_Arantxa_

Ngl, with the exception of the exceptional opening scene set in Italy and Song Joong-ki (who I came across first in Descendants of the Sun 🔥), it took me until the end of episode four (once Cha-young and Vincenzo form an allegiance with the death of Yu-chan) to fully commit to the drama. I ate up the friendship and chemistry between Cha-young and Vincenzo, and their first kiss undercover had me excitedly screaming at the TV and rewinding repeatedly. I desperately wanted more romance after that, but perhaps that would have been unrealistic given so many genres being tackled at once. Plus, their final scene together was somewhat satisfying and I wasn’t mad. Anyhow, the Cassano X Geumga Plaza family’s bond, Vincenzo and his Mum’s reunion and reconnection, and my personal favourite, Vincenzo and Han-seo’s brotherhood, more than made up for it. Despite Han-seo’s personality faults and lavish lifestyle, I empathised with his trauma invoked by Jun-woo and quickly advocated for his character growth. His death had me almost in tears, especially in how Vincenzo comforts him 🥹This was my gateway into Kwak Dong-yeon’s work, and I’ll definitely be making a note of his other roles! He’s so cute 🙈Ultimately, I highly recommend Vincenzo. It’s one of the favourites for a reason, and that reason isn’t Song Joong-ki alone as I’ve seen some people assume, and as much as he did an exceptional job in portraying an Italian-Korean lawyer and Mafia consigliere and bringing Vincenzo to life!