Why Everyone is Crazy Over K-Drama Goblin

[Re-posted from styleXstyle.com]

If there's one thing you should know about me, I'm a K-drama addict. ‘Goblin’ is my latest indulgence, and I’ve rounded up five reasons why this drama is a must-watch.

#1 The Plot

The story revolves around a 900-year old goblin who finally meets his bride, high schooler Ji Eun Tak, who is the only one able to pull out the sword in his chest and end his suffering. While this started out as a fantasy drama with a hint of eventual heartbreak, it actually does a good job of combining comedy, angst and horror into one show. Death, love, sacrifice, betrayal and life's worth are all solemn topics that the writer (Kim Eun Sook, who also penned Descendants of the Sun and The Heirs) chose to tackle with this television series.

But we’re glad she did, because it was a job well done. To keep the plot from becoming too heavy, there’s a fair amount of comedy in the form of the clueless and realistic nephew (played by Yook Sungjae) and the bromance between the Goblin and the Grim Reaper.

#2 The Cinematography

I started this drama on a skeptical note as I wasn’t a fan of the lead actors. But one can easily differentiate this drama from others right from the start. The cinematography used for every scene is simply stunning and of blockbuster quality. The drama presents two different main timelines - the Goryeo era where Kim Shin (The Goblin) was still human and the present - with different screen sizes to avoid confusion.

#3 The Cast

Goblin stars Gong yoo, who recently experienced a resurgence in his career with the box-office breaking film Train to Busan, as the titular character. While we don't doubt his acting abilities, people were skeptical of Kim Go Eun's female lead role. While she has a number of blockbuster movies under her belt, she has only starred in one drama (Cheese in the Trap) before shooting Goblin, a series which was slammed by critics for its messy plot line. Kim was an amazing Ji Eun Tak, however, and fully expressed the young girl’s optimistic outlook on life and cheekiness despite her pitiful past through her acting. Second leads Lee Dongwook and Yoo In Na also had great chemistry on screen as ill-fated lovers.

#4 The absence of cringe-worthy love triangles

Let’s face it, love triangles are a K-Drama must-have. This eye-rolling phenomenon is absent in Goblin, however, and that’s why we love it. With two different romances, it keeps the story unpredictable and interesting throughout the 16 episodes. Now that we think about it, the scriptwriter did the same thing to her previous drama, the hugely popular Descendants of the Sun, with the main Song-Song couple and the star-crossed love story of Kim Jiwon and Jin Goo.

#5 The Bromance

Their constant, hilarious and often meaningless bickers are hilarious, and we love it when they get competitive and battle each other with their supernatural powers. That iconic scene where they walk into the foreground together with street lights exploding in the background? It gets even better when they try to re-enact the same scene after buying groceries - Eun Tak had commented that they looked cool.

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