The Mystery Grows…
Back for another exciting episode, Vagabond returns with its growing mystery, one that sees both Hae-Ri and Cha in the firing line for much of the hour as the power struggles and conspiracy continues to grow. We begin at the safe house with Cha being told not to use his phone and receiving the cold shoulder from the officer when asked about charging Sang-Mi. However, Hae-Ri arrives soon after and teases him about his predicament as the two flirt a little. In the police interview, Sang-Mi admits she was on the phone to her husband during the incident on the plane. She goes on to tell them she can speak Spanish too which throws further curve-balls into the investigation. It’s here Joo-Cheol realizes first-hand that there’s definitely a mole in the NIS, given the ease to which she’s answering these questions. Meanwhile at the safe-house, most of the guards are spiked and knocked out, leading to our assassin entering the building to kill Cha but finding his room empty. Empty that is, until he checks behind the curtain and finds Cha waiting for him. The two fight but just as the assassin is about to kill Cha, Hi-Rae shows up and manages to shoot him in the head, killing the assassin instantly. Grabbing his phone, they ring through to his boss where they learn, to their horror, that Min is the one who hired him. Hanging up, Hae-Ri works with Cha to feign his death, sending a picture across to Director Min to give them a bit more time to formulate a plan. It’s here we flash back to see Sang-Mi pressured into working with the authorities thanks to Min, weaving a fictitious story about her husband to avoid suspicion. As the plot thickens, Cha learns that Min was responsible for regrouping Unkillable, a dangerous group from North Korea. As Cha scrambles to make sense of everything, the co-pilot is called by Sang-Mi who tells him she doesn’t trust John and Mark.With their conversation recorded, the NIS agents working to take them down, lead by Tae-Ung, close in on her location. Kicking the door down, they snatch the phone away from her and bundle her in the back of their police car to take her away. Unfortunately, they’re hit by a speeding car on the road which knocks out Tae-Ung and the others, prompting the shadowy men inside to grab her and tie her up. After they phone through to Cha, threatening him, Hi-Rae manages to track down Min and prepares for the arrest. Joo-Cheol warns that if he resists, she has clearance to shoot him. Unfortunately, Joo-Cheol phoning the President at the same, as Hi-Rae holds the Director up at gun-point, distracts him enough to escape and evade capture. As things die down for now, Hae-Ri and Cha share dinner together where Hae-Ri gets blind drunk and falls asleep on the table. The next day, Cha arrives at a press conference for the grieving families of the plane victims. On his way back, he happens upon the dead reporter, Jo, just walking down the street. Chasing after him, Cha loses him in the crowd, only to be touched on the shoulder by someone. As he spins round, he gasps. Who is the mystery person tapping him on the shoulder? Is Jo in collusion with the bomber? Why has Min betrayed his country? So many questions remain around Vagabond and the longer the series wears on, the more questions appear to be surfacing. So far this has been the strongest part of this drama and as the action itself dies down a little, this layered conspiracy slowly unravels to show something wholly more dangerous and serious. Vagabond may not have the most riveting action set pieces this week but what it lacks in action, it makes up for with raw intensity and mystery. I hope Vagabond does answer its questions in a compelling manner and after an exhausting flurry of action early on, this Korean drama has managed to settle into a consistent rhythm. Quite where this one will go from here remains to be seen but one thing’s for sure – we’re almost certainly going to tumble deeper down that rabbit hole before we get any answers.
