The Glory: Vengeance That Will Give You Chills

After years of horrible abuse in high school, Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) grows up with one goal in mind: revenge. Aided by mysterious plastic surgeon Joo Yeo-jeong (Lee Do-hyun), she creates an elaborate scheme against bullies Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon), Jeon Jae-joon (Park Sung-hoon), Choi Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young), Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hieora), and Son Myeong-oh (Kim Gun-woo) to ruin their lives.

This drama received both critical and my acclaim; it was phenomenal. Loosely based on true events, the core of this show was its social commentary. It vividly demonstrated the rampant problem of bullying in South Korea's education system. The horrors it inflicts on someone's physical and psychological state when their pleas are ignored by adults who have the resources to assist. Song Hye-kyo brilliantly portrayed the absolute anguish within Dong-eun, who spent her life as a shell. Meanwhile, her bullies were completely indifferent to their actions, as they grew up but never matured. They all led infuriatingly successful lives, due to their wealth and statuses.

Although the central plotline was Dong-eun's revenge, the writers evenly focused on other characters and their development. We learned about the equally heartbreaking past of Yeo-jeong, who connected with Dong-eun over their mutual despair and they became pillars of strength for each other during extremely difficult times. Also shown was the adorably comforting relationship between Yeon-jin's husband Ha Do-yeong (Jung Sung-il) and their daughter Ha Ye-sol (Oh Ji-yul).

All the actors were incredible in their craft, portraying the struggles, complexity, and psychopathy of people. Spoiler alert: the bullies were all punished in some form, but you'll have to watch to see how. As Dong-eun's plan proved successful, we finally see her beautifully flourish, and begin her journey into happiness by helping Yeo-jeong. Serious issues that were included as plot devices like sexual assault, drug abuse, and suicide were handled with blunt transparency which I felt was necessary; these subjects shouldn't be minimized. This show was really well done, exhibiting the importance of sharing these stories.