Heavy spoilers to Vincenzo, obviously.

The main antagonist of the 2021 hit Vincenzo is Jung Han-Seok, actual CEO of Babel mega-corp with a troublsome hobby of pummling people to death with a hokey stick. He is a clear contrast to our protagonsit- the cool headed, titualr Vincenzo.

When I watched Vincenzo*, I have considered Han-Seok to be... Well, the worst part about it. Vincenzo has brilliant cast- both in writing and actors, and the yelling-laughing-frankly ANNOYING main antagonist stuck out like a sore thumb.

(*Actually stopped watching circa ep 17,but I have watched and enjoyed most of it. I state it here cause what I write is releveant to the BULK of the show, and even if there was any difference in the last few episodes I don't think it could override my current feelings)

Then I thought about the character, and I've realised I actually find this character brilliant- I just hate the messy execution of an almost subversive idea.l

Allow me to explain what I mean. Here are the things that I really like about Han-Seok:

1. For the beggining of the show, Han-Seok hides himself in plain sight as the bumbling and adorable assistent of Hong Cha-Young, the FL. Only later we discover that he is infact the head of Babel. I LOVE characters that go undercover with a false personality. I love the POTENTIAL of it-weather it be comedic (his convestation with the big shots in Wusang that later totally changed in tone and power dynamics) or dramatic (the feelings of Cha-Young post revelation), or stratigic (the way he can spy on the leads and hide in plain sight).

2. Btw his relationship with the FL, it was very clear that he was crushing on her, hard. He kept fussing around her like a puppy, often caring for her (remembering where she parked her car, or giving her snacks). However, the feeling were NOT mutual, and even though Cha-Young handled him well, it did seem to annoy her. A LOT of his actions feel pushy, controlling, or at best inapropriate and unwanted. This running gag acts as amazing forshadowing to his real nature, but it's more than that; a lot of his more questionable actions can be excuse as the doing of a lovesick KDrama character. Putting it in prespective, saying outright that this is controlling and wrong, could have served as a critique of the type of character often used as the ML- rich guy who's "acts of love" are actually just controlling and bondary-crossing.

3. I mentioned it before, but he is an excellent foil to Vincenzo. The entire idea is bad vs evil- Vinny is no saint, but he isn't evil incarnate the way Han-Seok is (or at least, that is the way the show depictes the Itallian mob). If Vincenzo is cool and level headed, than Han-Seok is a chaotic storm trying to capture the magical essence of that effortless chic.

4. Vincenzo, as a show, does INCREADIBLE work with group dynamic. There are so many sub group that are a JOY to watch come together or work apart, and even though the leads are still the leads, they never overshadow the (DELIGHTFUL) supporting character and all show great chemistry. This goes to the villan group, as well. I like that each one is their own type of villan, and how they work under the order of the most combastic leadership possible.

5. Being hyped as a CEO by the public while we know how aweful he is hit very close to home with all that ceo-worshipping going around.

6. The entire relationship he had with his brother, the ever suffering Han-Seo. Just... an endless well of conflict, drama, and a way to add extra depth to the both of them. It also plays back to the theme of family heavily used in the series. Making them brothers was just.... *a Chef's Kiss*

Considering all the above, Han-Seok sounds like a hit-and-run (or whatever the hockey equivellent is). So why did I hate him so much? Well, there were layers to this point of view as well.

Part of it was the good ol' "I'm not mad, just dissapointed". Some of the points mentioned above were explored in the show- for example, the villan group dynamic, where each is an antagonist of a different kind and all have to work together and NONE (but Han-Seok) actually enjoying it. However, this character failed on some of its most exciting (to me!) aspects:

1. I still don't get WHY did he go undercover. I understand that he did it for the funzies, but it was never clear to me what it was that he enjoyed about it, and what part of it is was him being true to himself, and what part a lie. The best thing about exploring aliases and alter-egos is the way it is influenced - and is influencing- the "real" self.

2. the relationship with Cha-Young was left unexplored- the loving puppy act was dropped entirely the MOMENT she became aware of his true nature. Not dropped by the character, but by the narrative; anything about those feelings, how they might menfiest in post haircut Han-Seok and how they would make Cha-Young feel was gone- and with that, the entirety of the critcque of romantic tropes.

3. I enjoyed the strained brotherly relationship emmensly, but I think I wished the show would have dived more into it on Han-Seok's end. It ended up just being "yeah I'll be cruel to you in any way the plot will require me too" (Poor Han SEO!). It was actually mentioned that the younger brother had to undergo therapy because of the abuse of the older, but it did not go further.

With that being said, the thing that turned Han-Seok from not-entirely-up-to-potential to the absaloute bane of my watching exprience was, well, his personality.

I think the show wanted Han-Seok to be a calculating mastermind, a greedy upper-class business man, an unstable killer and just an a**hole who takes joy in acts of crulety all at once. I found myself thinking- 'does he want money, or does he want to be destructive for the fun of it?"; at some point they even gave him serial killer quircks for the hell of it. Like, PICK A LANE, BRO.

This, along with the over the top screaming-laughing combo, felt more like a Joker Cosplayer being very method actor about his convention exprience than a captivating antagonist. I found him silly, childish, and worse of all-whatever the plot needed him to be at the moment. Him becoming a Vincenzo wannabe did not help. I always felt like the show tried to oversell this guy as some sort of a mastermind, but only sometimes, when he was not a loose cannon. It was a WHOLE mess and I swear to god I could do with less than half the laughing-when-nothing-is-funny and NONE of the yelling. The last arguemnt might be a personal bias, as I despise yelly and laughing-at-nothing villans (I will entertain only one of those attributes). I just wanted him to shut up.

I think I would've enjoyed him much better had he kept the same fluffy-puppy energy he presented at the start of the show. Just being pleasent, bubbly, seemingly clunmsy and non-threatning while, well, pummling people to death with his hockey stick. To me, Han-Seok is a person that never had to account to anything- being a conventionally attractive man with too much money and power. Being "sweet" would have been a good continuation of that, of making us confront what we find acceptable and desirable, attributes that make us tolorate the worse behaviours. I think the hype he had as a "young and hot" ceo was a good implentation of this. I just wish he had the consistency to back it up. Also, as a side note, I think the actor was much more in his zone playing the fluffy assistent. And we could still have a cold, calculative mastermind, who takes joy in being cruel and knows he can get away with it because society put him on a padastal. Someone the audience might even find charming, for moments, followed by being unsettling at such feelings at this horrible person in the first place.

All in all, as the title said, mixed feelings. What do you think? Did you like Han-Seok? What would you change?