[Drama 2019] Vagabond, 배가본드

[lollyminx]

16 minutes ago, bebebisous33 said:

I have to say that I would like GHR to end up with KTW

Same, not only because Hae Ri and Tae Woong look better together, but also because I want them to avoid the main lead romance stereotype. 

 

Also, I agree with your observations, which is why I'm hoping Ki Tae Woong won't end up as a double agent, or a double, double agent, because there's a lot more that we haven't seen in this series. Although there are some things I don't enjoy in this series, one ting I appreciate is that there are different types of villains here, which is realistic. The prime minister wants a clean name so he cleans up his mess, then there are those who are near the prime minister but may have other agenda. You have different NIS double agents too and then there's John & Mark CEO woman who only wants money, and then Jessica who's an egotistic assassin, the North Korean Unkillable, etc. The pilot and his wife who are in debt. I want to see how all of them are connected and how they figure into the plane crash and the shady deals. These parts are worth watching. I'll just skip the cringey parts lol and cross my fingers that Ki Tae Woong isn't a bad guy. 

 

One more thing, I love the actress playing Hae Ri's NIS bestfriend. Haha she was so adorable in What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and in this series too. 

 

6 minutes ago, katakwasabi said:

This scene was a total facepalm moment. She didn't even have a strategy. She jumped in, whipped out her gun and talked and talked and talked some more.

Haha yes. This was one of the cringey scenes I was talking about. I was like, "Soooooo they're really sending Go Hae Ri ALONE to arrest a HIGH VALUE TARGET? And then Go Hae Ri rushes in and takes out her gun when he was not being a threat? No calling and waiting for backup before the arrest?" 

[katakwasabi]

Just now, lollyminx said:

Same, not only because Hae Ri and Tae Woong look better together, but also because I want them to avoid the main lead romance stereotype. 

 

Also, I agree with your observations, which is why I'm hoping Ki Tae Woong won't end up as a double agent, or a double, double agent, because there's a lot more that we haven't seen in this series. Although there are some things I don't enjoy in this series, one ting I appreciate is that there are different types of villains here, which is realistic. The prime minister wants a clean name so he cleans up his mess, then there are those who are near the prime minister but may have other agenda. You have different NIS double agents too and then there's John & Mark CEO woman who only wants money, and then Jessica who's an egotistic assassin, the North Korean Unkillable, etc. The pilot and his wife who are in debt. I want to see how all of them are connected and how they figure into the plane crash and the shady deals. These parts are worth watching. I'll just skip the cringey parts lol and cross my fingers that Ki Tae Woong isn't a bad guy. 

 

One more thing, I love the actress playing Hae Ri's NIS bestfriend. Haha she was so adorable in What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and in this series too. 

 

 

Ki Tae Woong is a good guy. He might be a double agent but ultimately he's a good guy and not the villain. Why? Because SSR said he's not the villain. Hahaha!

 

Yes to breaking stereotypes! 2nd leads deserve happiness too. But as of ep 6, it looks to me that KTW is used to make the Haeri and Dalgun be together. I mean...Dalgun never interacted with KTW, but suddenly he says KTW looks like a weasel with a temper. He doesn't even know him....... 

 

P/s: you're the one without taste Dalgun. KTW is a catch.

 

[lollyminx]

1 minute ago, katakwasabi said:

Because SSR said he's not the villain. Hahaha!

Hahahaha he really did?  That's a relief then. I'm rooting for him to do the right thing. 

[imgreatgal]

26 minutes ago, bebebisous33 said:

I would like to add another observation. Yoon Han Ki gave CDG some bubble gum in the car and it really looked suspicious. In my opinion, the gum was drugged so that CDG fell asleep later. That way, he wouldn't eat the drugged food. Therefore I suspect that Yoon knew about the plan of the assassination but wanted this mission to fail.

oh so that was it, i was puzzled at why CDG didn't eat the drugged food. I can't believe that GHR was so laxed, i mean if she is an NIS agent she should at least be more cautious even if there were in the safe house and knowing that there is a mole in the NIS. Somehow her actions has me confused beginning with Michael's suicide and in one scene at the embassy in Morocco where she retrieved a recording from a hidden camera. She use her code name Elsa lol  

[katakwasabi]

31 minutes ago, lollyminx said:

Hahahaha he really did?  That's a relief then. I'm rooting for him to do the right thing. 

 

Yep. He said it in post Perfume interview~

 

Snippet (google translate)

He said, “My character in 'Vaga Bond' is a cool and calm friend. As a NIS, he is in a position to obey the country. I am a just person. ”

 

Interview link: https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/382/0000751491

 

So....I choose to believe his words that he's not the villain. Based on his projects selection, I do think he is not the villain in this. Haha

[didi31]

4 hours ago, idless said:

 

Haeri think Tae Woong hates her, as he rejected her call (actually he was tracking the co-pilot's wife). She did asked what can she do to make Tae Woong not dislike her in her drunken stupor at Dalgun's house. At this point, Daegun was someone she could trust (they practically gone through life and death together) and she had just shot/killed a person for the first time, AND finding out her boss is the John & Mark mole AND her crush is lying injured in hospital, she's visibly shaken and needed someone to calm her nerves with (alcohol). 

Tae Woong will be in Morocco, as seen in next week preview. It's been a few months since the accident (in end of epi 6), you can see that the victim family protested that the government is showing no progress in the investigations, and the defense ministry is colluding with John & Mark (means the President did throw the defense ministry under the bus as advised by the Prime Minister). 

 

Despite being NIS agent for 6 years, Haeri have received all the adequate training and she's really good with her gun, as demonstrate in episode 1. However, she lacks the real-life experience as in she never shot/killed a person. It makes a lot of difference shooting a target vs a human being. Her boss relegated her to intelligence work only (else than being a traitor, he never attempted to place real harm on Haeri even when he had the chance to do so on several occasions. Maybe he cared about HIS staffs eg his advice to Haeri to be just mediocre, apologizing to her for being harsh with his words, or he is just chauvinistic thinking Haeri is useless and good for making coffee and reports). I believe as the drama progress, Haeri will improve on her physical skills as she encounter more danger thrown at her/Dalgun. So far, her intelligence is what helped her and Dalgun get out of sticky situation a few times. 

 

Finally, someone understands Go Hae Ri's character!!! Thanks for this!  People criticize this character too much without understanding her or without knowing much about her... I also think that she will become stronger, tougher and more skilled later...

And we will know more about her in the 2nd part of the drama, I mean the director said that the 2nd part of the drama will be about Suzy(GHR)'s story and I look forward to seeing her story. We can be surprised?!!

[Ameera Ali]

 

@lollyminx , @katakwasabi But can anyone tell her to stop scaring  oppa  She scared him for asking him to lie down 

 

[katakwasabi]

Fyi...the ending of ep 6 is not a few months after the accident. But only 49 days after the accident. 

 

I wonder how Taewoong can be healthy enough for field work after his huge ToD crash. And I wonder why on earth is Dalgun with them in Morocco. Was he hired by NIS? But why would NIS want to hire him? He's an informant but logically there's really no need for NIS to bring Dalgun to Morocco. Also how can he afford the trip? I thought he was broke. 

 

@Ameera Ali she can threaten Dalgun all she wants. These two bicker like siblings. Haha! 

 

[Ameera Ali]

 

Quote

@Ameera Ali she can threaten Dalgun all she wants. These two bicker like siblings. Haha! 

 

 

You quite right 

I love how she like to remind him who’s the boss  she never get chance to brag against other 

 

 

 

@bebebisous33 excellent details, make me rewatch again , looking forward for more interesting theory 

[bebebisous33]

@Ameera Ali I have been thinking about GHR. On the one hand, GHR was introduced as a skilled spy (episode 1) and on the other hand she was called a rookie.

Yet she was interviewed on the same year and day than CDG before he became a stuntman. The latter got recruited and became really good as a stuntman. So I can not imagine that withhin the same period GHR would remain a rookie, she must have become really good, just like CDG.

Furthermore at different moments (like f. ex. she recognized the weapon from the roof and could give many info about the weapon or the way she managed not to get caught or the way she replied to director Min with the picture, the way she tried to stop the ambulance, she noticed quite quickly the kidnapping), she showed true abilities. Then at other times, she appeared as a rookie (the way she tried to arrest Min f. ex. or her reaction after shooting the assassin). Her different reactions are quite confusing. Finally, we shouldn't forget that she called someone using the codename Elsa.

I have the impression that GHR is a double agent who infiltrated the NSI... which means that GHR could have been hired officially later that's why she is called a rookie, however she started much earlier. CDG saw her as a rookie as well as she has to maintain her cover. In my opinion, she had a different mission. We heard from GTW that some info had been leaked before, hence this could have been her real mission, discovering the real mastermind and his moles at the NSI. Don't you find it weird that she was sent to Morocco, where there are people working for the terrorist? They knew where the terrorist Jacque/Jerome was hiding, they gave him paper aso. The murder order was given from South Korea (the person was watching the captive and gave the order to kill by calling his minion). So they created a network in Morocco which needed "infiltration".

[an-naum]

Stuntman is tougher than NIS Agent. Why? 

It took one accident to knock down KTW. However, if I was not mistaken, CDG involved in 3 accidents so far (Jerome, Ambulan, the one caused by Jessica) and been attacked so many times, CDG is still standing tough. 

 

I agree with all, the moment Edward Park said, "Lobbying is not about weapon, it is about people", immediately we were thinking both sides is shady. So now, let us guess, who is the good side in this drama? lol

[incoty]

CDG's toughness and inhumane durability has been noted and stated by one of his killers yesterday as well.

 

Spoiler

 

 

@lollyminx Don't do that to yourself. KTW and GHR are not and will not end up together.

 

This was during one of LSG's ASMR vlog's. He was holding the script for Episode 14 in his hands. Nothing is actually spoiled. He was just teasing and building anticipation.

 

Spoiler

29
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Well, recently I’ve finished shooting my new drama Vegabond

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that will go on air in September.

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If you see here...

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(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15)

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There’s a total 15,

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but if we take out the one that we took in Morocco,

35
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there’s 14 books.

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Episodes 15 and 16 weren’t published.

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Because of security issues.

38
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only actors/actresses received the script in print,

39
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so there’s nothing officially published.

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What I did most was reading the script,

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going through it and etc.,

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So...

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Episode 14 contains a lot of spoilers.

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I don’t think the production company will like it if I show it to you.

45
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What’s scene #50?

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Ah....

47
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This is the last scene we took.

48
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There’s not many scenes in which

49
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Ms. Suzy and I have this romantic mood,

50
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Not in the entire drama actually.

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But this scene is one of those few romantic scenes.

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We cheered after taking this last scene.

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And I’ll stop here.

54
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If I go on this might be a huge spoiler.

 

Last (romantic) scene they took. They cheered after taking it. That screams real kiss to me lol.

 

[smiletall]

The story is getting better!

 

I have actually been liking the show as it goes on a lot more than the initial two eps, which were very flashy, but kind of shallow in terms of character substance for me. It's still in the first half of the series, but hopefully, the pace will keep up so the story will not drag too much. There is a lot of ground to cover plot-wise, so there should be minimal lag time really. The main protagonists have a lot of work to do! 

 

In terms of previous comments saying things like the story was too obvious or HR as an agent was too unbelievable in her lack of skills as a field agent, I wanted to share my thoughts. While there are definite plot holes and inconsistencies, I am so far okay with how things are going. Basically most of the things shown in the series trailers/teasers have been shown now in the first 6 eps. And now it feels like the second half of the story is unfolding. Clearly, things are lot more complex and the corruption is more deeply rooted than at first glance. It was no secret that M&J were involved in the terrorist plot of the plane, and that Chief Min was a high suspect for the mole in NIS. Also while it is not certain, it is highly implied that the President is not on the up&up and is corrupt/compromised by those around him. There is still the large Who Dunnit question that looms large (because there is likely a larger lever of power controlling in the shadows), and as this drama is clearly a spy thriller, the large focus should be on unraveling the conspiracy piece by piece as it has been so far. Now that the most obvious pieces are in place (thank goodness they did no drag out Chief Min as the mole. Also who says he is the only one?), how they expose the potential role of the President/his cronies and his corruption, and how they realize the existence of the Bigger Bad will be the daunting task at hand. And we still need to circle back around to the opening scene in the desert with HR and DG. What happens between them?

 

In terms of HR as an agent, I feel like the show has been steadily showing more of her character development and might be a more interesting story arc than even DG, who as a character is very simple and straight forward. Obviously, DG is the central figure of the story, but the more I get to know HR, the more I like her. Yes, she was a mess in the Morocco debacle, but honestly, despite the fact that she was acting as a field agent, it is now obvious that she has no interest/desire to be one. She clearly had no prior experience other than officer training (which is far from actual experience in the field) prior to her Morocco trip. HR did not even go there voluntarily. She  would have preferred to be a paper pusher. She is driven to support her family, and her initial commitment to her career at the NIS is based on financial necessity, not duty to country. But eventually, it's shown that her conscience prevails and she cannot just standby and watch injustice prevail. Her character could have been written a lot more consistently, but I feel like it's unfair to expect HR to be a super skilled and wholly competent field agent/fighter in all aspects right off the bat. The show has so far just shown that she generally can defend herself when necessary and that she's intelligent. In interviews, Suzy even points out that her character has an arc in which she grows as an agent. So this is all expected. I think it's fine that she shows moments of promise and moments of lacking within the story point at the moment. What I do have a problem is with the fact that the writers tended to utilize her shortcomings as simply a means for comic relief with an odd sense of comedic timing. Like there is a time and a place, and especially in the first 2-4 eps, the timing sometimes felt a bit off and jilted. There are also a lot of scenes written in a way to enable the plot to move along. If HR had caught Chief Min, not only would I have been impressed that she was able to overpower a man twice her size under a clearly rattled mental state (within a couple hours, she had learned her direct supervisor was a traitor that had tried to kill DG, which lead to her killing a man for the first time, and her colleagues had just been attacked), but then he wouldn't have gotten away for whatever the writers have in mind for his character to do/fight/whatever. 

 

And in fact, I sometimes feel that HR is actually a more believable and realistic character than DG. Sure, it's much easier to root for DG because they give LSG an overload of cool stunt and fight scenes. But really, how is a normal person, even if he is a trained stuntman, able to fight trained assassins and survive like THREE severe car accidents like it's nothing. But TW cannot make it out of ONE fully conscious? What??! There are comparisons to Jason Bourne and the Bourne Identity series, but Jason Bourne was a highly trained CIA assassin himself!  I understand in order to keep up the tension and action, the characters must be under attack constantly, but there is actually very minimal sense of danger for DG's life at this moment for me. For one thing, we know he's alive until we reach the opening scene of the series, and for another, he apparently is absolutely indestructible, much to even the annoyance of now two hired assassins lol. Also how is he so calm just carrying a dead body? Like clearly HR was shook that she had to actually kill someone out of defense, but DG was pretty unfazed. He should really consider a career change after all this is over. lol. 

 

Overall, while there are sometimes points where it is lacking, this drama has definitely been entertaining so far. The pacing of the lighter beats were also a bit more balanced in ep 5-6. And importantly, the growing relationship between DG and HR is so sweet to watch, particularly when everything else seems to be going wrong around them. The way you can see a growing sense of respect and camaraderie between the two of them is so satisfying. And you can clearly see why DG is starting to fall for HR: during moments where DG begins to feel despair over Hoon, HR is somehow there to help him through or keep him company in some way. The drunk kiss scenes were also so cute. TW and DG were affected in very different ways. lol. This story is definitely tilting DGxHR in terms of couple ships, but I cannot wait to see TW reluctantly pine over HR (though I can bet, it will be too late). TW might realize his feelings for HR when he sees she is actually a good and worthy agent, but it's DG who actually pushed her to be better in the first place, so there is only one way things can play out in terms of the romance department in my eyes. Just keeping my fingers crossed for a couple good romantic scenes and kisses. And yes, that's plural for kisseS. I don't want the only real kiss to be at the very end. I mean, it's 2019. I  don't even ask for heavy emphasis on the romance. But I think we all can handle an action drama with some good romance sprinkled that is not at glacial pace thankyouverymuch. 

[katakwasabi]

I enjoyed this show and had fun. But ep 6 happened and I'm starting to pull my hair. The ineptness is just aggravating. The drunk scene was overplayed. Slow burn romance all they want but what did that drunk scene highlight? What did it showcase? Haeri's low alcohol tolerance? Her drunk kissing habit? It was okay the first time, it was a mistake, but even KTW wanted to fire her. In real life that is sexual harrassment. Being drunk does not make her actions okay. Being cute does not make it okay. And she repeated it with Dalgun! Gosh! Control your alcohol consumption! Unfortunately I don't see her drunk Dalgun scene has any character depth. It would have been better if she ranted about her day, how she killed someone, how she let Mr Mole get away and Dalgun was there to comfort her. That would be more believable. That would have gave us character development and a true OTP moment instead of drunk scene. Sigh.

 

Hae Ri not having field experience is one thing...but she could have shown more intelligence and think before she acts. As an agent she was trained for situations, but what she did in ep 6 just highlighted how inept she is. She had no strategy whatsoever. It's fine if Mr Mole got away for whatever future plot there is, but at least make Hae Ri more intelligent in the scene. She was rambling and totally unprepared..... 

 

37 minutes ago, smiletall said:

This story is definitely tilting DGxHR in terms of couple ships, but I cannot wait to see TW reluctantly pine over HR (though I can bet, it will be too late). 

 

I was shipping for fun and I'm fine with my Rock Candy aka Taewoong Haeri ship sinking...it is the fate of a supporting character . But I will never be fine if they make Taewoong go cray2 and pine for Haeri's affection...it goes against his character so far. I rather KTW be indifferent about Haeri's crush on him, makes more sense characterwise. But I'm all in if they decide to make Hae Ri more capable and pair her with Taewoong. Secret office romance. Wohooo. Hahahahaha!

 

 

 

 

[cherriesblue]

Btw where can i watch the preview for thr next episode? Netflix doesn't have it.  Thanks in advance!

[cadymcbronzie]

@cherriesblue, here you go

 

[7th preview]
A task force leads by Kang Joo Chul is secretly formed in the NIS.
When the task force found a burner phone that Sang Mi used to speak to Wooki, they realize that Wooki is hiding in a slum in Morocco.
Task force immediately head to Morocco to catch Wooki, and Dalgun secretly follows the task force to Morocco...

 

 

[katakwasabi]

Ki Tae Woong appreciation post 

 

So tall~~~

 

 

 

[imgreatgal]

10 hours ago, katakwasabi said:

I enjoyed this show and had fun. But ep 6 happened and I'm starting to pull my hair. The ineptness is just aggravating. The drunk scene was overplayed. Slow burn romance all they want but what did that drunk scene highlight? What did it showcase? Haeri's low alcohol tolerance? Her drunk kissing habit? It was okay the first time, it was a mistake, but even KTW wanted to fire her. In real life that is sexual harrassment. Being drunk does not make her actions okay. Being cute does not make it okay. And she repeated it with Dalgun! Gosh! Control your alcohol consumption! Unfortunately I don't see her drunk Dalgun scene has any character depth. It would have been better if she ranted about her day, how she killed someone, how she let Mr Mole get away and Dalgun was there to comfort her. That would be more believable. That would have gave us character development and a true OTP moment instead of drunk scene. Sigh.

ha ha ditto. After 5 episodes i really wanted to believe that GHR is infact a double agent and she has been putting on an act to confuse people around her but now i'm almost convince she is something of an airhead. 

 

18 hours ago, lollyminx said:

Haha yes. This was one of the cringey scenes I was talking about. I was like, "Soooooo they're really sending Go Hae Ri ALONE to arrest a HIGH VALUE TARGET? And then Go Hae Ri rushes in and takes out her gun when he was not being a threat? No calling and waiting for backup before the arrest?" 

After HR shot that guy at the safe house she was obviously shaking and all. I believe Dir Kang knew she would fail to arrest him that's why he sent in HR to do the job when he can actually call hq for back up. 

[katakwasabi]

1 hour ago, imgreatgal said:

ha ha ditto. After 5 episodes i really wanted to believe that GHR is infact a double agent and she has been putting on an act to confuse people around her but now i'm almost convince she is something of an airhead. 

 

After HR shot that guy at the safe house she was obviously shaking and all. I believe Dir Kang knew she would fail to arrest him that's why he sent in HR to do the job when he can actually call hq for back up. 

 

Oh....that's an interesting theory. Dir. Kang is evil mastermind!! I can take that. That makes Haeri more tolerable. Haha.

 

Maybe both Haeri and Dir Kang are evil and just playing with everyone in NIS. *theory running wild*

 

Whatever happens...I hope Ki Tae Woong remains on the right path. 

 

See...SBS shared pics with this caption (google trans)

https://m.programs.sbs.co.kr/drama/vagabond/visualboard/60783/?cmd=view&page=1&board_no=418461

 

Hahahaha! 

[Seoulmemories]

 

@bebebisous33 recap of the early ep is amazing. Yes come to think about it Edward Park seems remarkably calm as the rep of the company who is losing the bid for the government's fighter jet purchase.

 

Yes, everyone besides Haeri and CDG seems to have double roles and there are really no one to trust except 

 

@incoty may I know where can I view that Lee Seung Gi Vlog? Now that I look at that later kiss photo, it seems to be a setting in the hospital and on Haeri side is a wheelchair? and DG side is a walking aid? Now that's getting interesting. 

 

@smiletall Such a lovely long post you wrote. Yes they did mentioned the second part of the show will have more of Haeri, I mean there are only that many car crashes they can do. We seems to have one every ep and sometimes I got a feeling the director has a fetish for flipping cars. 

 

Yes DG seems indestructible, someone mentioned his stab wound in the leg, right they just conveniently ignore it. 

 

Still, the show is really entertaining for me this far. The director is good with editing, his previous work Romantic Doctor Kim was a breezy drama too. I hope by now, with the ratings and viewer's feedback, they will know what the viewers prefer and finetune the scenes editing for the other eps.