The Quest to Die Takes on New Meaning in Goblin as Episodes 7 and 8 Remain Steady in 12% Ratings

Did this week’s episodes of Goblin satisfy you? It hit every happy and thrilling spot for me, taking the Goblin’s quest to die and turning it on every head possible until landing at that critical K-drama turn. I love Eun Tak and Kim Shin’s interactions but it’s not romantic for me in the falling in love feels. It’s more deep rooted, the way Eun Tak makes Shin laugh and act like a kid when he’s a 939 year old immortal, so Shin feels the simple happiness of being alive rather than the chore of never dying. The ratings remained steady this week at over 12% for both episodes, fantastic still for a cable network tvN drama but without the legs of Answer Me 1988 which kept increasing week by week. AM1988 had a broader appeal to multiple generations while Goblin’s story deftly toggles fantasy world building with Kim Eun Sook’s fun banter that may not draw in the older folks yet.


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The Quest to Die Takes on New Meaning in Goblin as Episodes 7 and 8 Remain Steady in 12% Ratings — 25 Comments

  1. No preview for the next episodes makes me so dying. And Sam Kim – Who Are you (OST) like an echo for me as a result of what happened in the last scene in episode 8. It’s became a sad song. Oh no..do I have to prepare for the worst story ending? ??

  2. I am glad we have the sad melancholy feel in the show and the romance because if it weren’t that then we would have had cheesiness coming from KES. KES has indeed surprised me with Goblin and is doing a great job here but I guess the lack of signaturr style may not be impressive to those who watch her shows in broadcast channels. Still 12% for cable is no easy task. If im not wrong besides AM series and Signal none other drama has acheived it.

  3. I want to love the drama. I really do. It’s got it all up in there, though it could maybe spread the plot more evenly across each episode instead of squeezing it all in the beginnings and the endings.

    BUT OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY WHAT’S UP WITH THE PPL *rage mode on*. I nearly closed my screen and called it quits when Shin handed a freaking sandwich from the Brand-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named to a guy to save him from suicide. And that was alongside another 2-3 PPL for the same brands, plus another few Gong Yoo-helmed PPLS stacked literally one after another (in a somewhat meta way, yes, but still clumsily hammered in).

    I mean, Really ? REALLY ? WHY YOU DO THIS, GOBLIN.

    • I was annoyed by the excessive PPL in the last episode as well. It’s ok when it’s not repetitive and splattered here and there, but the Subway ppls were overkill this time. Ok, we get it, nice sandwiches. NEXT!

    • Because it has a really high budget? That’s just the way things work in the Korean (TV) advertisement world unfortunately. It certainly looks Ike the higher the visibility of the company’s product, the more they pay. I’m sure the writers and the rest of the show’s creative team would rather not have to incorporate ads into thir work but it’s a necessary beast for what they are trying to accomplish.

    • I think they just need to corporate them into what they eat in normal life or more normally place but then the PPL is just like they know we gonna watch and show that they endorse this,
      I mean just open all the plastered/bandage in Kdrama other product is enough or put the one you endorse and not just shove the same PPL over and over again when it gives nothing,

  4. The premiere episodes were full of punches and then pacing started to get draggy. It’s like they make it a habit to jam packed every critical twist at the last ten minutes of each episode while wasting the entire first half of each episode with the so-called KES funny and witty banter. The pacing is just sooo snail slooowwww that I just get so tired and feel totally no emotional connection to any character other than the Reaper.

    • If They cast a reaper with a better actor perfomances, I might be feeling him as a character. But the character is aleady thin, so I’m not sure. Both male lead acting are lacking in emotional level for me. But it might be something to do there is no real emotional core in KES character that make it hard for his actor to feel something

  5. I LOVE THIS DRAMA!! and I hate that woman with the read coat!! I HATE HER!!
    I don’t know how they are doing it but they are making a great job in going from laughter moments to sad moments in a blink of an eye!! and give me a happy ending writer-nim!! Goblin Fighting!!

  6. This drama is getting boring. Found myself fast forwarding most of the episode. The reaper-sunny couple is far far more interesting but sadly gets so little screen time.

  7. I am enjoying everthing about the drama. Goblin and Eun Tak, The reaper and Eun Tak, Goblin and The reaper, Sunny and The reaper. It is not slow at all I watch so many times. I hope when the real romance b/n Goblin and Eun Tak begins it will be as natural as there figths.

  8. I think that the reason many like Goblin but not really love the drama is the fact that we have a Character (main) female lead be 19 yrs old, which bring their interactions to a different level instead if would had been someone in their 20’s like 21 or 22. Still I love this drama, look forward to Friday’s, hope that neither of them die at the end.

    Think that the issue of one of them dying could be all a test, to see if Goblin can make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of love. Or something need to happen between all leads as lets face it, all started due to the King and Queen, king gave sword to KS, KS followed King orders, Queen send/told KS to walk foward to talk to the King, King mad in his possible jealousy killed Queen and everyone before KS is killed/stab by someone he care about his right hand man.

    Is just me but I think there is more than just pulling the sword.

  9. I want to love this show, I really do. I liked the set up of the first episode and was okay with the low key vibe and somewhat meandering pace. However, it’s not wrong that often not a lot happens to move the story along until the end of some of the often overlong episodes. It is beautifully filmed, and I’m invested to figure out the answer to the mystery of these characters.

    It is an odd thing to me because the product placement, lead actress acting and the age difference which I do understand bothers others doesn’t bother me that much, but this is now verging on boring (haven’t watched epi 8 yet). I sometimes have issues with KES writing but I generally find her dramas to be pretty fast paced so credit for trying something new but a vicious film editor I think was needed.

    I don’t believe in hate watching or snark watching a drama and generally drop if something is not my cup of tea. I’m on the line with this one but again, like the genre, invested in what happens and it’s only 16 episodes. I am interested in ratings in Korea only as kind of a side note and how it affects the actors so in that sense, I’m happy because maybe GY won’t take so long to come back to dramas after this.

  10. I really hate tonsay this but this week eps are really boring
    I thought this drama would be the cure for me from 1%of Something withdrawal symptoms but i no longer look forward to new eps because i literally fast forward the entire ep 8.

    Honestly making Eun tak 19 years old is a mistake. It would have been better if they made her at least a college student. Gong Yoo is fabulous and he is perfect but he has no chemistry with Kim Go Eun. The “she is my first love” drag is really making yawn

  11. I think the drama is too haughty and they just jam all the important things at the end of the story,
    if you like the banter, it’s nice but the banter already bored me cause it’s overused, like it’s a comedy show/gag concert with high budget than an actual drama, wait I do wish this is just a comedy skit then the slow pace drama with make up rule every ep without basis because supernatural rule can just appear like Goblin,
    at least have real rule and basis of what each character can do,
    feels like the goblin can do pretty much everything and the he dies-she dies plot doesn’t really makes sense,
    if it because he saved her that they are fated, then it’s mean there’s no love since he would be always fated to love the one he saved that wat whether it’s her or not,

  12. I still believe it will be happy ending,because not only the goblin or eun tak will be despair,the grim reaper too,(and viewer,sponsor too)
    I am sure it all connect with the way goblin forgive ‘kim won bin’ aka grim reaper,and nanny ‘god’ red coat.

  13. Lol everyone is so hoopla about this drama when Mrs manipulator-who-reads-too-much-fanfiction KES keep using the same tricks just in a “nicer package” not as atrocious as heirs.

  14. KES is like Nora Roberts or Danielle Steel , she uses the same tricks with good looking stars … and we get the same boring drama.

  15. Strange that in year 2016 almost all the big-budget, big-hype dramas (Descendants of the Sun, W-Two Worlds, Legend of the Blue Sea, The Goblin) fail to deliver an emotionally compelling/satisfying love line. No sparks fly between the main leads. The producers seem more egaer to jam together big-name actors, big-budget, maximum publicity-returns rather to care about whether the actors match each other. I feel most of these dramas have male lead actors not exactly known for their emotional intensity. With emotionally intense actors, you could usually count on them building up a rapport with the actresses and revving up the emotional temperature of the drama.

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