Vincenzo (2021)

Sorry I watched it

This is tagged as " Comedy, Law, Romance, Crime, Drama" and it was, initially. There was a rather uneasy blend of crime and comedy, but the humor was quirky and the soundtrack provided a lot of good laughs. I initially hadn't planned to watch it because I hate most Mafia dramas (I went to school with children of real Mafia bosses, so it's not a world I find amusing) and because I'm not very impressed with Song Joong Ki's acting (bring on the haters!). Song was better than I expected but still not great - he simply doesn't have the gravitas I expect from a consiglieri. And I never felt any romantic vibes between him and Jeon Yeo Bin; they were pretty cold fish until the hastily tacked on end scenes.
But he real issue is that it went from a nice hidden treasure drama to a vicious revenge drama with over-graphic hate and sadism. There was nothing likeable about Vincenzo, who showed himself to be a purely evil as the psychopath he was trying to bring down. And what happened to all the gold? Was anything worthwhile done with it, or were the tenants just sucked into Vincenzo's world of revenge and greed? In the end, he corrupted them all.
The star performance was, of course, was Ok Taec Yeon, who went from a bumbling office assistant to an evil psychopath seamlessly and believably. It was a great performance. In the end, I felt sorry for him, a clearly troubled defective human being, while I disliked Vincenzo immensely. If you enjoy cruelty and revenge, you might like this. But don't be deceived by the lighthearted moments in the beginning - this drama is nasty.

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It's like watching cartoons (not in a good way)

There's a hero who saves the day and there's Vincenzo who fixes every problem/issue/injustice like a walk in the park 3 days before it even happens lol

Every episode ends on this major problem that they make seem like the end of the world with no way out. Yet on every next episode's first scene comes Vincenzo laughing in our faces like: SIKE!! I already knew about this and took my measures to prevent it!! Everything is great literally less than 10 minutes into the episode.

So Vincenzo knows everything about everyone and knows how the bad guys will think and act before they themselves know. Nothing (literally) is stopping him or slowing him down whatsoever. He's perfect and makes no mistakes. So why are we watching? It's incredibly unrealistic and unmotivating to watch someone who is good at everything. If I know that everything would magically work out for him anyway then what's the point?

The plot is a mess and I don't understand how it has a nearly 9 rate. Maybe people are seeing something I'm not but what I see is... A perfect mafia guy who killed lots of people and could never face problems, suddenly joins a bunch of random people's long fight against a huge corporation in a country he doesn't even know and swears to help them achieve "justice for some reason that was never discussed.

The fl character is flat and two-dimensional although being funny and quirky and quite promising in the first few episodes which, if used properly, could've been a really good and fresh view of female leads in kdramas.

Vincenzo's character being in the mafia was also a fresh concept that I was excited about until they butchered it literally in the first half of the first episode. And for the rest of the drama cut the whole mafia storyline down to being too cool and too smart and too ahead of everyone plus a bunch of random quotes said in Italian.

and what with the dreams he always has of killing people? What even is the purpose of those?

Every episode is longer than an hour which is extremely long for the lack of events in each one. it got quite boring really fast and sometimes I had to increase playback speed because everything is just SO SLOW I don't know why.

I don't have a problem with "easy to watch" light dramas. I also love Song Joong-ki (I really really do. He's the only reason I continued the drama) But this drama isn't light it's just plain ridiculous and I'm genuinely sad to say that I regret watching it!

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AVERAGE & OVERHYPED

VINCENZO is like that new dish you had always wanted to try out but it's served to you extremely bland. Good story, superb plot development. BUT, plenty of unnecessary characters to fill in the unnecessarily lengthy drama, slow screenwriting, substandard screenplay editing and dragged as well as stretched scenes to the point that it becomes BORING as early as in 4th eps. Morever, so many ILLOGICAL happenings in the disguse of fiction like typical Indian show where people get killed without a second thought and the killers get away with everything easily. They did an amazing job in casting actors for the major characters but NAHH, it's not it!

Story-writing: NICEEEEE
Script-writing: MEHHHH
Story and script are 2 different things and one doesn't necessarily has to be good at writing both. The direction could have compromised it but the director's screenplay editing made it even more boring.

They have portrayed homophobia in a positive light here hence I deduct one point from it. It was horrible to sit throught how they made fun of someone's sexuality.

Totally overhyped by people who only fall for visuals. Unreasonably rated high by people who watch selective dramas just for entertainment. It is not that bad but it definitely is not one of the best. PLEASE.

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EXTREMELY OVERHYPED

i don't even know where to start. this drama is so overrated and people praise it too much that i felt the need to voice out my opinions about it.

BAD
1. the story
i am completely disappointed about how it turned out. when i first watched the trailer, i was like oh it's a mafia concept, this is gonna be interesting and new. i was expecting it to focus on vincenzo being a mafia, how the mafia works, or some storylines related to italy. i was expecting it to be unique and worth the watch because it's a new concept of kdramas. but instead, it turned out to be the usual good vs bad plot. it's SO CLICHÉ it had so much potential to have one of the best kdrama plots of the year yet it provided nothing new. those usual corrupt characters, lawyers against lawyers, gang fights, kidnapping, murdering bc they gonna ruin the plan, revenge etc. my mom and i literally predicted the whole main plot right on the first episodes (what happened to the dad, **** teaming up with vincenzo, **** switching sides etc) and even who's the real villain. the whole story is repetitive, bad does something bad > good tries to defeat the bad > bad loses > bad revenges to good > good loses then revenges and so on. it's just a series of tom and jerry episodes :/ people praised the plot too much saying it's smart, amazing, thrilling when it's not. could've added some emotional elements as well.

2. the whole essence of vincenzo being a mafia is USELESS
please, he's just the common male protagonist except that he has a gun and he's from italy. i don't get why they made him a mafia character when he's not really different from other male protagonists. the kdrama made him look smart and the viewers think he is overly smart, but no he's not. it's just that the other characters are stupid. there's nothing special about his character and it made me frustrated because i really looked forward to how they will portray a mafia character. i expected this already, but being a mafia is so romanticized in the story. well it's a fictional story after all.

3. a lot of useless fillers
i can handle lengthy dramas. i have even watched dramas with around 60 episodes. but i have not watched a lengthy drama that has so many useless fillers as this one. many episodes did not contribute to the story or the ending, many episodes did not have a permanent after effect. they never should've brought those episodes in, it won't even make the story different. when something happens, usually there's an aftermath that would give a shift or upgrade to the story. but in this one, after that particular part happens, they just move on as if nothing happened. there's no cause and effect, it's basically just in there to make the story longer. oh and please they should've added essence or purpose whenever there is a failed attempt by the good guys, like sure it's necessary that the protagonists don't succeed at first try. but atleast give a reason why that had to happen, give that part a purpose (e.g they met a new character, they discovered something etc). atp it's just a whole trial and error story. don't get me even started about how much they emphasized some things at the start but at the end was almost forgotten or wasn't really a big part of the plot.

4. it did not excel in any genre it could fit in
it could've been atleast outstanding on one genre, but it isn't. action? no. law? no. thriller? no, wasn't thrilled at all because it's predictable and nothing remarkable happens (could be because i've watched around 100 kdramas already but idk). black comedy? no. it fairly did well on black comedy, but half of the time cringey and there's no scene that really sticked on my head for a long time. i also had a problem with one specific episode that had the purpose of contributing to the black comedy, i will explain that later. on.

AVERAGE
1. acting
i am satisfied with the acting. every actor portrayed their role well and the actor that stood out the most was kwak dong yeon. here's an unpopular opinion, i feel like song joong ki wasnt the best choice for the role vincenzo. don't get me wrong, i love sjk and i know he did his best to portray his character and i am satisfied with his performance. but i personally think because the character is a mafia, the actor should've been manlier and more intimidating. and sjk is the total opposite of that, he has feminine (positive way) and soft visuals. he's not intimidating at all tbh, but since he did a great job, i don't want to complain too much about it. imo however, the role would've suited better for other particular actors. it's not the "this role was made for him" as everyone thinks it is.

GOOD
1. the ost
nothing more to explain about this. the osts were great and added impact to scenes that wouldn't have been impactful at all.

2. attracts kdrama newbies
probably because the genre is black comedy? kdrama newbies won't focus much on the quality of the story, if it has comedy and some good vs bad plot with some fairly good scenes, they'll automatically love and enjoy it. another thing is that it's song joong ki, he is a very famous actor internationally.

now about the specific episode i mentioned that had the purpose of black comedy, that episode really disturbed me. it was homophobic and as someone who is part of the lgbtq+ community, i loathed the way the portrayed those scenes. those type of characters rarely get portrayed in a kdrama, but they chose to portray a gay character as a disgusting criminal. (i will use they/them when pertaining to the gay character) and the way vincenzo was disgusted by their actions? it was utterly disturbing. oh and don't even make excuses that he's disgusted because they're a criminal, if that's the case, he would've been disgusted in the first place and not particularly when they do gay actions. besides, vincenzo is a mafia. he surely encountered way worse people and he's used to criminals.

to summarize it all, vincenzo is not a special drama and the story is cliche. it isn't worth to watch, there are a lot of better ones. if you think this is the best (or one of the best) kdrama of all time, then you're seriously missing out a lot. i can name more than 70 kdramas better than this. the fiery priest is a lot better (they're from the same writer and has similar genre), it has amazing action, amazing comedy, amazing characters especially protagonist, and the whole kdrama is really enjoyable. vincenzo and the fiery priest both has those cliche corrupt characters, but the fiery priest has better personal story of the protagonist and the protagonist itself is more charming and unique (i mean where tf can u see a handsome priest that **********). vincenzo is a 4/10, tfp is a 9/10. even tho tfp has one side of the kdrama where it's cliche, the rest is outstanding.

anyways, if you're just a starter, then vincenzo could be a good introduction to kdramas.

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The acting of the villain is *Chef's Kiss*

Now that I have watched the show completely, I really think I should go back and thoroughly revise my review accordingly. This is probably going to be a very controversial one, so prepare yourselves to hate me all you want.

First off, let's start with the good thing (yes as in singular word "thing"! the only good thing!) about the show. I think we can all agree that this show wins the prize of the BEST VILLAIN OF THE CENTURY! In fact, I believe if someone's going to watch this show they're gonna wanna watch it for the sake of the villain's splendid acting skills. The actor does an amazing job of displaying controlled and uncontrolled rage and you will believe him to be a true devil. So when watching his scenes, get ready to have your mind blown away! Pay attention to his mimic and expressions and how smoothly yet drastically they change and you'll know what I'm talking about. Among all the characters in the show, he is the truest to the character and the most believable one as well. Now that I lay the only positive point about the show out there, off to the review:

Story:
The most buggy storyline I could have ever imagined for a show with such a strong concept! I mean, there are exaggerations flying all around the ML. The show tries too hard to depict him as a capable invincible vicious man and pushes it way too far to the point that logic falls apart and at the end of the show, everything seems stupid and out of pure luck instead of due to ML's capabilities. I mean, the scene with the birds helping him out, even if taken from a comedic point of view, has too much of an impact on the outcome to be brushed off and is too absurd to be acceptable. Also, how come every single person who joins forces with ML suddenly becomes the most capable person you could find in the whole country, but anyone on the villain's side seems not to have any brains? Even the villain's lawyer fails to think straight and prepare for a fight, to the point that the villain goes into a warzone with only 4-5 bullets in a gun he just randomly had to grab from his brother's belongings. The funny part is, people are only capable and smart as long as they are still with the ML. As soon as they betray him, they make the most stupid decisions and fail with anything they are planning to do. And WHAT IS UP with the plaza residents ALL being such an out-of-the-ordinarily usefully skilled bunch of people? I mean, every single one of them? Really? Why? Plus, the characters are way too far far away from being consistent (except for the villain and his lawyer), especially the FL! She is very strictly against violence even when she's seeking revenge on his father's death and yet she falls in love and keeps helping this vicious brutal really violent man who is never satisfied with just killing, but prefers to torture people mentally and physically before he kills them off. The FL is a 30-something-year-old lawyer. You would suppose she has more grounded personality traits. But that is so not the case.

Acting:
Well, I already talked about the villain. As for the rest of the main cast, I'm not sure if the actress is to blame or the character description was way too off, but she has the most unreal character among the main cast. I did not enjoy it at all. The ML on the other hand did pretty well, as Song Joong-ki usually does. However, compared to the loud character of the villain, the calm and relaxed character of the ML does not make much of an impression, even if the ML does throw his stunts and overcomes one challenge after another. I've never found myself rooting for the villain in a drama and I personally believe it's important to keep the drama focused on a strongly displayed lead role. It takes so much for a show to make me ignore the lead role and yet, this drama somehow managed to do that.

Music:
I'm probably being harsh on this one since I have a very particular taste in music, but none of the OSTs stood out for me.

Rewatch Value:
Nope! Not a chance I would go through 20 episodes of stupidity again! I wouldn't even recommend watching the show for the first time unless you already know you are up for a huge waste of time with draggy slow motions and scenes of the ML staring at walls and drinking wine while listening to music and you are willing to do so only to witness outstanding acting from the villain. Honestly, this is the only reason I did not drop the show, and do not regret watching it.

Final thoughts:
*****SPOILERS ALERT*****
I can not get over Ok Taecyeon's splendid acting. He is legit crazy and a perfect devil. I honestly didn't know he existed before Vincenzo aired since I'm not really into KPop and somehow I have managed to tiptoe around all his dramas over the past 15 years of me sweeping KDramas. At the same time, I really loved Song Joong-ki ever since Nice Guy aired, and even more so when Descendants of the Sun was released. But MAN! For me, Taecyeon's acting makes Song Joong-ki's role disappear in the background. He really killed it here.
I have to admit now after watching his previous dramas (notice that I loved his acting so much that I looked up his previous projects and watched them, even the ones from 2011) that he has made great progress with his acting skills. I can't wait to see more of him.
*****SPOILERS ALERT*****

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I DON'T GET THE HYPE..... BUT I DO

As someone interested in the genre I was rlly excited to see VINCENZO.
I think almost everybody recommended it to me.
After the show I was utterly disappointed😞.

The story was nothing but plot holes. (Nd I just can't bear plot holes 😤)
The illogicality blew me away.

The acting was the only reason which stopped me from dropping it.

Initial episodes were ok, but then it went downhill. Again the show got a hold of itself in the midways nd wrapped it up terribly.

As the title say, I don't get the hype with such an awful story line ......... but i do 😶 (U KNOW WAT I MEAN RIGHT)

🚨NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL🚨
WATCH AT UR OWN RISK!!

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Song Joonki is the only reason this show has done so well

I’ll start by adding that I don’t pay attention to music so I gave it a 5 because I can’t say if it’s above or below average.
Anyways.
So first, let’s talk about the plot. People praise it for having a strong plot line, but really there’s so many plot holes. Like why would the villains decide to kill his mom when they could’ve kidnapped her? What was going on in their brain to make them think he would just stop because his mom died and not be even more motivated to get revenge… That’s just one example, there’s plenty.
As for the comedy, which is supposed to be dark comedy but really the show is just a mix of action and forced funny moments, it’s very meh for me. Some moments I laughed at, but as I already mentioned, there’s also some parts that feel very forced. Also wtf was that scene where the pigeon saved him?? I mention it now because I assume it was meant to be a funny scene, but really it felt stupid.
As for the characters and the actors portraying them, I think it all could’ve been done better. For Vincenzo, they should’ve chose an older actor with a more mature/rough looking face. Song Joonki’s acting wasn’t bad but his face really didn’t fit the role. Also Vincenzo’s character was way too overpowering, like he always had a plan for everything and seemed to almost never listen. It took away from the suspense because you could always trust that he’d get out of the problem he’s in. As for the villains, they seemed to just be there for comedy, like a cartoon villain, which would be fine if not for how smart Vincenzo is. The female lawyer villain carried her team, it’s amazing how stupid everyone else (and even her at times) was. Like really, how hard can it be to kill one man? Even if he is a mafia, he still has a limit. As for the female lead, I don’t have a problem with how energetic she is, but she literally did nothing. Her only purpose seemed to be giving the two male characters (main villain and male lead) dimension. It was always Vincenzo’s plan, she never came up with a helpful or vital idea. It amazes me that she was a top lawyer defending such a problematic company and yet she acts so stupid when working with Vincenzo.
The pacing isn’t great either. It should’ve been a few episodes shorter, I think, because the first few episodes are really slow and the last episode was filled with villain deaths, which should’ve felt satisfying but there was no suspense to them so they felt empty.

Overall, not the worst thing to watch if you have nothing else to do, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it or recommend it to someone trying to get into kdramas because it’s not that impressive (if anyone is trying to get into kdramas, I’d recommend Mr Sunshine, My Mister, Sky Castle, Hymn of Death, Hotel Del Luna, and Mr Queen).

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All spectacle, Less Substance.

This drama had an interesting premise. Not only that, it had a good star-studded cast. It's just that I felt that this drama was overrated.

Before I lay out the issues I had with this drama, I'm going to start with what I enjoyed. I enjoyed the cinematography of this drama from start to finish.

There were also episodes that spark creativity. One episode was when it opened with the painting of the French Revolution. Then, the whole episode was built around it and it comedically culminated in the characters of the drama doing a paint-me-a-picture of the said painting.

Now, I get down to the issues.

First is perhaps the most minute of them all. For me, Soong Joong Ki doesn't really strike me as a consigliere who experienced a lot from the mafia because he looks... too clean... and soft... This is just personal preference but hey.

Second was how it wanted to be serious and not serious at the same time. This leads to a very confusing mix of genres. As other reviewers have pointed out, these two elements didn't really work together. The comedy kills the seriousness that this drama has while the gory and violent scenes kills the comedy. When balanced well, it could lead to a good drama. In Vincenzo, the tone is a confusing mess.

The third problem I had was how shallowly written the characters in this drama were. This became more obvious when I watched the screenwriter's other work, the Fiery Priest which had better-written characters. Characterization was where a lot of the missed opportunities that this drama had.

First, is with Hong Cha Yeong, her father's death could've been an interesting point for her character to grow but she gets sidelined into sometimes an obnoxious FL as the focus has been on the titular ML. Knowing her character can be something more, this is why I am not buying into the fanservice thrown by the drama as I don't see the point of it story-wise despite it being eye-candy for the audience. For me, it feels forced.

The second one is with this show's villains. Taecyeon's character was introduced to be a cunning and cruel psychopath and it was good until he revealed himself. I was expecting for him to be an active villain but he was more of a passive, spoiled brat who doesn't take part in the scheming of bringing Vincenzo down and instead leaves it all on the female prosecutor-turned-attorney of Wusang and complain that when the schemes fail.

The fourth issue, while minor, I had with this drama is when they tried to lighten up Vincenzo's character when they tried to introduce an animal companion, the scenes end up cringey. Though, I kinda like how it got concluded though it seemed ridiculous.

If you want a popcorn drama that has little struggles to offer its protragonists, has spectacle, the actors that you like seeing onscreen without having to think deep into the plot, you might like this drama.

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some good moments with so many problems

This is the first time I'm writing a review so I'm gonna keep it simple

Likes
- song joongki
- choi myunghee death scene (the filmography was absolutely gorgeous)
- symbolism in the show is used beautifully
- some of the twists are really good ideas (idk about the execution of them)
- concept
- kwak dongyeon's character was one of the only put together characters in the show
- same for kim yeojin

Negatives
- Taecyeon's acting genuinely got me riled up, maybe it's just not for me. The switches between English and Korean are jarring and he overreacts, I couldn't take him seriously at all.
- Cutting of the scenes? I feel like so much of the show is happening behind the screen, none of the actual action, the plotting is shown and when I want to see more in one scene, we jump to another scene in another setting. It's hard to feel any connection to this show.
- Heros are supposed to have highs and lows - the lows never really came for Vincenzo so it was hard to once again feel connected to his character. Yes, he's a mastermind but everything just came with no explanation
- I feel like I didn't know anything about hong cha young's character other than the fact that she was Vincenzo's love interest and just went along with everything he did
- the comedy tag on the show is super misleading, nothing is funny about this show and they used it so they can just stuff random nonsense into the plot which can be entertaining but not funny
- I really wish the writers fully fleshed out the characters because the main concept behind both Vincenzo and Hong Chayoung as well, is that they're anti-heroes and so much can be done with that but they make dumb decisions.
- randomly including the police in the last episode when all the characters have faced little to no legal reprecussions in the previous episodes
- there's so much more I could say but I forgot so

To conclude, I truly believe that this could've been a well-plotted out show with more (40 maybe?) episodes but the writers/directors would just stuff in random uncorrelated twists in the show.

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Only for Kdrama newbies or it is wasted

I heard a lot about this drama, so I just decided to check it out. I completed it with great difficulty because of unnecessary dragging. It's not the worst I watch but it's not the best which everyone claims.

If you are a kdrama newbie, just watch it, it's an average drama with good entertainment. But if you are a regular watcher of classic thrillers like Stranger, Flower of Evil, Children of nobody, don't waste your 20 hours.

PROS -

Good Direction/Cinematography - The budget and thought both are present in each shot of this drama. Any shot of drama compel you to watch and attract you. This is type of direction which attract you to watch drama just from teaser or short clip in fmv

Music - Let's talk about music, each and every ost as well bgm just create magic on screen. Definitely in top of my list.

Acting - Acting is very good. Every actor give their best in margin and according to their character but only few get shine . Kwak dong yeon stood out for me with his subtle acting.

CONS -

Story - Bad vs Good - it's old, let's make it Bad vs Evil. Meh, what were they thinking. This story can get pretty decent if they ended drama in 16 episodes. There are unnecessary side characters, clashing of morals of characters, as well some annoying characters. Vincenzo can be a good character-driven plot as the title name suggest but sadly it is the action-driven plot. I can't connect to any of the characters, they just do action but I can't feel for them. It's the same with every character, giving an unnecessary dark past to characters does not make them vulnerable, you need to make the characters connected from the audience. Vincenzo character leaves no influence on me, no remembrance.

Comedy - There is suddenly a new trend in the kdrama industry to include comedy with every genre. They just stopped making dark thrillers. One or two puns were decent and I chuckled but comedy overall the place break the momentum for me

Mafia in Genre - Where? Just one question? Where is that element? The gun Vincenzo hold.

Acting - Acting have cons too, SJK is a pretty actor who has his class. Either it is character or acting, but he left no impact on me. There are few actors and main roles who leave left a longtime impact - Mo Tae gu of voice for example. Hence no character in drama can be termed as iconic. Female lead annoy the hell out of me, I don't want to disregard her acting, she did well with character but it's just OTT

Hype - This is not dramas cons but of audience. The audience hyped some dramas like it is the best thing ever which make people expectations high. But it went flat when you tune in to show ,when you realise there are better options to watch.

Overall, I am not telling you not to watch, if you have plenty of time, go watch it and enjoy the action. But if you have less time and you watch classic thrillers, please don't go ahead.

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When In Rome ( or Seoul), Take A Leaf Out Of Vincenzo’s Book...

Park Jae Bum’s ( The Fiery Priest, Chief Kim)screenwriting as well as director Kim Hee Won ( The Crowned Clown, Love You) did leave a distinct mark of their combined style by mixing heavy-hitting tension with lighthearted moments throughout the storyline .

Yet whilst the comedy is evidently prominent in the plot to relieve more vigorous themes, it is probably fair to say that typical of Jae Bum’s screenwriting, the comedy often felt slightly juvenile in parts and an unnecessary weight at times. ( In certain episodes, you’d go from having an incredibly intriguing and fierce revelation exposing the mafia’s dark roots, only to have a tiresome gag in the next such as a word play upon Vincenzo’s name in early episodes.)

Admittedly, there are several moments in the drama ( even by the main cast ) which may raise an eyebrow by questionable line deliverances. However, as far as acting is concerned, the main cast were absolutely brilliant as our main leads.Song Joong Ki and Ok Tae’s Yeon headline the drama by their high-profile acting careers, however, even fellow costars Jeon Yeo Bin and Kwan Dong Yeon will quickly win the hearts and affections of the viewers also.

The characterisation in the drama was honestly a mixed bag. Song Joong Ki’s character Vincenzo was undeniably an intriguing protagonist. Whilst initially falling into the trap of the romanticised ‘ good gangster’, it was intriguing to see screenwriter Jae Bum breaking this mould in order to develop Vincenzo with sentience and realistically questionable morality rather than merely being a " hero who saves the day". However, there was a lot which felt vacuous with Vincenzo’s character, not least never going into his actual reasons for joining the mafia as a consigliere ( which was always half-baked) , his bond or relationship with his adopted Italian parents and ultimately exploring the actual reasons why his birth mother gave him up in the first place.

Next, is our main female lead Hong Cha Young ( Jeon Yeo Bin). Cha Young did initially seem to go down the route or being a little irksome in the beginning of the drama, but, her unreserved assertions and loyalty towards Vincenzo soon become defining qualities about the character. For instance, Cha Young has long-held enmity throughout the show towards Kim Yeo Jin’s character Prosecutor Choi Myung Hee. (Or ‘ Zumba Snake’) which certainly was maintained . On the other hand, similar to Vincenzo , Cha-Young is not a flawless character. Sometimes, she struggled to be lifted from being anything more than one- dimensional such as her textbook-style, (rather than emotional) responses initially to the events around her father Hong Yoo Chan ( Yoo Jae Myung) in earlier episodes. ( Which after their initial use in the main storyline, were disregarded completely without Cha-Young even contemplating this significant factor again.)

As far as the relationship between Cha Young and Vincenzo is concerned, it was a fairly predictable formula. There was nothing inherently wrong with it per say and did present some essential bonding moments between the characters, however, it often felt a little enforced for the sake of plot when it was necessary , rather than developing this with the respected characters’ thoughts and feelings in mind.

Antagonists are an intriguing conversation to talk about in the drama. From the cliche cronies, law firm enthusiasts Choi Myung Hee ( arguably one of the most annoying villains in the show) , CEO of the rival law firm Woosang Han Seung Hyuk ( Jo Han Chul) and the " dumb, but not so bad" masqueraded CEO of ‘ Babel Group’( Kwan Dong Yeon), the show has an odd array of trope advisories .

However, finishing up assessing ' Vincenzo’ wouldn’t be completed without talking about the drama’s main villain Jang Jun Woo. This is because, Jun Woo is designed to be the " ultimate twist villain" and " big bad" early on in the series, but, he was often underplayed as a dead weight and minor threat until later events. This wouldn’t have been such a bad screenwriting decision, if the show had used some time to go into Jun Woo’s backstory ( apart from a couple of brief flashbacks) or sketched him out more than just a " villain you’re supposed to hate". Jun Woo is far from romanticised or glossed over and whilst later episodes enjoy going into a " Sherlock Holmes And Moriarty" rivalry between Vincenzo and Jun Woo, there was little sense of actual build or intrigue behind similarities (and even differences) between them. Of course, Jun Woo served his main purpose; a disturbing evildoer, but he could have certainly been so much more than a one-dimensional moustache twirling villain.

The ending did hold the drama in good-stead with a bittersweet cliffhanger which reflected the overall themes and genres of the show. Admittedly, there were a couple of things which could have been tied more concisely in the ending ( despite its long duration), but, it did bring an appropriate finale. With an odd balance between genres and screenwriting decisions, Vincenzo is attractive for viewers’ attention by its main premise and cast. Certainly enjoyable in parts and not unwatchable, but, a little overrated for what its worth.

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Pure satisfaction!!

It took me a while to savor the gist of this drama as the first few episodes were a bit complicated and boring for me, but as I continue watching, the plot just got better and better, and it reaches the climax in the last few episodes, that was EPIC! Although the episodes are longer than normal Kdramas and one episode is 80+ mins, but the story was pretty comprehensive! Not draggy and fast paced, especially in the second half!

Similar to Fiery Priest and Chief Kim (as they are from the same writer), it all presented in a dark comedy kind of series, with a righteous leader, great amount of fighting scenes, a storyline of corruption and some witty yet hilarious plot throughout. I really enjoyed all of these because it just had all the humour, emotional and thrill in a show, really exciting and fun to watch! This drama in some ways, blows my mind with the integration of mafia and allows all the killing and gun shooting. Well honestly it's kinda weird if you were to think how the male lead can "lawfully" kill and torture so many people, but in other way of thinking, these were the best parts of the show!! I don't know about the others, but I just find all the parts where the king of evil are dealing with the demons were so satisfying to watch! So, I just chose to savor it, don't care if it makes any sense, as long as it entertains!

Applaud to all the casts, they were all equivalently goooood! Song Joong Ki literally slayed the role and was really cool in all his fighting scenes! Not to say, it really gave me a great laugh whenever he was being "harassed" by numerous guys hahaha! Literally everyone in the show is treating him like a meat on the plate! XD Taecyeon was pretty good too, although I personally find him not so suitable for the role, his face just looks too kind for the role, doesn't look bad and scary at all, the starting part of him being a dumb innocent rookie suits him much better! But it was a great spinoff in his acting career, good for him! :) Dongyeon, as good as always, he always pulls off all kinds of characters, a cool one, a psycho or even a coward but kind-hearted little brother. Gosh, and why do his roles always make people wanna protect him so much?

I like the Geum-Ga squad too! I always enjoyed how they make random people come together to fight crimes, it's sooo satisfying, and when you thought they were just some gossiping neighbors, it turns out to have so many hidden experts within, just look at the pigeon and you’ll know HAHAHA!

Well, I would say maybe not all might enjoy this, but generally, YES! This doesn't have much love story (almost none?), it's more about a deep end conspiracy with a group of people led by a mafia lawyer to fight crime and save the day!!! So if you are looking for a good story, this is it!

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