Vigilante 비질란테 [2023]

[mademoiselle]

58 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

@mademoiselle also shouldn’t he cover his face or something. He’s gonna be exposed sooner or later . 

The whole time, especially the one he strangled, I thought he's revealed his face when he lit the money on fire. But since he killed the man, and removed the dash cam, risk was mitigated.

 

But agreed I always thought he should wear a mask. Maybe Show wanted us to see his facial expressions, and in reality it is too dark to make out his face.

[40somethingahjumma]

It's okay. Nothing that really stands out or hasn't been seen before elsewhere. Pacing's good -- no messing around. It zeroes in on the criminals and cops. It looks and feels pretty much like a superhero graphic novel.

 

The journalist is fairly reprehensible though using the whole vigilante angle to sell tv and get ratings numbers. It's not as if she really cares about the original victims and she's even willing to put them in jeopardy to get her scoop. Don't know if it's the actress or how she's written but there's something very stiff and artificial about her delivery. She does angry very weirdly. 

 

A lot of people are comparing this to The Killing Vote. I can kind of see why with the media involvement but Ji-yong tends to remind me more of The Punisher or Daredevil. He really does need  a mask at some point if he's going to do this long-term. 

 

Yoo Ji-tae really bulked up for the role. I wonder if he's just a cop that plays rough. What if he's got some skeletons too?

[Dhakra]

8 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

I'm surprised he went as far as killing them. I was used to heroes punishing the villains and in the end always hand them back to the law/police. This one actually takes lives. That's a refreshing depiction, and I wonder how it will end.

 

I honestly like it, Do-Ki in S1 of Taxi Driver always had the mercy to let them live, no matter what kind of cruel things they did. 
Somehow glad to see that they do it differently here, not only does he kill them or let them behind to die, he also puts them in a spot of (probably fake) remorse and resent, before he lets them die on their own. He doesn't even care to clean up the mess, bury the bodies and live a normal life. He wants the police to find the bodies. 

 

It feels like an ever darker version of 'Dexter'.

 

7 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Anyway I can't say I was wowed by the premiere episodes but it wasn't bad. It was good to see Nam Joo Hyuk take on something different. But my main complain is where is my oppa Lee Joon Hyuk? 

 

It will be so funny to see NJH again during my annual rewatch of Weightlifting Fairy next month.  Total opposites. But I was amazed how bulky he got.

 

6 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

The thing I find dangerous in what he's doing (as in killing) is, how can he be sure the criminal is indeed guilty? What if the man was framed to look guilty by the corrupted police or media? He was so quick to act on them based on both episodes. I'd think he should take some time to investigate or observe the target before attacking.

 

I'd like to know more of his inner thoughts and emotions. What does he feel after taking the target out? It reminded me of this quote from The Dark Knight by Harvey Dent — You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. Depending on what his mentality is, he is either going to be the hero or ended up no different to the villain/criminals.

 

I guess he does his research, the short scene we had where he scouted the funeral to see if the culprit changed and feels remorse towards the victims felt to me like it should suggest us he isn't just rushing out without brain to deliver vengeance. 

 

Honestly, due to she short amount of episodes we have and the lack of safety measures he is doing, he will be caught quite soon and end up in prison. He doesn't feel like someone who prepares a lot of backup, if someone goes wrong. Without allies it will also be very hard. 

I also fear Journalist Choi will eventually turn against him, she doesn't hold any loyalty and seemingly only cares about ratings. She always emphasizes what the public wants and she is already manipulating the public opinion, so she has the power to turn him into something evil aswell. 

 

 

5 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

@mademoiselle also shouldn’t he cover his face or something. He’s gonna be exposed sooner or later . 

 

He lacks so much in this regard. He doesn't cover his face, he doesn't alternate his voice and he uses the same computer in a locked room where only three people have access to look up the people/cases/files he is going to kill. If just one cop checks who accessed the files of all people who were recently killed, he will be suspected quite quickly.

 

 

[mademoiselle]

I find episode 3-4 a lot more interesting, because of the plot development, and express pity that this put less focus on Ji Young/Vigilante. I guess 1-2 are more of an introductory episode. The rise of copycats gave me The Dark Knight vibe again, which I am not even surprised any more given how twisted the world has become. At first, I wonder if his classmate is the masked Vigilante, but since the masked Vigilante was revealed to be Jo Gang Ok, then the classmate must play a part later in the drama for something else. There had to be a reason that he's around the same height as Ji Young.

 

Is Jo Gang Ok a friend or a foe? For me, he's a villain in making. I don't trust him. He's exhibit psychotic and obsessive possessive behaviours in my opinion. He gives off the crazy Stan vibes whereby if his Bias ever crosses him, he'd turn against him. Not to mention, he targeted women and underage as well. He has no boundaries.

 

Jo Heon is an interesting character. Yoo Ji Tae really steal the show this week. The bulking up really help with that visual effect, making him look like a super giant with super strength. His profile says he's 188 cm and Nam Joo Hyuk is 187 cm. I kind of think he's at least 190 cm at the end of episode 4 when they stood face-to-face.

 

That said, gasp, so soon Jo Heon already knows Ji Young is the Vigilante! Then again, how can he not? Ji Young literally showed his face to Jo Heon at the hospital. And as expected, his identity had already been compromised if it weren't for Jo Gang Ok. But Jo Heon's assessment on Ji Young made sense at the end of episode 4, too. Maybe that was Ji Young's intention. I find it hard to believe he's so thoughtless when he decided to take matters into his own hands.

 

[abs-oluteM]

I laughed when LJH finally appeared.  …but I can see why he was casted since LJH is great at playing these 3D characters. Who knew he’d be such a nutcase of a fan of the Vigilante. But agreed @mademoiselle that he is a villain in the making . I am not surprised JiYong’s identity is exposed so quickly- urgggh he goes about killing with no masks & confronts the baddies that way .  
 

Anyway , it’s definitely more interesting this week with LJH’s character added to the plot 😆

[abs-oluteM]

Some interesting development in the recent episodes. Reporter got fired due to political pressure but JiYong through JoGangOk gave her a platform to do more exposes. I am not warmed up to her character so far - clearly she enjoys the thrill of egging the Vigilante to do what he does so that she gets to tell these sensational stories. It isn't the outcome of what he does that she is concerned with. 

 

Talking about Jo Gang Ok, I can tell that my dearest oppa here is having lots of fun playing a rich chaebol with a penchant for fanboying. Does GangOk have no other motive apart from having too much time and has devoted it all the Ji-Yong worshipping? . You know , he reminds me of sasaeng fans. He can be very extremely dedicated but if JiYong does not meet his expectations, he will easily turn on the latter. 

 

I cannot really tell where JoHeon's moral compass lies. He isn't a straight-up righteous cop, and JiYong did say that he looks like the sort of guy who may have killed someone. But at the same time, he didn't kill off or capture JiYong - basically just wants him to stop and join him ( don't know what that means). But now with he himself being the target of the Sewool group (Kim Sam Do ), will he have a change of heart to support what JY does? Especially since JY saved him at the end of eps 6.

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM I think Jo Gang Ok is just bored and a lonely person. He seems to seek thrills and/or entertainment, and Vigilante gave him that. He is definitely not a believer in justice or protecting the weak.

 

Agree with you on Jo Heon. The whole lecture he gave while beating Ji Young confuse me. He judges Ji Young for betraying the law. But isn't it the same for all the other corruption going on inside the police force? I can see he doesn't agree with that, but we don't see him do anything much about it, either. He also exhibits strong pride as a police, but what is there to be proud about if the system is broken and corrupt?

 

I'm thinking the reason he asked Ji Young to join him is so that together, they can seek similar justice, but without the killing. Or at least don't parade it—there are other ways to do it, much like Taxi Driver..?

 

And did Ji Young really join hands with Jo Gang Ok, or he's just using him because he's resourceful? Are we heading towards an ending whereby The Vigilante is going to become an Organisation that consists of the Lady Reporter, Jo Gang Ok, Jo Heon and Ji Young?

[mademoiselle]

Ugh. Open ending.

 

I guess it's impossible to pull out all the rotten roots in one go (and in 8 episodes). The most infuriating part for Ji Young is the police painted Eum as a good cop.

 

Meanwhile I am surprised Jo Gang OK was crazy enough to join Ji Young in his suicidal confrontation with villains from all sides. He got out alive, but the guy isn't a fanatic as we thought. He's got his own agenda. If I understand correctly, in a way, he's using Vigilante to get what he wants — get rid of the President of his company. In other words, one of the ultimate corrupted baddies is this President Ji Young tried to bring down.

 

As expected, Sun Wook becomes the Vigilante to protect the real one. Not sure how Ji Young gets away with not being arrested at the scene. It's implied Gang OK's man helped him. Once again, Jo Heon couldn't bring himself to arrest Ji Young. I don't think he was able to show Ji Young his justice either…so that was lacklustre, and I was looking forward to a showdown between him and Mr. Pang since he told Pang that he will kill him if he get out of being alive.

 

I liked the show and would watch S2 if there's any. It ended with Ji Young looking defeated, angry and determined. I thought the scene where all new graduates of police swear to an oath except Ji Young, that was impactful. Being the only one not taking the oath, the Teacher looks down knowingly with a resign expression. Ji Young represent us, losing faith and trust in the system. If there were S2, he'll probably be even more jaded.

[Dhakra]

Quite an open ending indeed like @mademoisellealready mentioned. 

It didn't even really felt like a final episode, more like a mid-drama peak. The "team" has finally formed, the Vigilante managed to get some people around him and things are looking worse than ever, Eum is celebrated as heroic cop and they didn't achieve anything. The evil roots are still in place and growing. 

 

The last episode with all unanswered questions and doubts in so many minds scream like a second season. 

 

Still funny that Ji Young got beaten up, almost drowned, got sliced and shot twice and manages to walk away and Sun Wook only gets stabbed once and dies. It was pretty much clear that he will end up being framed as Vigilante. Which is pretty much lackluster, there are probably thousands of evidance and witnesses that will be able to confirm where he was whenever the Vigilante strikes. He also helped his university teacher a lot, so it is pretty unlikely that he is the Vigilante. 

But well, as soon as Ji Young & Team start to kill baddies again, it will be obsolete anyway.

 

I do like the touch though of Jo Heon switches sides and lose faith in the police aswell, he tried til the very end to convince Ji Young to follow the right path, but ulttimatively had to give up and follow JY path. The scene where he started to strangle and beat up Eun was very powerful. He tried to have mercy and it almost got Ji Young killed, so he realized there is no way.

 

On 11/29/2023 at 2:28 PM, mademoiselle said:

Being the only one not taking the oath, the Teacher looks down knowingly with a resign expression.

 

Ohh, true. He saw Ji Young not taking the oath, that's what bothered him so much. He knows.

[abs-oluteM]

On 11/29/2023 at 9:28 PM, mademoiselle said:

I liked the show and would watch S2 if there's any. It ended with Ji Young looking defeated, angry and determined. I thought the scene where all new graduates of police swear to an oath except Ji Young, that was impactful. Being the only one not taking the oath, the Teacher looks down knowingly with a resign expression. Ji Young represent us, losing faith and trust in the system. If there were S2, he'll probably be even more jaded.

The 2nd half of this show was much better than the 1st half. Not only because of my oppa love LJH appearing  but also because with Yoo Ji Tae's JoHeon brought depth to the story. And l like the interactions between him and JiYong. It felt like they both started on opposite ends but somehow they came to a middle point. For one, JoHeon could have arrested JY several times over. But he didn't . So I agree @Dhakra that Jo Heon seeing how things are like with his bosses at the top may very well switch sides if there is a S2. Yoo Ji Tae is pushing for a second season but they will have to wait for Nam Joo Hyuk to return from the military. 

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM @Dhakra I learnt from a subbing group online that apparently when Kdramas' characters re: corruption storyline mentioned "VIP", it is the code used to mean President of SK. The guy who announced Eum to be a good cop is going by the title of "Shi-jang-nim" (Head of Secretary), he is the secretary general of the Blue House.

 

So this means, the corruption is deeply rooted down to the most Higher Up of the nation! Enemy is strong against the Vigilante team. Vigilante team will need to take down the whole Blue House. And that requires the People's help. That said, is Jo Heon really joining? He first needs to agree with Ji Young's killing. Feel like they will butt heads a lot. Also, since the Teacher knows, will he become part of the team. He'd have great insights to the criminals.

 

@abs-oluteM Agreed that with Gang Ok and Jo Heon in the picture, the show got a lot more interesting. I liked the friction they brought when they met one another. Especially in the earlier stage between Jo Heon and Ji Young. I still don't like the actress playing the reporter. 

[abs-oluteM]

5 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

I still don't like the actress playing the reporter. 

Same. Even though they mentioned abit of her sob story at the end, but she's just not an easy character to warm up to.

Given how it ended, I am open to a 2nd season