JLM

Have to agree. I thought it was great in the beginning, have watched a few more eps, honestly...how you can spin out sooooo many eps on reminiscing about 'the brother' while covertly stealing your best friends boyfriend, all in this dreary, depressing atmosphere. Also just don't buy Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun as really young uni students. Frankly they look 30! I think Cheon Sang Yeon is what you term a vulnerable narcissist, someone who wallows in misery, because it's all about them. In the drama, she just doesn't really seem to care about anyone but herself, and this is from adolescence onward. A really unlikable character.

Absolutely wow! If you're into this genre, it's so excellent. The acting across the whole drama without exception is wonderful. Interesting that Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun also had a toxic relationship in Yumi's Cells. IRL they must enjoy acting together. Good to see Kim Gun Woo in another kind of role other than The Glory, which is the only one I've seen him in, he was such a sleeze. Personally I kind of agree with other viewpoints, I wouldn't want a friend like Sang Yeon, I can understand supporting her, but not getting involved emotionally, this kind of person is toxic imo.

Yes and Park Hae Joon is having his moment as well!

I think this drama is great in every respect thus far. Just wondering about 'the peaches?' What happened to them lol

It's the classic "BodyGuard, set in intense political conflict" scenario. Elements are attractive leads who are attracted to each other, business/political/social conflict. This drama ticks all the boxes, it's well filmed, cast is great, music score is great, script is pretty good. There are a few let us say beyond belief situations such as being blown up in a train seat and jumping to safety, with only a scratch, or being able to pull off a huge political rally after an assassination attempt...but well it's a drama after all. It's far from bland or dry, it is potentially maybe more of a Chick Flick because many of the main power players are women. You might something else more interesting.

She's in an amazing drama called Tender Light!

Agree, the first part of this series was so compelling, the entire plot, the way it was shot, the amazing lead actors. The second part is clunky to me, the transition into the communist regime is interesting, but somehow for me the drama does not flow well, I absolutely love Tong Yao, she is phenomenal. Every time she appears of the screen she is just electric, unfortunately I think the other cast members are not really up to par. Perhaps with the exception of Liu Yi Jun. Suddenly in ep 14 there is an attempt at light comedy with idiotic music, so thematically it's awkward and uneven. Still I would watch anything Ton Yao is in, to me she's the main reason I'm still watching.

Absolutely loving this drama, in every respect. It's been so long since I've seen a Cdrama this authentic, it's a masterpiece!!! Deserves every accolade, hope it wins a lot of awards.

2 eps in, the cast is phenomenal, the plot is really interesting. It's like an older style Kdrama where narrative is all important over glossy perfect looks and cliche. I think it accurately reflects how messy life can get, how people try hard to deal with things in their own unique way, that is not always "a Hollywood movie", it's dysfunctional sometimes, there's misplaced anger which is chanelled towards the wrong person, but here everyone seems to be doing their best and the movement towards growth and connection is clearly on the horizon. For me this is such a relief from the copy paste, mediochre dramas that have been on of late, maybe except for When Life Gives You Tangerines which I thought was equally excellent.

I agree in a way, although I like him a lot. He's amazing in photo shoots and did a bit of modelling etc. So in his dramas of late he seems to be doing a fake thing like models do, and not really connecting with the role and narrative. I think as a successful actor you really need to let go of the ego, etc and totally embrace the character and the character arc. Maybe he's a bit asexual in a way, also so his connections with women are 'acted' rather than felt. There is some disconnect somewhere. Also the dramas he's choosing of late are not great imo.

Kind of cute if you can handle hyper extreme self-conscious ocd behaviour and overthinking to an insane degree (which I get was supposed to be comic). I agree with previous comment, 2 eps before bed is the perfect snooze solution. It's very well acted, and beautifully shot, great attention to costume, authenticity of the time.. However, In ep 7 when the 2nd leads encountered the poor kid who stole 2 apples, I just have to say those 2 up themselves human beings, who pride themselves on clever banter, gave TWO apples to a starving kid, with 2 sisters and a sick father, that will go far....until the kid gets a job at the news agency a week from now, guess they can starve till then. SML felt so smugly proud of this noble act. I guess the writers thought this gesture would sufficiently change the SFL's contempt and disdain for that idiot. Soz, but this annoyed me so much, amidst let's face it a pretty simple plot. Also I thought the narrator was annoying and totally redundant.

Soz but I disagree, imo The Glory was an examination of how bad and extreme school bullying is in SK, based on an actual event. Not to say it doesn't occur like this in other countries. It's basically a very slow revenge plot. I thought it was so very SK in flavour and narrative, playing GO etc The acting was off the charts excellent, just a fantastic drama.

OMG still on ep 1. everyone is having a emotional epiphany after hearing KMY singing and playing the piano, lol

Yes, I listen to a LOT of R&B etc, I'm pretty familiar with some of the best vocalists, bands, etc not necessarily Kpop just really good musicians like ZionT, George etc. and I've noticed that they like the female vocalists airy, and light not like say Aretha, that kind of powerhouse voice. You're right they could have dubbed in some kind of really excellent vocalist, if she's really not that great, for the sake of the story.

Production companies in SK were have a hard time financially in part b/c lead actors/locations etc etc were so costly and other factors, so they started collabs with eg. Netflix to appeal to a wider audience, make a lot more money, pretty much dilute their content, copy/paste and rely on idol good looks/charisma rather than phenomenal narrative, scripts, cast. etc. Having said that, I still think some Kdrama over the last few years are pretty good, compared to western drama where I have a hard time finding a really good one.
I think The Glory, Hyena, World of the Married, When Life gives you Tangerines, My Liberation Notes, Little Women, Love to Hate You, Our Blues, Military Prosecutor Doberman, Crash Landing were all pretty good.

His acting in Tail of the Nine Tailed and Bad and Crazy was not that bad!!

I've only watched ep 1. but I was really hoping this would be great because Divorce Insurance was beyond terrible, and I really like Lee Dong Wook.

It's interesting I've listened to a lot of female Korean vocalists/singers and they tend of have soft, throaty, gentle sounds, they rarely belt it out like eg. American vocalists, where the voice is powerful and seems to come more from the chest, I think that might be a Korean thing, not sure.

Much appreciated, you're an expert!

Dw, A lot of people love it, including Avenue X