'Vagabond' Is Average yet Addicting

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).