While watching the trailer for Vagabond, I thought it was a movie. It had that cinematic quality to it. It was only by the end of the trailer when it
was made clear to me that it was a TV series.
It was a very well-presented trailer that it utterly convinced me to
follow the show once it starts airing.
Vagabond centers on Cha Dal-gun (Lee Seung-gi), a stuntman who has
taken upon himself the responsibility of raising his nephew Cha Hoon. Though making ends meet is a continuous
struggle, life between them is full of joy and love. But when the plane Hoon is riding on to
Morocco for a school trip crashes under shady circumstances, Dal-gun is left
devastated. Then, he finds a clue that
makes him suspect foul play, leading him to become obsessed with finding the
truth behind the B357 plane crash that killed its 211 passengers and bringing
those responsible to justice. This
crusade eventually pits him against secret terrorist organizations, powerful
corporations, deadly spooks, and corrupt government officials. Fortunately for Dal-gun, he gains an ally in
National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent Go Hae-ri (Suzy Bae).
Honestly, this 16-episode
thriller isn’t as great as I thought it would be after watching that intriguing,
high-octane trailer. At times, it’s
thoughtful and gripping. But, in
retrospect, the writing is actually ludicrous and predictable – relying quite a
bit on bullcrap conveniences, unbelievable coincidences, clichéd themes, and
obvious twists. Moreover, while action
sequences occasionally succeed in making you hold your breath and put you on
the edge of your seat, many close-combat fight scenes are disappointingly
“shaky cam”-dependent.
As an action spy thriller, Vagabond is average at best.
That being said, it’s executed in
a way that makes it genuinely addicting and enjoyable. It rarely gets dull with its delivery of its
story, even when things get predictable and ludicrous. Thus, it may be just an average thriller, but
it’s still dang entertaining.
A significant reason is probably
the characters, who are pretty engaging.
Furthermore, the actors are committed, and their chemistry is strong.
Now, it did take me a while to
believe Suzy Bae as a legit spook. But
still, I eventually bought her role as Go Hae-ri. On the other hand, Lee Seung-gi’s Cha Dal-gun
is interesting from the get go, although I wish his character had more
dimension. I especially wanted him to be
smarter and more cunning. There were
moments where he displayed some quick-thinking, insight, and shrewdness. But he would definitely have been more
interesting if he was a tad more on the intellectual side, especially since
he’s at the center of a plot where mind games, trickeries, and strategizing are
ongoing. Meanwhile, their romance (of
course, there’s romance; it’s a K-drama) didn’t really do anything for me. But it’s fine and organic enough to be a
positive for the plot.
As for their supporting cast, it’s
a pretty solid one. And the dynamics
Dal-gun and Hae-ri particularly developed with their NIS allies and the family
of the crash’s victims are extremely endearing.
All in all, I like Vagabond. However, my feelings are mixed about its
ending. A lot of plot threads are still
left untied, and there’s still no cathartic payoff. The obvious solution to this is, of course, a
second season. But since there’s still
no official announcement of such, it can’t be helped but to have this lingering
sense of frustration.
Still, even if there’s a season 2,
it seems it would take a while to happen as Suzy Bae is already locked for a
new K-drama (which is something I’m actually excited about as it’s written by
my favorite K-drama writer, Park Hye-ryun, whom Suzy Bae had already worked
with in While You Were Sleeping). Hopefully, it won’t be another case of Signal (which took three years before a
season 2 is announced).
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