Vincenzo — Episode 14 Recap
For Vincenzo and Cha-young, life wants to imitate art.
Trivia
Michelangelo Antonioni, whose painting is smuggled from Italy in this episode, is a real-life 20th century abstract painter better known for his work in movies.
Jackson Martin, creator of the art installation Nothing, is not.
Previous: Vincenzo — Episode 13 Recap
Next: Vincenzo — Episode 15 Recap
Recap
Pig blood-glazed Jun-woo is escorted out of the lecture hall and into the hallway, where Prosecutor Jung is waiting to take him into custody. At the station, Chayenzo are off the hook for the “prank” and released. Unfortunately, pig blood is stickier than these charges, and Prosecutor Hwang claims that the new chairman is being framed by people dissatisfied with the new leadership. Team Babel is released, as well, and Jung is deflated.
While Team Babel revel in this minor victory, Team Jipuragi make moves on Jun-woo’s “paper” company. Mr. Nam finds a Malta-based shell company named Jason Fund that may be connected to Babel. He suggests that, given Bye Bye Balloon’s history with Babel E&C, partnering with them might yield more information.
Cho’s mystery man from last episode was Prosecutor Jung, another partner in search of the guillotine file. Jung fishes for information over lunch with Chayenzo, but Vincenzo keeps mum. Later, Chayenzo exchange gifts with Gyeong-ja at the hospital; they’ve brought her bungeoppang. Gyeong-ja says the difference between bungeoppang and ingeoppang is the shape of the fish’s mouths. Cha-young realizes this matches Vincenzo’s explanation, but laughs it off.
Attorney Choi contacts Paolo via video chat while Han-Han (yep, Han-seo + Attorney Han have a couple name now) meet with Vincenzo. Han-seo offers to help put Jun-woo away in exchange for peacefully running Babel solo, but Vincenzo declines. If he leverages betrayal in another family for his own gain, then he will be betrayed himself.
Bye Bye Balloon give a lecture at Jipuragi as subject matter experts in money laundering. During his presentation, CEO Park suddenly recalls Mr. Na — remember that developer from Babel E&C? — had done some work for a paper company. Chayenzo visit Singing Mr. Na at a Korean club, where he is now a Trot singer, and get the rundown on Jason Fund.
Meanwhile, the gold prospector Geum Kwang-jin arrives at Geumga Plaza but, sadly, he has found new life as a dog rescuer. Vincenzo catches the tenants conspiring behind his back, again, and gives them a well-deserved guilt trip. Miri, having had enough, finally approaches Jipuragi with a confession: she knows about the secret basement and can reopen it without destroying the building… because she programmed the door. As a remote worker, she’d survived the massacre of all involved in the construction of the room.
Later that evening. Hee-soo and Hong-sik deliver Vincenzo gifts and a letter of apology; they’d been blinded by their greed for the gold and taken advantage of his generosity. Touched, Vincenzo decides to include them all in a scheme to take down Babel and gathers them together the next morning.
On a visit to Ragusang Gallery, the front for Jason Fund, Chayenzo learn the space can be booked for private events. They enlist Miri’s help in stealing a couple’s reservation scheduled just a few days away. The day of, Vincenzo gives Cha-young a quick makeover before they head to the gallery. Mr. Nam takes the real Mr. Anderson and Ms. Bening to Geumga Plaza, where they are treated to dinner and a show, while Chayenzo are blindsided when they realize the event is a surprise marriage proposal.
Cha-young — playing the overjoyed new fiancée — startles Vincenzo with a kiss for the cameras, but he startles her right back when he indulges himself in it. The real Mr. Anderson pops the question at Nanyak Temple, and the newly engaged couple celebrate with a drinking game with the Geumga Gang.
Chayenzo finally gain entry into the director’s office by requesting to see an art installation hidden in her office. Outside, Yeon-jin and Hee-soo cause a commotion and the director is called away. While she’s preoccupied, Chayenzo work with Miri and Bye Bye’s gothcountant — who are accessing the machine remotely — to copy the necessary files to a flash drive. But the director soon realizes she’s being fleeced.
Thankfully, Chayenzo have a contingency plan when caught: they are Italian intelligence agents in search of a smuggled painting. Real-Agent Ahn knows her art dealer credentials are fake, and the three pressure her into admitting she’s in possession of the painting. They promise her there won’t be any further trouble if she returns it and clears the CCTV footage for the evening.
In the Geumga Plaza parking lot, Chayenzo share an awkward exchange about their kiss. Vincenzo invites her for celebratory drinks on the rooftop, but a noise above prompts him to send her away to buy beers. He goes to the rooftop to investigate and is soon surrounded by three armed men sent by Paolo.
Comments
After spending more than half the series as an amorphous blob — with the exception of episodes 5 and 6, in which they participate in courtroom antics in support of their friend, U-yeong — the Geumga Gang are finally starting to shine as individuals. Hong-sik and Hee-soo step up as the elders among the tenants. There’s finally something more to Miri’s character than blind infatuation with Vincenzo. Cheol-wook and Yeon-jin, who have been active participants in Team Jipuragi’s schemes, begin to care about the bigger picture around what’s happening. And Bye Bye Balloon are such lovable losers, one forgets they tried to tear down the plaza in the first place.
All of this character development serves as a backdrop for Vincenzo’s evolving relationship with the Geumga Gang. They realize they’ve been alienating the one person that is actually helping them retain their livelihoods when they have the skills to help him, help them. In turn, he openly receives their trust and welcomes them as co-conspirators, as if he’d just been waiting for this moment. Even Bye Bye Balloon is invited to the party; they’ve lost everything to Babel, too.
Chayenzo’s relationship is also ripe to evolve, but the precarious circumstances they constantly find themselves in make that nearly impossible. A kiss between the two would have had to be out of danger or necessity, and it is a relief to see the writers continue to be respectful of the story and its characters despite overwhelming fan demand. As if to drive the point home, Chayenzo don’t even get the opportunity to sort out their feelings; once again, Vincenzo’s life is endangered.
In a show with near-perfect execution, one gaping plot hole stands out. How has Paolo just now gotten wind of Vincenzo’s whereabouts? He went viral on social media in episode 2; was background checked in episodes 3 and 6; and sought after by a Korean informant in Italy in episode 10. Why hadn’t he gone after him before, and why is he going after him now? Vincenzo is sure to get out of this pickle with six episodes still remaining, but there’s some closure yet to be had between the brothers.
