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Vigilante: Episodes 5-6
by mistyisles
As our vigilante hero and his not-quite-allies are slowly learning, the well of corruption runs deep. Exposing the truth, bringing evil to justice, and staying alive while doing it is beginning to look like an impossible task — but let’s be real, none of these people chose their path because it was easy.
EPISODES 5-6
Turns out, the girl who gave Ji-yong an alibi has no idea who Kang-ok is. In fact, she assumed Ji-yong was the one who hired her for the gig. When Kang-ok calls, Ji-yong says he’s not interested in meeting today after all — but he knows Kang-ok has cloned his phone, so he’ll reconsider if Kang-ok sends him a clone of Heon’s phone in exchange. Kang-ok feels the need to ask if Ji-yong plans on killing both Heon and him, but despite Ji-yong’s noncommittal answer, he does as requested.
Meanwhile, Mi-ryeo’s investigation takes her and a fellow reporter to a storage container filled with cryptocurrency servers. Before they can do much poking around, however, they’re discovered, and the other reporter ultimately sacrifices himself so Mi-ryeo can get away. By the time she returns with the police, the container — servers, murdered reporter, and all — has been cleared out.
Fortunately, Mi-ryeo got some footage of the servers. She airs the whole story, linking those servers to the evil, pig-keeping CHAIRMAN KIM SAM-DOO (Yoon Kyung-ho). She and her boss get chewed out for it (Chairman Kim has friends in very high places), but Mi-ryeo isn’t backing down. Not even after an attempted kidnapping and a warning from Heon, who rescues her just in time.
The attempted kidnapper doesn’t have much information to spill, but Heon strong-arms a few names out of him, along with a hideout location. And by “hideout” I really mean “corpse disposal headquarters.” Yep, this is where Chairman Kim keeps his pigs! Heon is, of course, wildly outnumbered, but he quickly takes the henchmen down and then parks himself in a chair to wait for more police to arrive. The next day, news outlet report the discovery and shutdown of a “Vigilante Murder Factory,” home base for the Vigilante — who was actually, according to Heon’s investigative team, an entire organization. Case closed.
Except not, because Ji-yong isn’t pleased to have been written out of the story. So while tracking down and stealing some of Chairman Kim’s top-secret ledgers, he also kills one of Chairman Kim’s minions — a serial rapist — and leaves behind the same bloody message he left at the scene of his first officially publicized Vigilante kill. Mi-ryeo cheers, Kang-ok beams with pride, and Heon seeks Ji-yong out for another, more explicit (and physical) confrontation.
At first, Ji-yong speaks from the shadows, pointing out that the law protects the wrong people (criminals instead of their victims) and asking if it’s wrong of him to save innocent lives by unlawfully punishing repeat offenders. Heon lets him vent, but though he admits he understands Ji-yong’s feelings as a fellow human, his allegiance is to his duty as a police officer — which means he’s obligated to label Ji-yong a traitor for challenging the justice system.
The verbal fight comes to blows, and skilled as Ji-yong may be, he’s no match for Heon’s strength. After beating Ji-yong to the ground, Heon wraps his hands around Ji-yong’s throat and tells him to die… but symbolically. He wants to “kill” the Vigilante here, and for Ji-yong to join him as an officer of the law. Ji-yong, however, stands by what he considers to be his calling. But if Heon can show him that justice exists under the law, he’ll put the Vigilante to rest.
In the aftermath of all this, both Heon and Mi-ryeo are forced to step down from their positions. With some help from Kang-ok (at Ji-yong’s request), Mi-ryeo sets up her own independent news station, “V News,” dedicated to the pursuit of truth at any cost. “We’re all Vigilantes,” she says of anyone who listens and helps bring the truth to light, and adds pointedly that she will never commit suicide — so if she dies, it’s murder.
While preparing to take down his next target, Ji-yong spots Kang-ok stalking him and gives chase. Again, Kang-ok begs to join forces. This time, Ji-yong agrees, but makes him unmask first as a show of good faith. Then they sit down to plan together.
The target this time is fraudulent PASTOR SHIN JONG-UN (Seung Eui-yeol), who handles Chairman Kim’s money to be used for bribing politicians. Ji-yong plans to kill Pastor Shin, inciting attention and outrage, and then follow up with evidence against Chairman Kim himself once it’s too sensational to be swept under the rug. Kang-ok frets that this plan will only get Ji-yong killed, but Ji-yong figures fighting to expose this level of corruption isn’t a bad way to go.
So Ji-yong attacks Pastor Shin in his own sanctuary. Pastor Shin tries to bargain for his life by asking what Ji-yong wants, to which Ji-yong’s reply is simple: “An uprising.” He wants the weak and victimized to see what he’s done and be emboldened to defend themselves.
Kang-ok delivers the evidence Ji-yong gathered about Pastor Shin’s crimes to Mi-ryeo so she can ensure it doesn’t just get buried. But her next broadcast is cut short by none other than Heon, who berates her for making things worse — not to mention endangering herself — for the sake of views and ratings. Mi-ryeo, of course, doesn’t agree about the “making things worse” part, but putting her life in danger is a risk she’s more than willing to make.
Throughout these episodes, Heon has been tracking down the man who killed Mi-ryeo’s fellow reporter. Now, as Heon leaves Mi-ryeo’s office, that man finds him. He’s as quick as Heon is strong — plus he’s got a gigantic strongman of his own — and soon Heon slumps against the wall, bleeding from multiple stab wounds. Just before his assailants finish him off, however, they’re driven away… by Ji-yong.
In the first episode, when Ji-yong killed his mother’s murderer, I wondered who the “big bad” of the series would turn out to be, and now I think we have our answer. Chairman Kim, who has even the president of Police University in his pocket, is the epitome of Ji-yong’s preferred targets: repeat offenders who slither out of consequences while their victims continue to suffer. It’s no wonder everyone from Ji-yong to Mi-ryeo to Heon are ending up uniting against him in their own ways.
And that, interestingly enough, makes Kang-ok the odd man out. Sure, he’s helping Ji-yong plot against Chairman Kim, but I get the impression he’s only doing it for Ji-yong. Whether that’s because he’s more closely linked to Chairman Kim than he lets on or because he simply doesn’t care, I suppose we’ll find out next week.
Still, interesting as Kang-ok is, I’m most invested in the dynamic between Ji-yong and Heon. Heon may feel like both an unstoppable force and an immovable object at times, but Ji-yong’s words seemed to get under his skin, and his frustration — with the corruption in the force, with Ji-yong turning to vigilantism, and perhaps with himself — was palpable. I genuinely hope Ji-yong rescued him in time, because I’d love to see them officially joining forces at last, even (especially?) if it’s from opposite sides of the law.
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