The Glory Season 2 (2023)

Si la pure vengeance est votre dada....

J'ai franchement apprécié ce drama (à petite dose tout de même). Malgré tout, il m'a mise mal à l'aise et les émotions que j'ai dû subir n'ont pas été tout le temps agréable.
Si je devais donner une note pour la réalisation, cela serait sûrement plus élevé. Tout a été étudié afin de nous plonger dans une horreur quotidienne, celui de la maltraitance. On aime. Ou pas. Les couleurs, si ce n'est pas ce que je préfère, ont une palette crue, entrainant ainsi le spectateur vers une réalité que l'on sait réelle. La progression de l'intrigue est parfaitement maitrisée et nous amène petit à petit vers l'enfer des agresseurs devenant victimes. C'est cohérent et pas un seul moment, où nous nous sentons frustré par la vengeance de Moon Dong Eun. Bien au contraire, peu d'obstacles se mettront sur son chemin, tout ou presque suivra un cours inéluctable, pour bien souvent le plus grand plaisir du spectateur. La vengeance de Moon Dong Eun est bien préparée et minutieusement orchestrée. Il nous apparait évident qu'elle ne pouvait qu'en sortir vainqueur.

Ce que je pourrais reprocher à cette vengeance, c'est la question de la moralité. Se servant des autres comme d'un outils bien affûtés, Moon Dong Eun ne change que progressivement et lentement par s'attacher à ceux qui décident volontairement de l'aider. J'ai trouvé extrême de laisser ..... continuer à se faire violenter par ..... afin de la sauver de sa vie misérable. Je me vois mal dire à une copine "laisse toi violenter par ton mec, on arrivera à le coincer ensuite", c'est assez horrible....
J'ai donc moyennant apprécié ce type de personnage. Sa vengeance n'est pas vraiment à débattre, mais c'est peut-être sa façon de procéder, cette "jouissance" de voir ses agresseurs souffrir qui peuvent déranger et se servir des victimes d'agressions qui l'entourent afin d'assouvir le-dit vengeance. C'est une question de ressentie personnelle bien sur. Mais je pense avoir plus de mal à "approuver" ceux qui se vengent du mal qu'on leur a fait, c'est une façon un peu détourné de se rendre justice pour soi-même. Alors, certes, on me dira si personne ne le fait pour vous, qui le fera? Et puis on argumentera que sa grande souffrance ne lui a pas permis de s'ouvrir aux autres pendant x années...C'est vrais aussi.
Il n'empêche que ce genre de haut fait n'est pas ce qui me donne envie de voir les "méchants" se faire punir. J'ai une préférence pour les héros au grand coeurs comme dans "Weak Hero Class 1" ou encore comme dans "Nirvana In Fire". Encore une fois, c'est une question de goût personnel. Et puis, la punition est....méritée mais tellement violente qu'on en ressent du dégoût. Ce qui est marrant, je n'ai pas du tout ressenti cela pour "Weak Heros Class 1"...

Les personnages sont plutôt bien écrits et magistralement interprétés, il n'y a rien à redire.
Ce qui rend par contre le visionnage un peu malaisant sont ces deux dimensions qui hantent le drama : nous avons le groupe de tarés totalement imbu de leur personne et de l'autre les victimes de la société....C'est un peu glauque, nous doutons même que des gens normaux pourraient cohabiter dans ce monde. Dans"Weak Hero Class 1", bien que cela traite d'un sujet grave de harcèlement, deux de nos protagonistes vivent une vie "normale", avec les problèmes du quotidien certes, mais pas les traumatismes violents que connaissent les protagonistes de "The Glory". Difficile donc de se sentir détendu en visionnant le drama, les scènes de violences sont partout : le viol, le harcèlement, la non assistance à personne à danger, les violences conjugales et familiales, le meurtre violent d'un père, le meurtre, l'infidélité...bref, vous l'aurez compris, c'est un drama qui n'est pas pour tout le monde, adulte compris. Le langage y est d'ailleurs plus cru, moins châtié, les images plus dénudés que ce qu'on a l'habitude de voir chez les coréens (Ah Netflix...), les violences ne vous seront pas épargnées, et parfois je me suis demandé si tout ce "voyeurisme" était nécessaire et justifié.... Dans "Taxi driver", ce que vivent les victimes ne sont pas aussi tant dévoilés, cela ne m'a nullement empêché de ressentir la douleur, la honte, la frustration, la colère...Encore une fois, c'est un avis personnel.

Les relations : Un autre reproche. Bien que magnifiquement construit et réalisé, je n'ai pas eu d'empathie pour Moon Dong Eun, je me suis donc moins trouvée impliqué dans sa quête de vengeance. C'est un personnage qui de par son épreuve s'est enfermé dans un monde de douleur et de vengeance. Ses relations avec les autres n'ont pas éveillé en moi de l'intérêt autre que la progression de l'intrigue. Je n'ai pas réellement attendu une romance entre Moon Dong Eun et Joo Yeo Jung. S'il y en a une, tant mieux, s'il n'y en a pas, ce n'est pas grave. J'ai pourtant apprécié Joo Yeo Jung qui apporte une touche d'humour noir dans cet univers de malade, mais sa romance avec Dong Eun n'est pas de celle qui fait battre les coeurs. Cela fut un peu décevant en ce qui me concerne, j'ai tellement adoré "Mr Sunshine"....
j'aurais peut-être aimé une romance interdite, plus intense, avec Ha Do Young. Ha Do Young est d'ailleurs mon personnage préféré. Il me faisait penser à Kim Hui Seong dans "Mr Sunshine", celui qu'on sacrifie, le dommage collatéral. Sa droiture et son intégrité ont apporté un souffle de normalité dans ce déchainement de haine et de colère. C'est aussi pourquoi je n'ai pas compris son dernier geste, qui au final a cette volonté de nous montrer que nous sommes tous des monstres?
Oui, c'est ce que ce j'en ressens, ce que je comprends, c'est que l'être humain est un monstre. Assoiffé de vengeance, de luxure, de pouvoir, de douleur, l'homme peut du jour au lendemain se transformer en un monstre.

On aime ou pas. On applaudit ou pas. En ce qui me concerne, je ne nie pas la qualité du drama que cela soit dans sa réalisation ou dans son interprétation. Mais ce n'est absolument pas le type de drama qui me donne envie de le voir un jour ensoleillé avec mari et ados en mode "je ne peux plus m'arrêter tellement c'est grave bien". Chéri quant à lui a bien plus apprécié le drama.

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Incontournable !

Pour ne pas gâcher le plaisir de la découverte, ma critique sera très courte.
Les histoires de vengeance, il y en a des tonnes ; surtout dans le cinéma coréen. Difficile de sortir du lot et pourtant, "The Glory" y arrive à la perfection.
Que ce soit le scénario (cohérent jusqu'au bout, ce qui mérite d'être souligné), que ce soit le rythme (on avance doucement dans l'histoire, sans pour autant être lassé) , le jeu des acteurs (bluffant !), tout est presque parfait ! Les personnages (secondaires) sont un chouilla excessifs, mais ils restent bien joués ça sauve le tout.
Une série que je recommande vivement : même pour ceux qui ne sont pas fan du genre. Quitte à en voire une sur la vengeance, que ce soit celle-ci !,
J'ai prit beaucoup de plaisir à visionner et que je regarderais à nouveau, à coup sûr !

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A satisfying end... which is rare in the kdrama world as we're all familiar.

The first thing that needs to be applauded is the actors and their masterful acting. Without the acting the plot would've withered as another project with lost potential. They literally breathe the life, the fury, the glory into this drama.

As a sequel, it is commendable that the show did not go overboard or underwhelm in any aspect. It was just enough to make you sigh a breath of satisfaction. Lives upto everything the first season built upto and the trailer predicted. No non-sensical plot points which were forced to make the story coherent. It was woven smoothly start to end. They delivered the dramatics perfectly. Their was no unnecessary romantic part which ruined the slow-burn. Despite all the first season's information, there were twists and turns and the thrill was maintained. If anything was over-done, one wouldn't really give this show much of a rewatch value. But the makers took their jobs seriously and made sure that people can come back to this and find hope in the victory of everything good.

People might argue about the amorality of the whole revenge plot itself, but we know that justice does not take place in our world very often, the world is very unfair, and people we know, people around us, and people like us may feel wronged everyday, but what we can take from this as a positive learning is that we all need to come together and help the Dong Eun's all around us by giving them support, and being a friend in their time of need. Of course is doesn't have to be an elaborate revenge plot, but even the smallest effort would go a long way. And at the end of the day what goes around comes around. So it is by each other's support that we move forward, otherwise we'll find ourselves stuck at a point in life which will sooner or later drive us crazy.

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Underwhelming

======EDITED======
I finally get to rewatch. And my opinion stays the same. It is underwhelming and didn't live up to expectations- especially the excitement.

The build up was good during the first 3 episodes. However, after that, everything started to get boring and fell into that cliché path that most revenge drama has.

1. Everything suddenly seems easy for DH - suddenly people just keep coming to help her. So it makes me wonder, what if those people didn't come to help her? What if she didn't meet those people? She spent more than a decade to plan but later on I cannot help but think "what was her original plan?" - you know the plan she created without those "sudden helper" which suddenly pops up for her to use.
I am yet to see a revenge drama with a solid plan and kept that plan until the end without the sudden boost of helper.

2. Suddenly everyone is screaming. One character screaming would've been believable but when almost everyone is screaming and started to act hysterical? Gosh

And I do not get why these villains who used to be powerful, calm and always seems to know what to do - suddenly becomes this weak character who - for whatever reason just do not know what to do except panic and scream.
When in truth, they can just order their men to kill the avenger but none of them think that way. They didn't even think of a way to punish this avenger and stop her from ruining their life. The only thing they did was to pay her mom to humiliate her and force her to leave her job. Really? Is that all you can do?
They started hating each other and fight each other but none of them decided to fight the avenger?

3. They went crazy in the end. These people who never felt guilty for ruining someone's life and live well all these years suddenly lose it. Lee Sa Ra seems fine at first then suddenly went full blown drug addict. PYJ was fine and then in the end she also started losing it - I don't know what's the purpose when that happens because if they were to be punished, I want them to be totally sober - with their conscious, and clear mind still intact -so they can feel all the hardships and pain of my revenge.


Another scene that I hate was Lee Sara's scandal - of her playing herself. I just don't like that part, she was drugged and to shame her -- everyone has to see her playing with herself as if that's some bigger sin than her being involved in bullying and drugs. That's so wrong. She was a victim in those videos.

And what was that thing with the Shaman? That was so unnecessary!

I am not sold out with the romance either. There was no chemistry at all.

I think that it could've ended with just 5 episodes but they had to stretch it out. It felt that they do not know what to do or what to add to make up for the rest of the episodes so they resorted to flashbacks.

The ending where DE was leaving the school and looking happy would of been the perfect ending. Everything that happens after that just... seems forced, like "yeah let's add some more scenes to complete this episode."

And their world is small indeed, suddenly almost everyone has met DE before.

And the avenger team at the end ?‍♀️
The assistant could of message her daughter at least but we didn't see that. I thought she was going to follow her daughter or try to live a different life for her daughter or for herself, but nuuuuh, in the end she became part of their avenger team.

JYJ - I thought that after seeing the killer of his father who seems be a psychotic who doesn't feel anything no matter what - thought he will at least realize that dealing with him will just be a waste of time.
No matter what he do, to punish that man, it will have no effect on him. He will not feel guilty or regret, instead he will just be happy to see JYJ dirtying his hands, he will be happy that he still has control over him because he made him that way- AND that's exactly what he wanted.
But tbh he will just waste his time on that guy. People like that don't deserves attention, it would be better if JYJ showed himself really happy in front of that guy - that kind of revenge is better - after all, there are many ways to get revenge, not just by hurting them,killing them or ruining them, sometimes being happy and moving on is also a revenge - because some people just hate to see you happy, so seeing you happy is a torture for them. So I was disappointed that they decided to create an avenger team just for him.

So far my favorite scene and the scene that marked on me the most in this season is DE's scenes with her mother. She never cry when facing her bullies, she didn't cry when remembering the past. But seeing her mother trying to ruin her- she cries. She started to break. In the end, the one who truly hurt her is her mother- compared to the pain the the bullies gave her, the pain that she received over her mother's betrayal hurts her the most.
I understand when she said that she is glad that her mother didn't change bcoz it will feel like she will have to erase what she did to DE back then and heal from it and learn to forgive her mother if ever she showed any affection. Knowing that her mother doesn't care for her even a bit and will never change, she accepted that and so, her mother can no longer hurt her, she's done.

I must praise all the cast of this series, they all did a fantastic job and deserves recognition- everyone - especially the villains.

Anyway I will rate it 4
Though disappointing at some parts of the story, I love the characters and the tension during the first episodes.

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Satisfying ending, however the Netflix issues were worse.

I enjoyed Moon Dong-eun and Joo Yeo-jeong's stories a lot! I was so relieved as, there was a point there where it almost seemed like they wouldn't get a happy ending. This part really hit hard on obstacles in Moon Dong-eun's way, especially her mother, but I felt satisfied that the punishments doled out were proportionate.

This part digs more into Moon Dong-eun's terrible mother. In some ways, the ending of her career at the school felt unaddressed. She says farewell to Yeon-sol, but since we didn't get many shots of Moon Dong-eun at the school in this part, it almost felt like she wasn't there that much, despite it being her job. A couple of things felt somewhat dropped in this part.

We find out that Jae Jun apparently got Yoon-hee pregnant, but we don't really dig into that any further. For a character that was so important to Yeon-jin's story, his ending seemed a little brushed aside. Sa-ra's undoing was a little confusing as everyone seemed worried she'd be in big trouble after the press photos at the church, but then she was just at home playing around on her computer like nothing happened. It took her stabbing Choi Hye-jeong in the neck for her to get in any serious trouble, and I don't think Moon Dong-eun could've predicted that.

Ha Dong-yeon's ending was happy, I think. I was a little curious why he didn't have any further goodbye with Moon Dong-eun, but I was glad he wasn't caught in the crossfire too badly after Yeon-jin's conviction.

Again, my issues with this series were Netflix produced drama's tendency to have unnecessary nudity, unnecessarily drawn out violent scenes and unnecessary sex scenes. I have never seen a kdrama with bare breasts - I also don't think that was necessary. We have an unnecessarily drawn out (and repeated) sex scene with Myeong-o and Sa-ra. Also, a really weird note, the scene where we find out there's a creep at the elementary school taking pictures of children showed the pictures and I don't think they needed to. You can convey what he was doing with that. There were a lot more scenes of characters just screaming at each other and that didn't make for drama, it skewed into melodrama, in my opinion.

However, overall, I enjoyed the series and it's ending. I think it would've been even stronger if there didn't seem to be this focus on adding the kinds of scenes that draw in international audiences.

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The revenge was meh.

I love revenge plots, especially in the hands of a highly intelligent and capable female protagonist but with the proper motivation, of course. And, there was no doubt that the people who made Moon Dong-eun's (Song Hye-kyo) life hell on earth were all more than deserving of the kind of old school, biblical vengeance reserved for the very wrathful God of the Old Testament.
And, actually, I thought that the series might have wanted to say something about the hot-button issue of school bullying and spousal abuse but opted instead (in typical K-Drama fashion) to focus on the obligatory fan service of a romantic pairing of the two leads with less than zero chemistry between them.
The level of gratuitous violence on display in both parts 1 & 2 felt unnecessary at times because the payback was nowhere equal to the damage inflicted on the victims.
Maybe if she would've exacted her revenge in the very gym where the majority of the bullying took place I would've felt more satisfied with the conclusion.

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Contrived, Confused, Inglorious Conclusion

The second half of The Glory always had its work cut out for it--not because it had to live up to some lofty standard its predecessor had set, but because it had to make up for its flaws. A dozen loose strings, some narrative incongruities, and a curious pacing to its story progression (or, in some senses, lack thereof) had left more than a few worries that the series might not be able to properly exact its tale of revenge--even if the hope was there in equal measure.

And, sadly, those worries turned out to be entirely warranted: The Glory (Part 2) is a bit of a mess, rushing its way to a series of endpoints possible only by the great efforts of not only its heroes but also its villains to reach them.

A story of this kind typically relies on what are technically conveniences or coincidences as much as it does on the willingness of the audience to not be bothered by such...but The Glory goes to the suspension-of-disbelief well one (or several) too many times, asking its audience to ignore a string of contrived beats, character inconsistencies, and unnecessary narrative detours on the way to its strangely toothless dramatic ends.

Ultimately, it's a disappointing (and at times confusing) conclusion to an otherwise watchable show, with far too much going on and far too little happening, giving you exactly what you want in almost the least satisfying way possible.

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I just don't see the glory

I wasn't too impressed with the first half of The Glory, which I gave a 5.5. After finishing the second half, I'd say this second part was only marginally better because things actually happened.

At *no point* when watching this show I ever thought, "WOW THIS IS AMAZING OMG. BEST DRAMA EVER" Of course, everyone has a different experience and reaction so this may not be your experience. I still spent my time watching the show so it has entertainment value in some form.

The ending scene made me LAUGH because of the delivery. Legitimately, I laughed out loud and I know the producers and writers had zero intention of making that scene funny (or did they? Who knows!). I really don't think this show needed romance - the only positive thing that came from this was a role for Lee Do Hyun. The romantic beats fell flat. I also started finding it funny whenever Song Hye Kyo just showed up on the screen dressed in all black staring at one of the baddies who then gasp when they find her staring at them.

Don't get me wrong, I like all the actors in this show and thought they all did a fantastic job for the most part. Im Ji Yeon really gave her all as Yeon Jin and Kim Hi Eo Ra as Sa Ra.

I really feel that the domestic and sexual abuse depicted on screen can be triggering. In addition, unfortunately, few shows seem to be free from having a mom you absolutely loathe. We get her here. Joy!

You will see the pains that the leads have to deal with. The positive is that you do get to see the FL's revenge in action. I do have to give props to the writers who had no problem going all the way with punishing our favorite bffs.

But yes, I still view this show as nothing more than something you'll view for some shock value and entertainment for a day. Enjoy!

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Let's die in the spring

"I think that there should be atleast one person on your side" - Landlord lady

What a satisfying revenge drama for me. Everyone who made other people's life, met their demise may it be figuratively or literally, which they definitely deserved.

Definitely worth the wait and I am happy that our Dong Eun finally realised that she's not alone. That there are people who loves her and cares for her.

Some may complain about Yeo Jung's case but I think it's "just" that they do his own revenge thing after they concluded Dong Eun's journey. Why? in order for them to move on and have their own version of peace, they should have a conclusion with their unfinished business.

We should remember that these two are badly damaged souls and their mental health is really not good, so some might say they're toxic to each other; but for me, they serves as an anchor for each other. They do balance one another and give themselves a purpose in life; or else, there's no reason for them to live, and would rather die.

I really hate Dong Eun's mother and how she uses their relationship to abuse her child. I love what the landlady said to Dong Eun, that even if families are determined by the heavens, sometimes heavens commits mistakes.

** Also, at first I was rooting for Ha Do Young and Moon Dong Eun, but then I realised it's not gonna happen. Why? Because of Ye Sol, who's greatly affected with all of this and like what Dong Eun told the child, she'll be forever sorry and will apologize to her for the rest of Ye Sol's life if she wanted to, as Dong Eun ruined her world. Ha Do Young maybe inlove or fascinated with Dong Eun but his love will never be enough to fill all the void that's lacking in Dong Eun's life. We all know he is a very good father to Ye Sol in spite of him being not the biological father of the child. So their life will be stressful and they'll be toxic for each other in the long run. So I am really happy that Dong Eun and Yeo Jung ended up together.

What a ride! Everyone got their justice and their own happy ending. Binge watch worthy!

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Satisfying

As someone who writes stories as well. There is no better ending for this drama.
Acting of all the casts are on point kudos to the ahjumma. So much finesse on the cryings scene after her husband died.

This other watchers are expecting for more? What are you guys anticipating?

Actually death doesn't deserve them. They effin deserve to be in prison all their lives. Death is just too fast. They need to savor the pain while living,

Song Hye Nailed this role.

To all who said Lee do Hyuns character is a nuisance lol. He had been a part of the story from the start without him the revenge plot wouldn't happen at all.

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A part of me wants a sequel

I guess this is an unpopular opinion of mine but after giggling, crying, smiling, and all the feels, I wanted more of them. I just love watching them planning and the same time being lovers while doing revenges. The real definition of partners in crime.

The story we know is rampant in kdramas but this time a different flavor and I love that.
A strong storytelling, and great ending. No questions unanswered.

Of course Lee Do Hyun surely did a great job, no surprise at all. He is one of the great actor in korea in my opinion. He knows what to pick a show by the way. His filmography is great and vast.
I know Song Hye Kyo is a great actress also, actually its my first time watching her, apologies queen yeah I didn't watch DOTS yet and her some famous works but right now will check it out!.

The music is good in every scene and ending.

Surely will rewatch this. I miss them atm. Really recommendable.

PS. So excited for LDH's and SHK's new dramas! <3

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