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Vagabond: Episode 7

The NIS finally realizes that there’s only one person who can tell them exactly what happened during the B357 crash, so they head back to Morocco to find him. He’s not making it easy, and unfortunately, the only person on the team who’s willing to bend the rules and find him is the one person they refuse to listen to. Our hero isn’t so stupid, though, and he knows that if he’s going to solve this mystery and get justice for his nephew, he’s going to have to convince her to work with him.

 
EPISODE 7 RECAP

As the 49-day memorial for the victims of the crash becomes a protest by the survivors begging President Jung to keep his promise to find out what really caused the crash, MP (of the National Defense Ministry) holds a press conference regarding the F-X Plan’s decision to recommend purchasing their new fighter planes from John & Mark.

From his hospital bed, Tae-woong watches Kwang-deok on the news saying that the victims’ families don’t want compensation, they just want to know why their loves ones died. President Jung and Prime Minister Hong watch the press conference, then attend a meeting of his closest advisers and representatives from the media.

President Jung says he feels like he’s being asked if he loves his mother or his father more, as he tries to decide whether to buy the less expensive planes from Dynamic, who built the B357 plane, or listen to the people and buy the much more costly John & Mark planes. Supporters of both sides are protesting, so Prime Minister Hong suggests that President Jung make a decision quickly before things get worse.

Over lunch. Prime Minister Hong is sure that the public will support their choice of John & Mark now, but he says that if they don’t, they can always throw MP under the bus. In the hall, Secretary Yoon listens to their conversation and rolls his eyes as he eats his humble apple.

After the memorial, Kwang-deok stops the car at a light and Dal-geon thinks he sees Reporter Jo (who he thought was dead). Dal-geon runs through traffic, but he loses sight of the man. A hand clamps down on his shoulder, and he turns to see Chief Park.

They go to Chief Park’s office at Dynamic, and Chief Park says that he’s inclined to believe Dal-geon’s story simply because it comes from him. He offers to look into Reporter Jo, instead of assuming it’s nothing and making the same mistake they made in Morocco.

Dal-geon goes for drinks with Kwang-deok, who says that trauma might have made Dal-geon think he saw Reporter Jo. He wonders tearfully if time really does heal all wounds, but then he cries harder, feeling guilty for thinking about moving on when his wife died so tragically. Dal-geon doesn’t comment, but he roughly wipes away his own tears.

Hwa-sook notices Hae-ri fiddling with her phone and tells her to just call Tae-woong if she wants to talk to him so badly. But Hae-ri’s annoyance is because Dal-geon hasn’t called her since the night she passed out drunk at his place, and she’s worried she did something wrong.

Dal-geon had made a nice breakfast the following morning and insisted that Hae-ri stay and eat. He’d grumbled that she had eye boogers, so Hae-ri had wiped her eyes and asked if they were clear. Dal-geon had been flustered by the direct eye contact, making Hae-ri feel that she must have done something embarrassing the night before.

The Unkillables are camped out in the woods, and one of them tells Do-su’s second that he doesn’t trust Chief Min to make them real NIS agents. Second gets angry and threatens to kill any of them who speak so ungratefully about the man who saved them after Chief Kang abandoned them.

He heads to a storage container where they have Oh Sang-mi locked up. He orders her to tell him where her husband, co-pilot Kim Woo-gi is, but she sticks to her story that she doesn’t know. He storms out and gets a red-hot poker from the fire, then goes back and teaches Sang-mi a lesson.

Hae-ri anonymously receives photos of Jessica looking very tight with with the F-X Plan members. She takes them to Chief Kang, who orders an arrest warrant issued for Jessica, but his request is denied.

In a meeting with the NIS directors, Chief Kang is blamed for Oh Sang-mi’s capture and the fact that they haven’t found Kim Woo-gi. It’s suggested that Chief Kang be taken off the case, but Director General Ahn refuses. He instructs Chief Choi and Chief Park to find Chief Min and Oh Sang-mi, respectively, giving them a week to locate their targets or they’re fired.

Chief Choi just happens to be Chief Min’s mole — he calls Chief Min and tells him that he’s been ordered to catch him. Chief Min just tells him to hang in there until the tables turn.

Jessica is angry that Chief Min has made such a mess, since it’s all over for John & Mark if Kim Woo-gi is found. Lawyer Han wants to ask Shadow for help (wait, I thought Chief Min was Shadow?).

Chief Kang tells Director General Ahn that there’s a second mole in the NIS. Director General Ahn gives him permission to set up an office for his task force outside the main building, and to work in secret from now on.

Later, Hae-ri drives Tae-woong to the outside task force location, and when they get inside, Director General Ahn asks why Tae-woong is on crutches. Tae-woong hands them to Hae-ri saying that he’s fine. As soon as Director General Ahn leaves, Tae-woong wilts, but he refuses to take the crutches back. Chief Kang gives Tae-woong a briefcase full of vials of strong painkillers, knowing that he’s nowhere near healed and in a lot of pain.

When Kim Woo-gi eventually turns on his phone, the task force swings into action. They locate him in a slum district in Morocco, but they can’t pinpoint his exact coordinates because it’s a technologically depressed area. The only way to find him is to send someone there in person with their locating equipment and wait for him to turn on his phone.

Chief Kang okays the plan, but Tae-woong objects to having Hae-ri on his team despite her familiarity with Morocco. Chief Kang overrides him and HAHA, Tae-woong’s face.

Hwa-sook is worried to send Hae-ri back to Morocco and reminds her that her success there was due in large part to Dal-geon. Hae-ri grouches that all Dal-geon did was fight, and she vows to make sure Tae-woong sees her value. HW realizes that Hae-ri hasn’t heard from Dal-geon in a while, but Hae-ri says she’s fine.

She still tries to call Dal-geon again when she’s alone. When he doesn’t answer she calls Kwang-deok, who’s with Dal-geon, and offers to get him. But Hae-ri says that she just wanted to know that Dal-geon is okay and asks Kwang-deok not to tell him she called.

PWAHAHA, Hae-ri soon shows up at the dojo where Kwang-deok and Dal-geon were sparring, and the guys walk out of the dressing room and right into her. Dal-geon takes one look at Hae-ri and flees, so Hae-ri tells Kwang-deok that she was hoping to increase her judo skills. Kwang-deok develops a sudden and convenient back sprain, leaving Dal-geon to teach Hae-ri.

He seems flustered all over again at how cute she looks in her gi, and since Hae-ri already knows the basics, they start with a more advanced move. Hae-ri grabs Dal-geon’s collar, yanks him in close, and whispers that they found Kim Woo-gi in Morocco and an arrest warrant will be issued for Jessica.

Dal-geon stares at Hae-ri, who flashes an angelic smile at very close quarters and throws him entirely off his game. He turns away, then pretends he meant to do that in order to practice a different judo move. He realizes he’s made it worse for himself when Hae-ri throws her arms around him, putting him in a headlock.

He recovers and tosses her over his head, then goes right back to being incredibly awkward. Hae-ri snaps at him to knock it off, demanding that he tell her what she did wrong that night at his place. Dal-geon just says she didn’t do anything wrong and ends the lesson, but as he watches her spar with a dummy, he remembers her drunken kiss and his eyes go all soft.

On the flight to Morocco, Hae-ri finds Dal-geon lurking in coach behind a newspaper and freaks out, worried that he’ll mess up the operation. He promises to stay out of the way and makes her promise to answer his calls, and she relents when he says that sitting home doing nothing is making him crazy.

When they land in Morocco, Tae-woong takes Hae-ri to the police station first. Hae-ri sneaks her phone from her pocket and texts Dal-geon, who’s following the NIS vehicles in a taxi. At the station, Hae-ri translates to Tae-woong that the request for police cooperation was made but hasn’t been approved yet.

After they leave, the detective calls Jessica and reassures her that they won’t be cooperating with the NIS agents. Jessica has enough connections to offer the detective a promotion to chief to ensure that the NIS doesn’t find Kim Woo-gi before her people do.

After hanging up, Jessica asks Chief Min when he’s leaving, and he gives a vague non-answer. Frustrated, Jessica tells Lawyer Han to call Shadow, but Shadow’s phone is turned off. Chief Min smirks that his people made mistakes but they’ll still deliver in the end.

Co-pilot Kim shivers in his filthy little hovel until someone brings him some groceries. It’s not the food he wants, but the drugs that are also delivered, and he pays the kid who brought his supplies after he gets a good hit and orders him to go buy bottled water.

Now that he’s calm, Co-pilot Kim gets online, where he sees two alarming headlines — that his wife has gone missing, and that the B357 crash is suspected of being a terrorist attack.

He reads the article about Oh Sang-mi and panics when he sees that her burner phone went missing. He smashes his phone to pieces, and nearby, the NIS tracking equipment loses the signal they were following. Hae-ri notices that Oh Sang-mi’s disappearance is in the news, which explains the lost signal, but not the missing police backup.

Tae-woong comes up with a new plan to divide the area into sections watched by two operatives. Since the water in this area makes non-locals sick, he guesses that Kim Woo-gi will be buying bottled water, which gives them something to ask shop owners about.

Hae-ri is the only one not given an assignment, and when she asks, Tae-woong puts her in charge of shopping and cooking for the agents (Grrrr). He says her role is critical to the success of the mission, but Hae-ri refuses to be a glorified errands girl. In front of everyone, she tells Tae-woong that he’s not giving her a chance, but he counters that overzealous, inexperienced agents like her die in the field.

She relents and goes shopping, and she realizes that she’s being followed around the store by a masked man. She points a carrot at him menacingly (to be fair, that’s a massive carrot), but it’s only Dal-geon, so Hae-ri fibs that shopping is just a cover as she looks for someone buying bottled water.

She preen when Dal-geon complains that she’s too good for this “assignment,” since she’s the one who discovered that the plane crash was a terrorist attack, and calls her the best special agent in the NIS. He asks her to work with him instead, and she grumbles that he was just buttering her up.

She turns to go, ramming her cart right into the guy that Kim Woo-gi paid to buy his water. But Dal-geon and Hae-ri are too busy bickering to notice, so the guy gets away.

While Jessica is on the phone with her detective contact in Morocco, NIS agents burst into her office led by Chief Kang, who has a search and seizure warrant. Jessica warns Chief Kang that he’s making a huge mistake, but he just says he’s going to make another one, and he arrests her without a warrant for suspicions regarding the B357 crash.

Lawyer Han tells Jessica to hang in there for forty-eight hours, because if the NIS can’t prove their accusation in that time, they can’t get an arrest warrant. After she’s taken away he makes a call to someone whose response to the news frustrates him, so he tells them to make their decision wisely because, worst case scenario, they die.

Jessica is surprised to see Edward Park in the interrogation room. He says he’s there as a witness, but he assures her that he hasn’t told the NIS that they used to sleep together. Jessica notes that Chief Park has changed and handles his business cleanly, and he retorts that she’s different too — she didn’t used to be so cruel.

Chief Park tells Jessica that he didn’t teach her to do things like crashing that plane, and she actually musters up tears as she denies having anything to do with the crash. Chief Park remembers another time when Jessica was handcuffed in Ecuador, and Jessica snarls that he’ll be handcuffed soon, too.

Of course, Chief Min and Hwa-sook are watching from behind the one-way mirror, and after four hours, Hwa-sook asks when Chief Min is going to question Jessica. He says he’s going to let her cool her heels for forty hours, then question her for four hours.

The task force has been in Morocco for six days now, but there’s still no sign of Kim Woo-gi. Hae-ri watches worriedly as Tae-woong administers Chief Kang’s painkillers to himself, but she doesn’t say anything. Meanwhile Kim Woo-gi is stuck in his tiny room and running out of water, and Tae-woong predicts that he’ll get desperate and show himself soon.

Dal-geon poses as a homeless man to keep an eye on the streets, and Hae-ri brings him food occasionally. He asks when the local police will start helping out, and he tries to convince her again to team up with him and search door-to-door. Hae-ri says that the locals won’t open their doors for them, but Dal-geon mutters that he doesn’t need them to.

That night, Dal-geon dreams of Hoon fussing at him like he always used to do. He grabs Hoon and hugs him tightly, apologizing over and over, until dream Hoon struggles out of his arms and leaves him alone again.

He calls Hae-ri, and although she doesn’t pick up the call, she hears his voice asking, “Help me, Go Hae-ri.” She figures she’s really losing it until she realizes that he’s standing on her balcony, looking exhausted and sad. He’s convinced that Hae-ri is the only one who can catch Kim Woo-gi, though he can’t explain why.

Hae-ri admits that she’s not really a special agent, and the only reason she was allowed to come on this mission was because she made a fuss. But Dal-geon says with complete sincerity that to him, she’s the bravest, most righteous and competent agent in the NIS. He tells her that the others are all wrong about her, even herself.

The next morning, Tae-woong holds a meeting, having finally figured out that the local police are purposely delaying their investigation. Hae-ri guesses that Kim Woo-gi hired someone to buy him water since they haven’t seen him, and she suggests they ask the locals, but Tae-woong cuts her off and tells her to stick to her orders.

After the meeting disperses, Se-hoon hangs back to urge Hae-ri not to get discouraged. She asks him for a schedule of their drone sweeps, ostensibly for study purposes, then she calls Dal-geon to warn him that they’re increasing their drone activity and not to get caught.

While out shopping, Hae-ri takes to the rooftops to scout the nearby buildings with infrared binoculars, guiding Dal-geon to rooms that appear to house solitary males. She gets called back to the base by the hungry team members, and she worries when Dal-geon continues his search without her help.

Unfortunately, one of the NIS drones catches Dal-geon hopping across the roofs, and his behavior is suspicious enough that Tae-woong goes after him. Hae-ri returns minutes later and freaks out when she’s shown the video, and at the same time, Dal-geon leaps from one rooftop to another until he finds himself face-to-face with a drone.

Hae-ri calls Dal-geon and says that they must have changed the drone’s patrol schedule. Dal-geon looks around for a place to hide, and he notices that one balcony nearby has a mountain of empty water bottles. He says he’s going to see if Kim Woo-gi is hiding there, and he tells Hae-ri to play dumb if he’s caught by Tae-woong.

The local cops have caught the guy who’s been bringing food, water, and drugs to Kim Woo-gi, so while Dal-geon is sneaking into the room from above, the cops are downstairs ordering the building owner to let them inside. The room appears empty so Dal-geon searches for evidence of the occupant, but his lowered guard allows Co-pilot Kim to sneak up and put a gun to his head.

Dal-geon recognizes Kim Woo-gi’s reflection in the cabinet glass. He lets his mask slip and turns to show his face, asking, “Can we speak in Korean, Kim Woo-gi?”

 
COMMENTS

We continue to move along quickly in the plot, so quickly that sometimes I forget what happened in which episode. But at the same time, I appreciate that Dal-geon and Hae-ri’s relationship is evolving relatively slowly, from antagonists who barely tolerate each other, to reluctant friends, and now to partners who rely on each other. I don’t think they’re on the same page romantically, especially with Hae-ri’s lingering (but hopefully, soon-to-be-discarded) crush on Tae-woong. Dal-geon knows he’s attracted to Hae-ri, but he thinks that she doesn’t return his feelings and as a result, he doesn’t impose himself on her in that way. It’s refreshing to see that in a drama, and while I would still enjoy Vagabond without a loveline at all, if we have to have one, I’m glad it’s a slow burn without any of the usual annoying tropes (and if it makes Dal-geon smile that crinkly, dimpled smile some more, then bring on the romance).

I have to be honest – I don’t really like Tae-woong much as a character. I find him abrasive and closed-minded, sexist towards Hae-ri, and a truly terrible leader for reasons I’ll get into in a minute. But I’m starting to relax my suspicions of Tae-woong as secretly eeevil or a mole, because he really hasn’t done anything suspicious other than look foreboding. He just has a too-rigid adherence to the letter of the law and a disturbing inability to adapt to fluid situations, which is where I think he’s going to run into trouble in a job like his. On a personal level, at first I thought it was funny how exasperated Tae-woong gets by Hae-ri, and he’s not wrong that she has the best of intentions but doesn’t have the experience to know when to get out of her own way. Tae-woong’s eyerolls and exasperated expressions in response to Hae-ri are hilarious… when taken out of context. But even if his motivations behind disallowing her to put herself in danger are well-intentioned, he’s still being a giant jerk about it. The way he holds meetings without her and dismisses her input are infuriating.

I haven’t had much of an opinion on Hae-ri one way or another until now. She’s certainly earnest and dedicated to doing a good job, and she did find the proof that the plane crash was a terrorist attack, but Tae-woong is right that she’s inexperienced and overzealous. If that’s true, though, then why was she sent to Morocco as a spy in the first place? I have a feeling it was to get her out of the way, but if an agent is that dangerous to themselves, wouldn’t you send them with a partner to learn from? And Hae-ri does make mistakes, but her intelligence and enthusiasm just need tempering for her to be a great agent, and a competent supervisor would see that. So it made me furious when she was relegated to glorified cook and housekeeper to the point that she’s deliberately left out of team meetings in Morocco. A good, strong leader is defined by their ability to minimize their team’s weaknesses and use their strengths, and Tae-woong is a bad leader because instead of recognizing Hae-ri’s ability to see a situation from different angles and come up with creative solutions, he just sends her to the kitchen and keeps doing what’s not working. It’s not only dismissive, it’s sexist and ageist, and it’s going to get them all in a lot of hot water.

So it’s not surprising that Hae-ri isn’t sure what to do with Dal-geon and his unwavering faith in her abilities. All she’s ever been told at the NIS is that she’s not smart enough, not experienced enough, and only useful for shopping and cooking (and ooooh, that just makes me so furious). But Dal-geon sees what she’s capable of and he’s not worried about her weaker points, because those are his strong points. He needs her, and he’s not too proud to tell her so. He’s the brawn, and she’s the brain, and he’s absolutely right that they make a good team… Dal-geon can do all the physical work and let Hae-ri do the sleuthing. I think that Hae-ri eventually sided with him in large part because he’s the only person who’s ever believed in her, but even though it’s an emotional decision on her part, I also think it was the right decision (of course in real life this would be a HUGE no-no, but as I said last week, I’m viewing this show as pure fantasy from here on out).

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I lamented why did they had to make KTW dislikeable in ep 7 when it aired. But now that I've seen ep 8 to ep 10, I have a different opinion for how KTW was in ep 7....he just doesn't trust Haeri at all. Swap Haeri with a guy, he still wouldn't trust the character. Hamster also said he got the same treatment from KTW when he started, so it's more than just about gender discrimination.

Haeri suddenly blurted she has constipation in front of an unsuspecting KTW, if anything maybe Haeri is sexist and sees KTW as a man compared to a gender-neutral superior/colleague. Hohoho

As of this episode Haeri hasn't shown even a bit of professionalism in front of him.. She dresses like she's going shopping. She tattle tales about missions to a civilian. She has no respect for rules and breaks them left and right. Change KTW to a woman, and that lady boss would have treated Haeri the same way.

Of course KTW should have given her the chance to fit in...but looking at it as a whole, he didn't trust her from the beginning, he was forced to bring her along...why would he want to give her a task? He's not a great leader in that sense and it does make him a tad bit petty...but looking at how flamboyant and disrespectful of rules Haeri is, I can't blame him much for putting his guard way up.

Also I think Dalgun praises to Haeri are for his own benefit as of ep 7, he praises her to the moon and wants something back in return. Hahaha!

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And....I was somehow expecting KTW to end up a druggie since he's surviving by injecting superdrug in his veins. It is a miracle that he's not addicted and is still functioning. Kekekeke

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Sums it up.
She's so incompetent and unprofessional.

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I agree with you on every count. The most ridiculous part was thst he brought her along on the mission TO BUY TAKEAWAY MEALS FOR THEM. Even me, a non-spy knows how much it costs to send an someone to a foreign country. The plane fares alone will kill you. Spending all that money on plane fares, food, lodgings, transport will amount to a lot. It doesn't justify spending that sum of money just for her to tag along. You bring an agent because you expect her to work. Because you know she can work. You don't bring someone because she's someone you like secretly - um, my secret wish here, of course - but because you know she will contribute to the mission and not because you want her to sit idle and buy takeaway. *SNORTING TO THE SKIES ON MY PARACHUTE*

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So, you’re KTW. You are forced to bring along an agent you don’t want, don’t trust, and think is utterly unprofessional. What do you do with that agent?

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And never mind that the writers made her the smartest one in the room. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂

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she also gets a nice hotel room and has time to moisturise before bed.

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Oh see here was me thinking he was just praising her cos these people can't write good lines for LSG to save themselves...

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Actually they can't really write good lines or dialogue in general and the only good ones got given to KTW in episode 10... :P

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KTW got more lines in ep 10 compared to his lines in ep 3 to ep 9 combined. Hahahaha!

Now I wonder if it's in the script or is it adlibs? 🤣

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I did wonder if he ad-libed it... It doesn't really make sense for the dialogue to just suddenly become smart and sassy...

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@sicarius I'm thinking he just couldn't take it anymore with that stupid crap he was sprouting, and he just went, This is it. Imma gonna say it MY WAY, take it or leave it, and the director scratched his head, and went, We-ll, I'm gonna PRETEND I didn't hear you ad-lib, cis you know something? I've had it up to HERE with this dumb lines..

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It’s a lovely game. Alternate interpretations of on screen events, dialogue, etc. that make it seem done well...

Dialogue reinterpretation is relatively easy compared to finding an explanation for why CDG doesn’t even get hit with a bullet when he should properly be full of great big holes. One theory is that CDG is a holographic being like the doctor from Star Trek Voyager. Of course that leaves the question of what a Star Fleet AI is doing ...

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Don't worry the Vagabond RPG is keeping track of how many lives he has lost.

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This reminds me. Are they still on operation Kill Dal Geon? Is that on hold because they can't reach Shadow, or was it entirely abandoned?

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they ... ARE... but given how incompetent these assassins are, does it really matter?
You'll see in the next few recaps.

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I'm not sure. Everyone's given a new personality next episode anyway.

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Thank you, guys.

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Yeah, ix-nay on the tired complaint about sexism in everything trope here, since, as you pointed out, Hamster told her his treatment was even worse.
And let's not forget that KTW also has told us that he previously lost his dearest friend on another mission precisely because of an agent acting like Haeri does. He has his reasons, and while they aren't going to stand up here, he isn't totally wrong or unfair here.

Dalgeon's over the top flattery is not disinterested, either. He wants something from her. And his flattery is coming from an outsider - many of the reasons he likes her (because she worked with him even though he was a civilian) are exactly the reasons that trouble her fellow professionals. So of course he sees that break with protocol as a good, and they don't.

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While I am (was?) a fan of Candy Rock, I think this and the next couple of episodes really highlighted what LollyPip was talking about. Seeing the side-by-side comparison of how Tae-woong and Dal-geon treat Hae-Ri is startling.

At first, Tae-woong's treatment of her being inexperienced was okay to me because they weren't working together or on the same team and for all I know, she does/did screw up (especially because that unwanted drunken kiss was our first introduction of their relationship). But the sexist cooking/grocery thing this episode really sucked to watch. I get he didn't want to even bring her but she did have stuff of value to add and her and Dal-geon's plan really did work compared to the drone watching.

Actually, it was his blatant disregard of her good ideas that is finally making me suspicious of his character. He shut her down so hard that it was suspicious to me.

Dal-geon, on the other hand, is much more supportive. He challenges her to do better and he backs her up. That's why they make a great team. I'm still not completely sold on the romance (and still wish only for the friendship) but I too appreciate the slow burn of it. After this and the next episodes, I think I can slowly enjoy their ship. SLOWLY

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think hae rib has more spark with tae woong then dal gon. think tae woong asking hae ri to shop & cook stems more from his distrust re. her competence not just pure sexism. he didn’t trust her from episode 1 so it’s consistent

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Another way to look at Dalgun's plan being 'succesful' while the NIS was just 'idle'..the drone was at the same location Dalgun was when he saw KWG's hideout. It was just a matter of time that the NIS would see the bottles laying around even if Dalgun was not there. Also Dalgun was in Morocco because NIS was there too. Kekeke. NIS in VB are portrayed as superslow and lack competence, which is a pity. I want smart agents on top of an immortal stuntman hero 🤣.

Another thing...Dalgun and Haeri partnership is only known between them, her team in Morocco does not know a thing about their small secret mission (which imo just makes the NIS look dumbdumb and so unattentive to detail). But then again they did not care about her, so they didn't take notice of her secretly messaging in the background. Lol.

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What everyone is missing is that CDG is actually a highly capable mercenary super agent in the pay of Park (or a rd party, either the Brits or the French) and CDG is using GHR as his mole into the NIS and the TF. All that praise, attention, and what not is just a technique for developing and maintaining an asset. Or so goes alternate theory #213 for Vagabond...

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The problem is is that I actually WANT CDG to be someone more than just bereaved stunt guy.
I knew what the show was going to be and yet I still want more from it *sigh*

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Me too! If only, if only he was more than just a bereaved stunt guy. *sigh*

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"He challenges her to do better and he backs her up."
That is, to me, the heart of their relationship AND their strength. She believes in him because he believes in her. As a result she grows and becomes the great NIS agent that her boss didn't see.
really this show is just so dumb and unbelievable - but I can't stop watching..,

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Dalgun is so erratic that no one in their right mind would find him reliable to be believed in. Haeri on the other hand wants fast/constant recognition for the little professionalism she has showcased so far....and Dalgun showers her with praises, only to make her his NIS mole. Haeri being Haeri doesn't even realize what wrong she's doing. Kekekeke

Haeri will grow to be a great agent only and only when she decides to take her job seriously and if she wants to rebel and go against the corrupted tide, do it smartly. Not relying on a stuntman to push her forward or a team lead to support her from below. She has hope to be better. You can do it Haeri! Fighting! 💪🏻

The show is not smart and not believable...but like you I can't stop watching. And obviously I can't stop commenting about. Kekeke

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I get that. She's not the rule-abiding NIS agent which is why Tae-woong doesn't trust her but the reason the case has moved this far is because she didn't abide by the rules.

Why would you abide by the rules when the NIS is corrupt (which frankly, is the most disappointing - like they all fold and start selling lies??)? First, her 'innocent' coworker is the one that wiped Dal-geon's drive and tried to get them killed. She trusts the NIS with footage that then gets deleted and they want to cover it up. The only reason they can't is because Dal-geon confronts the president in front of live cameras. Then there's a mole in the NIS, who is her boss. His men set out to kill Dal-geon in a 'supposed' safe house.

Frankly, her decision to side with Dal-geon about this in Morocco kind of made sense. (Also, she didn't cave immediately.) Nothing about this case is straight forward but the only person who has been constant is him. He is relentless in his pursuit of justice.

Frankly, all the rule-abiding NIS agents are now stuck incriminating the other good agents and lying in front of national television. She may be framed as a terrorist but she knows she's right unlike the rest of them.

When the system is corrupt, there's no point playing to their rules. It's time to break the wheel. Or in this case, unleash the God of War.

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Fyi..the worker in Morocco was not an NIS agent. He was an embassy employee.

Actually KTW is also a rule breaker of some sort but he moves silently and has a proper plan. Haeri was able to get the recording was all part of his elaborate plan. He also had the same recording and had plans to release it via a politician. But he didn't have to since Dalgun ambushed the blue house.

Frankly, all the rule-abiding NIS agents are now stuck incriminating the other good agents and lying in front of national television. She may be framed as a terrorist but she knows she's right unlike the rest of them.

Hmmm..The good guys can't win the fight with brute force. They need intelligence, the easiest way to gather intelligence is from within. Hence why 'rule-abiding NIS agent is lying in front of national television' to gain trust and to prove his loyalty so they don't doubt his intentions and movement. In other words...he's a double agent or spy and his lies were all intentional. The chicken Vagabond team has a plan in place, and double agent is part of it.

When the system is corrupt, fight smartly. Being vocal about it is....asking to be fired or worse, killed. And when that happens, there's nothing else to be done to right the system. Heh.

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No spoilers please, not even with a warning! Save it for the relevant recap, we're getting them out as quickly as possible.

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Can we not with calling taewoong "sexist" like snowflake "woke" teens??? His character is hella rigid and he would've acted the same with a dude too...

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Can we not with calling people snowflakes when they call out behaviors that may be sexist. You can make the point Tae-woong was hella rigid, and might have reacted the same with a dude without insulting the original poster or a whole generation for that matter.

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I love how utterly bad this drama is. It literally makes less and less sense each episode. The bumbling supposed murderers for hire, the incompetence of everyone except our Stuntman, the drug "addict", the cartoonish villains. I can't even comment on the drama properly because it's all so bad. I am enjoying the everloving crap out it though, warts and all. 💕 ❤️ 💝

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They REALLY love the drug addict. Painful close-ups of his addiction. It made me suspect Mr. G was a drug addict. All that focus on needles.

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I expected Mr G turning into Spencer Reid and make me all sad as he battles against addiction and doing his job right. Mr G be strong!! 😢

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This!
Me too!!!!! 💕 ❤️ 💝

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It's not necessarily bad.... Just because it has a complicated story...

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Wait why is everyone arguing about Dal Geon vs Ki Tae Woong?
That's clearly the least important part of this episode.
The MOST important part of this episode was obviously the exemplary use of sound direction over that judo fight.
Wow. Just amazing. *slow claps*
...
I'm kidding, obviously; it was horrible.

This episode was amusing but not because it was supposed to be but because wow the whiplash in tones.
First we have DG and Co in a very sobering and decently directed scene crying and lamenting about grief.
Then right after we have something that was taken out of a much more R rated show or movie, that would've frankly been quite a dark scene if they'd actually shown anything... I'm talking about the leg of mutton ofc. ;)
And then we have our druggie who was like injecting himself, snorting cocaine and also apparently simultaneously getting outrageously drunk off soju (did you see that bottle pile?). This mostly just gave me a headache, and made my body seize up from the amount of substance he was putting into HIS (albeit fictional) body and also because how the FRIQ did he find soju in Morocco of all places????
Top that all off with that judo fight and my goodness we've covered four different genres in half an episode.
This show has several identity crisis every week and yet I STILL COME BACK FOR MORE.

Oh yeah and you need an address to get coordinates now... aPPAREntly...

And coming up new fantastical and ridiculous reasons every week for how this show's extremely unrealistic properties could be plausible to help myself cope with the stupidity, is starting to become a struggle, I'm not gonna lie.
Leprechaun Magic? Alternate Reality? Aliens? North Korean Super Experiment? Coma? Westworld? Dal Geon became a druggie on the death of his nephew and is hallucinating this all? Is this another Alzheimer's metaphor?

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how the FRIQ did he find soju in Morocco of all places????

He snatched a crate off the plane before he parachuted himself off the plane, of course.
Ps: i know it's rhetoric and I was not going to comment on a show I don't watch. But like you, I can't resist. [Points massive carrot at you for salute]

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You're watching the show on my wall rabbit. You know the important parts 🤣

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Haha. Yes, but I am watching a different show there. One with a blinding sunflower Rock, if I recall. 😜Thank you for that, chingu. [Points massive carrot at you too]

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*chomps carrot*

Thanks for the snack rabbit. Blinding sunflower Rock is the show. Hopefully he doesn't wilt (re: die).

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I forgot the Judo scene...it was so not impactful and cheeseballs. Even when I read the recap...it escaped my mind in the comments. Kekeke. But now I remember why I blocked that scene out of my mind, because of Dalgun-Hoon memories song was used as the bgm. *sigh*

Everything is so unrealistic. Everything. I'm done trying to make sense or putting logic in anything. As long as KTW is alive and being snarky I'm happy. In fact I don't want any of the good guys to die, immortal Dalgun included.

The ending might be this is all a movie directed by Dalgun. And he is also the main character. This sounds so Dalgun-like. Haha!

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The judo scene was painful.
NIS Candy™.

Someone floated that this whole thing is a film directed by Dalgeun and the final scene is them panning out and showing us the cast and crew filming. The postmodern equivalent of "and then they woke up and it was all dream!'

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That was me and actually I think Katak in like episode 3 lol.
And I think you said the same thing there. Yes it would sort of be the equivalent of "it was all a dream" but not actually because nobody does a fourth wall break and "it was all a movie" as a cop out; they do it as satire, which would make it bearable.

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There's no universe where anybody involved in this show thinks it's satire unfortunately.

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Ofc not.
The show wouldn't end that way in a million years, satire or no.

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Ah. Now, I get it. Dal geon filmed HIMSELF and Haeri. The director had to take time out every now and then, because he couldn't take it anymore. And Dal geon just stepped - I mean, RAN - in.

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It made me die a little more inside.
Oh is that what song it was? Okay so... that's like ten times worse lmao
Ah yes play a song with sad memory connotations as a romance song to force romantic tension WOW YES THAT SOUND LEGIT. Gosh and I thought it was just the latter... brb gonna go gag.

I want that to be the ending Katak. That would be an amazing use of meta and self awareness lol.

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I could happily enjoy how gleefully godawful this whole show is if they weren't shoehorning in a romance between an indestructible lunatic and a plushie.

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Happily enjoying how gleefully godawful something is is only maintainable for a certain period of time, shoehorned romance or no, before one becomes the aforementioned lunatic oneself.

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Tendered as evidence: me

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also: me

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Like the ship meta in ep 10? 🤣

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Oh gosh. Must you remind me.

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Huh? Do I have to watch episode 10?

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@hebang spare yourself some grief and just take Katak's sentence literally.

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I had to go look... SIGH.
I *ALWAYS* go look. I can’t help myself.

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@katakwasabi Please tag me for your own drama. The Rock and The Candy. I can't bear to sit through this anymore. Thank you.

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I'll just tag you in my future VB posts, rock candy related or not. Haha

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Ahem. According to Google, you can buy and drink alcohol legally in Morocco.

And there is a restraint by the name of Seoul Garden in Morocco.

And it serves alcohol...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293732-d5292531-Reviews-Seoul_Garden-Casablanca_Grand_Casablanca_Region.html

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It's also probably next to the Melona on supermarket shelves. And's if probably a big seller if they have just 2 or 3 Koreans in the country :)

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Pfffft. I wasn't suggesting you couldn't drink ALCOHOL in Morocco, just that it's hard enough to find SOJU here, let alone there and you can't buy bottles of alcohol whole sale from a restaurant, I know or else I'd have bought sake already.
I don't know if Morrocan Asian marts are just better than New Zealand ones, it's entirely possible, I just thought it would be more difficult. But then again this guy has managed to get coke and heroin so I don't really think difficulty is on his radar.

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Money talks. Money finds a way.

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Here in S. California they sell soju within walking distance of where I live -- although It might not be possible to walk across a certain street without getting ToD'd, even if you haven't enjoyed the soju yet.

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I didn't see all the Soju bottles - but I won't subject myself to go back and watch so I'll take your word for it.

this show.....
the only thing that really makes it worthwhile are the posts describing how bad it is.
;-)

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The most frightening part of this drug addict is that he was the airline pilot. It's surprising they even had to blow it up to get it to crash. Seems like he would have crashed it anyway eventually. I guess I just realized that I stopped watching this show the middle of last weekend. I really like Lee Seung Gi, but---

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Same feeling as I watch Melting Me Softly. I am a huge fan of Ji Chang Wook, but.... I still will finish the kdrama... in agony. 😁

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And nobody notice that big ass ROK flag on the drone? If the mark would have any doubts if somebody spying on him or some kids just playing around.

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my thoughts exactly! what kind of spy marks their drone so obviously??? sighhhh

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He buys it from the same store that sells pixie dust that protects you from bullets, car crashes and kamikaze leaps from tall buildings.

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The point is, traditionally almost all the action movie is weak in plotline and made us ask why and why. But it's about adrenalin rush. Let's enjoy this Vagobond. It's a rare genre in Kdrama

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I still can't get over that they to signal us that those secret ninja assassins are North Korean by having them frozen in time in terms of fashion, like that not draw any attention at all if group of guys looking like they step out of 70's gangster movie shows up.

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I admit I am one of those who keeps watching this show every week regardless of how bad it is. But I don't know if I can come back from the blood transfusion scene in EP 9....I mean, S. Korea has actually an advanced medical science sector that NO ONE should think that this is how a blood transfusion happens in real life....right? This might be my personal "jumping the shark" moment of the show!!

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I think technical accuracy in *anything* is out side the scope, the interest, and the competence of this team.

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I have never enjoyed this much reading all comments about this drama. In other sites it was all praises but here I am over the roof!!!

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(please accept my apologies in advance if I mess up in the following comment, this is my first interaction here on this site)
concerning taewoong: isn’t his obvious dislike to haeri less-so because he’s sexist but more because of the way she acts? I mean considering how pretty much every interaction we’ve seen between haeri & taewoong (and i can only assume this is how her interactions with him Are and that they’re consistent enough) is her doing something unprofessional or pushing/breaking the rules and so it makes sense he doesn’t like her because our first meeting with taewoong as a character was him saying he’s going to follow the rules exactly how they should be. (I did consider the fact he lied for her in the past but I don’t believe that he would abandon his personal rules that fast and completely) I think that it’s more so because of his backstory and not because he’s inherently sexist. I’m sure there’s an argument for the fact he’s pretty much the most cruel to haeri but I think we haven’t really seen him as much with a lot of our other major characters (or even with the group he’s leading, we don’t know how he was around them initially either) which means it could Seem hes being sexist when potentially he’s just blinded by his past experiences.....also wanted to say I by no means think he’s a perfect character LOL it’s true that he’s not exactly the greatest leader and is treating haeri unfairly but I don’t think it’s due to the fact she’s a girl but more because she’s - well - a bit of a mess. (Also thinking about how we see haeri at all times she’s present in the show but taewoong sees her only when he’s with her, much of which as I mentioned has been her just not knowing professional boundaries and such)

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Welcome to DB Comments! And no, your comment is totally fair. Tae-woong has a lot of valid reasons to dislike Hae-ri and not want her on his team. To clarify, I wasn't saying that Tae-woong treats Hae-ri badly because he's sexist. I didn't explain it very well. I think he treats Hae-ri badly for a lot of reasons, but *the way he expresses his dislike* is sexist. Cutting her off and telling her to keep quiet, making faces at her, rolling his eyes, giving her the "assignment" of housework, it's very sexist behavior. He doesn't like Dal-geon either, but he expresses it very differently.

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Can you stop confusing Chief Kang with Chief Min in your recaps. It's highly triggering someone can make such a basic mistake.

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The author doesn't know the difference between Chief Min and Chief Kang and it's very annoying.

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I'm seeing Tae-woong's treatment of Hae-ri as being in the "methinks he dost protest too much" mindset of actually very low-key beginning to like her but is too proud to show it. Having Hae-Ri stay close by at their safe house can indicate he is trying to protect her as well. Especially since he lost a close colleague before.

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Taewoong isn't exactly sexist smh, though I can see how everyone being extra "woke" these days might make them say that. He would very likely have treated a man in the same way too. Haeri hasn't exactly shown her most professional side to him either so it's totally understandable why he's so dismissive about her.

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