Guardian: The Lonely and Great God

Show in Nutshell: 
Language: Korean
Subtitles available in: English, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Indonesian, Turkish, Vietnamese
Audio: Korean
Year: 2016
No. of episodes: 16
Where to watch: Viki, MX Player, Netflix
Category: Fantasy, Romantic, Super human

About the show:

If you love watching fantasy, mythical creatures, magic, super human powers then this show is for you. It has a Goblin, it has a Grim Reaper, it has the Grandmother Samshin, it has rebirth, it has immortality! And all these fantastic elements are intricately woven into earthly human emotions like love, revenge, repentance, yearning and sadness.

Kim Shin is a brave decorated military general in the Goryeo dynasty who is framed as a traitor and given a death sentence. He is punished by the almighty with immortality for killing so many soldiers for the sake of his country. This curse will end only if Goblin's bride pulls out the invisible sword from his chest. 

When this story takes place, our hero, the Goblin is 900 years old who has not aged at all during his life span and his bride is 19 year old chirpy college student who is an orphan and is able to see ghosts. Now one may have objection to age difference between age of the Goblin and his bride. But the Goblin had managed to retain his youth even after 900 years. His screen presence with youthful face and a hint of sad smile will win your heart and you will tend to overlook the same.  

The Grim Reaper comes to stay in Goblin's house and they develop friendship. Grim Reaper falls in love with a human girl who is reincarnation of Goblin's sister. The story is complete jigsaw Puzzle of how all these characters meet, how they develop relationships, how they uncovers secrets of past and how they finally attain their destiny. The Samshin Grandmother fills in missing pieces in this jigsaw puzzle and slowly nudges different characters to fulfil their part in the story. 

Romance is the heart and soul of K-dramas and so is the case with this drama. You will find many cute romantic moments throughout the series coupled with light comedy. As the story unfolds, one can experience roller coster ride of emotions. The curiosity of "what next?" Is maintained throughout the drama.

In nutshell, if you love fantasy, go for it. If you are logical person with analytical mind and search for logic everywhere then think twice before opening the drama!!

For those who are new to the world of fantasy giving glossary of few terms just in case.…

Goblin refers to an immortal, spiritual being who helps human beings through tough times or not, depending on his whims.

Grim Reaper is a character that represents that mythical being also known as death. Usually, the grim reaper is responsible for guiding souls into the afterlife once they have died.

Grandmother Samshin is the goddess of childbirth and fate in Korean mythology.

Comments

  1. Jane25 May 2025 at 05:25

    I have been putting off this one for so long because the age difference gave me the ick but now I am reconsidering because I absolutely love fantasy and the side characters seem to be interesting. Loved your review!

    ReplyDelete

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