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The Glory: Episodes 1-2 (First Impressions)

Oof, this drama is brutal. Netflix’s latest original certainly doesn’t pull any punches, and neither did the bullies who gleefully tormented our protagonist in the past. They had better watch out, though, because she’s about to set a revenge scheme in motion — one that she’s been meticulously planning for years.

Editor’s note: This is an Episodes 1-2 review only. Please refrain from spoilers. For a place to chat about the entire drama with rampant spoilers, visit the Drama Hangout!
 
EPISODES 1-2 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

“The “The

I came to The Glory expecting Netflix’s usual brand of graphic violence, but my stomach still dropped at how vicious the bullying scenes were. So if you’re squeamish about flesh wounds and ruthless humiliation, this is your chance to turn back.

Our drama begins like any other high school bullying story — poverty-stricken MOON DONG-EUN (Jung Ji-so) finds herself the target of the school’s top dogs. Ringleader PARK YEON-JIN (Shin Ye-eun) takes delight in tormenting Dong-eun, for no apparent reason other than the fact she’s a convenient target.

Yeon-jin’s flanked by a whole group of minions, which means Dong-eun has no hope of escape. We’re forced to watch as Yeon-jin and her gang press a curling iron to Dong-eun’s limbs, leaving red welts that make Dong-eun scream from the excruciating pain. The school isn’t willing to back Dong-eun up, either, not when Yeon-jin and her friends hail from wealth. Unable to bear the torture any longer, Dong-eun ends up dropping out from school and working menial jobs to make ends meet.

“The

It’s no easy task, and the constant itching from her burn scars eventually pushes Dong-eun to the brink. She very nearly walks right into the Han River, but hitting rock bottom winds up being a turning point for her. Returning to school for one last confrontation with her bullies, Dong-eun declares to Yeon-jin’s face that she hopes they meet again.

Dong-eun may not have much to her name, but she certainly has a tenacious spirit. While juggling her long work hours, Dong-eun continues her studies through handwritten flashcards and late-night study sessions. At long last, she passes her high school equivalency exam and gets accepted into college.

“The

Years have passed in the meantime, and our central characters are all grown up now. Dong-eun (now played by Song Hye-gyo) has been fastidiously compiling information on her former tormentors, slowly gathering intel on their weaknesses.

Yeon-jin (now played by Im Ji-yeon) is a weathercaster for the morning news, and she’s every bit as entitled and haughty as she was a decade ago. As for the rest of her lackeys, they’re still keeping in touch, too. Artist LEE SARA (Kim Hieora) gets her drugs delivered by SOHN MYUNG-OH (Kim Gun-woo), who also works at the beck-and-call of JEON JAE-JOON (Park Sung-hoon). Meanwhile, CHOI HYE-JUNG (Cha Joo-young) also has a relatively humbler career as the owner of a dry cleaning service.

“The

Needless to say, Myung-oh and Hye-jung’s lower social statuses not only spark their inferiority complexes, but also hint at the beginnings of conflict in this toxic group. When Yeon-jin finds out that Hye-jung has been telling a friend about their school days, she and Sara thoroughly humiliate Hye-jung by exposing her for wearing her clients’ dresses. How dare she play pretend and act like she’s on the same level as them?

Similarly, Myung-oh is sick of being Jae-joon’s servant, and that frustration is exactly what Dong-eun exploits. She approaches him under the guise of an unexpected run-in, and tempts him with an offer — she has juicy information that could turn his life around. We don’t get to hear what it is, but Myung-oh falls for it hook, line, and sinker.

“The

Another fun fact about Yeon-jin is that she’s just gotten married to construction company CEO HA DO-YOUNG (Jung Sung-il), and this kicks off a main plot thread. Do-young’s a baduk nerd, which means Dong-eun is also studying up on baduk in order to (presumably) manufacture a coincidental meeting.

The real chance encounter, though, is with JOO YEO-JUNG (Lee Do-hyun). After winding up in adjacent hospital beds (Dong-eun fainted from anemia and malnutrition, Yeo-jung looks like he got beaten up), Yeo-jung takes an interest in Dong-eun. That becomes mutual when Dong-eun finds out that Yeo-jung’s good at baduk — what better way to learn?

“The “The

We’re given a montage of them practicing together through the seasons, and by the end of it, Dong-eun can hold her own as a baduk player. Abruptly, though, she cuts her lessons short. Yeo-jung points out that she hasn’t defeated him yet, but Dong-eun has no need to — he isn’t her true opponent, after all.

It’s clear that Yeo-jung is affected by her sudden departure, but Dong-eun doesn’t have the time to feel the same. Having passed the national teacher certification exam, she’s ready to move on to the next part of her plan. She’s thought long and hard about the best way to hurt Yeon-jin, and the answer is clear — her precious daughter Ye-sol.

“The

Okay, I knew what I was signing up for when I started this show, but I’m not quite sure how to feel about this. Taking revenge on the people who hurt you is one thing, but bringing an entirely innocent third party into the fray? I certainly hope the show addresses the moral quandaries of that, because I think it’d be an interesting dilemma to dive into.

It’s heartbreaking to see how Dong-eun’s entire life has been shaped by her trauma — even now, her tormentors’ hold over her lives on, because of how she’s dedicated her entire life to vengeance. Still, she’s not alone. When housekeeper KANG HYUN-NAM (Yeom Hye-ran) catches Dong-eun stealing Yeon-jin’s garbage, she doesn’t report her to the police. Instead, she entreats Dong-eun to kill her husband in exchange for her silence.

“The “The

Given that I started watching this drama entirely for Kim Hieora and Lee Do-hyun, I’m surprisingly invested in the story. The Glory did a good job of introducing an interestingly diverse mix of characters and building suspense, elevated by its atmospheric cinematography — count on PD Ahn Gil-ho to never let us down!

As much as I can sympathize with Dong-eun’s bone-deep desire to mutilate Yeon-jin’s face with an industrial stapler, though, I don’t know if I can sit through even more of the show’s explicitly gruesome violence. Still, I’m intrigued by our central cast, and I’m curious as to how deep our protagonist’s revenge ploy runs.

“The

 
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Thank you, @solstices, for the weecap! I've just finished episode 1 and ... I'm not sure if I'm going to continue. When a grown woman plots revenge using innocent people - that's my cue to go.

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She doesn't really use the child directly in her revenge.

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The synopsis that I saw initially had me worried about that...so I was glad to see it really wasn't the case.
(SPOILER ALERT?? 🤔)

From what we can see Dongeun only targets her bullies, no innocent people.
Though if her revenge ploy goes well the child will probably suffer indirectly...it'd still be mainly the consequences of her parents' actions, though.

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"Wow, that's just like a fairy tale."

"Is my story like a fairy tale?"

"Yes, but I don't like it
because my mom's not the main character."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because my mom is rich.
And the main characters are all poor."

"No, you're wrong.
In this story,
your mother is the main character.
Because this story isn't a fairy tale.
It's a fable."

A dialogue between Dongeun and Yesul in the end of Episode 1. The first cue that the young daughter is not the target of revenge is in Episode 3, she will be more like holding some kind of secret (What secret it is, I would let you explore yourself).

Dongeun is pretty determine on her revenge, but at the same time, she is also pretty clear what her target is. She probably would hold her fire to avoiding getting innocent people.

Well, I guess the child would still hurt if she lost her mom and dad, no matter in any way, but that's probably not avoidable ...

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Yes, her parents will be affected, so she will be too..that's what I meant! ;)

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@cubely, I guess Yesul will be the audience's vintage point this time. She is not meant to be a target of revenge, but a witness of the whole story. That's why she may feel some pain (for the sake of the audience), but won't be that much.

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how did you get that impression from episode one? Because of the child? Ok, but it's not the first drama that makes us think our hero is planning and able to do all kinds of cruelty only to show us they choose not to. You sure can drop it, but if that's the reason, I would say episode one is too soon for

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It was the synopsis.

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This one, made me watch K-drama again from the start, and not skipping any episode. I am glad that the synopsis and the drama didn't quite match, in context of to whom she would address the revenge. It full of familiar well-known actress/actors and they did quite well. I confess, I did skip some of the scenes because they were too unbearable. I couldn't say more without spoiling it, bur kudos to all who made 'The Glory' happened 👍

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Saying that the first few episodes are hard to watch is an understatement. I'm appalled at the behaviour of everyone involved, especially the teachers who are tasked with protecting the students and just serve their selfish agenda instead. I hope she gets her revenge, no ifs or buts about it.

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When the teacher started slapping her and all the other teachers just stood by?? I kept thinking Not a single adult would stand up for this minor! Unfathomable really.

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@parkchuna It was absolutely ridiculous, but the scene brought to mind an instance in my adolescence when a male student I sat next to was being disruptive during the lecture, and my high school teacher kept on teaching like it was nothing. The boy was obviously on something and had a bad case of the munchies, scarfing down chips and energy drinks while acting frantic, but he came from a rich family and no one said anything contrary. I remember the shock and chilling embarrassment I felt when he turned to me, in the middle of class, and burped the nastiest burp in my face. He smiled and went about his day like nothing happened while I remember wishing the ground would open up and let me in. The teacher paused for a second and kept going, never asking if I was alright or mentioning it again. In that moment I understood how they saw me and where I fell on their radar of concern, which was not at all. This is all to say that these things and so much worse do and can happen, not just in Asian countries but around the world.

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I wanted to upvote your comment because your point is so true, but the frustration that I felt while reading about your experience stopped me, kinda like if I like it then I'm liking those people too. I want to throw a shoe at your teacher's head.

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@Rose It's okay, it happened. I am glad I learned the type of person that I don't want to be and can be happy about that. Thank you for offering your chancla in my defense. 💖

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I’m sorry you had to experience that! It’s hard to believe how horrendous people can be sometimes 😢

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@parkchuna It's okay, thank you for caring. 🥰

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Too much bullying and the right amount of anger just watched the whole season and not to compare it with another recent "let's get back to revenge" drama, but I really enjoyed the flow, and never got bored or lost. Eagerly waiting for the rest of the story

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This show is so engaging that I binged all the episodes without even realizing it already ep8. I dont regret watching it but I loathe the wait for Part 2. The bullying scenes were very hard to watch. (It makes me worry for Jung Ji So that has to go through it all.) The brutality of what an 18-yr old girl had to go through definitely made me empathize with Dong Eun's quest for revenge. It made me hate the adults that failed to protect her as much as the group of friends that tormented her.
Song Hye Kyo made the right choice for choosing this project. It is definitely a far from her previous roles which is a good thing. She is great in showing the stoicism with a air of mystery with a big touch of sadness and subdued anger needed for Dong Eun.

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She is great in showing the stoicism with a air of mystery with a big touch of sadness and subdued anger needed for Dong Eun.

This! I really do not understand why some people except psychopath level craziness from a victim whenever there is a revenge label attached to a drama. Quiet and calm doesn't mean weak, it is more of making calculated moves. I thought SHK's minimal acting fit the characterisation because in other revenge dramas the victims lose sympathy for being cray which is the reason I disliked Shin Hyu Bin's character in "Reflection of You" even though she was a partly a victim.

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Shin Hyun Bin's character didn't deserve that RoY's drama version ending ... that ending actually appalled me. I heard that in the original novel version, Go Youn Jung's character (and her husband) killed her and attempted to cover it up.

It is a much grislier ending but I preferred that one.

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I agree with on all counts, but it also forms the basis for my criticism of the show. The bullying group of kids was possible, although I thought it was an awfully large group to be eagerly engaging not just in brutal bullying but in murder, rape, and scarring torture with multiple victims. Wealth is a protectant from consequences bullying and physical abuse, but horrible burns on at least 3 girls would get some attention. Also, there was no way teachers would stand by and watch her homeroom teacher beat her, especially in the 21st century. They might not report him, but they would physically restrain him. So that was a little implausible to me.
The other thing is that as a revenge drama,as you say, the focus is on the intense but implacable rage/sadness and drive of our heroine, and how she has had to "become" her torturers, especially Yeon-Jin. That is great, and you are right about the actress, she's great at it. BUT to my mind it becomes a bit one dimensional even by episode 2, and to briefly stray beyond the focus here, definitely by the later episodes.

And that brings me to my last part in which I completely agree with you--the way this show is being released is just terrible and makes absolutely no sense at all. With AOS, the story line justified the part II. This is just arbitrarily split in two. Why?

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The level of bullying is implausible in my view as well, not just in this drama, but in most dramas focussing on school violence. Moreover it is all happening in the school gym. Now, I cannot believe that there is any school janitor in the world who would allow students to use the gym as a private place for their own little gatherings. This is the most unplausible aspect of it all.

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Same, I mean they really allow that kind of violence in public open space? Like how? Not just the students but the teacher too. What teacher insane enough to beat his student in teacher room while there're many others watching?

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The length of time that the perpetrators crimes remained under wraps with no one reporting it does seem implausible. The level of brutality was too much. But it does become plausible when you think about the type of victims they choose. Poor girls with zero connections while the perpetrators have connections to the top tiers of the police and school board. Plus money to bribe necessary people and potentially manipulate people with the influence they have in the city they lived in at the time. SK is a hierarchal society and ppl may not wish to interfere at the cost of their livelihood and even lives.

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Regarding the homeroom teacher, I do agree that he should not have gotten away with more than a slap or two. It was too much when he was doing it infront of other teachers.

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I just wanted to highlight abt the power play tactics in chaebols in South Korea and how this is a system transferred to multiple generations. As much as the bullies are implicit, the parents gave or enhanced that feeling of power within the children and did not make them feel thay what they is not violence. Remember the "nutgate" scandal in 2014? A Korean heiress Heather Cho was "unhappy" with the service a steward on a Korean Air flight and the plane had already taken off from JFK. This heiress "bullied" the steward and mind you she is not your average 20 year old but an actual woman in her late 30s or early 40s who made this man kneel and apologise for the "incomplete services" and ordered the flight to be turned around to JFK. The matter was a huge uproar but it died down after 6 months. She didn't face much repercussions but this shows the power in play and how ordinary people don't stand a chance. Kim Eun Sook handled that aspect when the bullies were in school and how the dynamics changed when they were adults. The story of how teachers were ordinary bystanders during that period, note that from 1990 till 2005, corporal punishment was very much relevant in Korea and Japan, the higher ups were influential and especially when it came to their children no one got involved. There are many case studies covered by multiple You tubers of school violence in this period. Similarly because their parents were highly influential, some of the rich young men could evade mandatory military service. Again it is the power play, but because Korean public has been very vocal on.many levels of.ill treatment these cases, even though decades have passed, get the attention on Naver forums, laws and even under discussion with families. Things have changed now but in those time.periods they were brutal. Abt the series being divided into 2 parts - Netflix needs to retain their subscribers. If the whole series was shown then there is a high likelihood of more people unsubscribing. So this is to retain people from leaving the platform. This is the same method, they did for Stranger Things to be released in 2 volumes for the last season.

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I haven't watched this show nor do I intend to, but I'd like to say one benefit of this fast-paced, digitalized world is that it's very unlikely, if not impossible, that such scene would go unnoticed, especially with older students. Students have access to their mobile phones these days, and what they can do with those little devices are beyond imaginable. I once heard that one teacher's voice in one class was recorded and posted by one tweeter account and it went viral very fast. More than 1.000 retweets and the teacher was called for some internal investigation. I'm not sure what happened to the teacher.

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I really liked it, and I do not usually like Kim Eunseok dramas.

Also, where did this idea that Netflix dramas are so/uniquely violent come from? Did we forget about the era of extra violent OCN dramas?

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Don't you think it comes entirely from Squid Games? For me in the U.S. though, the network/studio of origin isn't as relevant. I just associate "Netflix dramas" with shows that have streamed on Netflix, which actually, (while still giving credit to Viki) includes many of my all time favorite kdramas. So while the "Netflix effect" might be associated with violence to those in Korea and longtime kdrama aficionados, I guess my fandom (and that of many others I know) of generally non-violent shows is also a product of the Netflix effect.

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since squid games and kingdom, everything is so bloody, gory, violent and awful... seems the american appetite is toward the violence. like, duh.

i hate it tho. that being said, i suffered thru the first few eps and finished it. hmmm. i will watch season 2 just because...

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I’ve just started and while I do love a revenge drama I prefer more nuanced villains. Dong-eun’s bullies almost seem like caricatures.

The other factor that drew me to the show is Song Hye-kyo. I was wondering when she would look to grow as an actor and take on a more serious dramatic role. Still early days yet but so far it’s a meh for me on her portrayal of the avenger.

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The Glory is a scathing indictment regarding bullying and physical abuse and how it’s tolerated and outright ignored in SK. I had to fast forward through the school bullying scenes.
All countries have issues with physical and emotional and mental misconduct. I’m not dismissing that. But so many kdramas now feature the culture of abuse and how it affects the lives of millions of people. It’s shocking how SK is light years behind other developed countries with enacting or enforcing laws to protect its citizens but especially women and children. The number of suicides each year due to domestic, school or workplace violence is staggering. I keep hoping that this drama or that drama gets enough global attention to force SK lawmakers to sit up and take notice. It’s heartbreaking to view in a kdrama and to see how corrupt everyone from school officials to law enforcement can be.

Relative to The Glory, I too binged all the episodes and many times I had to fast forward through some gruesome scenes, so heads up, it’s far from over.
All the main leads are doing a great job, but early on I’ve got to single out Shin Ye-eun as Yeon-jin. She brings a dark and deadly aura to her character as the lead perpetrator of such horrific events.
Solstices, you did a great job recapping these 2 episodes. I don’t envy you your task over the next weeks.

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Thank you @solstices for this weecap. I’ve been on the fence about watching this drama. If done well I think it could have a lot to say about the damaging effects of bullying on the human psyche, and the moral dilemmas that come with seeking revenge. However, I have a very low tolerance for graphic scenes of violence, or seeing one human inflicting pain on another. It makes me physically ill. I think I’m gonna have to take a pass on this one, and just check in on the comments.

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I totally relate to the not doing well with violence but I am such a Song Hye Kyo fan I wanted to see it. I just fast forwarded the parts when they are in high school because I got the just of it from just one gym scene lol because it’s such a well done drama you end up just falling in love with her character and her side kicks that help her get revenge. And it’s brilliantly done

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one of the most well done movies I have seen in a while. The writing the flow the acting from everyone the producing the cinematography all well done. I just skipped over a few of the bullying scenes as it was so difficult to watch which was a testament to how well it was done.

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This is the first Song Hye-kyo role in awhile that didn't depend on her being the most beautiful woman in the room. It seems to be somewhat liberating for her. Her last role 'Now We Are Breaking Up' I wondered if she had been instructed not to smile because its shows wrinkles.

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This was a hard drama to watch to be honest.. I wanted to destroy everyone of those bullies... they are beyond disgusting and the 3 rich ones are literally psychopaths with zero remorse.. its stomach turning..

I literally had to fast forward through alot of the bullying scenes..

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I think so far,KES has redeemed herself from the TKEM disaster. At least the first 8 episodes were compelling enough to binge watch. I like long games and it is interesting when the extent of her planning gets revealed slowly. Also, he is shady as hell, but my favorite character is Ha Do Young, at least he is intriguing in this part 1. I have a suspicion he will be the big villain in the end but I suppose we can only confirm in March.

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KES just needs to stop casting Lee Min Ho, two of her worst dramas are Heirs and Eternal Monarch, which are just cringe fests.

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It's few years since I come back to Dramabeans again, I think the last time is for Signal. And how is the review here is become worse and worse?

I mean, there are many details in The Glory that make this show unique and I did not see any in this article. For example, I think the director has a very well done job here. On the first ep, when the female lead repeats the question what animosity is, the cinematography there is so beautiful, it's the scene of female lead and iron poles behind her back, it's like the director uses that image to answer the question, animosity is prison. It keeps the female lead living and also trapping her.

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The only thing I'm going to comment on for now is the complaint about violence, if you watch Korean movies they are violent, if you watch action, suspense and so on, the atmosphere is very reminiscent of this drama, watch oldboy for example. I think television couldn't be like that, because it didn't have platforms, but now it has platforms, like Netflix, which allows you to expand even further the stories and genres told.

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Nice one Song hye kyo, waiting for the part2

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Nice one Song hye kyo, excitedly waiting for the part2…to find what happened to myung o😜😜

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Binged the whole first half in one sitting, I didn’t think I would do that for a KES drama but here I am eagerly waiting for March.

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I thought Hye-jung's mom owns a dry-cleaning service and Hye-jung grew up to be a first-class cabin flight attendant.

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My way of handling gruesome stuff online? I skip like theres no tomorrow! It's a potential good story so if people can tolerate the graphic stuff and skip, I think its worth it. Thats what I did with the OCN dramas that I liked (TEN with Joo Sang Wook and Choi Woo Sik is one of my all tiem favs but I literally covered my eyes half of the time rofl). I was intrigued by the trailer basically having Dong-eun putting her life on the line for her revenge and I was hesitant to watch because I'm not a big fan of the main leads but the cast is around them is holding everything together nicely. Sara and Do Young were awesome in Bad and Crazy and I was pleasantly surprised to see them here! I was bummed to see the other part would premiere in March tho. by then, K would have to watch it again to understand wth is happening!

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Can someone please explain to me about Episode 1, the scene when Yeon-jin’s mom and her family are in the weird religious service after she got in trouble by her mom from the police? Can anyone explain what religion that is and what are they worshipping? Thank you.

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