The Glory Season 2 (2023)

It’s good I guess ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

I have a tangled mix of thoughts and feelings about this show. Overall I think it’s good, and it’s extremely watchable (I binged Part 2 in three days). I’ll attempt to do a pros/cons list.
Pros:
- the writing is overall pretty solid. Dong Eun has quite a few iconic lines of dialogue, and a lot of the character interactions are interesting. The plot is generally well paced and moved quite quickly, which helps keep you engaged. Part 2 delivers on quite a few things that Part 1 sets up, so that’s good. As a fast paced thriller you do need to suspend your disbelief, but that usually just comes with the the territory.
- Dong Eun = A+ protagonist. I love that there is no hand wringing about whether she should get revenge, she is allowed to be dark and go all out on these awful people. Song Hye Kyo does an amazing job portraying the character’s quiet strength but also vulnerability.
- The acting all around is very good. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Im Ji Yeon, she was truly a memorable and extremely hateable villain. Yeom Hye Ran also gave a great performance. The younger actors were also fantastic.
- Cinematography was excellent.
Cons:
- The romance. It’s so confusing how it just did not work for me. I don’t know at what point in the creative process the male love interest came in, but it felt tacked on. Which is odd, because it doesn’t seem like late addition: the character has an important role in the story and has his own backstory. A big problem might be the fact that the actors have no chemistry, which once again is odd since both of them are good actors. I’m having trouble explaining this, so I’ll use an example: the first time these characters say “I love you” to each other (I hope it’s not a spoiler to say that these two characters say this to each other at some point) they say it in the most bland way, in a scene where it doesn’t feel totally appropriate and there’s no real inciting event to cause them to say it. I don’t know, it seems on paper like this romance should be good but in reality it just didn’t work for me.
- The male love interest has some good lines of dialogue and his backstory is somewhat intriguing but it just never landed for me. Maybe they built too much of a puppy dog image of him initially that I just really had trouble taking him seriously. There’s also just way too much focus on him. In one sense this is a good thing, so he’s not just a one note character and serves no purpose in the story, but the last episode of the show is largely dedicated to him when this is Dong Eun’s story! I just thought that was silly.
- The violence and nudity seemed really gratuitous. I’ll once again use an example to help illustrate my point: there is a good portion of one episode where Hyun Nam is abused by her husband. We already know by this point her husband abuses her, and the scenes were so long that I was questioning why on earth we were still on this plot point when there seems like plenty of plot we needed to get to. The repeated instances of nudity and violence seemed unwarranted and like they were there for shock value, and I found it off-putting.
- Oh also the fact that this was clearly a normal 16 episode show split into two parts just annoys me on principle.
That’s mostly it. Like I said, I think objectively the writing is pretty solid, and I appreciate the unique angle on a revenge story. But the “romance,” main male love interest, and the gratuitous violence/nudity really lowered my opinion of it.

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Slow start, rewarding middle and deserved end

The Glory's part two is unarguably better than Part 1. The unravel of the story, the way every vengeance is planned and executed is extremely calculated. Also, I couldn't see other end if not the ending of Dong-eun's life, however in the last episode the series proved to be a little humane in letting her live and love. Although the last episode was interesting to watch, I think it could have followed the original premise of a cold hearted Dong-eun or else "warming" her heart throughout the episodes. Episode 15 was the best in my opinion, as it displayed the consequences of the perpetrators' actions.

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It’s beyond me how satisfied I am with this one. I remember hearing the announcement for the cast for the first part and hearing the complaints about Lee Do Hyun and Song Hye Kyo.. anyone who disapproved.. I’m so glad they were all so clearly wrong. Anyways..

Lee Do Hyun got me into this and I left with him having me wrapped around my finger.

This drama wrapped up the loose ends the first part left. It is compelling, beautifully directed, beautiful accompanying score, cinematography, all the way around this drama checks off the box. It has everything neatly out together where it’s not too jammed packed with information, characters, but it has a lot still and is intriguing. It is written well and is clever.. honestly not much to this review other than me praising.

I love the poetic justice that came to the revenge. The way I hated characters and sympathized with others. I’m so glad this drama went all out with revenge other than shying away.

I will add more to this and gush over it. But for me just finishing it let me say- I’m very impressed by everything and everyone in this drama. 10/10. Must watch- it’s very very good

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too much is too much

What starts like an original and powerful story with a lot of expensive technical support, soon becomes a real mess, with too many killers - about 7? - and rapists and whatever... Im sure the director wanted to make it big, so he/she kept taking out of his sleeve all kind of tropes and twists.
The cast was great - especially supporting parts, acting was on point, but the FL was not the best choice, and also the young villain was better than the mature one. No chemistry between the FL and the ML.
Kinda like a lakorn, but more polished.
Had they toned it down, it could have been a gem.

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Ótimo drama de vingança

Não tenho muito o que falar dessa parte 2, porque me agradou muito. No geral, é o que eu espero de uma série de vingança. Essa série tem suas falhas sim, como o final aberto sobre a vingança do protagonista masculino, gostaria que eles tivessem mostrado o que aconteceu. Outra coisa que não me agradou é o fato da vilã ter cometido os dois assassinatos, porque na parte 1 a série fez um mistério de quem tinha matado quem, e na parte 2 a pessoa mais óbvia era a assasina. Eu esperava q a parte 2 fosse impactante tanto quanto a parte 1, mas n foi. No geral, recomendo muito!.

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Good

The plot was pretty good and well thought out. I like that the FL did not give up her revenge halfway. My only problem is that my OTP wasn't the FL and ML but the FL and the villain's husband. Anyway, I am okay with how it turned out.
The acting was mostly good, but there were still some instances of good old Korean shouting. That said, the facial expressions were very on point and the director was quite clever to occasionally focus on it. The cast's clothing was also quite good, especially Yeon-Jin.
The music was good and brilliant in some instances.
Overall, the drama is worth watching and rewatching.

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Definitivamente este drama funciona melhor como um drama de 16 episódios. Acredito que o drama foi filmado para ser exibido assim, porém pelo formato das séries da Netflix serem mais compactos eles dividiram o drama em duas partes. Uma divisão mesmo. Não há uma sensação de fechamento de arco, mas simplesmente um corte. Ainda bem que esperei para ver a primeira parte logo que a segunda fosse lançada, se não fosse assim talvez eu nem tivesse visto a segunda parte.

Uma das coisas que me queixei da primeira parte foi o fato da Moon Dong se igualar aos seus algozes tomando decisões e realizando ação duvidosas. Nesses últimos 8 episódios, o roteiro tentou transferir boa parte das ações mais criminosas para os outros personagens, aliviando um pouco o peso da Moon Dong se transformar em um mostro parecido com seus algozes. Mas a pergunta que fiz lá na parte 1 permanece: sem a vingança, qual o objetivo da vida dela? Observe que ela decide não pular do prédio porque agora tinha o propósito de ajudar o Yeo Jung na vingança dele. Não foi amor, não foi perdão ou compaixão. Foi pela vingança. É uma vida triste.

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How Far Would You Go For Revenge?

I had started to lose interest in kdramas around April and slowly started moving away from it as I was unable to find a drama I could indulge myself in without quitting half way or not even bothering to catch up anyways. That was until the trailer for The Glory came out. Now, I would have to admit I am quite biased towards high school revenge plots and was pretty excited to watch this. I went in with high expectations and The Glory, without a doubt, exceeded those expectations. It was dark, gritty, it left me with that bitter feeling of revenge and hopelessness as we watched every single person involved in Dong Eun’s life absolutely fail her. And that was just what I wanted to see, the revenge of someone who has nothing to lose. In the end, I got what I came for and way more.

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A fantastic drama that could've been even better

Season 1 was an incredible build-up season and season 2 totally delivered on the expectations set by the previous one. Season 2 was a masterclass, but I felt like some things could've been better.

As anyone familiar with this drama knows, the story is about the main character's journey to achieving revenge. And I'd say that satisfaction from this drama would ultimately come from the antagonists' downfall -- and how it led to their downfall. So let's talk about who's ending I liked and who's ending could've been changed.

List of antagonists' endings I liked:
- Dong-Eun's mom
- Yeon-Jin
- Myeong-Oh
- Mr. Shin
- Yeon-Jin's mom
- Lee Seok Jae
- Kang Yeong Cheon

List of things that could be changed:
- Sa-Ra: Leading to her ending, the things that were happening to her was perfect, but the final thing she did to end everything was stupid imo.
- Hye Jeong: It would've been better if instead of her voice, her face should've been the thing taken from her.
- Jae Jun: They shouldn't have killed him. And Ha Do Young "killing" him just tainted Ha Do young's clean image.
- Kim Gyeong Ran: Her being revealed to have dealt the final blow to Myeong-Oh's death ruined things for me. Because of this, I felt like Dong-Eun failed to complete her revenge "honestly" at the last hurdle. It would've been better if she just sided with the antagonists, her existence in the drama was unnecessary to be honest.

Overall, the drama was great, and the Glory as a whole has great rewatch value. 10/10 would recommend.

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AMAZING

Definitely something i would like to re-watch when i have spare time

I will admit at first season two was a bit underwhelming compared to the last season, and the plot had a few holes in it. However, it GETS BETTER. The ending was mostly super satisfying and I loved how Dong-eun didnt just become good and forget everything that happened to her. She was still hurting, but she was getting better and Yeon-jin's punishment was perfect. however, I do feel like Jae-jun didnt get the ending he deserved, and what happened to Sa-ra?? She went to prison and then was never heard from again?? Lmao

I also wasnt a huge fan of the romance at the start but that also got better. At first I felt like it was really rushed and they were forcing a relationship between them when there wasn't any, but afterwards they became kinda cute, especially towards the last few episodes (when they hang out at the lighthouse with drinks)

The cast was one of the best i've ever seen. They all played their roles perfectly and I have nothing against them

Overall, definitely recommend and it's great to see a female badass lead on Netflix

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The most relieving drama I've watched to date

In a country where "convicts are innocent until proven guilty," perpetuators of horrific school bullying can often get away with serious crimes such as assault and, at times, manslaughter without receiving a big punishment due to either their wealth or their age. In many Korean dramas centered around revenge, the victim(s) often get revenge by breaking laws and causing harm upon their perpetuators.

What was so refreshing for me while watching this drama was that the victim did not physically do anything to achieve her goals -- all she did was trick them psychologically to turn themselves against each other and bring their downfalls to themselves, whether that be by confinement or by death. In South Korea, there are many cases where teachers look away as rich students prey on the poor. I found it exciting that, despite a very obvious difference between their social status, the FL was able to bring them down without even touching them.

I want to get kudos to the magnificient directing, writing, acting, and editing that went into this masterpiece. I'm glad that I was able to witness how Kim Eun Sook developed as a writer, from "The Heirs" to "The Glory," and how Song Hye Kyo matured as an actress. I am excited about all future works that these two women will bring in the future.

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