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My Take on Goblin: The Great and Lonely Guardian

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What's Up, Readers!!

Welcome to Quills and Pages—your witty shortcut to sounding well-read. I brave the books and binge the shows so you can fake it flawlessly 😁.

Some stories impact you so much. They hurt your heart...makes you sad but also makes you happy....like a bittersweet symphony.

Goblin is one of those kinds of stories.  It was released in 2016, and I am watching it in 2025 lol...where the hell was I...now to think of it, I was obsessed with TOG series and TVD.....I never watched any K-drama at the time. Recently I started watching, and each story tugs a little harder at my restless heart.....Korean writers have a remarkable talent for evoking deep emotions through their storytelling—they write and produce truly exceptional narrative.....gah!!!!.....I can't describe in words. I went from obsessing with Kpop Demon Hunters to obsessing with goblin in a week.......🤯

STORY

In his quest for a bride to break his immortal curse, Dokkaebi, a 939-year-old guardian of souls, meets a grim reaper and a sprightly student with a tragic past.

GENRE 
Paranormal Fantasy Romance

🎨 VISUALS & CiINEMATOGRAPHY
Aesthetic Perfection, Nostalgic

CHARACTERS
The kind of characters you’d wrap in bubble wrap and guard like fragile treasures.

TROPES
☙ Age-gap
☙ Reincarnation
☙ Love that spans across time and space
☙ Paranormal Romance
☙ He is 900+ years old
☙ Tragic Past
☙ Swoonworthy

MY REVIEW
My mind currently can't stop thinking about this story. It was amazing.....contains everything a story should have; romance, fantasy elements, friendship, found family vibes, fun and laughs, some wholesome cute moments, some drama, some action, and some sad moments.......well, for me it was a lot of sadness...lol.

I absolutely love the yearning element of Goblin, who can't die because of a reward and punishment, and he has this intense desire to be with his family and friends, but human lifespan is well short......he has to see everyone he loves die....and this vicious cycle continues over centuries.

The acting was absolutely insane......Gong Yoo was impeccable with his expressions and his eyes....omg the pain he portrayed in the series was so real that I sometimes just stopped watcing and was like taking a minute so I can process what I was watching. I have become a fan of Gong Yoo after watching Goblin....the guy was amazing in Squid Game but after watching this, I was like....is he real? I mean......gah!!!!!

And Kim Go-eun....she was so cute......I loved her so much in the series...her portrayal of this girl who went through so much all her life but she never lost the spark...she is still lively...she still smiles....and wow.....her smile is beautiful.....and the fact she use her circumstances so cleverly so Gobin doesnt get rid of her....perfect writing on writers part.

The third character is Grim Reaper....he was hilarious..... his bromance with Gobin was perfection.....I haven't seen this kind of bromance after TVD seriously..... this was top notch. I keep watching their scenes on repeat; they both are so cute together. Backstory of Grim Reaper was also tragic...Also I am amazed how much similarity is between some concepts…like if you commit a great sin you become grim reaper…grim reapers are like souls that are stuck in between in this world and the next one they can’t be considered living or dead…the greatest sin is killing yourself….in Islam Suicide is also considered a biggest sin of all….we also have a saying ….that people who kill themselves are stuck…they will keep killing themselves and go through same thing in their last moment until the end of time. I wonder…how the belief is generated in Korean folklore..would love to read the history of it. 

The ending.......was happy......as happy as it can be....... but........SPOILERS AHEAD!!!...

She still dies....that particular person with particular dreams, struggles, goals, love, heart, still died. even if she comes back in next life...how can it be the same...that's what hurts the most.....Euntak died in the end after living such a hard life with such few happy moments here and there. That's what saddens me the most......and then I searched it how much Goblin has to wait for her to reincarnate.....it was 110 years after she died.......I mean....that fact doesn't get out of my head.....I am stuck there......she practically just died......and left him alone.....sigh.....these kinds of stories never gets out of my head ever....IDKY...

Anyways the series is impeccable with amazing cinematography, acting, plot, aesthtics.....it's a 6-star series......I highly recommend it go watch and then my dms are open come to me so we can cry together 😅

MY RATING
Overall: ★★★★★ | 5 Stars

Plot: ★★★★★| 5 Stars

Romance: ★★★★★ | 5 Star

Characters:★★★★★ | 5 Stars

Cinematography: ★★★★★ | 5 Stars

Pacing: ★★★★★| 5 stars

Mystery: ★★★★★| 5 star

Banter: ★★★★★| 5 star

Ending: ★★★★★| 5 Stars

THE BEST PART
☙ How Euntak never leaves Goblin's side, and she was so persistent....I loved it.
☙ The Slow burn was efiing epic
☙ Episode 14 was the best one..
☙ The first scene with rain and he sees her and she sees him was 🤌
☙ Gong Yoo is one of my fav actor now 😏...... the guy can act...

🎵 SOUNDTRACK 
Have you listened to the music of Goblin...it hits different after watching the season.....Stay with me is perfection 🤌 and Amnesia.......sigh......it stirs feelings....

🎵 BOOK RECS
So our girl went on a little vibe-hunting hiatus, and—plot twist—I did not expect to stumble upon these gems. Buckle up, bookworms… here’s what I found! Two books that matches the same vibe I am still on hunt will read more so I can find more books and will keep updating this here!!.

Sword Heart by T. Kingfisher (similar lightheartedness and vibe)

Happy Reading!!

Stalk me!!


❤ 🎧☕️🕯️📖 ❤


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