The thread is now open for the rewatch.
Usual time: 13:00 UTC
09:00 am EST*
06:00 am PST*
09:00 pm Singapore, Philippines
08:00 pm Indonesia
03:00 pm Greece
*Daylight savings time ends on Sunday, Nov 7.
@Growing_Beautifully, @Welmaris, @Janey, @nrllee, @Fern, @Cleopatra, @Kuroshio, @FGB4877 and @Carolina will be here!
Yay! Thanks @pkml3. We will start with the iconic slow-mo walk that gets over-used and loses it’s impact in other shows LOL. But it was great in this one and the choice of OST was the best, plus the change of OST. LOL. Absolutely loved it.
Hello dear Friends, hope to read you tomorrow!!!. Also you made a lot of great points in Episode 2 😀
Hi @FGB, now I need to go back to re-read our comments in Ep2! LOL. See you in 11.5 hours time!
Thanks, @Packmule3!
A couple days ago I was at an art exhibit (National Nordic Museum in Seattle; Paper Dialogues: The Dragon and Our Stories) and reading placards when I saw something that resonated, reminding me of this drama.
Goblin controls rain and lightning…he’s Dragon. Eun Tak was dead, but she lived… she’s Phoenix. Yang and yin.
Modern gaming pits dragon against phoenix, but that’s not the way they interact in mythology. Rather than being at war, the complement each other.
I’d write more, but I need to take my seat soon for a performance by the Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Hi Ladies!!
Hoping to make this in the next four hours. I’ll say this though, the slow walking scene caught my eyes and heart. I do remember being excited about seeing them walking in slow motion. Yes, slow motion can be over done sometimes, but it worked for me. Cant wait to rewatch. @Welmaris thanks for the insight of Phoenix and Dragon, hoping you write a bit more about it later.
Hi @Carolina, see you in under 1.5 hours!
Ready, charging my stream and cooking my arepas 😉
Good morning, @FGB Have a good breakfast!
I looked up arepas! Hmmm I don’t think I can get the main ingredient easily. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/238510/homemade-arepas/
Another recipe with substitution for the hard to find pre-cooked white corn meal/masarepa:
https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-arepas/
Traditional Venezuelean arepas: https://enrilemoine.com/en/2011/03/24/traditional-venezuelan-arepas-recipe/
@FGB you can tell us if the traditional recipe is really traditional. See you soon!
Hi Ladies!!
I am ready!
Kalispera Ladies and Gent!
I am here as well!
Hi @Cleo and @Kuroshio! I’m always lurking hereabouts on a Saturday night LOL. We start in 8 minutes!!
Did you know that the 2016 release of the show and the one that we can find online now has different music for one of the scenes to be watched today? I was surprised to hear the difference. I wonder why they changed the OST.
@GB Unnie Kalispera!
I didn’t know that!?
I was writing that Lee Dong Wook has his birthday today so we are celebrating with him with our Goblin rewatch party!
@Cleo LDW’s birthday? That’s nice!! How old is he?
2 minutes and counting.
@GB
Lee Dong Wook became 40 today 🙂
@GB I didnot know that either. From which to which?
@Cle I just realized that today is hie 40 years old bithday! He looks so young!
@Cleo @Kuroshio, Yes he looks so young!
OK it’s time, let’s start NOW!!!
I’m here. Just started.
It looks like the night they filmed this slo-mo walk, it was brutally cold.
KGE does such a good job conveying ET’s abject fear.
@Kuroshio,
He is young. Age is one way to count years, but what is important is to be a good person for me!
Yeah to that slow motion walk!
I love the operatic chorus as they walk. Then it becomes silent.
When the car is split in two, the music changed in 2016/2017 to Time to Say Goodbye with Sarah Brightman, but now the music is an instrumental.
The driver of that car also played in TKEM. He was the traitor’s follower in there.
I love that scene where Kim Shin cuts with his sword the car in two! LMAO
Hi weekend rewatchers!!! Im here!👋 👋
We might expect just 1 person to come and save ET, but both of them came. Seeing them walk towards Eun Tak to save her really gave me a great lift.
Love how the melody (Time to Say Goodbye?) plays as the car splits in slow motion and ET and the loan sharks are screaming. LOL.
Most creative and wonderful way to stop a getaway car ever! Just split it into two.
Love the music when they cut off the car.It is just hilarious
Hello @Janey and @Welmaris!
@GB it is a classical piece of music!
Isn’t it funny that Reaper holds the car up for ET while KS opens the door for her LOL as if there isn’t a whole open side of the car to get out from as well. LOLOL.
@Cleo yes it’s classical and that’s the best part. But last time (I have the recording) it was Time to Say Goodbye and it was soooo funny too – so appropriate because it’s bye bye to the loan sharks! Heheheh!
Hi @Janey!
KGE plays the shocked teen soooo well.
She already knows that KS denies a lot of things but does not always mean it.
Reaper and KS work together so well! Reaper also has started agreeing with ET’s point of view, that she makes more sense.
@GB,
I will try to find it later and I will post it.
I like their bickering…
LOL, they rushed over in style to save her but they didn’t think about how to get her out of there without a car. Loved Reaper’s expressions and gesticulations in this scene.
He threw KS under the bus by pretending that ET was right when she thought KS shouted at her. LOL.
Dear @GB, it makes my day knowing I am probably adding a new item on your menu! 😀 . That said if you get your hands on the precooked corn flour adding both the white and yellow varieties are a great way to balance texture. A good idea is to use warm water for the mix since it will dissolve the salt better and the resulting arepas will get smoother (also the white cornmeal is softer and it gellifies better while the yellow does not absorb water as well but gives tructure to the arepa disk).
Personally I don’t use a budare but a big frying pan (I guess that an iron cast pan is your more traditional substitute), the idea is to cook both sides of the disk for it to be able to stand inside an oven (preheated to 350°F) for the rest of the cooking time. Personally I like a well-developed crust so I let them longer in the oven, but once you pat the fresh from the oven (and I mean that you pat them inmediately after you take them out) and they sound like a little drum then you are done 😀 .
I tend to get the arepa filling out with a spoon to put in another bowl and smash it with butter or margarine, while the arepa crust is filled.
Also a classic is the “Reina Pepiada” filling that is basically a mixture of avocado, grilled chicken binded by mayonnaise and a little bit of pepper, or the “Pelúa” (Hairy) which is Venezuelan style shredded meat with shredded Kraft (American-style) cheese 😉 .
But today my filling is a “wheel” of bologna, a tomato slice and a little spot of mayonnaise, some people say that grilling the bologna improves the result and while I wholeheartedly agree, it is an extra step and I realized that it is 9:15 and got carried away!!! XD
I love that Goblin picks up Eun Tak’s red scarf as soon as the danger to her is passed.
If in 300 years Goblin hadn’t spoken more than a few words in a row to a woman, I suspect his comforting ET is the first time he’d held a woman in his arms in as long, if ever.
Reaper has the supernatural power of speaking words to people and implanting thoughts in their brain. If you ascribe to the theory that Reaper was the king, then being easily influenced was a weakness of the king. He was swayed to destroy his loyal general and kill his queen by the whispers of his evil court advisor. This makes me think of people who are raised in abusive households, how they often repeat the abuse they were subjected to as children.
I’m sorry, I’m sure it was expensive because he does like his high standard of living, but DH’s coat looks like a bathrobe to me!
Oooh @FGB, thanks for the tips on making arepas. I like your idea of taking out the filling and mixing it with butter, etc and your choice of filling sounds so yummy! I’m imagining myself tasting those tomatoes and bologna LOL.
I had sushi today, so I’m full… but still!!!
The slo mo of the sliced cars with background music was made cinematic. Reaper leaning on the sliced car (I think it’s the other way around) and then the side car falling with a big thud to end the scene!
ET has a point, why bring Reaper to a rescue? It feels like someone had to die with him being there.
Kim Shin wanted to punish Eun Tak’s aunt and her cousins.
Greed is their punishment and downfall.
I tell you, it’s so frustrating that KS won’t just say that he wants to feed her in a nice way. He has to say that he won’t pay for something he hasn’t eaten… really!
Poor ET is snippy because she knows she cannot invest her emotions in KS who wants to leave. She will be abandoned again. He’s been denying her her role as bride and won’t help her, and although he saved her, he’s still going to leave. I guess she did have reason to be upset with him.
But she’s also forced to be grateful because now he’s saved her twice.
@Janey, yes, having Reaper there was suspicious, especially since he’d twice wanted to take ET away. I wonder why he willingly went along with KS. Despite their levitating cutlery battle a while earlier, they’d already forged a bromantic bond LOL.
DH: You protected a king? Awesome! Uncle, were you a Nae-si, by chance? (Nae-si means eunuch – sounds like four-o-clock).
G: No, I was an Oh-si (between 11 to 1).
Bwahaha! Goblin infers that by coming before (four-o-clock) he was unclipped, that is…fully virile.
@Welmaris ah yes … the bathrobe. It looks so weird.
@Cleo, I’m pausing a lot with Goblin so I’m not so far ahead yet. But yes, I want gold for my punishment!!! LOL.
DH: Uncle, are you listening?
What are you watching? What?
KS: Television.
DH: He’s a pitiful person. I should not be getting mad at such a pitiful person, a 3rd generation chaebol.
KS: He was exactly at that age.
DH: Who was?
KS: The King I protected. He was 17 years old.
DH: You protected a king? Awesome!
Uncle, were you a Nae-si (Eunuch sounds like 4 o’ clock), by change?
KS: No, I was an Oh-si (between 11 to 1).
DH; He’s a pitiful person, Deok Hwa. He needs your help now.
KS: The most splendid hour of the day. I was blinded and ceaselessly blamed someone. Was it the king or god? Or myself? I forgot that.
Arrived early but started late because I wrote a small treatise on arepa making instead of getting mine out of the oven on time XD , they are delicious though… well, let’s GO!!! 😀
I liked that part @GB and I transcribed it!
LMAO!
@Cleo that vascillating Goblin was willing to forgive after 1,000 years just because he thought the king might have become one of the pretty idols dancing. LOL.
After this, we don’t know where aunt went until they ended up at the police station.
LOL @FGB I liked your treatise.
@Cleo thanks for the transcript. I’m watching that part now. LOL DH tries to convince himself that KS is pitiful. But we notice that DH has moments of being aware when KS speaks of the bright light and resentment … shows his hidden identity.
@GB,
I could kick him for that right? LMAO!
Yes, we learn about them later on…
@Cleo, DH is so good at pretending to know nothing. Poor chap is always ignored.
Hospital scene and the reapers gather to work. Don’t people find them suspicious all sitting there with hats on their laps???
Goblin’s musing about the 17-year-old king he protected takes a darker turn: “The most splendid hour of the day. (It is the time at which Kim Shin died, discarded in the field.) I was blinded and ceaselessly blamed someone. Was it the king or god? Or myself? I forgot that. (Spoken with a big sigh.)
It cracks me up that Goblin is immediately ready to forgive the king if he was reincarnated as a member of a female idol group. He is drawn to youth, no?
@GB,
Yes, his curious face shows that DH finds something interesting. WE didn’t know the first time around… I am glad you enjoyed it.
My subs are from Viki!
I like actress who play the role as ET’S aunty. She is good. I think she is also in When the Camellia Blooms.
Like the Trio(Reaper, Goblin, Deok-hwais) .They are so much fun.
In Japan, it is considered a taboo to broadcast an romance story of a middle aged man and an under aged high school girl.
I wonder would it be ok in US to have such kind of combination of romance stroy?
Here comes the female reaper who looks like she should be an angel, LOL. But she did some evil things or helped an evil person.
The death of the doctor is pathetic.
@GB,
That’s why we appreciate Dok Hwa more. He is the one who give the audience information…
@Kuroshio I rewatched the Goblin Special and the 3 of them (Reaper, Goblin and DH) had very good chemistry together, doing ad libs and playing off each other’s acting while staying in character.
Are you in Japan?
I guess in many places it’s not recommended because ‘child brides’ etc are often abused.
@GB,
We will find out later on what she did wrong. I can say but I won’t lmao!
I like this OST when ET is cycling and in school. Both of them so pensive and broken hearted over her refusing to summon him and he stubbornly planning to leave.
@Cleo yes I am avoiding giving spoilers too. So many things to say but won’t be said LOL.
I like how ET and KS are mirror images of each other, with heads on the table. if they were put head to head. @pkml3 mentions this as a sign of their complementarity.
@GB,
I agree with you. We should keep minimal what we know for those who don’t. Later we can talk about it.
I agree with you. They are complementary to each other.
I like Sunny so very much. She was the one who took Eun Tak under her wings and helped her in the only way she could…
고백 (kobeak)Confession
오백 (obeak)5 million
The screenwriter tried to make a pun here.
LOL KS and DH throw Reaper under the bus to get out of trouble with grandpa/CEO Yu. They are so unconvincing pretending to be friends.
Love that we get a reverse and repeat of this scene later.
Heh, Reaper threatens to freeze DH for his double dealing over the rent.
Interesting that Reaper walks through the door this time but other times opens the door to get in.
@Kuroshio, thanks! Yes, I heard of the pun over o-baek and go-baek. I forgot though and you’ve reminded me. So when KS kept denying her the money he was also denying her a confession. LOL.
How could this drama make death amusing? The way the reapers discuss office matters is so relatable. Takes all the fear out of the task they do.
I note that sometimes reapers show up awhile after a death, such as the body that was in the car trunk in the first episode, and sometimes they’re on site waiting for the death to occur. I wonder if there’s a reason when there’s a time lag. Overwork? Too much to accomplish at the same time, so some tasks have to wait?
Poor doctor.
And poor ET. She’s trying so hard to leave Goblin behind, but she keeps seeing reminders of him wherever she looks.
I recall @Packmule3’s previous analysis of G & ET’s mirror positions laying on their outstretched arms. The difference in their surroundings, their tables, speaks to the differences in their life situations.
ET kept seeing the word Goblin all around while she is biking. The scene after is both of them thinking of each other as they rest their heads on a table (in different places). One of their signature scenes
Hahaha! KS was happy to be summoned when ET burns the squid she was grilling and accidentally blew the spark!
I like how she accidentally summoned KS. He was so darned pleased.
The words on the wall he leans against (is a PPL maxim gold ad) that says “The more I am convinced that I shall not see a man whom I can love.”
He pretends to be leaning back nonchalantly reading. He tries to impress her. She asks why he’s not left yet.
She complains that he always leaves when she’s talking.
“I thought you said you won’t profess/confess to me. It’s because you just assumed and said something so random.”
Then she gets her way by saying things in reverse, that she won’t tell him she sees ‘it’ and manages to get a good meal out of him LOL. Smart girl. She knows how to manipulate him already!
The fact that it’s the first time he’s ever hear anything like this (from ET) in 900 years means that he’s never spoken to someone who is not afraid of him or who is equal to him. Seems it’s only Deok Hwa and ET, two young people who are not afraid of taking advantage of his good nature.
LOL @Janey, ET really knew how to play KS so that he was apologetic and had to buy her a big glass of juice.
I like how Reaper decides to be on ET’s side from this time already and kept his word on this although ET did not know to believe him yet.
LOL what an insult … She considers GR handsome but refuses to say the same about KS. She cleverly admires someone else and gets to get her drink back. Same ploy as when she admired the Canadian ghost and got the leaf out of KS’s hand.
When you are in love, everything exudes the absence of your loved one… Eun Tak seeing the “Goblin” word everywhere is a signal her heart has moved closer to Kim Shin.
Hi Ladies,
I made it late, but i’m here.
reading and watching now.
ET : “Then Is my life a mess like this because I committed a huge sin in my past life? And was my punishment for that sin being born as the Goblin’s Bride?”
KS : “I have no idea what your past life was like and it’s too early for you to wish to be reincarnated at 19. And you’re not the Goblin’s Bride.
ET : “Oh, so you didn’t fall for it. My life may have been eventful, for better or worse, but I like my life. I received tons of love from my mum, and I got myself an umbrella. And knowing you is quite nice, too! … Oh I mean, it ‘was nice’. Past tense.”
KS: “You sure know how to hold onto a grudge. And you still haven’t told me whether or not you see it. Can you see it or not?”
ET : “My told me you have to look before lying down and relaxing. and have a destinateion in mind before taking your leave. You see where I’m coming from, right?”
ET is prudent in keeping the sword to herself. She wants to do research first before revealing what she sees. She’s not sure it’s a wise thing to do.
I like this part and how she misunderstands how KS was being a guardian towards the unseen persons and not for the couple that she saw. It hints at the fact that something unseen or unknown is nevertheless real and has to be taken into account, like the sword and KS’s past.
In this conversation, ET mentions that she got herself an umbrella. It’s literal and metaphorical … Sunny gave her an umbrella and KS was also her umbrella, the person who sometimes walked in step with her, and asked her how she was from time to time.
KS is now eager for ET to see the sword that he was actually led to buy her a meal with meat and juice! He wants ET to be confirmed as the goblin’s bride.
Reaper telepathically communicating to ET that she can see the sword and will pull it out was funny. Both want to get rid of each other.
Hahaha, ET says Reaper is handsome while Ks is meh.
GY is wearing that light green cardigan and I have a fluffy blouse in the same colour. Happy 😛
This episode gives a lot information about our main cast.
I also like that KS does not disappear this time but stays on looking after her and she sees him when she turns around. Their relationship has changed from Ep 2, when he disappeared in a huff. Now although she’s impinged on his generosity and time, he does not leave. In fact we see he has become more reminiscent and likes that she admired him.
DH echoes ET’s words of admiration. As if he can hear KS’s thoughts. Another hint.
@FGB, good point. She was obviously attached to KS already and miserable that she’d promised not to summon him anymore and that he was leaving.
Hi @Carolina! Glad you could make it.
LOL @Janey, Gong Yoo is described (in real life) to look like a dinosaur. We hear this later as well! However he’s a very handsome dinosaur with uneven sized eyes.
What great irony. Here KS tells Reaper: “I don’t care who you were or what you did in your past life.” Hah! That is so not true later on.
Here comes Secretary Kim…
He is a wise fellow and advises Dok Hwa as best as he can.
Such a good joke that KS would hate Reaper all the same. I felt that LDW really laughed for real.
LOL DH gets punished. I wonder if he really was resting his bum on something. He looked so stable in that sitting position!
@GB Unnie,
Because of his eyes, I like him…*winks*
KS accompanies GR to go shopping in case he goes to get ET. GR tells KS he’s rooting for ET because KS will die when the bride removes the sword.
KS wants a promise from GR that when he leaves GR will never take ET. Already Reaper is sad to hear that KS is leaving in 2 days. After all the fuss about wanting him to leave, GR does not want him to go.
KS misses ET a lot … He is thinking about ET and suddenly teleports to her old house.
ET is stunned to see him : “Are you here to see me?”
KS : “Maybe. I must have thought of you for a while. I guess that’s why I ended up here.”
(The rules that govern how he finds her are not clear. Sometimes he cannot find her at all.)
“Why? I’m not your bride and I’m not pretty.” (She’s fishing for a compliment!) “I’m just a load of trouble. You always have to save me. Why did you come to see me?”
KS : “I guess I missed that about you.” (He stares at her but does not elaborate.) “I saw you, so I can go now. …”
He still refuses to acknowledge how he feels … possibly because it’s not appropriate since ET is still underaged, and possibly because he may not know what it is to be in love since she’s his first love.
It is cute seeing Kim Shin so happy about being summoned 😉 , even if because a burning squid XD
Sunny is very perceptive of ET’s difficulties, and looks out for ET in practical ways. She doesn’t get upset about ET sleeping in the shop, which she treats like a minor issue. She is protective, wanting to keep ET’s pay out of her aunt’s hands. She also makes a habit of advising ET to take care of herself, physically and emotionally.
Goblin is so happy to have ET call him.
Even though ET and G tease and banter, they also communicate on a deep level. It is clear they understand one another.
when ET said “We end here,” she’s trying to abide by Goblin’s expressed wishes, despite her becoming more and more attached to him. I wonder if it’s a bit of noble idiocy that she doesn’t tell him she sees the sword. I think by now it’s clear to her what he’s looking for her to see, since he pointed to his chest and spoke of something that looks painful. When ET walked away from Goblin, then turned back to look, her face was sad. But instead of disappearing as he used to do, Goblin was watching ET and saw that expression on her face. Later, when he’s back at home and reflecting on their most recent encounter, he’s happy.
Sunny and Reaper meet!
I always snicker whenever Sunny does her hair flip. LOL!he does not want to shake her hand in case he sees her memories…
The other subs have KS say: “Want me to tell you?”
ET : “What did you just say?”
KS : “I guess I was thinking about you for just a moment. That’s probably why I came to see you.”
ET asks why when she isn’t his bride…
Then later he says: “I guess, despite all that, I wanted to see you.” Which makes more sense.
She does not want to tell him that she came back for the flowers he had given her.
He leaves, looking sad.
She knows how to keep him in his toes XD XD XD XD XD . The lovers’ spat after the burned squid incident is wayyyy more interesting in hindsight than when I originally watched it. She totally denied seeing the sword while hinting she *might* be seeing something ;D
@GB
I had lived in Japan for 12 years, and now came back to my hometown, Taiwan.
Am I the only one here who think that there are too many candles in this drama?
@Janey,
I love that scene! The ring, his tears and Sunny!
Samshin is looking at them!
@Janey, I like how Samshin engineered the meeting of Wang Yeo and Sun Hee to restart their memories and possible romance, compared to how (later we find) god engineered the meeting of KS and Wang Yeo, to end the grudge. There were parallel meetings of the siblings with Wang Yeo and with each other to close the circle of their inter-relationships and unfinished business.
@FGB ET was a smart cookie in the love relationship. She knew how to take care of herself and to take care of KS too.
Reaper is transfixed by the ring. But Sunny grabs it before he can. A tear rolls down his cheek when he looks at Sunny. I guess the tears started to fill his eyes at the sight of the ring but they continue to fall at the sight of Sunny.
Sunny looks him up and down and likes what she sees. Since he wants the ring, she says it’s not for free. She wants his telephone number.
LOL how she recovers from the humiliation of him not wanting to shake hands… finger guns!
This starts a whole process of her asking him for things that he just never had as a Grim Reaper LOL. GR also likes Sunny but feels embarrassed that he does not know how to call her, plus inadequate or unworthy to continue contact with her, because he lacks the things that she asks for, and poor GR is miserable.
G: I’d hate to tell you this, but in order to become a grim reaper you need to commit a huge sin…
DH: Huge sin? What kind of huge sin?…Wow! Awesome! Is he really a murderer? Wow! You can never know with a person’s face.
Reaper is distraught to be called a murderer. The thought dismays him. But since he can’t remember his past, he doesn’t know what great sin he committed in order to be punished by becoming a grim reaper. Alone in his room, he tries to figure it out: “A big sin? Unfilial, disloyal, immodest, unrestricted, unvirtuous. Let’s not go that far It probably wasn’t.
The way the editing is done seems to say that Sunny is the woman that KS is looking at in the portrait.
Sad flashback to years later when Wang Yeo is dead. He’s drawn so many portraits of Sun Hee. He’s been living in regret but he never learned to grow out of it and improve as a person or as a king. He looked like he never properly ruled the people.
@Kuroshio I did think it was dangerous with so many candles everywhere. There is a company that sponsored it and it’s their PPL.
It has dawned on me that they are kind of a paper-rock-scissors game: Eun-Tak beats Goblin, Goblin beats Grim Reaper and Grim Reaper beats Eun-Tak: a balance of powers 😉
ET treasured the buckwheat flowers for meaning ‘lover’ and the first gift that she asked for and received from KS, her ‘umbrella’. I felt so sad each time the flowers got blown away. She took so little away with her and even her dried flowers kept dwindling in quantity.
I am so pissed at that awful girl that said that ET is smoking, when she is but she will take the punishment that suits her best!
@FGB, that’s an interesting observation, about the balance of powers. I kind of feel that they were more or less equal with each other after a while, only that ET gave deference to KS because of her age.
Heh! irony once again… KS speaks to Reaper and asks “Were you a king?”
Show dropped so many hints.
He is misses her so much and it shows in his face. If you look at KS’s face. I love GY for that. He is so expressive…
I like a slightly drunk goblin. He gives in to his heart. He misses her and now goes in search of her through door portals. If he wasn’t drunk, he’d just wait for her to summon him. Now he goes in search of her.
When he finally misses her enough, he suddenly is able to find her. And this time he has an umbrella to shelter her. What a nice change in their relationship. Before at their first meeting, she was in hoodie only and he had an umbrella in the rain. Now he gives her shelter.
It’s a sad, poignant scene with ET. So much rain as KS’s heart saddens at the thought of leaving her.
Kim Go Eun is great. I mean her eyes. Love this scene!
@kurushio – it’s a good thing that KS has power to automatically light all the candles and most like also snuff them off. Else, it will be such a chore and fire hazard!
@GB so it’s a product placement? Interesting!
KS : “I don’t know where she is.”
GR : “Where is who?”
KS : “She won’t summon me. She won’t summon me, so I can’t find her.” (This is strange since that time he walked out of the supermarket and found himself outside ET’s home. Was it because he thought of the place rather than of ET, and so kept going to places where she wasn’t?)
KS : “I’m not the almighty, but there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. I can’t find that girl. All of my possessions are of no value to me.” (He had said that if she didn’t see something on him, she had no value to him. This has been totally turned on its head now.)
GR : “That’s true. Your powers are only good for enjoying yourself. How did you find her before?”
KS : “I just did. Like this.”
“Just call her. She must have a phone, right?”
KS : “Right. But I don’t have her number.” (LOL Reaper has Sunny’s number but no phone to call her with. KS does not even have ET’s number.)
KS : “And I shouldn’t anymore.” (He thinks that since he’s leaving her, he should not be trying to call her.)
ET : “Mum. How are you? Mum, are you resting in peace? How is it like up there? Is it better than here? Mum, I’m not well. Nobody asks me how I am.” (It starts to rain. KS is upset to hear how unhappy ET is.)
ET : “Again? I’m sick of it. My life is rainy.” Then suddenly the rain does not reach her. She looks around and finds that KS is behind her sheltering her with his umbrella.
KS : “It’s because I’m feeling down.” (He’s responding to her complaint about the rain falling again.)
ET : “What is?”
KS : “The rain. It’ll stop soon.”
ET : “Does it rain when you’re feeling down?”
KS : “Yes.”
ET : “How down do you have to be to make a typhoon?”
KS : “That’s not me. It’s the planet. How have you been?” (He heard her say that no one asks how she is and is making a point to ask.)
ET : “The rain is stopping.”
KS : “I just started to feel better.”
ET : “This isn’t good.”
KS : “Why?”
ET : “Whenever it rains, I’ll think you’re feeling down from now on.” (After this, rain is associated with sadness for Eun Tak, so this is prophetic.)
1:13:27
ET : “It’s not like I have anyone to rely on. I’ll have to worry about you on top of that.”
He’s been looking steadily at her the whole time.
KS : “Aren’t you cold? What are you doing out here?”
ET : “Because I’m not happy. It feels more like a cold now.”
KS : “What does?”
ET : “My series of misfortunes. It comes back when I think I have forgotten about it. When the time comes, I catch it again. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad.” (Actually this might be a lie. She probably did want to make him feel bad.)
KS : “My condolences.”
ET : “That’s so formal.”
KS : “Then how should I do it?”
ET : “There are so many choices. You could pat my shoulder, brush my hair, or give me $5,000.”
KS : “Gosh. What about your hands?” (Why aren’t you helping yourself???)
ET : “My hands need to rest from working part-time too much. I’m saving them for later in case someone hands me a handful of something.” (She’s dropping hints about what he can do for her.)
KS : “Like what?”
ET : “Forget it.” Instead of receiving something from him, she takes the leaf from her bag and hands it to him.
ET : “My present to you.” (This is the exchange of gifts at the same spot. By asking for and getting the Buckwheat flowers (that mean ‘lover’) from him before, and now giving him the leaf (which was caught while walking with the one who would be one’s beloved) they had entered an inadvertent, unspoken promise of sorts. ,i>It was later to be ratified by the written contract.)
We recall ‘If you catch a falling maple leaf, you’ll fall in love with the person you’re walking with.’
Once again OST Beautiful Life comes on for this couple. So sad. He strokes her hair, as she’d suggested to him. He really pays attention to what she says and takes action.
Reaper and KS are at home on the same small couch for a change and looking miserable because KS is leaving.
Although Reaper says he wants to remember that KS is leaving because it makes him happy, he actually looks miserable.
The doorbell confuses and scares them.
GR : “The bell. Nobody rings the doorbell.” And they scare each other and themselves LOL. Both can’t see through walls to see who is outside. LOL.
ET : “Do you live together?”
KS : “Just until today. Why are you here?”
ET : “To tell you something I didn’t get to earlier. You keep asking if I see something. What if I see it?”
KS : “Why ask? You don’t see it.”
ET : “Who says I don’t?”
KS looks surprised and interested.
ET : “One, if I see it, do we have to get married right away?” (We finally hear her concerns and why she never admitted to seeing it.) “Two, if I see it, will you lend me $5,000?” … “Three, if I see it, will you stay?” (This was the main question, the one thing she most wanted to happen.) “Don’t go. Stay here in Korea. Can’t you?”
KS : “Do you really see it?”
ET : “What if I do?”
KS : “Prove it.”
ET : “I want an answer first. Pick one of the three options.”
KS : “You don’t see it.”
ET : “I really see it. I really do. That sword.”
KS causes the lightning and thunder to erupt.
I realized today that we are all so engroshed watching the episode that we are not fully commenting… 🙂
ET went to the Goblin’s house to ask him not to leave.
Then she admits to KS, she can see the sword.
When she is definitely saying her goodbyes, she walks away from him, suddenly turns… and the expression in her eyes wanting him to still be there was unnoticed by me in my first watch, all that longing… yes, that lady is a fine actress 😀 .
And his expression saying “I won’t go anywhere” was also beautiful 🙂
Ep3 is ends with ET declaring she sees the sword. Game changer for KS! Will continue IE to watch ep4 just because it’s one of my favorites… does he want to die and be at peace or to continue living (and loving)?
Thanks for the rewatch @GB, @Cleo @Wemaris @Kurushio @FGB!!!
@FGB, will check out your recipe later!
Happy weekend!!!
In retrospect, the Nephew is a Big BIG Troll XD
@Janey… bye! Thanks too and see you next week!
@Cleo, I knew it is hard to read and watch this show… so packed with good stuff to catch, it’s hard to do both at the same time. I kept pausing it so that I could read and type.
Bye @Janey…! Enjoy the next episode!
Happy Weekend to you too!
@FGB, yes that nephew. So deceptively unprepossessing. He was most useful at times.
@GB,
I just don’t seem to stop watching it. I am also looking for mini expressions, what is being said and why.
So, I have to do the same thing. If I want to write about something I need to pause. It is the first time I do so for a show we are watching! I am loving this!
@Cleo yes, I love this show and this rewatch. And now I’m watching with a different set of subs from before so I’m trying to figure out which has the better interpretation as well.
I love how the actors play the roles so perfectly, without ever being out of character. I never feel that ET is a grown up here until she really does become an adult. GY is mesmerising and even Sunny and Reaper hold my attention.
I notice that KS never gives ET the answers to some of her questions. Like what will happen if she sees the sword. What will her future hold. She’s so smart and wise to have thought of that. The ghosts only told her that she’d have to marry him. No one could see the sword… not even Reaper. So she needed to know what it meant that she could see it and why it mattered to KS. But he never told her at all.
I agree that she’s right to wonder if her education would be affected if she had to be a bride ie get married straightaway. She was intent on living her life the best she could and not to take the easy route entirely. KS never gave her any assurances. (After this poor ET was worried because KS didn’t know what to do about having a bride LOL).
@GB This is another pun here. 짐 is a noun means luggage, and also when a king referring to himself.
Reaper was tried to start like :Packing……
KS:WOW， Were you a King?
by the way, I learned it from a friend.
@GB Unnie,
So true. Enjoying something that much because everyone put a great effort on it. It’s priceless!
I have to say bye for now…I will read you if you post anything!
Have a great Sunday ahead! :*
@Janey, it has been a privilege to read you 😉 . @Cleo, I didn’t say “Kalimera” to you… sorry!!! . @Welmaris, how was your Museum visit and your Ballet the other day?, hope it was good!!! 😀 .
I am happy Goblin gave Grim Reaper some backhanded love in the form of an apology and a good laugh, also loved the conversation between the Grandpa and the Nephew, but seeing that they are side by side since Gramps is “educating” the Nephew was excellent XD
Thanks @Kuroshio. So there’s a pun on the word for packing and king? That’s why the conversation flowed from packing to leave to identities and if Reaper was a king?
KS : “It’s always better to have more alcohol, women, and meat. I was noble enough when I was a general.”
GR : “You were a general?”
KS : “Back in the day, you wouldn’t dare to talk to me.” (Irony is that as king, GR was above KS, so KS is wrong.)
GR : “Come on, you don’t even know who I was.”
KS : “Who were you?”
GR : “Well…” (He does not want to say that he has no clue.)
KS : “What? Were you a king?” (Hit the nail on the head. But @pkml3 will disagree.)
GR : “Did you finish packing?”
KS : “Ahh that’s what you meant?” (Aahhh… there’s a pun here on king and packing… no wonder I didn’t catch why this sentence popped up here.) “Well, I don’t have much to pack.”
GR does not look happy that KS is leaving.
GR : “Have a safe trip.”
KS : “I’ll call you.”
GR : “I don’t have a phone.”
KS : “That’s why I said it.” (Sarcastic bickering!)
The Nephew gives no respect and gets no respect in return, that is a balanced Karma XD
Bye @Cleo! Thanks for a great rewatch!
@FGB, you’re good at noticing the balancing out of things. Such an irony about DH and being respected but true enough, both characters in DH were dissed a lot by humans and non-humans alike!
It has ocurred me that Eun Tak is strong against Kim Shin and Kim Shin is strong agaist Grim Reaper is because Death has no power against Kim Shin but Love does 😉 .
Right now Kim Shin has materialized on Eun Tak’s home and she has sent him off…
Got to go! Bye Ladies!!
Have a good night!
@FGB, what a nice way of saying it. “Death has no power against KS but Love does”. True. KS changes to become more considerate because of ET. They complement each other and are better together than apart.
Bye @Kuroshio! See you next week!
Reaper and Sunny, meeting on the bridge with the help of Sam Shin, have their standoff over who gets the ring. Reaper is in tears the moment he lays eyes on Sunny’s face, but he doesn’t know why he’s crying. The scene ends with a closeup of Sunny’s face, followed by a scene of Goblin opening an old scroll with a portrait of his sister, the queen.
Goblin’s flashback to his return to the palace after being reanimated: he sees the king’s body shrouded, lying on its funeral bier. On the floor are multiple scrolls. The ones open enough for us to see are all of the same subject, portraits of the queen. One is still in process of being completed. Goblin weeps to see his sister’s face again. He takes one picture of her with him and leaves, burning the funeral hall and everything in it.
Goblin, in his bedroom, looks at the old scroll with the portrait of his sister, a tear in his eye. The next scene starts with Sunny, sitting at a table in her restaurant. The scenes of Goblin viewing the queen’s portrait and remembering his sister are bookended by views of Sunny. PD is working hard for us to make the association between Sunny and the queen, in my opinion.
ET goes back to her aunt’s house yet again to pick up the dried buckwheat flower bouquet. It is precious to her.
ET putting her meagre belongings into a coin locker is a meta reference to KGE being in the moving Coin Locker Girl.
G: What about you? Where does drinking suddenly take you? The more the better when it comes to wine, women and meat. I’ve been plenty faithful when I was a general.
R: You were a general?
G: If it was back then, someone like you wouldn’t even be able to talk to me. How dare you?
R: You don’t know what I was.
G: What were you?
R: Your luggage…(TN Jim eun; how a king said “I” but also a homonym for luggage)
G: See how you bluff. What? You were a king?
R: Have you packed all your stuff?
In a later scene…
R: Your luggage? (TN: Korean words for “luggage” and the royal “I” are homonyms)
G: You already asked me earlier.
R: I just want to keep hearing it. It makes me happy.
It seems PD is also trying hard to associate Reaper with the king. One of the more obvious hints is the crown lapel pin Reaper wears. Although the queen was seen wearing a tiara, she wasn’t the reigning monarch: she was the queen consort. When one speaks of the crown in a monarchy, one is referring to the reigning monarch…in this case, the king.
I’m all done, and looking forward to next week. After I catch a few more hours of sleep (what better to do on a gloomy, wet Seattle morning?), I’ll read through the comments above and respond as inspired.
Lee El as Samshin Goddess rocked!!! 😀 . Love how she fabricated the meet cute between Sunny and Grim Reaper 😉 .
****POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT****
****If this is your first viewing, please skip****
Dear @GB, there must be a balance in everything and this Drama was a good example. What strikes me is that except of Samshin Grandma who is a balanced character (that is, a character that behaves like a good natured and protective person) all the gods are unbalanced. Kim Shin is bored to no ends (only Love can make him invested in life again), Grim Reaper has no past (and his quest for identity will lead him to dark places) and the mysterious Butterfly God is so eager for otherness and company that puts up with a lot of disrespect (for him it is a play as in a theatrical play), he is more of a trickster archetype here.
Kim Eun Tak has her heart in the right place, but the other adult (even more than Samshin Grandma) is Sunny. She will be the catalyst of Grim’s growth. He needs to confront who he is (was?), what he did and more importantly, what to do from there on…
*************
I am still on Sunny’s Meet Cute, many thanks Samshin Grandma!!!
@FGB Nice reflection on the unbalanced gods LOL. Poor Sunny had a unrewarding deal, being in love with such and unbalanced person.
**** SPOILER AGAIN; SORRY!!! ****
… And that is why her actions at the end makes a lot of sense. She loved him so much and he loved her even more, but his past life’s ungratefulness, his guilt and his need to overcompensate was too much. She took the High Road for the better of them both.
SPOILER
SPOILER
@FGB, it’s true that they’d never have been able to have a normal relationship with the memories of the past. There was too much guilt, regret, etc that was in the way. They had to complete the present ‘life’ and meet in a time when they both did not know the past.
Bye @Welmaris and FGB! Thanks for a great party.
Didn’t know the first time, but when he says he is leaving at the end, SHE is the one to make it rain… such a beautiful conversation by the way…
@FGB I felt that her sadness got him sad too and so the rain came back.
SPOILER
SPOILER
In a much later episode she tells Sunny that her ‘power’ was to make it rain less or get the first snow to fall earlier. 🙂
Lord Buddha, this was so GOOD!!! =D . Finished already, let me read your Posts and greet everyone else!!!
@GB, what episode will we see next Saturday?, I feel like watching all the episodes between to jog my memory 😀
@FGB We’ll go episode by episode because with Goblin it’s really hard to skip anything in between. So next week will be Ep 4.
Frist of all, hello Carolina!!!, I have many cousins with that name and I love them very dearly 😉 .
About the coat looking like a bathrobe but being probably expensive it remembers me a passage in Haruki Murakami’s “Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World” where the main character elaborates on how it is easy to buy an expensive couch but how difficult it is to find someone with the good taste and sensibility to be able to select a comfortable, quality one XD .
On using the aunt and the cousins’ greed against them there is a saying that the gods punishes people by fulfilling their wishes…
@GB, perfect!!!, I didn’t remember how good it was and while back then I didn’t have you (I had the DramaBeans forum) the discussions were still very interesting. There was a moment were I diametrally disagreed with the community, but that moment is still in the future.
Hello, everyone. I couldn’t attend the rewatch but enjoy your comments so much.
I thought that Eun Tak was trying to be faithful to her mother’s somewhat convoluted maxim to be cautious before acting. She even formulated 3 questions for KS to determine the result of her admission that she could see the sword. But in the end she was so desperate for him to stay that she blurted out that she could see it. I was both glad for them and sorry for her that she didn’t get an answer beforehand. Still, answer or not, she was the Goblin’s Bride and that didn’t change.
At the beginning of the episode, I thought that the Reaper came along because KS anticipated that he would be killing the men who had kidnapped ET. He said to them that is was only thanks to the girl that he didn’t.
If they could both appear on the scene, why couldn’t they go back to the house instead of walking? Because ET was along? But she came to Quebec with KS?
My dear @Fern, I missed you! I’m glad you’re back to read us.
Your questions are pertinent, as usual and gives rise to more thought. (Separately I’ve written some notes on what I find inconsistent, but that will be for much later, so that I won’t add spoilers).
So this teleporting thing of Reaper’s and Goblin’s…. What I think seems consistent is that Goblin usually needs a door to get from a place of rest/home… to another location, except when he wants to go home. So he needed a door to get to the buckwheat field and Quebec, but when he’s summoned to somewhere else, he can teleport home without a door.
However, with ET, who’s human, he needs a door. She cannot teleport any other way with his help, and she’s the only human who can teleport with him.
Reaper is more versatile in this… he never needs a portal, but even his coming and going is not consistent. He never needed to open the door before, but we see in this episode, that one time he walks through the front door but at the end of the episode, he opens the door to go in (to leave KS and ET at their lover’s spat as he calls it.)
Your thought that Reaper came along because KS wanted to kill the loan sharks, might be right.
KS to ET : “Stay here for a bit.”
Thinking most logically she runs up to KS who’s striding towards the trapped loan sharks.
ET : “What are you going to do? … Are you going to kill them?”
KS turns and looks at her.
ET : “You’re not going to kill them, are you?”
KS : “No.”
ET : “You always say ‘No’. (other subs say ‘You always deny everything!’) ”
(She’s learnt not to believe his denials.)
The Grim Reaper came too. It’s not like he came to save me. (Other subs say ‘You even brought the grim reaper with you. I’m sure he’s not here to save me.)”
GR points out : “That would make more sense. (other subs say ‘That would come more naturally to him.’)”
(GR finds her rational. I wonder if even he’s surprised that he’s there helping out the goblin.)
KS : “Don’t worry. I won’t kill those men. I just want to show them that I’m angry. And make them wish they were dead.”
KS to the loan sharks “The road will disappear from the map for two days. As in, you won’t be lucky enough to have someone find you for two days. ….You can pay for your sins once you get to the police station.
You should be grateful I’m not the one making you pay. (other subs say ‘Just thank your lucky stars that I’m not the one punishing you.’)
Mercy is often hidden among the victims that you harass. (other subs say ‘You will be allowed to hide among the other prosecuted people.’)
She’s the one you should thank. (other subs say ‘Thank that girl for the fact that you’re still alive.’)”
So, his first reaction was revenge for hurting one of ‘his people’ just like how he destroyed the ship of men who hurt the boy who served him, he destroyed the car of the loan sharks who messed with ET.
However, I thought Reaper only collects souls according to the cards he receives, and this was ‘extra work’. It would entail a bunch of paper work LOL. I thought maybe he came along, for a change of pace and to see if he could help out. Also ET was a missing soul he was ‘in charge’ of, and he didn’t want her to become totally lost if she was killed on the road. That would also entail lots of paper work. These are just my guesses but we never receive any confirmation on why Reaper came along.
@Fern, we often see Goblin teleport while walking through a door or archway (like when he and ET returned from Quebec and walked into Seoul through one of the gates of Gyeongbokgung). The road on which Goblin, Reaper, and ET were walking lacked doors! Then again, we’ve seen both Reaper and Goblin disappear in a puff of smoke, so maybe a physical portal isn’t always necessary for them, but needed if they want to bring ET with them. I’m guessing they walked with ET to keep her company.
Goblin is still mystified by ET. He was surprised she had the power to follow him from her school library to Canada, although he seems to have had no trouble bringing her back to Seoul (although they returned to the palace, rather than ET’s school). ET can summon Goblin at will by blowing out a flame, but as their feelings for each other deepen, ET also unexpectedly summons Goblin by thinking about him (perhaps the trigger being when she is experiencing intense emotion such as fear or sadness). The birthmark on ET’s neck flashed during her abduction, which could be the magical equivalent of a flame being extinguished. When Goblin exited the supermarket and ended up at the house of ET’s aunt, ET showed up shortly after he arrived. I think that is evidence their hearts (not conscious choice) pulled them together. Goblin couldn’t will his way to ET by walking through the door of his house, unable to find her until ET’s heart was receptive: she needed to see him as much as he wanted to see her.
For someone who used to be a successful military general, KS seems to fall easily for ET’s bluffs when she wants to extract the maple leaf and the juice drink from his grasp. I suppose that’s further evidence that KS has blind spots: not only for the fears and jealousy of the king, but underestimating ET’s wiles.
FGB4477, you are a genius for equating the relationships of ET, Goblin, and Reaper to rock, paper, scissors. It’s a particularly apt analogy, since rock, paper, scissors appears so often in Kdramas as a method of making decisions.
When Goblin told Reaper that he wouldn’t dare talk to him when he was a general (a very wrong assumption), it reminded me of ep. 1 when KS’s lieutenant told the gate guard that he shouldn’t dare address General Shin. Goryeo society was rigidly stratified, but it surprises me a bit that Goblin, after 900 years, still feels smug about his superior position (or so he thinks). Has he yet to learn that pride goes before a fall?
As for the abundance of candles seen in this drama, it may be PPL, but it also ties Goblin’s present to his past. There’s an ep. 2 scene of Goblin in his rough cabin in a foreign country, his child servant lighting a single candle; then we see that servant as a young man (played by the same actor who plays DH) lighting a chandelier; then an old man lighting massed candles. Back in the days before electricity and refined petroleum (for products such as kerosene and paraffin), adequate lighting (and heating) at night was a luxury. People used lamps that burned oil from natural sources (animal fat, nut or seed oil). Candles made with beeswax were expensive; candles made of tallow (rendered fat from beef or mutton) were more commonly used, but smelled, smoked, and burned quickly. The abundance of candles in Goblin’s cabin indicates he’s got enough money to be extravagant with lighting. Even though Goblin doesn’t need to use candles for lighting after electricity became the norm in homes, I suspect using them provides emotional comfort, since he’s used them most of his 900 years.
Greetings @FGB =) I have not met many Carolinas in my life but I know it is a popular name.
This rewatch was hard because it had so much info (plus I came a bit late). I had to keep replaying scenes because I couldn’t read fast enough. I came back to read the rest of the comments. It makes me want to rewatch this episode again.
SPOILER – DONT READ IF ITS FIRST TIME
@Welmaris yes the writer does show hints on who might be who.
I am conflicted between what the writer has told us in this episode and what @packmule3 has mentioned about King and Consort reencarnations. I wonder if in fact Reaper is the King, I do not know if the relationship between Reaper and Goblin would be the same. At times I see Sunny almost distant like a King. The first time I watched it struck me that Sunny seemed a bit too regal. In this episode she keeps posing and will continue but that was my first impression and was confused at times who was who.
It was a very lovely start and end of day spending time reading your comments. I will not be joining you ladies for rewatch for the next few weeks (although I’ll probably sneak some reading lol). My hubs nephew is getting married in 2 weeks so there will be lots of prep and a wedding to attend. Outdoor wedding in November in Cali, its gonna be too cold for me =)
Cheers everyone!!
@GB, and THAT is why it is always lovely to read other’s comments.
@Welmaris, expanding upon the Rock-Paper-Scissors analogy we can find that:
Goblin (Kim Shin) is the bullish type, that is, he is impulsive and decided in his decision-making.
Eun-Tak is the rational type, that considers every angle of a problem before making a decision.
Grim Reaper let his emotions to guide him 😉 . So for him not knowing his past is a killer since his emotional decision-making feels out of thin air for him, and he wishes to know the roots of his emotions.
*Bonus* Sunny is the sage one that has a default answer to Love, that is, to put other’s well-being before her own interests… but as we will see later, she is wise enough to have boundaries and to self-protect when needed. She is hard to grasp and does not fall in any of the categories mentioned before as she has transcended them.
——
Changing subjects, dear Carolina don’t worry: you will be welcomed when you come. This Community is formed by people like you for people like you. Everyone has a real life beyond Dramas and we are bound together by our shared love of stories 😉 , so be free to come whenever you want since your ideas matter. Hope you have a nice wedding in two weeks and please keep reading and commenting!!! 😀
****SPOILER ALERT****
The Eunuch ghost that will become the main antagonist later on might have been created as a lost soul like you mentioned @GB. His death was not programmed but done untimely because an unnatural event (Kim Shin), so his ghost was not received by a Grim Reaper 😉
*********
@Carolina, don’t worry about who is right about the modern identities of the king and queen: enjoy watching the show and catching clues in the plot, make your own judgement, and have fun reading how other viewers came to their conclusions. We’re not here to squabble over plot points, but are welcome to share different opinions if done politely and with reason.
A little off subject for this thread: Last night I reviewed some of Episode 2 and caught something I hadn’t noticed before. When Sunny goes to the shaman to get a reading, she looks at a photo and the shaman mentions she’s one of triplets. I had never before noticed that one of the triplets is one of the ghosts who talks with Eun Tak. She’s the ajumma with the purple cap and flowered vest.
Also off topic, but this is for @FGB4877.
The special exhibit I saw at the museum was https://www.nordicmuseum.org/exhibition/paperdialogues
A better view of the artist’s work in this exhibition is on her website. https://papercutart.no/project/paperdialogues/
@FGB, some of the pieces were large. They had so much detail that I could have spent a lot more time examining them.
The evening I spent at Pacific Northwest Ballet was a show called Beyond Ballet, which included three works. Here’s a trailer for the show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Vhhnwi0pw
But before the dancing began, we got to see something I’ve never before had the privilege to witness: brief promotion ceremonies for members of the company. Two dancers were promoted from corps de ballet to soloist Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan and Miles Pertl), and one was promoted from soloist to principal dancer (Elle Macy). One at a time they were brought in front of the curtain, training and career accomplishments were summarized, they were given bouquets, the audience applauded them, and then the best part happened: as they each stepped back behind the curtain, we could hear the rest of the company greeting them with cheers.
First piece performed was Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven: Odes to Love and Loss. Music by Arvo Pärt (Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, 1977). Choreography by Ulysses Dove. Premiere 1993, Royal Swedish Ballet; Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere 2006, restaged 2009.
Here’s some rehearsal footage taken in 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEePGs68-94
Here’s a glimpse of a male pas de deux. I saw these two dancers perform it Friday night: Christopher D’Ariano and James Kirby Rogers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHDPN-XsrUc
Second piece was Ghost Variations. Music by Robert Schumann (Ghost Variations, 1854, Theme, Variations II & V; Lierderkreis, Op. 39, No. 5 “Mondnacht”, 1840, arranged by Clara Schumann, 1872-1874); and Clara Schumann (Three Romances, Op. 11, 1839, I. Andante; Scherzo No. 2 in C minor, Op. 14, after 1840). Choreography by Jessica Lang. Premiere 2020 Pacific Northwest Ballet (digital release).
Here’s a quick look. On Friday I saw three of the four dancers in this video: Elizabeth Murphy, Lucien Postlewaite and Dylan Wald. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6gIvARhdfk&t=3s
Another snippet. I saw these three female dancers: Leta Biassuci, Angelica Generosa, Elizabeth Murphy. The video doesn’t list the name of the male dancer so I can’t cross check with the Friday night cast list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOmEnUjLtXc
Third piece was The Personal Element. Music, Jason Moran, transcribed by Gunnar Folsom. Choreography by Alonzo King. Premiere 2019, Vail Dance Festival; Friday night I saw the Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of this work.
An excerpt showing a pas de deux. I saw these two dancers Friday night: Cecilia Iliesiu and Dylan Wald. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqyCEZ5rDMQ
Looking up these video clips for you, @FGB4877, has helped me relive the magic.
@Packmule3, my comment is awaiting moderation. I hope I didn’t break BoD rules by trying to share a non-Kdrama treat with @FGB4877.
I’ll check when I get home, @Welmaris.
Sometimes a weird emoticon triggers moderation, or too many links (I had three maximum, but I thought I raised it to five?) or a banned word like letsgoBrandon.
I’m not aware of that particular banned word? I must be out of touch.
LOL, got me curious, too! @PM3 – Who is Brandon?
@FGB What a neat way to understand our foursome!
This sounds like a character brief that the writers may have begun with and stuck to so that the characters remained true to type.
Yes, KS didn’t understand a situation fully, or the emotion behind the strange commands of the young king, but instead of asking for clarification or advice, or thinking things through, or considering other options, he single-mindedly bulldozed into situations, causing more problems (deaths) than necessary. He certainly has a lot of ‘bullish mistakes’ to make up for.
I like ET’s mature way of managing her life. She thought things through, unlike KS, did her research, calculated what she needed and asked for it from the one who could actually give it to her. Her concerns about what it meant to be the goblin’s bride were justified, but no one ever addressed them. KS never even asked her until much later, why she wanted the 5 million won.
SPOILER
SPOILER
Wang Yeo does not seem to have exercised any independent thought, or considered listening to more than one advisor. His sole desire was to be loved/feared by his people but he did nothing much to earn it. Perhaps, because he was brought up by the evil advisor, and he was just a teenager, he seems to have not known how to truly love anyone at all. His main recourse to being supreme was to instill fear by killing (as advised by Park), even when it went against his innate sense of right. We see that he initially balked at the advice to execute an officer. Unfortunately, getting others killed became a habit and easier to do.
In the end, everything had to give way to his being number 1. He is called foolish, but he remained immature (could he have not chosen to be exposed to more real life and other counsellors?) and nurtured cruelty instead of goodness. His death is seen as an act of cowardice.
About Sunny transcending those human qualities, it’s true that although she was the least able to connect with the supernatural (worldly?) of the 4 characters, sometimes she appears more unimpeachable and godlike than even the god of this show. We later know that she was able to tell god off (without realising it was god she was talking to) and he accepted her choice without protest.
LOL @Janey and @Fern, I googled it.
https://www.fox13news.com/news/what-does-lets-go-brandon-mean-and-where-did-it-come-from
Kalimera everyone!
@FGB I agree with all that you wrote, but I wanted to share that I don’t think that Kim Shin is that impulsive. From what we know from the past and…
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SPOILERS
…As a general was determined and focused to his goal. He took commands from the previous King to protect his little brother aka the new king. I believe that his sister became the Consort because the previous King wanted his little brother to have Kim Shin’s support that means the previous King trusted completely Kim Shin and his clan.
Since the Queen was not happy with the King’s treating, she must have sent a letter to her brother. She didn’t know that the King had ordered Kim Shin to take the sword and go to the borders to fight and conquer. KS came back because his sister told him so and because he couldn’t protect the King as he promised to.
So, his promise(s) and honour consequently motivated him in order to continue to that walk.
He has a deep conscience and high ethics. I think he stands by his honours and promises. That’s why he protects innocent people and does his magic when he thinks it’s okay for him to intervene.
I will write about Hanza later…
@GB, oh my gosh. I had no idea.
Dear @Cleo, kalimera from my side of the world 😉 .
I wholeheartedly agree with what you said. Please remember that my English is basically self-learned so it has its errors and *glup* fossilizations.
Kim Shin has high morals and ethics, but he sees what it must be done and does what is needed. Since he is a warrior he knows that every fraction of a second counts so he moves without hesitation. If he sees an enemy he simply cuts him down to avoid further damage 😉 .
Also what you said about trust is so true it is, in fact, his tragedy. He served unwaveringly his King as a representation of the well-being and also the will of his people for his loyalty to be paid in full betrayal. Him cursing God is only the answer of a creature in utter desperation, it is not only his body destroyed but also his family gone… but more than that is all what he has stood and sacrificed for turning onto its head and accusing him instead. Everything he believed and stood for turning onto him.
Same here @Fern! Thanks @GB for the link. SMH (shaking my head). This is my reaction.
Dear @FGB,
Kalimera! Firstly, I want to assure you that your English is in such a level that your ideas and notions can be understood fully by everyone. I don’t want you to question yourself about it. English is not my native language as well. So we are in the same position. 🙂
For the sake of conversation, I felt that I needed to write my POV about Kim Shin and talk about it. I totally agree he felt betrayed. It is something I wanted to write about Hanza.
The Nabi Shin was always with him and he said so (I won’t do a SPOILER here), which is unfair. It reminds me the notion that a KING was the representantive of God in earth, which was a way to show that his reign was strong and accepted by God himself.
So, Kim Shin was a loyal object. He was betrayed and sacrificed as you said, then he was punished for his crimes and became a Goblin. The King on the other hand lost his memories.
In my books, this Nabi Shin is not a belevolent god. Since he has preferences and treats people in a different way, that means people are not equals or of the same value. Exactly the opposite of what Samshin’s does.
@Cleo, Nabi Shin is definitely a Trickster entity here. Extremely childish, petty and random. The kind of character that finds pleasure in laughing at other people’s expense (to him, being in disguise all this time must have felt like a big big joke). His beef being that Kim Shin cursed higher powers when what actually happened was that Kim Shin was in utter desperation, dying having all he loved destroyed and all he believed and worked for turned against him… only the love of the common people and their prayers saving him.
For me the two adults in this series are Samshin Halmeoni and Sunny.
Dear @FGB,
What you said, reminded me of Loki.
I agree on that, although we have to add Eun Tak behaves as an adult as well.
XD . Fair point about Eun Tak, she is the Yin to Kim Shin’s Yang (she studies her options and think them thoroughly, he just acts).
An addendum to our conversation on Kim Shin having high morals and values, well… they are a prerequisite to being a person with such responsibilities. It is not only that you need them to inspire then guide other people and keep yourself on a good path, but also because when you have no time to waste making a decision such values and principles kicks in and give you an answer that might not be the most optimal but the best one given the circumstances 😉 . In fact as I told you there will be a point in this show when that will happen and if this Forum has some resemblance to old DramaBeans we will have that discussion later on 😀 .
@FGB,
We will definitely have lots of conversations about the plot…
Have a nice day ahead!