Dabosil

I can see your frustration. The plot point in the end about him not going back to Italy did get me rolling my eyes. I did enjoy the heart-to-hearts, because even though it admittedly felt forced in at some parts, I could see how they were still trying create a final base for Vincenzo’s way of thinking towards in the end. I definitely find the bird bridge story a bit.. eh? For a moment I thought they were literally going to CGI Inzaghi and his herd, and I was like no...don’t end it on such an unrealistic note. I suppose lots of times I actually loved this drama a lot more just for not going into things I didn’t want to go into (byproduct of being used to tropes and bad endings). Mainly that scene got me because Vincenzo is not a romantic person, so...?
That’s why instead of a season 2, which in my opinion is not the right setting for both leads, I would love for them to publish a comic about Vincenzo’s past.

I didn’t think about that point, but I agree with you. I completely empathise with Jang Han-Seo’s past, but yeah, he was trying to find someone reliable. I think people very easily see he showed his more childish side (which longed for a family) to Vincenzo, but those scenes with his ironic laughter really is something deep inside him. I don’t expect him to not be selfish, nor can I ever put a finger to his exact motives due to his past, but I don’t see how he could end up not dying (whether because of how he feels or how Vincenzo feels). He always carried himself with some unresolved bitterness and burden. So I can see how some scenes between him and Vincenzo were definitely misleading. Personally, I wasn’t so attached because the bromance in the series thus far had been more comedic filler, so I didn’t see it as being very close to the plot. But I think it wouldn’t make sense for him to be spared by Vincenzo either. He always wanted to take over Babel so there’s no point in him, like some would prefer, to go to Malta with the Geumga family. In a way I can definitely see how it would be magical and fulfilling to someone longing for such a family, but technically no one got a happy ending. I guess his character was a bit blurry for me in the end, but I didn’t put so much time into thinking about him. I did like his character though, he kept me on my toes for sure.

I said it above in the 'Reveal Spoiler' reply to my own reply, that I would say it gives you hope, and that's a relatively good ending.

By how the show would call it, it's a relatively happy ending.
But that also depends on which characters you're rooting for.

SJK thinks it is not a happy ending.

I would say it gives you hope, and that's a relatively good ending.

Depends on how you interpret it. At face value anything can be happy, really.

Hmm..actually my takeaway was that they actually glorified Vincenzo too much in the previous episodes, and the last one is the one bringing it down to reality, that there's so much about the dark side of Vincenzo that you can't comprehend, and to keep in mind he's a damn villain who just happens to be the protagonist. I think SJK also mentioned in the interview he was sad to see viewers cheering for Vincenzo when he's evil. For the character of Vincenzo, when he kills he also enjoys the thrill he gets, because, like the villains said, he's killing them anyway (why go to such extremes?). For some of the 'better' characters of the show, killing is a means to an end. For Vincenzo, he very obviously states his flashbacks and his guilt and self-hate for his evil doings, but like he says in the end, he won't turn away from it. He's a villain.

What stuck out to me wasn't how horrificly he killed, but his conscious mind. If guilt is a compass, he understands what he does is wrong and still goes on to do it. Unlike Jang Han-Seok, who can be brushed over as a monster and psychopath, Vincenzo has a human mind, and he feels guilt and so on, but he ignores it. For what you said about 'sense of justice'- well, Vincenzo is actually a bit hypocritical and he doesn't believe in justice, like he said.

I liked that they reminded people in the end through a shocking turn, or else many could quickly fall back into the idea of romanticizing his character set-up.

That's just what I think, though.

I think we can all agree that there are quite a number of plot flaws in the show. I think that liking a show doesn’t mean it has to be the best in the world, so we don’t need to defend it like giving it a high rating means all the plot points make sense. It was a super fun watch with great acting and chemistry between all cast members, and it was refreshing as a topic in a K-Drama.

I agree with almost everything you said, except about his past. I think his mafia past is a bit of a tool, and the series was supposed to be Korea. Though I did feel very misled after seeing Italy. I always treated the comedy like a comic; in fact, I feel that the unreality of the comedy actually distracts some of the unrealistic parts of the plot. But I agree that the bye bye balloon cast were the funniest for me, though Mr. Nam grew on me towards the end.

I agree, that would have lost the entire meaning behind Vincenzo.

I don’t remember it being about Hong Yu-Chan, but the four people in the car.

Eh..no.
Interview: About the second season of "Vincenzo," Song remained cautious.
"I've heard nothing about it," he said. "I'm really grateful that people want more. Vincenzo is one of my best characters in my career. It was fun to play him."

I’d say that the two were buried under. This would also make sense to Cha-Young’s characterisation of knowing about Vincenzo’s deeds, just not participating in them. Yeah, the phrase is mentioned three times.

No season 2 in the works currently, as SJK revealed in the interview. However, in Kwak Dong-Yeon’s recent interview, he revealed that the cast would be happy to welcome a season 2.

It could be a saying... it’s a parallel to episode either 2 or 3 when he says that while threatening someone with Hong Yu-Chan (forgot who)
I found it weird since Cha-Young stepped on the soil in the vineyard, haha.

Jang Han-Seo’s death:

Does he have to die?

Yes~

1. In early episodes Han-Seo poisoned the four family members with carbon monoxide and did other bad things. The show isn’t about redemption. This is a cause and effect. Jang Han-Seo carries so many burdens. For him to be able to sacrifice his life is the only real way for him to find a release, like he said, with being able to help. This is not the type of drama that will have a happy ending anyways.

2. Everyone has to pay the price for their evil deeds. Everyone knows about the evil deeds Jang Han-Seo did before. Vincenzo had said this multiple times. Jang Han-Seo simply appealed to the audience more because he became cute afterwards. Even Vincenzo is left with an ending where he has to escape from Korea to not face persecution, and this was always the plan from start to finish; it just so happens he has the tricks to stay out of the way.

3. His death has also been always premeditated. Early on, he killed four innocent people. (At least, according to Vincenzo) Vincenzo himself only kills garbage, and people scummier than himself. When the Jang brothers were in internal conflict, Seung-Hyuk once said he will make Han-Seo a happy Abel. In the bible, the older brother Cain kills Abel.

4. Babel is a corporation that has partake in many deep-seated evils. It has to collapse. In the last few episodes the audience was more inclined to let Jang Han-Seo become Babel’s chairman. Realistically, he isn’t up for the job and doesn’t know how to run a business. The corporation is a rotten apple anyways; the old deeds will resurface and happen again. He would have to start his own company.

Additional Points:

Vincenzo:
Whether Jang Han-Seo dies or not isn’t the main point. Part of why everyone is so sentimental about his death is because of the way Vincenzo reacted. His previous persona of being a cold-blooded, calm killer was instantly broken apart. That is the breaking point because even when the show’s logic doesn’t make sense, parallels and characterisation rationalise it. The scene did not parallel the end of episode 16 and did not make sense for Vincenzo.

You can just slightly so argue that he was worried about Hong Cha-Young.

1. When he goes in, he is checked for weapons. He could have disarmed the bodyguards easily, but he can’t determine Hong Cha-Young’s predicament at the moment so he allows himself to be searched.
2. He hadn’t expected Jang Han-Seok to really harm Cha-Young.

Cha-Young:
1. It’s true, it’s the first time her safety is also part of the plot.
2. However, it actually logically makes sense for her to be kidnapped as the villains really need to gain and upper hand, and it’s a miracle she wasn’t already kidnapped (still, she was attacked last time at her apartment).
3. she should have had a gun or weapon with her for safety measures even if it would be confiscated-that’s unrealistic based on Vincenzo’s knowledge on surprise attacks and her increased danger since her participation.

The Action Scene:
1. The show was never going to end without an action stand-off scene.
2. This can be explainable on Jang Han-Seok’s part, since we know about how he killed people himself in middle school. He likes to be hands-on. We can also see this as he personally oversees Seung-Hyuk’s death.
3. All stand-off scenes have loopholes
4. Vincenzo shouldn’t have knelt (the pacing of his knees coming down is not dramatic enough to cause impact, plus kneeling in Korean culture is a huge thing too)
5. The stand-off is a resolution to both of Jang Han-Seok’s relationships
6. Jang Han-Seok can oversee the action, but he should have been prepared. E.g. He literally has bodyguards outside his door, why does he have to run away and plan to go to Mexico, should have thought of that at first.

Romance vs. Bromance:
In my opinion, even though Jang Han-Seok needs to resolve his relationships, they could be done at separate times. Putting two in the room is asking for this type of contest whether it exists or not. I would say that for those who believe Vincenzo should have given more attention to Han-Seo, Han-Seo may have been looking for a brother and Vincenzo might have actually cared for him, but not to the extent of caring for Cha-Young (I’m saying this separate from the logic of the scene. He should have definitely went for Han-Seok). In 17?-18, In the ice-skating rink, Han-Seo still managed a very loyal state and asked him if he would kill him, stating he was just worried for some reason. He stays in a respectful state. To some extent Han-Seo is still a rat (like the cat and rat analogy) being used by Vincenzo. I think the entire thing has problems to do with his character presentation afterwards as getting the hopes up of the audience.

Additionally, I have to say that his death was also unexpected in a way even if I did expect it. In the last episode, Lee Cheol-Wook gets stabbed by Han-Seok at the pier. This kind of broke the bubble for me because when the Geumga Cast did their comedy action sequences it was always meant they would be successful since comedy was a different universe of logic in Vincenzo. When he got stabbed it broke that illusion for me, and was also something I didn’t understand why it had to happen (he survives, and the godfather reference isn’t necessary and doesn’t bring anything anywhere). To put it nicely, it is a filler scene (it did make me very worried, though, and the acting was great). In the last few episodes Han-Seo had started being part of the comedic cast as well, so he was part of the illusion. So that was more shocking to me than anything else as it was broken first. In that sense, that type of continuity didn’t work.

*One more thing: Vincenzo did warn him. I know this is just probably the writer's ploy in an explanation for that.

All in all, I think JHS had to die, bias with HCY made sense, but the action scene didn't make sense (especially because it dropped Vincenzo's characterization, which is something I've always been able to rationalize out), and I'm not as mad as everyone because I saw the loopholes coming. No matter the number of loopholes in the last few episodes, this one was the biggest IQ drop in the entire show. Since I quite liked the ending, however, I didn't find the scene so disruptive.

Feel free to disagree with me in the comments, would love to hear some more opinions. Tell me if I missed anything.

Below is my analysis on You-Know-Who's death. Please comment, Vincenzo discussions are always fun.

I was thinking about it and..
Well, Vincenzo is definitely evil.
SJK’s charm and good looks really made him likeable and more easily forgivable, but imagine if it wasn’t someone as attractive playing him.
Props to SJK definitely.

No. That’s the good thing, though. Female lead doesn’t lead anyone on owns is clear-headed.

"Regarding Season 2, Song Joong-ki said, 'There is no talk of Season 2 at all,' and 'I am grateful that there are so many people who want it.' At the same time, he said, 'I don't think there will be any talk about Season 2 coming out internally in the future.' "

Just an update for those who think the ending was modified to make way for a season 2 and for those who think there will be a season 2. Not on our horizons atm.

I literally cannot get over the fact that Kim Soo-Hyun is going to play a character named Kim Hyun-Soo, it keeps cracking me up!