The thread is now open for Ep 8 rewatch.
Usual time: 13:00 UTC
08:00 am EST
05:00 am PST
09:00 pm Singapore, Philippines
08:00 pm Indonesia
03:00 pm Greece
Growing_Beautifully, Welmaris, Janey, nrllee, Fern, Kuroshio, Cleopatra, FGB4877, Carolina, what are your plans for the holidays?
Do you want to take a short break because of the Christmas rush? It’s all up to you; just tell me what you want.
Enjoy the rewatch!
Thank you @Packmule3!
I would like to inform my fello BOD’ers that I won’t be able to be online tomorrow.
As for what you have asked @Packmule3 I think it would be wise to take a break for Christmas and New Year’s Day. Thank you for suggesting it! Still, I will be waiting for everyone’s thoughts on this!
I do hope you will enjoy tomorrow’s episode. I will try to rewatch and then come here to comment!
@Cleopatra, we’ll miss you this weekend but understand. I hope that you enjoy your break, if you have one.
I may not be available the 2 weeks after – my American relatives are holding their biennial reunion and, health & Covid reguations permitting, we will attend. Holding my breath.e If we’re stuck at home, I am happy to go with the flow.
My dear @Fern,
I have a seminar to attend. I promised that I will attend and help them, so I have to keep my word.
*whispers* I saw the first episode of Zombie Detective, instead of sleeping earlier last night. I really like it so far. It made laugh! Thank you for the recommendation!
I do hope you will be attending the biennial reunion! *crossing fingers for you*
Thank you, @Cleopatra. I hope the seminar goes very smoothly. I hope to read you again on another thread soon. (whispers, Glad you liked ZD)
@Fern,
<3 I do hope that too. I also hope to read you again on another thread!
(Whispers,Yeah! The ZB looks so dashing btw..)
Thanks @pkml3.
I’m fine with taking a break. While it’s night time for me during our party time, it’s day time for most of our rewatchers, and Saturday mornings/afternoons will be good times to get last minute Christmas/New Year preparations done.
If @Fern will be unavailable 18 Dec and 25 Dec, and since 2 Jan is just after the ringing in of New Year, (where many may not have had much sleep!), perhaps we could take a 3 week break after tomorrow’s Rewatch Party, and come back on 9 January 2022.
Let us know what you think! 🙂
Hello rewatchers!! I should be ready for tomorrow to resume. And I’m ok to take a Christmas break for 3 weekends. With us being able to gather together is small groups, there will be more activities these weekend holidays. Cheers!!! See you tomorrow.
Good morning everyone!!!
Thanks for post @pm3, I am game for whatever the group wants to do. I’ll follow by reading and catching up =) (if I can’t make it).
My kids have a 3 week break which means will be doing all the outdoor holiday lighting activities around LA and watching holiday movies. I was hoping to go to Chile but COVID is making that difficult. So we wait another year hopefully.
After the 1st will be heading to San Diego (2 hours south of LA – without traffic, which is rare here) for a week and probably doing outdoor lighting activities too lol.
I hope everyone has a restful holiday celebration with family and friends. Enjoy your time with family if you had not had a chance to see them. hugs everyone!
Wow, Carolina, Chile would be amazing at Christmas. A blast of Summer (not that you don’t get warm enough in LA). I hope that you can go there. Enjoy the lighting activities!
I am happy to take a Goblin break or simply catch up with more disciplined watchers.
Hi @Carolina! My kids will be jealous for that 3 weeks holiday vacation, they only get 2 weeks here in NorCal. I’m curious when you say “lighting activities”, what does that exactly mean? Thanks for sharing and enjoy the holiday time.
Howdy!! I’m back to respond =)
@Fern, yes Chile is beautiful in the summer. I can’t complain about this Cali weather, so I enjoy the cool “winter” months. Cant go to Chile this year but will go for sure in the future.
@Janey, I think I’m jealous of you for only having 2 weeks lol, but 3 weeks comes in handy when we want to travel far.
So regarding the lighting activities, this is the best example. LA zoo, and some other gardens/museums do this around here.
https://www.arboretum.org/lightscape/
There’s a lovely mission north of here that lights the town too can’t remember the place. It’s really popular. I’m trying to schedule as many activities as possible with the kids =) we haven’t visited museums since COVID so looking into those.
Thanks @Carolina!!! That Arboretum lighting is beautiful. I have to search for lighting activities near our area.
Hi Everyone! 2 minutes to go.
Tonight’s episode is great for how the editing juxtaposes the scenes that makes the timing of related events match so nicely.
I’ll be with you in just a few minutes. Must get some soup for my lunch. Husband heating it up right now. Carry on and I will catch up.
I’m here. As for taking a break from our watch group for three weeks, I’m happy to not meet, or meet, as the majority decides. My holidays are very low key these years, with my children grown and out of the house but unmarried and without children of their own. I’ve yet to experience the Christmas Season through the fresh eyes of grandchildren.
Time to start with this week’s episode!
Hello!! Ladies! I’m ready with beers!
I enjoy this rewatch very much and read all comments whenever I have time during the week. I wish I had studied English harder at school.
Hi @Fern and @Welmaris!! I’m glad to have your company. 🙂
Hi Kuroshio! Your written English is fine. Just write and we can read you.
I like the way the energy impulse from KS’s push and flight just totaled 20 cars LOL. So much force and then he’s so gentle with Eun Tak.
He says to himself: “So Ji Eun Tak was the one after all. The vision of her future I’d seen had been correct. By this child’s hand, I will now be able to put an end to this wretched curse of immortality. And return to nothingness.
A mortal can only live up to a hundred years. Is the thing that I’m trying to steal one more glimpse of my own immortal life or is it your face? Ah I do believe it is indeed your face.”
Love the way he places her carefully in bed and tucks her in. A resilient child is she … she’s opening her eyes already and able to think and speak. Her first concern is for KS.
He’s truly apologetic. Perhaps the shock is greater for him than for her. He never thought he’d practically kill her.
Hello Ladies!!!, Arepas out of the oven and ready to GO!!!
Hi @FGB! Enjoy your arepas. 🙂
Isn’t it such a good joke that Reaper is standing at the ‘i’ Sign which I believe means ‘Information’ and he gives out the false information on what happened to change memories?
I wonder why he can’t just do a group memory change. He had to repeat himself so many times!!! Men in Black could do it batch by batch LOL.
@GB @FGB @Welmaris Hello!
@GB Thank you.you are very sweet.
Love the piece of piano when ET said that she is the bride. It is beautiful but sad inside.
Oh, that was such a funny scene. ET waved at Reaper and the others lined up. One said, some people can see us just before they die. However she could see them all of the time.
Seems Reaper can only work with individuals who look into his eyes. But Goblin can’t even do anything about other people’s memories.
The irony is that Reaper jokingly asks KS if he just saved himself from the brink of death, and KS actually did.
Poor ET is aching all over but KS takes medication and collapses. ET is always wondering if KS’s strange sadness and reactions like taking meds has to do with her being inadequate or with his pain. She is easily insecure that he finds her not good enough or that his first love is prettier.
@Fern, yes that’s true. I’d forgotten that some things don’t apply to Eun Tak. Not only can she see Reapers with their hats on, she cannot be frozen in time. I wondered why KS didn’t just stop time to save her, but it wouldn’t have worked. The only way was for him to catch her.
Even though the excitement of the first scene is in the wrecking of the cars, I think my favorite camera shot is of ET’s feet, clad in tennis shoes, dangling as Goblin holds her.
The look on Goblin’s face as he stares at ET while she’s sitting in bed and talking to him. His eyes were red. She’s so afraid she’s not his type that she still fears he’s disappointed that she, beyond a doubt, is Goblin’s Bride. She doesn’t see the tenderness in his face. He knows he’s deeply in love with her. Despite the pain, despite the chaos caused by the sword almost-removal incident, his first thought was that he wanted to live long enough to see her face one more time.
Poor DH, as he’s reporting the massive car destruction event to Goblin’s managers (CEO and Secretary of ILoom), they immediately think DH is the troublemaker.
I kind of wonder why KS refuses to tell ET that she’s his first love. She hits him extra hard because she’s peeved that he’s thinking of his first love in front of her.
He could have allayed her worries and doubts by saying that she was his pretty, first love.
Anyeong chingas!! I’m here albeit late! Very chilly today! Great to be here with @Gb, @fern, @FGB, @kuroshio
This scene with Deok Hwa reading the Chinese characters is interesting. It was actually a prayer to god written by KS, I believe. When DH reads it, he looks aware.
He pretends that it’s a love letter to stop her from asking more. He pretends that he does not know anything about KS like his real name or about the sword. Then he proceeds to get KS to question Reaper about the portrait.
It’s interesting that at the end of this interview, DH suggests that Reaper calls KS Orabeoni (Older Brother). But Reaper just cannot bring himself to think as a girl who has an older brother. LOL
Hi @Janey!! Glad you could wake up and join us on a cold morning. It’s a cool evening for me, after a rainy day.
Yes, thinking of himself as the reincarnation of a female goes against his grain. Like stroking a cat backwards.
I wonder if DH knows the facts, but is not omniscient about the emotions and reasoning of others. He seems really moved by different things in this episode and seems to need to know the human viewpoints.
Reaper hears his hoobae telling the story that could have been his own, if only he could remember Sunny. A grim reaper recognised the wife of his previous life and ran away with her. There is no conclusion to this event. In Reaper’s case, we will find that the conclusion, if it can be called that, will come much later.
He attributes the remembering to god’s will but god will take issue with this later.
Oh, no. Sunny is drinking soju! She said she doesn’t even let alcohol touch her lips.
Doesn’t anyone in Kdramaland own a real thermometer? And I was always taught by my mother, a nurse, to use the inside of the wrist instead of the palm of the hand to touch someone’s forehead while doing a quick check for fever.
Watching Goblin care for ET, then ET care for Goblin, following their traumatic automobile-wrecking incident is so heartwarming and also heart wrenching. “Where does it hurt?” “First love hurts a lot.” Why does ET continue to be blind about her being Goblin’s first love, not some beauty from his past? Goblin tells her, “If you look closely, you can see the pretty parts. So don’t leave.”
@Fern, the problem with the rendition of DH’s character, is that we are never sure if his not knowing is the god part or the human part, or the god pretending to be human and pretending to not know.
Your point is interesting, and is valid, because much later he had to be informed of a human point of view by Sunny. It might be true that he lacks understanding of humans.
@Welmaris, I think he is just slightly too cryptic for her. And she has it in her mind that she is not the first love. Really, who would think it after nearly 1000 years?
I agree @Fern. ET is not arrogant at all and it never occurred to her (after the way KS had rejected her before), that she could be his first love. She thought all along that she didn’t measure up to someone in KS’s past.
So in all things ET was smart and put 2-and-2 together, except for the part that concerned her most!!
KS on the other hand is rather too full of himself… he thinks he should receive a profession of true love from ET. She, however, is concerned that he never seems to do any work. A ‘crime’ in a hard-working culture like Korea’s.
His style of selling is also so full of himself and his long life. ET puts him down as someone lacking something LOL.
Hi @welmaris – I like that dangling feet of ET as well. And the background music was also good at the first scene – kinda different vibe as KS mortality is coming to an end with the mess of the electrified cars.
ET good-maturely say that at least she saw him fly to make KS feel better.
@GB, yes, she can deduce well except for that. We see it in her interview with GR later in this episode. He doesn’t say anything to her (that I could see). She only has his lack of denials to go by and figures things out herself.
ET tells KS that first loves never work out. He hopes not, but it actually didn’t in his first lifetime. So ET was sort of right.
The school girl ghost is a lovely story of care that ET is still unaware of. Through her, we get to know that ET’s mark is still fading. This will likely account for how it is that KS cannot easily locate her, unless she directly thinks of him or calls for him or blows out a flame.
Reaper and ET are almost great friends now … over the happenings at the Chicken restaurant that they want to keep to themselves.
LOL ET can talk back to KS to support Tae Hee oppa and Tae Hee gets his hated piano back LOLOL.
ET is aware of how she likes KS although he’s been annoying. He turns up to bring her, her red scarf. In a rare gesture of intimacy, he wraps her up in it. He admits that he’s happy when she’s jealous but she cannot remain in a bad mood for long.
His gaze at ET is warm and sweet but interrupted by the thief who would cause the accident that kills everyone in the bus, which ET boards.
All I can think of is that marble floor must have been so cold! ET also likes candles – a lot it seems. Not sure if she is putting it around KS lying on the floor to give warmth or for aesthetic purposes. “First Love” nga plays beautifully in the background as they talk about Ks first love who is ET but of course, ET assumes it’s the lady in the painting.
Ah, I can shallowly see why she is so taken with Tae Hee these days. Goblin is SO jealous.
I find it interesting that KS can see so far into the future just by looking at the thief’s eyes. He knew what would happen in the next 10-15 minutes.
The kid speaking of how getting into an accident would be good to avoid doing badly in the exams and having his mum kill him, is thoughtless, incautious, reckless, brash, careless, imprudent LOL and so close to the truth that he’d regret. Be careful what you wish for!!!
So it finally is said clearly, and we’re no longer writing spoilers: the queen was Kim Shin’s sister…his younger sister.
Reaper: I don’t have memories, only feelings exist. It (seeing the portrait) was just really sad. My heart ached.
Reaper, as king before he died, was the painter of that portrait. Goblin grabbed it from among many others of the queen the king had painted obsessively prior to his death. Wang Yeo/the king/Grim Reaper would be intimately familiar with the appearance of the queen both in person and in the painting.
DH posits that Grim Reaper is the reincarnation of Kim Shin’s sister, and both Goblin and Reaper instantly reject that idea. I’d think they’re the leading authorities on the potential truth of this theory, so I’ll go with their adamant denial.
The very next scene is of Reaper and a co-worker discussing another reaper being assigned to attend to a woman who’d been his wife in a previous life, how he’d recognized her, etc. I believe the juxtaposed scenes are to make it clear to us viewers the relationship between Grim Reaper/Wang Yeo and the woman in the portrait.
From Grim Reaper’s question about how the other reaper remembered his past life, I surmise that not having memories of the past is standard for all grim reapers. We get more background:
“They say if you commit a huge crime in your past life, you become a grim reaper. What wrongdoing did I commit in my previous life, and how bad would it have been? Could it be that my memory was erased so that I wouldn’t be bothered by it? That should I repent my past wrongdoing by doing this kind of work? It must be a consideration on the part of God.”
@Janey, ET does not seem to have ever looked at the portrait in the scroll. I believe she did not yet know about it. But she’s always assumed that KS’s first love would be prettier than her.
Oohhh, time stamp 0:21:55 – so the scene with KS, GR and DH discussing the painting: KS admits she was his younger sister. GR felt extremely sad when she saw the painting driving him to tears – he remembers the feelings and emotions but not the exact memories. DH suggests GR can be the reincarnation of kS sister!!! This is @PM3’s theory.
There is a cute little detail I did not get the first time:
At 23:59 (WatchAsian) when the mother and the little girl are in Grim’s tea house, originally Grim didn’t serve tea to the mom. It is also interesting to see that the mother had a very good idea where she was. It was her asking for “Heaven” so she can give it to her daughter (and not for her) that softened Grim’s heart so he served her “Heaven” also.
It made me think: Hmmmm… a tea that is served to make people forget and start again their next lives without the drag and pain of past live’s memories is granted for the child but was not supposed to be served to the mother… what kind of sin did she commit?… and the only answer that came to mind is that the mother killed herself and dragged her daughter with her.
That little moment of pure selflessness on the part of the mom that made me think of her not as a deluded killer but as a cornered person that did the unthinkable.
A great, nuanced story that barely goes on for over a minute.
This show was better than I did remember.
I like how KS dialogues with Reaper. They are so much like friends.
GR : “Are you sure you don’t want to revisit the ‘disappearing into nothingness’ plan?”
KS looks stunned and GR almost feels bad as it was just a joke.
KS : “I’m just wondering what it really means to return to nothingness. Will I be scattered across the earth by dust, or wind or rain?
GR : “And why are you worrying about that now? It’s not like ET can even grab the sword.”
KS : “ET grabbed the sword. The sword even moved. And because of that, I almost ended up killing her. It hurt a lot. It was the first time I’d felt such pain.”
GR : “Shouldn’t you tell her the truth now, even though it’s a bit overdue? About what will really happen to you when the sword is pulled out?”
KS : “No. If anything, I want to hide the truth from her even more. For maybe about 80 more years or so.”
GR : “In other words, a human’s lifespan. That’s about the maximum amount of time that a 19-year old girl will be alive.”
KS : “That’s what I want but do you think things will work out that way?… Or not?” GR has no answers.
The undercurrent of sadness continues with the OST.
ET wants strong arms to pull the sword out more painlessly and quickly, but KS has other plans for their future. It’s so ironic that while he acts to protect her, he is actually worsening her fate according to the Samshin. So who is it outside of her general fate, who is drawing her increasingly into danger? I didn’t understand quite.
Wow @FGB, I never saw that nuance to the mother and child’s death and ‘Heaven’ being served in a cup. I thought that there were 2 cups there, and that therefore both would get to drink forgetfulness tea. But what you say bears thinking over.
On my first watch, I missed that ET and Goblin get their own epic slo-mo walk. If these two are allowed to live together and jointly pursue doing good for other people, they’d be superheroes!
This is the first time ET sees Goblin doing the work he’s done for 900 years. She looks so happy peeking around the corner and seeing the reunion of the suicidal father with his young daughter. If Goblin hadn’t intervened at just that moment, the little girl would have arrived to find her father hanging from the noose. What a lifetime of emotional trauma that would’ve cause her, along with grieving his death. This day, Goblin saved both father and daughter.
And research has shown that major traumas pass down through generations. I can attest to that. My mother’s mother died of pneumonia when my mom was only six years old. Her resulting difficult life, being motherless while growing up, then raising her own children without her mother’s help and advice, left a mark on me.
@FGB4877, yes, wasn’t that a sad story. If the mother committed a murder/suicide or had done something else we’re not shown, either way she exonerated herself by protecting her daughter even after death.
When the bus is about to crash, GR knows about the children aboard and thinks to himself that he will have to do ‘heaven’ again – like he has learned a new technique from that mother.
@Fern, KS inadvertently created his own Bride and gave her, her Fate when he saved her life as an unborn baby. By denying her her Fate now, he is removing her reason for existence, and therefore is making it more appropriate that death should take her. Poor ET had no right to life, except as the Bride that caused KS to disappear.
@GB, I guess there is no excuse now that KS and ET have met and her ability to pull the sword out has been firmly established.
Sunny and GR go for a walk.
GR : “I was working late when I remembered that I wanted to tell you something.”
Sunny : “It must have been important, then.”
GR is hilariously anxious to please. He stops to deliberately and cheerfully tell her : “Regarding my religious beliefs … I’m an atheist.”
(But he does believe in a god… the butterfly god that KS spoke to him about.)
Sunny is stunned : “You called me ten times just to tell me that?” (To GR, whatever information she asks for must be mandatorily answered. LOL.)
GR says with a pleased smile : “I felt I had to let you know as soon as possible, so …”
Sunny sighs in disbelief and wonder : “Oh, you’re so cute!”
GR : “I’m cute?” (LOLOL, first time that’s been said of a grim reaper!!)
Sunny : “Are you surprised by that? Does no other woman tell you that?”
Reaper is anxious : “Another woman? There isn’t another …”
Sunny quickly cuts in before he uses that as an excuse to run away : “That’s a good thing! It’s great that there’s no other woman! So don’t you dare go and prepare another woman this time. I like you just as you are now. Got it?”
He nods with a smile. (That smile is so cuuute!!!)
It saddens me to see that after all the loneliness and mistreatment Eun Tak had to endure, ghost started to become her friends and they are leaving her for the afterlife, leaving her alone.
I like the timing of this Show. This scene when Sunny starts asking for Reaper’s real name and tells her own is beautifully matched by KS writing their names for a prayer lantern.
The last few strokes of Wang Yeo’s name cause Reaper the excrutiating pain that might be similar to what KS suffers over the sword. It’s poetic justice that KS should be the one to write the name of the king and to pierce his heart at the same time. The king after all did ask him to send written word that he had died. Here is written word ‘Wang Yeo’ that makes the dead king suffer LOL.
I feel bad that most of the characters(GR, Samshin, DH/butterfly) want KS to get on with getting the sword pulled out. It’s only ET and DH’s grandfather who want KS to live on and make people’s lives better. Even without his relationship with ET to consider, having people tell you to die multiple times is harsh and depressing.
@FGB – I was wondering why Heaven tea was only served to the daughter. Thanks for the context of this scene.
Following immediately is KS doing something similar but keeping the dad alive and giving him a subway sandwich for his daughter’s surprise visit. PPL for subway sandwich as life saver! I remember that KS also gave a sandwich to the young Nam Dareum.
@Welmaris – yay for the slo mo walk of KS and ET!!! This is why I love rewatches. We get to notice these lovely details.
@GB, yes about GR’s real name. I wondered if it was because he could read KS’s thoughts as well. But the pain was something extra and not just related to emotions, right?
Goblin wants ET to say “I love you” (confirming true love caused the sword to move), but instead ET asks about Goblin’s employment or lack thereof. Seeing all the recent jobs Goblin has held is hilarious, as they parody Gong Yoo’s success as a product spokesperson. Gong Yoo is highly successful in promoting product sales in real life, but Goblin seems to have no knack for it.
ET is jealous of the assumed other first love of Kim Shin, and Goblin knows it despite her denials. It amuses him, which is probably why he doesn’t make it clear to ET that she’s his first love.
It is foreshadowing when ET say first loves usually don’t work out. It is also foreshadowing when Goblin asks himself, “Who says it doesn’t work out?” He’s determined to beat the odds, because his love for ET is so deep. (But that doesn’t stop him from teasing and annoying her.)
@FGB @Fern, yes the punishment meted out to KS was multi-faceted and not fair. He suffered in coming back to life, in not being able to die, in wanting to live but being told to die, in knowing that he would cause his beloved’s death, in the awareness that god never meant for him and ET to have a life together. Poor KS’s suffering, alive or dead, was endless.
KS’s voiceover and sort of prayer as we see ET taking a walk past the bookshop where KS is presumably waiting for her : “The one who is my life and my death is someone I like. Due to that, I must keep this secret of mine and ask the heavens to grant me their permission. To keep her in the dark regarding this secret for one more day. To keep her in the dark regarding this secret for 100 more years.” It comes as a shock that a god responds to KS immediately – Samshin gives the answer to his prayer in the negative.
@GB – good point there. Either KS dies (ET pulls the sword) or ET dies ( no reason to exist if she cannot be Goblin’s bride). What a tragic curse!!!
My dears, I must leave now. I thought this was such a touching episode. I particularly liked the sky lantern and DH watching that moment quietly from the side. Also the scene at the end with ET and GR – ET getting more and more upset with each question she posed. So well acted by both.
The fact that Sunny owns the chicken restaurant in which ET is a part-timer, and that Goblin foresaw that ET would get a job there, makes me wonder if Goblin already knows that Sunny is the reincarnation of his sister. If not, his prediction may have been led by the gods’ influence: both the almighty and Sam Shin.
This is the other 2 scenes with great timing juxtaposed. As ET gets to hear what will happen to KS when she removes the sword, and starts thinking to leave him, KS hears from Samshin that he is the one who must get ET to pull the sword so that he will leave instead of her.
Both of them are in tears at the ends of their interviews.
Goodbye dear @Fern! See you again.
I suppose that from living as Grim Reaper’s roommate, ET has learned that his putting on a hat makes him invisible; however, even after she puts his hat on his head, ET–a mortal–can see Grim Reaper. It must be because she can see ghosts.
Dear all, Have a good night!
Good night @Kuroshio! See you in 4 weekend’s time!!
@Welmaris, I feel for you as it is kind of my own story. My maternal grandparents had another son that drowned as a boy twenty years before I was born. He was long gone before I was born but his absence was as palpable as if he had died the day before I went to visit them. The sense of grief that permeated the place wasn’t obvious at a first glance but was still there. So for me ghosts are not a malignant presence but the void of those severed links with all that love that does not have a subject to go to anymore.
My maternal grandmother’s mother also died barely after my grandma was born (she was a victim of the Spanish Flu in 1919) so she didn’t have the kind of love only a mother gives. For all her very long life there was something missing in her, a void of love that could not be filled by any other source. Yes, she was an heiress and when she was young she was a Hollywood level beauty… but she was unhappy and unsatisfied her whole life, her only major sadness being the death of her son.
That left my mother and I as people that gives their everything not expecting anything in return, to try to fill empty spaces in the heart of people we cannot fill since the role we have is incompatible with the kind of relationship that we actually have vs. the kind of relationship that deficiency comes from. It is a losing game, albeit we still play it.
So I do understand you.
@FGB, thank you for your sharing. That is truly a painful loss. I would have been devastated.
What a lovely way to think of ghosts… the void which love overflows to fill.
Goodbye all! I’ll read you whenever you post.
Dear @GB, it is a pleasure to read you as always. Your level-head, your compassion and your wisdom makes me giddy to read you, but it is also because both you and @Barbrey introduced me to this site that has helped me maintain sanity during all this loneliness.
Please let me greet the group even if it is very late: Hello Friends!!!. And for Holidays I am open for there are only my cat and I this December.
I am still where the student friend finally talks to Eun Tak. It is sad that they have grown together less than ten meters to each other for three years yet it is only at the very end that they make a connection. It would be sadder if they missed the opportunity to be friends at all, though…
Again, kudos to the director, editor, special effects team, etc. for an amazing action sequence. Lots of cars, and a bus, die this time along with people. The truck of doom in this event was not the usual white, but yellow.
I see a familiar bus passenger! He looks so young. Hello to Yoo Su Bin!
The mystery man (pickpocket) we saw three times in the previous episode is back. He’s the catalyst for the accident that was going to kill many, many people had Goblin not intervened.
Goblin tells Grim Reaper that when ET moved the sword, he had pain worse than any other. I suspect his physical pain was amplified by his emotional and mental pain at the fear of being separated from ET.
Goblin wants to live with ET through her normal lifespan before she pulls the sword. He’s taking the advice of his old retainer: focusing on living, rather than dying. The question is whether or not ET will have a normal lifespan.
Thanks for sharing your story @FGB. The huge loss experienced thru death of a loved one is very real to me now as I have 2 women close to me who are recently widowed and coping with grief. The holidays coming will be especially hard for them and their kids. And also to us.
This show continues to turn the confession trope upside down. We have another far-from-sentimental confession.
Goblin: I really don’t like it. (Referring back to the conversation about first loves not working out.) I, who likes you, couldn’t be this stupid. (It would be stupid of him to let her slip away.)
ET: What did you…just say to me?
Goblin: Never mind if you didn’t hear it.
ET: I heard everything.
Goblin: Then I’m glad. (He turns and walks away.)
Later, ET is still doubtful: “So…that is…He confessed to me earlier…? That man…Seriously…” At least she recognized it for what it was.
Again, we see Sunny drinking. Her resolve to never touch alcohol, because she’s so susceptible to its ill effects, has been broken by her disappointment in not hearing from Reaper. She’s drinking to drown her sorrows. We see a lot of that in this show, as well as overuse and unprescribed use of antidepressants and sleeping pills. I wish Show didn’t make a joke of these serious, potentially life-threatening issues.
This is a very sad episode overall. Lots of scenes and dialogue about death and loss, memories and lack of them.
The more KS delays the sword pulling, the more ET’s life is at risk. KS asks for 100 days from the deity to give him time to tell her that she is his first love. One the other side, ET learns about the meaning of the sword being pulled. We will how this push/pull will proceed…
Thanks for the rewatch!!! We will have a 3 week hiatus so I’ll wish our dear co-rewatchers advanced merry Christmas !!!
Take care and have a good and meaningful holiday season with your loved ones. Cheers!!!
Another clue for the “Sibling Hunting” game is given to us by Sunny: she was named Kim Sun originally (!!!) but she does not like that name as it is like the name of a poor girl from the past (and we get scenes from Kim Shin’s sister in the past) around 57:50.
Sunny is most probably the reincarnation of Kim Shin’s sister. If she were Wang’s reincarnation she would feel sorry and sad for Kim Sun, not like if she was talking about her youth as an objective adult.
For the Friends I will not read until January, have a nice and hopeful Christmas for it is during midwinter when the nights are longer and colder that we celebrate the birth of the Light (and Hope) in this fallen world. Also hope this New Year gives you change and potential to move to happier and better places.
Will read your comments later and answer them.
Dear All, I look forward to to our next re-watch. Meanwhile I wish all of you the best, most refreshing and happy Solstice/Christmas/New Year/etc.
Sunny’s conversation with Reaper tells us more of her back history, both in this life and the past.
Sunny: My real name has only one syllables. Kim Sun. (There’s a look in Reaper’s face as he hears this, as if a memory is being awakened.) My parents wanted me to be well off, so they hired someone to come up with my name despite being poor. Apparently that clairvoyant said it had to be that name. But I prefer Sunny. It gives off the impression that I’m sparkling. I hated that name so much. (We see the flashback of the young Kim Sun undergoing training to become queen.) It sounds a bit pitiful and feels like it has a history. Kim Sun.
As Sunny says her true name, we see Goblin at a temple, writing Chinese characters: I assume it is Kim Sun’s name. We hear the old retainer’s voiceover: “At this time each year, he goes to that place, and sends off a lantern.” Deok Hwa is standing in the doorway, watching Goblin.
Reaper is disturbed because Sunny asks him to reveal his real name. We know he doesn’t remember, but she’s not aware.
We again see Goblin at the temple. This time he’s writing the Chinese character for king (per subtitle). Then we cut to a flashback of King Wang Yeo gifting him with a new sword, the one we’ve seen him use in battle, by which he was slain, and with which he was reanimated as Goblin. It is the sword, now looking aged, that we see in Goblin’s chest.
Wang Yeo: Put down that sword which is full of rage and apprehension. Go as far as possible, and as much as possible, never return. (The king is accusing Kim Shin of having a bad attitude–rage and apprehension–and banishes him from the court, even from Goryeo itself, for life. As yet we haven’t witnessed what started their rift.)
Kim Shin: By that, you mean…How can you say that? It is Your Majesty’s Goryeo. I defended its borders because you ordered me to protect them and I destroyed the enemies because you ordered me to kill them. When my sister is in this country, and so are the citizens, how can– (Kim Shin is arguing with the king, which is probably not a good idea, especially since the king considers his attitude to be bad. This only solidifies in the king’s mind that Kim Shin is working at cross purposes with him.)
Wang Yeo: Now you’re worrying about things that a king should be worried about. Send a message that you died a heroic death, and I will send a message that I lament it. It’s a king’s order. (Kim Shin is clearly being ordered–coldly–to not return alive. He’s also being scolded for overstepping his place, worrying about his sister (who is now queen) and the citizens of Goryeo. So Kim Shin had witnessed with his own eyes and heard with his own ears that Wang Yeo was poisoned against him.)
We go back to seeing Goblin continuing calligraphy for the lantern banner to memorialize the king. Then we see Grim Reaper grab his chest in pain. His intense chest pain continues as Goblin continues to write. (Does Grim Reaper’s pain reoccur every year when Goblin memorializes his sister and brother-in-law? Or is pain a new experience for Grim Reaper this year because he’s now closer to, actually cares for, the ones he wronged in the past life.)
DH asks his grandfather about Goblin’s annual ritual.
DH: Why is he sending off the lantern? Who are they for?
CEO: They are the people whom Lord has been feeling sorry about for a long time.
DH: But Grandpa! Did you know that there was a sword stuck in my uncle’s heart?
CEO: How do you know that? You should not let him know that you know about it.
DH: Why?
(We see Goblin, in the snow-covered temple grounds, releasing a lantern with two name banners attached.)
CEO (in voiceover, as Goblin watches the lantern fly away): That sword is an award as well as a punishment for our Lord. It’s the reason for his existence and will lead to his end.
As we see Goblin in the bookstore along ET’s route home, watching her pass, we hear his voiceover: “You who are my life as well as my death, I love you. (He actually says naega joahanda, I like it. He’s continuing to refer to their earlier conversation about true love and how he likes the idea it can last.) Therefore I’m keeping a secret and asking a higher power for its permission, so that you won’t know for even just one more day. So that you won’t know for a hundred years.”
Goblin is trapped in the bookstore shelves by an angry-and-all-business-looking Sam Shin.
SS: You know me, right? There are some things that I should let you know. You have some time, don’t you?
Goblin: Be quick, will you? I’m not in the right mood to face any gods at the moment. (Um…weren’t you just praying to a higher power? Isn’t this a direct answer to your prayer? You aren’t in the mood? Sheesh! What attitude! How ungrateful and presumptuous.)
We see Grim Reaper looking at the portrait of the queen. “Something went wrong…Probably…everything started from you.” (No, Reaper, it started with you. Remember, you’re a reaper because you committed a terrible crime.)
We see ET worrying about Goblin, not knowing where he is. Then we see her asking Reaper what will happen when she pulls the sword, especially in relation to Goblin having said that afterward he’ll have to go somewhere far.
Back to Sam Shin talking to Kim Shin.
SS: Get that sword pulled out of you as soon as you can. Get it pulled out and go into nothingness.
Goblin: You appeared out of nowhere and the first thing you’re telling me is to die… You should at least explain to me your reasons.
SS: You’ve lived enough. But that’s not the case for that kid. I was really happy when I found out her identity. So just…end things right now.
Goblin: That’s ironic. I don’t know what decision you’re telling me to make. (Goblin, you’re being obtuse! You are not confused: You know she wants you to get the sword pulled and cease your immortal existence.) And when I was first born as Kim Shin, you must have been the one who blessed me. Aren’t I your child?
SS: That’s why I’m telling you all this. For my kid, Kim Shin, whom I wanted to be happy, it must be something you want the most.
Goblin: What do I want?
SS: You want that kid to live. If you don’t go into nothingness, Eun Tak will die. (This gets Goblin’s attention.)
We don’t see Reaper saying anything to ET during their conversation, but she has come to understand that when she pulls the sword from Goblin, he will disappear from the world, not just go to a faraway location. She is distraught.
SS (in voiceover, then we rejoin her conversation with Goblin): Ever since she was born, she’s been fated to pull out that sword for you. No, to be more precise, you caused her to be born with that fate. If she fails to execute her task as a tool (her words mirror Goblin’s initial attitude about ET’s essential value), the reason for her existence will disappear because then there won’t be any reason why she should exist. Therefore, if she doesn’t pull the sword out, death will constantly come before that child. I’m sure she’s already confronted death multiple times. You’re thinking right those accidents… There will be more in the future. Those accidents will occur more frequently, and they’ll be more intense than the ones up to now. Even you almost killed her once with your own hands… (It is confirmed that Goblin living a natural human lifespan with ET before she pulls out the sword is an unlikely scenerio for their true love.)
In a voiceover of Goblin’s thoughts: “After living like that for hundreds of years, on that day, on a day that was just right, it was first love. To be able to confess that, I’m seeking permission from the heavens.
It may seem that Goblin has confessed to ET, but the truth is that he has yet to lay bare his heart to her. He’s always kept his deepest emotions hidden behind a gruff, teasing exterior. Kim Shin has now experienced his first love, and he doesn’t want to disappear without the chance of having it reciprocated. Even though he thinks he’s asking permission of the gods, he refuses to take no for an answer. He’s trying to dictate his, and Eun Tak’s, fate in opposition to the clear advice of the god Sam Shin and the oracle from when he was reanimated. This is the same response Kim Shin had when King Wang Yeo ordered him to leave, go far away, and die a hero’s death. Kim Shin disobeyed by coming back to court, alive, and was punished with a traitor’s death. Goblin stubbornly resists utilizing ET to end his immortal days, putting ET’s life and his once-longed-for death at risk.
A little note about the sky or prayer lanterns:
“One source notes that sky lanterns first floated over China during New Year’s celebrations in the 3rd century B.C., but Chinese military hero Zhuge Liang is generally credited with creating the flying lights. During the Three Kingdoms Era, sky lanterns were strategically used on the battlefield as an efficient means of communication.
After peace settled throughout the land, everyone from peasants to royalty began using the rice paper lanterns to thank the gods for their blessings, to cast away their fears and to declare their hopes for a prosperous future. Traditionally, sky lanterns are sent into the sky with written wishes attached, ranging from prayers for a good harvest to blessings for a happy marriage to requests for relief from life’s worries. In Thailand, green lanterns are lit for personal growth while purple lanterns carry dreams of opportunity to the heavens.
It is believed that the longer and higher the lanterns float, the more likely the deities will receive your requests. The sky lantern ceremony has come to represent the releasing of one’s deepest fears and desires. It is a symbolic cleansing, a letting go of everything that troubles you. It is also the beginning of a new, enlightened you, with the light illuminating the path of knowledge and righteousness.”
https://www.liveabout.com/wish-upon-a-lantern-wedding-ritual-3490458
I imagine that KS sent out lanterns every year for 939 years as a prayer asking for blessing upon his sister and in memory of his charge (Wang Yeo). It was a sign of his regret and that he would never forget all that he’d done for the king and what the king had done to him.
However this year, for the first time he had encountered GR, the reincarnation of Wang Yeo, and they had formed a great bromance-friendship, which neither thought to betray. Only neither knew Reaper’s name. Deok Hwa, who stood by to watch the prayer go up to heaven (to god), could have had a hand in what happened to Reaper that night, just as he had a hand in getting Reaper and KS to live under the same roof.
The sword had been the king’s parting gift, a token to take away and never to return, except with KS’s corpse. It should have been a gift to honour KS as a faithful warrior who served the king. But it was used in a sordid act of betrayal, when it was turned against KS by the king himself.
It is no wonder that this time, as KS writes the final strokes that would complete Wang Yeo’s name, the memory of the sword surfaces, with the remembrance of how it was used to end KS’s life, and this becomes pain (I’d like to imagine it as a sword twisting in Reapers chest) in the heart of the one who bore that name, who should have been brother-in-law and friend, but who was the betrayer.
@Welmaris
Notes about what the young king said to KS when he first gave him the sword
One set of subs: “My decision to bestow this sword to you is intermingled with rage and fear.”
Another set of subs: “I give you the sword with rage and concern.”
From Dramabeans Recap (https://www.dramabeans.com/2016/12/the-lonely-shining-goblin-episode-8/)
“Flashback. Back in his human days, Shin had been presented with his shiny new sword by the young king, who said he was giving it to him with both anger and concern. He’d told Shin to go far away and not return, and Shin protested that he’d done everything the king asked of him, that this was his country and that his sister and his people were here. The king noted that Shin’s thoughts were the king’s concerns (as in, he’s overstepping), and had made it an order.”
Hence it is the king and not the sword that is full of rage and apprehension. The king actually had no good reason with which to justify sending KS far away to die/never return. It is understandable that KS protested. KS should have asked the king what was causing the fear and rage. If he’d found out before leaving, he could have made a more informed decision, instead of stubbornly returning (proudly), only to be humiliated and killed. But good communication was never KS’s strong suit.
He only communicated better with ET, when he had to get her back.
Great notes here as usual @Welmaris and @GB!!! Much appreciated!! I misread the subs on KS’s wish to be able to tell ET that she was his first love. It’s clearer to me now.
Warm hugs on this cold and bed-weather day!
@Welmaris, loved how you put the lines and explained how they would be interpreted by Wang Yeo.
And Lord Buddha… it is sad to watch Wang Yeo being poisoned by Counselor Park against everyone that truly values him. But also understandable since Park has raised Wang so he implicitly trust him.
Will eventually comment more on that later when we are sure that we are not spoiling the plot for someone in this watch… albeit given that our watch was more than 24 hours ago I might break that rule, as this Post will not be viewed by lots of outsiders that doesn’t know this Drama 😉 .
@FGB4877, my vote is for you to go ahead with your comments despite possible spoilers.
And if @Packmule3 doesn’t follow her usual practice of making a holiday post, let’s stay in touch here through Christmas. My celebration this year will be low key, so I’ll have time to chat.
Dear @Welmaris, we are in the same boat. This Holidays there are only yours truly and Balzac Antonio (my black cat) so the celebration will be very low key for us. A can of tuna and an exchange of “Meows” on New Year and that’s it 😀 .
I saw the show back when it was new. Did not have “Bitches Over Dramas” but had old DramaBeans when it was maintained by DramaGirl and JavaBeans and their love permeated the site.
My most interesting moment was when Goblin used a knocked out Eun Tak’s hand to retrieve the true blade in order to definitely cut down Counselor Park. The ladies in the forum were enraged about Goblin bypassing Eun Tak’s consent to withdraw the blade. I simply posted that in that specific moment the decisions of Goblin were life and death serious, for there was in front of him an enemy that has been killing since the Goryeo era, that did kill all his family back then, and he had at that precise moment the opportunity to stop him for good, thus saving his new family and countless people that would have perished like the drunkard. It was also his life to exchange for Park’s: his decision.
Imagine a man and his wife trapped in a shooting attack, the husband being an exceptional sharpshooter, his wife having a panic crisis but having a concealed gun in her purse, and him hesitating to beat down an incoming attack since his wife isn’t in the state of mind to give him her weapon while the shooter gets nearer and the casualties mount.
My comment was not paid any attention if memory serves well…
SPOILER
SPOILER
Hi @FGB I’m sure if I went back to DB at the right episode, I’d be able to find those comments LOL. What an interesting analogy you’ve come up with. I heartily approved of KS finding the only way in which to get that sword out of him. Fortunately he didn’t dissipate immediately but had time to despatch his enemy and say farewell to Reaper and ET.
I was going to email you, but since you’re here, this is just a note to let you know that we can ‘spend’ Christmas here on BoD, so you won’t have to be alone with just Balzac Antonio. I’ll be about stalking this place quite a bit, so I’ll probably be around to read you, and if the time is right, we can even chat. 🙂
@GB You made my day!!!, I love Balzie, but… he is kind of monosyllabic XD . Will catch you and hopefully we will spend some time together on these Holidays 😉 .
@GB, I have been scrolling down episodes 13-16 and barely find any comments I made back then in DramBeans, definitely not one about what I explained earlier. I guess I thought about it but decided not to disturb the waters. Interesting how I rewrote my own memory of that event.
You commented a lot on these episodes!!! 😉
Sorry!!!, inadvertently seems like I lied to you some posts before D: .
LOL @FGB, that shows how human we are, we do ‘re-write’ history at times. We also often forget and contradict ourselves!! Was there no other blog in which you penned your thoughts?
The thing is,… what you said actually sounds like it could have happened! LOL. It actually sounds familiar.
@GB, there are few others blogs I visited from time to time, but they are lost to me right now. Anyway I *FINALLY*(¿¿¿???) expressed that point, guess it will become a conversation when we reach episode 13 😉 .
I’m just popping in to say Hi to any BODers/lurkers. I told @FGB that I’d be around to be company on this thread, in lieu of our having any rewatch party. Actually not only on Christmas weekend but also today and the New Year weekend. So this is just me checking in, in case anyone wants to chat. 🙂
@GB, you are very thoughtful. I hope @FGB4877 pops in here as well. I’d love to hear what he and Balzac Antonio are discussing these days.
Last night my husband and I took our friend, a recent widower, to dinner (Pakistani food, because…why not?) and a Christmas concert. It will be the only Christmas-y thing we do this year out in society. Everyone was checked at the door for their vaccination status, and all except the performers wore masks while inside the performance venue. The concert, by Dave Koz and Friends, was highly entertaining from beginning to end. Dave Koz is a saxophonist, and the friends who joined him were Jonathan Butler (guitar & vocals), Rick Braun (trumpet & vocals), and Rebecca Jade (vocals). The backup band was top-notch. Rick Braun won the night, in my opinion, with his response to the question, Who is your voice of Christmas? Dave Koz answered with Frank Sinatra. Rebecca Jade and Jonathan Butler both answered with Stevie Wonder. For Rick Braun? Alvin and the Chipmunks (particularly Alvin)!
As far as I could see, at least half of the audience was Black. When Jonathan Butler, who is known for Gospel music as well as jazz, sang O Holy Night, people seated all around me were calling out Glory! Hallelujah! and raising their hands as if we were in a Black church. Here’s a video of Jonathan Butler doing the piece back in 2014; what we heard last night was much the same.
https://youtu.be/ikArarAS8UM
Thank you @Welmaris. What an uplifting evening and what a feeling performance of O Holy Night. I’ll not sing or listen to this Christmas carol in the same way again.
I’ve not ventured into any venues for concerts, but we do get checked at every mall entrance. Everyone outside home still wears a mask, except when eating or exercising.
Our Christmas is always quiet, although the offspring may have their own gatherings to attend (still limited to a handful). It will be another nice, quiet Christmas and New Year, methinks. 🙂
Dropping by as well YL say Hello and Ola to @FGB and whoever is popping in! Hello @GB and @Welmaris!!!
What a treat @Welmaris! I used to listen to David Koz, will have to revisit his music again. I’m happy you were able to watch a concert. Last weekend, we watched a friend who was part of the city masters choir and the Christmas concert was held at a church so it was beautiful and touching. All church choirs in our parish used to also have a Christmas concert and I was just watching one of our videos that popped up from FB memories. Hopefully we will have that back in 2022.
@GB, In the Philippines, there is an advent tradition to have a novena in honor of Mama Mary starting Dec 16 up to 24. It’s an early morning mass called misa de gallo or also called Simbang gabi (translates to night mass since it’s still very dark at 5am!). I’m happy to see that this tradition is being practiced around the world now where Filipino communities are. The Pope celebrated one at the Vatican last year! We have one in our parish which is a night mass so we start Dec 15-23. It’s a good devotion and preparation for the coming of Christ. And as kids, we were taught that our wish will come true if we complete the whole novena. I still wistfully do it even now. 😉
@Janey, what a lovely tradition! I know this year there have been Advent retreats and novenas too, mostly online. We had Advent in conjunction with the end of a year long event celebrating 200 years of Catholicism in Singapore. In the past I’d have been actively participating but although I’m quiet, I’m delighted to see so many have been blessed by this festival.
@Welmaris, beautiful rendition!!!, for some reason I wanted to know more about the guitar, I guess it is an Ovation since it seems impossibly thin.
@Janey, we also have the Misa de Gallo tradition here in Venezuela, but I would not try it here in Caracas 😀 .
Regrettably I couldn’t find an instrumental version of “Alumbra Cocuyito” (Light, little firefly). I suppose that not understanding Spanish would hamper the enjoyment… but please be patient 😉 .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFlhlpq1Zj8
This fellow Venezuelan compiled several pieces. Why not share? 😀
@FGB4877, I wish you and any other Southern Hemisphere friends reading this a happy summer solstice. Stay cool! For my Northern Hemisphere BoD friends, I send warm greetings and hope for sunny days ahead.
Anneyong!
How are you friends? Are you okay?
I haven’t been able to watch Episode 8 that’s why I haven’t commented yet!
Hopefully the next days I will and then I will come back to read your comments!
@Welmaris, we are in the Northern Hemisphere, but thank you anyway!!! ;D .
Anyway, today is “Noche Buena” or Holy Night. Merry Christmas to all of you!!! 😀
Hi @FGB and @Cleo, just reminding that if you’re looking for company, I’ll be repeatedly dipping into this thread this weekend.
I’ve just been listening to beautiful carols sung by our choirs.
O Holy Night! Blessed and Happy Christmas!
I’ve just turned up like the proverbial bad penny. If anyone comes along, give me a holler!
I’m watching Bad and Crazy, right now, and it’s gotten more entertaining.
Dear BoD friends, will we be restarting our watch party this Saturday, January 8, with episode 9 of Goblin? If so, I respectfully request @Packmule3 to open a new thread for us.
Thanks @Welmaris! Yes, we’ll continue from where we left off. @pkml3 please open the Episode 9 Goblin thread. 🙂