I'm back after a long break! I've been watching non-kdramas, watched Extraordinary Attorney Woo and didn't finish it, and was also busy with other hobbies. But I was trying to make my Netflix subscription worth it and The Glory received rave reviews so I decided to watch it and really enjoyed it.
The Glory is about Moon Dongeun (Song Hyekyo) who was bullied in school by 5 classmates led by ringleader Park Yeonjin (Im Jiyeon), and her elaborate revenge plan to take them down in adulthood. It was released in 2 parts on Netflix but I waited till the second part was released to watch all 16 eps.
The show was written by star scriptwriter Kim Eunsook, so expectations were high, and I am happy to say that I think this will be included as one of her hits rather than misses. I always enjoy shows where the writer has clearly put thought into crafting a proper plot and not just meander unnecessarily, or when seemingly throwaway characters or scenes in the beginning play an important role at the end, and this drama served it in spades. Seemingly unimportant characters serve important roles, and many things that were a coincidence were really not a coincidence. I also enjoyed that many scenes were non-linear and made the audience focus. Some things were spelled out, but many revelations required the audience to pay attention to connect the dots. For example, the fact that Jeon Jaejun (Park Sunghyun) raped the victim who fell from the building, Sohee, was never explicitly said, but the audience could tell because Jaejun asked Dr Yeojung (Lee Dohyun) about it, and Dongeun remarking that "I guess he didn't just play basketball." Of course, there were also lucky coincidences, like the real estate grandma being the one who saved Dongeun (or vice versa) in the past, but generally I thought the writing was very solid. So many awesome clapbacks by Dongeun with the bullies, and of course, all the "Yeonjin-ah" monologues.
I have to admit I've never been a fan of Song Hyekyo nor her acting. That Winter The Wind Blows was one of the most boring shows I've ever watched and based on all the reviews of her other shows, she's always felt like a piece of marble to me. Beautiful and cold and expressionless. But it worked in this show because her character was supposed to be cold and expressionless. And during the scenes which required some expression, like the moments of levity with Kang ahjumma (the wonderful Yeon Hyeran) or the confrontations with her mother, she was perfectly serviceable. So now at least I wouldn't actively avoid her shows. I've never even watched Descendants of the Sun despite it being THE biggest show in the mid 2010s. Jung Jiso as younger Dongeun really impressed me too, especially since she was kind of forgettable in Parasite and I've only seen snippets of Imitation which was not the greatest vehicle to showcase acting.
Im Jiyeon rightfully received lots of praises being the main villain, making us all collectively hate despicable and evil Yeonjin. Special mention to Shin Yeeun as high school Yeonjin, who felt even more hateable to me, especially since she really didn't have anything to lose at that time and was truly the ringleader. I loved Kim Hieora as Sara, the druggie artist, and I have to agree her eyes do kind of give off the high look which was exactly what got her casted for this part. She was also great as the North Korean mother in Extraordinary Attorney Woo and I'm excited for her future projects. I enjoyed the performances by the other 3 bullies, Jaejun, Hyejeong (Cha Jooyoung) and Myeongoh (Kim Gunwoo) as well, and honestly thought the bully gang in the adult days was super entertaining haha.
For male lead Lee Dohyun, I know many people didn't like his role, but I honestly thought it was okay and it made sense that Dongeun intentionally approached him. I agree with the comments that SHK and Lee Dohyun really didn't have that much chemistry. It was even worse since YeoJung was supposed to be sunbae, but SHK looks visibly older. It would have probably been more palatable if they had a more age-appropriate male lead, even if his role in the story was the same. Jung Sungil as CEO Ha Doyoung, on the other hand, got everyone swooning for him. I really liked the scenes of him playing baduk with Dongeun - so beautifully acted and shot! I liked how his arc really befitted the character and that he never really joined forces with Dongeun, but rather did just enough to protect what was important to him (his reputation and child). Props also to the child actress of Yesol who was adorable and broke my heart when she was ostracised and went to hug her dad while crying.
Finally, all the praises to Yeon Hyeran as Kang Hyeonnam, the maid turned spy ahjumma. I just loved her character from the beginning to the end, and Yeon Hyeran effectively conveyed the various sides of the character, from abused wife to loving mother to burgeoning spy to Dongeun's semi-friend. And all the mixed emotions portrayed when she identified his body and buried him. Give her all the awards!
One common sentiment was that the show felt like a movie, which I agree with. The cinematography was beautiful, with excellent use of light and darkness. One of the scenes I remember was when Yeonjin broke into Dongeun's house filled with all the pictures, and the use of light was just sublime. This is also one of the shows where those lyrics-filled OSTs were kept to the minimum, and music was effectively used to heighten tensions but never distract.
All in all, The Glory lived up, or even exceeded my expectations. It was a simple revenge story, but was well-crafted, well-acted, and definitely worth 16 hours of your time with a very satisfying ending. I'm expecting it win big at Baeksangs, and also looking forward to more Netflix kdrama offerings.