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With Babel being such a huge powerhouse, there’s many different enemies that our Jipuragi team has to target. Just like all the times before, our trio use their brains and creativity to get the job done and just like before, it works every single time.

Note: The weekend is here, but unfortunately, we will not be getting two new episodes of ‘Vincenzo.’ Episodes 17 and 18 will be airing next weekend instead so I waited purposely until this weekend to recap episodes 15 and 16. It’s going to be painful waiting another whole week for the new episodes and I’m not so sure how I’m supposed to live or what I’m supposed to do this weekend. How do I move on without any new ‘Vincenzo’ episodes? What am I going to do? How am I going to get through this? T_T

Vincenzo: Episode 15 Recap

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Vincenzo is held at gunpoint on the rooftop of Geumga Plaza by three Italian hitmen who were hired by Paolo, his former Mafia boss’s son. One of the hitmen relays Paolo’s message to Vincenzo and vows to spare his life if Vincenzo promises to acknowledge and respect Paolo. However, the tension between Vincenzo and Paolo is still ongoing and Vincenzo refuses to ever respect Paolo in his life. With that, Vincenzo is close to being shot until he is rescued by none other than.. Injagi (INJAGI?!). Injagi makes their grand appearance to the party along with a group of friends. The three hitmen are distracted and attacked by Injagi’s friends which gives Vincenzo the opportunity to fight back and kill them. After defeating all three guys, Vincenzo expresses his gratitude to Injagi for saving his life. Sorry for being annoyed by you for all those sleepless nights, eh?

When Vincenzo returns from the rooftop, he encounters Cha-young on the way up the stairs. He attempts to persuade her from going up since, well, there’s three dead bodies laying there and he doesn’t want her to know what had just happened to him. Cha-young notices the tear on Vincenzo’s suit, but he doesn’t explain anything to her. He comes up with excuses to keep her from going up onto the rooftop and the two have a drink back at his place instead. Meanwhile, Lawyer Choi, Joon-woo, and Han-seo all brainstorm on what their next move should be. With Director Jung now caught and guilty, the Babel-Wusang team panic as to what to do. Lawyer Choi advises that Joon-woo leave the country before he gets caught and arrested; Han-seo can’t help but stress over how he’ll be the one to take the fall in all of this. Han-seo is instructed to find the earliest flight to New York for Joon-woo while Joon-woo waits for a photo of Vincenzo’s dead body. The hitmen that were hired to kill Vincenzo must have surely succeeded, right? But nope. As all three will see, the three hitmen were killed by Vincenzo which only angers Joon-woo even more. On the way out of the art gallery, Joon-woo is approached and arrested by Prosecutor Jung. This is the day that Prosecutor Jung has been waiting for.

Vincenzo’s shadows, Mr. Pyo and his boss, clean up the dead bodies on the rooftop. While doing so, they report to him how they found Lawyer Choi’s cellphone number in one of the hitmen’s phones. Vincenzo gives his Italian friend, Luca, a phone call afterwards. That night, Vincenzo spends some time with Injagi and thanks the pigeon for saving his life. He also receives a text from Cha-young about the grand arrest of Joon-woo. Prosecutor Jung will be holding a press conference the next day to announce and discuss the arrest. As for Cha-young, she revisits the scarf that Ms. Oh knitted for her as a gift and also reads the letter that Ms. Oh wrote for her. Upon reading the letter, Cha-young tears up and a heavy wave of emotions come over her upon finishing the letter.

Our Geumga tenants all reconvene at the Jipuragi office to watch the press conference. Everyone’s in a good mood and they’re all looking forward to the big announcement. However, unlike what they expected, Prosecutor Jung drops a bombshell. He apologizes for his charges and investigation against Babel and acknowledges his wrongdoings. He was too ambitious and he overstepped boundaries. With that, he’ll withdraw from the work he put into fighting against Babel and will return to obeying orders as part of the Namdongbu Prosecution service. Everyone at the Jipuragi office is confused by Prosecutor Jung’s sudden withdrawal and apology, but the Wusang-Babel team is entertained by the press conference. They had a feeling Prosecutor Jung would back out sooner or later and betray our Jipuragi team.

Cha-young is so enraged and angry by the news she throws her coffee mug straight at the TV. Everyone freezes upon watching her express her anger and are uncertain as to what to do or say. Cha-young storms out of the office and is followed by Vincenzo who attempts to help her regain her composure out in the hallway. How could they not have seen this coming? Prosecutor Jung acted as if he despised Babel, how could he just betray them like that overnight? Vincenzo comforts and reassures Cha-young about their situation. There was no way they could have saw this coming and there’s nothing they can do about it now. Betrayals hurt, but they must remember not to act impulsively. They must remain composed and act rationally in all of this.

After the press conference, Prosecutor Jung meets with Chief Prosecutor Hwang to discuss Prosecutor Jung’s reward in all of this. He will eventually be promoted in a few weeks and he is also guaranteed protection by guards just in case. As we will see, Prosecutor Jung betrayed our Jipuragi team by negotiating with Joon-woo on the night he arrested the Babel chairman. Knowing just how powerful Joon-woo is and with his intel on the Guillotine file, Prosecutor Jung managed to wiggle his way into a promotion that guaranteed both money and power. However, it is Vincenzo that Prosecutor Jung is dealing. On his way home from work, Prosecutor Jung finds his security guards attacked and discovers Vincenzo sitting at the dining table with his wife and daughter. You may try to run from Vincenzo, but you’ll never be able to escape. Vincenzo gives Prosecutor Jung a warning. With the betrayal, Prosecutor Jung’s death is inevitable. It’s just up to Vincenzo as to when that time will come.

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Joon-woo instructs Han-seo to arrange a meeting with Daechang Daily’s President, Mr. Oh. To raise Babel’s stocks up, Joon-woo wants to put out an article about Babel’s plans to enter the EV industry so the meeting with Mr. Oh is crucial. Ms. Kwak, Yeong-ho, Mr. Tak, Yeon-jin, and Cheol-wook all have some lunch at Ms. Kwak’s restaurant. They come to realizing just how far they’ve come and how much they’ve grown. Before, they didn’t care about any of the business that was going on with the plaza, but now they can’t help feel passionate about everything that’s been going on. They vow to follow Vincenzo and to support him and Yeon-jin reminds Cheol-wook to be careful, especially since they’re going to start a family (AHHH!). Yeon-jin adds that they’ve had a change of heart and are planning for a family now (CUUUUTE).

Vincenzo and Cha-young go shopping for some bags and purses at the mall. Unlike what Vincenzo originally thought, the purse isn’t for her. She’s buying it for Ms. Oh. She wants to take Ms. Oh out for a walk since it’s been a while since she’s had some fresh air. With that, Cha-young invites Vincenzo to pick a bag for Ms. Oh as well which he eventually does. After the shopping date, the two stop by a cafe for some coffee. Cha-young spills the beans and is well aware that Vincenzo is Ms. Oh’s son. As her son, he can hand his mom the purse that he picked out just for her. It’s been obvious just how similar Vincenzo is to his mom so it wasn’t hard for Cha-young to make the connection. Although she’s not one to get involved in family matters, Cha-young uses her experience of losing her father to give Vincenzo some advice. He should let his mom know that he knows he’s her son. His mom doesn’t have too many days left to live so he should try to spend as much time as possible with her. Similar to what he told her before, regret is the most painful thing in life. Cha-young hopes Vincenzo won’t have to go through the pain that she went through of losing a loved one. Oof, this is so hard to watch. I wanna cry.

Cha-young and Vincenzo head to the hospital afterwards to pay Ms. Oh a visit. They gift her the purse that Vincenzo spent an hour shopping for and Cha-young also shares their plans to take her out for a date. Just as the two are about to leave, Mom makes a sudden announcement to the two lawyers. She wants to file for a retrial. She’s always thought about doing it, but never had the courage to say anything. Now that she’s nearing her death, she’s had a sudden change of heart and wants to fight for herself. Vincenzo agrees to help his mom with her retrial so Cha-young gets things started. Justice for Mom at last.

Joon-woo meets with President Oh to talk about the editorial that he wants Daechang Daily to write up about Babel’s plans to enter the EV and battery production industry. Since President Oh ran similar requests for Joon-woo’s father, he should be able to do the same for Joon-woo, right? Art gallery Director Jung stops by ByeBye Balloon to plan her grand escape out of the country, LOL. While filling out the contract, Ms. Yang delivers some grand news about Babel Chemicals that persuades Mr. Park to look into buying some Babel stocks, lol. Back at the Jipuragi office, Vincenzo delivers some news himself that shocks both Cha-young and Mr. Nam. Unlike what they thought, Vincenzo still has the Guillotine file with him. He managed to secretly remove it from the gold bar on the day that he and Mr. Cho entered the secret room. They’ll use it to exploit the weaknesses of all the evil people involved in the document. Woo hoo, Vincenzo never fails to impress. Always a few steps ahead of everyone else.

Han-seo and Mr. Han become suspicious about Joon-woo and Prosecutor Jung. They feel as if a deal was made between the two; how else would Joon-woo have been let off if Prosecutor Jung had all this information and intel on Joon-woo? Regardless, with Prosecutor Jung on their side now and the reports with Daechang Daily going well, Mr. Han fears that Joon-woo is more powerful than ever. Our Jipuragi team look over all the files in the Guillotine file and finalize their next target as Daechang Daily. They’ll have the company fight up against Babel which should make for the perfect battle. Speaking of Babel, Han-seo enters the Jipuragi office right at that moment so our trio stops all that they’re doing to attend to Han-seo. Why is he at the office? What could he be there for? With Prosecutor Jung now on Babel’s side, Joon-woo and Lawyer Choi are now aware of the gold and the Guillotine file hidden in the secret room. They take advantage of the information and proceed with their plans to demolish Geumga Plaza.

Han-seo attempts to appeal to Vincenzo and Cha-young once more for their help. He wants his brother to be taken down so that he can run Babel legally. He doesn’t want anymore innocent people to die. Our power couple doesn’t buy Han-seo’s reasoning so easily; does he even deserve the position of Chairman? With that, the dynamic pair pulls a pop quiz on Han-seo and ask him a few questions that requires.. well.. some level of intelligence and decent studying. Of course, Han-seo doesn’t answer any of the questions right and he’s demanded to leave the office. Maybe next time he visits, he’ll succeed with the quiz and then perhaps they can help him, lol.

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While out for some drinks, Lawyer Choi and Joon-woo have a conversation about Vincenzo. Vincenzo’s ruined Joon-woo’s plans so far and has taken everything away from him. Vincenzo’s proven to be much more difficult for Joon-woo to defeat than he thought. There must be something on Vincenzo that he can take away or hurt. With that, Lawyer Choi gives it some thought and brings up the topic of family. She’ll look into Vincenzo’s family as family is important to normal people — something Joon-woo wouldn’t exactly know per se. While eating at Ms. Kwak’s restaurant, our Jipuragi team chat about the Guillotine file. Mr. Nam’s been quite the devoted one in reading all the files and digs up President Oh’s dark and evil history. The President of Daechang Daily murdered his older brother in order to take over the company and negotiated with the International Security Intelligence Service to hide the camera footage that captured the evil act. There’s also a Shaman that President Oh is extremely loyal to. He listens to the Shaman and pays great attention to what the Shaman says to him. The only caveat? The Shaman is a former cult leader who’s also committed a few crimes of his own. So to threaten the Shaman, Vincenzo, Cheol-wook, and Mr. An capture the man and force him to plead for his life so that he’ll listen to whatever they tell him to do.

So with that, all the Geumga tenants reconvene inside of Larry’s dance studio to hold an election. They are to select who they think would be best suited to role play as a Shaman. While reading the votes out loud, Vincenzo is clearly the popular vote and it’s obvious who the chosen one is. However, there is still Vincenzo’s vote left and his vote was, of course, for none other than Cha-young. Hahaha. I love it. President Oh prepares for another meeting with his usual Shaman, but times have changed and his Shaman is no longer available. Instead, President Oh is recommended to meet with Shaman Vincenzo so he heads over to Geumga Plaza. When he enters the room, he’s a bit suspicious at first. He assumes Shaman Vincenzo is a fraud and is quick to leave the place. However, Shaman Vincenzo proves President Oh wrong when he reacts as if his body is taken over by President Oh’s decreased brother. With that, President Oh is convinced Shaman Vincenzo is the real deal and he stays.

President Oh expresses his concerns and worries about his life to Shaman Vincenzo. Why is it that he has so many burdens in his life? Vincenzo advises that President Oh cut all ties with Babel or else he’ll die a depressing and painful death. He must not only cut ties with the corporation but also trample them in the act of doing so. If he doesn’t, he’ll only have 5 more days left to live. With that, President Oh is frightened to death and it’s obvious he’ll listen to our Shaman Jipuragi team. Our new Shamans are quite entertained with the role playing and they have some fun messing around with President Oh. They return to their office to chat a bit more about President Oh as well as Joon-woo. Studious Mr. Nam reveals another evil story about Joon-woo as seen in the Guillotine file and how the Babel chairman murdered four of his classmates when he was a teenager. After each murder, he took the watches of his victims and kept them as if they were trophies on display. Joon-woo’s father covered everything up with money and this could explain as to why Joon-woo moved to the U.S. when he was younger. Joon-woo truly is a psychopath. He’s the worst monster of them all.

And so President Oh makes his move in cutting ties with Babel. He publishes articles promoting the corporation in a bad light that causes Babel’s stocks to fall. Joon-woo isn’t so happy with the news and he gives President Oh an angry phone call. Thanks to Shaman Vincenzo’s warning, President Oh has changed and he’s no longer on the same side as Joon-woo. However, cutting ties with Babel isn’t enough and in another visit with Shaman Vincenzo, President Oh is urged to reveal Joon-woo’s evil past or else he’ll only have 4 days left to live. So President Oh strikes again and he reveals Joon-woo’s evil past of committing 4 different murders. As the Wusang and Babel team watch the news coverage unfold, they grow confused as to who the source of the material is. Who exactly knows this stuff about Joon-woo’s past? Han-seo claims his innocence and it’s not like anyone in charge of the case is alive anymore. Lawyer Choi is certain there’s an unknown source they’re not aware of.

In his final meeting with Shaman Vincenzo, President Oh is greeted with his new fortune: life. His fate has changed and he’ll now be blessed with many more days to live. While President Oh cries in joy over the new chapter in his life, our Jipuragi team all cringe at his tears. It’s been a long day for Shaman Vincenzo, but work isn’t over yet. He agrees to meet with Mr. Cho at the parking lot in Geumga Plaza later on that night. When Mr. Cho arrives at the parking lot, he’s approached by some hitmen who attempt to kill him. Thankfully, Vincenzo arrives just in time to save Mr. Cho and the two fight off the men. They both escape the chaos unscathed and Mr. Cho assumes it must have been Prosecutor Jung who was behind the attack. Lawyer Choi updates Joon-woo on the mastermind behind President Oh’s betrayal: it was none other than Vincenzo. It’s not surprising for Joon-woo, but there’s more to Vincenzo that Lawyer Choi updates her boss on. She presents some documents to him that reveals details about Vincenzo’s life as well as his relationship with his mother. His mother has filed for a retrial against Shinkwang Finance’s former Chairman, Chairman Hwang, so they assume Vincenzo must be the one behind the idea. And, of course, right there by their side is Cha-young who filed the petition for the retrial. Joon-woo is fascinated with the news and Lawyer Choi plans on finding where Vincenzo’s Mom is located.

Mr. Cho explains to Vincenzo his history with Prosecutor Jung. The two knew each other dating back to their International Security Intelligence Service days. Upon finding out about the Guillotine file, the two were committed to finding it together which is how they worked as a pair. Eventually, the two split when the file was hacked and Mr. Cho went off to search for the file himself. With Prosecutor Jung’s betrayal, Joon-woo must be aware of the gold and Guillotine file hidden in Geumga Plaza and it’s not going to be long before they demolish the building. Of course, what Mr. Cho isn’t aware of is how Vincenzo actually has the Guillotine file with him. Some things should be kept a secret.

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Cha-young spends some time with Ms. Oh at the hospital. While Ms. Oh lays asleep on her hospital bed, Cha-young tucks Vincenzo’s Mom in with her blanket and stares at the petition for the retrial that she filed on behalf of Ms. Oh. It’s better late than never. While walking back to his place, Vincenzo notices a suspicious man waiting for him inside of the building. He chases after the man and is lead outside onto the balcony level of the plaza after losing sight of the man. Vincenzo searches for the man, but is greeted with another shock instead. He hears a stern drop from behind him and he turns around to find a dead man’s body lay lifelessly not too far away. As he steps closer near the man, he discovers that it’s President Oh’s lying dead on the ground and three detectives creep up from behind Vincenzo with their guns aimed at him. Vincenzo is convicted of murdering President Oh and is to be arrested immediately. Vincenzo turns around and stares at the detective in the eyes with the gun pointed to his head. Another night, another gun aimed at him. How will he get out of this situation this time?

My Thoughts:

Injagi?! Are you there?! Can you come help and rescue our poor Vincenzo again? He’s been threatened with a gun to his head quite too many times now and it’s getting a little too redundant. Can he just catch a break for once? Can someone just not point a gun to his head for once? Please, let the Mafia lawyer breathe for a few seconds before coming after him again!

Okay but seriously, how many times have Vincenzo had a gun aimed at him or his head? And am I the only one who was a bit disappointed by the Injagi rescue scene at the beginning of this episode? Don’t get me wrong. It was funny and comedic, but it was also so random and ridiculous and a bit too much for me to handle. I love the comedy in this drama, but the thought of Injagi saving Vincenzo literally came from nowhere. Anyone – and I mean anyone – could have rescued Vincenzo and a part of me was even hoping that it’d be Cha-young. Shoot, it should have been Cha-young. She should have been the one to save Vincenzo somehow. But instead, the serious scene turned into comedy with Injagi’s grand appearance and it was history from there. Will there ever come a time where Vincenzo will be rescued by Cha-young like how he’s rescued her in the past? Is that too much to ask for? T_T

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Speaking of Cha-young, I’m going to dedicate this entire commentary to her and only her. I love Vincenzo, I love our Geumga tenants, I love watching the Wusang-Babel team lose and go down in flames every time. But I want to spend this time to focus on Cha-young and appreciate her for all that she’s accomplished so far. I feel as if she doesn’t get as much attention and love and I know that’s expected to an extent since Vincenzo is our main character, but I really mean it when I say Cha-young is such a gem. My heart was screaming for her in this episode when she pushed Vincenzo to approach his mother and be honest with her. My heart screamed for Cha-young when she initiated that they take Mom on a date. My heart ached for her when she went shopping with Vincenzo and encouraged Vincenzo to pick a purse out for his mom. I wanted to comfort her when she excused herself for getting involved in their family matter to remind Vincenzo to cherish the remaining time he had left with his mother. Cha-young knows it better than anyone else what it’s like to lose a loved one who you regret not spending more time with or just acknowledging as your parent. She knows it better than anyone else as someone who lost her father and didn’t have as much time with him. Cha-young doesn’t want Vincenzo to endure and go through the same thing she did so she’s serving as that bridge that’s connecting Vincenzo and his mother back to each other. Her past experiences as well as her regrets is what’s pushed her to forge a better future for Vincenzo and his mother.

And isn’t it ironic that Vincenzo was the original one who reminded Cha-young to not do anything towards her dad that she’ll regret in the future? Isn’t it ironic that he was the one who mentioned to her to treat her father better or else she might regret it in the future? Vincenzo was the one who brought it up to her first back in episode 3 in front of the convenience store . He – who lost his mother growing up – learned to be independent at a young age and knew what it was like to not have your loved one with you. Therefore, he wanted to help Cha-young out so she wouldn’t have to go through what he did. Now the tables have turned and it’s Cha-young who’s reminding Vincenzo of the lessons and words of wisdom he taught her back when they weren’t that well affiliated just yet.

It’s amazing and bittersweet to see just how much the two have grown from the loss of their loved ones and how they serve as each other’s pillar and source of support. Vincenzo grew up without his mother and Cha-young grew up distant from her father because they were two completely different people. Vincenzo and Cha-young’s connection and relationship with their parents weren’t the best, but they knew deep down that they wanted things to be better. They knew deep down that they wanted to make things better and be on better terms with their parents, respectively. The only difference now is that Lawyer Hong is no longer alive and it’s too late for Cha-young to change anything. That’s why my love for her grew even more in this episode when she motivated Vincenzo to do the one thing that he was always too embarrassed and shy and resentful to do: be honest with his mother. He knows and his mother knows. They both know. Yes, the pain from being abandoned will always be there and it will take some time to repair the bond that Vincenzo and his mom have with each other, but it’ll all eventually be worth it. Just like with Mom’s retrial, some things are better late than never. Unlike Cha-young, Vincenzo still has the opportunity to start over with his mother. They can address their past, forgive each other, and start anew. It’s better late than never.

Another thing I really love about Cha-young in all of this is not only her role as the messenger and initiator between Vincenzo and his mother but also just the amount of respect and maturity that she carries with her in between it all. Along with suggesting Vincenzo to come clean to his mother and to have that difficult but much needed conversation with Mom, she respects the both of them. When Mom expressed her desire and wishes to file a retrial, Cha-young didn’t overstep her boundaries. It was only after checking in with Vincenzo on his thoughts and feelings about it that she then moved forward with filing the petition. It was only after she made sure that it was something that both the mother and son wanted that she resumed with the work.

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Even the small smile that Cha-young gave Vincenzo at the cafe after their shopping date gave us incredible insight into Cha-young’s intentions. It wasn’t just the words and the conversation that spoke volumes about how kindhearted she is, but also the look that they both gave each other in that moment that said everything we needed to know. It’s a common theme between our power couple and that scene was no exception. Sometimes the way they look at each other says it all; sometimes, it’s in the way Cha-young and Vincenzo look at each other that gives away how they feel about things that they might be too afraid to say out loud. I didn’t really notice it at first, but after rewatching that scene a few times, I really came to appreciate the subtlety in Cha-young’s face expression. A small smile is pinned onto her face, but you could tell that she’s still hurting and mourning her father’s passing. Although she’s grown so much since then, she still misses her father so much and wouldn’t wish any of that pain on anyone else — especially Vincenzo. That look she gave him was a look coming from pain and experience but also love and reassurance. She knows that everything will be okay in the end because it has for her.

As much as Cha-young is doing this to mend the broken relationship between Vincenzo and his mother, I think a part of it also extends even further to the connection to her father. Lawyer Hong had a personal connection with Vincenzo’s Mom as her public defender and the retrial was something that he wanted her to pursue. Now that Mom has finally agreed to the deed, Cha-young feels as if she’s able to carry on the legacy and work that her father dedicated his life to. She feels as if she can make her father proud by fighting for the same people and the same justice that he spent so much of his career doing. At the end of the day, it all comes down to Cha-young’s father and as much as it is about work, it also means so much to Cha-young on a personal level. She and her dad didn’t have the most stable relationship and the most positive interactions, but he’s taught her so much about life. Even after his death, he still lives on through her and she’s reminded of him through Vincenzo and Vincenzo’s mom. That’s why doing all of this means so much to her.

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My most favorite aspect of this drama definitely has to be Cha-young’s character arc with her father and maybe I’ll dive deeper at another time as to why I love this part of the show the most. For now, this episode made me love and appreciate Cha-young even more than I already did and I love that she can be so haughty and reckless at times and yet also so mature and serious. She’s such a multifaceted character and there are so many sides to her that makes it easy to root for her. Cha-young’s there for Vincenzo through his good and bad times and he’s also there to support her when she’s not feeling so great. The beginning of this episode was proof of that. When she was discouraged and angry and confused with Prosecutor Jung’s betrayal, he comforted her. Vincenzo reminded Cha-young not to let her emotions get to her and to rather stay calm and rational. He’s confident in them and he also knows from experience what it’s like to be betrayed. This might be the first for Cha-young, but Vincenzo’s gone through it many times before. I love that they can be that source of support, encouragement, and comfort for each other and can make the other feel better. I love that they can be honest with each other because they know they can be. I love that they can be honest with each other because they know that that level of honesty is what is needed in order to succeed as a team.

Gah, I love our Vincenzo and Cha-young power couple so so much for so many reasons and this is just one of them. Episode 15 had it all from the ridiculous moments to the comedic highlights to the touching scenes that tugged at your heartstrings. What will come of Vincenzo and Mom’s connection and their effort into repairing their relationship? With Babel and Wusang creeping up from behind, how will things turn out for the mother-son pair? Will they finally get that happy ending that they’ve been longing?

Extra photos from the episode~