Summary
Episode 4 lays its claim to being the best original k-drama in the current schedule as it notches up the gears and brings us serious action and drama — there’s a real war going on.
This recap of Netflix k-drama series Vincenzo episode 4 contains significant spoilers.
We’ve almost felt that Vincenzo has softened since he left Italy — there was a hint that becoming accustomed to Korea had made him into a softer lawyer. But you can’t change the cloth of the mafia, and episode 4 proves so. Especially after the last chapter, Vincenzo means business.
The beginning of Vincenzo episode 4 deals with the aftermath of the truck attack on Hong Yu-chan and Vincenzo. Cha-young heads over to the carnage to see what’s happened, and her world suddenly stands still; her father lays before her, dead. She never had the chance to make amends with him before her father was killed; as Vincenzo warned — regret is the worst thing in the world. The truck incident was seen as an accident, and the media has stated he was bribing witnesses; his life ends in a bad light — the story has been skewed. Meanwhile, Vincenzo, who survived the attack, is in hospital, while the drug (RDU-90) for Babel Pharmaceuticals is approved. Choi Myung-hee is praised for her work on the approval. Hong Yu-chan’s law firm is closed — it’s a sombre start, but it sparks to what’s to come.
Paying respects
Episode 4 allows Cha-young and Vincenzo to form an allegiance with the death of Yu-chan, and they get their eventually, albeit it is painful at first.
Cha-young checks up on Vincenzo in the hospital, and he suddenly gets out of bed, and he’s ready to take on the day. He pays his respects at Hong Yu-chan’s grave. Vincenzo tells Cha-young that she was enemies with her father two weeks ago, and changing her approach now will not bring him back. His comments dumbfound her. On the way home, she hears on the radio about the researcher Yu Min-chul who has been found dead — the media are reporting it on suicide due to stress. She rings Detective Gu straight away.
The residents question their trust in Vincenzo
Vincenzo heads to the plaza, and the residents are eager to talk about their case, but he wants to rest. They are restless, claiming they put their trust in him. He calls them all rude for not trusting him and always complaining when he provides a free service. He walks off and says they should look for another lawyer if he cannot be trusted. The CEO of Babel Park Seok-do turns up to talk compensation; after a bit of back and forth, Vincenzo walks away. His near-death experience clearly impacts him, and he needs to absorb it.
Cha-young resigns
With her father dead, we are now experiencing a more fiery Cha-young in Vincenzo episode 4.
Cha-young hands in her resignation to Mr Han; she doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that Yu Min-chul and her father died at the same time. Choi Myung-hee wonders if she planned to double-cross them, but it backfired, and the women laugh at each other. As Cha-young walks out, Choi Myung-hee tells her to “know her place”. Cha-young thanks her for the motivation. You get the feeling that Choi Myung-hee will regret starting a war with Cha-young eventually. It’s going to get deadly.
A threat sent to Chairman Jang
When Chairman Jang returns to his home, there’s a bloody mess on his bed — it’s a threat — it’s very Godfather-esque and clearly planted by Vincenzo. Choi Myung-hee and Mr Han wonder who could have done it and how they got access. They suspect it was Cha-young. Chairman Jang asks for her to be put behind bars instantly. Meanwhile, Cha-young heads to the plaza and reopens her father’s law firm and tells the other residents that she will be carrying on with the work. But then, she is suddenly arrested for trespassing and blackmail. Eventually, Cha-cha’s former assistant arrives to help her out, and then Vincenzo makes an appearance with the final alibi to prove that she couldn’t have accessed Chairman Jang’s residence.
Vincenzo and Cha-young have a coffee
Once they leave the police station, Cha-young suspects that Vincenzo left the threat, which is why he felt guilty and helped her out. The pair go for coffee. Cha-young tells him he is the best at feigning ignorance. Vincenzo apologises for the inconvenience and admits he was furious, accepting he left the surprise for Chairman Jang. He tells her about Yu Min-chul but cannot prove that both men were killed — he tells Cha-young it’s a hopeless war against Wusang and Babel and that she must find a new opportunity. But you get the sense that Vincenzo feels it’s a hopeless war if they do it the “right” way — the way Yu-chan wasn’t preparing to do — he was all about justice.
And finally, after four episodes, we get these two characters together for the same objective…
The next day, Cha-young shows Vincenzo previous cases she’s won in the estate law under Wusang’s nose and offers to help save the plaza; she senses that Vincenzo secretly owns it and wants in on whatever scheme he’s involved in. Vincenzo agrees, but only if she promises to quit if she becomes a hindrance.
Meeting the man responsible for Hong Yu-chan’s death
First port of call – who was responsible for Yu-chan and Min-chul? Both of our lead characters are desperate for the truth.
Vincenzo and Cha-young meet the man (Mr Lee) who drove the truck into Hong Yu-chan in prison, and they demand to know who ordered the kill. He says it’s a man named Mr Pyo, but he doesn’t know his full name. He explains that Mr Pyo promised to reduce his sentence if he drove his truck at Hong Yu-chan. Cha-young is understandably emotional and doesn’t want to leave empty-handed. Vincenzo suddenly shouts and thanks Mr Lee for his cooperation. A correctional officer walks in, and Mr Lee panics, knowing that those he’s worked with will punish him for giving away information. Late into the night, Mr Lee is beaten by a group of inmates — he’s stabbed to death.
Despite the death of Mr Lee, Cha-young doesn’t feel good and wants to carry on — she asks Vincenzo for a promise; to do whatever it takes, but not at the expense of people’s lives. Suddenly, Vincenzo gets the full name of Mr Pyo — Pyo Hyeok-pil.
Kidnapping Pyo Hyeok-pil
Vincenzo and Cha-young (with a handy resident sidekick) manage to find Pyo Hyeok-pil and kidnap him and one of his men. Vincenzo leads the interrogation, and he and Cha-young make threats. He uses his guns and shoots his gun as a scare tactic. The question is — who ordered them to kill Yu Min-chul and Hong Yu-chan? Vincenzo then points his gun squarely at the man’s head, and Cha-young panics, but he shoots one of them in the chest. Cha-young is dismayed, believing they agreed not to kill anyone. Vincenzo points the gun at the other man, and at this stage, we assumed he had pulled the trigger and gone completely rogue.
Negotiating with Choi Myung-hee
We then see the true extent of Vincenzo’s tactics in episode 4 as he goes full offensive.
While Choi Myung-hee is doing laundry, she’s left with a basket of bloody clothes, and she’s sent photos of one of her men looking in a bad way. Suddenly, the launderette lights go out, and she begins to panic. Vincenzo rings her and taunts the lawyer. Down the road is a truck flashing its lights on her the laundrette. According to information that Vincenzo and Cha-young gathered, she ordered Hong Yu-chan and Yu Min-chul to be killed. As the truck is about to hit the launderette, it stops. Vincenzo tells Choi Myung-hee to come clean to respect those who have been killed. Choi Myung-hee doesn’t seem to want to, but Vincenzo explains that freedom comes with a price.
The ending
And the end of episode 4 is equally as high-octane as all the scenes before it, and there’s a further twist.
Vincenzo takes it a step further; with a team, he infiltrates the pharmaceutical lab for Babel, pretending to be deep cleaners, and they set it on fire. The entire establishment blows up as the fire reaches explosive chemicals. It turns out that both men Vincenzo and Cha-young captured are alive, and Vincenzo fooled them into getting answers, including access to the lab. As part of their infiltration, they turned off the fire safety system. As the episode ends, it’s revealed that Cha-young’s former assistant is Chairman Jang’s boss. I’ll promise to get his name for the next episode as I was sure he wasn’t relevant until this point.
Vincenzo episode 4 lays its stake as the best original k-drama in the current schedule as it notches up the gears and brings us serious action and drama — there’s a real war going on.
