The Glory: Episodes 1-2 (First Impressions)
by solstices
Oof, this drama is brutal. Netflix’s latest original certainly doesn’t pull any punches, and neither did the bullies who gleefully tormented our protagonist in the past. They had better watch out, though, because she’s about to set a revenge scheme in motion — one that she’s been meticulously planning for years.
Editor’s note: This is an Episodes 1-2 review only. Please refrain from spoilers. For a place to chat about the entire drama with rampant spoilers, visit the Drama Hangout!
EPISODES 1-2 FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I came to The Glory expecting Netflix’s usual brand of graphic violence, but my stomach still dropped at how vicious the bullying scenes were. So if you’re squeamish about flesh wounds and ruthless humiliation, this is your chance to turn back.
Our drama begins like any other high school bullying story — poverty-stricken MOON DONG-EUN (Jung Ji-so) finds herself the target of the school’s top dogs. Ringleader PARK YEON-JIN (Shin Ye-eun) takes delight in tormenting Dong-eun, for no apparent reason other than the fact she’s a convenient target.
Yeon-jin’s flanked by a whole group of minions, which means Dong-eun has no hope of escape. We’re forced to watch as Yeon-jin and her gang press a curling iron to Dong-eun’s limbs, leaving red welts that make Dong-eun scream from the excruciating pain. The school isn’t willing to back Dong-eun up, either, not when Yeon-jin and her friends hail from wealth. Unable to bear the torture any longer, Dong-eun ends up dropping out from school and working menial jobs to make ends meet.
It’s no easy task, and the constant itching from her burn scars eventually pushes Dong-eun to the brink. She very nearly walks right into the Han River, but hitting rock bottom winds up being a turning point for her. Returning to school for one last confrontation with her bullies, Dong-eun declares to Yeon-jin’s face that she hopes they meet again.
Dong-eun may not have much to her name, but she certainly has a tenacious spirit. While juggling her long work hours, Dong-eun continues her studies through handwritten flashcards and late-night study sessions. At long last, she passes her high school equivalency exam and gets accepted into college.
Years have passed in the meantime, and our central characters are all grown up now. Dong-eun (now played by Song Hye-gyo) has been fastidiously compiling information on her former tormentors, slowly gathering intel on their weaknesses.
Yeon-jin (now played by Im Ji-yeon) is a weathercaster for the morning news, and she’s every bit as entitled and haughty as she was a decade ago. As for the rest of her lackeys, they’re still keeping in touch, too. Artist LEE SARA (Kim Hieora) gets her drugs delivered by SOHN MYUNG-OH (Kim Gun-woo), who also works at the beck-and-call of JEON JAE-JOON (Park Sung-hoon). Meanwhile, CHOI HYE-JUNG (Cha Joo-young) also has a relatively humbler career as the owner of a dry cleaning service.
Needless to say, Myung-oh and Hye-jung’s lower social statuses not only spark their inferiority complexes, but also hint at the beginnings of conflict in this toxic group. When Yeon-jin finds out that Hye-jung has been telling a friend about their school days, she and Sara thoroughly humiliate Hye-jung by exposing her for wearing her clients’ dresses. How dare she play pretend and act like she’s on the same level as them?
Similarly, Myung-oh is sick of being Jae-joon’s servant, and that frustration is exactly what Dong-eun exploits. She approaches him under the guise of an unexpected run-in, and tempts him with an offer — she has juicy information that could turn his life around. We don’t get to hear what it is, but Myung-oh falls for it hook, line, and sinker.
Another fun fact about Yeon-jin is that she’s just gotten married to construction company CEO HA DO-YOUNG (Jung Sung-il), and this kicks off a main plot thread. Do-young’s a baduk nerd, which means Dong-eun is also studying up on baduk in order to (presumably) manufacture a coincidental meeting.
The real chance encounter, though, is with JOO YEO-JUNG (Lee Do-hyun). After winding up in adjacent hospital beds (Dong-eun fainted from anemia and malnutrition, Yeo-jung looks like he got beaten up), Yeo-jung takes an interest in Dong-eun. That becomes mutual when Dong-eun finds out that Yeo-jung’s good at baduk — what better way to learn?
We’re given a montage of them practicing together through the seasons, and by the end of it, Dong-eun can hold her own as a baduk player. Abruptly, though, she cuts her lessons short. Yeo-jung points out that she hasn’t defeated him yet, but Dong-eun has no need to — he isn’t her true opponent, after all.
It’s clear that Yeo-jung is affected by her sudden departure, but Dong-eun doesn’t have the time to feel the same. Having passed the national teacher certification exam, she’s ready to move on to the next part of her plan. She’s thought long and hard about the best way to hurt Yeon-jin, and the answer is clear — her precious daughter Ye-sol.
Okay, I knew what I was signing up for when I started this show, but I’m not quite sure how to feel about this. Taking revenge on the people who hurt you is one thing, but bringing an entirely innocent third party into the fray? I certainly hope the show addresses the moral quandaries of that, because I think it’d be an interesting dilemma to dive into.
It’s heartbreaking to see how Dong-eun’s entire life has been shaped by her trauma — even now, her tormentors’ hold over her lives on, because of how she’s dedicated her entire life to vengeance. Still, she’s not alone. When housekeeper KANG HYUN-NAM (Yeom Hye-ran) catches Dong-eun stealing Yeon-jin’s garbage, she doesn’t report her to the police. Instead, she entreats Dong-eun to kill her husband in exchange for her silence.
Given that I started watching this drama entirely for Kim Hieora and Lee Do-hyun, I’m surprisingly invested in the story. The Glory did a good job of introducing an interestingly diverse mix of characters and building suspense, elevated by its atmospheric cinematography — count on PD Ahn Gil-ho to never let us down!
As much as I can sympathize with Dong-eun’s bone-deep desire to mutilate Yeon-jin’s face with an industrial stapler, though, I don’t know if I can sit through even more of the show’s explicitly gruesome violence. Still, I’m intrigued by our central cast, and I’m curious as to how deep our protagonist’s revenge ploy runs.
RELATED POSTS
The Glory: Episodes 1-2 (First Impressions)
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily
0 Comments