The 2021 Kdrama Vincenzo, stars Song Joong-ki as the title character, Vincenzo Cassano. Born in South Korea, Vincenzo is adopted into the Italian Cassano family and grows up to be a Consiglieri (a member of a Mafia family who serves as an adviser to the leader and resolves disputes within the family). After the death of his adopted father, Vincenzo is forced to flee Italy and the brother who wants to kill him. His destination is South Korea and the building, Geumga Plaza, where a fortune in gold is stored. All Vincenzo wants to do is get his gold, but obstacles stand in his way. The quirky tenants of the building for one. The powerful Babel Pharmaceuticals Corporation for another who plan to tear down the building to make way for Babel Tower.
To fight Babel, Vincenzo teams up with lawyer Hon Cha-young, played by Jeon Yeo-been. Gathering a collection of unlikely allies along the way, they play the ultimate game of chess against Babel CEO, Jang Han-seok (Ok Taec-yeon), his half-brother, Jang Han-seo (Kwak Dong-yeon) and the corrupt Wusang law firm led by Han Seung-hyeok (Jo Han-chul) and ruthless lawyer, Choi Myeong-hee (Kim Yeo-jin).
- Series Title: Vincenzo (Korean: 빈센조)
- Starring: Song Joong-ki, Jeon Yeo-been, Ok Taec-yeon, Kim Yeo-jin and Kwak Dong-yeon
- Written by: Park Jae-bum
- Directed by: Kim Hee-won
- Network: tvN
- Where to watch in the US: Netflix
- Premier Date: February 20, 2021
- # of episodes: 20
- KafeNook Rating: 4.8 sips
Vincenzo — !!Spoilers Ahead!!
A drama about a Korean born Mafia Consiglieri? Who comes up with this stuff? Amazing Kdrama writers like Park Jae-bum – that’s who. Vincenzo masterfully tells a story of what happens when South Korean greed and corruption meets Italian Mafioso style justice. While the series is filled with suspense, intrigue and action, it is also full of heart and humor.
Song Joong-ki is at his finest as Vincenzo, a character who is funny, tough, smart, tender, ruthless and romantic. Not to mention that he speaks Italian – bellissimo!. Need Song Joong-ki to ride a horse? Check. (Reminder, he rode a bareback in The Arthdal Chronicles). Need him to throw someone out a window? Check. (Who hasn’t seen his character, Captain Yoo, in Descendants of the Sun, perform hand-to-hand combat with a North Korean Soldier?) I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing the multi-faceted Vincenzo. Some of his best performances in the drama come at the extremes, from his humorous guise as Tae-ho to the look of cold rage on his face as he beats up the man who killed his mother.
Lawyer Hong Cha-yeong (Jeon Yeo-been of A Time Called You) perfectly complements Vincenzo with her intelligence, craftiness and big heart. Plus – she’s funny! One of my favorite scenes involves Vincenzo and Cha-yeong posing as a couple at a private art gallery showing. Cha-yeong’s attempts at speaking English had me in stitches – especially as her Korean magically improves over the course of the scene. I also loved the relationship between Cha-yeong and her “intern” Joon-woo. The fact that they have a playful sonbae/hubae (senior/junior) relationship at the beginning of series, makes it all the more painful when Cha-yeong learns who Joon-woo really is. It would have been nice to see a little more surprise and shock from Cha-yeong with the big reveal, but I liked that even when she learns the truth, she still treats him like he’s her hubae/junior.
The Babel Group and Wusang Law
Vincenzo is filled with interesting and unique characters starting with the Babel Group’s shadow CEO, Jang Han-seok (Heartbeat’s Ok Taec-yeon), who masquerades as intern Joon-woo at Wusang. Han-seok has no compunction killing people including his own father. He uses his half-brother, Jang Han-seo (Kwak Dong-yeon from Gaus Electronics) as the figurehead of Babel and has abused him both physically and mentally for years. It’s no wonder that Han-seo eventually turns against his brother. More on that later.
Aiding Han-seok is Wusang lawyer, Choi Myeong-hee (Kim Yeo-jin of Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung), the former dirty-handed prosecutor with no qualms about killing those who threaten Babel’s future. I know that Han-seok is the big bad in the series, but I most wanted to see Myeong-hee get her just deserts. It’s wonderfully fitting that her penchant for dance aerobics is parodied in the scene of her demise. Han Seung-hyeok (Jo Han-chu), the head of Wusang, often exudes the charm he showed as his Hometown Cha Cha Cha character. He didn’t come across as evil as Myeong-hee, but still gets an ending fitting of one of Vincenzo’s enemies.
The Korean Cassano Family
Throughout the series, Vincenzo and Cha-yeong acquire the help of a crazy collection of characters who bring depth and levity to the show. This includes the tenants at Geumga Plaza, many of whom are revealed to have special skills that come in handy during the drama. Yoon Byung-hee as paralegal Nam Joo-sung, in addition to being overall hilarious, also happens to be good with special effects make-up. The Italian restaurant owner (Kim Hyung-mook) who, in a running joke where he can never make an Italian dish to Vincenzo’s liking, is a wrestler. The laundromat owner (Choi Deok-moon) who destroys Vincenzo’s expensive suite is a scissor wielding, former gang-member. The piano teacher (Kim Yoon-hye) with a crush on Vincenzo also happens to be a former hacker and the person responsible for installing the security system where the gold is stored. The list goes on.
They reminded me of the town-members in Hometown Cha Cha Cha who I found annoying at first but came to love by the end. Their transformation from a ragged bunch of tenants to well dressed, self-proclaimed members of the Cassano family is a joy to watch.
A couple undercover agents of the International Security Intelligence Service also end up as part of the Korean Cassano family including Vincenzo’s friend and manager of the plaza Cho Young-woon (Choi Young-joon). I really thought Vincenzo staged the attack on Young-woon in the parking garage then came to his rescue to help ensure his friend’s loyalty, but alas – no flashback occurs so maybe not. Then there is one of one my favorite roles in the show, ISIS agent Ahn Gi-seok (Im Chul-soo). He displays some of the most uproarious physical antics in the show like jumping into a hallway to avoid Vincenzo and jumping up into Vincenzo’s arms. The look on Vincenzo’s face – priceless!
Best Character Arc
Kwak Dong-yeon as puppet CEO Han-seo is the best character arc of the series. While researching other Kwak Dong-yeon projects, it surprised me to see that he played the young mania patient in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. I’m usually pretty good at connecting actors/actresses in series but the characters he plays in these two dramas are so different that I missed it. Kwak Dong-yeon is definitely an actor to watch. (Note to self, add Gaus Electronics to my watch list!)
I could see the writing on the wall for Han-seo’s character. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. He starts out as the puppet for his half-brother, Han-seok – the real force behind Babel. Han-seo doesn’t seem too smart at first but as he watches and listens to Vincenzo, he makes the decision to work hard to become a better CEO for Babel. Vincenzo truly becomes his mentor/hyung (older brother figure).
Han-seo’s fate is foreshadowed many times – like the moment it is revealed that Han-seo is fully in Vincenzo’s court and has turned on his brother. Or when Vincenzo tells Han-seo to leave the country since he will be Han-seok’s first target once he is out of jail. Heartbreakingly, Han-seo decides to stay – he has a lot of bodyguards, after all. (Of course, that won’t help against his brother.) I felt temporary relief when Han-seok almost kills Han-seo only to knock him out instead. The relief did not last.
Given the chance by Han-seok to keep his life by beating Vincenzo to death, Han-seo shows how much he has changed by turning on his brother instead. Even then, he manages to survive until Han-seok shoots Cha-yeong. To save Vincenzo and Cha-yeong, Han-seo grapples his brother for the gun. The moment I’m dreading is here. True villain Han-seok shoots his brother. Even as he lay dying, Han-seo isn’t done showing how much his character has grown. He gives Vincenzo his phone and with it the means to track his brother. Finally, he asks Vincenzo if the Consiglieri is proud of him. Vincenzo calls him brother. I need a box of kleenex.
Most Interesting Character Arc
If Han-seo has the best character arc, villain Han-seok has the most interesting one. When he first appears, he is goofy intern, Joon-woo, working with Cha-yeong at Wusang. He clearly has a crush on her as he follows her around and calls her sunbae (senior). Ok Taec-yeon plays the Joon-woo aspect of this character so well that it is a complete shock to find out that he is, in fact, the evil head of Babel.
The middle episodes are especially fun for this character as Han-seok tries to maintain his Joon-woo persona – especially around Cha-yeong, but then drops into evil Han-seok while wielding his power as Babel’s CEO. Initially, Han-seok’s chess moves seem evenly matched with that of Vincenzo’s but the more that Vincenzo gains the upper hand, the swifter Han-seok descends into his true nature. Even his love for Cha-yeong can’t save him. Han-seok gets the ending he deserves, but of all of the promised deaths, I had a hard time watching his. (He is played by Ok Taec-yeon after all.) Tears streaming down his face as he can barely breath. A crow picking at his body. You gave him what you promised Vincenzo – so why does that death hurt so much?
Full disclosure. I began watching Heartbeat, staring Ok Taec-yeon, as it aired and started Vincenzo around the same time. I didn’t realize that Ok Taec-yeon had a role in Vincenzo, but I love him in Heartbeat so was pleasantly surprised to see him playing love-sick intern Joon-woo. With the reveal of Joon-woo as Babel CEO Han-seok, I knew two things: this character had just become the most interesting in the series and – I had to finish watching Vincenzo before I finished Heartbeat. Vincenzo made it clear that Han-soek would receive a painful death, so I needed to watch that before heading back over to Heartbeat and Ok Taec-yeon’s adorable vampire. What happens in Heartbeat – is another story. (Second note to self – must watch Secret Royal Inspector Joy ASAP.)
Best Tear-jerker Moments
There are a lot of things to cry about in Vincenzo, but the most heart wrenching scene comes during the walk with Vincenzo and his mother, played by Yoon Bok-in. She pours out her heart about her love for her son while Vincenzo, his hands gripping her wheelchair tightly, silently breaks down behind her. She knows that he is her son even if he doesn’t say it. It is heartbreaking that he never gets to say the words to her. Darn Han-seok! See, you deserved it!
Vincenzo Ending
The plot twists and turns in Vincenzo kept me guessing throughout the series. One of the devices used to great effect in Vincenzo is the flashback/timed reveal – usually to show how Vincenzo is already steps ahead of his opponents. Each time, I wondered, does Vincenzo have something up his sleeve or will he finally be caught in something he can’t get out of? Around episode 5, each subsequent episode ramped up the tension so that even though most episodes are as long as a movie (running around 1 hr 20 min each) they fly by.
The ending of Vincenzo is fitting. Vincenzo, Cha-yeong and their crew overcome the corruption and evil, but they have not come away unscathed, taking devasting losses along the way. Sadly, Vincenzo is forced to flee Korea due to his part in the deaths of their enemies (I really expected him to use his free balloon ride ticket!) Fortunately, he is able to return for a day to see Cha-yeong and invite her to his private Cassano family island (he had to use all that gold on something!) where he has set aside a room for her. The visuals for their final kiss outside the art gallery are breathtaking. As Vincenzo walks away, he reminds the audience that he’s not a good guy but one who will fight – in his way – for the weak and the wronged.
Vincenzo Season Two?
Should there be a season two of Vincenzo? This is one Kdrama that could get away with a season two. The plot would have to be amazing and somehow top season one. Is that possible? Maybe Vincenzo has a Cassano sister who is kidnapped by a rival mafia gang and taken to South Korea where they think Vincenzo won’t follow since he’s a wanted man there. Vincenzo calls in some favors of his friends back in Korea to get his arrest warrant dropped. Upon arriving in Seoul, he learns his sister is the only one who knows the location of an international guillotine file, one that lists connections among Mafia/Mafia-like gangs and government officials around the world. And – Babel 2.0 has his sister. Can Vincenzo, Cha-yeong and the Korean Cassano family, save his sister, find the file and keep Babel 2.0 from taking over the world?
Random Things I Liked
Bye Bye Balloon – the entire concept of a company that sells balloon flights to people who need to leave the country in a hurry is hilarious. Not to mention the interesting trio who run the company. Even better – Vincenzo trying to not pose for Bye Bye Balloon Ads but actually doing a great gob posing cracked me up!
Corn Salad. Enough said.
The lawyer/impersonator who probably does a great job with his impersonations but lost me completely since I I’m not familiar with who he is impersonating.
All the scenes with Tae-ho (Vincenzo) and Shinkwang Finances heir, Hwang Min-seong (Kim Sung-cheol who is also in the Arthdal Chronicles with Song Joong-ki). Plus, the fact that Cha-young is able to get Min-seong to turn on his mother with just a few pictures of Tae-ho. Oh – and is it a coincidence that Song Joong-ki’s alternate ego Tae-ho has the same name as his Space Sweepers character? I think not.
Ok Taecyeon as CEO Joon Han-seok watching his 2PM band mates, Nichkhun and Hwang Chan-sung, in a fake UCN drama on TV. In the fake series titled “The Age of Stray Dogs and Wild Dods”, Hwang Chan-sung’s character tells Nichkhun’s character, “I’m the only one who knows that you’re the real Kim Jim-min. If you’re gone, then I can become the real Kim Jim-min.” Then he shoots Nichkhun’s character. Han-seok looks troubled by this scene – like he’s thinking that his brother could take him out this way. Or maybe it’s because of the over-the-top acting by his fellow kpop group members. It’s not a necessary scene to the drama but just one of many little easter eggs that make Vincenzo so fun.
Vincenzo Soundtrack
The best soundtracks elevate a drama, and the Vincenzo soundtrack does that in spades. Composed by Kim Hyun-jung, it heightens the moments of suspense, sets the mood for tender scenes, enhances the comedy, ramps up the actions and drives the emotions. While I didn’t come up with any specific songs to add to my Kdrama paylist, I do have some favorite tracks. Mafia by Kim Min-ji and Park Su-jun is bursting with intrigue and suspense, while Un diavolo scaccia l’altro by Lee Nyeom perfectly conveys coming retribution.
