The Lonely Shining Goblin Final Thought & Review

With the ending of The Lonely Shining Goblin, our fantasy land has just landed and we are all back to the earth. No more fantasy, but at least we get a full and better understanding about God. I really like the idea of life and death in this drama particularly when reincarnation was the basic point of the story. Moreover, we have a better understanding now about goblin and grim reaper (which I always thought like the western culture where the grim reapers wear black cloak) while actually this drama incorporates a more friendly and imaginative idea of super cute grim reapers. I might say this is biased but I always feel the innocence of our Wang Yeo as a grim reaper before he finds out his memories, thinking that grim reaper is a innocent being.

That's a new logic to me that Grim Reaper is someone with heavy sins of killing himself (or we called suicide), and they are punished under the form of not being alive nor death. The biggest punishment is actually to desire a life they had abandoned once. This idea is really cool and I think I might get what our Kim Eun Sook means. While I don't really understand why Goblin was so popular in Korea, but I guess that's because Goblin has such close mythology with korean children when they are small and Goblin is perceived as supernatural character which can bring wealth to human being. It's just me who still need to check out the real story behind the famous Goblin and explore why it is so happening there.

I love the bromance between Lee Dong Wook and Gong Yoo, where forgiveness is a way to be peace and they end up as a good friend. That's so supportive in the matter of what has happened between them in the past. Besides, I also like the story when God was actually featured as a butterfly, without any form which can do anything. Sometimes, the rules there is kinda weird, for Him to play around with fate, but is that what He truly means? Fate is the question he ask and we should be the one looking for the answer? Okay? What does it mean? Does He mean whether there is fate between the character and the answer is something he couldn't even predict, because there are things that are out of His control, and maybe, by having a very sincere pray, one unpredictable door may open?

What captured me the most is how Kim Shin (played by Gong Yoo) went through 30 years waiting for Eun Tak (played by Kim Go Eun) to come back. Sometimes, there will be times he will feel tired or out of the place, but God may come in different forms to push you back on the track. That's so inspiring and I love this quote so much that God's advice and way might be from your friends or even strangers. I know that Eun Tak has three more lives, but what's gonna happen to Shin if Eun Tak completed all the lives? Then, Kim Shin will stay as the lonely goblin. Why God still put him under such punishment? Maybe we could get season 2 then? Wondering curiously.

In my opinion, this show is good enough, to even reach such ratings, with huge-scale budget on the costumes, CGs, background setting, storytelling, casts and storylines. But for me personally, I think I still love Secret Garden the best for Kim Eun Sook's drama. I like this drama much, but it doesn't make me can't wait for the episodes. I think, this drama could have done much much better if the story explores and explains more on how Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun fell for each other, because I seriously don't see the chemistry. My impression of Eun Tak is still the high school girl, with her childish and a little bit forceful act as a teenager. Though she did best when she cried on the day Kim Shin left. She really did BEST, but I had a hard time in the beginning of the story, as if she is materialistic, wanting to have Kim Shin just because he is rich and can go travel around the world just by opening a door. Is it because she needs him, or she indeed love him? (though we all know that in the end she loves him sincerely, for her to be able to touch the sword.)

The Lonely Shining Goblin - Episode 16 (Finale) Summary

Under falling cherry blossoms, Shin (played by Gong Yoo) asks Eun Tak (played by Kim Go Eun) to be his bride. She touches his face and says with happy tears in her eyes, “I will. I’ll be this shining man’s first and last bride.” He kisses her on the forehead sweetly.

That night, Eun Tak sits on her rooftop and tells Mom that she’s getting married, and promises to live well. The unni ghost who always follows her around gets misty-eyed at the thought of Eun Tak getting a happy ending, and she and her ghost friend are shocked when Eun Tak turns around and sees them.

The unni ghost materializes right by Eun Tak and grabs her in a hug, wailing that she’s been so lonely without her. She offers to make Eun Tak happier than the goblin and sticks to her side like glue.

Reaper (played by Lee Dong Wook) pours tea for a wealthy man and his driver, and the wealthy man sticks his nose in the air and refuses to drink the same tea as his servant, thinking he deserves special treatment. Reaper makes it clear that everyone gets the same tea in here, and no matter how powerful he was in this life, he can’t take any of that with him when he walks through that door.

Reaper says in a scary voice, “When you go through that door you’ll realize how powerful they are—the sins you’ve committed with your eyes, your mouth, your hands and feet, your heart. And what floor of hell they’ll drag you down to.” 

Shin waits for Eun Tak to get done with work, and Class Prez happens to walk right past him at the station. He sees a glimpse of her future, where she asks Eun Tak to go on another blind date. Eun Tak says no to the chef, but Class Prez says this time it’s one of her clients—he’s a chaebol, he’s handsome, and he’s young to boot. Is it Deok Hwa?

Shin scowls and mutters to himself, “Blind date?” Ha, I was hoping jealous goblin would make an appearance. Petty revenge is in order, so he snaps Class Prez’s purse strap with his goblin powers and sends all her belongings crashing to the ground. She cries over a broken compact, and behind her back, Shin sticks out his tongue like a child. And then he runs away while shouting for Eun Tak. 

He runs right into Eun Tak’s studio and blurts to her entire staff, “I’m Ji Eun Tak PD’s boyfriend. To be more exact, we’re engaged to be married. How’s this weekend for the wedding?” He gives her a wink and everyone’s jaws drop.

Shin takes her to lunch and Eun Tak wonders if someone else is coming, once she sees all the food he’s ordered. Shin says that he called Deok Hwa here to formally introduce her to the family.

Deok Hwa (played by Yook Sung Jae) walks in and takes one scan of the situation before reaching the obvious conclusion, but Shin surprises both of them by just announcing that they’re getting married. He asks if she prefers Saturday or Sunday, and Eun Tak asks why he keeps insisting on getting married this weekend.

“So that you won’t go on blind dates!” he says, as if that makes sense. Shin especially doesn’t want her going on blind dates with young attractive chaebols, and Deok Hwa points out that he’s really the only person in the whole country who meets all three criteria. He hands Eun Tak his business card, and she’s shocked to see that he’s a team leader now.

When she tells Deok Hwa her name, he recognizes it from the old letter that got sent to the old chicken shop. She calls him oppa like she used to and says there’s a lot he doesn’t know, as usual. Deok Hwa wonders if she knows what his uncle is, and she cuts him off to say that everyone knows a goblin or two, and he gapes.

He gets the feeling that everyone knows something he doesn’t, but Shin just puts food on his spoon and tells Deok Hwa that he’ll know once he’s grown up. Eun Tak wants food on her spoon too, and Shin mutters for her to go ahead and try going on a blind date. She counters that she’s going to be a married woman soon, and Shin grins to himself, thinking, She said married woman.

Deok Hwa tells CEO Kim about Shin getting married, and says he plans to marry first and have lots of kids. CEO Kim is happy to hear it, though he points out that marriage isn’t something he can do alone. Deok Hwa: “I have lots of women!” CEO Kim: “Yes, that’s the problem.” Deok Hwa’s reaction is hilarious, like he’d never considered that before.

CEO Kim asks if he’s ever met someone who makes his heart race just to think of her, who makes him cry when he misses her, someone he’d be willing to die for. Deok Hwa says no, and asks if CEO Kim has any plans to marry. CEO Kim laughs and says he doesn’t, because he’s already married with three kids. Deok Hwa is shocked and CEO Kim points out that he’s never asked until now, and that Deok Hwa still has no interest in other people and the world around him.

“So I’m waiting for your questions. The questions of a true adult—about the world, about the happiness and sadness of those around you,” CEO Kim says. Deok Hwa smiles and thanks him sincerely, and asks him to wait just a little longer: “I’ll work hard at growing up.” Aww. They clink coffee cups and smile.

On their way out after lunch, Eun Tak erupts at Shin for outing them all over the place without her consent, but he’s too busy being a paranoid backseat driver, acting like she’s trying to kill him. She asks where he keeps directing her to, but he doesn’t answer.

Cut to: Eun Tak in a wedding dress. The curtain opens in the dressing room and Shin is waiting on the other side in a tux. His mouth hangs open when he lifts his head to look at her, and he murmurs in disbelief, “You look so pretty.” 

She laughs and says he looks handsome too, and he tosses back that she ought to be used to it by now. She suggests getting married with freshly drawn water like in olden times. Eun Tak goes PPL shopping for a wedding gift and leaves a watch on Shin’s desk with a letter. She writes, “All of the roads we’ll walk together, all of the sights we’ll see together, all of the questions and answers we’ll share shyly, excitedly—in all of those moments, I love you. Your bride.”

At work, Eun Tak’s head writer says they got a love letter sent in from a listener, and she starts to read it. It’s Sunny’s goodbye letter that we saw her write, and right away Eun Tak recognizes who wrote it. She goes running out in the middle of the live broadcast, and just tells them to read the letter on the air. As soon as it gets read by the DJ, Shin swerves his car and starts speeding, and Reaper runs out of the house.

Eun Tak rushes home and discovers that Sunny has sold the whole building to a new landlord, and she’s already gone. There’s a letter in her mailbox, in which Sunny tells her not to cry, and that she hopes she was just a little bit of comfort to Eun Tak. Sunny asks her to take care of her stubborn brother, and to live a long and happy life together.

Shin arrives and Eun Tak tells him tearfully that Sunny remembered all this time, all on her own, and took care of her when she couldn’t remember anything. She asks why Sunny would leave, and Shin says it’s because she couldn’t forgive Reaper, so she chose not to see him again in this lifetime: “Because there is no greater punishment for him.”

Sunny (played by Yoo In Na) stands on the pedestrian bridge one last time with her bags packed, and says she’ll count 50 people and go. She counts the people who pass her one by one, until she reaches 49…Behind her, Reaper appears and starts counting as he cries, “One, two…” She turns to him with tears in her eyes and says that she won’t send word to him: “We won’t see each other again in this lifetime.” He nods, understanding what she means.

She smiles and asks if she can hug him one last time, and he pulls her into his arms. They cry as they embrace, and Reaper narrates, “And like that, we sought farewell in this lifetime.” But then he adds that it wasn’t until much later when he heard news of her.

In the wake of their parting, Reaper is a sobbing mess, crying endlessly in his room while clutching the scroll painting of his queen. Shin adorably makes him veggies and fruit and points out that the apples are bunny rabbits, just the way Reaper makes them when he’s trying to cheer other people up. That is just the cutest thing.

Reaper cries that Sunny left, and that till the end, she was good at leaving. He returns the portrait to Shin, saying that he should’ve returned it right away. But Shin says it was never his to begin with: “It was your regret, and your sin, and your longing.”

Shin thinks it’s right that Reaper takes it, and Reaper looks up at him with puppy eyes and asks if he can really keep it. Shin: “Yes, as long as you eat this.” Shin thanks him for keeping the candles lit at the temple for the last nine years while he was gone, and Reaper says he’s trying to face his sins head-on. Shin thinks it’d be nice if someone said to them: “That’s enough. You’ve done enough.”

Reaper meets with the reaper who was a court lady in Goryeo, and he shares a secret with her—that grim reapers are people who took their own lives. That’s the big sin they’ve committed, and he asks why she thinks that their punishment is to be neither living nor dead, and to usher countless people in death. He points out that they have no names and no memories, but they need homes to live in and food to eat. He says he was searching for answers, when one day it occurred to him: “That the things we’d given up—our names, the lives we threw away—were the very things I began to want. That when we long for life desperately, our punishment may be over.”

Reaper says he knows why she avoids him, and tells her that he’s sorry for borrowing her hands in choosing death. He admits his regret, and asks for her forgiveness with a solemn bow. He tells her to forget the past and guide souls well, and hopes that she’ll forgive herself someday: “What god would want is for us to forgive ourselves and discover an ardent desire for life.” She bursts into tears at his words.

The Lonely Shining Goblin - Episode 15 Summary

As Eun Tak (played by Kim Go Eun) explores Quebec, she responds automatically when a handsome young man recognizes her: “You again.” The oddity of that exchange hits her moments later, so she whirls around… but he’s gone. Omo, it’s Canadian ghost oppa! Also, she can see ghosts again?! Her search for him leads her to the street vendor who recognizes the destiny necklace. She asks if Eun Tak is living happily with the man who commissioned the piece ten years ago. Speaking of whom, Shin is in his room holding the little maple leaf.

Next thing we know, Shin (played by Gong Yoo) pops in and out of the house traveling all over the globe save for one destination: where Eun Tak is. Reaper (played by Lee Dong Wook), who has stayed home during Shin’s globetrotting, tells him to go there then.

When Shin worries that he’ll just confuse her by showing up in Quebec, Reaper says he’s confusing him enough here. Pouting, Shin says it’s because his heart feels empty. Cut to: Shin emerging from a sarcophagus, and Reaper tells him to return that mummy back where he found it. Climbing back inside, Shin tells the mummy: “Let’s go. He’s really scary when he gets angry.” 

Now we’re caught up to the chance encounter in Quebec, where Shin exits through the red door and comes face to face with Eun Tak. He follows as she leads the way to food, though she stops and realizes that she never specified that she was traveling to Canada. He quickly says she made some mention about seeing autumn leaves, and that’s enough of an answer for her.

She treats him to coffee and a sandwich, and he asks if that’s enough. He means for him, noting that he secured an advertising deal for her. Coughing, Eun Tak explains that she didn’t bring much money for this last-minute trip, but asks what he likes anyway.

He replies meat, not believing her when she says she’s not much of a meat-eater because he know she loves it. “How did you know that?” she asks, suspicious. She wonders if he looked her up to see if her familial background would be good enough to date a chaebol. “Who said I’d go out with you? You’re not much of a catch!” she stresses defensively. Shin calmly says she still owes him a meat-centered meal, so she promises to call him later.

She stalks off but doesn’t get far before Shin offers to be her personal tour guide, adding that there’s not much here. So they start walking together, and Eun Tak asks if he’s been here before. He replies that he’s been here four times with his first love, but they’ve since broken up, and she immediately asks why. Shin explains that he was very far away for a long time, and the separation must’ve been hard on her because she’s forgotten all about him. Eun Tak says first loves never work out anyway, but he must’ve loved his ex-girlfriend very much. Still looking at her, Shin says he must have, considering it’s so hard for him to hold back now.

He says he wants to hold her hand and embrace her, though Eun Tak has no idea those sentiments are directed at her. He’s amused when she kicks at the autumn leaves, saying that he hasn’t forgotten his first love yet. Shin: “No, not for a single day nor moment.”

He tells her the same story she once told him about how your love comes true if you catch a falling autumn leaf with the person you love. She scoffs, saying that it didn’t come true since he’s walking with her now. She points out that men tend to talk about their exes in front of the woman they’re interested in, and that flare of jealousy reminds him of the younger Eun Tak.

She’s still hung up on that childish tale back in her hotel room, scoffing that only a high-schooler would say something like that, then sighs over how she can’t even remember what part of her memory she’s forgotten. Seeing Shin sitting on a bench outside, she decides to confront him and asks if they’ve met before, about ten years ago.

She swears this isn’t a pickup line when he doesn’t readily answer. She repeats herself when he asks if he likes her, then boldly amends her reply moments later with a “yes.” Since she’s single, she figures that she was meant to be unlucky in the love department in this lifetime.

She lets that thought sink in before excusing herself, only for her and Shin to call out to one another almost simultaneously. She timidly offers to treat him to an early dinner, and he smiles that he was about to do the same.

Now we finally see Shin’s vision of Eun Tak’s future play out in the present, as Eun Tak chats with Sunny on the phone. Shin leans against the doorway as he confirms in voiceover that this was the future he saw, where he was the man Eun Tak was waiting for.

Shin can’t hide his delight as he sits across from her, and Eun Tak scowls at his confirmation that he also visited this restaurant with his first love. He says it didn’t matter since she forgot all about it, which prompts Eun Tak to ask if Shin met up with that woman after they broke up.

Eun Tak says people are usually left disappointed when they reunite with their first loves because the reunion never lives up to their fantasies. He says she’s still pretty, which only gets her worked up, and she asks in annoyance about what he thinks of women who recently became beautiful—y’know, like her. He asks if they should see each other again tomorrow, not at all bothered by the fact that she’s flying out in the afternoon. He means to see her before she leaves, and again after that. She nods and hides her smile behind her menu.

As Sunny (played by Yoo In Na) reviews the CCTV footage of Reaper dropping by the old chicken shop, she sighs that she oddly wanted to head over there that day. 

She seeks out Deok Hwa (played by Yook Sung Jae) instead, and though he’s struck dumb by her beauty, he doesn’t recognize her. He still remembers the chicken shop in question since that place was often behind in rent, and is flabbergasted when he learns that Sunny is looking to get in touch with Reaper, not him.

At home, Reaper stops short when the incoming call is from Sunny (whose caller ID is still misspelled on his phone, aw).

After picking out her next outfit, Eun Tak peruses the brochure for ideas on where to go with Shin on their date. Her eyes fall upon an image of a hilltop cemetery, and a sudden memory momentarily superimposes onto the picture. But then she remembers how Shin led her away from the graves yesterday, which is followed by more rapid flashes into the past, including Shin’s own gravestone.

Eun Tak heads straight to the gravesite, where she’s soon joined by Shin. She wonders if this grave belongs to him, asking, “Are you a ghost?” She asks if that’s why she keeps seeing him, and he hones in on the idea that she can still see ghosts.

“Still?” she repeats. She demands to know how he knew that about her, and pauses for a few seconds before asking, “By any chance, is your name… Kim Shin? Did we come here together ten years ago?” But she still can’t remember, and demands to know who he is: “Why did I write down not to forget you? Why did I write down that I’m your bride?! You’re Kim Shin, aren’t you? I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I’m not,” Shin answers, and tells her to head back to the hotel.

The Lonely Shining Goblin - Episode 14 Summary

Shin (played by Gong Yoo) says his final goodbyes in Eun Tak’s (played by Kim Go Eun) arms, and the fire from his heart spreads until he’s nothing but fire and ash. He scatters into the wind before her eyes, and she collapses to the ground in tears. A strange sensation passes through Deok Hwa (played by Yook Sung Jae) in that moment, and Sunny (played by Yoo In Na) and Secretary Kim too. We also see Eun Tak’s friend the class president, and the ajusshi who was Shin’s second-in-command in Goryeo.

The writing in Shin’s diary starts to disappear, and even the scribble he added in Eun Tak’s book of poems—”It was first love”—starts to burn off the page. Eun Tak seems to sense that Shin is fading from every memory they shared, literally disappearing from the scene as she remembers it, so she scrambles to her bag to grab pen and paper. She frantically starts writing to herself:

“You have to remember. His name is Kim Shin. He’s tall and when he smiles he’s sad. He’ll come as the rain. He’ll come as the first snow. He’ll keep his promise. Remember. You have to remember. You are his bride.”Tears fall as she writes the last words, and she clutches the notebook close, sobbing and trying desperately to remember. Fade to black.

A butterfly lands in a vast snowy tundra, and a lone figure stands in the distance—it’s Shin, back to his original form as the Goryeo warrior. Butterfly-god says that Shin has been erased from the minds of everyone who knew him, and that this is a consideration from god. Samshin Granny narrates over the scene that his punishment was over now, and that he should close his eyes and rest at peace. “But there were tears in the goblin’s eyes,” she says.

Shin cries as he remembers Eun Tak and the moment he realized he’d make this choice. He says to the gods, “I will stay in this place. I will remain here and go as the rain. I will go as the wind. I will go as the first snow. For that one thing, I ask heaven’s permission.” Samshin Granny narrates that it was a childish choice. Butterfly-god answers him: “I was always with you in your life, but in this place, I am not here.” And butterfly-god leaves him too.

Back on Earth, Samshin Granny is back to her grandmother form as she tells this story, saying that the goblin was all alone, stuck between this life and the afterlife, between light and dark, his soul trapped forever in a place without god.

The person listening to the story is Shin’s second-in-command, who asks curiously what happened to the goblin. Granny supposes, “Memories will fade, and all that will be left is shining futility. He’ll walk in that futility and walk some more. And then what will happen? Where will he reach?” Just as she described, we see Shin trudging through the snow wearily, walking and walking with no end in sight.

Nine years later. Eun Tak is a radio PD, and her writer flips out when it suddenly starts to rain and she has to change the DJ’s opening monologue to suit the weather. Eun Tak takes it in stride, though she seems to be in a subdued mood. She ignores a text from her nasty cousin Kyung Mi asking to borrow some money. As she leaves work, Eun Tak stands outside without an umbrella and watches the rain come down, looking pained. And then a tear trickles down her face. Reaper (played by Lee Dong Wook) comes up right behind her in line at the coffee shop, but they don’t seem to recognize each other.

At home, Eun Tak remembers seeing Reaper at the age of 9, and wonders if the man in the coffee shop could be the same grim reaper. But she thinks she must be mistaken. She wonders about the destiny necklace she’s wearing, where it came from, and why she can’t remember.

Shin continues to walk in the snow, and he narrates, “In that desert / He was so lonely / He walked backwards at times / Just to see a set of footprints ahead of him.” The scene fades into that very poem in Eun Tak’s book, as she copies it down. She flips back to the page with the first love poem, and wonders how it only burned in that one spot.

She heads to the chicken shop and tells Sunny that she’s as pretty as ever. When Eun Tak asks for soju, Sunny wonders why she’s down when today’s radio show was great, but Eun Tak sighs that they have no advertisements, so she’ll probably be fired soon anyway. Sunny makes Eun Tak get her own drinks, and then her high school friend arrives. Eun Tak still just calls her “class president,” while Sunny greets her familiarly as Lawyer Kim. 

Class Prez asks if Eun Tak doesn’t want to go on a blind date with a cute chef who looks like a puppy when he smiles. Eun Tak says that’s not her type, but Class Prez says the chef is a fan of Eun Tak’s radio show. Sunny joins them and advises Eun Tak to grab the opportunity while she can, sighing at how she used to be the first love to so many men. Class Prez agrees that Eun Tak should date before she ends up like Sunny, and Sunny wonders if Eun Tak doesn’t have any other friends.

Eun Tak sighs as she notes that it’s raining outside and she’s got two friends to worry about her. She pours herself another drink and says in Shin’s manner of speech, “It’s a nice day.”

As Eun Tak stumbles home that night, two ghosts watch her pass—one of them is the girl who always used to follow her around. They wonder why she can’t see them when she’s the goblin’s bride, but they figure that since the goblin has never shown up, she’s more like a widow.

At home, Eun Tak’s depression worsens and she writhes in pain and chokes down sobs, wondering what she’s so sad about and why she’s always like this. 

The image of her sobbing fades into Shin walking in the snow, stumbling but forcing himself back up. And then we see that he’s clutching something in his hand: His contract with Eun Tak. At one point he just collapses in exhaustion, and the contract blows out of his hand. It starts to fly away, and he scrambles to his feet, falling over himself in desperation to retrieve it.

And down on Earth, it begins to snow. Eun Tak looks up at the sky sadly, and it’s almost as if she’s looking up at Shin, who’s now face-down in the snow, unable to walk another step. A tear falls as he shuts his eyes.

Eun Tak sits alone with a birthday cake, wondering to herself, “What have I forgotten? Whom have I forgotten?” She lights a candle, and in that moment, the sun shines on the contract and Shin opens his eyes…

Eun Tak: “What face and what promise have I forgotten that all that’s left is such deep sadness? Somebody, anybody… please, save me.” As she says the words, Shin snaps to attention, like he can hear her voice. He can hear her!

She blows out the candle, and a familiar smoke rises out of Shin’s fingertips. The contract begins to smoke and turn to ash, and then just like that, Shin appears at Eun Tak’s side. They reunite just the way they met ten years ago to the day, when Eun Tak blew out her birthday candles at 19.

His eyes full of emotion, Shin marches over to her and grabs her in a hug. Ohthankgod it’s still you and one of you remembers! Eun Tak bursts into tears in his arms.

They both cry for a long moment as he holds her, and then Eun Tak suddenly pulls away, apologizing for crying because she can’t control her mood swings. Then she realizes that this random guy hugged her out of nowhere and asks what he’s doing and if he knows her. She takes another look at him and assumes he’s an actor.

He sees that she became a radio PD from her station badge, and remarks proudly that she realized her dreams. She bristles at his use of banmal, and Shin takes it in stride, remembering butterfly-god’s words that he’d be erased from everyone who knew him. He says it’s okay if she was at peace. Not understanding a word, she just directs him to the drama department.

Eun Tak begins to walk away, but she turns back and asks how he got in here. Shin replies, “Someone called me."