Just days ago while reviewing the bad dramas I watched in 2022, I butchered Now We’re Breaking Up – Song Hye-kyo’s last drama. I found the character she played to be the same bland, cold, independent woman, and as usual, her soulless facial expression was not helping matters at all — it worsened things.
Basically, I couldn’t get past the first episode.
So when the trailer for The Glory dropped and I saw that this was a different outfit for her, character and genre-wise, I hoped she would finally nail everything I wanted from her as an A-class actress.
Guys, I’m happy to announce that Song Hye-kyo DELIVERED way past what I had deemed her capable of.
The Glory is a drama that narrates the brutal and violent bullying of a high-school girl named Moon Dong-eun by a gang of wealthy and wannabe schoolmates. Deeply scarred and broken to a mute, resolute extent, Moon Dong-eun works her way up to being the teacher of her main bully’s daughter to carry out her long-orchestrated revenge plans.
The ironic thing about Song Hye-kyo’s performance in this drama is that she wore a lot of soulless expression and disposition. So what makes her performance here enormously different?
One, the sheer substance of the character she plays. Unlike Hye-kyo’s previous plain characters where you can hardly feel a soul within that you want to root for, Moon Dong-eun is faced with real pain and injustice, so you are already passionate about her winning.
Another big difference is in how intimately Song Hye-kyo embodies Moon Dong-eun. There were moments I wondered, is Hye-kyo channelling some of her hurt, pain, and insecurities through this character? Because she fills up every inch and soul with a sense of intimacy and vulnerability that you just can’t fake.
Apart from that, she’s so effortless in the role. Her resentful, incredulous laughter and smiles as well as her measured calmness sincerely gave me the chills. I was honestly surprised and impressed. She nailed Moon Dong-eun’s vulnerability and charisma – her weak, emotional side and the strong, in-command side. Thankfully, the intelligent, straight-forward, and sarcastic writing assists her in delivering her lines confidently and entertainingly. Kudos to the writer, Kim Eun-sook.
Lee Do-hyun (Joo Yeo-jeong) played Moon Dong-eun’s love interest in the drama, but this aspect of his role didn’t make much of a difference to me – (the result of Hye-Kyo and Do-hyun involving themselves in back-to-back Noona-related romance). In general, I liked the character he played. Do-hyun does great with playful, light-hearted, slightly-crazy characters, so it was definitely fun to watch him ooze his charm and dish out some crazy.
The villains perform brilliantly too. The only reservation I have would be in how they are written; they all seem thoroughly evil, thoughtless, and juvenile just for the sake of being villains. There’s hardly any nuance in their characterization — except maybe for Jae-joon, the golf owner who happens to have a soft spot for his love-child, and Hye-Jeong, the air stewardess obsessed with a fake, glamorous lifestyle.
I have to say that I am seriously besotted with Jung Sung-il (Ha Do-yeong), the husband of the main bully (Park Yeon-jin). He was so hot and effortlessly charismatic. The actor who played him is so talented. I ship his character with Moon Dong-eun and hope he takes her side in the upcoming second season.
Lest I forget, the actress who played the young version of Moon Dong-eun (Jung Ji-so) was so darn impressive. She really set the tone and depth for my emotional investment in the revenge story.
The drama as a whole deserves big praises as well. It’s genuinely immersive and absorbing with its crisp, short episodes, and the cinematography sinks you in with its high production values.
I can’t wait for the second season. In fact, I’m missing the drama and cast already (especially you-know-who). So cheers to March🥂.
I trust that the remaining episodes will deliver. Go watch if you haven’t!
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