The Glory Movie Review

The Glory , a revenge action Korean drama starring Song Hye-kyo and Lee Do-hyun, has aired 8 of its 16 episodes on Netflix. The Glory is a series that attracts attention because here, for the first time, Song Hye-kyo steps out of her comfort zone as an actress specializing in romantic dramas. Playing Moon Dong-eun, Hye-kyo (and Jung Ji-so as young Dong-eun) fall victim to brutal school violence.

There were five people who bullied Dong-eun. They are Park Yeo-jin (Lim Ji-yeon/Shin Ye-eun), Jeon Jae-joon (Park Sung-hoon/Song Byeong-geun), Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hi-eora/Bae Kang-hee), Choi Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young/Song Ji-woo), and Son Myeong-oh (Kim Gun-woo/Seo Woo-hyuk).

Previously, Dong-eun had wanted to kill himself because he could not stand the cruel treatment of the gang of bullies. Plus, no one party defended him, neither the school, parents, nor the police.

But when he was about to kill himself, Dong-eun realized that it was not he who should suffer and die, but the people who had made his life miserable since high school. Since then, Dong-eun is determined to live his life with the ultimate goal of taking revenge with a carefully designed strategy.

Song Hye-Kyo’s Acting

Although it has been 27 years of acting in serials and films, The Glory is the first drama for Song Hye-kyo to portray a dark and complex character. Not only that, this 41-year-old actress also has to play an anti- hero , a gray character who is willing to do anything to make her wish come true.

Well, surprisingly enough, Hye-kyo’s acting here is quite good. Even in episode 1, just by looking at the look in her eyes, Song Hye-kyo was able to convince the audience how Dong-eun had changed from a weak figure, to a cold and tough woman who only had anger in her heart and mind.

Source: Bumareview.com

In The Glory , he is quite successful in bringing to life the figure of Dong-eun who is calm and calculating, but is actually very fragile and full of trauma. On the one hand, he can look tough when he faces his bullies again, even being able to intimidate them. But at one point, he can also collapse when past trauma quickly approaches him.

It is said to be “quite successful”, because sometimes in several other episodes, Song Hye-kyo’s acting feels inconsistent. In several scenes , his facial expressions seem less successful in describing the depth of emotion that Dong-eun should be feeling.

But overall, Song Hye-kyo’s acting here has experienced quite a positive change. This is especially when compared to the last series before this, namely Now, We Are Breaking Up .

Quite Neat and Interesting Story Plot

Like revenge stories in other Korean dramas, The Glory provides a curious plot or storyline. The audience will be invited to watch puzzle after puzzle prepared by Dong-eun to trap, ensnare, and defeat the bullies.

In its first 8 episodes, The Gloryslowly – but not boringly – building stories for the next 8 episodes which will air in March 2023. Even though it’s just being built, a number of puzzles have been thrown at the audience, making this drama work well.

This puzzle is interestingly placed on the character Ju Yeo-jeong (Lee Do-hyun), a young doctor who falls in love with Dong-eun and helps her to take revenge. Initially, he was described as cheerful and ‘clean’.

But as the story progresses, the audience will begin to doubt and wonder who Yeo-jeong really is. The background of his life, and what he will do in the next eight episodes will be very interesting to observe.

Meanwhile for the five antagonist characters, the audience will be satisfied watching them be forced to follow the game that Dong-eun brings so that their lives don’t fall apart. Seeing these figures depressed because they are intimidated, then slowly kneeling in front of Dong-eun will be a special entertainment for the audience.

Even so, The Glory also has weaknesses. The story seems less convincing in telling why the five bullies were so cruel and brutal in torturing Dong-eun. Likewise with Dong-eun’s parents who are no less rotten.

This seems to indicate that writing a convincing storyline was not considered important by writer Kim Eun-sook. He only wants to focus on Dong-eun’s revenge efforts.

But this focus is also profitable, because it makes The Glory also not waste time presenting forced love story scenes between Dong-eun and Yeo-jeong. The two are indeed described as liking each other, but there is not a single scene of dramatization about this.

Everything is described soberly and this is just right to keep the mood of the audience and the dark stories. Even the comedic elements that often appear through the character Kang Hyeon-nam (Yeom Hye-ran) are also not too big, but they are quite appropriate and not crunchy.

Overall, The Glory is quite worth watching. The plot flows well and is more than enough to make the audience curious about Dong-eun’s next step in creating the proper karma for his bullies.