The Glory Season 2 (2023)

SATISFYING!!!!

It was a great revenge drama. Whenever I felt the plan is falling out I was glad it did not. SHK's portrayal was really good and I am happy she 'BLOOMED' in the last episode and spring came into her life. The old scarred Dong-Eun transformed into a beautiful flower and she could pursue her attending classes in architecture. I think she should open a company for taking good revenge...HAHA!
The revenge for Yeon Jin was satisfying nothing is better than taking away the dream she has always aspired for. Everyone was repaid two-fold by their karma. The acting of every character was super. I hated Yeon jin but Im Ji Yeon deserves applause man!
I only hated that they divided it into two parts like this...part 1 was used for the introduction and building up the plot for part 2 but I don't feel it's necessary to divide it into two parts!

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It is everything what we need in a revenge drama.

Song Hye kyo is a queen and she has proven this yet again especially after all those dramas that came before it and she was taunted for her acting. I felt her every emotion in this drama. Her pain, agony, guilt and her efforts to hold back her anger. It was a long journey for her character to achieve what she wanted and unlike many dramas where it all ends with revenge, I loved it that she felt remorse for everything. That makes a difference between a pure evil and a pure hearted human being. I couldn't hold back my tears in which she remembered her past when she was not involved in bullying.

The story continues from where we left and it felt great to see karma hit all those bullies who made her life a living hell. But big applause to all the negative characters of this drama. Their acting was so good that I hated them to the core. It was satisfactory the way it ended. The music was great, cinematography was mesmerizing and as I said acting was top notch even those adorable kids.
Now that I have said all the good things, it's time for all the negative points.

First of all I felt no depth in all the negative characters. They were just pure evil. There was no grey side in them. I could understand if they had some traumatic past that turned them into this kind of people but we don't see anything that could explain their psychotic behaviour. The same goes for the man who killed ML's father. I mean the REASON!!! It was so dumb that I still cannot digest it. If he had some sort of past with him or anything along those lines I could atleast teeny tiny bit understand that behaviour but seriously ?... Correct me if I am wrong but as far as I have read even Psychopaths don't kill someone who tries to save their lives. I dunno perhaps I was expecting little bit more from his story as he looked pretty interesting character and could add extra depth in ML's story. ML's character was fine and pure relief tbh whenever he came on screen it was like a fresh breath in all the dark and emotional mayhem of FL's life.
Another psychotic character was FL's mother. I just can't....sigh. Why just WHY was she so damn annoying. Not an ounce of love towards her very own child. What was the reason? Nothing! She just doesn't care at all. I really thought towards the end she might change. I thought when she will see her scars and all she would change just for once but ...nope no character development.
I didn't see any guilt in any negative character in this drama.
There is one more thing that I found really unnecessary and people might not agree with this. But I really want to point it out because it seems that it has become a trend in many Kdramas to have all those s*x scenes. I just don't see in what manner do they add anything in the storyline. Not that I find it bad or something but I am so tired seeing naked people in most of the western dramas these days already. Coming from an Asian family these kind of scenes are big no if you want to watch shows with your family. I love watching kdramas with my fam and just because of such scenes I just can't do that.

To conclude it all it is definitely one heck of a drama that you would not like to ignore. I am so happy that Song Hye kyo chose this role. She was amazing in this.

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A good revenge show

The story flow is smooth and keeps you hooked till the end. Most roles were delivered decently.
It’s a breakthrough role for Song Hye-kyo and she seemed to do her best. Hope she will take on more challenging roles like this. Been a fan of Lee Do-huyn since Hotel del Luna. A bit sad that he only plays a supporting role here. Still find several of his scenes mesmerizing. Impressed with Jung Sung Il here, very captivating with minimal acts. Yeom Hye-ran does not disappoint, hope she gets some awards from this role.
Besides, the romance part is not convincing in my opinion. Have to say I like the revenge formula of the writer. Overall an enjoyable show to binge watch if you are in the mood for revenge genre.

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Needs to be watched Twice to fully appreciate

Don’t go in expecting 11/10 and you will be fine.
That was my mistake which is why I will give it a 8.5/10.
*edit - rewatched and giving it a 9.5/10. I appreciate it more now but still not a 10.
Rewatching allows you to appreciate all the nuances and easter eggs. Worth the time.


Story & Plot:
It is a good revenge story with a pretty tight, and slightly unrealistic plot. The last 2 episodes were a little rushed too.
Unrealistic because she wouldn’t have been able to achieve her goal without her rich doctor boyfriend. Let’s be honest. Also, everything she does is not new. We can kinda predict.
I did like the buildup and how each episode ends with a cliffhanger that does not immediately get explained within the first minutes of the subsequent episode. You need to be patient and watch through their flashbacks.
For the good parts - she’s smart, she’s determined, she’s hardworking, and she knows her strategy.

Acting & Emotions:
This gripped me. Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun both made me cry with their acting. More of SHK. I love how calm she is facing the abusers (most of the time) but put her mom in front of her and she loses it.
The last episode attempted suicide scene was one of the more heart wrenching and unexpected scenes to me (also, unrealistic how she got saved). It just hits so hard.
SHK also carried a lot of emotional and challenging scenes by herself. Kudos to her.

Cast & Chemistry:
The Abusers are fun and hilarious to watch but they probably should stop screaming so much.

Dong Eun/Yeo Jung - they make a nice couple. The age gap was a little glaring to me but not a major issue or problem.

Dong Eun/Do Young - I ship them. It’s wrong, but I wholeheartedly ship her with this oppa. His gaze, my god.

Park Yeonjin - I want to rant that her bitter end was not harsh enough considering 16 episodes of buildup.

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I'll be that missing 1%

Honestly this has become one of my favorite dramas. Throughout the entire thing you experience so many emotions and there are tons of plot twists and suspense. I do understand this drama has been pretty controversial but it honestly shines a bright light on bullying and just how serious it can get. Ofc it is a bit unrealistic when it comes to the revenge part but it's still interesting to see. There's everything from suspense to cute love interests (if im being real, Yeo Jung is THE standard lol). It was like watching HUGE domino affect.
The entire story honestly made me feel so many emotions and getting to see Dong-Eun get her revenge in the best way possible was so satisfying. The ending is FAR from disappointing but really I hope we get a sequel for Yeo Jung.

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You can't hurry love and you can't hurry revenge but you can turn down the volume

Part two of the story keeps teaching us that revenge takes time, you can´t hurry love and you cant hurry revenge... However you can apparently scream a lot so before you watch this you may want to turn down the volume or keep the mute button close as there is more crying, yelling and screaming than dialog in this season of this drama, that I yet again do not get why they had to split in to two...

The cast is lovely, scenery lovely there is a bit more blood and splatter than there was in season one and also more of Lee Do Hyun (but not nearly enough), the development of the story is pretty interesting some twist more predictable than others, but I would say it is a well paced, well thought of story with very few plot holes and unnecessary turns that create a beautiful web of revenge and friendships gone all over the place. Having the most unnecessary part of this drama be splitting it in two.

I hated the mothers voices in this drama but loved every single portrayal of motherhood here, letting some moms be selfish, others selfless, and some more of the found family type. Giving us a lot more evil than good.. And honestly I love it.

While there is some romance in this, it is not nearly enough to satisfy a romance lover like me but than again it is not a romance, so I guess the pebbles of romance we get should be considered a bonus to the otherwise thrilling screaming plot.

All in all a really decent story, easy to bing (an afternoon will do) and fun to watch... Just mind the screaming.

P.s. I hate to say this but Song Hye Kyo had better chemstry with Jung Sung Il than Lee Do Hyun, almost making me forget that his character (Ha Do Young) is a superficial sexist jerk deep down inside.

Also what I said about part one (linked as a comment) still goes

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gostei, porém nem tanto

Esperava mais desse final. Não falo isso me referindo ao último episódio, afinal de contas eu amei ele. Mas, no geral, essa segunda parte ficou muito corrida. A parte em que ela se vinga de verdade das pessoas foi quase em um episódio só. Foram dezesseis episódios só pra isso? Teve coisas que eu particularmente não entendi e vou ter que rever novamente pra tentar entender.
Bom, pelo menos a atuação desses atores continua fod*4 como sempre. A MINHA VINCENZA MARAVILHOSA ARRASANDO COM O MEU CORAÇÃO AAAAAAAAA.
Queria que mostrasse como que vai ser a vingança do médico. Fiquei MUITO intrigada mesmo pra ver a nossa protagonista como carrasca dele. Casal lindo lindo lindo meu deus. Só poderiam beijar mais, né? Sim, eu sei que o foco do dorama não é no romance, mas é impossível não ficar shippando eles. É isto e um beijo da Anitta <3

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Revenge served a bit too cold

After the massive setup done in part 1 I have to say I was expecting some more extended suffering for some of the offenders. I was hoping Yeonjin would have something done to her face, both because her beauty was clearly important to her and Yeojung being a plastic surgeon, I was just hoping for more from that scene when she's at his clinic. Speaking of Yeojung, we never see him do anything too psychotic and so I was also expecting more from his character in this second part. After learning more of the awful thing Myongoh did I wanted his character to go through it more. I loved that the development of each individual's downfall never directly implicated Dongeun, because it shows how smart and well crafted every step of her plan is, there were just moments I wanted to see more be done. I still massively enjoyed this show and appreciate Dongeun having a chance at being happy.

By far my favorite scenes in the second half of the show were: Jaejoon pummeling the pedo teacher, then Doyoung beating him up; Hyunam slapping Yeonjin 2x; and Dongeun making Yeonjin's mother betray her.

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So Dam3 good!

I devoured this final 8 episodes of part two. The first part left us full of suspense and dying to know if the tables were about to finally turn and if Yeon-Jin’s true colors were about to be revealed. Gah! I don’t know how it’s possible but the second part was even better than the first! Hands down this is definitely one of the best revenge drama’s I’ve watched, it’s currently in second place on my list. I loved it, its heart poundingly thrilling. I couldn’t wait for them to get what they had coming to them, and at the same time the ending had me sweating. It was beautifully done. I definitely bawled at the end and I’m so happy with how everything turned out. I have to say it’s HyeKyo’s best work yet! Great Job Netflix!

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One of the best revenge dramas

First of all no hate to any of the actors REMEMBER PEOPLE THEY ARE ACTORS THE CHARACTERS THEY ARE PLAYING ARE NOT HOW THEY ARE IN REAL LIFE!!!!

This drama is amazing, I really enjoyed watching all the bullies being turned and destroyed.

☆My Thoughts☆
•I'm going to put it out there I was so happy when Jae Joon beat up that creepy primary teacher, I'm not gonna lie I was happy Ye sol saw her bio father/uncle in the worst way.

•That church scene was disturbing I was not expecting Hye Jeong to do that I was like Woah SLAY BUT DAMN
•Is it bad that I really like Hye Jeong? I'm not defending what she did to Dong Eun but I was happy that Dong Eun was like "Here blind Jae Joon get your revenge".

•I'm so glad Jae Joon is dead yay I was laughing at his demise he went from cursing to begging for help to back to cursing

☆DONG EUN☆
•I'm so happy that Dong Eun revenged worked in the end and she got her happy ending.
•I never realised until I saw a edit later how Dong Eun and So Hee were friends it made sense when she said "we are both 19 now" and the mother knowing who she was.
•Wow the parallel between the old landlady and Dong Eun no wonder she says that Dong saved her life, they both saved eachother that day.

°I love how after her revenge was done she helped the love of her life with his.
•I love the way Dong Eun shoes her scars she isn't afraid of people seeing them anymore I'm so proud of her

☆YEO JEONG☆
•My thoughts on Yeo Jeong changed I love how he did everyting for Dong Eun, always there to protect and ready to fight beside her, in eps 10 when Yeonjin went unconscious I was like oooo what's gonna happen?
•Yeo Jeong was the right partner to help Dong Eun with her revenge.
•He was so calm, composed and innocent when he was around the bullies behaviour which is perfect to strike them off guard.
•He's eyes go completely evil when looking at Yeonjin (which is ironic since the actors are now dating) to loving towards Dong Eun.

•I want to see Lee Dohyun play (I know this sounds awful) a psychopath.
•I was like wow that was smart putting the DNA from her foot wound to Son Myeong Oh nail.

☆KANG HYUN NAM☆
•When she slapped Yeonjin after her husband died I screamed "YES MRS KANG"
•When she applied her lipstick it was a beautiful indicator that she is free
•I'm so happy Mrs Kang was free from her abusive husband, I nearly choked on my water when her husband was run over WARNING DON'T EAT OR DRINK DURING THAT SCENE YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
•I was so scared that she was going to be killed when Yeonjin found her and threatened her, when she started to trail Dong Eun I was like THE BETRAYAL but then I was TRICKED.
•When Mrs Kang husband mentioned the Philippines I was like YAY NY MOTHERLAND IS GETTING A SHOUTOUT PROUD HALF FILIPINA HERE.

☆DO YEONG☆
•I'm so happy he killed Jae Joon.
Do Yeong shocked me when he said he was staying with Yeonjin, I was like well you'll go down with your wife.
•My thought on him changed after he divorced her and took their daughter I was like awwww he wanted his marriage to work for the sake of his daughter but I'm happy they got there happy ending.

☆YEON JIN☆
•I was so happy when her daughter Ye Sol didn't want her or forgave her.
•I love how in the end she gets bullied in jail KARMA IS A BITCH
•I absolutely hate Yeonjin but her outfits AHHHH I WANT HER CLOSET
•The way she kept gaslighting her husband "girl your husband isn't dumb he is questioning his life choices".
•When the shaman was possessed with Yoon So Hee "spirit" freaking out Yeonjin was amazing it gave me absolue chills.
•The way that she tried to cover up her downfall with Sara, I'm happy Sara got her turn in revenge with the videos of teen Yeonjin.

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Forgiveness Is Not Always the Answer--Broken Systems that put Abusers First

As a victim, the abuser becomes your entire world--you remember their face, their expressions as they hurt you, and the torment you suffered. School bullying is not only a reality for many across the world but a deeply rooted issue in Korean schools. The extent of school bullying, in The Glory, was truly an eye-opener. The Glory delves into how one case of bullying becomes a deeply rooted seed that grows and rots within a person, affecting the individual’s life completely.

With the metaphor of the game Go as the background within the plot, we as the audience are given a foundation of Dong-Eun’s revenge--surround your enemies and tighten your boundaries around them, in a battle of silence. Once you’ve completely surrounded them you can close in on them. In essence, Go, and Dong-Eun’s revenge is to surround her abusers before they even know that they’ve been surrounded. A strategy that is meticulous and clever.

One of the main plot elements that the drama delves into is that a bully, after all the trauma they’ve committed towards an individual, can move on with their lives in blissful and willing ignorance. The show questions the justice system and how to deal with corrupt authorities at all levels. Dong-Eun was not only failed by the police, but she was failed at every institutional level: by her family, her teachers, her school supervisors, and the police. So, when those authorities, that are supposed to keep justice in check, fall apart, then what’s to stop bullies from doing harm?

While the abusers move on with their lives, Dong-Eun is forced to live a life where she is stuck within her high school era where she was physically and verbally abused. The show wants the audience to understand that in a world where there is systemic corruption on all levels, how can one simply forgive their abusers and allow them to continue their cycle of violence?

Dong-Eung was abandoned by everyone, society failed her--as it does for many victims. Societal justice is in favour of the abuser rather than the abused. In Dong-Eun’s school, her friends can’t speak up because they’ll be targeted. There are no repercussions, from authority figures, towards the abusers.

If society will not keep them accountable, nor the police, nor the people around them, then who is left to stop these cycles of violence?

If Dong-Eun had not gone through with her revenge then each of the abusers would have continued to bully those around them. We can see this in the way Yeon-Jin treats her co-workers, Jae-Joon treats those below him, and Myeong-oh treats his employees. Every one of the abusers does not mature and continues to spread their violence--hurt people, hurt people.

My favourite aspect of The Glory is that it portrays revenge from a different perspective, where forgiveness is not the answer. Forgiveness doesn’t solve everything. If Dong-Eun forgave those around her they would’ve continued to hurt others, just as she was hurt.

One scene that really articulates this thought is when Da-Yeong and Yeo-Jeong are playing Go. Da-Yeong asks Yeo-Jeong if he genuinely wanted to help Dong-Eun, why does he not encourage her to forgive? Yeo-Jeong responds that for some people taking revenge is the only way for them to begin the next chapter of their lives and finally live for themselves. To reach their own Glory some victims must take revenge. The way I interpret this is that without a sense of rightful justice, individuals are stuck within their trauma. The helplessness that a lack of justice create stunts an individual's ability to move on with their lives and so they must turn to their own means of pursuing such justice, for Dong-Eun that is in the form of revenge.

The ending is one that makes the show truly one of my favourites. It is a satisfying ending that is well deserved, After all the turmoil and abuse Dong-Eun has been through we as the viewer desperately root for her to win. Dong-Eun uses the selfishness and narcissism of those around her to create the downfall and domino effect of revenge toward her abusers. Dong-Eun puts the foundation into play, controlling the pieces on the board, and effectively commits to her plan.

Dong-Eun spent a decade planning her revenge and acquiring the funds to see it through, she used the weakness of her abusers to take them down and found a partner in crime, her executioner, for her revenge. It is a harmonious ending that gives me hope that Dong-Eun will finally be free from her high school years and begin to find her own Glory in life.

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That kiss didn't live up to its expectations...

Alright, I've just finished watching this second season and I must admit I've shed too many tears. But let me break it down now.

We start the drama with the death of Son Myeong-o, and a bit of explanation of what he did before it happened, and Ha Do-young catching Park Yeon-jin in our Dong-eun apartment. From this moment on, it'll escalate quickly; if you think now that eight episodes aren't enough, you'll get to the end wondering what the heck happened in the middle.

This season is the one where we'll see Do-young grow apart from his ten years wife, getting slowly a better understanding of what happened almost two decades ago. He'll ask himself more and more questions, until finally he'll get his answers once he realizes first-hand how psycho Yeon-jin is. Still, he won't leave her, at least for now.

The plan Dong-eun has been carrying out starts to get finalized in a few details. We discover some important news here: Myeong-o wasn't the one who raped our poor Yoon So-hee, but Jeon Jae-joon. It's our main lead, Joo Yeo-jeong, that first who realizes it when the bastard asks him about an autopsy and what can get unveiled through it. Now, this changes the course of events: it'll be Yeon-jin the one to expose the pregnancy of So-hee through a «press conference», although without saying the name of the rapist.

Also, our Kang Hyun-nam and her secret identity as Dong-eun's assistant gets uncovered by Yeon-jin, that threatens her to get on her side. Of course, our ahjumma isn't stupid and talks to Dong-eun, letting her know she'll now pretend to work for Yeon-jin. Honestly, I have a mad respect for that woman and her courage: I mean, first her husband and then that bitch?!

Talking about husbands... Dong-eun is a genius, and so are the writers lol. We were waiting for that bastard to die, as our main lead promised Hyun-nam, and finally it happens. However, it's unexpected: Dong-eun makes sure the man blackmails Yeon-jin's mother, and through some «adventures»... Let's say the killer and the timing are completely unexpected.

As for Do-yeong, he finally decides to leave Yeon-jin in the final episode, which lasts about an hour and fifteen btw, and DOES SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY UNFORESEEN!! What you mean my man got his little revenge? I honestly don't understand why so many people say he's toxic, I'd love to have a father like him omg. I also loved how they revealed it was him. But generally speaking, his love for Ye-sol is immense and I'm here for that.

Regarding Ye-sol herself... I just gotta love when she turns her back to her own mother. «I'm not proud of you anymore, mom». That kid's going places, let me tell ya.

And don't let me start with the landlord lady. Just few minutes before the finale we get to see what was their relationship and here's where I cried oceans. «The water is freezing, why don't we die in spring?». «I realized when you said we should die in spring that you meant we should bloom. It's been eighteen springs now and I'm waiting my time to bloom». Those lines were my absolute favorite in the whole drama. That old lady has really got my heart, she's my favorite character now.

Some people also said they would've preferred a finale with the sparkles between Do-young and Dong-eun. Here's what I think: yes, they have very similar mentalities, and yes, they really have that chemistry (especially in the first season); however, Dong-eun got closer to him just for her revenge, she never once thought of «stealing» him from Yeon-jin. Moreover, Dong-eun would've had to live with the constant memory of her past if she dated Do-young. I think her letting go of the gym and the hallways (as she repeatedly said) included letting go of EVERYTHING that came with it; that is also why she decided to leave Yeo-jeong and even herself. And what about Ye-sol? Dong-eun wouldn't have been able to live with the little girl knowing she ruined her family, even though Yeon-jin deserved it doesn't mean her daughter did.

Yeo-jeong's mother. I want her. Can I have her? Where can I get one? She's so freaking cool. She already noticed how her son was barely living through his everyday life, and how he immediately lighted up once Dong-eun entered his life. She's never once tried to stop him, despite his actions could've been considered crimes. She saved Dong-eun because she knew BOTH of them NEEDED each other to live, and her entire purpose/job is to let people live peacefully their lives. There's so much between these scenes actually, I really applaud the writers.

And what about the plot twist of Yeo-jeong always knowing Dong-eun needed him? Like man? First he goes: «I'll be your executioner, just tell me who I have to kill first», «At some point in life you need to decide what kind of person you want to become, and I decided to be your partner in crime» and many more lines, just to find out you haven't take this decision the moment she told you about her story but since the start? Oh, Yeo-jeong, what kind of a man that you are... That was so sexy of him btw, he raised my standards over the sun.

Now. If you've arrived here, you're probably asking about my title. Come on, you've probably already seen the scene. I mean, I understand the main plot is revenge, but you give me such a MAN as the main lead, you build up their relationship FOR WHAT?! That was the kind of kiss you give in middle school! Still, was much anticipated.

Overall, this revenge drama is absolutely the best. Never seen something this good, this well thought in every detail. Even the story of Kim Gyeong-ran, the third victim of the group and also the shop assistant of Siesta, was incredible. I mean, you could've predicted something, but other things were news to me. Or maybe I'm too stupid?

And that was it. One of the best dramas I've ever watched. Fenomenal acting, amazing musics and storyline. Just perfect.

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