Dabosil

I agree that the Geumga Cast is not my favourite part of the series. I think they got more interesting when they started having skills and whatnot that contributed to the plot, even if part of the comedic atmosphere. I like them alright in the last few episodes, so that's from, say 14 to now? I agree, though, in the start, they are the advert break. In the end, it comes down to whether you can bear it, and if not, then it's fine to stop watching, too.
(Personally, I think it was worth it, but it is one of those things I would cut if I could edit it)

Adding on to what Elv has mentioned, Babel went after him and his family so that ended up becoming about Babel, but the gold is still a goal.

But that's the feeling you want to retain! I'm excited for some changes in the air. (I mean, Vincenzo did severely humiliate Han-Seok and he took a huge punch to his ego.)

Yeah, I think it implied 'soulmates' which is a better term because it hints at a lot more. Plus I'd say they're both still not admitting anything (even though it's obvious) and the scene shows they will always work together.
I did think she was friendzoning him at first, but not really, it's just that they didn't say anything that implied a next step.
(Plus, even though I like the romance, I hope the plot stays strong first and foremost, that's what's most important)
So until we see Ep 19, I don't have much to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIHGKZDJdI0
^ English Subbed Version
Drop this at...18?
Actually, I like the trailer for 19. Seems like threats are coming! Finally!

Second thoughts about Ep 18 ending
Previously wasn't so satisfied with Vincenzo coming in again because of the 'getting off airplane' trope. However, I've accepted it more now because of parallels.
(Our writer loves parallels, there are so many parallel scenes in Vincenzo)
In the earlier episodes (is it 5, 6?)
Vincenzo says (to Cha young saying why he didn't leave Korea, and that it's a shame)
It was partly because of you, actually.
I didn't want to leave you fighting the war alone.
So I suppose he was never going to leave her behind.
(Unless the ending~)
And I did hesitate when he started packing for Italy because I thought, 'are they actually going to get him to go back, now? At episode 18?'
It would make sense at Episode 20.
So, yeah.

Oh, that works great too! Also, maybe by 'friends' and souls'-it actually means soulmates, which is even better, I think.

Was typing this before above replied*- if that is true, then ah, well, doom.

So I can't answer except for fun since I don't know Italian.
Hopefully, an Italian can help.

This is just my efforts for fun:
I have no idea how Italian works, so I messed around on Google Translate for ten minutes based on the sounds that she was making at the time, and this is what I think she might have said:
'gli amici alla un'anima che abita in due corpi'
You can copy and paste that onto Google Translate, I think it sounds pretty similar-I just have no idea if it's grammatically correct.

Anyways, I pasted that onto Google, and as you said, I ended up with Aristotle's quote, too:
'L’amore è composto da un’unica anima che abita in due corpi'
Though it was shortened and changed, perhaps?
On Google Translate, that becomes 'Love is made up of a single soul that lives in two bodies'.
Or, simplified: 'Love is one soul in two bodies'
That is really similar to the English translation on screen of 'Friends are like one soul in two bodies'.
By the way, there are variations. The Chinese translation is closer to 'What friends are, are one soul, sharing two bodies'. (This is closer to 'lives in')

So yes, I am inclined to believe it should have been lovers.

UNLESS the writer purposely changed it to show the Cha-Young is friend-zoning Vincenzo, which, I don't completely get.

Ah, well, we shall see.

V. E 18

I watched the 18th episode a few hours after my 17th episode review, so It was very nice to see that some of my worries were gone.

Good points:
- Episode 17 we see the monks needing to ‘beg for alms’-I think everyone knew they were moving the gold but by bit, their poor backs
- Development in Vincenzo’s and Cha-Young’s relationship (more on that later)
- Cha-Young and Vincenzo’s camera zoom on the steps of court (nice parallel)
- Great to see SJK back on skates in this and the last episode (the writer sure has his fun)
- Cha-Young was rocking that baby-blue blazer
- Luca! Italian!
- Geumga Cast (no opinion, they were pretty good this episode)
- Backstory on Vincenzo (him talking to Han-Seok about old times in Italy, fuller introduction to character)
- I think my prediction after episode 15 was right! He’s totally going to sail away on bye bye balloon in the ending, so it’s going to be an at least slightly happy one (I think the possibilities of transporting his dead body on a hot air balloon is low)
- Parallels: parallels like Cha-Young stumbling into his arms and Han-Seo stumbling into his arms, and I can’t think of them right now but there are several

Mixed/Contrasting thoughts:
1. Vincenzo and Cha-Young’s relationship
a. Thoughts
Before I mention their relationship, I just want to say ok so happy to see her sassy self in the scene with Choi Myung-Hee.
I liked seeing her receive that mail from Ragusang Art Gallery (actually, her wistful smile didn’t seem so big a scene to me, but it’s important to show that they’re actually working seriously at night too).

I mentioned when reviewing episode 17 that I felt that Vincenzo and Cha-Young became distant.
Actually, I thought about it some more and went back to look at it and I can rationalise the fact that at that time it wouldn’t be suitable to have them in banter or close contact because it was Vincenzo’s grieving episode.

So it was good to get out of that zone in this episode (I also like how his darker side he finds much easier to show now).
I like that they had closer-ish contact this episode. Unlike some comments, I would rather see their fist bumps and all (but I really like that they’ve finally showcased some thinking into what happened in episode 14 because it seemed like they just tried to forget about it). Speaking of which, I’m pretty sure the OST and the final skinship moment fans have been waiting for will be in episode 20.

In that sense, with how it’s progressing, I think they’re going to keep their relationship status vague.
One thing I appreciate a lot about this drama is that their relationship is kept to themselves, doesn’t involve others, and doesn’t affect the plot.

b. Italy and the Babel Jangs’
This point connects to my feelings on the plot, too.
I liked how Vincenzo looked in the ending of Episode 18, but as some others mentioned, I really felt the whole him coming back without warning as a sudden twist doesn’t work for me.
This is too common a trope in dramas. Normally, I don’t mind, but I really think that Luca coming back and him needing to go to Italy was a great twist.

I loved CGI-Italy, but even if he didn’t go to Italy, I think what’s important is showing how Cha-Young is going to work things out herself. (Also, Vincenzo speaking Italian in this episode was great). Of course, I know many people wouldn’t want their power couple separated, but to me, that sudden ending just didn’t work very well. Actually, I don’t mind if he didn’t have to go to Italy, just that the ending isn’t just a ‘moment to shine’- we had that with the hanging the bye bye balloon gangster with a tailor’s measuring tape in episode one.

It’s also connected to the sudden twists that happen (and this is connected to the villains as well). From about episode 14 (finding out about Ragusang Gallery), I think the villains lost their edge because they just kept having the small background characters get and edge for about forty minutes but ultimately being beaten.

In episode 18, especially, their story with Jang Han-Seok has become then trying to the loose ends together. Though I don’t mind Jang Han-Seo teaming up with Vincenzo, I think that ultimately doesn’t give us a villain. It was pretty nice to get that government candidates second in hand being a threat to the gold arc, but in the end Vincenzo came back, so we already know it’s going to be resolved.
Right now, the story is leaning back on the small characters as villains, which isn’t exciting,

However, I can also see that tying up ends starting from episode 18 isn’t a bad idea, hence my mixed thoughts, because too often stories rush the ending to the last five minutes of the show, which is hardly satisfying. Still, I at this moment really have no theories on what is going to happen. The one unresolved thread is the lawsuit, which I’m excited to see commence. I also do want to see how they resolved the problem on Italy.

With Jang Han-Seok (this also connects to his relationship with Cha-Young) I felt mostly nothing in this episode. The one thing I can say is that he’s definitely been humiliated, which does suit what Vincenzo’s saying. I suppose I mean that I hope the writer knows where this is going.

Jang Han-Seok indeed has landed himself in quicksand. Still, in his conversation with Myung-Hee where she says jail is going to be a good idea, she is the one who’s in control of this conversation, and then she pays him on the me back. I think this scene really showed that Han-Seok relies on Myung-Hee completely.

Speaking of which, I do want to ask a question. Does Myung-Hee want to work for Jang Han-Seok? Additionally, even though she’s should be the real mastermind villain, in the last few episodes (I can understand that) her position has been trying to please Jang Han-Seok to get a win. In previous episodes he did look menacing. However, now his every action in goes through her. Is it because she does actually want to reap the benefits of Babel on the end? (My assumption isn’t that the initially volunteered to help, she has told Seung-Hyuk that he can’t escape from Han-Seok).

Anyways, I went off a tangent for a little bit. Another point about Jang Han-Seok is that he seeks to have an affection for Cha-Young. Of course, since he’s been revealed to be a psychopath we have kind of rationalised it by Han-Seok doing it for fun and throwing off the audience. Still-(remember the scene he zoomed in on her face in the photo of Vincenzo and Cha-Young on his phone?) in episode 18, when Myung-Hee tells him that Cha-Young has filed a lawsuit on Babel, he specifically refers to it as ‘they’, meaning that he now puts them in a team. This is further confirmation from when he tried to set fire on Geumga plaza while knowing she was inside. So definitely, the easiest way is to kidnap her. She doesn’t have fighting skills, doesn’t have security, and even if Vincenzo doesn’t like her, it’s clear they’re partners and it’s a valid threat. At the same time I would not want that to happen because that would start pulling in romance towards the plot which is not a good idea. In that case, I am able to understand this logic just as a way of avoiding another trope.

Actually, it’s just a and b. I was going to separate it into more sections but I’m not good at structure so it just ended up all looped inside.

From how the story is being laid out, it’s good to see it’ll be a happy ending. Also, even though I’m not fond of the ending, I do like that it doesn’t give me that same antsy feeling and instead just a feeling of satisfaction waiting for the next episode.

Ah, I hope it didn’t ruin your perception, just my issues, but I had lots of fun watching it too. And yes, I tend to write long replies.

Yeah, I was like Hm? I do wonder what the translations are. Anyways, close enough. I get the vibe, haha.

It dropped by 0.1

I used to skip the Vincenzo opening theme because it's just silhouettes, but now I watch every second because- a week, and we just went through two weeks, two weeks of waiting

Seems like it's not sad, which is a good sign for upcoming scenes!

I was also surprised haha, I thought, doesn't it come out on April 25? And then I realized it was April 25!

It'll be on Netflix in about three hours.
So here is my rather late review on Episode 17.
Watching it and after watching it, I felt a slight sense of emptiness, though at the same time I was overjoyed just to see fresh scenes with the cast after two weeks.
Personal Opinion:
Usually, when I watch dramas, I get swept up in just feeling it, so I empathize/understand more when I'm watching it, then afterwards, I look at it critically (when you think back on what you watch).

In this episode, I conclude that the emptiness comes from a feeling of confusion.

First, the good things:
- I enjoyed their wrap up on Vincenzo's mother's arc (if it rushed right into the plot it would have felt weird). The scene where he puts on his suit again after he cries feels like it symbolizes a fresh, new day
- The surprise killing of Choi Myung Hee's gangster-ah, that was certainly a reminder. I was thinking about why he jumped out instead of the cake and kajaboom.
-shooting off Jang Han-Seok's ear (because it shows he doesn't make empty threats)
- I'm incline to say I like the part where the Yeong-ho Snack bar owner hugs Vincenzo because it shows Vincenzo's progression of accepting first Cha-Young and then people around him, but I didn't feel that touched because I already saw him cry previously and the set-up of the Geumga members standing around him is the type I've seen in many dramas (still, it's nice)

I suppose this time I have more complaints, but to be honest, I actually did thoroughly enjoy this episode, and some of them aren't complaints, just the vibe of it that I suppose bothers me, and sometimes it contrasts.

1. It's great to see Vincenzo back in action
I've seen some people say that from the end of episode 16, it shows that he's fully getting into it and not playing games anymore. Though I can see things when a level higher this episode, I tend to try not to agree with that sentiment. I don't believe Vincenzo would just be playing around, and by saying that, it also discredits a lot of the start of the story since it isn't being taken seriously
2. Cha-Young
I think it's odd that I didn't like her at the start. However, I'd say her character was written a lot better afterwards. I've missed her! I swear she had like 10 lines in this episode. I know the focus is on work, which I did like as well, so it's a conflicting feeling because though I loved to see them in action, it put me off because the flow of this episode was so different to others, like it was broken off. In that sense, it was strange not to see Cha-Young not as chipper as she stayed quite even (not so full of expression) the entire episode, and she appeared with very, very, little screen time.
For the one scene she appeared in where the man was killed, I do have a bit of worry for how her character is going to develop. First of all, it seems that in this episode she and Vincenzo are more distant. This is completely off-putting to previous episodes. From her reaction, I have mixed reactions:
- I do think it is important to establish from time to time how Vincenzo is actually dangerous (because I think the comedy becomes a separate world where the characters don't act like how they're supposed to)
Cha-Young would then represent the normal human reaction
Also, I do like the concept of her wanting revenge and feeling angry over her father's death (and not having enough time to grief), but not actually thinking about killing them
So far, when she and Vincenzo go out on the action, there are comedy reassurances, or when he goes out for action individually, she only sees him covered in blood and some dead bodies at most, so she doesn't actually see it happening
Still, it clashes with the setup. Though I know it's arguable from their conversation of 'whether Vincenzo has killed a person what would she do'- that it might be leading to this, they have brushed over it and she has been accepting of his actions so far, and that's great to see!
In that sense, I do really wish to see a female character who is also a bit morally gray, who can also withstand and accept that. I really hope this conflict doesn't bring out into the plot (affect the plot).
Whether they end up with romance or just hinting at romance, it's great to see Vincenzo and Cha-Young work together, appreciate and understand each other.
The reason I say that is because at the end of all that (ep 17), she seems to have composed herself, but it wasn't as obvious a reaction as I had expected. When she says she'll take care of the other party, I'm wondering if that means she'll try to reduce the violence or as standing in agreement with Vincenzo, that 'yeah, let's do it'.
Additionally, I hope she goes back into comedy or her normal, awesome self the next episode because I still think that the Geumga Plaza people and the main cast's interactions are supposed to be filed for another universe. I do like Cha-Young's comedic moments as it reassures and balances Vincenzo, but even though it's sometimes interesting, the Geumga cast serves to calm us down and balance out the themes, not help the main cast.
3. The endings
I'm sure we all know Vincenzo isn't going to die-the title of the show is his name, what are they going to do with the last three episodes?
Although I am anticipating what's going to happen, when it ended I didn't feel that rush of, damn, I wonder what's going to happen. Episode 16 did that quite well towards the end. However, summarising the last few episodes, I do think that there's a little bit of ah, here's a twist or unexpected occurrence because it's the end of an episode. He has been surrounded in episode 14. Because the villain currently isn't so much a threat (I mean Babel), I don't feel worried for him. (Han-Seok is more of a turbulent, tantrum-throwing child right now)
Additionally, I thought interpol was so sudden. I can understand most of the plot points, but suddenly Seung-Hyuk found dirt on Vincenzo through the Cassano family? It felt like they could have done that earlier.
One other thing that bothered me: When Vincenzo said, 'because it was a hassle'- to why he didn't kill him. I get that they're trying to serve him the law's justice, but that doesn't make as much sense now since the change in the last two episodes of Vincenzo going darker makes the idea a little off because firstly, the system is so corrupt.
However, Vincenzo's principles still give me some logical standing so I can also go with it.
Anyways,continuing on to the fourth point
4. Jang Han-Seo
I can, however, readily forgive some of the conclusions because I understand the plot has to move forward, and that Vincenzo gets a 'you underestimated me' moment if his mother dies even if it makes more sense to kidnap her.
I think the villains are currently just trying to get their situation together (that's what they did this episode).
Therefore, I really liked that the spotlight actually got transferred onto Jang Han-Seo. Everyone was talking about how interesting his arc could be, and I agree, because we really need a villain who can scare Vincenzo to make us feel the rush. It's just different. I think the last time I was like, woah, was episode 8 when Choi Myung-Hee one-upped them. There were some parts afterwards that were great too.
I agree that if Jang Han-Seo wanted to kill Vincenzo, then he wouldn't have gone to the ice rink. However, I still like the idea of Jang Han-Seo actually intending to get rid of Vincenzo and Jang Jun-Woo (and Vincenzo being wary of everyone around him). From where it's going, I think this is a set-up between Vincenzo and him, which is fine, too.
5. Excitement
Now, what happened in that conversation between Vincenzo and the monks?
Additionally, I feel excited to be proved wrong.
I would also, actually, totally love for Vincenzo to go back to CGI-Italy. I miss those CGI-realistic-backgrounds!

I know it's been an overall negative tone, but I did very much enjoy lots of this episode. Also, I have a prediction:

Vincenzo is going to die.
Or else the writer doesn't realize that by Vincenzo killing Choi Myung-Hee's suicide bomber guy, that they mean that no matter if they've helped or not, bad people have to get their slice of what's due, then Vincenzo definitely has to die.

I also didn't want Cha-Young and Vincenzo's relationship to spiral out. However, we know the writer doesn't do romance and the signs from this episode signal she's not as accepting. Perhaps this prepares us for that.

Edit: From episode 18 trailer, it seems not. That's great because I completely stand behind their relationship.
Still, I'm not sure whether he'll die in the end.

Okay, that was my prediction but I hope I'm wrong.

This post was also a lot longer than I expected. We can respectfully disagree, or agree. Please comment, I'd love to have a discussion!

Promised myself to hold on until Monday, or at least Sunday (I specifically swore in front of another person that I would hold out of Saturday), so now I'm looking down at the sea of blue spoiler tags.
This is called regret.

1. I definitely did get worried, more worried for the scriptwriter actually because I hope fandom excitement didn't get him all stressed about how to wrap things up (+cue K-drama bad endings being common)
2. Many people thought the OST name 'I'll always be by your side' is a good sign for the relationship, but I feel like that's also usually associated with loss and leaving/death. Though I don't think the scriptwriter will want to make it a bad ending.
Currently I'm also trying to make my expectations low since it's already high with anticipation after two weeks.

I think an article mentioned it was because the scripts were late since the director and scriptwriter were contemplating on how to end the show.

Well, it's not noir. Vincenzo has dark elements and the character himself has a dark background, but about more than half of the show is made of slapstick comedy, and to round that off you get 'cool' moments and certain dark scenes. The first few episodes explore a little into corruption among corporations, but as the plot is laid down it becomes a revenge story with comedy.
I suppose that's not really your cup of tea.
If you want something dark, then Jeon Yeo-been (who acts Hong Cha-Young in Vincenzo) just came out with 'Night in Paradise'. That one is dark.

You see, anticipation for a show is the best time to start binging three other shows while on a hiatus period. This is called productive drama watching haha, since usually it takes a while to go through so many episodes of a drama.