The Glory

At first glance, The Glory might seem reminiscent of other revenge dramas: Dong-eun has a voice-over similar to Emily Thorne’s in the aptly named Revenge, which was a modern adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo.  Stick with it, however, and you’ll realize The Glory is far more cold and calculating – and not for the faint of heart.

The scenes of Dong-eun being tormented by her bullies will send shivers down your spine and prompt you to scream at her homeroom teacher, who beats her while accusing her of lying about what Yeon-jin and her posse did to her. The psychological and physical toll drives Dong-eun to focus single-mindedly on exacting revenge, and Song Hye-kyo is downright disturbing in the role. She never loses her cool, and even a slight eyebrow raise reveals she’s plotting something new. Let’s just say we wouldn’t want to make it onto Dong-eun’s revenge list.

Part of what makes the revenge scheme so satisfying is that her tormentors are bonafide psychopaths.  Showing no remorse for their actions, they use their parents’ money and connections to plow ahead in life. As Dong-eun follows their criminal misdeeds, we begin to realize her plans. Her revenge is a slow burn, but what a satisfying slow burn it is.

Dram from actual stories of teenage bullying, the show is grounded in something urgent and painfully real.

Key Characters to Remember

Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-yo) – Our complicated protagonist was physically and emotionally abused by Park Yeon-jin and her gang of miscreants in high school. She’s transformed since then, and Dong-eun tracks each and every one of them from their graduation until today. Now in her mid-thirties, Dong-eun inserts herself into their lives in ways the bullies could never have expected.

Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon) – The perfect foil to our protagonist, she came from a poor family, and in high school, she bullied Dong-eun mercilessly. Now a successful weathergirl married to a wealthy man, Park Yeon-jin seems to have a perfect life – or does she?

Joo Yeo-jeung (Lee Do-hyun) – Dong-eun’s romantic interest, in their youth, Yeo-jeung was Dong-eun Go’s teacher. Now he’s a plastic surgeon at Seoul Joo General Hospital.

Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hi-eora) –  Sa-ra was part of the group that tormented Dong-eun. Now a drug-addled artist, Sa-ra is a downright religious hypocrite who’s clearly dealing with some demons of her own.

Choi Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young) —  A reluctant part of Yeon-jin’s clique, she’s now a globe-trotting flight attendant.  But Hye-jeong tends to easily crack under pressure.

Jeon Jae-joon (Park Sung-hoon) — One of the biggest psychopaths in Yeon-jin’s group, he’s now the owner of a prestigious country club, Jae-joon remains as sneaky as ever – and he learns he shares one major thing in common with Yeon-jin than he initially thought.

Son Myeong-oh  (Kim Gun-woo) — The final member of Yeon-jin’s nasty clique, he lacks the  social connections and wealth of his peers, and ends up working as a bitter lackey for Jae-joon while serving as Sa-ra’s drug dealer.