The Glory

Good Enough

Korean Drama " The Glory Season One " is a revenge drama with an intense story.

The series doesn't shy away from showing the viewer some pretty horrific bullying scenes, hence, making the revenge plot even more necessary and thrilling. The blending of the two time lines, the past and the present. was well presented, without causing confusion and slowly revealing the true horors of the lead's past.

The sweet relationship between the two leads, moreover, was a nice touch, giving the drama some breathing, as well as a chance to the main character to feel more human.

The performances, finally, were all great and what made this drama to stand out.

So, overall, seven and a half out of ten.

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What goes around, comes around

"Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, fracture for fracture. The one who inflicted the injury must suffer the same. I don't know. That sounds too fair to me."

What a remarkable series. The direction, cinematography, story, acting and especially dialogues were outstanding. I even noted down some of them. The story is so complelling to watch and the way the events unfold is amazing. It shows you the true face of misery. What helplessness feels like and that your past will always come to haunt you. That everyone has their inner demons that they are either fighting or have accepted. How always pushing someone to the edge of their limits can drive them mad sooner or later. How much dire consequences can your actions have on someone else and certainly, on you.

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This came highly recommended to me a few months back but I shied away from it after hearing that the first two episodes were pretty violent. I'm glad I changed my mind because while it (the violence) was difficult to watch at first, it wasn't quite on the level of Squid Game, which I was able to enjoy.

There is a rebirth aspect in this revenge drama that reminded me of Green Rose- an older classic, a re-interpretation of the Count of Monte Cristo and also one of my favorites. The melodrama here is turned up a few notches because it is a makjang but once I had my expectations set, I was able to enjoy everything and take all the melodrama with a grain of salt.

I think the cast was pretty strong here and that every actor/actress did a good job, even the ones with minor roles including the child actress.

I'm glad the main actress chose this role because she is mostly known for playing glamorous, leading lady types and this drama allowed her to try something different. I liked her controlled performance throughout because this restraint created an even more powerful effect during those scenes where she finally had to erupt and get emotional. I also like how she had help from several other, like-minded characters, namely the supporting female lead who was just as abused as she was and also the male lead who played her love interest. One of the tropes here is that they were all broken people who supported each other because they could see eye to eye and because the regular justice system couldn't help them like it should have. I'm also glad because it seemed (even for a melo), realistic for me that she couldn't do everything by herself even if she was clever about some things.

There is one part of the plot that I feel was handled poorly and this is how she got revenge on her former high school teacher. I felt that it was silly and that the guy could have just walked out of the room full of flowers if he was so allergic! Other than that, I liked the drama, even if it isn't something I'd rewatch.

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i say this way too often but the first season was buildup for the second season to be even more intense. ive watched two episodes of the second season as of now and this is my verdict.
dongeun is a normal high-school student who dreams of becoming an architect but gets bound up with some bullies who bully the soul out of her. literally. its gruesome so trigger warning for that. she decides she is gonna end her life but in the end she realises those bullies are not worth her throwing away her whole life so she starts plotting revenge and lives for it. after 18 years the bullies have their respective happy lives and no guilt or remorse whatsoever for whatever they've done in their teen years and here we have dongeun who's starting her fight against her bullies
the bullying is gruesome and i have trust issues from watching thriller dramas previously so ofc i dont believe all the people like i wont be surprised if someone betrays dongeun at the last moment or smth
dongeun has started her revenge plotting and its just gonna o down from here on so im excited for that. also lee do hyun >>
now why the 8. stars? its overhyped. its not overrated but overhyped. like if ur not on social media or watching it on air thats the only way ull be truly able to enjoy the whole thing. for me ive seen so many edits ik what happened ik what the summary is i basically knew almost everythin in s1 which led to me not enjoying it as much as i thought i would. i dont think ik how this will end tho so lets look forward to it

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Good, but sending an odd message

The Glory is a gripping drama that kept me watching from episode to episode. I really liked the overall story and found myself hooked on how the plot unfolded. However, the show presents a very intense and somewhat unusual approach to dealing with bullying. While the protagonist’s journey for revenge is emotionally strong, it sometimes felt like she had help a little too easily, with several people supporting her despite not having a very convincing reason to do so.

The cast did a great job, and the acting felt genuine and impactful. The music wasn’t really my style, though it didn’t take away from the experience either. Overall, it’s a compelling drama with a strong storyline, even if some parts feel a bit stretched or dramatic. If you like emotional thrillers and revenge plots, this is definitely worth watching.

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Revenge but it's a slow burn

The foundation could've been written better. I get it's a revenge based story but there isn't much to the foundation. Why are the bullies, bullies? How do they get away with it?

I would've enjoyed the younger actors getting more details and story. Yes bullying is bad and it shouldn't be done. It just feels like they missed a chance to give us context. I have had friends that ended up being bullies and had to stop being their friend because they couldn't or wouldn't change. It's clear there's one main bully, why are the rest still that person's friend??? Context would've given this a 10.

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The Glory- A game of Go

The Glory- A game of Go

From episode 1-8, I have been so hooked on the plot of this drama. I think it’s my first time seeing a school violence kdrama where the victim retaliates in such an interesting and well-planned way ad I’m enjoying this new take.

Although some of the line deliverance is slow (like most kdramas), the plot itself moves at a steady speed so it isn’t at all boring.

Song Hyekyo: I haven’t seen her play such a calm yet devious character and I am definitely impressed. She’s done a great job so far. As for her character, Dongeun, I am highly impressed with how the writers developed her- she changed in an fascinating yet comprehensible way which I liked.

Lim Ji-Yeon: WOW WOW WOW. I first saw her in High Society years ago and thought, ‘Aw, they should give this cutie more roles!’ CUTIE?!! I hated her character so much that I can’t look at her without associating her to Yeonjin- what a fantastic job she’s done. I’m looking forward to more great acting from her. As for Yeonjin herself, I really don’t understand how she thought she’d get away with lying to her daughter. Sooner or later, the kid would grow up and ask questions so what was her plan..?

Shin Yeeun: Sometimes I feel like I hate young Yeonjin more than the older version. Her expressions send me into literal RAGE! I can’t believe how impactful her acting was even though he has very little screen time compared to older Yeonjin.

Park Sunghoon: I loved him in Squid Game S2; I hated him here. Brilliant acting, mister.

Lee Dohyun: I refuse to believe someone who looks like him waited for the same unresponsive girl for 8 years- it just didn’t work for me. However, the way he was a mere loser in the beginning but had a lot more to his personal story later on, was very surprising.

The casting is PERFECT.

There are so many things that really caught my eye and held great significance which added to the plot: the significance of Go, the green shoes (and its painting), the ‘mememto mori’ tattoo and the tape covering it, the garden of devil’s trumpets… Whoever came up with all of this: hats off for the little details because I’m someone who loves little details.

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Great revenge drama!

I really liked this drama especially the twists and turns it takes which keep you engaged in the plot. It never wavers or drags. There were few light moments, so keep in mind that you will be watching a lot of intense violence and cruelty in these episodes. Song Kye Hyo shines in this drama in a very understated way as the adult victim of high school bullying who sets out to take revenge on her sold classmates.

The drama depicts a society in which victims are terrorized by the rich and powerful who get away with crimes by buying off the right people. In this case, Moon Dong Sun (Kyo) is a student who is targeted by the worst bullies in her high school. Her torment is exacerbated by the fact that her cry for help falls on deaf ears and, with money, anything can be swept under the rug. The sense of hopelessness this creates propels our FL into action as she wills herself to live for revenge.

Kyo, and actress Jung Ji Soo, play the older and younger Moon Dong Sun respectively. They masterfully bring the tormented teen and steel-willed adult together to birth an avenging angel, ready to mete out punishment on her perps, while discovering the humanity she thought lost thanks to the help of caring adults she meets along the way

The perps are unfortunately depthless caricatures of how school bullies behave. Their cruelty is so over-the-top that it transcends the line between standard bullying and criminal deviancy. There is no backstory on any of these perps. You only get a glimpse of their family lives and the subtle hints of the superficiality and lack of genuine care to explain their deviancy. In the end, there is more to these teenagers than just normal teenage aggression, and this is done for the sake of dramatic purpose. The drama could not be as compelling were it just a case of high school bullying, as that kind of behavior is often forgotten with time and maturity. So, making them straight up criminals makes for a stronger plot and justifies our heroine's need for revenge.

The surprising thing is that these perps have not lost touch with each other. They are all tied together by their criminal secrets, love affairs, and selfish intentions. There is no camaraderie or love lost among these five bastards, and you wonder why they still suffer each other? At least it makes it easier for Moon Dong Sun to plot her revenge.

The romance angle is the weakest part of the plot. There wasn't any chemistry between the female and male leads. I wish they could have thought of a better way to keep them in each other's lives without resorting to that tired old story. Perhaps that was the respite to the heavier plot points.

It was still a better written drama than I was expecting, so I am pleased with the results. It also had a nice soundtrack and I would recommend this to audiences that like revenge plots.

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watch it

i really enjoyed watching this, it shows her getting her revenge the way she had planned to. The acting was truly amazing and really wowed me, everyone played their role amazingly and for how much of a sensitive and dark topic it is there is nothing i can criticise them on. The whole time i definitely felt on edge and felt very sympathetic for the main character, the reason why i gave emotion 7 is just because yes i did feel a lot of things but not what i thought i was going to feel. The plot twists were so on point and jaw dropping like you definitely did not expect it to happen! I think it is kinda a slow burn but not at the same time ykwim? like it goes into DEPTH about everything and i feel like the proper proper revenge only takes place in the last few episodes but i didn’t find one episode boring and it always left you on the edge of your seat for sure!!!

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