Last Friday, The Glory Season 1’s Part 2 (Episodes 9 – 16) was released. Since Part 1 dropped late last year, many have been eagerly awaiting the continuation. Personally, the childhood acting of the characters, especially Park Yeon-jin (played by Shin Ye-eun), was downright chilling. While the pacing and structure of Part 1 weren’t exceptionally tight, the intense subject matter and the actors’ incredible performances made it a binge-worthy ride through all eight episodes. 🎬
Song Hye-kyo’s acting tends to be quite similar across dramas, so it was hard to find anything particularly praiseworthy. However, her stoic and dry delivery was uniquely fitting for this series. On top of that, the performances of Park Yeon-jin, Lee Sa-ra, Jeon Jae-jun, Choi Hye-jeong, and Son Myeong-o were simply top-notch. Lim Ji-yeon’s (as Park Yeon-jin) array of emotional expressions was spine-tingling, reminiscent of James McAvoy in the movie Split. The most memorable moments? Her bittersweet conversations with her estranged husband, Ha Do-yeong, and the way she put out her cigarette by crushing it underfoot. It felt more natural than the cigarette-a-day crowd around me! 🚬
I first encountered Lim Ji-yeon in the movie Obsessed, where she played a completely different character. Though the film wasn’t a big hit, her pure and alluring impression lingered with me. She also appeared in Tazza: One Eyed Jack, though it wasn’t well received. I suspect it might have been due to her pairing with Lee Kwang-soo (who always reminds me of Running Man). Nonetheless, her performance in this drama is truly remarkable. 🌟
The core theme of this drama is school violence, and the meticulous revenge journey to overcome childhood trauma forms the backbone of the storyline. In Part 2, the loose ends from Part 1 are tied up quite diligently, though there aren’t any major surprises. It’s a plot you could easily imagine. Plus, there’s no frustrating, tangled drama halfway through. Most crises fall within Dong-eun’s predictions, and any deviations get resolved quickly. If you can endure the chilling school violence scenes in Part 1, the rest is a smooth ride without much mental strain. 🎢
While Dong-eun’s school violence story at the start of Part 1 is well-known, another shock was the trauma of the character Joo Yeo-jeong. Kang Yeong-cheon, played by Lee Moo-saeng, was more intense than any psychopath from the movies. The letters he sent to Joo Yeo-jeong from prison were pure chills. Joo Yeo-jeong’s trauma from losing his father to such a murderer is unimaginable. This storyline might not lend itself to a Season 2 due to the lack of development of surrounding characters or events, but it was a missed opportunity to delve deeper into the complex psychological states of the characters in Season 1. However, it does enrich the imagination for the post-ending possibilities. 🌈
For me, Part 2 was less immersive than Part 1. As the loose ends are tied up and the story unravels in the latter half, it’s natural for the tension to drop. Still, I managed to finish it all in half a day, so I can recommend it without much hesitation. And there’s one thing that I couldn’t quite get used to—the term ‘sunbae’ used by Song Hye-kyo’s character for Joo Yeo-jeong. ‘Sunbae’? Really. 🤔
Looks more like a nephew, if you ask me….
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