Forget ‘Squid Game,’ Netflix’s Brutal Psychological Thriller With Only 16 Episodes Is Even Better
Amanda M. Castro is a Network TV writer at Collider and a New York–based journalist whose work has appeared in Newsweek, where she is an Associate Editor, and The U.S. Sun, where she previously served as a Senior Consumer Reporter.
She specializes in network television coverage, delivering sharp, thoughtful analysis of long-running procedural hits and ambitious new dramas across broadcast TV. At Collider, Amanda explores character arcs, storytelling trends, and the cultural impact of network series that keep audiences tuning in week after week.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Amanda is bilingual and holds a degree in Communication, Film, and Media Studies from the University of New Haven.
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The Glory is a strong contender for this title because it gives you a more cohesive form of brutality, an intimately violent experience compared to that of Squid Game. In 16 episodes, it tells the story of one girl’s meticulously calculated revenge against classmates who wronged her.
The series is a tough watch at times. Its opening episodes show the damage that school bullying can leave behind, and the story doesn’t treat that violence as a passing teenage cruelty. But The Glory turns that painful setup into an intricate revenge drama, anchored by Song Hye-kyo’s controlled, quietly ferocious performance.
What Is Netflix’s 'The Glory' About?
In her teenage years, Moon Dong-eun is harassed by a group of affluent peers directed by Park Yeon-jin. Their bullying is systematic, and when Dong-eun tries to seek help, both the school and authorities let her down. Years later, Dong-eun has rebuilt her life around one goal: making the people who hurt her answer for what they did.
Now an adult, Dong-eun becomes a teacher at the elementary school Yeon-jin’s daughter attends. She has spent years preparing, and her return puts her close to the former ringleader and the rest of the group. Her plan doesn’t rely on one dramatic confrontation. She studies her targets, finds their weak spots, and nudges them toward turning on one another. Each new piece of the plan shifts the balance between Dong-eun and the people who once had all the power.
Song Hye-kyoo shows restraint as Dong-eun, saying more with a few gestures. She remains serious and hard to read, and the show suggests Dong-eun's calm stems from deep past suffering. The scars of Dong-eun from her past trauma are shown at various times; at times, through things like a small sound provoking a painful memory or so on.
Lim Ji-yeon’s portrayal of Yeon-jin makes her a formidable adversary, however. In her adult life, she is successful in her profession and should be happy with her family, but she still has the same sense of entitlement. Dong-eun has waited a long time for her once-in-a-lifetime confrontation, while Yeon-jin has lived under the false assumption that her past will not return.
The supporting cast gives the revenge plot room to deepen. Lee Do-hyun plays Joo Yeo-jeong, a doctor who supports Dong-eun and carries his own sorrow, and Yeom Hye-ran plays Kang Hyeon-nam, a character who alternates between helping Dong-eun and trying to escape her own troubled life. Their narratives ensure revenge isn't just a list of people getting punished.
Why 'The Glory' Is Worth the 16 Episodes
The series’ two-part release gives the story space to build before the payback takes hold. The first half lays out Dong-eun’s preparation and the web of relationships around her targets. The second turns those connections into pressure points. It’s satisfying to watch pieces fall into place, but the plan stays messy enough to keep the tension alive.
That’s where The Glory differs from Squid Game. While both series are successful Netflix shows that reveal characters trapped in harsh systems, The Glory narrows its focus and directly confronts bullying, privilege, and failing institutions instead of the game itself. The show also resists making revenge feel simple. Dong-eun’s methods can be manipulative and morally fraught, and the series leaves room to sit with that discomfort. You can root for her to expose the people who escaped accountability while still wondering what she’ll have left when the plan is over.
The early abuse scenes are intense, so viewers who find depictions of bullying and violence difficult should know what they’re stepping into. But The Glory doesn’t use those moments as cheap shock. They detail the hardships Dong-eun faces throughout her formative years and why she still suffers from them as an adult.
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