Main Cast: Song Hye-Kyo, Lee Do-Hyun, Im Ji-Yeon, Yeom Hye-Ram, Park Sung-Hoon, Jung Sung-Il

Summary

Netflix just released the second half of The Glory, a South Korean drama that follows the revenge story of Moon Dong-Eun (played by Song Hye-Ko). After she was heavily bullied by Park Yeon-Jin (played by Im Ji-Yeon), an entitled young girl from a wealthy and influential family, and her gang of bullies, Dong-Eun dedicated the rest of her life to exacting her revenge and creating the same level of misery that they made for her. Fast forward to the future, the former high-school bullies are successful with their lives as they inherit their families’ wealth and achieve their high school dreams and are highly regarded as prominent members of Korea’s elite society. 

The second half of The Glory picks up with Dong-Eun and her minion, Kang Hyeon-Nam (played by Yeom Hye-Ram) setting up the final play in her revenge plan. Although Dong-Eun has carefully planned every single detail of her plan, she and Hyeon-Nam experience unexpected hiccups as Yeon-Jin fights back. Perhaps the most devastating wrench that Yeon-Jin throws Dong-Eun is re-introducing Dong-Eun’s mother into her life. Although Dong-Eun has had extremely limited contact with her mother since she betrayed her 18 years ago, her mother’s sudden entrance into her life poses numerous unforeseen challenges and only adds to Dong-Eun’s misery as she realizes that she hasn’t changed. 

Despite this unexpected twist in her plans, Dong-Eun meticulously sets the final stage for avenging herself and the other victims as she closely partners with Joo Yeo-Jeong (played by Lee Do-Hyun). The second half of the show continues to explore the duo’s relationship as they continue to grow closer and rely on each other for support while fighting their past demons. 

Thoughts

Although I was initially skeptical of how The Glory would end since the drama was divided into 2 halves, I was pleasantly surprised. The series seamlessly picked up right where it ended and smoothly transitioned to the next stage in Dong-Eun’s plan. The drama effortlessly and effectively built the drama and suspense as Dong-Eun closed in on Yeon-Jin and the bullies. Although the final plan felt slightly drawn out between the episodes, the drama smoothly executed Dong-Eun’s revenge as each of the five bullies were humiliated and ruined. 

I also enjoyed how The Glory delved deeper into Yeo-Jeong’s story. Rather than only portraying him as a potential love interest, the second half of The Glory provided additional detail into Yeo-Jeong’s struggles and plan for revenge against the criminal who brutally murdered his father. The series did a phenomenal job at leaving the viewer curious and interested about Yeo-Jeong since he was so sweet and kind to Dong-Eun, yet filled with so much rage and sadness. The Glory struck the perfect balance at creating enough detail and curiosity about Yeo-Jeong’s revenge without having it overshadow Dong-Eun’s. Overall, I would highly recommend watching The Glory.