The Glory is a Korean Drama on Netflix with 16 episodes. The first half was released on December 2022 and the second half on March 2023. It is a mystery thriller with an 8+ rating on IMDB and much fan content around it.
Despite teasers and clips that you might encounter showing or telling you otherwise, it is not as horror-based as it may appear. However, the series does deal with painfully scarring events, both physical and psychological, in a story about neglect, abuse, and the long-lasting effects and eventual repercussions that these may cause. Scary for the villains, comforting for the victims, and perhaps nerve-wracking for those on neither end.
SPOILER ALERT!
If you haven’t seen it already and wish to, you probably should do so before you continue reading.
There are spoilers ahead!
 |
| The Glory (2022-2023) |
“Revenge is not the answer!” Or is it? We’ve all heard this or something like it at some point when intense anger takes over. And generally, that is a sensible stance to have in situations. Nonetheless, there are often exceptions to the rules. With The Glory, even as a forgiving person, you might find yourself siding with Moon Dong-eun, who had to endure horrible mistreatment from peers who had it much better than her while she was still innocent.
Are her actions afterward questionable? Yes. But are they justified? That depends on how your sense of fairness and compassion works. For pacifistic diplomats and enforcers of societal norms, she would be wrong. For level-headed, civil people, she could also be wrong. But for those that cannot stand to see any more bastards continuing to inflict harm on others at their whims and getting away with it, she’ll get a few passes.
The underdog root for her and for what she’s doing because, as extreme as it is, there is some justice in it. And with it, not only due punishment, but also cycle breaking (or at least cycle pausing). As for fans of the show, the sane know that, after all, it is a fictional story and they are not encouraging acts this unhinged for real.
There is no denying that Moon Dong-eun is indeed consumed by what happened to her. So she is acting out of vengeance, which is a natural response to being wronged and desiring to “right” that wrong in a way that relieves that state. And especially in her case, it is what takes her from being powerless to being powerful. In the beginning, she was helpless, in the end, she isn’t. And sometimes, to go that distance, you oughta be that obsessed. She becomes the type of evil that counters another evil and brings back balance.
 |
| The Glory (2022-2023) |
Interestingly, she is not alone. Throughout her mission (or “the pursuit of her dream”), she encounters others that, for different reasons and motives, assist her or step aside to let her carry things through. Yet, funnily enough, none of them are as self-righteous as those who started this madness and drove them to this point.
The indignation and outrage that these overentitled snobs actively display are very telling of how unable they are to look beyond their own selfishness. They are human, but quite awful ones at that. Contrasted with an actual psychopath, though, who is more aware of and admitting of his monstrosity, absolutely remorseless, they can be, as Park Yeon-jin was called, pitiful while they lie to themselves and to others. Still, not really deserving of much sympathy.
The hearts of the protagonists, of those enacting or in some way helping to enact vengeance, are broken, dry, and tainted to some degree. That is what happens when submitted to careless and even hateful events that have a significant impact. But I wouldn’t call them lost causes. If anything, they are still moving toward justice and not completely viciously so. An amount of kindness remains in them and it seems that, the more they are able to defeat what torments them, the more they can return to being loving.
The supernatural aspect of it, involving the dead communicating from the afterlife, remains vague. But what is certain is that Moon Dong-eun could relate to the girl who died, despite her meeting a more terrible fate, and drew force and focus from that too...