Charming92
Greece
I was dreading this moment, mostly because i was conflicted throughout this drama regarding on how to rate it. 16 episodes later and i can safely say that the plot is a worthy 4/10 but the enjoyment was a solid 9/10 so there you go... solve this puzzle for me!
Short version: If you enjoy thriller/mysteries with suspence and action packed scenes with various plot twists that will keep you at the edge of your seat, this is highly recommended. A good watch.
Long Version: Well... not so much.....
So... what we have here? We have a super ambitious drama on our hands. If i had one word to describe vagabond that word would be ambitious.
I'll take the time to carefully present both positive and negative points of this drama, so we can decide on the final score together.
THE GOOD
First thing that comes to mind when i think of Vagabond is scheming and plot twists. The drama starts as a revenge story about an uncle who wants to avenge the death of his nephew. Been there done that. It evolves in SO much more than this, leaving, what this seems to be at the end, a very small detail to be a mere plot device to start the plot. The drama evolves rapidly, including the police force, the NIS, the korean government, several multinational companies and even terrorist organizations...
I was disgusted and yet amazed at the filthyness of the government and pretty much the system of every sector depicted here. I loved to hate these people, the thing that made this drama a hit for me and will be kept memorable for! I can see, however, how this might be too much for some people to swallow and stand by to watch.
More specifically, Including and exploiting a country's own government and police force and pretty much everything legal, showing their worst possible face was especially hard to sit by and watch, but i can easily say this was the drama's highlight. I can applaud the writer for actually going as far as incrimination and even -if i may say- humiliating government executives, striving to show how everything is and -mainly- everyone is rotten to the core. Manipulation of people all in the name of power. *applauds*
Moreover, the drama is packed with fight scenes, which were... well executed, i admit, but... we've definitely seen better.
Furthermore, it has 16 episodes and around 32 plot twists. If it gets one thing right it is that you are kept at the edge of your seat like ALL THE FREAKING time, which makes the drama very binge-worthy! The twists were well delivered, both time-wise and plot wise. Some of them were kind of expected, but all of them were welcome, even if they touched upon the "tiring" territory more or less.
*thinks hard*
Ah! Well written.... villains! This might be more of a personal preference but i figured the villains were greatly written and quite well sustained throughout the episodes. They kept their -pretty questionable- values till the end and it was very fulfilling to watch.
All in all, a thriller/mystery like Vagabonds in its very core seems to be suspenseful and intriguing. If the drama achieved something this is it. There wasn't a dull moment and that is very much appreciated!
THE BAD
First of all, the drama suffered, like pretty much every drama of this genre, of terribly convenient writing, inconsistencies, superhuman main characters, and a very very experimental/unfulfilling ending.
In more detail, starting from the first episode, i just couldnt ignore the ridiculous superhuman main male lead role. Excessively unnecessary to the point it actually ruined half of the fight scenes for me. There is no reason for the male lead to be superman, if i wanted to watch superman i'd go watch.... superman. Ridiculous and way too overdone.
Moreover, the number of good vs bad people. Bish... come on. I get the plot twists and i expect half of "the good" guys change territories halfway through the show, but it was again way too overdone here. This in combination with the fact that the good guys were extremely naive and gullible, while the bad guys were cunning and smart and.... dunno... normal people, made this a whole lot more unrealistic. I get the overdramatization but you can't present me such wholesome bad guys and such stupid heroes and expect me to root for the heroes just for trying to do the right thing. Nope, that ain't me.
I wasn't the biggest fun of the fight scenes camera work. Shaking the camera during the action because.... they believe i'd feel like being there? Meh, no i ain't 12. Sorry
Dramas like this are known for not having any romance involved. That is a good thing in my book. While Vagabond didn't -thank god- have any proper romance development, there were quite a few *moments* between the main characters. I have to admit they were cute and they kind of served a purpose, but other than the comic relief and the cuteness they didn't bring anything to the table other than that.
All in all, many were the times i rolled my eyes so hard my eyes were almost stucked at the back of my head because of the stupidity and the directional choices for the characters. I dare to say that the drama, by its end, has developed in so many levels that it can arguably be expanded in its own francise with multiple seasons/movies. All this raw potential never get explored but instead we get some half assed final episode that tries to do too much and while it does succeed to a certain degree, it pains me to say that i can personally write a 22 episode season based on this ending that we will never see.
In the very end, i think Vagabond's own ambition destroyed it, or -let's not be so harsh- kind of killed it from within.
ACTING
Unpopular opinion: All the sub characters were better than the 2 leads.
Suzy has come a long way, and was a pleasure to watch, but she has a long way to go still.
Lee Seung Gi.... was good... But that is pretty much it, which leaves a lot to be desired next to supporting characters like Moon Jeong Hee who was... to die for in her particular role.
Finishing the hat, let's keep this simple. You like suspenseful dramas, with numerous plot twists that will not leave you keep calm for a split second? You don't mind switching off your mind and overlooking exaggerated siliness? You enjoy bad guys doing their thing the worst way possible? Then this drama is for you. I can easily recommend it, but know what you are getting into. For everyone else, this would most probably be a no. I don't regret watching it, mainly because of the world building, but over than that, this was cheap and unfulfilling.
Short version: If you enjoy thriller/mysteries with suspence and action packed scenes with various plot twists that will keep you at the edge of your seat, this is highly recommended. A good watch.
Long Version: Well... not so much.....
So... what we have here? We have a super ambitious drama on our hands. If i had one word to describe vagabond that word would be ambitious.
I'll take the time to carefully present both positive and negative points of this drama, so we can decide on the final score together.
THE GOOD
First thing that comes to mind when i think of Vagabond is scheming and plot twists. The drama starts as a revenge story about an uncle who wants to avenge the death of his nephew. Been there done that. It evolves in SO much more than this, leaving, what this seems to be at the end, a very small detail to be a mere plot device to start the plot. The drama evolves rapidly, including the police force, the NIS, the korean government, several multinational companies and even terrorist organizations...
I was disgusted and yet amazed at the filthyness of the government and pretty much the system of every sector depicted here. I loved to hate these people, the thing that made this drama a hit for me and will be kept memorable for! I can see, however, how this might be too much for some people to swallow and stand by to watch.
More specifically, Including and exploiting a country's own government and police force and pretty much everything legal, showing their worst possible face was especially hard to sit by and watch, but i can easily say this was the drama's highlight. I can applaud the writer for actually going as far as incrimination and even -if i may say- humiliating government executives, striving to show how everything is and -mainly- everyone is rotten to the core. Manipulation of people all in the name of power. *applauds*
Moreover, the drama is packed with fight scenes, which were... well executed, i admit, but... we've definitely seen better.
Furthermore, it has 16 episodes and around 32 plot twists. If it gets one thing right it is that you are kept at the edge of your seat like ALL THE FREAKING time, which makes the drama very binge-worthy! The twists were well delivered, both time-wise and plot wise. Some of them were kind of expected, but all of them were welcome, even if they touched upon the "tiring" territory more or less.
*thinks hard*
Ah! Well written.... villains! This might be more of a personal preference but i figured the villains were greatly written and quite well sustained throughout the episodes. They kept their -pretty questionable- values till the end and it was very fulfilling to watch.
All in all, a thriller/mystery like Vagabonds in its very core seems to be suspenseful and intriguing. If the drama achieved something this is it. There wasn't a dull moment and that is very much appreciated!
THE BAD
First of all, the drama suffered, like pretty much every drama of this genre, of terribly convenient writing, inconsistencies, superhuman main characters, and a very very experimental/unfulfilling ending.
In more detail, starting from the first episode, i just couldnt ignore the ridiculous superhuman main male lead role. Excessively unnecessary to the point it actually ruined half of the fight scenes for me. There is no reason for the male lead to be superman, if i wanted to watch superman i'd go watch.... superman. Ridiculous and way too overdone.
Moreover, the number of good vs bad people. Bish... come on. I get the plot twists and i expect half of "the good" guys change territories halfway through the show, but it was again way too overdone here. This in combination with the fact that the good guys were extremely naive and gullible, while the bad guys were cunning and smart and.... dunno... normal people, made this a whole lot more unrealistic. I get the overdramatization but you can't present me such wholesome bad guys and such stupid heroes and expect me to root for the heroes just for trying to do the right thing. Nope, that ain't me.
I wasn't the biggest fun of the fight scenes camera work. Shaking the camera during the action because.... they believe i'd feel like being there? Meh, no i ain't 12. Sorry
Dramas like this are known for not having any romance involved. That is a good thing in my book. While Vagabond didn't -thank god- have any proper romance development, there were quite a few *moments* between the main characters. I have to admit they were cute and they kind of served a purpose, but other than the comic relief and the cuteness they didn't bring anything to the table other than that.
All in all, many were the times i rolled my eyes so hard my eyes were almost stucked at the back of my head because of the stupidity and the directional choices for the characters. I dare to say that the drama, by its end, has developed in so many levels that it can arguably be expanded in its own francise with multiple seasons/movies. All this raw potential never get explored but instead we get some half assed final episode that tries to do too much and while it does succeed to a certain degree, it pains me to say that i can personally write a 22 episode season based on this ending that we will never see.
In the very end, i think Vagabond's own ambition destroyed it, or -let's not be so harsh- kind of killed it from within.
ACTING
Unpopular opinion: All the sub characters were better than the 2 leads.
Suzy has come a long way, and was a pleasure to watch, but she has a long way to go still.
Lee Seung Gi.... was good... But that is pretty much it, which leaves a lot to be desired next to supporting characters like Moon Jeong Hee who was... to die for in her particular role.
Finishing the hat, let's keep this simple. You like suspenseful dramas, with numerous plot twists that will not leave you keep calm for a split second? You don't mind switching off your mind and overlooking exaggerated siliness? You enjoy bad guys doing their thing the worst way possible? Then this drama is for you. I can easily recommend it, but know what you are getting into. For everyone else, this would most probably be a no. I don't regret watching it, mainly because of the world building, but over than that, this was cheap and unfulfilling.
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