The Glory Season 2 (2023)

There is no glory at the end

One of the best things about this drama is acting. The cast is nothing short of perfection making the story a lot more memorable and impactful. I really cannot praise them enough. And, while everyone deserves an A+, I feel like the supporting cast outshine the leads only because the villains are much more dynamic than the main characters.

One thing I like about Part 2 is that the villains are written to be so fundamentally irredeemable, they become destructive and often self-sabotage. These so-called "friends" ultimately become each other's worst enemy making their individual endings very satisfying. The storytelling and pacing continue to be smooth without filler arcs and incoherent content. I like that writers did not concoct unnecessary plot devices to create more drama. Everything is very well balanced.

While, for the most part, the story is well written, the ending becomes too contrived with unnecessary twists blurring the lines between good and evil. The good guys become murderers and the villain become victims. But, we are still supposed to be sympathetic to the "good guys" because the villains deserved it. I guess the writers wanted to convey that the world is not fair and at the end even people who seemingly can do no wrong are capable of heinous acts. But to me it makes the good guys no different from the villains, which is very disappointing because I rather liked how the writers portrayed certain characters to be exemplary in contrast to monsters like Park Yeon Jin.

I did not love the ending because it felt like Joo Yeo Jung's revenge story was thrown together last minute. The plot reached its logical conclusion with Dongeun finally getting her revenge. I was ready for the drama to end only to be forced to watch Yeo Jung's revenge arc, which at that point wasn't that interesting. It is not because his story wasn't compelling, but because it was not properly developed early enough and was only written as a tiny side arc in comparison to Dongeun's grand revenge. The ending did not really feel like a happy ending where the main characters get their revenge and move on with their lives. Now that their roles switched and Dongeun became Yeo Jung's "executioner", they got stuck in an endless loop of revenge with the last scene showing them entering the prison with Yeo Jung father's murderer. It made me feel bad for the characters because they deserved better than this.

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"While I know I didn't grow up to be good, eventually a spring will come when I will fully bloom."

I am a long time kdrama fan and lost touch somewhere around 2018. Since then I've tried to watch so many only to drop them after one episode. I remember i used to get these insane headaches because I'd stay up till 5-6 in the morning to complete a kdrama. Happy to say that 'The glory' brought back my headaches and I finished this in a day. I stayed up till late in the morning and got all nostalgic lol. Anyway, the storyline is gripping and intense and not dramatic or dragged out.

It was refreshing to see a stoic, calm, mature FL who is only focused on her aim. She carefully planned everything. A lot of the things she did made perfect sense. She had a fire inside her and was ready to destroy everyone but was equally calm. I love the character they decided to build with this story. I was able to find some symbolism and meanings here and there which was important for the plot, for Dong eun's character, which otherwise would be tagged as plotholes. Some spiritual symbolism like the mention of deities, church and their significance in the storyline was interesting.

*Some spoilers ahead*
It was powerful that although Dong Eun never had anyone all throughout her teen years and early 20s. No friends, and her mother betrayed her which resulted in never trusting anyone, but the people she eventually chose to trust never backstabbed her. And in the end the three people who saved her were three women who happened to be mothers - The investigator, her executioner bf's mom(I love to call him executioner bf lol) and the grandma who saved her from dying. They all were the mother she never had.

I saw a lot of people saying that the FL and ML had no chemistry. Tbh, I think they had enough chemistry. Definetly there were some tension between Ha Doyoung and Dong eun but her lifegoal was not romance or even peace. All she wanted was revenge and maybe find some peace in that. Yeo Jung was perfect for her. They both had their own traumas to deal with and were reserved for that very reason. Expecting Dong eun to maybe go with Ha Doyoung would just be cruel. She never harmed Ha Ye Soul but expecting her to be a mother and raise her abusers daughter would be nothing but cruel. She doesn't deserve to go back to that hell. She will always be reminded of her bullies and would never actually get out of that life. We do not want that melodrama, especially when it took so long for her to make peace with what happened. I'm glad there were no such storyline, no humbleness, no romance that would deviate the FL from her aim. She was exactly who she was when she first started planning.

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S1 top notch, S2 not so much

S1: No revenge story is complete without first showing the deeds that need avenging. In the case of The Glory, it means sitting through scenes of brutal bullying. So you better be ready cause it’s just too heartbreaking and infuriating.

Pros:
+ Well written slow-burn revenge
+ Engaging, suspenseful, satisfying plot
+ Amazing acting
+ Strong foundation for later stages
+ Memorable dialogues
+ Great OST

Cons:
- Some scenes can be a bit boring and unnecessary but it’s not a big issue.
- ML and FL lack chemistry.

————

S2:

Pros:
+ STUNNING acting.

Cons:
- I wish we had a more powerful confrontation and revenge, more insights, less romance (maybe a little hint at the end and that’s it).
- Still lack of chemistry from both M&F leads. I always felt awkward watching their interactions.
- Some plots, scenes and deaths were UNNECESSARY (the b00bs CGI, Dong Eun’s mother being too present when she’s not worth it at all, Hyunam’s husband & Jaejun deaths..). I disliked how the drama made it so “normal” to just kill the bad guys. That’s not a great message to deliver in my opinion. There are other ways to punish these people rather than killing them.


Final thoughts:

Kudos to ALL the actors. THEY CARRIED the show, they OUTPERFORMED. I truly fell in love with each one of them. The actresses that portrayed young Yeonjin and Dong Eun are extremely talented. S1 left me speechless, was impactful, heartbreaking and gave me hope for a cold deserved revenge. Sadly, S2 didn’t really deliver on some important aspects, was poorly executed and left me disappointed. However, I am happy that Dong Eun got her revenge and happy ending. That’s all that matters..

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i was expecting more

finally watched this drama. idk if it’s because i waited so long to watch this but i had really high expectations. well, it didnt meet my expectations. first i did not understand why they did this 2 parts, was not necessary. should’ve been 16 episodes instead. anyway, acting was good i am going to give them that. song hye kyo ate, also lim jiyeon and park sunghoon too, both were so good. but the story? i’m not so sure about that. dong eun only said i am going to that and this in part 1. i thought she was really going to something big you know. she just posted an online article? and she humiliated sara. in the end she literally didn’t do anything, like they already destroyed each other. i was expecting much more from her since she talked so big. i’m still not sure if i liked it or not.

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A PERFECT 10 STARS! ???

I always loved revenge plots, whether it’s comedy or thriller. This drama just gave me everything I’m looking for in a revenge plot. I haven’t finished K-dramas in a long time—even Mouse can’t make me this addicted and entertained—so for me to be able to finish this drama is a miracle.

The ending was very much satisfying. Everyone gets their revenge, and every good person gets their happy ending. I must admit the first episodes of Part 2 isn’t the best compared to the 8 episodes on Part 1, but it was still great nonetheless. I’ve read how some people think Lee Do Hyun’s character isn’t really necessary, but I personally think the romance is a cute little addition that could balance out all the violence and gore.

The acting… JAW-DROPPINGLY EXCELLENT. Everyone acted SO SO GOOD. I can officially say this is the one K-drama with no bad actors and actresses. The music… EXCELLENT. Everything about this drama is excellent. Just super great. Super duper recommended! 10/10 ?

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Incontournable !

Pour ne pas gâcher le plaisir de la découverte, ma critique sera très courte.
Les histoires de vengeance, il y en a des tonnes ; surtout dans le cinéma coréen. Difficile de sortir du lot et pourtant, "The Glory" y arrive à la perfection.
Que ce soit le scénario (cohérent jusqu'au bout, ce qui mérite d'être souligné), que ce soit le rythme (on avance doucement dans l'histoire, sans pour autant être lassé) , le jeu des acteurs (bluffant !), tout est presque parfait ! Les personnages (secondaires) sont un chouilla excessifs, mais ils restent bien joués ça sauve le tout.
Une série que je recommande vivement : même pour ceux qui ne sont pas fan du genre. Quitte à en voire une sur la vengeance, que ce soit celle-ci !,
J'ai prit beaucoup de plaisir à visionner et que je regarderais à nouveau, à coup sûr !

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Glorious ending

The Glory Part 1 and Part 2 (2023)

Likes
1. Wow story was fast paced, acting was briliant. The whole revenge plot was perfectly developed and executed by Dong Eun. And the best part is she didnt even have to get her hands dirty. She merely exposed their sins, and they destroyed each other. I thought every bad guy in the story deserved their fate.
2. My fave scene of SHK was when she found out her mom betrayed her again and they had their argument in the apartment and the mom started the fire. Plus the last episode when she was crying after everything was done and she was at the rooftop. (It was just weird how Yeo Jeong's mom was there to stop her from jumping. Did she follow her?)
3. Yeonjin was so bratty and self entitled all through out. I cant believe the nerve of her! She bullied kids, killed 2 people, yet she refuse to admit them, and is even the one getting angry when caught. She had no remorse at all!!!
4. Loved the 2 male leads, cute puppy doctor Yeo Jeong who would do anything for Dong Eun and the hot ahjuicy Do Yeong who probably would have pursued Dong Eun in another life (my alternate ending).
5. Also loved Hyeon Nam. Hope she gets a chance to go to the US and see her daughter.
6. The other bullies were also evil. Plus Yeonjin's mom, the corrupt detective, Hyeon Nam's husband, ugly haired pervert teacher. Lol everyone got punished!!

Dislikes
1. Son Myeong O's disappearance went on for too long when he was obviously dead. And it was obvious who had the most motive to kill him, yet the writer tried to prolong the reveal by giving other characters possible motive.
2. Instead they could have focused on finishing Yeo Jeong's revenge on Yeong Cheon and showing the couple moving forward and living happily together.

Rating: 9/10

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Sweet Sweet Revenge!

One woman's revenge against her high school bullies. Every time she took one of them down, it was entertaining.

I loved it! A good show connects you to the cause of the victim and that's exactly what The Glory did. The show also evokes a lot of emotions. Anger, tears, joy, delight, shock, fear, and more. It has everything you can ask for in a revenge thriller! Just one warning - part 2 contains frontal female nudity. It's brief but was unexpected.

I have to say, that when I first saw the trailer for part 2, I was worried that this will be a torturous journey for the female lead but for the most part, things panned out pretty well. I loved the variety in the revenge for each of them as well. And for some it was unexpected but a well-deserved fate.

Moon Dong Eun emoted so well especially the moments when you see her in her raw/weak moments. I felt the same way in the first season. Again her younger counterpart portrayed her helplessness beautifully. I just wanted to hug her in some of those moments. I felt her anguish. And I was happy she formed alliances who were there to support her now.

Lee De Hyun as Joo Yeo Jung was a delight. I smiled every time he was on screen. Who wouldn't want someone like him as their supporter/executioner. I enjoyed his chemistry with Doon Eun and do wish there was a bit more. But then this isn't a romance drama so I'll take what I can get.

Kang Hyun Nam is another delightful character. Her situation is like that of many women in domestic abuse cases who have no option and stay for the safety of their children. I especially loved it when she finally cussed him out at the end as well as her last interaction with Yeon Jin when she gave her a taste of her own medicine. I laughed out loud.

Park Yeon Jin was definitely the crazy character that made this show worth it. Yet again I have to give it to Shin Ye Eun's scarier performance as the bully. Im Ji Yeon did well too but at times she felt weak. Considering everything, she seemed to get the lightest punishment as she still had zero regrets.

The show was a fantastic binge watch. Perhaps the only thing that could have been better was if Dong Eun physically beat them up. She didn't have to. I just like female characters who can fight well and I love action scenes.

The ending may seem like an open-ending but it's just left some things to the imagination. Though I wouldn't mind another season focused on that.

I would definitely recommend both parts to be seen in sequence as that's how it was originally meant to be. The second part definitely has the meat of the revenge plot.

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Messy and Misguided

What I find most problematic in this drama is its main premise -- that trauma could only be healed through revenge -- by inflicting the same of even greater pain to those who cause you pain. This shows how immature and misguided the writers of this show are. I am not in any way saying bullying or abuse should be tolerated. Not at all. But I was expecting some sort of breakthrough -- maybe an insight into the workings of the human ego and psychopathy, and realizing how carrying the burden of hate actually makes the initial suffering inflicted that much worse. I would have expected the main character to realize somewhere along the way that forgiveness and letting go -- through compassion and being the bigger, noble person -- is the true path to healing and being free from all the anger. Instead, revenge is offered, from start to finish, as the ultimate solution.

And it's not like that revenge is executed as brilliantly as I initially expected. The plot is messy, uninspired, and unfulfilling. There are so many loose threads half-baked explanations, and deus ex machina-type plot devices employed that the narrative is left confusing, unsatisfying, and full of holes. For instance, when Moon Dong-eun was about to jump off that rooftop in that abandoned building, Yeo-jeong's mother suddenly appears out of nowhere to appeal to her to keep on living in order to save her son (through helping him seek revenge, of course).

I also didn't like that they had to unnecessarily turn Do-Young into a murderer in the end. What was all that disgust for Yeon-jin, all that righteous indignation, if he was going to do something equally dastardly? And again, he happened to be right there, and Jae-joon happened to somehow wander up towards the top of a building/factory, when he couldn't see. If I couldn't see, I would not even risk climbing up a set of steps. And Do-Young had been a sort of pillar of morality throughout the drama, and they suddenly had to ruin his character by turning him into a murdered just like his wife.

I also felt bad for the ahjumma that helped the FL carry out her surveillance operations. We do not even see her get reunited or at least reestablish contact with her daughter, when her husband was dead and Yeon-jin was in jail. What was keeping her from following her daughter? Dong-eun wasn't even able to fulfill her part of the bargain of killing her husband. Could she not give the poor woman money to follow her daughter?

None of this makes for a brilliant plot or a truly layered story. I didn't feel that I learned anything useful or that this story enriched me in any way. And did I mention that the love story angle was so forced an unnatural? Zero chemistry between the leads. What an utter waste of time this was.

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