Love in the time of immortality in the Goblin

by chickachunga

We’ve got a lengthy teaser out for tvN’s upcoming fantasy romance The Lonely Shining Goblin, and it is epic, to say the least. I thought I was watching the trailer to a mega-budget movie.

Gong Yoo (Big) plays the titular goblin who’s lived for thousands of years. He survived bloody sword battles that took place in pre-modern Korea and now bemoans his immortal existence as a world-weary, modern man in contemporary society. One day, he meets a sunny high school girl played by Kim Go-eun (Cheese in the Trap) who claims to be his mortal bride. She has the strange fate of someone who should’ve died, and she’s adamant about marrying the goblin and ending his curse of immortality.

Lee Dong-wook (Bubblegum) plays an amnesiac reaper who ends up rooming with the goblin. Judging from the trailer, it’s clear that the two roommates have a tendency to clash. I guess two sensitive and supernatural figures living under one roof is one too many. He meets a seductive chicken shop owner played by Yoo Inna (One More Happy Ending) who makes his sad heart pound. And Yook Sung-jae (Village: Secret of Achiara) plays a chaebol heir who looks after the goblin; it’s a responsibility previous generations of his family undertook.

At this point, my expectations for this drama are incredibly high, and I can’t help it. I blame the consistently beautiful and mysterious teasers, stills, and posters. The show didn’t really need to try all that hard because I was game since Gong Yoo’s casting was confirmed, but the impressive CGI and the scenic and romantic Quebec footage are really upping the hype for me.

Moreover, the romantic relationships and the bromance all appear to be adorable and sparking with chemistry. I loved how excited Kim Go-eun was when she figured out that she was summoning the goblin every time she extinguished flames. And Lee Dong-wook quickly trying to wipe his tears and avoiding Yoo Inna’s handshake was too funny. I think I’ll be thoroughly amused by any goblin-reaper roommate discord; obviously the pettier the disagreement, the better. The unexpected gem of this teaser was probably the blooper scene in which Gong Yoo is modeling random objects in front of Lee Dong-wook to determine how to look cool and intellectual every time he’s summoned by Kim Go-eun, heh.

For now, both the darker, more sinister elements and the lighter, comedic aspects of Goblin are working for me, and I hope it’s indicative of a solid, fantasy drama.

The Lonely Shining Goblin is set to premiere on December 2 on tvN.

Via Osen

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