Opening the gates to the much-anticipated live-action adaptation of Kim Gyu-sam’s Naver webtoon, the dark-themed, suspenseful and action-driven Vigilante Episode 1 has finally kicked off Nam Joo-hyuk’s journey as Kim Ji-yong in the South Korean action-thriller series (비질란테) on November 8, 2023. Directed by Choi Jeong-yeol, the South Korean drama series has been created by Moon Yoo-seok and written for screen by Lee Min-seop. The Disney+ web series initially premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2023, where the first three episodes of the show were screened in October 2023.
Also starring, Yoo Ji-tae as Jo Heon, Lee Joon-hyuk as Cho Kang-ok and Kim So-jin as Choi Mi-ryeo in the lead roles, the new series catches Joo-hyuk’s character switching roles and assuming the titular responsibility as a vigilante out to serve justice at night, much like Batman fighting crime in Gotham. The first episode has a runtime of 50 minutes.
-Vigilante Kdrama Episode 1 Recap Contains Spoilers-
Vigilante Episode 1 Recap
Setting up the heartbreaking background for Nam Joo-hyuk’s character right at the beginning, the Vigilante premiere commences with the stark reminder of his traumatic past with his mother being killed in front of his eyes, and at the hands of a man who has no remorse for his actions. The wrong ruling in court dismisses the killer to a mere 3-year-long prison sentence. From thereon, the central conflict of the show and Ji-yong’s motivation to fill in the loopholes and void of law are established.
The initial introduction to his character takes us along for the ride to the police academy, where he shows immense potential and growth as a model student. However, on weekends, he takes on his obscure job as the vigilante and deals with criminals in his own way. His first task begins with having to come face to face with the same man who killed his mother 12 years ago, and Ji-yong realises that he’s neither learnt anything from back then, nor changed at all.
From there on, he starts making waves as the watchful eye out to help the ones in need, and soon catches the eye of Choi Mi-ryeo (Kim So-jin), a broadcast reporter who decides to pull a scoop on this story as she notices how in each case, the “dark hero” dealt with all those criminals that had been let off easy by the law.
Taking this issue up with the manager at REP025h, together they start broadcasting a new show dedicated to this mysterious hooded figure out to avenge others. While the initial premiere makes for a grand hit and even the public starts taking note of the said “Vigilante” walking amidst them, the network misses out on any new material despite Ms Choi’s promise that he’d attack a criminal again.
Ji-yong then reveals his rather complex moral psyche by proving that he doesn’t chase after every other criminal let off by law enforcement, rather he offers those a second chance who’re remorseful of their past actions. Through this, we come to the understanding that Joo-hyuk’s character isn’t blindly chasing criminals, or doing this to satiate his own hero complex. He’s doing this to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself and treats anyone as harshly as it did him during his childhood.
After that, Ms Choi is pushed by the network’s manager to propose a follow-up story for the “Vigilante” special, and she suggests that they open up an old criminal case that had been covered up by media in the past for the sake of human rights. “The Siyoon Case” from 2015 is dug up again, only this time they decide to reveal the perpetrator/ child sex offender’s identity to the public as a means to lure out the Vigilante. It also brings to our notice how the old case had been named after the victim, while the felon had escaped. As expected, it fully draws Ji-yong’s attention to the issue.
Public, too, takes to the streets and demands Jeong Deok-heung’s death penalty for his crimes. While the REP025h manager fears that this crowd may incite another individual to kill the perpetrator before the real Vigilante did anything, Ms Choi perceives this to be another winning opportunity as it would mean that the new person had also undertaken the Vigilante role.
Meanwhile, Ji-yong, with an easy access to police files, looks into the old case and its details. Before he could work on his plan though, Deok-heung vanishes, and Ms Choi, who’d been keeping a lookout for him also loses sight of him. The police jumps on the case eventually to catch him, believing that he was planning to be stowed away. As a means of safety for the victim, the police, though out to get him, also sanctions two detectives to stay guard at Siyoon’s door.
Eventually, the police calls for more backup at the port, and one of these men leave their station. With only one man at guard for Siyoon now, Deok-heung makes his move and intercepts a regular deliveryman and steals his identity markers to disguise himself and sneak into Siyoon’s apartment complex.
Vigilante Episode 1 Ending
Before that happens, Ms Choi tries to piece the information together as to where Deok-heung could’ve run off to. She soon realises his next move, and figures out that he’s not trying to stow away, rather is planning to go after Siyoon again. She and the rest of the network’s personnel shift gear and speed towards Siyoon’s place, and the police stationed at the Incheon Port decides to follow their tracks.
In the meantime, Deok-heung attacks the police man standing guard outside Siyoon’s house. He stabs him multiple times and even subjects him to an acid attack. Eventually, moving past him, he chases after Siyoon. Right when he’s about to kill her, Ji-yong comes to her rescue and pushes Deok-heung down the stairs. He beats him so hard that the man starts begging him for mercy. Ji-yong agrees to let him live, only if he writes a genuine apology letter.
Ms Choi and Ji-yong almost have a chance encounter as she nearly runs him over with her car outside the same apartment complex while the latter was making his exit, dressed in his usual day clothes and not in his “dark hero” attire.
Believing him to be a regular citizen, she asks him to get out of the way and drives forward to the place. Racing up, she and the other police men spot Deok-heung lying upstairs, covered in blood, with a writing in blood on the wall beside him that said, “heaven’s net. i’m sorry. Forgive”.
Vigilante Episode 1 Review
The first episode is a rather basic introduction to Ji-yong and his motivation behind taking on the vengeful role as the Vigilante. It briefly hands an insight into why he assumed the “dark hero” persona in the first place. Simultaneously, the series also ties in the significant role played by journalists, especially with Kim So-jin coming in as Ms Choi, who makes her indelible mark with her eye-catching red hairdo and fiery flair for breaking news and mind-boggling scoops. However, other than her and Nam Joo-hyuk, there’s barely any other character that catches your eye during these first 50 minutes of the series.
That’s not to say that the show doesn’t make a strong case for itself, because Nam Joo-hyuk stands tall in this vivid transformation for his new, rather complex character that turns the table on his former portrayal of the lead of Twenty-Five Twenty-One, a laid-back and slice-of-life-themed nostalgic series.
Vigilante is centred around the makings of the contemporary society that is rife with crime and unfair dealings, making for a realistic setting off point for the story, while also reminding us of other such big characters like DC’s Batman. Yet, unlike the Gotham superhero, Ji-yong hasn’t been painted as an affluent figure, rather his humble origins compel him to make the most of what he’s got at his disposal.
Avid fans of superhero movie and shows may find the first episode taking a tad bit familiar route to what they’ve already been exposed to, but considering the story has only begun, there’s a lot of room for it to grow and make way for enrapturing complexities with the power to keep us on the edge of our seats. We’ll just have to wait for more.
With the police academy and its resources making for the ideal cover-up for Ji-yong’s unforgiving escapades of the night, the future episodes are likely to spice up the nuances of the plot and other struggles he’ll be met with on his tough journey to right the wrongs, by again stepping on the morally wrong path.
The show also lends us an understanding of a criminal’s psyche through Ji-yong’s learnings at the academy. With those lessons running parallel to the action undertaking in real time, we, as viewers, are also able to join the dots and understand the psychological darkness associated with this cat-and-mouse chase between the police and criminals.
Vigilante Episode 1 makes for a rather light watch despite its action-driven theme, but it’s not a downer. It instead opens up the room to more severe discussions in the future. With a decent introduction to Joo-hyuk’s character, the series pulls us in to stay tuned for events that will follow along with a sharper crisis surrounding Ji-yong’s backstory, his childhood, and his moral compass, all of which is likely to tie into his in-depth characterisation and his relationship dynamics with others.
The first two episodes of the Vigilante Kdrama are streaming on Disney+ Hostar.
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