingly transcribed her favorite ones, and when he sees her calling out to him from across the street, smiling so brightly, he thinks of one of the poems and begins to recite it in voiceover.

As she crosses the street, Eun-tak notices the yellow paint in the crosswalk turn to orange whenever she steps on it, and he smiles to watch her light up and run to him.

He has flashes of dying in that field a thousand years ago, then Eun-tak smiling back at him. She runs up and asks if he made that red carpet crosswalk just for her, but he’s still lost in thought over the poem as he looks up at her, mesmerized. A single maple leaf falls on the page.

“The Physics of Love”
by Kim In-yook

The size of a mass is not proportional to its volume
That little girl as small as a violet
That little girl that flutters like a flower petal
Pulls me with a mass greater than the Earth
In a moment, I
Like Newton’s apple
Mercilessly rolled and fell on her
With a thud, with a thud thud
My heart
From the sky to the ground
Continued to swing dizzyingly like a pendulum
It was first love

 
COMMENTS

It’s nice to finally get some truthiness from the goblin, never mind that it takes an ill-advised cocktail of sedatives and liquor to get him there. I did crack up to see that the goblin’s changing moods have been reduced to modern-day bipolar disorder, which is actually pretty fitting once we see his mood swings, complete with changing weather forecast. I could’ve watched that for days. But then we get the complete flipside of the goblin when he’s with that boy in Paris who grew up to be a good man, and when I saw the goblin’s deep respect for humankind and a life well-lived, it reminded me again of how much he’s lived through, and how much his humanity is a part of him, despite being a god.

I didn’t expect him to be so hesitant about death from the start, namely because he’s been searching for his bride his whole long life, which made me think he was desperate to be rid of this mortal coil. But I found it so endearing that he was scared and doubtful from the start, and debating the pros and cons of staying alive the minute that the bride became a reality within reach. And of course it’s all the funnier when you give him a grim reaper as a sounding board, making the goblin seem petty for wanting a little more out of life. I just love this bizarre combination of real gravitas, fake gravitas, neuroses, ego, and childishness in the goblin, who somehow makes it believable that he was once a war god who spends his days punishing evil humans, but is more sensitive than a high school girl and cares a great deal what other people think of him. He seems human in so many ways that it seems natural for him to want to live, and I’m saddened every time we’re told that he’d wanted to die for centuries.

Obviously love will change that, which is the point, but I like that he’s conflicted already and that he’s actually a well-adjusted goblin, like he said, who lives well and has pretty normal reservations about dying. I thought that Eun-tak might have more of an uphill battle to convince him to live—she still might, given his moodiness—but today we already saw the stirrings of first love, which makes me think he might just choose to live a little longer all on his own. I mean, what’s an eternity with a giant sword through your heart, right? Speaking of which, I’m glad the show finally made it clear that the sword stuck in his heart isn’t he same one he uses to smite people and summon gold with. We still need to know so many more rules, and I sincerely hope they’re not going to wait until the last minute to give us the complete picture in drips and drabs. We could be angsting with you if we knew all the rules! Just sayin’!

I’m warming to Eun-tak’s character, who’s always been easy to like, but often hard to take seriously. But the more we see her through Shin’s eyes, the more she becomes lovable and thoughtful, and her brightness in and of itself becomes something to admire. It’s almost too simple that the sunny character is the perfect foil for the gloomy one, but when we see just how much sunshine she brings into his life, written all over his face like that, it’s hard not to think that there’s something magical about the marriage of darkness and light, sadness and love.

 

[vivvianne22]

New update from official facebook's page

[Chellsee]

Really handsome...

 

[Erin Lokanata]

Okay now that KS has officially loves her, I just have to wait for their kiss scene. Don't forget that GongYoo is such a hot damn good kisser and tvn never dissapoint us for giving a hot kissing scene LOL

[shynaz]

I love goblin/ks show more feeling especially when he is drunk

Im still script clases..Now I know what writer  follow the rule.I dont want to mention in here.Just know the sequence of this drama...

excited to watch episode 4..who want to join me? 

[dramaqueen101]

Concerning our characters' connections and past identities, I have a few theories and a few questions.  Let's play a logic game:

1.) Reaper definitely recognizes both Sunny and the ring on some intuitive level, though Sunny doesn't seem to recognize either of them.  Their meeting seemed to be the work of Samshin Halmang (something similar to what Shin did to entangle the couple in the cafe), and by her ominous words on the subject, we can conclude that

2.) Their reunion is some kind of karmic payback for their past lives.  This leads me to think that

3.) Sunny was not an innocent bystander in her past life if she deserves to suffer in this one.  

4.) If Sunny was allowed to reincarnate and drink the Tea of Forgetfulness, her wrongdoing must still be considered a lesser evil?  Though we learned in episode 4 that a life well-lived can send you to the afterlife/eternal peace/a staircase in the clouds, so she's clearly stuck somewhere in the middle of the reincarnation cycle, not living too well nor too poorly.

5.) To judge by Reaper's tears and the king's jealousy in the past, he clearly had deep feelings for Sunny/the queen, though we can't tell if she returned them.

6.) Reaper can see people's past lives if he touches them, right?  What will happen if he touches Sunny?

7.) It will be interesting to see how Kim Shin reacts to meeting Sunny.  Will he recognize her?  If she was the queen, he will, right?

8.) Some people move on to the afterlife, some people are reincarnated, a few people are cursed to be Reapers, and one person was cursed to be a Goblin.  What is the difference in level of sins committed that makes one person a Goblin (memory intact), some people Reapers (amnesiacs--all of them, or just the one?), and some people reincarnated (memory intact--like the hit and run driver)?  Can they learn different lessons by taking different punishments?  

9.) What about Eun Tak?  Will we learn about her past, too, or is she a new soul?  Could this be her first incarnation?  She's awfully innocent, even for a young person.  Or maybe she was really, literally never meant to exist at all.  She's some kind of other species and not quite human, and that's why she's the goblin's bride?

10.) Why did Eun Tak keep saying she'd have to marry Shin in 200 years?  I feel like I'm missing something here, but was that some early foreshadowing that they'd have to wait for their next lives in order for them to live happily ever after?  Say it isn't so!

Can anyone else add anything to this?  What else do we know, or can we figure out about these guys?

[ucylucy]

[Spoilers] Goblin Ep 4

 

Mydaily - Naver: 'Goblin', Gong Yoo to Kim Go Eun "You're my first and last bride"

1. [+4,483, -30] Ah Gong Yoo is super handsome

2. [+3,472, -34] I'm struggling lately because my heart aches for Gong Yoo..

3. [+2,347, -34] ㅋㅋHandsome

4. [+2,226, -28] 'Goblin' is daebak, the characters are refreshing

5. [+1,863, -59] He is beautiful haa... be still my beating heart

6. [+509, -7] Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook are both tall so they look great in long coats

7. [+509, -12] I'm jealous of Kim Go Eun's working environment..

Spoiler

Newsen - Nate: 'Goblin' Gong Yoo falls for his 'bride' Kim Go Eun "first love"

1. [+1,404, -14] Wow when he got out of the car wearing sunglasses, I was speechless.....

2. [+1,113, -16] I love the poem in the end ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠI'm vicariously experiencing how it feels to receive a confession through this drama to the point that it drives you to tears

3. [+985, -13] Why did today's episode feel so short? ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Is the running time going to be shorter from now on?

4. [+114, 0] Gong Yoo's drama of his life, he oozes charisma in every scene. ㅠㅠ I went crazy when he got out of his Maserati

5. [+100, 0] It makes you think if the writer's goal is to show cool Gong Yoo is ㅠㅠㅠㅠ  He's sexy in every outfit ㅠㅠㅠㅠ especially in black turtleneck and beige long coatㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

6. [+89, -1] The writer really poured her soul into the drama.. Gong Yoo's character is a hit

7. [+67, -4] Upvote if you think impeached Gil Ra Im is watching this drama..

Naver
1. [+11,403, -117] Daebak. Why did it end too fast? And what's up with the preview!!!!

2. [+10,301, -149] Ah. Starting today, my dream is to be a goblin's bride

3. [+7,123, -99] It ended so fast ㅠㅠㅠ How do I bear the week long wait? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

4. [+5,724, -100] Time goes by so fast watching this drama.. daebak

5. [+5,452, -98] Don't pull the sword outㅠㅠㅠ One hour's so short ㅠㅠ

6. [+2,127, -79] Wow. Lee Young Bok PD's cinematography is just gorgeous. In the traffic light scene, Kim Go Eun exudes with freshness like a true first love. I'm a woman but she made my heart flutter. Gong Yoo is awesome but Kim Go Eun's so pretty in this episode. Especially the last scene, it looked like a scene from a movie

7. [+1,762, -37] For a moment, I thought Gong Yoo was shooting a CF in the part where he was sitting

8. [+1,696, -28] The poem is so good

9. [+1,465, -23] God Eun Sook.. Now I understand why she was willing to wait 5 years just to be able to work with Gong Yoo

10. [+1,441, -24] The ending scene may be even more of a masterpiece than a movie

11. [+1,336, -23] The music, special effects and narration create such an epic vibe!! "First love".. daebak

12. [+1,438, .-59] Haa the look in Gong Yoo's eyes make me crazy.. Kim Go Eun is adorable. I'm so sad the episode is 30 minute shorter

http://kkuljaem.blogspot.com/2016/12/spoilers-goblin-ep-4.html

[selenette]

Re. The Queen's Jade Ring

@kismet22  Greetings! I really love that flower post of yours, where you refer to the Queen's ring, and whether the flower was cherry blossom or something else.

Top view of the ring

 

Frontal view of the ring

A. CHERRY BLOSSOMS, THE KING'S CHERRY?

I think it is possible that this is cherry blossom, since Korean native cherry blossom species is known as "King's Cherry"  or 왕벚 (wangbeot), 왕벚나무 (wangbeotnamu) or 왕벚꽃 (wangbeotkkot). The shape of the flower on the ring is somewhat similar to common engravings of cherry blossom... but the petals are more than a cherry blossom's. 

Cr: TeriLeeJewelry

 

On the other hand, historically cherry blossoms were not popular objects of engravings in Goryeo times (assuming that Kim Shin lived in this era). After Japanese Imperial occupation, some even associated the flower with the occupation period, although some Korean and Japanese researchers claimed that cherry blossoms originated in Jeju Island, after all.  

 

B. WHAT ABOUT OTHER FLOWERS?

Flowers that were commonly depicted in Goryeo era's celadon were lotus, chrysanthemum, and peony.  

Engraving of chrysanthemum (symbolizes elegance and high fidelity):

Cr: Lifeinkorea

Engraving of lotus on Goryeo ceramic (symbolizes life and prosperity)

Cr: Ilbe.com

But both flowers did not  resemble the ring's engraving. 

 

C. THE MUGUNGHWA?

Another possibility is that the flower is the rose of sharon, or the 무궁화 (mugunghwa).... which symbolizes immortality. 

The flower itself is known by that name since Goryeo era, and is now South Korea's national symbol.

Engraving of the rose of sharon on a ring:

Cr.  Galloping Gems

 

I think the mugunghwa's petals and leaf shape are not 100 % similar to those of the ring's engraving, but the way the flowers are depicted close to their leaves is similar. 

* * *

Cc: @bebebisous33  Sonsaeng-nim, sorry it took me a long time to respond to that cherry blossom post.  The cherry blossom is the King's flower, too after all! More connection to Kim Shin's past, eh? And brilliant, brilliant symbolism.

Bcc: @LyraYoo  I remember you posted something long ago (sorry, I can't remember the page number!) re. jade symbolism. So the ring contains two symbols, then...

 

[ceressi]

Clue for epsd 5? candle everywhere in a room.. (our goblin's room)?

[autumna]

10 minutes ago, dramaqueen101 said:

10.) Why did Eun Tak keep saying she'd have to marry Shin in 200 years?  I feel like I'm missing something here, but was that some early foreshadowing that they'd have to wait for their next lives in order for them to live happily ever after?  Say it isn't so!

Can anyone else add anything to this?  What else do we know, or can we figure out about these guys?

 

I do apologize for cutting your posts just wanted to mention that the grave ET was saying that to was Shin's grave I think dramabeans mentioned the date said 1801, ET was introducing herself to Shin jokingly and was saying she was going to be his bride in 200 years.