You know the drill. Please post your raves, rants, spoilers, theories, analyses here. Thanks.
(Tell me when Shin Sung Rok appears, okay?)
It’s always interesting when a graphic artist chooses a shattered glass for the poster. The origin of the cracks in this picture appears to be Jessica. The words “Wheels turn on their Axis” written in red, end with the President but the terrorists themselves are missing from the picture. Jennifer and Haeri/Elsa face off each other. The cracks reminds me of a spider web, probably because all the individuals here will find themselves entangled in a web of deceit.
Let’s enjoy the show!
Nice, it’s like a relationship chart as a picture. I haven’t watched 3 and 4 yet. I wonder if they’ll show us why this series is called Vagabond? The name suggests a homeless, restless wanderer. Is that what LSG becomes between now and the tire-shooting scene?
Most probably.
Vagabond because he’s a nomad. Without a country because he’ll distrust the government. And without money so he’ll accept contract kills.
I’m watching Ep 3. This show is in desperate need of a technical firearms/weapons consultant. 😂
But I promise I’m not going to nitpick….
So far, everybody’s in Jessica’s payroll.
“I’m watching Ep 3. This show is in desperate need of a technical firearms/weapons consultant. 😂”
😂. Suzy’s gun magically fires 8 rounds…when it clearly only has 6 before a reload is required… the number of shots and bullets left in the cylinder just don’t add up…
Actually maybe 7? I don’t think I would’ve counted but for the fact that they keep showing her loading her gun with bullets. Why doesn’t she have one loaded all the time? Instead of loading when necessary? 🙄. And she only loads it with 4 (?) bullets at most after the assassination attempt, she grabbed at the 6 that she pulled out of her tin but in her haste really only grabbed 4 maybe 5? Correct me if I am wrong. Doesn’t her type of gun require you to cock it again after emptying one round? Yet DG just keeps firing at the sniper without skipping a beat. 😂. And I am really annoyed with HR’s character yelping every time a bullet is fired at them whilst DG just ducks but is silent. One would presume he’s the experienced field agent and she’s the civilian 🤔 from the response.
Sorry I am leaving comments in sequential posts but I am stopping and commenting rather than watching the full ep and then gathering my thoughts in one go. 😂
Yeah…seriously I am not buying Suzy as an NIS agent. Too many glaring missteps by her. They are hiding out in the room after the assassination attempt. DG sits AWAY from the window hiding behind the curtain…she persists in parading in front of the windows constantly as she berates him about being a civilian? Sniper bait? And her little clenched “yes” when she found out her phone call was forwarded to the powers that be seemed childish?? Like a little private celebration for “scoring” her first big job? I am trying to work out if the PD wants her there for comedic effect because she is coming across as that. If I were DG, I would ditch her as a partner. She’s a liability in the field. Apart from her weapons licence and her technical know how (eg how long it takes for a sniper to reload), she’s so green that she would get me killed.
Ironically I am liking Angel of Death Lily 😂. Black widow like… sassy… dangerous. Still I wonder if she may yet “turn good” because underlying her devil may care behavior, she seems to still have a “conscience”. She charges a premium for “good guys”. And she seemed genuinely impressed that DG managed to foil her plan. He proved more challenging than she anticipated so it would only make the chase more exciting for her?
DG seems to be more qualified to be a NIS agent than HR. I am curious to see the dynamic between him and Assassin Lily.
I promise I won’t nitpick so you feel free to do it. 🙂
The show doesn’t even need a weapons consultant to explain the firearms…just a director with common sense. Like why would a sniper aim using the scope of his rifle when DG could take him out with his Smith & Wesson *revolver* from the same distance? lol.
Yes, to Haeri squealing. That annoyed me, too. I can tolerate the grunting when she was attacked in her apartment. Grunting and yelling are found to increase power, especially when you need a sudden burst or explosion of energy. But squealing when getting fired at?? Ugh! Does the director think making her look girly-girl is admirable?
And that stupid open top jeep has got to go.
Okay, I’m going to continue watching Vagabond. Hubby and I just came back from a high school football game with our neighbors.
“This show is in desperate need of a technical firearms/weapons consultant. ”
No kidding. But I would expand that to include security – personal, operational, IT, and communications. Just a little bit of effort would add a lot of verisimilitude.
And I hate how everybody in the government is despicable. I guess it’s Jessica’s world right now and we’ll have to sit through 10 episodes before the tide turns and the good guys take over in the final two episodes.
The co-pilot is alive and wandering loose? How did that happen? Is the translation correct?
The co-pilot only needed to deliver a bag to the restroom at a set time. That is all. He didn’t have a need to know for the actual mission, and it would have been cleaner with him dead. And we saw him in the cockpit wrestling with the controls. And the crash investigation would have raised all sorts of alarms if the co-pilot wasn’t in the cockpit during the event. Alarms that no one person wil be able to nullify.
I know, right? He has faster reflexes and better awareness of his surroundings.
I think his training as a stuntman prepared him well. A stuntman has to pay attention to every small detail on the set because everything’s staged, and an error can be hazardous (like the last stunt he did that sent him to the hospital, lol)
Assassin Lily looks like a badass. I hope she doesn’t fall in love DG. lol.
I agree with you. Haeri was the one who assumed that the co-pilot was alive because the accomplice was alive. That’s why she informed her bosses at NIS that the copilot was alive.
To me, the whole point of the control systems locking up by remote/cellphone was so the co-pilot wouldn’t try to save himself. He didn’t know about the actual mission; he was just told to bring the bag with the aerosole to the lavatory. (Which is a plot hole. If somebody told you to bring a hazardous object inside the plane, wouldn’t you worry about your safety.)
And Haeri didn’t know about the bag and aerosole. All she knew was the timing of when things went haywire in the cockpit. Didn’t the pilot wonder what was going to happen at 13:15, 13:20, 13:23 and 13:30? Did he know that he was going to down with the plane? He didn’t sound like a man who was going to die.
Co-Pilot: Honey, I’ve been waiting for your call. Don’t worry. He doesn’t understand what we’re talking about.
Assassin: Set your watch to the current time. 11:02am. Seven, eight, nine seconds.
Co-Pilot: Okay, one moment. I got it. When can I see you?
Assassin: Precisely in 14 hours and 37 minutes from now. And the gift?
Co-Pilot: It’s ready. You’ll find it at the meeting point. What about our date?
Assassin: They are set for 13:15, 13:20, and 13:23. 13:30
Co-Pilot: I got it. Anything else that you need?
Assassin: No, it’s fine.
This is what was scribbled on the glass board.
13:15
Display unit failure
13:20
Flight control failure
13:23
Engine explosion
13:30 <-- no answer
Thus far…HR is coming across to me as an inept agent desperate to “prove her worth” to higher ups. All bravado and talk…but little else… I’ll take the first watch, you’re the civilian, let’s see who falls asleep first… and she proceeds to fall asleep 🙄. Hello…someone is out to “get you” (there’s probably a price on your head?) so you make sure you stay on high alert constantly? Swanning around in the airport as if you own it is just dumb? Honestly I don’t blame Suzy. It’s the PD and writer’s fault for painting her this way… it’s doing her no favours. Unless she’s just there to highlight how thoroughly capable DG is at easing into the real “spy”, kill or be killed arena? Because yeah, DG has moved from that Stupid goofy Uncle to action man hero space so fast it’s as if he was born to be one.
And yes to the glaring co-pilot plot hole. Was he a terrorist happy to die for the cause? Is that why he didn’t seem to ask any questions? He knew he was going to go down with the plane? But the plot isn’t about some ideological extremist cell though? 🙄. And if he did survive, how?
I think the whole co-pilot being alive is a mistake by GHR in her phone report to NIS, that was leaked by Shadow back to the mercenaries – which led to the original bomber thinking there was a huge f’up with the co-pilot. That led to the exchange about the co-pilot in the dungeon.
Now, did the “dungeon master” kill the bomber or not? We did not see the death, just the sound of a shot. Just before the cut, it looked like the pistol was waving back and forth, almost doing an eeny meeny miny moe.
So, who is Shadow?
😂 and someone in the other forum was quick enough to pick this up…the hand that turned on the microwave wasn’t DG’s hand in the convenience store…where did the glove come from?? 😂
https://i.ibb.co/VNXGkn9/0796-BFCD-9877-4-BBE-97-DD-E8-CA87-D2-D737.png
No. The terrorism was all LSG’s angle, remember? But the real plot of the story is corruption. Just how many people are involved in this conspiracy, we don’t know yet. We’re supposed to go down the rabbit hole and be shocked (shocked, I tell you!!) that everybody’s crooked and in Jessica’s clutches. 😂
All because she’s one trillion won over the bid of Dynamic System. It’s a trillion, right? A trillion won is about a billion dollars. Lol.
Jessica’s assets are her criminal connection. She should have spent more energy in research and development of those aircrafts. How come she was caught off-guard and didn’t know that DS’ bid was going to be that low? She didn’t have a spy in DS? 😂
It seems everybody can’t be trusted…except Shin Sung Rok’s character. 😂 He revealed that he was “righteous man” but that he found it weird. 🧐
That whole runway model walk through airport lobby was dumb. But it’s to be expected because the writer gave us a foreshadowing in the Moroccan airport when she swanned through the hall while DG fretted about their safety. She talked about her sunglasses and viola! DG used her shades as a mirror. Lol. How convenient!
And didn’t HR call him “amateurish” too at one point? Ugh! I knew she was going to regret saying that as soon as she spoke. Couldn’t the writer be more original? Who’s the writer anyway? What other projects has he/she done?
Ugh! They spent so much time and energy on the action scenes but the plot is predictable.
Hahaha. The “dungeon master” was really in a dungeon, lol.
But I think I get it now.
The dungeon guy was the Samuel or Sammy or Samwise guy who kept emailing Raymon to come back to the fold. But Raymon decided go rogue and abandon him. He joined the Axis group. And Axis turns out to Jessica’s Korean group.
I think Raymon was killed off in the story.
I don’t know who Shadow is. I don’t think we should be able to guess who he is until the eight episode. Otherwise what’s the fun? 😂
But I’m annoyed with the Minister of Defense. I didn’t think he was that seducible. Grrr.
It’s the invisible hand of god. 😂
I am wondering how Korea functions with such incompetent NIS? The only agent who is good on the job is SSR.
Another person really good at her job is Lethal Lily the Assassin. She is always prepared with a plan B. I hope she is not killed off too soon.
At least we got the angsty shower!
See I told you, my theory about action men thinking in the shower proved correct 😂… And add exercising shirtless in long pants (with a belt 🤔) too with push ups in the living room to the list. Action men need to always keep in tip top shape during lull periods. Just so they can entice potential female assassins (peeping toms). Nothing like sweat glistening on a well muscled torso to cause them to switch allegiances. 😂
https://i.ibb.co/cvPyZZt/Untitled1.gif
snort!
What happened? Assassin Lily turned out to be a big dud? She fell for those big “guns”? I’ll watch after dinner.
As I recall, the instructions to Lilly included something along the lines of “make sure there’s no trace of it being a murder”. I think Assassin Lily’s idea of no trace is something along the lines of … make sure there’s not a giant smoking crater.
Oh, I think the price of the deal is supposedly around 10 billion dollars with a price difference between the two competitors of around 1 billion dollars.
Yes, @flying_tool! I laughed, too, whenv Dalgun gatecrashed Jennifer’s photo-op/hospital event with the tow truck. That was some entrance.
I guess Assassin Lily isn’t going to get paid for her services. She bungled that herself.
Howdy! I just finished episode 3 and yes I agree with everyone in the nitpicks 😄 Did anyone noticed that when DG was finally eating on the plane, there were on a two row seat. After DG up chucks, they were seating on a three row seat. 🤷🏻♀️ It’s in league with the microwave. ☺️ I’ll watch episode 4 tomorrow.
How sad that three ministers we’re having fun 🤮 but even sadder was that their main boss was easily seduced. 🤦🏻♀️
Right. I didn’t expect much from the three officers but the minister was a disappointing.
I’ll post later. We’re spending a day at a winery (again) with friends, There’s grape stomping, too.
Grape-stomping sounds fun! Enjoy, packmule3!
I just finished off the first 3 episodes and am foggy right now about whether there are actually any good guys apart from LSG. The jury is still out on Shin Shun Rok’s character, but I truly don’t know who in NIS or the government is NOT corrupt. It’s a stretch of the imagination to believe that everyone will conspire with Jessica to kill off so many people in a premeditated plane crash.
I’ve not seen the shower scene yet. Must be in ep.4. So far, I’m meh about this drama. Wairing for it to become more interesting and at least some of the characters apart from LSG to emerge as uncorrupted! I’ve got no feelings on Suzy’s character yet – so far, she’s just part of the scenery for me 😛 LSG is okay..but I haven’t got sucked in yet. Bring it on, drama! Let’s see what you’re made of💪
I imagine that in a parallel Vagabond universe LSG and Assassin Lily will be an unbeatable team.
“I imagine that in a parallel Vagabond universe LSG and Assassin Lily will be an unbeatable team.”
This. But somehow I think the writer may not pen this and will instead go with the HR/DG OTP. Bearing in mind this is FULLY pre-produced, I am disappointed with the glaring production flaws and mediocre writing. HR just lacks the natural instincts required for a field agent to survive in the kill or be killed world that she’s found herself in. The ploys to make her endearing to the audience (drunk kissing KTW 😳) just sits out of place in a spy thriller genre? It’s not coming across as endearing…it’s coming across as her being dim witted… 🙄. I can’t take her seriously now. And I need to take her seriously for me to believe that she and DG are going to be the team that takes down EVERYONE else in the government, NIS and John/Mark Group. 😂
As an aside, I just watched Melting Me Softly and…too much slapstick cheese. The only moment I connected in Ep1 was in a brief tender moment they shared when their (JCW and WJA) eyes spoke to each other. Their emoting skills are just way under utilized. I can only take so much slap stick before I run for cover. So far there are too few of these moments to keep me interested. I will stay for a few more episodes but it’s not looking promising for me 🥺. I was so looking forward to JCW’s first drama back from the military.
@pm3 do your feet end up stained with the grape juice or does it wash off? Or do you wear special boots for protection?
Howdy! 🙂 How was the winery and grape stomping? I’d like to do that someday. 🙂
I’ll watch episode 4 tonight but I think I’ll just stay because I just want to see how DG will win over all those evil. I’m not asking much anymore from Suzy. Lily was bad ass. She was one of the actor from Yoo Seung Ho’s last high school drama so I recognized her.
@nrllee , I watched 2 episodes of Melt Me Softly and you’re right, it’s not doing anything at the moment. I didn’t even laugh for the two episodes. LOL. I thought it was going to be light and fluffy together with the sci-fi bit. I was more drawn with Mi Ra and her brother Nam Tae. The 20 year old Nam Tae turned up to be Hong Shik from Vagabond. LOL. I think the hospital scenes were a bit over the top too and how did she fly high up on the air like that just so she could kick her boyfriend for cheating? hehehe Anyway I’ll just watch it too since the episodes comes in every week. I read somewhere that the drama reminded them of Abyss. I did not watch Abyss so I wouldn’t know. 🙂
I read a theory that Dalgun’s dead bro aka Hoon’s dad might be Ki Tae Woong’s dead partner. I think this theory is possible.
I want more Ki Tae Woong. He only had a few minutes in each ep 3 and 4 🤣. Gimme more KTW. He seems level headed and he balances Dalgun’s impulsiveness. Dalgun is erratic and runs around without much thought of the consequences of his actions. Hua3
Fyi ROK Special Forces promoted Vagabond on it’s official social media account: https://www.facebook.com/104514792961474/posts/2430377757041821/
Trans:https://twitter.com/tryp96/status/1166601861060804609
😂🤪😈
Did these ROK Special Forces promoters watch Eps 3 and 4?
Did they fast-forward through the scenes showing a) Jessica go through the dossiers of high-ranking officers who can be bribed, b) their officers dancing half-naked like idiots with call girls, c) the “clean,” supposedly incorruptible Minister of Defense succumbing to Jessica’s seduction and d) their military as one debauched, moronic, unprincipled and UNPATRIOTIC amateurs (lol) who sold their country to a woman knew how to pull their strings. 🤦♀️🤦♀️
LSG’s character is merely a STUNTMAN but he’s doing the job that the military and the NIS should be doing to investigate terrorism.
The ROK Special Forces might be proud of LSG and the stunts and action scenes. But they should be ashamed of how corrupt the upper echelons of the military are depicted in these last episodes. The drama doesn’t at all inspire confidence in the military.
What a media play.
But yes, I like KTW. When he told HR that she should have been fired after her drunken episode, I was mentally applauding. In the real world, that scene is NOT cute.
I would have fired her the following day, too. Any covert agent who can’t hold her drink AND doesn’t use her BRAINS to refrain from drinking is a liability on the field. Remember: “Loose lips sink ships.” Anytime an agent engages in careless talk, i.e., when intoxicated, when high on drugs, when talking to a lover, when flirting, etc., she can endanger the mission and the lives of people involved.
I don’t know why the writer thought that scene was a good idea. He/she’s a moron.
@agdr03 Melting Me Softly is written by the same person that penned Strong Woman Do BongSoo. For some reason I don’t remember it being this bad? This is slapstick to the extreme with very few serious moments in it at all? It’s just cheesy and over the top. I am so disappointed. JCW’s acting prowess is so underutilized. I question why he took this drama on? Was he having a crisis in confidence after his stint in the military so he thought let’s just dumb down to ease back into drama land again. 😕.
Hmmm I wouldn’t know why JCW took this drama @nrllee . But yes, his a very good actor and he could have picked much better. I watched Strong Woman Do Bongso too and I didn’t mind that but it wasn’t that great for me.
Whatever JCW’s reason is for choosing this drama, he can be sure it won’t be a very memorable return for him.
@packmule the ROK Special Forces only commented about the action scenes that they directly were involved in as consultants.
I don’t know about the corruption and despicable big wigs in real life. But in this drama it seems that the corruption is from the president to all his downlines. The only one I really believe is a good guy in the goverment is Ki Tae Woong. Hahaha
Not sure if you’ve read this, I think this is an interesting article..some background for what may or may not have been the inspiration behind this drama….https://www.cinemaescapist.com/2019/09/review-vagabond-kdrama-netflix-suzy/
As of ep 4 I’m enjoying this. It’s not believable or realistic but I somehow just roll with it. It’s entertaining and over the top and I can see they utilized the budget they have with the locations, explosions, stunts etc. Hahaha.
I want to see how Dalgun ends up as a sniper. And obviously I want more Ki Tae Woong. Hah!
I dropped Strong Woman Do BonggSo because the lead characters annoyed me and the kidnapper angle dumb.
I used to like Park BoYoung but her character was 100% infantilized here. I couldn’t imagine sticking out my lower lip to sulk, pout and simper like she did when speaking to my male colleagues. I’d punch myself first.
But what made me lose it was that scene when her boss, what’s his name again? Park Hyun Sik’s character built a playhouse for her work station. What the heck?!
I checked just now, beginning of Episode 5. About 3 minutes into the episode, it’s simply nauseating how she turns on her whole “aegyo” for him who’s her boss. Ewww.
I guess that’s one of the things I like about IU in Hotel del Luna. I didn’t get to see Manwol do aegyo unless she was ridiculing that whole “aegyo” nonsense.
@agdr03 @nrllee: I’m so disappointed that Melting Me Softly isn’t upto the mark. I don’t like slapstick comedy at all; so now after your reviews, I don’t know if I’ll be checking out that drama at all. Sigh..I was so looking forward to it 😔😔😔 Tell me if it improves, okay?
lol. Yes, I knew about the F-X’s connection to the USAF’s T-X competition. I mentioned it in my review of Episodes 1 and 2.
And yes, I worked with one of the companies mentioned in the article so I won’t comment further. lol.
Yes, I read the translation and the ROK Special Forces patted themselves on the back for the stunts. I mentioned that.
But, to me, it would have been better had they had provided their technical expertise on weapons, security, etc., to the show instead of just the stunts/action scenes. Their time and energy would have been better used to create a more logical plot. As it stands now, this show is pure “optics” meaning it’s based on “appearances” to cover up a ludicrous plot.
Netizens used to pan a Lee Minho kdrama. They say that Lee Minho is employed by directors to distract the viewers from realizing that they’re watching pure nonsense. The viewers were so mesmerized by Lee Minho that they forgot that they were supposed to be watching a story unfold, and not just drool and fangirl over an actor.
Well, here’s an equivalent of a Lee Minho drama — ON STERIODS. lol.
An Assassin Lily and LSG combo would be a riot to watch.
And lots of kinky stuff. He’ll never know what to expect when he wakes up. Whether he’s tied to the bed with pink handcuffs or dotted with whipped cream on his chest. lol.
@Phoenix I can’t continue anymore with Melting Me Softly so I am dropping it. Over the top slapstick is just too hard for me to watch. You may be able to stomach it though so maybe give it a go and judge for yourself. I was so looking forward to JCW’s return too 😕
I only like a few kdrama actresses and Park Bo Young isn’t one of them 😐 But yes, her playhouse desk was a big no no. The only good thing about that drama is there was a wedding and TWINS for babies! That was awesome! 🙂
@Phoenix , why don’t you watch the first episode first and see how you go? I will keep watching it just because I want to know what else happens and maybe the funny side will come now after they’ve come back from their 20 year sleep. But I will put my expectations way down. 🙂
“ But they should be ashamed of how corrupt the upper echelons of the military are depicted in these last episodes. The drama doesn’t at all inspire confidence in the military.”
Perhaps, just like how politicians up to and including the President are depicted in Korean dramas, along with third generation chaebol heirs, the people see a picture that reflects the reality they live in.
Exactly.
That’s why I find the ROK SF “soft” endorsement of this kdrama rather bizarre.
This kdrama is certainly no “Top Gun.” That Tom Cruise movie was (and is still) the best recruiting tool for the Navy. “Vagabond” however would attract people to ?? join karate school? stuntman school? the circus? lol.
@nrllee @agdr03 Thanks for the warning about Melting Me. It helps because I’ll go in with low expectations now and so less chances of me being disappointed. I was really looking forward to JCW’s return 🙁 You both are right – I’ll probably watch the first episode and get an understanding of whether I can continue it or not. @agdr03: If things improve after the yime jump, do let me know. Maybe the romance will kick in then and the slapstick level will go down.
I didn’t hate Bong Soon, but I didn’t like it either. I thought PBY and PHS were too sickeningly lovey dovey for my comfort and behaved like lovestruck teenagers instead of adults. And I hated that doll’s house too, especially as the construct of the drama was that of a woman born will superhuman strength! How ironic. Guess the writer still wantes to make sure she was feminine and cutesy enough or some such stupid thing!