A powerful female lead and a hauntingly memorable storyline
I honestly didn’t expect The Glory to hit me as hard as it did.
As someone who’s been following Chen Duling ever since her brief cameo with Cheng Yi (yes, I noticed her even in that tiny role!), I’ve always thought she had a quiet charm on screen. But I’d never seen her as a female lead until now. And wow… now I get it. She absolutely owned this role. It felt like she wasn’t acting at all—more like she became this character. From the very first episode, I was hooked. Her pain, her strength, her vulnerability… all of it felt so real that I found myself looking forward to each new episode.
This drama is dark—there’s no sugarcoating it. It doesn’t try to make you comfortable. It deals with a lot of emotional weight, trauma, and the struggle to find belonging in a cold and often cruel world. And right at the center of it is Chen Duling’s character, who is desperately searching for something we often take for granted: a place to call “home.”
What I really love about The Glory is that it doesn’t romanticize her pain or turn her journey into a fairytale. Her progress is messy, painful, and slow, but so powerful. Watching her grow stronger, fight back, and begin to heal is honestly inspiring. She carried so much emotion in her eyes. Her character went through so many layers of loss, anger, fear, and quiet hope, and she delivered all of it!
I really, really wanted her to be happy in the end. There were moments where I truly believed she might finally get her peace, but—well, it’s a Chinese drama. There’s always someone who dies, right? It’s like an unspoken rule. And while it made sense for the story, a part of me just wished she got her happy ending without another heartbreak T_T
If you’re looking for a beautifully acted, emotionally deep drama with a powerful female lead and a hauntingly memorable storyline, this is it. And if you’re a fan of Chen Duling—or even if you’ve never noticed her before—you need to watch this. Trust me, she’ll stay with you long after the credits roll.
And a silent wish that next time, she gets a drama where she lives happily ever after :)
As someone who’s been following Chen Duling ever since her brief cameo with Cheng Yi (yes, I noticed her even in that tiny role!), I’ve always thought she had a quiet charm on screen. But I’d never seen her as a female lead until now. And wow… now I get it. She absolutely owned this role. It felt like she wasn’t acting at all—more like she became this character. From the very first episode, I was hooked. Her pain, her strength, her vulnerability… all of it felt so real that I found myself looking forward to each new episode.
This drama is dark—there’s no sugarcoating it. It doesn’t try to make you comfortable. It deals with a lot of emotional weight, trauma, and the struggle to find belonging in a cold and often cruel world. And right at the center of it is Chen Duling’s character, who is desperately searching for something we often take for granted: a place to call “home.”
What I really love about The Glory is that it doesn’t romanticize her pain or turn her journey into a fairytale. Her progress is messy, painful, and slow, but so powerful. Watching her grow stronger, fight back, and begin to heal is honestly inspiring. She carried so much emotion in her eyes. Her character went through so many layers of loss, anger, fear, and quiet hope, and she delivered all of it!
I really, really wanted her to be happy in the end. There were moments where I truly believed she might finally get her peace, but—well, it’s a Chinese drama. There’s always someone who dies, right? It’s like an unspoken rule. And while it made sense for the story, a part of me just wished she got her happy ending without another heartbreak T_T
If you’re looking for a beautifully acted, emotionally deep drama with a powerful female lead and a hauntingly memorable storyline, this is it. And if you’re a fan of Chen Duling—or even if you’ve never noticed her before—you need to watch this. Trust me, she’ll stay with you long after the credits roll.
And a silent wish that next time, she gets a drama where she lives happily ever after :)
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