Hmm, mixed thoughts about today’s episode of Vincenzo. On the one hand, it was funny and entertaining as usual. On the other hand, it irked me that the one openly gay character that has so far been introduced in this show is a predator. I’m not saying I only want positive depictions of LGBT characters. That would be unrealistic. A gay person can be good or bad, just like anybody else/ Accepting this is what is needed in order for gay characters to be seen as fully human, just like every other character. That said, I feel like the “gay man as abuser in intimate contexts” is a trope I’ve seen too much of. If you’re going to make him a baddie, can’t you make him a baddie that doesn’t assault potential romantic partners on dates? Is that really too much to ask? You could have still had the entire arc with Vincenzo duping him; the fact that he assaulted people on dates was just a convenient thing that was used to blackmail him/put him in jail. Couldn’t they he have committed and then covered up some other crime instead? It would’ve likely have had the same effect and wouldn’t have jeopardized the story.
The same… It broke my heart to see him reduced to that state. The bashings and his treatment of Vincenzo’s mother and his silence about the death of his father were used to justify his “punishment”.
Yes, I thought this was very risky humour. It ended up being funny, but yeah, I think it was super also uncomfortable to watch a person’s romantic feelings — especially a person whose romantic feelings are the subject of so much stigma and shame, particularly in more conservative countries like SK — be toyed with in this way.
I don’t want to be too nitpicky or anything, but I found Vincenzo’s horror and disgust over having to feign attraction for the bank CEO sort of off-putting, too. Why is it so revolting? Sure, men might not be Vincenzo’s thing, but then it’s just another con job, along with the many other cons he and Cha-young have been perpetrating. Why make this acting assignment “beyond the line”? Many gay men and lesbian women spend significant chunks of their lives having to pretend to be straight; in some cases, they get married to opposite sex people because of social pressure or because the consequences of being out are too heavy to bear. So why is it suddenly so beyond belief when, for selfish gain as part of a con, a straight man has to pretend to be gay? Like nobody was asking Vincenzo to sleep with the bank CEO or something.
Imagine an alternate universe where Vincenzo, still played by Song Joongki, is actually a gay character, Cha-young is a male rather than a female, and Vincenzo impersonates a straight dude to get on the good side of a female bank CEO. That would be so much fresher than this take they gave us?
I agree with this. It’s 2021 now and I think people should be more and more educated that gay people are like other people (I think): They can be an abuser or an abused. They’re ordinary people IMO.
Agreed. While I’ve commented on folks’ posts that Kim Sungchul was amazing this episode, I do agree that that fact is separate from the character itself and the depiction of a gay character. I’m also uncomfortable with thr fact that Vincenzo was shown to be so against “seducing” Minseong. While he never said its because Minseong is a guy, and it could just be that he wouldn’t want to do even with a woman, that wasn’t the impression i got. It seemed like the show was unnecessarily emphasizing to the audience that the main lead is straight, dont worry.
I think it has to be because Minseong is a guy. Vincenzo was okay with flirting with that doctor in episode 7. Granted, he’s doing more than just flirt a bit with Minseong, but still.
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Maq
March 14, 2021 at 4:06 PM
Hmm, mixed thoughts about today’s episode of Vincenzo. On the one hand, it was funny and entertaining as usual. On the other hand, it irked me that the one openly gay character that has so far been introduced in this show is a predator. I’m not saying I only want positive depictions of LGBT characters. That would be unrealistic. A gay person can be good or bad, just like anybody else/ Accepting this is what is needed in order for gay characters to be seen as fully human, just like every other character. That said, I feel like the “gay man as abuser in intimate contexts” is a trope I’ve seen too much of. If you’re going to make him a baddie, can’t you make him a baddie that doesn’t assault potential romantic partners on dates? Is that really too much to ask? You could have still had the entire arc with Vincenzo duping him; the fact that he assaulted people on dates was just a convenient thing that was used to blackmail him/put him in jail. Couldn’t they he have committed and then covered up some other crime instead? It would’ve likely have had the same effect and wouldn’t have jeopardized the story.
dramalover4ever
March 14, 2021 at 4:31 PM
Comment was deleted
dramalover4ever
March 14, 2021 at 4:32 PM
The same… It broke my heart to see him reduced to that state. The bashings and his treatment of Vincenzo’s mother and his silence about the death of his father were used to justify his “punishment”.
Maq
March 14, 2021 at 5:52 PM
Yes, I thought this was very risky humour. It ended up being funny, but yeah, I think it was super also uncomfortable to watch a person’s romantic feelings — especially a person whose romantic feelings are the subject of so much stigma and shame, particularly in more conservative countries like SK — be toyed with in this way.
I don’t want to be too nitpicky or anything, but I found Vincenzo’s horror and disgust over having to feign attraction for the bank CEO sort of off-putting, too. Why is it so revolting? Sure, men might not be Vincenzo’s thing, but then it’s just another con job, along with the many other cons he and Cha-young have been perpetrating. Why make this acting assignment “beyond the line”? Many gay men and lesbian women spend significant chunks of their lives having to pretend to be straight; in some cases, they get married to opposite sex people because of social pressure or because the consequences of being out are too heavy to bear. So why is it suddenly so beyond belief when, for selfish gain as part of a con, a straight man has to pretend to be gay? Like nobody was asking Vincenzo to sleep with the bank CEO or something.
Maq
March 14, 2021 at 11:53 PM
Imagine an alternate universe where Vincenzo, still played by Song Joongki, is actually a gay character, Cha-young is a male rather than a female, and Vincenzo impersonates a straight dude to get on the good side of a female bank CEO. That would be so much fresher than this take they gave us?
dramalover4ever
March 15, 2021 at 3:56 PM
It’s “so revolting” because of the anxiety that there may be actual attraction.
mmmmm
March 14, 2021 at 7:42 PM
I agree with this. It’s 2021 now and I think people should be more and more educated that gay people are like other people (I think): They can be an abuser or an abused. They’re ordinary people IMO.
greenfields
March 15, 2021 at 4:17 AM
Agreed. While I’ve commented on folks’ posts that Kim Sungchul was amazing this episode, I do agree that that fact is separate from the character itself and the depiction of a gay character. I’m also uncomfortable with thr fact that Vincenzo was shown to be so against “seducing” Minseong. While he never said its because Minseong is a guy, and it could just be that he wouldn’t want to do even with a woman, that wasn’t the impression i got. It seemed like the show was unnecessarily emphasizing to the audience that the main lead is straight, dont worry.
Maq
March 15, 2021 at 7:37 AM
I think it has to be because Minseong is a guy. Vincenzo was okay with flirting with that doctor in episode 7. Granted, he’s doing more than just flirt a bit with Minseong, but still.