“Vincenzo” first half has officially concluded and with it, one chapter is closing and another more dangerous one has opened, and I am here to talk about it.

This will be the unofficial half-way review of the show, usually, I review shows half-way and when they end, but since I’ve been reviewing almost weekly, this will be a continuation of my thoughts on the series.

“Vincenzo” isn’t perfect, its trying to be a lot of things at once but I guess I was so captivated by Song Joong Ki’s performance that I am willing to overlook a lot of things that I wouldn’t have usually overlook otherwise.

“Vincenzo” episode 9 and 10 were so much fun. I previously talked how fun it is, I may have issues with the writing but in the grand scheme of things, if its fun, then its fun, and “Vincenzo” is just that, its fun to watch.

Each episode feels like an extended movie cut, and despite some ups and downs, it’s still so much fun, it also aims to confuse the viewers on where they would draw the line when it comes to morals. Its an interesting discussion.

Song Joong Ki’s performance

The biggest and most interesting person in this entire drama remains Vincenzo. Song Joong Ki does such an amazing job at highlighting what makes him such a complex character, despite the fact that he doesn’t want to acknowledge it, he’s grown attached to his surroundings and has falled for the lead female. They’re dynamics are so cute.

I must say I didn’t expect screenwriter Park Jae Bum to re-visit his past over and over again, I thought he would just slide it under the rug but I am so glad he’s not doing that and instead of bringing into question the past of Vincenzo and how his actions must’ve hurt a lot of people.

By the end of the day, such a man is dangerous and should be behind bars for what he did, the ideal outcome would be for Vincenzo to go to jail and receive punishment for his crimes but I highly doubt screenwriter Park Jae Bum would do this, but I am glad that he’s at least trying to remind us that he’s done terrible things and I like that Vincenzo is tormented by his past actions and realizes the extent to which he’s probably harmed so many people beyond just the ones he’s killed directly.

This could be his reckoning. I hope screenwriter Park Jae Bum continues to expand on that part, he has all the time in the world to do so considering the drama run time.

Song Joong Ki balances the cute and dangerous sides of his character so well and I just can’t help but gravitate towards him whenever he’s on screen.

I also like his chemistry with Jeon Yeo Bin. I like how affectionate they are but it comes off so natural, she’s not being overbearing and neither he is. Their relationship is progressing to my liking, its not too fast or too slow. Just right.

The supporting characters

“Vincenzo” is 20 episodes long, we’re halfway there so it makes sense for the screenwriter to expand on the supporting cast. I am happy that he’s doing so, and instead of focusing solely on the main leads, he’s expanding on the supporting cast as it seems each one has a story of their own.

The hero of “Vincenzo” episode 10 is Tak Hong Sik, the one who runs a dry cleaning service. I was so pleasantly surprised by how strong he was. I wonder why he didn’t step in sooner…

Vincenzo right hand man Cho Yeong Un seems to have an agenda of his own, human greed truly knows no boundaries, I mean would it kill you to wait while Vincenzo wraps up everything? If the building won’t be seized, then its cool. You can still wait, its not like Vincenzo will completely abandon the gold.

I have a feeling more supporting characters shall die in the end, I don’t know who will but I know it’ll eventually happen and will serve as a bigger motivation for our leads.

The villain’s motivation

I’ve talked about Joon Woo and why I don’t take him seriously as a villain. In “Vincenzo” episode 10, the screenwriter finally gives us a glimpse of why Joon Woo chose to stay on the sidelines like that. But this doesn’t answer my question, why is he a lawyer? Why is he at that law firm? If he wants to ‘remain’ hidden, maybe, he shouldn’t hang around people who will eventually catch on. Forget the beginning, but when things started going bad, shouldn’t he have disappeared then?

I think its partly because he likes Hong Cha Young, but so far, considering just how volatile his character is and how impulsive he can be, I just can’t fathom that he managed to stay hidden for so long considering his character traits.

Taecyeon is okay as the villain, the character itself is ruthless but it would’ve turned out much better in the hands of an actor who could’ve done the character justice, he’s one of the reasons I can’t take the character so seriously. Nothing against Taecyeon, but I truly believe if it was given to an actor who specializes in villain characters, this drama would’ve been even better.

Taecyeon as a human doesn’t have that energy, Song Joong Ki is far more believable as an anti-hero or a villain per se than him but it is what it is.

On the other hand, I am liking Kwak Dong Yeon performance. I can’t wait until they expand on his character even more. I didn’t expect him to be this shitty as a character because he’s almost at the same level as his brother but I still have hope he’ll turn on Joon Woo eventually. Kwak Dong Yeon always gives 110% and he’s seriously criminally underrated as an actor, he’s so charming and he grabs the spotlight whenever he’s on screen.

“Vincenzo” the second half- worries?

I am waiting for the moment when Vincenzo truly snaps, he still hasn’t killed anyone per se in South Korea. I think he’s holding back because he knows Hong Cha Young is watching and because of his guilt. I want to see him show the worst side of himself but I don’t think it’ll happen any time soon because when it does, it’s officially near the end line.

Once he begins killing people, it will only be a matter of time before he gets caught. He has no backup in South Korea and its not like he’ll go on killing people without anyone doing anything especially since Joon Woo is probably going to actively attempt to kill him.

Now that Joon Woo knows how dangerous Vincenzo can be, I think he’ll attempt to do something to him many times. I suspect that Vincenzo right hand man Cho Yeong Un will probably also betray him at one point.

I am; still; worried about whats in store. I am liking the drama thus far and I hate for it to be ruined. 20 episodes is too much for a script like this. You can see that the writer is making progress with the plot then resetting everything back to point zero to his liking.

Also, I found it quite odd that a man who was stabbed to death in a manner that could in no way be overlooked was considered ‘a suicide/accident.’ The death of such a prominent doctor should’ve brought up a bigger reaction. Its not like the entire country is under the control of Babel group.

So far, Vincenzo has been intimidating people, even his attempts at ‘revenge’ were mild at best considering his past, I mean he used to murder people in cold blood. I wonder if the screenwriter will truly cross that line, because while Vincenzo did horrible things in Italy, we’re assuming its likely behind him, but if he wants to seriously end Babel, he’d have to kill and seriously injure higher-ups.

Thus, I am partially excited and partially worried that the drama will begin to stagnant.

So these are my thoughts on , so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.