WARNING: THIS SERIES CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, BULLYING, PROFANITY AND DARK PSYCHOLOGICAL THEMES! VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!
The Glory is a dark, psychological revenge thriller that was released on December 30, 2022. The series follows Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo), a woman whose life mission is to take revenge on the people who bullied and made her suffer during her years in high school. This K-drama is available to watch now on Netflix.
The first episode starts with a flashback to 2004, where Dong-eun is just seventeen years old and is suffering at the hands of Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon) and her group. These bullies torture her in the school gym by using a curling iron to burn her arms and legs, and they tell Dong-eun that they just want to “check the temperature.”
Dong-eun tries to report the incident to the police but they cover it up, because the police officers are friends of Yeon-jin’s mother (Hong Young-ae). Meanwhile, Dong-eun’s mother accepts a bribe from Young-ae and abandons her altogether.
Then in 2006, on the brink of suicide, Dong-eun decides to live solely for the purpose of seeking revenge against her former bullies. She starts to work in a factory and a restaurant while getting her teacher certification. Many years pass after the incident, and Dong-eun moves into a small apartment across from Yeon-jin’s home, where she starts her gruelling revenge plan against her.
The second episode focuses on Dong-eun tracking the bullies from Yeon-jin’s group and this is where we meet the main characters. Jeon Jae-jun (Park Sung-hoon) is an heir to a country club and an owner to the boutique called Siesta. Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hieora) is an artist struggling with drug addiction. Choi Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young) is a flight attendant, and Son Myeong-o (Kim Gun-woo) is Sa-ra’s drug dealer. As the episodes progress, it shows how Dong-eun plans her revenge against this group, which eventually ends badly for all of them.
Overall, the sixteen-episode drama is interesting to watch. I really enjoyed the “slow-burn” plot, where Dong-eun carefully plans everything before making a move, and the attention to detail is actually impressive.
It is unlike any other thrillers I’ve watched, which are usually a collection of “instant kills”. But this series is calculated, and Dong-eun uses psychological moves, which make the bullies blame each other in the end rather than just using violence. It all feels more rewarding as a viewer to see each one of them receive the consequences of the things they did in high school.
Not to mention, Lim Ji-yeon and Song Hye-kyo’s performances in the series are terrific. I’m so used to seeing Hye-kyo in romantic dramas, so seeing her as a cold and chilling character shows what a versatile actor she is.
Meanwhile, it was my first time watching Lim Ji-yeon in an acting role, but her portrayal as an antagonist is amazing. I noticed that she uses her eyes a lot to express what she is feeling, depending on the scene. Her acting feels so raw and real, that when she screams during some scenes it gives me goosebumps.
For the most part, the gory scenes are the ones I enjoyed the most, because I’m really into those. Some scenes are uncomfortable to watch, but I think that’s what makes you more interested and hooked into watching.
If you enjoy watching this series and would like to watch something similar, I also recommend Vincenzo and Taxi Driver! But don’t miss The Glory!
