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The Glory Part 1 & 2 – Full Review
Welcome to The Glory Part 1 & 2 – Full Review. A young woman vows revenge on the school bullies who made her life a living hell. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
The Glory Part 1 & 2
♥ Aired: December 30, 2022 and March 10, 2023
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Netflix
♥Genre: Melodrama Thriller
♥Starring: Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun
The Story
A high school student suffers repetitive emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her rich and selfish classmates, while the parents of the bullies buy off school administrators to look the other way and ignore it. Forced off of the traditional path, the student spends years working and putting herself through school to become a teacher. But her career path is just one step in an elaborate plan to get revenge on those who hurt her. Now, after years of careful planning, she is ready to make them pay for all she has been through. And when she meets a thoughtful young doctor who understands her anger and offers to be a weapon for her in battle, she begins to see a life for her beyond the pain she has carried for so long.
The Leads
Song Hye Kyo as Moon Dong Eun
As a high schooler, Moon Dong Eun was brutally abused by her classmates. Neither her teachers nor her mother tried to protect her. Eventually she was forced to drop out and put herself through school part-time while working to support herself. During those years of struggle, she devised a long and intricate plan of revenge. Now, years later, she is finally ready to put all of her planning into action. Her prime target is Park Yeon Jin, the self-proclaimed leader of her former bullies. But she plans to take the rest of them down one by one on her road toward Yeon Jin’s destruction. And when she meets a kind and willing helper, everything seems to finally be moving in the right direction for her.
Moon Dong Eun has lived her life detached from any real emotion or relationships. She refused to allow anything to come between her and her revenge. Over the years, her anger has turned to more of a cold determination. Yet through it all, she has refused to stoop to the level of her tormentors by getting their blood on her hands personally. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Song Hye Kyo. Her cold disinterest never seems to fit into the romantic roles they have cast her in. But in this drama, I finally feel like she met a character who fit her style, and she was perfect for ir. She managed to convey the complexity of Dong Eun in a compelling way that I found fascinating.
Lee Do Hyun as Joo Yeo Jung
Joo Yeo Jung first meets Dong Eun when he is still a medical resident. And their relationship begins when he offers to teach her to play go. Even though Dong Eun suddenly breaks ties with him and runs away, he never forgets her. And fate seems to be on his side when he continues running into her through the years. Now he is a plastic surgeon looking to open his own clinic. And after seeing Dong Eun’s physical scars, he pledges to be her executioner and tells her to use him in any way she wants. In her he sees a kindred spirit, because underneath his calm exterior is a similar anger over the wrongful death of his father. And together, they just might be able to find a strange kind of healing through their revenge.
Joo Yeo Jung is known as a talented and cool-headed doctor. His mother is the current director of Seoul Joo General Hospital. She took over the role from Yeo Jung’s father after he was killed by an angry patient. Yeo Jung’s warm, calm presence is the perfect compliment to Dong Eun’s steely anger. Lee Do Hyun is an amazing young actor and he does it again in this role. He is quietly confident in his delivery and the role sits comfortably on him.
Supporting Characters
Im Ji Yeon as Park Yeon Jin
In high school, Park Yeon Jin was the leader of the bullies. She was too good to do any of the violence with her own hands, so she made her minions do whatever she wanted. As an adult, she is the only one from the group who is married. She married the perfect, handsome, successful businessman and the couple share a young daughter. Yeon Jin became a weather anchor for a local tv station, where her husband’s company sends enough funding to keep her employed, despite her mediocre performance.
Park Sung Hoon as Jeon Jae Joon
Jeon Jae Joon was Yeon Jin’s partner in crime throughout high school. The couple have carried their “relationship” into adulthood, including using each other for sex. He is the heir of the local country club. He and Yeon Jin are the actual parents of Yeon Jin’s daughter, although Yeon Jin never told Jae Joon about her. The gene for colorblindness that Jae Joon hands down to his daughter will be the evidence that exposes that truth.
Jung Sung Il as Ha Do Young
Ha Do Young is married to Yeon Jin. He is the CEO of Jaepyeong Construction. He meets Dong Eun in a Go table room and the two strike up a tentative friendship. Eventually, Dong Eun tells him the things that Yeon Jin did to her when she was younger. Do Young struggles with what to do with the information, for the sake of his daughter. Over the course of the drama, Do Young is attracted to Dong Eun, but he never acts on his attraction.
Things I Liked
♥ Clever Scheme
While maybe not altogether realistic, the intricacies of Dong Eun’s plan are beautifully subtle and powerful. Each step in her revenge is appropriate for the crime each person committed. And her ability to make it all happen without ever having to do any of the dirty work herself is inspirirng. I loved the complexitites of this plot and the way Dong Eun never rushed into making a mistake or altering her course. Each piece was methodical and well-executed.
♥ Kang Hyun Nam
I liked the side story with Kang Hyun Nam. She and Dong Eun were such kindred spirits. And I loved the push and pull of their relationship, as Dong Eun tried to hold her at arms length. Hyun Nam’s story was heartbreaking, but I was glad to watch her become a happier, more confident person, as she took steps toward her own independence. And watching her go from a bumbling housewife to a passably talented private detective was fun and rewarding.
♥ Bullies
There is no doubt that these villains are a box of crazy, but I enjoyed watching their characters slowly implode. The cast was phenomenol, and although this level of melodrama can be tricky, I felt like they all carried it well. Also a special shout-out to the crew from Season 1 who played their younger selves. I especially enjoyed Shin Ye Eun as the younger Yeon Jin. She really sold the role and it was fun to see her step into a villain character.
Things I Didn’t Like
Chu Jeong Ho
Chu Yeong Ho is the creepiest character in this whole drama. Though his role was subtle, and never in the fore-front, his story was enough to make me feel sick. And I really wish I could have seen him get the punishment he deserved. Of course, it was implied, but with every crime in this drama getting the punishment that was befitting it, this one stands out as feeling a bit unfinished. It would have been nice to have a grand moment of reckoning for Jeong Ho.
Jeon Jae Joon
Of all the character and their side-stories, I feel like we learned very little about Jae Joon. From the beginning, he was the quiet, detached one that always made you wonder what he was really thinking. And especially as Ye Sol’s father, his part was pivotal in the destruction of Yeon Jin’s happy world. I would have liked to know more about who he was and what motivated him.
Losing Her Job
After years of putting herself through school and sleepless nights working to pay for it, I expected more of a reaction from Dong Eun to the fact that she is fired from her job. It is true that the job was a means for her to get her revenge, and that part of the plan was pretty much finished, but it still seems like she would have been a bit angry or disappointed about it. Maybe walking out calmly and leaving Jeong Ho’s career in flames, was her final purpose.
The Ending
“The Glory” ends with a traditional happy ending for a revenge drama, which, in short, means the villains all get their comeuppance and the lead couple end up together. In the villain lottery, Hye Jeong is the clear winner, as the only one to walk away with both her life and her freedom. Of course, she has lost her voice and bears a nasty scar to remind her of her ill-deeds. It doesn’t pay to be a guy in this drama economy. Both Jae Joon and Myeong Oh end up dead. Sara and Yeon Jin will be spending most of their lives in prison. And Dong Eun’s mother is tucked safely away in a mental institution. Once all of these storylines wind down, we see the police detective declare everything regarding Dong Eun’s case to be closed. It is obvious that he knows not all of these events have been above board, but he chooses to ignore her questionable actions out of sympathy for what she has been through. After a rocky patch of separation, Dong Eun comes back to Yeo Jung’s house, ready to take her turn as his executioner in a new game of revenge, for Yeo Jung, this time. In the final scene, we see Dong Eun and Yeo Jung both take jobs at the prison where the man who killed Yeo Jung’s father is being held. So, here we go again. Will there be a season 3? There is definitely a possibility, although no official word has come out yet.
Should I Watch
“The Glory Part 1 & 2” is a heavy, emotional melodrama that focuses on school bullying and revenge. This one is not always easy to watch. The bullying scenes are realistic and honestly pretty sickening, because it is important that the viewer understands that these were not just your average bullies, and the degree the victim goes to for revenge is absolutely understandable. But if the violence in the first episode has you considering dropping this one, I will say it does lessen as it goes. And if the story interests you at all, it is worth sticking with it. Beyond the violence, this is a story of injustice and a woman’s process of healing from an unthinkably painful past. And it manages to give us a very satisfying ending! I give “The Glory Part 1 & 2” a 9 out of 10 ramen.
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