Glitch: Episodes 2-10 (Collection Assessment)
by alathe
Glitch is a brief collection that covers loads of floor. It’s about aliens. It’s about cults. It’s about gleefully believing within the not possible. It’s about being a directionless millennial with a bunch of bizarre hobbies that you simply pursue along with your bizarre pals, solely half of whom know how one can drive (badly). However, most of all, it’s about these intense, borderline-romantic lady friendships that by no means actually die.
EPISODES 2-10 REVIEW
After Shi-guk disappears, Ji-hyo goes from zero to conspiracy in a matter of hours. She tumbles down a rabbit gap she’s pursued up to now… alien abduction. In spite of everything, with the police trying skeptical, and Shi-guk’s smart-watch tracker suggesting he fell off the face of the planet, somebody’s acquired to think about exterior choices. So, she joins a UFO discussion board, urgently messages its moderator, Moonhole, and drops work to crash their subsequent meetup. Hovering on the doorway, she bums a cigarette gentle from a rakishly lovely lady exterior: all ripped denims, insouciant sun shades, and eleventy-billion tattoos. Meet Moonhole (Nana), our co-star!
If solely Ji-hyo had identified her identification earlier than she loudly derided the membership as a bunch of greasy otakus. Now, she will solely cringe as she’s launched to a motley gaggle of adorkable nerds. There’s CAPTAIN PRICE (Tae Received-seok), a delicate big infamous for having been a navy man, although at the moment extra invested in protein shakes than conflict tales. There’s CHO PHILLIP (Park Received-seok), whose hair is so long as his means to lie is abysmal. Lastly, there’s the child of the group, KIM DONG-HYUK (Lee Min-goo), almost definitely to be discovered painstakingly informing his mom that he can’t attend faculty in the present day, as he’s busy exploring the mysteries of the universe.
Ji-hyo pays for her fake pas when the UFO membership begins its most essential responsibility: enjoying Mafia. (Ah, Mafia: the staple of each nerd society! For a present that’s primarily about aliens, they positive don’t skimp on the realism.) Right here, Moonhole angrily denounces Ji-hyo as a liar, earlier than beating a swift retreat on her scooter — while Ji-hyo tears up the pavement in pursuit. Seems, the 2 have historical past. Ji-hyo lastly acknowledges Moonhole as HEO BO-RA, the buddy she broke up with in highschool. Again within the day, Ji-hyo was a UFO fiend. Hiding out in an outdated van, the women bonded over tales of the extraterrestrial — till Bo-ra satisfied Ji-hyo to huff glue. Ji-hyo blamed the next stupor, wherein she went lacking for a number of days, on this. Nonetheless, these aliens she sees? They resemble a drawing the women made collectively; Bo-ra was the inspiration behind the inexperienced helmet.
Bo-ra’s not desperate to forgive, however, her viewers are hungry for prime paranormal content material, and Ji-hyo, along with her tales of preternatural boyfriend-loss, is a veritable money cow. She’s prepared to analyze — digital camera in hand. Their first port of name is Shi-guk’s residence, which has been mysteriously cleared. Our heroines nab the keycode by posing as would-be patrons. Nonetheless, Bo-ra barely has time to interrupt out her trusty elecromagnetic scanner (essential accent for each alien-hunting skilled) earlier than their property agent (Baek Joo-hee) returns, with purchasers in tow.
The ladies heroically squish themselves into the loft, however the newcomers are busy with their… cult ritual? Yep, you learn that proper. Lights dim. Projected stars flash, because the EMI system squeals. In heavy VR visors, the ritualists start to chant: a prayer for ascension, adopted by a harmonic, rallying cry of, “Sella!” So, you understand. Simply your common landlord stuff.
Having hit the conspiracy jackpot, Bo-ra has her eyes on an even bigger prize. The following step is apparent: tail the realtor. Wait — what does Ji-hyo imply, let’s name the cops? Bo-ra sputters in disbelief, as Ji-hyo loftily declares she will’t be trusted. In spite of everything, she has the world’s most boring man alive to find. However, Bo-ra refuses to let Ji-hyo blame a several-day disappearance on glue she didn’t even sniff. Essentially, Bo-ra stumbled via the sphere for hours looking for her buddy. Upon her return, she was slapped, blamed, and ditched. Now, Bo-ra turns her again on Ji-hyo.
However, not the investigation. On that, she’s going full throttle, roping the Captain in as alternative sidekick. Stalking their quarry, they be taught that the realtor is SISTER Search engine marketing, secret cultist of the Church of the Divine Gentle: a happy-clappy congregation who like to snigger, and pray, and sing… in honor of their alien deity. Or fairly, as they are saying, “The Gentle” — the phrases “UFO” and “aliens” being far too gauche. Decided that the world should know what weirdness goes on behind locked doorways, Bo-ra poses as a churchgoer to infiltrate a ritual, video-streaming all of the whereas. It’s greater than even she, connoisseur of bizarre, was banking on. It actually flooring Ji-hyo, who gapes on the stream, equal elements impressed and terrified. As starlight glints in darkness, Sister Search engine optimization chants earlier than a rapturous crowd. Unusual gentle halos her face as she appears to be like up — and levitates into the air.
Ji-hyo is outraged that Bo-ra would put herself in peril, however her buddy is triumphant: they’ve gained a brand new lead. His identify is KIM CHAN-WOO (Go Chang-seok), supposed member of the cult — however, he’s higher identified within the UFO group by his deal with, DIRECT KIM. Years in the past, his daughter was kidnapped by the New Beginnings Peace Corp (NPC), a sub-group of the Church of Divine Gentle. He’s terse on the main points, however he does have one factor going for him… he’s laughably simple to rob. Ji-hyo, having absolutely dedicated to the insanity, nabs his exhausting drive, and the women beat a laughing retreat by way of scooter. The drive accommodates copies of pencil drawings — considered one of which depicts the bridge the place Shi-guk vanished.
It’s on: our heroines, armed with hastily-gleaned suggestions from YouTube (step one to any crime is a can-do angle), break into Sister Search engine optimization’s automobile to retrieve the dashcam. This could be simpler if both of them had greater than notional information of how vehicles work. Additionally unhelpful is the sudden look of Sister Search engine optimization and her good chum Chan-woo. The latter has the look of a person watching toddlers finger-paint over the Mona Lisa — or, alternatively, a really drained infiltration agent witnessing two inept millennials grind his best-laid plans beneath their heels. Too unhealthy: our heroines are relentless! As Sister Search engine optimization drives off within the automobile, the women lie low within the trunk.
They cease at an out-of-the-way home. That is the place Sister Search engine optimization takes care of her dementia-ridden mom (Sohn Sook), who devours TV with vast eyes as our intrepid explorers method. Within the again room are the drawings from the exhausting drive. There’s additionally a photograph album, which Bo-ra swipes. From this, they be taught that Sister Search engine optimization’s cost is BAEK YOON-Search engine marketing, who was supposedly kidnapped by aliens within the Seventies. The drawings are hers… and he or she’s nonetheless prolific. After our heroines depart, the NPCs collect to witness a miracle — the holy mom has sketched the face of their messiah! You guessed it: it’s Ji-hyo.
In the meantime, well-meaning cop Byung-jo is chasing the coattails of this thriller, aided by Se-hee. There received’t be a lot of them on this plot abstract, primarily as a result of the truth that they’re invariably two steps behind everybody else. Nonetheless, I would like it on document that their interactions are lovable: from their relentless squabbling, to Se-hee’s insistence that she’s nearly a cop by dint of proximity. At the moment, they’ve arrived at the same conclusion to our leads: the NPC hideout seems to be at New Hope Psychiatric Hospital, the place wherein Yoon-seo was handled.
Time for a subject journey! The UFO Membership — and Ji-hyo — squeeze into the Captain’s death-trap of a automobile, plugging alongside merrily at half the pace restrict. Seems, Ji-hyo has all of the highway rage of a geriatric snail. On the hospital, they’re confronted by what’s going to show to be the group’s nemesis going ahead: a shortish gate. Fortunately, Philip is ready to distract the guards together with his deeply unconvincing depiction of a person whose automobile has damaged down. Maybe inevitably, this deception crumbles when he comes nose to nose with the NPC’s best soldier, SISTER ABIGAIL (Jung Da-bin): a fervent-eyed, gun-toting lady whose each transfer screams “youngster of a cult.”
Our heroines are compelled to separate while Bo-ra explores the half-deserted hospital. Their working concept is that the NPC have been kidnapping individuals who had been kidnapped by aliens; this guess is confirmed when she stumbles upon a room filled with captives in VR masks. Quickly, she’s rumbled by the Chairman of the Church, MOON HYUNG-TAE (Kim Myung-gon): the light-worshiping husband of Yoon-seo. She barely escapes along with her life. In the meantime, Ji-hyo has damaged right into a truck, which the women try to make use of as an escape automobile. Sadly, they’re scuppered by their best enemy, the gate. Ji-hyo is taken hostage; she cries out for Bo-ra to avoid wasting herself.
Far, far elsewhere, a really confused man in Thailand receives the worst wake-up name conceivable, after an obvious suicide try. It’s Shi-guk.
The NPC topic Ji-hyo to the digital actuality equal of a prybar, within the hopes of accessing her reminiscences of the night time she disappeared. She’s similar to Yoon-seo, whose writings about her alien abduction supplied the church with its holy textual content. However, Ji-hyo resists this psychological assault: the refined method has failed. Sadly, when all you could have is medical gear, each drawback appears to be like like a possibility for invasive surgical procedure. Messiahs, says Hyung-tae, exist to be sacrificed. Ji-hyo wakes to obtrusive disorientation and a bandaged scalp.
Additionally — to Sister Search engine optimization. At Bo-ra’s insistence, Chan-woo lastly took motion, persuading his cultist buddy to go to the messiah. With the tenuous grasp on actuality of somebody anesthetized about ten minutes in the past, Ji-hyo manages to fake-threaten Chan-woo with a scalpel, persuading the cultists to half in her wake. From right here, she runs — straight into Bo-ra, in opposition to whom she later collapses right into a messy hug. Chan-woo, in the meantime collides with another person: Sister Abigail. Or, extra precisely… his daughter, KIM YOUNG-GI.
Ji-hyo has a newfound gap in her head, and loads of unanswered questions. Arguably, the answer is a medical check-up, however our heroines go for the following neatest thing: hypnotism. With the assistance of her therapist, MA HYUNG-WOO (Kim Nam-hee), Ji-hyo accesses her sealed-off reminiscences. The night time she disappeared, she encountered her father canoodling along with her soon-to-be stepmother. Anguished, she fled to the van. Right here, she encountered a vivid gentle — a power that invaded her head, and left a chip behind. The aliens, it appears, selected her. Later, she learns that she stored repeating one factor when she returned: come again.
In the meantime, Shi-guk has returned to Korea. Ji-hyo listens, horrified, as he explains how he tried to kill himself… he thinks. He can’t keep in mind. He needs to seek out his cat. Guiltily, Ji-hyo realizes that one might draw unflattering parallels along with her quest to seek out him. In the meantime, Chang-woo returns to the UFO membership, dragging a belligerent Younger-gi. She insists that she wished to warn the messiah; the church have introduced that Ji-hyo is lifeless, and so they’re desperate to make this lie a actuality. Quickly, they’ll maintain a funeral — properly, extra like a celebration — wherein their followers abandon their inferior meat-bodies and ascend. Chang-woo scoffs. He’s heard that earlier than. What they imply is mass suicide.
Ji-hyo realizes they intend to make use of her alien chip like a beacon. May it actually have the ability to draw UFOs? Fearing the destiny of the Earth, Ji-hyo convinces Younger-gi to take her to the memorial.
In the meantime, the Church of Divine Gentle put together for the tip of the world. It’s customary formal occasion stuff, actually: flower preparations, choir recitals, poison capsules… Ji-hyo arrives in time to interrupt Hyung-tae’s announcement of her dying. It’s a bizarre second for her worshipers, however she’s acquired a wonderfully believable rationalization. She… was resurrected! Let’s go together with that! After a second’s hesitation, the group goes wild. With flawless poise, Ji-hyo insists that she is able to obtain “the gospel” with a purpose to name down Father Gentle and convey salvation.
Bo-ra elbows her manner into an viewers with the messiah. She’s terrified for Ji-hyo. Does she actually suppose that she’s saving the world from destruction? Stung, Ji-yo recoils. Was Bo-ra mendacity when she mentioned that she believed her concerning the aliens? In a spectacularly touching trend, Bo-ra curses. She doesn’t care if the world ends. She simply needs to avoid wasting Ji-hyo. However, Ji-hyo received’t have it: she orders her newly-acquired flunkies to exile Bo-ra. Flung onto the mistaken aspect of a really brief gate, Bo-ra appears to be like sadly to the sky… as her face is bathed in otherworldly gentle.
Bo-ra plunges into the woods, in pursuit of the sunshine. She crashes into Younger-gi, who joins her within the chase. Frantically, they tear via the bushes, solely to return throughout the supply. It’s a man-made drone. Elsewhere, Ji-hyo is introduced with the gospel: an intricate field, containing… completely nothing. There was no chip in her head, explains Hyung-tae. He’s disillusioned too. He actually had hoped that she was the messiah. However, now that she’s complicit within the deception, the least she will do is usher her followers to a contented dying. With this, Ji-hyo falls to the ground, drugged, having dedicated the cardinal sin of Okay-drama: consuming a beverage within the presence of the enemy.
She wakes chained to the stage, in a luminescent gown that’d put a Barbie doll to disgrace, as Hyung-tae preaches mass suicide to a drugged-up crowd. Simply as they elevate the poison to their lips, she dazedly finds her voice. She’s not the messiah! Moments later, there’s a gunshot, and the sunshine dies. Younger-gi has shot down the drone. After this, it will get messy: Byung-jo enters the scene, gun blaring. Some run. Many, nevertheless, stay, to punish the pretend messiah. Now, Bo-ra intercedes, shielding Ji-hyo as she tries to unchain her.
Amid the chaos, all remaining lights flicker out. First, within the subject. Then, the blackout bleeds throughout the town. Splitting the darkness is an unearthly gentle, coming from… an alien ship. Ji-hyo and Bo-ra are submerged in radiance, opening their eyes to a vivid white world. Between them floats a big, long-limbed creature with staring eyes. It swims towards Ji-hyo, lumpy finger outstretched — and extracts a chunk of matter from her head. As the women wake, they face each other and grin. They know what they noticed.
Ultimately, the ringleaders of the church are arrested. All, that’s, besides Hyung-tae. He meets his finish earlier than Chan-woo’s rifle — although, not earlier than Chan-woo tells his daughter to name her mom, and be properly. In the meantime, Ji-hyo shouldn’t be essentially okay, however, she’s happier than ever earlier than. She and Shi-guk have damaged up for good — amicably, this time. She’s shifting away from house, into a brand new flat her dad and mom are decided to purchase, with Bo-ra at her aspect. Possibly they’ll examine Bigfoot collectively.
Shi-guk, in the meantime, is doing nice… moreover the house-sized alien staring down at him. Which may take a while to get used to.
Glitch is an unbelievably enjoyable drama, with buckets of affection for its characters. Its strongest level is the glowing chemistry between its leads. Jeon Yeo-bin and Nana play off one another with glee, however they’ll rip your coronary heart to items when the scenario requires it. I’m nonetheless feeling fairly emotional concerning the half the place Bo-ra tells Ji-hyo that the church could also be pretend, however they’ll stick with it searching for UFOs collectively. It’s as if, simply because the magic was ripped away, the 2 of them had been in a position to protect it for themselves, conserving the marvel alive in their very own personal world. These characters love one another, a lot that they’re inexorably drawn inside one another’s — sorry about this — orbit. It’s seen each time we see a shot of them sitting aside, solely to maneuver nearer collectively. It’s clear each time they change appears to be like of complete understanding.
This present additionally managed to satisfyingly have its cake and eat it. Sure, the cult was constructed on lies. Nonetheless, UFOs exist. Ji-hyo’s aliens had been a mashed-up collection of childhood recollections that served to emphasise her emotional detachment, and to focus on the Bo-ra-shaped gap in her life. However they had been additionally, the present suggests, a manner for her mind to grasp the unknown by changing it with the acquainted. In brief, they’re an absence: an emblem of half-recollected trauma, but in addition an emblem of potential — the potential of the unknown and the alien, but in addition the potential for love and familiarity.
Ji-hyo’s rationalization for the alien interference in her life is an analogy: when people rescue sturgeons, they add a tracker earlier than setting them free. To not recapture them. Simply to see how far they’ll go. It’s a beautiful metaphor for a younger lady realizing that her life doesn’t should observe a selected plan. She will be able to make new pals, and reconnect with outdated. She will be able to ditch her boring boyfriend (sorry, Shi-guk). She will be able to infiltrate cults! She will be able to give up her job at thirty, and transfer out of her dad and mom’ home — after realizing, lastly, that her dad and mom are simply individuals, who love her greater than she is aware of. As a substitute of straining to disregard the aliens in her peripheral imaginative and prescient, she will wave a hand over an electromagnetic scanner and hope to see the needle spike.
I want there’d been a bit of extra about Ji-hyo’s dad and mom. For all that her relationship with them appears central to her character, their screentime is oddly peripheral. Likewise, Byung-jo and Se-hee exist on the edges of the drama — which might be effective, aside from the fixed sense that there’s extra to them than we’re seeing. What, as an example, is the narrative goal of Se-hee’s friendship with Ji-hyo? Is Se-hee merely a busybody, or does she take into account her friendship with Ji-hyo extra profound than it’s? The story appears to waver on this level. The writers had lots to cram into these ten episodes, so I can’t completely fault them, however these background characters intrigue me exactly as a result of they don’t at all times keep within the background.
In any case, that’s a small quibble, as a result of I had a blast watching Glitch. Maybe this drama about ridiculous millennials resonated a lot with me as a result of I, too, am a ridiculous millennial. Ji-hyo is at such a relatable in-between interval in life. On the one hand, she has a gradual job; then again, she hates it and would fairly give up. She nonetheless lives along with her dad and mom. She feels large stress to get married, however she can also’t fairly consider it when her friends really do it — aren’t all of them nonetheless too younger?
Then, she comes out of her shell and meets a collection of weird and fantastic individuals who additionally don’t measure their lives by standard requirements. They’ve impractical jobs, and take Mafia manner too severely, and enjoyment of their very own enthusiasm and nerdiness. On this drama, being thirty is about starting to seek out freedom — not the least, the liberty to be bizarre.
The beauty of these characters is that they’re not competent. They spend most of their time overwhelmed, they’re typically simply doing their finest, and typically they’re form of ineffective. And that’s okay! We’re all fumbling our manner via life. Sometimes, metaphorically talking, all of us battle to scale a wonderfully climbable gate. Even Chan-woo, whose practicality is mostly juxtaposed with our heroines’ devil-may-care method to ahead planning, has his difficulties with being decisive. Nonetheless, the present appears to say, typically it’s sufficient to look at a Youtube tutorial, cross your fingers, and hope nothing explodes. It’s all you are able to do, in life and in cult-scuppering.
On that observe, the humor of this present is totally killer. As a faintly slapstick buddy comedy, this present works extremely properly. The car-related incompetence made me giggle each time. The dialogue is masterful due to its simultaneous weirdness and mundanity: once in a while, a personality will say one thing that’s such a non-sequitur, but so cheap, that it cracks me up utterly. In brief? It is a present that desires to entertain — and it does so with tongue-in-cheek aptitude.
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