K-Drama Rewind, Vincenzo: Song Joong-ki is the anti-hero we deserve; Ok Taecyeon is the chilling villain we need

If you started your journey with Descendants of the Sun, Song Joong-ki might have had you fooled. It’s easy to believe, ‘Ah, he’s a real dashing K-Drama lead. I need to see him in  all romantic, fuzzy melodramas now.’

 At that point, Joong-ki might just say, “Have a seat, child,” and pull out his showreel of The Innocent Man, Bogota, and the most distinct of all: Vincenzo.

 Vincenzo, is many things, at it's core a thriller: It focuses on a Korean-Italian mafia consigliere Vincenzo Cassano, who returns to South Korea and finds himself dealing with blatant corruption, while he, himself, is looking to track down gold bars, which is secretly stashed within a hidden basement under Geumga Plaza, a building with nutty residents in South Korea. While he intends to demolish it, he learns that a company named Babel has illegally acquired it. And so, begins a tale of Vincenzo trying to hold on to the building.

Sounds straightforward doesn’t it? You wouldn’t quite expect half the things you see on this show, but you do. Did you expect Vincenzo to befriend a pigeon? No. Did you expect such distinct personalities in the Geumga Plaza and the plot to go completely absurd and slapstick when required? Nah-uh.

Did you also expect that the fluffy-haired cutesy  intern that Ok Taecyon plays in the beginning, turns out to be a villain so good  and terrifying that you almost find yourself demanding a spin-off? Again, no. (Spoiler: You won't ever be able to say 700 million dollars the same way again). Ok Taecyon switches gears coolly with an entrance of fire raging behind him, a very extra way to say what he's really capable of. And, in the following scenes, he shows that he isn't just a regular one-time antagonist to be forgotten. He drives the point home with a baseball bat. It's a bloodied, murderous scene, and you wonder...wow, what did I get myself into?

But that’s what Vincenzo is. It doesn’t like to sit quietly in one genre. It's a gripping thriller, but also goes into a zany sitcom-like mode. When you can have fun with it, why not? Yet, don’t have too much fun as the show will demonstrate, the rug is literally pulled from beneath your feet and you just might lose a character that you were growing fond of.

But hey, don’t worry, Vincenzo is there to deliver justice. Throughout the series, Joong-ki’s deadly, poker-faced Vincenzo ability to deliver horrific punishments to perpetrators  is demonstrated, or as he coldly puts it ‘the scumbags on the streets’.  He shows no mercy to those who have done harm to him, or those who he loves, which includes the completely batty and brilliant Jeo Yeon-been, who seems to have had the time of her life playing the lawyer, Cha-young.

The ringing OST matches this mood: Un Diavolo Scaccia L’altro.  And in one of the best scenes in the show, the OST turns the main character as Vincenzo calmly confronts the squad who killed his mother, and that includes one of the most stellar, terrifying villains of all time: Ok Taecyon’s Jung-woo.

 The show leans in well to Joong-ki’s trademark anti-hero blankness that he has carefully curated over the years for roles like these. It’s a jarring hollow look, with deadened eyes, accompanied by a slow-paced walk that somehow slows his enemies down too. Truly, Joong-ki is the anti-hero we should all fear. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that he won’t show his emotions: His brief teary reconciliation with his mother is one of the most painful, raw scenes of Joong-ki’s career. It’s not loud, melodramatic; it’s a series of quiet, painful questions and unshed tears.

Vincenzo is a wildly fun watch. Sure, you’ll spot the plot holes and question his almost cartoonish invincibility — nothing ever really knocks him down, and he somehow sidesteps every law. Yet, against all odds, you find yourself rooting for him. Don’t expect airtight logic; just buckle up and enjoy the ride.