Letter #6: Goblin

Good morning, Erin.

It's a big day. The biggest of big days. The day we have both been waiting for: we're going to talk about...

Moon Lovers!!! Because historical drama! And crushing on Lee Ji-eun!

...I'm just joshin' ya, Erin—we're talking about Goblin! Woooooo!!! (See? I told you I was watching it!)

1. Did I like it? Heck yes, I did! I don't think it quite tops either Vincenzo or Hotel Del Luna, but it's right up there with them. I can see why you recommended it third. 

2. The show was hilarious. Which really caught me off-guard, given how seriously the things start. But once they firmly establish how intensely serious both Mr. Goblin and Mr. Death are, they immediately set about subverting those grim personas with all the pettiness and banality and bickering and whining the two are constantly throwing back and forth at each other. (I think I first cottoned on to this part of the show's dynamic when Mr. Goblin started energetically trying to get Mr. Death to find out if the Young King who betrayed him had been reincarnated as a female k-pop star. I had to pause it to finish laughing, at that point.)

2A. No, genuinely, I oftentimes couldn't tell which I thought was more adorable: the oil/water relationship of Mr. Goblin and Mr. Death—OR—Mr. Goblin actively trying to seem aloof and interesting at every given moment so he's prepared for whenever Eun-tak might summon him. 

3. Speaking of: Mr. Death was easily my favorite character. And I'm probably going to indicate as much a lot. 

4. I looooooooved that Mr. Death's base of operations was that rad-looking tea shop. And I love that he had that giant collection of tea cups for each of the people he's sent to the afterlife. It was a fantastic visual, but I also thought it was kind of sweet, a subtle, standing memorial to all the dead. After all, when they drink the tea, they forget their lives...but he (perhaps inadvertently) marks their passing. Such a great idea.

5. And did I mention that I thought his on-the-job outfit looked cool? I mean, once he ditched the cheap-looking pleather-y coat he had in the first episode. (Which he kept next to one of his bedroom doors, for the rest of the series. Again, a kind of memorial.) But, yeah, I really liked his outfit. 

6. You know what else I'm a big fan of? A frowny guy/hyper girl combination. That Mr. Goblin and Eun-tak were also a world-weary/youthful exuberance combination made it even better. I know it's not the most original or even the most complex romantic couple archetype, but I appreciate a cliche (or trope) done well more than anything else. And these two? Loved 'em.

7. Also: Eun-tak is adorable. I'll take two, thanks.

7A. ...or if her mean cousin is available that's fine too don't @ me.

8. Actually, to that point: explain to me why everyone has to mention that Sunny (the chicken place boss) is sooooo pretty, but poor Eun-tak (who is super-duper cute) gets no love? Absolute travesty, I tell ya.

9. …not as much of a travesty as the FURTHER LACK OF HYUNDAIS in this show, though. 

10. That said, it was nice to see that JanSport is still the backpack of choice for discerning students. I'll take what I can get, at this point. [melodramatic eye roll]

11. Oh! I don't think I've mentioned this to you, yet: I've started a "k-drama" playlist on my ipod. It's unavoidable, given how many of these songs get stuck in my head. Just a big ol' list of "walking around feeling sad" music. (And "Strawberry Moon." Because I heart it.)

12. I was really happy when the old lady from the beginning of the show turned out to be a young woman in old person makeup. Because I was getting some serious uncanny valley vibes off of her. And if that had turned out to be her actual face...

13. I toooootally recognized that the movie date Mr. Goblin and Eun-tak go on was to see Train to Busan. Which is a really good movie. (That, upon looking it up, I discovered was used because Mr. Goblin was the main guy in that movie.)

14. It's a very telling detail, early on, that Eun-tak constantly makes declarations of love and insists that everything is fine as long as she has Mr. Goblin. Not because she's necessarily being insincere, but because it points much more immediately to her desperation for safety and security, that real sense of "home" she hasn't had since her mother died, than it does to any kind of real affection for Mr. Goblin. That said, I think she really does like him—immediately—even beyond just the excitement over meeting the man all the ghosts have spent her whole life telling her she was going to marry. It's emotionally messy. As it would be. Which I really appreciated. 

15. Speaking of: can we talk about how much I loved that Eun-tak would have girl-talk time with those ghosts? Because it was a lot. 

15A. The one in gray, who was always trying to lure her away to...kill her, I guess, was my favorite. 

15B. And it was terrible when they all started moving on to the afterlife. It gave me Hotel Del Luna flashbacks. And not in a good way, of course. 

15C. Fun fact, though: I was equally as smitten with how Eun-tak and Mr. Death sort of end up being confidants, as well. 

16. Actually, speaking of moving on to the afterlife: I really need to do some research on the cultural understanding of reincarnation (and death and the afterlife) that exists in Korea. It has come up in pretty much all the shows I've watched, sometimes much more explicitly than others, but it seems a fundamental piece of assumed knowledge that, given my newfound love of this genre(/"genre"), it seems very helpful to have at the ready. Which I totally could have done literally right now on Wikipedia instead of just typing up that I should do it, but...nope. (Ain't that always the way.)

17. Y'know what...I don't care if it's cliche as all get-out, I thought Eun-tak giving Mr. Goblin a surprise kiss (back in Ep 7, when she's originally going to pull out the sword and can't) causing the snowfall to reverse back into the sky was lovely. I'm a soft-touch, what can I say.

18. That reminds me: I've decided to start grading the kissing in these shows. How does Goblin fare? Overall, it passes. Barely, but still...it passes. 

19. When they go to Quebec for the first time (roundabouts Ep 2), Eun-tak gets frightened by a man who turns out to be a ghost, shouting that he "spoke English" to her. Which is a hilarious reason for her to be afraid. But it's also hilarious that she ran into an English-speaking ghost in Quebec, where, for the most part, everyone speaks French by default. Then again, maybe the ghost was visiting from Toronto.

19A. ...okay, in fairness, roughly half the population of Quebec can speak English. But, still...that everyone was speaking in English made me chuckle. 

20. Subway sponsors these shows so consistently that it's almost exciting when we get our first Subway product placement scene. 

21. I didn't expect that the woman in the painting—who was obviously going to be Sunny's past life—was going to be Mr. Goblin's sister, rather than someone who was in love with him. They got me with that.

22. I assumed, after the reveal about Sunny, that Mr. Death would turn out to be the Young King, but I kind of wanted him to be Evil Minister Guy. Really just because I thought Evil Minister Guy's nose was a prosthetic, just like the old lady's face was. I was, um...I was wrong about that. 

23. Speaking of Sunny and Mr. Death, I really wasn't expecting their romance subplot to be as plot-critical as it turned out to be. 

24. Oh, and him worrying that he was cheating on Sunny by crying over the woman in the painting was hilarious. Especially after learning that she is Sunny. 

25. So…why is it that my awkward silences when I don't know how to act around a girl aren't as loveable as Mr. Death's? It seems unfair.

26. Oh! They blurred out the knife that guy drew on Mr. Goblin! I guess it wasn't nearly as weird as I thought that they blurred out vomit in My Mister. It's just standard fare. Huh. And now I know. 

27. Is it just me, or do most of the people on this show die from a car accident?

28. I think Eun-tak is at her most adorable when she's waving. Which I suspect the show knew, because she waves a lot. 

29. My three favorite lines:

• "The afterlife is a u-turn." (Because it's philosophically interesting.) 

• "The best things are late in coming." (Because it's a beautiful sentiment.)

• "Drat. So, a true friendship has formed between us." (Because it's flippin' hilarious.)

30. If you suspect a lot of these notes are just me stalling for time so I don't have to talk about how sad the ending made me...you're right.

31. Daryl, to the TV, circa Ep 13: "Can we go FIVE FRIKKIN' MINUTES without one of these shows making me cry about how people who love each other aren't allowed to be together?!"

32. Daryl, to the TV, circa Ep 14 (five minutes later): "I take it all back—Death and Goblin are back together. We got the happy ending!"

33. So, Ep 13 ends with Mr. Goblin turning to ash and blowing away, and watching Eun-tak break down as it happens was heartbreaking. AND THEN EP 14 STARTS AND JUST PLAYS THE WHOLE SCENE ALL OVER AGAIN. That's...that's not fair. 

34. Have you ever seen the movie your name? If you have, then you know why I'm asking. If not..."Your name is Mitsuha!" (I was thinking that as I watched that scene play out. And that won't mean anything to you. But I still wanted you to know.)

35. And then there's ANOTHER FLIPPIN' TIME JUMP. Why does there always have to be a time jump???

35. Y'know, in Japan, it's a kind of custom for heartbroken girls (like, if they're dumped or their love confessions are rejected) to cut their hair shorter. Eun-tak, post-Goblin death, cuts her hair short—because it's a visual way for the show to let us know she's gotten older. I just found it a fun coincidence that, regardless of not remembering the loss of her lover, she still cut her hair as though she did.

36A. Of course, she does sort of know he's gone, which we find out when she tells us about the medication she's been taking. So maybe it wasn't a coincidence after all. (Unless this isn't a thing in Korea, in which case it absolutely is.)

37. Speaking of: I was dying as I watched Eun-tak weeping in her apartment, the bottle of medication just quietly open on the bed next to her. Ugh, it hurt so much to see her suffering like that. For her to be in agony...but to also clearly not know why...

37A. Y'know, there are lots of ways a show can give me a shot to the heart. It doesn't always have to be because it makes me sob into my couch. And yet...like, do you secretly have a vendetta against me? Was I mean to you in a past life? Did I leave a magic sword in your chest???

38. Daryl, circa Ep 16: "Gosh, this finale has been really nice. I sure hope there's not still enough time for it to suddenly devastate me--oooohh..."

38A. ...by which I mean I cannot believe Eun-tak had to die. Just...why do this to me?! Sure, they get back together when she reincarnates in, like, 2068 or whatever, but my heart...I just can't...my heart, Erin. 

39. Oh, I forgot to mention: Duk-hwa, the young "third-generation heir" who kept complaining about not having a credit card, was an underappreciated part of the cast. The poor guy. 

40. ...and, Eun-tak's school friend should have been in the show more. For, um, story reasons. 

And that, at long last, is what I thought of Goblin. 

I'm sure it's been more than worth the wait.

[tries very hard not to laugh]

Um, yeah, so...another good one, Erin-sempai. Not that I'm surprised, given your track record. But, even so, it's always nice when it happens.

I wonder what's next on the list...

--Daryl