The Glory

"There will be no forgiveness, and so... there will be no glory either." - Moon Dong-eun

The Glory is a South Korean television-series written and executive-produced by Kim Eun-sook, molding a harrowing tale about a disfigured victim of high-school violence that carefully plots her revenge against those who have wronged her. Song Hye-kyo delivers a commendable leading performance as the scorned woman, Moon Dong-eun, who has cashed in all her chips toward this path of no return. Ahn Gil-ho provides masterful direction for the series. Allowing the viewer to take a backseat to this grand scheme orchestrated by Dong-eun, narrating every step of her growth to the leader of the oppressive group, Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon) whom I must admit was the perfect choice to portray an apathetic villainess. The casting for this series is impeccable as the performers handle their roles seamlessly. The storyline provides a valuable lesson to the audience on how we reap what we sow. Be weary of your actions and whom they may affect because everything in life has a price. The series contains valuable social commentary on the upper class abusing their power and how they are able to evade heinous crimes such as human humiliation and abuse, tying into the severity of school bullying within South Korea. Showcasing very gruesome and grotesque scenes which are not for the faint of heart.

The series' weakness lies within it's predictability as the viewer can already tell how this storyline is going to end. The theme feels familiar to other popular revenge stories such as 'Lady Vengeance' and the 'Kill Bill' duo-logy. But I believe the narrative is truly about the journey rather than the destination and this certainly has been a memorable experience as I unapologetically binge-watched the season in two days. I am looking forward to the release of Part 2 and the conclusion of this potently written drama.

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Binge watched on a sleepless night and glad I did!

First off the bullying scenes are quite harrowing some of them bought me to tears There's an underlying message as in all Korean tv/movies about how class rules society shown as how a young Dong Eun has no one to turn to because of her lowly standing and her perpetrators are giving free rein due to their parents wealth and standing in society.

The tension build up and complexity of the characters makes you care what is going to happen something a lot of series forget to do these days.

The acting is superb especially by Song Hye Kyo who plays Dong Eun,she manages to play her anger frustration and sadness brilliantly.

But the real showstopper for me is the little girl who plays Ye Sol...she steals every scene she is in I could watch her all day!!!!!

Well worth watching and cannot wait for march and part 2.

It's a very particular revenge story different from any other one in the market present. Directing, script and casting are all GOOD. Love the the storytelling and Kyo's facial expressions and the atmosphere she exudes especially. The relationship between every characters are interesting to watch and won't feel dull, among which, the chemistry between DongEun and the maid I like the most, like a dim light in the dark night. Humanity warmth and thoughtfulness inadvertently and naturally reveal when DongEun and the maid meet. The Glory is all in cool tone, black, blue, purple, even red is in blue tone, which I really love. And OST cannot be not mentioned. Not only the songs but also the background music are very compatible and appropriate for the story and atmosphere.

American TV take note. The Koreans are producing some outstanding films and TV shows and The Glory is a shining example of this.

This is the first Korean TV series my wife has seen and with the last episode still to play out, she is already a fan of them.

The Glory achieves exactly what you want from a TV show like this... something you look forward to watching at the end of a busy day. It's so engaging that we have been watching 2 to 3 episodes each night, with almost no distraction from our mobile/cells phone.

The story its self has several levels to it and goes deeper than what I was expecting... and where I would normally expect a twist (had it been an American series) The Glory show catches me off guard by playing out exactly as it should do.

The sole reason for removing 1 star is it does feel a little drawn out at times, but oddly, it also works as at no time did I feel bored watching it.

As a result The Glory comes Highly Recommended!

You think Penthouse: War In Life (2020) or The World Of The Married (2020) was brutal enough?! Well, then you'll have to see this one. First 30 minutes of 1st episode was really hard to watch, not because it's bad, but because it's so good potraying how brutal high school bullies can be.

And forget Song Hye Kyo as a "South Korean Melodrama Queen". Here she's poignant and dark due to her character's constant bullying in high school. You'll only see her smile after 20 minutes into the 2nd episode and laugh after mid 5th episode. Yeah, that's how bleak The Glory is.

And season finale, 8th episode was a cliffhanger. Season 2 will be aired on March 2023. I can't wait to see how glorious Dong Eun revenge would be!

Must See 9/10.