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Haunting teaser for Netflix’s The Glory featuring Song Hye-gyo

Well, it’s kind of hard not to love Netflix’s date announcement teaser for The Glory. Though kept mostly under wraps, the drama is brimming with buzz, not only because it stars Song Hye-gyo and Lee Do-hyun, but mostly because of its creative talent.

The revenge drama is written by none other than Kim Eun-sook (The King: Eternal Monarch, The Lonely Shining Goblin, Mr. Sunshine, Descended From the Sun, etc.) and directed by Ahn Gil-ho. While I personally struggle with Kim Eun-sook’s dramas (it’s a me problem), Ahn Gil-ho is one of my favorite PDs out there. So, add in the haunting soundtrack and the mesmerizing live embroidery session, and I’m committed without even being told much at all.

The teaser is simple but effective. We watch a scene embroidered in front of us — a tree entangled with all sorts of meaningful objects — and then sitting against the trunk of the tree is our heroine (Song Hye-gyo). She looks at the camera and narrates eerily: “There will be no mercy, so there will be no glory either.”

Indeed, the story is about this woman’s long-awaited plan for revenge. In her youth she was forced to give up on her dreams due to the violence and bullying she experienced. Now, she seeks revenge again the child of her prime tormentor. Uhhh that sounds awfully dark, right? It remains to be seen just how dark this thing will get — versus how melo — but it is a Netflix production, after all, so you can guess where my vote lies.

The 8-episode drama The Glory will release on Netflix on December 30.

Haunting teaser for Netflix's The Glory featuring Song Hye-gyo
Haunting teaser for Netflix's The Glory featuring Song Hye-gyo
Haunting teaser for Netflix's The Glory featuring Song Hye-gyo
Haunting teaser for Netflix's The Glory featuring Song Hye-gyo

 
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I have often wondered what bullies would be like if their children were bullied so this sounds like someone decided to explore that very idea. We often see the bully bullying their own child and that child goes on to bully others. So I wonder if this child will be meek and protected by their parents who have moved on from the bully phase of their life so would be hurt to know their child had been hurt and would realise too late how their childhood bullying had long term effects for the victims.

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I feel like bullies just get selective amnesia and/or pretend that it wasn't that they were all just kids being kids and no harm was permanently done.

Bullying seems extra severe in korea with no recourse to curb the assaultive and violent behavior - from what's depicted in kdramas, so I sort of wouldn't mind seeing the victim go scorched earth on everyone and see it all get dark. When there is little in the way of moral approaches to getting justice, I can see someone taking on less moral justice routes. Seems like korean society is more apt to do the whole bear the sins of your father sort of thing with the innocent child of the crap parent as the protagonist, so it would be interesting to get this from the victim/now-aggressor's point of view.

She probably wouldn't even have to do much. What if the kid was already being bullied by her classmates? Then Song Hye-kyo's character can just do what some teachers already do even when not revenging -and that is to do nothing - and still get her revenge.

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The one question is whether SHG can pull off a cold, calculating villain.

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The video and poster are SO. PRETTY. It’s Kim Eun-sook and I’m not sure about the plot or Song Hye-kyo and yet for some strange reason I want to watch this.

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I do not know if this was intentional or consequence of cross-culture knowledge shortage, but in the USA the representation of hanging shoes on a tree is a signal that this a gang's territory.

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I have the same problem @missvictrix, im allergic fully to her dramas, so it isn't just a you problem. I stand in solidarity with you there, lol. I will be skipping this, I just wanted you to know you are not alone. Lol

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@missvictrix is definitely not alone in her opinion, especially not on DB lol. I think there’s a pretty seizable crowd here with less-than-flattering views on Kim Eun-sook’s dramas.

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Thanks for the backup! I want to change my mind, though, so I'll see how this winds up looking ;)

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The promotions are stunning and it’s clear that Netflix wants this to be a huge critical and commercial hit for their platform. The only question is, can Song Hye-gyo deliver a convincing performance that demands moral ambiguity or villainy - qualities I think a protagonist like this requires? Can Kim Eun-sook overcome her myriad of writing weaknesses to finally deliver a show that doesn’t make me want to rip my hair out? Will the show stay on track with its themes and not simply become a vehicle of uninspired clichés and pretty faces?

The latter questions are more personal than objective, but given the mixed reception most of her work garners, I think it’s a reasonable ask.

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In my mind, how well is SHG's performance will be is the immediate comparison to how her best friend, Jo Yeo Jeong, would have/could have/already did this type of role.

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All of these are valid questions, and you know it won't, but I will wait on the beanie comments. Maybe we will be proven wrong.

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This is an entrancing and haunting trailer. The overall tone--or maybe it's the shoe--reminds me of "Little Women," which I loved. I'm not sure this one will prove a masterpiece, and I wasn't initially that interested in tuning in. But this promo got me; I'll watch at least the first episode.

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I liked Kim Eun-Sook's dramas, I think she wrote ones of the most KDrama-esque with good romances, interesting characters (even the second leads), humor. Goblin and Mr Sunshine are still in my favourite Kdramas.

This drama is very different from her usual style and Song Hye-Gyo and Lee Do-Hyun had a very bland last drama and their acting didn't help... So I'm not really confident for this one. Maybe the PD will make the difference.

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@kurama: Mr Sunshine is an absolute gem. On so many levels. Many of its actors were exceptional in their roles. A really thought provoking and poignant viewing experience.

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And she wrote 5 great characters not only the ML like a lot of dramas... The PD did a great work with this one too. The OST was beautiful, I'm still listenning Be a Flame

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@kurama: Even the relatively minor characters were conceived and acted so beautifully: The potter, Go Ashin’s trainer, the former slave-hunters (Ilsik and Chunsik, they were just a treat). I feel sorry for people who didn’t like the drama or were bored by it. It is inconceivable to me how but some Beannies said so. And, I say all of this as someone who isn’t a fan of Lee Byunghun but I even tolerated him because the sum was greater than the parts.

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My opinion, exactly. Watched it despite him and loved all of it. Oh Byun Yo Han, how my heart still breaks for you.

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@dncingemma: Mr. Sunshine is the exception to the rule for Kim Eun-sook’s dramas - at least for me. Which just makes it even more frustrating when she continually makes mediocre content because everyone knows she can do better.

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@ladynightshade: But what an exception. Because of that she might be able to create another one as great as that. Although it is mystifying how she can be the writer of DOTS and then go on to write MS. Maybe there are 2 of her in parallel universes and they go back and forth. One is a pulpy writer and the other is a reclusive writer who spent decades writing MS.

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My husband and I loved Mr. Sunshine. It is the kdrama that got me sucked in to this world. I read somewhere that this was KES' opus, she started writing this even before Goblin and DOTS. My heart still breaks for all the characters. Goblin was fun, too but DOTS and TKEM definitely were cringey at best (I still scratch my head when I realized these were her work too). So I'd say this new drama could go both ways. I will wait and see.

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I still haven’t watched Mr Sunshine as Kim Eun-sook’s dramas in the past decade are rarely to my liking.

BUT her City Hall is among my all time favorites. I like how a more mature and out-of-the-norm couple against a political backdrop can be so mesmerizing sizzling. The cherry on the top is that they are played by Kim Sun-ah and Cha Seung-won. These two practically put the screen on fire. A lot of people like the tango dance in The Scent of Women between Kim Sun-ah and Lee Dong-wook but it’s not comparable to the City Hall’s tango in my book.

The DB crew from JB days till now are never KES fan and we City Hallers are always thankful to @samsooki for his taking up the recap - the very first non-DB staff to guest-recap here. Her another drama, On Air, is great too!

So, I know KES can deliver but has just been too focused on producing blockbuster crowd pleaser. Will I watch Glory - probably not unless Song Hye-gyo can all of a sudden know how to act.

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This teaser is stunning. Love the embroidery work.

That being said, Kim Eunsook is kdrama's Shonda Rhimes and Song Hyekyo is not an actress, so I'm skipping this unless the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

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This series will only work if they have a director willing to put Song Hye-gyo into a headlock act force her to actually ACT.

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The premise is pretty much messed up, but I'm interested in seeing what KES does with a different genre. I hope SHK actually acts, but I'm afraid we'll just get the same cold face.

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Oh, how I love embroidery 😍

Am set back in my chair to hear the Pie Jesu from the Faure Requiem as the music. That raises my opinion of the potential here 🤔

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I'm so strongly reminded of Kenja no Ai with this show. I'll try it out for the director, Lee Do-hyun and Park Sung-hoon.

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How I drawn to the embroidery as it hold so many meaning on the revenge. It's beautiful..

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Ok - not gonna lie I have a very conflicted feeling about this series :

The good :
- I generally love revenge and dark shows, and knowing this will be on Netflix, it is good that this series can utilize its content to its full potential ie. not being afraid being gritty and violent, as with the case with most streaming platform;
- I love the work of the PD : he worked before on Forest of Secrets, Alhambra and Happiness, all of which I loved
- Now they've unveiled the teaser, it looked damn good and polished; remind me of Little Woman a lot.

The bad :
- Kim Eun Sook is not my favourite writer; in fact I disliked most of her work from DOTS, Goblin to TKEM : the sole exception is Mr. Sunshine which does felt like written by different a writer altogether ...
- To be honest, i'm perplexed with the pairing of SHK and LDH. If this series will contain romance then this is their 3rd noona-dongsaeng OTP together ... hopefully no romance here.
- Continuing from my second point, this is really just my personal bias but I'm generally not a fan of noona romance, and if that is the case for this series, then I secretly hoping it to have a sad ending due to my personal disdain of this genre ...

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I hope the bully's child is not Lee Do Hyun.

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Is this again an noona romance? If so, i am not happy. He is 27 and she is 41!
It is like... the difference so big. Not nice.
On the other hand... revenge plot? (not very appealing)
But we´ll see...
(i am skeptical)

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Why is bullying so awful if the victim isn't the child of bullies but permissible if the victim is? Plenty of comments about revenge on the bullying parent/revenge for the original bullied child, but no sympathy for the innocent who gets bullied now through no fault of their own!

I'm pretty sick of bullying in dramas but using it as a tool for revenge is still bullying someone who has done nothing to deserve it, so what's the difference from one scenario to the next? Nothing! Her bullying isn't righteous payback, it's just more bullying. If she wants revenge on an individual, find a satisfying way to hurt that individual only, better still just stop.

Still, I'll withhold judgement until we see what we get, but I'm really hoping this heroine sends a quite different message in the end. The buck has to stop somewhere and I'm hoping it's with her so yet another person doesn't carry this down to another generation.

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