The Glory – Season 1 Episode 16 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Revenge is Best Served Cold

Episode 16 of The Glory starts with Dong-eun Yeo-jung if he always knew she would come to him for help. Yeo-jung responds affirmatively and explains that he has known about So-hee’s body being in the freezer for a while. He also says that he followed Dong-eun when they first met in the hospital back in 2011. Dong-eun thought she was she was luring Yeo-jung but he was simply letting her use him. He says he knew his role from the beginning and was willing to be her executioner.

He was taken aback when Dong-eun left instead of using him after their Go Lesson. He asks her why she left. Dong-eun confesses that So-hee’s mom told her what happened to Yeo-jung’s dad and she felt selfish thinking she was the only victim whose pain mattered. The guilt made her leave. Yeo-jung is glad to hear that, he was afraid that she left him before because he was not her type. Yeo-jung is so precious, he even has time for jokes! He asks her to use him and not leave him unless it is for love. Dong-eun agrees and asks him to help him until the end.

Later, Dong-eun visits Hye-jeong who is now mute following Sa-ra stabbing her in the throat using a pen. Dong-eun asks Hye-jeong if she wants to take revenge on Jae-joon and thanks Hye-jeong for helping her deal with Sa-ra and Yeon-jin.Hye-jeong leaves the hospital and heads over to Jae-joon’s place to collect her things.  Jae-joon allows her inside to pack her stuff.

During this time, Hye-jeong decides to change Jae-joon’s Glaucoma medicine as instructed by Dong-eun. Dong-eun gave her the option and a chance to get her revenge on Jae-joon but left her to decide if she will execute the plan or not. Jae-joon seals his fate when he rudely speaks to Hye-jeong and she gladly switches his medicine.

Another person dealing with his fate is Shin Yeong-jun who is attacked by his men after they learn that he is leaving them to take the fall for all the crimes they did on his orders. They kill him and plan to dispose of his body.

Elsewhere, Yeon-jin is slowly sinking into depression when she receives a video of the day Myeong-oh was killed. She rushes to Jae-joon’s store and finds the police have marked the fitting room as a crime scene and are collecting DNA evidence. She is immediately arrested. It turns out that Dong-eun was the one who sent her that video. She also sent an anonymous tip to the police.

On the other hand, Jae-joon visits Ye-sol at school and tries to explain that he is her dad. Unfortunately, he has mistaken a different girl for Ye-sol. Another parent tells him that Ye-sol was transferred to another school abroad. He immediately tries to call Do-young but he is unavailable. He angrily calls Dong-eun and demands to know what she did to his child. He asks to meet her and his eyesight continues getting worse as he drives to the meeting spot. He uses the eyedrop Hye-jeong switched. He is unable to see and he gets into an accident.

In the meantime, Dong-eun meets with a detective who tells her about his suspicions about what led to Hyun -nam husband’s death. The detective is sure that Yeon-jin’s mom killed him because she was blackmailing her. The detective is also certain that Dong-eun had a part to play but lacks evidence to prove his claim. Furthermore, Dong-eun didn’t break any laws.

Yeon-jin’s mom was the one who chose to kill the man. The police find her trying to meet with Hyun -nam and force her to settle the case. They arrest her and charge her with the murder of  Hyun -nam’s husband. Dong-eun thanks the detective for listening to her and following her anonymous tip. The detective apologizes for being 18 years late.

In prison, Yeon-jin signs her divorce settlement and Do-young advises her to hire a good lawyer. Yeon-jin thinks that it is cruel that he visited her in person to deliver the divorce papers. She asks where Do-young is going and he says they will go to the UK. Yeon-jin asks if she can write to Ye-sol but Do-young ignores her request and asks her to take care of herself before leaving.

On the other hand, Hyun -nam gives Song-hee the car she got from Dong-eun. Dong-eun wanted her to have the car. She also asked Hyun -nam to deliver money to her former teacher. Dong-eun calls Yeo-jung and invites him to go to the ocean with her. Of course, he agrees to go with her and they have a fun drive as he serenades her.  They stop by the lighthouse and get drunk. Unfortunately, when Yeo-jung goes to buy more beer, Dong-eun calls him and tells him goodbye. Yeo-jung rushes out and tries to find her but she is long gone.

Dong-eun pays Yeon-jin a visit and is happy to see her revenge finally accomplished. She tells Yeon-jin that she wants her to remember her and regret her life every day until the end. Yeon-jin says she has nothing to regret and in a flashback, we learn that  Gyeong-ran was present when Myeong-oh was killed and he asked her to help him.

She was scared and traumatized from every time he assaulted her so she gave him the final blow. Gyeong-ran texted Dong-eun and confessed everything before asking for help. Dong-eun promises to help her but asks her to stop living in the past.

Dong-eun leaves Yeon-jin with her final words, saying she will pray for her to live a horrible life in prison and hopes she goes through hell. She refuses to tell Yeon-jin what truly happened to Myeong-oh and that drives Yeon-jin crazy and she promises to kill Dong-eun.

Dong-eun leaves prison and burns all the photos she had and says goodbye to the past. She wishes nothing but a painful life for her enemies and tries to commit suicide at the abandoned building where So-hee died. Before she can jump off the building, Yeo-jung’s mom stops her and asks her to save her son.

She begs Dong-eun not to kill herself because by doing so, she will be killing Yeo-jung as well. Yeo-jung’s mom knows what Dong-eun has been through but she doesn’t think death is the answer. She pleads with Dong-eun to save Yeo-jung from the hell he is going through with Kang Yeong-cheon. Yeong-cheon has been tormenting Yeo-jung with his letters expressing no remorse for killing his dad.

Dong-eun decides to live and goes to the monk monastery where she spends six months. While there she strikes up a friendship with a judge and asks her if she can transfer Yeong-cheon to a stricter prison. Meanwhile, Yeo-jung spends his days wishing for Dong-eun’s return and is shocked when she finally comes back home.

He accuses her of being too cruel for leaving him and she tells him she missed him. He asks her why she left in the first place. Dong-eun responds that maybe she left because of love, not revenge. Yeo-jung admits he has not been doing well, his revenge didn’t go as planned. She offers to give him some lessons and promises to be his executioner. She grabs him for a kiss and he passionately kisses her back.

After coming back, Dong-eun remembers how she saved her landlady and why the old woman was always kind to her. It turns out they met in the past, the day Dong-eun wanted to kill herself after a hard day working at the laundry house. She saw the old woman had the same intentions after losing her son and stopped her. She sends the old landlady a letter thanking her for saving her life as well that day.

How does The Glory End?

Dong-eun resumes life with Yeo-jung and they theorize about what happened to Jae-joon after the accident. It turns out that Jae-joon made it out of his car alive but Do-young threw him off a building and buried him in cement before leaving the country with Ye-sol.

Dong-eun volunteers as a teacher at the Jisan prison where Yeong-cheon was transferred to. She reaches out to Hyun -nam who is missing her daughter and opened a small restaurant to pass away the days. Hyun -nam is glad to hear that Dong-eun needs an assistant and quickly leaves to meet her.

Yeo-jung gets a job at the prison as a medical officer. He uses his position to help another prisoner with his sister’s treatment. In return, the prisoner is supposed to help him with Yeong-cheon.

The episode ends with Dong-eun visiting So-hee’s grave before driving with Yeo-jung to the Jisan prison. They confess their love for each other before heading inside ready to start Yeo-jung’s revenge.

The Episode Review

Dong-eun managed to get her revenge and in the case of Jae-joon, Do-young helped her a bit. Seeing Yeon-jin behind bars crying while reading fake weather news was cathartic but barely felt enough. She hurt so many people and I hope she rots in jail.

As for Do-young, he got away with murder and also managed to hold on to his daughter. Until now, his only crime was marrying Yeon-jin and she turned him into a murderer.

I don’t think Gyeong-ran should agonize over what happened with Myeong-oh. It was a reflex given all the trauma he put her through. It is good she feels remorseful but she should move on with her life and find healing and peace.

It was a satisfying ending to see Yeo-jung and Dong-eun end up together but I was disappointed with the fact that Yeo-jung is still pursuing Yeong-cheon. It would have been great if we wrapped up his revenge too and they lived happily ever after chasing sunsets on the beach. However, we can hope that the ending might be an introduction to another season where we focus on Yeo-jung’s revenge. What did you think of the ending?