Things have been relatively smooth so far for our Jipuragi team. They’ve overcome most of the obstacles that has been thrown at them thus far and they prove that their quick thinking, wittiness, intelligence, and creativity – more likely than not – works in their favor. But for how much longer can they keep things up? What happens when your enemies catch up to you in a fight to remain competitive? What happens when you’re put to the test and pushed to your limits?
Vincenzo: Episode 9 Recap
After the confrontation with Wusang and Babel in the main lobby, Cha-young and Vincenzo walk off side by side. They give each other a slight smirk while they stray away from the rest of the group. Upon dispersing, Han-seo follows after Joon-woo and expresses his greed and desire to just end things. Why don’t they just get rid of Cha-young and Vincenzo right now? However, Joon-woo isn’t in a hurry to do so. The day he gets rid of Vincenzo will be the day when he defeats him. Our Jipuragi team heads to a bar afterwards to celebrate. While Vincenzo occupies himself with some dart throwing, Cha-young brainstorms on what they should do next. Since they have a feeling that there’s a bigger person behind Babel and Wusang, they should do something that will trigger Babel’s true boss to reveal himself. From now on, their code for Babel’s boss shall be ‘Babo’ (AKA fool or stupid in Korean, lol).
When Vincenzo arrives home, he’s reminded of the conversation he had with the doctor back when he visited his mother, Ms. Oh. It was then that he learned about Ms. Oh’s history as a cancer survivor. She had lung cancer back in January of 1993 and then abandoned Vincenzo a few months later in May of the same year. Could she possibly have left him because she was sick and afraid to leave him by himself? And so the search for the gold continues. Our Geumga tenants go on their search parties late into the night. They’re all divided into different groups and even our two monks have their special equipments that they use to find the gold: dowsing rods. Lol. Vincenzo is having a battle of his own in his bedroom. The pigeon that visits him often has come back once again, disrupting any chances of Vincenzo getting some sleep. The pigeon’s name shall be Injagi from now on.
Lawyer Choi updates Joon-woo on Director Gil’s status. Since breaking away from Wusang and Babel, Director Gil has now partnered with Prosecutor Jung of the Namdongbu Prosecution Service for protection. The prosecutor is the same guy who worked on a case related to Joon-woo’s father when his father was still Chairman of the conglomerate. Speaking of Director Gil, Joon-woo receives a phone call from the doctor right at that moment. Director Gil has two demands for Joon-woo: he is to not be killed by any of Joon-woo’s men and two, he is to be wired $30 million dollars. If Joon-woo fails to comply and abide with the conditions, Director Gil will reveal Joon-woo’s true identity to Prosecutor Jung. Of course, included in that will also be what Joon-woo did to his father back at the hospital. Joon-woo is furious upon hearing Director Gil’s threat, but he sounds composed on the phone. He’ll get the money to Director Gil, but we all know there’s no guarantee he won’t kill the doctor.
Cha-young and Vincenzo munch on some semi-burnt sweet potatoes during their meeting. After feeding Vincenzo some potatoes, Cha-young focuses her attention on the documents that Mr. Nam has prepared on Han-seo’s older brother, Han-seok. He’s resided in the United States for 15 years so they assume that he didn’t even attend his father’s funeral that happened two years ago. Vincenzo also happens to smudge his nose with a black mark from holding the burnt potato. No one tells him anything though and Cha-young panics when she realizes the superstition affiliated with eating potatoes. Apparently, eating sweet potatoes causes a roadblock to your plans. With that, she throws down her potato and transitions to visiting Ms. Oh at the hospital. Vincenzo initially declines the invitation, but it isn’t until Mr. Nam speaks pitifully about Ms. Oh and the lack of responsibility from her kids (if she had any) that Vincenzo changes his mind, lol.
At the hospital, Cha-young updates Ms. Oh on the most recent happenings with Shinkwang Bank’s CEO. Ms. Oh is relieved to hear the news and she expresses gratitude to Cha-young for all her help. Things have been going better for her since she’s been working with Cha-young. However, Cha-young gives Vincenzo all the credit. He’s the one paying for her hospital bills and he’s the mastermind behind everything. Speaking of Vincenzo, he makes his grand appearance at the hospital, but he’s not in such a great mood. He’s not happy to hear that doctors haven’t been giving Ms. Oh her medication (even though it was Ms. Oh who refused to take them) and he even speaks harshly about the food that they feed her. He also scolds his own mother for her stubborness and encourages her to listen to the doctors. Cha-young and Ms. Oh are a bit taken aback by Vincenzo’s furious attitude, but they know it’s only because he cares.
Han-seo updates Joon-woo on the latest regarding two additional banks that they’re trying to get to invest in Babel. Dongil and Taesan Banks aren’t willing to invest in Babel primarily due to the scene that Cha-young and Vincenzo caused not too long ago in the lobby. Han-seo suggests once again that they just get rid of the two lawyers, but Joon-woo refuses to resort to such tactics. That’s not an option for him; instead, he’s going to set up a meeting with the Namdongbu Prosecution group so Han-seo should make sure to attend that meeting.
Our Jipuragi team meet up with the 4 family members of the victims from the Babel Pharmaceuticals lawsuit for some food. They catch up with one another and even though things aren’t completely resolved with shareholders from the company, they all feel a sense of peace to an extent. Han-seo, Lawyer Choi, and Mr. Han grab some dinner with Chief Prosecutor Hwang and his right-hand man, Prosecutor Seo. Even though Han-seo pretends to be friendly with the two guys, it’s obvious the feelings aren’t mutual. Both prosecutors remind the Wusang and Babel team that they could still get in trouble if they decide to do anything that doesn’t align with Namdongbu Prosecution’s goals. It’s just a contract after all. Unbeknownst to anyone but Han-seo, Han-seo secretly has Joon-woo on the phone listening in on their conversation. The real Babel chairman isn’t so impressed.
Han-seo isn’t so happy either and after the meeting, he drags Lawyer Choi and Mr. Han with him. They chase the two prosecutors down and grab them hostage. Meanwhile, Cheol-wook and Yeon-jin are busy searching for that gold once again when they find two men breaking into Vincenzo’s apartment unit. They eventually enter the place themselves in an attempt to take the two thieves down. Cheol-wook unleashes his martial arts skills on the two guys and Yeon-jin practices her fighting with them as well. They’re close to defeating the two thieves until one of the thieves attacks them with a gas pistol. Oh nooo! After dinner with the families, our Jipuragi team prepare to bid farewell with them. It was nice just getting to sit down and talk and one of the family members even gives Vincenzo a hug to thank him. They also share about their plans for a getaway trip to Jindo that they have prepared for the following weekend. It should be a fun and nice break away from everything. They all go in for one last group hug before leaving. Not too far away sits a man observing the group in his black car down the street.
And so Vincenzo drops Cha-young back at home again (EEEEEK I’M SCREAMING. THE WAY I’M SMILING LIKE A FOOL RIGHT NOW). Although Vincenzo reasons that he only dropped Cha-young off so he could buy some wine on the way, Cha-young is well aware of his intentions. There’s a wine store right across from Geumga where he lives. He could have just gone there. Hehe. With that, shy and embarrassed Vincenzo bids farewell with his teammate and she enters her house only to find footprints inside. Someone’s in her house. Cha-young stares in horror at all the footprints and she turns around to find a man standing behind her with a hammer in his hand. She does her best to avoid him and throws whatever she can at him to defend herself. Just when the man is about to strike Cha-young, his partner shouts at the door entrance for his attention. The man walks over to open the door and is in for a surprise. It’s Vincenzo. VINCENZO TO THE RESCUE.
Vincenzo fights against both guys and it’s obvious the two are no match for the Mafia lawyer. After beating both guys down, he quickly checks in on a frightened Cha-young, but the break doesn’t last for long. One of the guys slings his hammer towards their direction so Vincenzo lunges at Cha-young and together the two land on the couch. With that, the two guys make their escape and Vincenzo is determined to find out who the mastermind behind the order is. However, Cha-young pleads for Vincenzo to stay with her. She’s scared to death and it’s already obvious who was behind the attempted murder.
Chief Prosecutor Hwang and Prosecutor Seo are kidnapped and held hostage in a warehouse. They threaten Lawyer Choi, Mr. Han, and Han-seo to release them, but Han-seo isn’t afraid. He’s determined to teach the two prosecutors a lesson for underestimating them. The kidnapping comes as a surprise to even Lawyer Choi and Mr. Han who’s not so sure Joon-woo signed off on it, but Han-seo reassures them that he did. And Joon-woo proves that he did agree to the kidnapping. The real Babel Chairman makes his grand appearance shortly afterwards. Joon-woo’s face is covered and protected with his helmet and he has his hockey stick with him. He uses it to beat and kill Prosecutor Seo right in front of everyone. Little hints of blood splashes all over their faces and clothes as Prosecutor Seo is repeatedly hit by a crazy Joon-woo. Joon-woo targets Chief Prosecutor Hwang afterwards and even threatens to kill Chief Prosecutor Hwang’s son. After wrapping things up, Joon-woo reconvenes with his group. They all prove their loyalty and commitment to Joon-woo while Joon-woo encourages Han-seo to double up on his security. Han-seo is Joon-woo’s Achilles Heel after all.
While police conduct an investigation at the house, Vincenzo takes care of Cha-young by wrapping a blanket around her and chatting with her at the dining table. Cha-young can’t seem to understand or process why someone from Babel or Wusang would want to kill her, but Vincenzo argues that their goal might not have been to necessarily kill her. The guy tried to hurt her with a hammer. If they wanted to kill her, they would have strangled her or stabbed her with a knife. Cha-young has had enough and she’s unable to take it all in any longer. Vincenzo suggests that she sleep at a friend’s house overnight since her house has been broken into so Cha-young picks up her phone to make some phone calls. So who exactly is the first person she calls? Turns out, it’s none other than Vincenzo. His phone begins to vibrate seconds after Cha-young picks up her her phone and he immediately answers with a “no” upon answering. LOL. THIS IS SO FUNNY. I LOVE OUR NATURAL COMEDIANS!
And so Cha-young continues with her search to find a friend. However, people are still wary and cautious around her and she fails to get in contact with anyone. Cha-young assumes she can just sleep over at a hotel for the night. It’s not like she’s afraid or scared anymore, right? Vincenzo drops Cha-young off at a hotel and they bid farewell. Before exiting the car, Vincenzo leans over to Cha-young and she gets nervous just thinking about it. Could this possibly be a kiss? But no. Vincenzo is just stretching over to her side of the car to open her door and Cha-young takes that as a sign to leave. So with that, she enters the hotel, but unlike what she thought, she’s not okay. She imagines all the male employees of the hotel to be serial killers and she’s confident she cannot stay by herself at the hotel that night.
When Vincenzo returns to Geumga Plaza, he’s approached and greeted by Cheol-wook, Yeon-jin, Mr. Tak, Chef Toto, and Mr. An. Cheol-wook and Yeon-jin update Vincenzo on the two thieves from earlier that night and Mr. An internally assumes Vincenzo must be in danger for being targeted by some hitmen. Lol. Vincenzo is understanding and thankful for Cheol-wook and Yeon-jin’s bravery and prepares to head inside his place. Before he can escape, Yeon-jin smacks two packs of instant ramen packages right at his face. Since she was attacked with the gas pistol, she and Cheol-wook can’t see very well at the moment, lol. Vincenzo assumes he can finally have a quiet and peaceful night to rest, but he has some visitors. He overhears Injagi and Injagi’s friend in his bedroom and sure enough, they’ve managed to find a way inside. Vincenzo fails to catch the two pigeons so he has no choice but to sleep out in the living room for the night. Of course, he receives another visitor and this time, it’s his favorite (and mine), Hong Cha-young!
She invites herself into his place and barges in after admitting how scared and cold she is. She only needs to stay for the night and then she’ll leave afterwards. Cha-young also becomes distracted by the ramen that Vincenzo is cooking and even though she initially denies his invitation for some, it doesn’t take long for her to change her mind. Vincenzo watches as Cha-young stuffs herself with the ramen he originally cooked for himself. Hahaha, I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP!! Vincenzo can’t help but watch in shock and surprise as she eats the entire serving of ramen (“didn’t you eat a lot earlier at dinner?” LOL). Vincenzo informs her on their sleeping arrangements for the night and Cha-young can’t seem to understand why at first. He does have a bedroom. When she peeks inside his bedroom, she finds Injagi and a few more of its friends chilling in the room. She runs back out in terror and it all suddenly makes sense.
So Cha-young sleeps on the couch while Vincenzo makes himself comfortable on the floor. Cha-young takes the opportunity to ask two more questions to Vincenzo about his mafia life. She learns that Vincenzo’s boss was a smart businessman and father figure to Vincenzo. So what about the killing part? Has Vincenzo ever killed anybody since he was a part of the Mafia? Vincenzo lies and claims that he’s never done such a thing. He was only their lawyer and nothing more. However, Vincenzo is curious and he checks in on Cha-young’s thoughts if he was to ever admit to doing such a thing. Would she be disappointed or cut ties with him? Cha-young doesn’t think of it that way. Instead, she’d feel distant from him and as if he was someone trapped in a mural or in the newspaper. She’d be sad if anyone thought of her that way, but Vincenzo argues that he’s okay if that’s how people feel about him. He’s okay with living a life where he’s away from people. Cha-young sees right through him and assumes it’s because he’s afraid to get hurt by others. With that, their honest, raw, and heartfelt conversation concludes and the two try to get some sleep that night.
Vincenzo dreams once again of the murders and assassinations he’s committed during his time in Italy and he jolts awake due to the nightmare. After regaining his composure, he turns his head and watches as Cha-young is sound asleep on the couch. The two lawyers eat some cereal for breakfast and discuss the latest news on Prosecutor Seo’s death. Although articles claim that he died from driving under the influence, Vincenzo senses that there’s more to the story. Joon-woo and Han-seo gather for some breakfast of their own at their house. After ending a phone call with a team member that Joon-woo’s hired to go to Italy to investigate on Vincenzo, Joon-woo dedicates his attention to Han-seo. Han-seo is nervous as he prepares to make a confession to his older brother. Sure enough, he admits that he was the one behind the group of hitmen that targeted Cha-young and Vincenzo. Joon-woo is furious upon learning the details and he warns Han-seo to never again commit such a thing. Unlike all the other times, Han-seo isn’t so fazed. He seats himself back down and resumes with eating breakfast. Hmm.
Joon-woo strikes up a video call with Cha-young to check up on her. He notices the different background so Cha-young shows Vincenzo as a hint. She slept over at his place last night and she ends the call to get ready for work. Joon-woo isn’t so happy with the revelation. Vincenzo is approached by Mr. An on the way to his car. Mr. An offers the Mafia lawyer a helping hand and hands him a card with his phone number. If Vincenzo is in danger and ever needs back-up, he is free to call or text Mr. An right away. Haha. Vincenzo stays hidden nearby Babel’s headquarters and he watches as Han-seo enters the building with a larger amount of security guards swarming him than usual. Vincenzo brings this to Cha-young’s attention back at Jipuragi and they assume Babo must be behind the doing. Mr. Nam then shares with both lawyers the update on Director Gil and his partnership with the Namdongbu Prosecution. Although it’s unknown as to why Director Gil is working with them and is being protected by them, they know it must have something to do with Babel. With that, Cha-young pulls on some strings to get connected to Prosecutor Jung.
Meanwhile, Vincenzo steps out to catch up with Mr. Cho. Mr. Cho’s operation to grab Mr. Wang’s iris data in China is successful and now they can access the gold storage room much easier. However, there’s still one thing standing in the way of their plan: the temple in the basement sitting on top of the room. So Vincenzo makes his move and he stops by the temple back at Geumga Plaza. He finds Mi-ri inside along with Monk Chaeshin and Jeokha. After Mi-ri exits, Vincenzo sits down to have a talk with Monk Jeokha and offers to relocate them to a much nicer place. However, Monk Jeokha is content with their current location inside of Geumga and refuses to move anywhere. As if things couldn’t be bad enough, Monk Chaeshin serves some sweet potatoes for them all to eat. Hahaha. Vincenzo isn’t so happy with either monks and he refuses to be fed by Monk Chaeshin. What all three men are unaware of is Mi-ri hiding outside the temple listening in on their conversation. If Vincenzo is willing to relocate the Geumga monks to another temple, that must only mean one thing.
Mr. Han has a difficult time grappling with the evilness and dark side of things after reading the news article on Prosecutor Seo’s death. Lawyer Choi reassures him that they’ve already crossed the line a long time ago and that there’s no turning back now. Speaking of evilness and dark side of things, Joon-woo barges into the office to give Lawyer Choi some instructions. There’s a favor he has for Chief Prosecutor Hwang that involves Dongil and Taesan Banks. So with that, the Namdongbu Prosecution group invade both banks and arrest their respective presidents for an investigation. Our Jipuragi team are in disbelief upon learning the news and they assume that the two banks will now be fully investing in Babel as a result. They also sense that Babel killed Prosecutor Seo as a way to threaten and scare Chief Prosecutor Hwang. Just when it seems as if things aren’t going so well, Cha-young comes to the rescue with some great news. She’s managed to secure a meeting with Prosecutor Jung. After failing to handle Geumga Plaza, Mr. Park and Soo-nam move into the building itself to open up a new travel agency. Larry, Mr. Tak, and Ms. Kwak aren’t so happy with their appearance. Weren’t they just enemies not too long ago and now they’re neighbors? Lol.
Our Geumga tenants all gather at Chef Toto’s restaurant to have a meeting about the hidden gold in the building. It’s obvious how hard they’ve all been working to search for the gold and they agree to be strategic in finding it together. There is to be no backstabbing and they must all work as a team (let’s see how long this lasts, haha). Cha-young and Vincenzo meet up with Prosecutor Jung to discuss the situation with Director Gil. All Prosecutor Jung knows for now are Director Gil’s demands for immunity and his plans to leave the country. When Cha-young and Vincenzo explain to him that there could be someone else behind Chairman Han-seo, Prosecutor Jung is reminded of the conversation he had with Director Gil. Director Gil didn’t explain to Prosecutor Jung how exactly Joon-woo and Han-seo’s father died, but he refers to them in the third person as “jerks.” This catches both Vincenzo and Cha-young’s attention and they note how Director Gil spoke in the plural sense. Both of the former Babel chairman’s sons must have been there at his deathbed so Director Gil must know who Babo is. That’s why he’s trying to stall time to make a deal with Babel. That would explain why Director Gil called an untraceable phone number back at his meeting with Prosecutor Jung. Eventually, food is brought out to the trio at the restaurant and like before, they’re served a small plate of sweet potatoes. Hahaha. I love it! While Vincenzo and Cha-young occupy themselves in their meeting with Prosecutor Jung, Joon-woo watches them through a secret recording by one of his men. He knows what his opponents are up to.
Babel continues to make moves with new pieces and development and Han-seo presents Joon-woo with some documents that are helpful for their operations. Taesan and Dongil Banks move forward in investing in Babel, Babel resumes production with RDU-90, and the security level at their warehouses are tripled. Things are shaping up for Babel, but our Jipuragi team refuse to back down. After taking a glance at the photos of our 4 family members and their getaway trip, Cha-young receives an update from Prosecutor Jung. Director Gil seems to now be teaming up with Babel as he’s gone back on his words and has been denying charges against Babel. That sting operation that he so adamantly denied executing and doing on Director Gil? Prosecutor Jung is up for it. He wants to get down to business. So our Jipuragi team come up with a plan like the geniuses they are and decide that they’ll present themselves as hitmen to Director Gil in an effort to get him to reveal who the real boss behind Babel is.
The trio set out on a trip of their own and head to the house that Director Gil had been stationed at for protection by Prosecutor Jung’s team. Upon arrival, they notice that things are a little suspicious as they don’t see any of the cops dressed in plain clothes that were hired to protect Director Gil. Still, the three inch closer to the house but it’s unlike what they were expecting. The house is dark and there are two dead bodies soaked in blood in the house. So what about Director Gil? What happened to him? When Vincenzo opens the door to Director Gil’s bedroom, they find him laying in a pool of his own blood, stabbed in the chest with a knife. Our Jipuragi team was too late. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Cha-young receives a text from one of the family members at that moment that reads,
I’m sorry, Ms. Hong. All of us couldn’t handle the sadness of losing our families and the anger we felt today. So we are going to do something very foolish. I hope you can be understanding.
Vincenzo stares at Cha-young upon reading the text to which Cha-young diverts her eyes elsewhere. She’s angry and she’s frustrated and most of all, she’s speechless. Out on the side of the road near a grass field sits the vehicle that our four family members were in for their getaway trip. The Babel and Wusang team all celebrate in their own ways on finally succeeding and coming out on top for once. Mr. Han spends his leisure time playing some golf, Lawyer Choi rewards herself with some food in her office as usual, Han-seo plays around with the new gun that he got himself not too long ago, and Joon-woo dances around in his house at the thought of Babel domination. Meanwhile, Cha-young and Vincenzo are on the opposite side of the spectrum. They hurry to the site of the incident where the van with the 4 dead bodies are discovered.
Cha-young and Vincenzo jump out of their car and run to get closer to the scene. They’re in pure disbelief at the sight of the 4 family members in the van and they can’t seem to process all that’s in front of them. Vincenzo glances at Cha-young as she stares straight ahead of her, her eyebrows furrowed and her anger fueling inside. Vincenzo notices the pile of ashes laying on the floor in the car and he’s reminded of the moment when the four family members accompanied them to burn Babel Pharmaceutical’s warehouse. Just like how the 4 family members were in a vehicle at that time, the 4 are once again seated in a vehicle, except this time – they’re all dead. As police officers, detectives, and the forensic team run around the scene to perform their duties, Cha-young and Vincenzo stay glued to where they are. They’re unable to move, they’re unable to say anything, they’re unable to do anything but stay frozen. Where do they go from here?
My Thoughts:
HOLY SMOKES!! I can always count on ‘Vincenzo’ to deliver with their amazinggg endings. Can we just pause for a second to talk about the beautiful cinematography at the end of this episode? The transition from the scene with Joon-woo to the site of the incident was so smooth and seamless and terrifying all at the same time. It’s as if it was night and day; it’s as if a light switch was flipped and you went from watching the Wusang and Babel team celebrate in happiness to our Jipuragi team drown in a range of emotions. It felt as if I was watching a movie for a second there at the end with the way that the ending was shot. It seriously felt like a scene from a thriller movie and I loved every single second about it.
I really have to give props to Jeon Yeo-bin and Song Joong-ki as well for their perfect and detailed acting. The directing was phenomenal with the way that it panned in on Cha-young and Vincenzo’s face expressions and how it shot the 4 family members sitting lifelessly in the vehicle, but man, even the smallest most subtle things made a huge difference in that scene. Things like Jeon Yeo-bin’s hesitant running upon getting out of the car to get closer to the scene of the incident was so so good. It seemed as if she was going to fall at any second because her legs were too weak and she couldn’t hold it together for much longer. The hesitance in her running also proved just how scared and unprepared she was to face the one fear she was afraid of the most. She was scared to face the reality to a nightmare that she never thought would come true. Then there was the way that Vincenzo tried to grab onto Cha-young’s arm to pull her back from moving further, but she brushed him off as she took a good look at the scene. It’s just small small little things like these that speaks volumes about our characters and their reactions to everything in that moment. I know I might be overthinking some of these details, but seriously, huge kudos to the ‘Vincenzo’ team for brilliantly executing such a heart-breaking, heart-wrenching, chilling, and devastating scene. ‘Vincenzo’ strikes once again with their ending scenes.
The hardest part to watch in that ending scene was the comparison of the 4 family members and where they were just weeks prior to their death. The last time we saw all of them in a vehicle together was when they helped burn down the Babel Pharmaceutical warehouse. Although there will never be anything that will fill that void of losing a loved one because of Babel, there was a sense of peace and closure knowing that they got their revenge on Babel somehow. Then the next time we see them in a vehicle again is of them dead, sitting lifelessly in a vehicle. Gaaah, it just grabs at your heart and it makes you so sad. These 4 family members meant something. They meant so much to Cha-young, Vincenzo, Mr. Nam, and Lawyer Hong. They were living proof of courage, persistence, and hope, but unfortunately couldn’t stay until the end.
Up until this point, we’ve witnessed our Jipuragi team learn more about each other, work as a team, utilize one another’s strengths to overcome obstacles, and come out on top with creative strategies and victories. We knew we were going to reach a point where they weren’t going to win forever. We knew there would come a time when Babel and Wusang would make their comeback. I just don’t think we (and Cha-young + Vincenzo themselves) were all expecting it to be to this extent. This one is going to be a hard one to bounce back from for a variety of reasons. Innocent people’s lives were taken and Babel has proven how reckless, relentless, and evil they are. They’ve already shown how careless they are about the lives of others in the pursuit for money and domination. They’ve shown that they don’t care who it is and what they have to do; they’re going to do whatever it takes to stay afloat and to remain competitive. As we saw in the past, the families of the victims were crucial not only for the lawsuit against Babel Pharmaceuticals but also because they were innocent in all of this. They were merely fighting for justice for their loved ones; they were that light of hope that had been lost for so long because things had been so hopeless for so long against Babel. Just when things were starting to shape up and possibly change, it seems as if everything is now back to square one. Babel has proven once again why they’ve been at the top for so long. They’ve proven why they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
I think the death of the family members also provides us with insight on Cha-young and her reason for her involvement in all of this. She wanted to continue her father’s legacy, his work, and his fight for justice so she resumed with the lawsuit that the families were involved in. She wanted to prove to herself, to her late father, to Vincenzo, to the families, to Babel and Wusang, and to everyone that yes, she can do it. That there is hope against Babel and that justice will prevail. Doing this work means so much to her and it hits her on a more personal level than professional. Therefore, it kills Cha-young inside to see the families of the victims gone because it diminishes her plans of accomplishing her father’s work and his dreams of defeating Babel. Her father devoted his entire life and career to fighting against this powerful conglomerate; she swallowed her pride, turned her life around, and continued with his efforts to do the same. They had the same dream and goals, but it’s all falling apart now. If not for her father, would Cha-young have done any of this? Would she be where she is now? Would she have continued her father’s fight for justice in her own pair of shoes and on the path she’s paved for herself? Is there any other reason for her involvement in all of this if not to honor her father and his legacy and his life? If everything was to be taken away from her, what will remain of her?
The death of the family members is also just as alarming and impactful for Vincenzo who I think we can argue is now starting to be a lot more involved than he initially expected. He thought he could easily get access to the gold and then be gone forever with a huge fortune under his belt. But as we saw, it’s not as simple and easy as he thinks. For the past few weeks that he’s been in Korea, he’s reconnected with his mother, he’s bonded with the Geumga tenants, he’s found his ride-or-die team to roll with, he’s battling against a powerful conglomerate, and he’s fallen in love with a wacky, witty, smart, and funny lady. There’s a lot to unpack for him and yet he’s going with it. He’s not backing out; he’s actually more invested than ever in taking down Babel for reasons other than his own. He’s not just there to gain access to the gold. What might have been a simple reason for his visit to Korea has evolved into so much more. Vincenzo wants to help Cha-young fight for justice, he wants to take the big bad evil guys down. He wants to help the Geumga tenants (also so that he can get his gold). I love that Vincenzo’s journey has been full of unexpected surprises, but that’s the beauty in it all. He’s found out so much more about himself through the people he’s met along the way.
And one of those people is none other than Cha-young. I guess their relationship is expected to an extent since they work so well together, fit like a puzzle piece, and see each other pretty much everyday. But still, I don’t think he was expecting love or any romantic stuff when he came to Korea so I feel like his relationship with Cha-young has lit a spark in his life. As much as he wants to pretend like he doesn’t care about her or isn’t interested in her, his actions prove otherwise. Now he’s dropping her off at home to make sure she gets home safely or he lets her eat all his ramen. He also steals glances at her at every chance he gets. He worries for her and takes care of her. They even eat breakfast together at his place. It’s as if they’re a married couple (without the marriage part) and I love everything about it.
I also love how Vincenzo also cares about Cha-young’s opinions and thoughts on him such as when he asked if she would cut ties with him if she knew that he did kill people. Cha-young matters to him and he wants to know how she feels about him. She’s important to him and it’s obvious that the two have feelings for each other. Their slow-burn type of relationship and romance is really starting to fire up and while Cha-young is suppressing her feelings for Vincenzo, Vincenzo is denying his feelings for Cha-young. He acts as if he’s okay about moving out of the country while we know Cha-young wants him to stay once all of this ends. My heart hurts for the two of them and yet they make me so happy. Please just stay together forever, you two lovebirds (Injagi anyone?).
Vincenzo once told Joon-woo that a smart person knows not to walk away when they know their opponent’s level of weakness. The tables have definitely turned as Babel made their attack on Vincenzo and Cha-young and attacked their weaknesses. Now that Director Gil as well as the families of the victims are gone, the risks have amplified and escalated even further. How can the team bounce back from this and where do they go from here? What is it going to take and what are they going to have to do to defeat their enemies? Who will reign in the end?
Extra photos from the episode~
MaryMeKpop 