Vincenzo and the dilemma of evil vs extra evil: A 12 months on, trying again at Song Joong-ki’s darkest efficiency until date

It has been a 12 months since Vincenzo ended, and no surprise followers appear to demand a Season 2. It didn’t stick to simply being one style, it appeared like a loopy comedy that would rival a typical 90’s Jim Carrey flick, blended with the gory components of a thriller.

A nonetheless from Vincenzo (Photo: Netflix)

It’s a type of exhibits the place you’re taking every week to re-watch sure scenes and desperately attempt to spot issues that have been missed the primary time, so you possibly can relish the plot twists later. For an individual like me who will get impatient with greater than 16 episodes in a present, it grew to become an enormously tough job to try not binge-watching the present after Episode 5, as a result of the present simply saved getting higher and was relentless with the surprises. Vincenzo induces curious emotions — you watch it to chortle and the comedy appears comforting, and on the identical time, you’re invested on this Korean Godfather, who can take down a complete empire of corrupt thugs, however runs screaming from a pigeon-infested room.

Vincenzo, performed by Song Joong-ki, revolved round a Korean-Italian crime lord, who returns from Italy to South Korea within the hope of retrieving gold buried in a residential plaza. Unfortunately, he will get entangled within the lives of the plaza residents—all so brilliantly cuckoo in their very own manner that they deserve their very own exhibits–and units out to free them from the iron-grip of a menacing company referred to as Babel and deceitful legal professionals. He is assisted by a pleasant Cha-young, performed by Jeon Ya-Been—who’s simply so outrageously loopy that she matches proper into the combination. She is out for revenge too, as her father is killed by Babel honchos—and for the primary ten episodes, they got down to unearth the thriller of the Babel CEO, who because it seems, has been proper beneath their noses all this whereas.

Meet Ok Tacyeon’s murderous Jang Han-seok, who nearly has you deceived as he performs the twin function of a hapless intern in entrance of Cha-young, when in actuality, he’s truly the ghoulish CEO of Babel. He’s hilarious too—however you’re nearly too scared to chortle typically, in the course of the first watch a minimum of. In most likely one of the crucial demonic but comedian scenes of the present, he reveals himself as CEO by way of a twisted PowerPoint presentation, and encourages his legal professionals to chortle and cheer him on. Of course, a failure to ship may end up in a brutal demise because the legal professionals shortly realise. Kim Yeo-jin performs the completely detestable Cho Myung-hee, a Zumba fanatic, who’s so devious and horrible in her schemes that you simply nearly can’t anticipate Vincenzo to place her case to relaxation. Oh, and he does—in essentially the most grimly satisfying manner attainable—utilizing her personal love for Zumba. It’s a horrific scene, and also you nearly really feel responsible for the bloodlust rising up in you want bile.

The physique depend retains rising, however the Babel workforce makes a deadly mistake when attempting to tug down Vincenzo, and it includes his frail and dying mom. There’re no two sides for the mafia lord after that, they’re nearly as good as useless to him. In the very best scene of his profession — a murderous, chilly Vincenzo walks eerily within the woods after a murderous thug ensures that he leads him to the Babel criminals. Till now, Vincenzo hadn’t been bothered with killing the antagonists, however this time, they crossed the road. He channels all of the darkness in him, and also you nearly start to worry for the criminals.

The OST—titled Un Diavolo scaccia ‘altro by Lee Nyeom—-is pounding, filled with tension, and fits so perfectly for Song Joong-ki’s Vincenzo, that I nearly wish to ship out petitions requesting that Joong-ki ought to make his look at each award present with this blaring within the background. It doesn’t even appear extreme; you simply know that when that OST performs — some harm goes to be completed. Bring it on.

With lethal calm, he walks into the room of murderers, quietly proclaims that there was a motive he hadn’t wasted time killing them earlier than however there’s no escape. It received’t be a simple demise, he guarantees.

With such brazen vigilantism and violence, it will be unfair to say that Vincenzo doesn’t increase questions of morals and ethics—are you actually alleged to root for him? Yet, he doesn’t need you to, both. He is aware of that his strategies are ghoulish. However, owing to Song Joong-ki’s nuanced portrayal of the mafia consigliore, it’s more and more onerous to not. At the center of it, the character who calls himself ‘scum’ who ‘cleans up other scum’  is a cold-hearted killer. The present pits two concepts of ‘evil’ in opposition to one another. No one is on the appropriate facet of the legislation right here. Who do you select?

Vincenzo murders different killers, as a result of he is aware of that the legislation is simply too corrupt and decrepit to do something, nevertheless it’s additionally the genius of the creators they introduced out such a personality who fights for the harmless, and the poor as nicely. He is the darkish horse on the facet of the great, however he received’t observe their path of virtues. He has his personal guidelines. Smooth like butter, he escapes detection and captures each single time—which is somewhat onerous to consider, however positive, we’ll purchase it.

Song Joong-ki made the very best resolution of his profession with Vincenzo. Also, please make the person communicate extra Italian. It’s simply excellent.