This review may contain spoilers
Hauntingly perfect.
This drama was elixir to my soul.I am drawn to dark stories, but I am also subconsciously drawn to stories where self growth and worth are paramount.
I didn’t have a great experience at school. Going to a girls school in England really messes you up on some kind of level. Permanently. Even though time does heal, which this drama showed exquisitely.
So this drama, with its roots in school and unpleasant bullying, called to my inner child (who loved seeing karma in action).
The dramas ingredients of pain, pleasure, love, hate, kindness, karma, depression, anxiety, selfishness, naïveté were simultaneously balanced and unbalanced.
So, if anyone reading this is unsure about it, give it a try. It really is healing in the regard that you are fully satisfied at the shows conclusion. That is very rare.
I felt like it helped me on a personal level work through some of my issues and regrets from my formative years. I hope it does the same for you.
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ML is the Bestest GREENFLAG in kdrama history.
An absolute impeccable masterpiece. It is the best that kdramas offer. The entire crew and cast did a phenomenal job. It is by far my favorite series. The acting was brilliant and the writing was splendid. There were so many jaw-dropping and thrilling revelations/moments from the drama that could make you feel a range of emotions: contempt, sadness, empathy, anger and exasperation. So much was going on in each episode and each moment/scene was unraveled silently and calmly but yet full of suspense.The way the protagonist was treated was heartbreaking and you could only hope that she and all the other victims involved get the happiness and justice that they deserve. The story was unfolded unexpectantly. Although the revenge plan was an excellent one, outside circumstances take place to a level I did not expect.
All I am saying is that you will enjoy every moment of this series. It makes for a fun watch. You will gasp in astonishment with each revelation revealed.
Enjoy!!
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Super disappointed
They certainly don’t make them like Vincenzo or Taxi Driver. Damn. I actually really liked part 1 because it was like a build up for what’s to come but to say I am super disappointed with this part2 is putting it mildly. It was super anticlimactic and extremely underwhelming. I honestly wouldn’t even call this a revenge drama at all, IMO it’s more like a Justice (law) drama. I wanted to see pain and suffering in a severe way but all I got was loss of voice, maybe or maybe not blindness, and 2 freaking prison sentences for our 4 major perpetrators. To say I have been left unsatisfied with the outcome of this is such an understatement.It would have been better and made more sense IMO if it was Kim Gyeong Ran that pushed Jeon Jae Joon instead of Ha Do Young.
Someone’s review was like, yeah I get all she went through and that they don’t agree with bullying and abuse but said reviewer would have preferred if she got some awakening and chose forgiveness and chose to let go instead and I’m like GTFOH with that stupid self righteous goody2shoes fake and pretentious attitude. It wasn’t you or any of your family members that was tortured so brutally for an extended amount of time, so you can come here and sit on your self righteous high horse and spew some pretentious crap so you can come across as a good person, once again GTFOH with that BS. She didn’t even get revenge, she more like got Justice, the people that were hurt/dead was not even her doing, it was their fellow perpetrators that dished to them just a little of what they actually deserved.
My rating is lower on this than part1 because my revenge fantasy wasn’t met at all and I’m super pissed that no severe bodily harm was done to the 4 of them especially to Park Yeon Jin, Jeon Jae Joon and Lee Sa Ra, the same way they did to several other people. I am an eye for an eye kinda person. In my book whatever is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
I’m going to go watch season 2 of Taxi Driver and then rewatch Vincenzo to get my revenge fix.
This was the perfect drama for the lead actress and she shone in this drama because it didn’t require her to show a lot of different range, i don’t think she can act very well, if she’s too display several different expressions, I don’t don’t how that will come across because her face always looks so frozen like she can’t move any muscle on her face. I haven’t watched decadents of the sun but I have dropped all the other dramas of hers that I tried watching, this is the only one i completed.
I definitely don’t plan on rewatching this.
Rewatch Value 3/10
Overall value 7.5/10
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glory is about dongeun who was severely bullied in high school and came back 18 years later to take revenge. in the first season we see how dongeun grew up after she was severely bullied and the second season executes it all out. for me s1 was more of a build up situation and s2 was executed perfectly. the revenge was so satisfying and the final ep?? mwah almost cried
i loved the acting sm. all the actors potrayed their characters so well. like u hate them for being the villain but u love them too cuz their acting is just so good. i loved everyone in the cast sm
the only flaw maybe was jooyeon's backstory. he needed more. like im not really satisfied with it. if ur really opening up his side of life u should execute it like u did what dongeun's story. it was totally unnecessary to bring up his past imo
other than that i loved this whole series. would definitely recommend but do check the trigger warnings
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Nicely Done and worth a rewatch
Now this is what I call a great ending to a drama. Doesn't happen much with KDramas, but I must say The Glory tied every loose end, perfect ending and as it should've beenAll perpetrators got their just desserts. It's a pity that in real life, this doesn't seem to be the case for actual victims, as the law in Korea continuously fails them.
The bullying culture in Korea, especially towards poorer, weaker people, classism and bribery is so disappointing, but sadly cannot be resolved.
SHK and the entire cast did a phenomenal job. Was current, realistic, heart-felt acting.
But my Grand Award goes to my girl Yeom Hye-ran. My word, I LOVE THIS WOMAN!! Everything she does is top notch! She absolutely deserves an award for this role. She embodied this role and made the viewer feel her pain, joy, anger. She's amazing!!
Another one who was a great villain was Lim Je-yeon. She was excellent and one couldn't help but despise her to the end. Job well done.
Seriously, the cast was really great. The husband with that inert danger to him, the fickle friends. Even our Singles Inferno 2 sweetheart, Lee So-ee did a good job.
SHK fitted the moody, sad role, as per usual, BUT THERE WERE A FEW SMILES HERE AND THERE! So, a win's a win 🏆.
All in all ..9/10
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Jaw drop, amazing.
I just finished watching The Glory and I am literally at a loss for words.I started watching this drama earlier this year and I was so sad when I thought there were no episodes left. Part 2 was so amazing, I could not stop watching once I started. This show is one of the best kdramas I've ever watched in my life. Every time I thought I knew what would happen next, something unexpected would happen.
The cast is amazing, the acting is enthralling, the emotions are visceral, and the plot is stellar.
I really hope there's another season. If not, though, I'm so satisfied by the end.
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The Bitch
The story is very good, its well-directed, well acted, blah, blah, blah. Watch it, you will not regret it. Instead of repeating what everyone else is saying, I'm going to touch on random subjects and rant for a bit.Instead of "The Glory", the title should really be "The Bitch". Its the most spoken word in the entire drama. Almost every single character says it at one point. Even YOU will say it at least once during the course of the 16 episodes. You will definitely say it during the main villainess' scenes. Speaking of which.....
The main villainess, Park Yeon -Jin, is a STRAIGHT UP BITCH! Both actresses do an excellent job in bringing Park Yeon Jin to life. You will find yourself uttering "bitch" whenever she is on screen. And really, how can you not? Her cruelty, sadism, remorselessness, and narcissism will bring forth the word from your lips. She is utterly irredeemable, and you will desire her downfall as much as the protagonist does. Speaking of which.....
Why is the protagonist always dressed in black? Haven't you noticed that? Every episode, almost every scene, she is dressed in black from head to toe. I count on one hand the number of times she wore other colors. Just because you're out for revenge, does not mean you have to be dressed up the like 'The Crow' 24/7.
Other random observations: What is up with Jeon Jae-Joon's forehead? His forehead is really, really narrow. He has a curved in hairline, it's almost triangular and I just couldn't stop staring at it every time he was on screen.
The actress who plays Choi Hye-Jeong is smoking hot. Mmm, what a body. If I had been Jeon Jae-Joon I would have chosen her instead of Park Yeon-Jin.
Why do the victims mindlessly obey the bullies' every command? The bullies tell them "Meet me at the gym or wherever" and then the victims just show up. Do they know that they don't have to show up? Guys, the word "NO" exists for a reason.
How are the bullies even friends with each other? Whenever they're together all they do is put each other down. They're constantly hanging out yet they're nasty to each other and its clear they couldn't care less about each other. What is the point in even getting together?
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This review may contain spoilers
I completed it a little while ago but I kind of miss it because it's just that good.
Story: The second part was very impactful for everyone. All the targets succumbed to their vanities and delusions of grandeur, and they totally underestimated Moon Dong Eun. The best part was that she never did anything illegal, yet she had them all dance on her palm. They literally destroyed themselves.It was a fascinating survival game as anyone would betray anyone just to save their skin. I think that Moon Dong Eun may have bet on that, and she won.
Even Park Yeon Jin’s mother abandoned her only daughter to save herself as Moon’s mother did twice and she got what she deserved.
The second part was even better than the first one as the wrath of Moon and her salvation started and ended with her bullies. I felt bad when she decided to jump off the roof of that building so, I was obviously glad that Joo Yeo Jeong’s mother stopped her.
The last part though felt a bit like something must be done about Joo Yeo Jeong and the killer who tortures his mind. Instead of that, I would have liked to see more of Ye Sol’s life with her father or Kang Hyun Nam reunite with her daughter.
Cast/Acting: The acting was out of this world. I enjoyed every bit of it.
Overall: I recommend The Glory to everyone. It is a drama that will always keep you alert, you will never be bored, you will doubt everyone’s motives, we have plot twist after plot twist and most importantly you will feel all kinds of emotions as the story unravels. I completed it a little while ago but I kind of miss it because it's just that good.
Score: 10/10
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The ending had a great "EXECUTION"
I really was so hyped for this season that when I started watching it, it kinda felt like a slow burner but after Ep3 it gradually sped up, and the story went along superb after that. I really liked the characters and their class acting. Honorary mentioning about Ha Doyoung who was amazing, Lee Sara, Son Myeong Oh, Jeon Jae Jun, Kang Hyeon Nam, Hye Jeong were fabulous in their roles. Although some parts required more answers, but summing it up, this drama had a very satisfactory ending. Loved it. Shoutout to Moon Dongeun, Joo Yeojeong, Park Yeonjin who gave life to the characters to make it awesome.Was this review helpful to you?
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Part 1 was better
The preparation stage was long and tough, but the execution was surprisingly easy - after throwing some spicy s*it into the fan, FL simply had to watch how the toxic bully clique basically destroyed themselves.FL was bluffing a lot though, her plan was not bulletproof, but she counted on rotten nature of those involved and they did not disappoint.
And way too many convenient events, serendipitous to FL's plan, also helped smooth the execution by a lot.
Still, it was satisfying to watch the main plot unfold, how FL's bullies ruined themselves and got what they deserved.
On the minus side, I'm also of the popular opinion that romance was not necessary here. Those two actors just didn't mesh together, and later reveals about ML and his fixation on FL kinda creeped me out. I'd even go so far as to say it ruined what should have been a catharthic ending with that unfinished side plot about ML's revenge.
Most of the cast did a splending job, especially the actress playing spy/housewife, she has some range, I think her role was way tougher to play than FL.
The main evil bitch was great too - loved to hate her.
Her businessman husband was also awesome, he had a lot of presence even though he was just a side character.
Some bad guys were overacting too much though, especially FL's mother.
FL was ok for playing a deadpan character, but I think a bit younger actress may have been better. ML looked like he was miscast, tbh.
Anyway, a good show overall, definitely one of the best revenge dramas out there. No cringey makjang or extreme violence like in some other revenge dramas out there that made me drop them.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Plot & Story!
Everything was planned out perfectly! Dong-Eun's long planned revenge was satisfying to watch as her bullies began to attack one another! Wish that the punishment was more severe but still glad that in the end dong-eun got back at every single person who did her wrong in the past, & ended up begin with the doctor at the end! Glad that Yeon-Jin is suffering the way that she made dong-eun suffer & that she got one no by her side behind bars! Its Overall the best k-series i came across on Netflix!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Not as satisfying as promised
The Glory promised to be a woman exacting revenge after bullies traumatised and assaulted her when she was in high school. Though there was definitely plenty of that the whole revenge aspect fell flat for the lack of planning and reliance on deus ex machinas, or luck, that came through.The plot of school violence is similar, though more extreme, than what happened to the protagonist in The Sound of Magic and in both series I’m left wondering why and how the impoverished protagonists were able to afford being in an elite private school in the first place. It’s clear social class played a motivating role for the bullies in both shows so it seems the easiest way to avoid it is just to have the working class be segregated from the seemingly more violence prone elite class. One would think private schools would do that, since they charge an arm and a leg for admission, but Korean schooling systems must be different because both protagonists, who are dirt poor, are able to attend private schools. At least in The Sound of Magic, there is the constant foraging for money to maintain admission. In The Glory, Dong Eun seems to have selective “affordism” where she’s financially able to handle the private school but not food. But anyway, I’ll focus on The Glory for this review, of course.
My expectation going into the series was that the revenge would be meticulously planned to the point where the bullies had no choice but to move into disadvantageous positions for Dong Eun to capitalise on, almost like a Go game. The calibre of planning expected were similar to those in stories and shows like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Shawshank Redemption and The Sleepers. However, aside from the mention of the Go game itself, the protagonist’s moves did not seem to have much planning involved other than waiting for the well-placed apartment to be available. A lot of the events that happened to help advance her revenge seemed fortuitous and attained by luck and nothing else. The luck in finding her greatest ally, the similarly wounded and revenge-hungry Yeo Jung; the luck in discovering the true paternity of the antagonist’s greatest weakness, Ye Sol; the luck in finding a helper in Hyun Nam; the luck in finding another helper, Gyeong Ran, a fellow victim traumatised by the same bullies; and so on and so forth all within a few years and months of the revenge culminating. It took away from the sense of Dong Eun taking her power back since most of how the bullies suffered by serendipitous means rather than by her hand.
What was frustrating was watching how little the writers actually understood about human psychology when seeing how the mother character was used as a hindrance for Dong Eun. I'm not even sure what her issue is until the char was dispatched off at a mental institution for, of all things, alcoholic substance abuse. Alcoholics don't actually linger around for years just waiting for rich benefactors to gift them with money so they can act up again and get in the way of their daughter's life. Dong Eun's mother seemed ok and sober all the years prior to the antagonist tracking her down and when the contract is made, her modus operandi isn't even consistent with alcohol abuse. Addiction isn't a switch that can be turned on and off conveniently to fulfill a plot but that seems to be how this nuisance character was written. The sense of "convenience" to the whole setup doesn't help with the whole "Dong Eun just got lucky" feel that viewers get when watching The Glory. I was left wondering why, if DE planned so meticulously, did she not tidy off this very raw and obvious loose end in her life so she can't be blackmailed with it as she had been in the past. The answer was that there's no reason but for the screenwriters wanting to just leave it till later when it's "convenient". This takes away from the organic, real life progression of the story and stretched the suspension of disbelief too much to invest in DE's "triumph", if it can be said as that.
Didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped and felt they should've invested more time in Yeo Jung's revenge, if only to prove that it's not all luck and deux ex machinas since she can replicate it again.
Was glad to see the actor who portrayed Yeo Jung as I thought he had too brief of an appearance in Hotel del Luna but this series is not something I'd watch again.
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