Docked a point because they showed graphic violence with no hesitation but showed 0 cute explicit sapphic interactions. Like hello??? The material was there?? (I'm convinced the Extracurricular duo is always out to frustrate me on this end).

Kidding aside, I love this show a lot. I wish it had gotten hype after its release but I guess I can sort of see why. The first few episodes are rather slow and the turns the show takes make it seem all over the place. I mean, a missing boyfriend? Aliens? And then a cult? But really it all ties up together.

At its core, Glitch is not about the occult (which probably disappointed viewers who started it for that) and it's not even really about the cult. It's an ode to adulthood and the struggle of trying to fit in a world that thinks you're absurd and weird (and childish) if you're not like everyone else. It’s a story of acceptance and the love story in it is about finding a person who takes your nonsense seriously.

The fundamental question in the show seems to be “What is love?” and “How far should one go for love?” (and I don't necessarily mean romantically despite my qualms about the lack of romance between the two leads). Enter Jihyo and Bora, two women who live unconventional lives. Jihyo has ‘everything’. She has a stable job, a supportive family, and a boyfriend she will likely marry soon. But she is unsatisfied with her life, and so are the people who surround her. Her dad worries that she won’t be able to live a ‘normal’ life. He doesn’t trust her and he thinks she’s neither ‘grown-up’ nor ‘normal’ enough to stand on her own in society. Jihyo's stable life also slowly falls apart. Then she meets Bora again, an old friend from middle school who she had burnt bridges with. Bora is far from her personality-wise but she also lives a somewhat unconventional life. She is presumably also around 30, with no stable job, no supportive parents, and seemingly no romantic partner whom she’ll be marrying anytime soon. The difference is that Bora is satisfied with her life despite being somewhat of an unsuccessful 'outcast'.

The show throws these two together in a twisty-turny adventure. They do it together because they have no choice but to — no one else would really believe them. And this, the show argues, is love — someone taking you seriously. Bora is the first one to share Jihyo's interest in UFOs. When they meet again, years later, with bad blood between them, she ends up being the first one to stand by her again. Of the many people in Jihyo's life, it's Bora who puts faith in her and her words, time and again. And of all the people in Jihyo's life, Bora is the only one she can wholeheartedly trust. Even with her being adverse to believing in the improbable, she puts faith in Bora regardless of factual evidence. She ignores rumors about the young 'delinquent' Bora and again ends up being the only person she trusts with her 'nonsense'.

This idea of love being tied to faith is where the cult, and especially the cult leader comes in. If love means believing someone’s words regardless of the actual truth, how far can someone go until it’s dangerous? The drama shows the pitfalls of taking love ‘too far’ while also showing how it can be the very thing that saves us.