Last week, Jang Han-seo took his shot (literally) to try and take down Han-seok, only to fail miserably. Mr. Cho also revealed his true colors when he placed a gun to Vincenzo’s head after they finally got to the basement with the infamous gold!

Vincenzo episode 13 continues to tread familiar waters as another scheme-slash-prank is played on Jang Joon-woo Han-seok when he makes his first public appearance as chairman of Babel. Han-seo flies under the radar after he botches the attempt to kill his brother, and Mr. Cho’s real intention with the gold is (somewhat) disclosed.

Find out everything that happened in this episode with our review, recap, and real-time reactions. And as always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Remember: if you missed our recap and review of previous Vincenzo episodes, you can always go back to them HERE.

Vincenzo Episode 13 Review & Recap

This was one big meh after all the high expectations the k-drama has set so far. It’s too quick to judge based off this alone, but as I’ve worried about before, it looks like Vincenzo is going to struggle with having 20 total episodes. I definitely felt like they could’ve cut many scenes here without losing much of the story.

Let’s first get to where we had ended the previous episode: with Mr. Cho’s betrayal of Vincenzo. Who knew it would take less than a minute of them getting into the basement before one of them tried to turn against the other? Gold really does change people!

I think what I was most surprised by was Mr. Cho telling Vincenzo he only needed one particular bar of gold, and we all know what that means: he’s only been participating in this gold hunt not for the prospect of being rich, but for the Guillotine File!

Turns out our not-so-favorite insignificant character actually works for the International Security Intelligence Service, the agency that messed up and lost the file.

Vincenzo was able to martial arts his way out of that predicament and get some answers out of Mr. Cho. What was odd to me was they still seemed pretty friendly to each other during this time. It’s as if no one tried to pull a gun moments ago. In fact, Vincenzo forgave him pretty quickly after the incident.

I guess I found it odd because I never really saw the two as friends, but as business partners. I think the writers knew that a lot of us would feel that way because they gave us some exposition in this episode to explain that yes, they really are friends.

READ: ‘Vincenzo’ Episode 12: Review, Recap & Reactions

But neither of them were able to get any gold or file from that basement because the Geumga Plaza tenants actually wised up on their way to the hot springs. They found the whole trip suspicious and stormed back to the building. Better late than never!

Vincenzo and Mr. Cho hurriedly threw back all the gold bars in the basement along with the latter’s jacket, then shut it close. Only problem: in the jacket was the only device that would be able to open the basement. That meant the only way to get to the gold now was to demolish the building.

Okay, so was it a big plot hole for Mr. Cho to shut the basement door close knowing that the “key” was thrown in the basement? Or is he just playing a scheme on Vincenzo? It’s pretty stupid of him if he didn’t do it on purpose… I was very confused.

He saw Vincenzo throw the jacket with the device in the basement and had a big enough window of time to get it out.

It seemed like Mr. Cho was planning to sell the information from the Guillotine File. Someone had met up with him in a black trench coat, which we can only assume is the person who’s pulling his strings. Also suspicious is Seo Mi-ri, who seemed like she knew the gold was really under the temple floor… but didn’t say a word.

I don’t know if it’s just my mood, but I found this progress in the gold storyline to be pretty bland. I’m actually kind of ready for it to be over. Mr. Cho just never interested me as a character since he’s so flat and never seemed like a major player to me.

But I am curious about the person in the trench coat who visited him, and what they have to do with the Guillotine File.

At the very least, all this development on the gold gave us the best moment of this episode: Vincenzo fake-crying-but-really-crying because the gold bars are stuck in the basement.

The most interesting thing from Vincenzo episode 13 was the changing dynamic in Team Babel-Wusang after last week’s events. Seung-hyeuk started to suck up even more blatantly to Jang Han-seok (formerly known as Joon-woo) after Han-seo shot him in their hunting trip. Ms. Choi warned her former #1 ally to be careful because he’s playing a dangerous game, wanting to please the two Jang brothers.

But it looks like his true allegiance may be to Jang Han-seo, as he gave him the advice to “play dumb” for a while so his psychotic brother won’t see him coming when he strikes.

And play dumb, he did.

We don’t know if Han-seok is buying this dumb act though; he didn’t even buy Han-seo’s lame excuse that the gunshot from the previous episode was an accident. But Han-seok made it clear that the only reason his brother is still alive is because he will take the fall if Babel goes down.

Like I said in my reactions below, I wish Han-seok had just kept the reason to himself so he can keep Han-seo on his toes. Meanwhile, I like how Seung-hyeuk is keeping me guessing with who he’s siding with between the two brothers. I honestly don’t know what his endgame is and what he truly wants, but I feel like he has the potential to be killed off soon since he’s too wishy-washy.

The last thread of story left to tell for Vincenzo episode 13 was Jipuragi taking another shot at Babel. Jang Han-seok finally made some appearances in public as the real Babel chairman. He looked good with his new hair, he wore luxurious suits, and he even got the media to praise him at all costs like a K-pop idol.

Unfortunately, Ms. Choi’s decision to kill off the union leader from last week may have destroyed Han-seok’s image just as quickly as it was built.

To make sure that the rest of the indictments against Babel push through, Team Vincenzo wanted to make sure that they would be able to show the world that Han-seok was a dirty chairman.

Their first mission was to expose him as the direct supervisor of the Babel Vision Team leader, who handles all union-related cases in the company. They knew they couldn’t make the Vision Team Leader talk, so the Jipuragi Law Firm decided to go after the company union leader instead.

What ensued afterwards was the most comedic torture(?) scene that we had seen in the show so far.

The people from Jipuragi had no guns this time around… just chic black outfits with leather face masks. They got the guy from the company union to blackmail the Vision Team Leader: two billion won, or he exposes all the illegal activities that the Vision Team has made him do.

While this is going on, Prosecutor Jung kept Ms. Choi and Jang Han-seok trapped in an interrogation room as he orders a fake raid against Babel. The goal of the fake raid was to distract them from what’s really happening.

And the crazy thing is, they bought it. Hook, line & sinker.

Han-seok gave a talk to the young leaders of tomorrow as the chairman of an extremely successful conglomerate. But as he played a video on the projector, it was interrupted by footage of the Vision Team Leader and Babel company union leader negotiating. In their conversation, it was revealed to everyone in attendance that Jang Han-seok was the person behind all of the decisions pertaining to unions.

Que horror!

Han-seok had asked Han-seo to shut the whole thing down, but as he did his lamest half-assed attempt to stop the video from playing, there was a small smile on his face as he watched Han-seok be exposed to the world. *sips tea*

If that wasn’t enough, Vincenzo added insult to injury to Han-seok by making sure that pig blood was poured all over him.

Overall, Vincenzo episode 13 was pretty uneventful. It actually felt like I was back to the first few episodes for a minute there: the gold is back in the basement, Team Babel-Wusang got outsmarted again, and we got no romantic development between Vincenzo and Cha-young. Zero!

Who would’ve thought I’d be so invested in their relationship after doubting them so heavily back then?

But yes, I was looking for that because this episode kind of dragged. What I am most bothered by was the fact that Jang Han-seok looked dumb again. It really makes you question his legitimacy as the Big Bad of the show. I mean seriously, can you think of a time where he (and not Ms. Choi) actually felt like a threat to Vincenzo?

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 Vincenzo Episode 13 Rating: 5.5/10 

Favorite Moments in Vincenzo Episode 13

1. Vincenzo cries over the lost gold

2. Pig blood is poured all over Han-seok

3. Vincenzo and Mr. Cho do 108 bows

Vincenzo Episode 13 Reactions

1. Hooooly shit. I didn’t expect Mr. Cho to be after the Guillotine File! I am pleasantly surprised. Who is he working for?

2. You knew all along that he was going to be a traitor, Vincenzo? I didn’t!

3. Mr. Cho is such a loser. If he had not threatened Vincenzo and just pretended to accidentally take the gold bar with the file, then he wouldn’t have gotten away with nothing.

4. Mr. Cho works for the International Security Service? Isn’t this the same agency that An Gi-seok works for?

5. This Babel E&C guy is just saying what everyone’s thinking!

6. It’s so weird seeing Chef Toto outside his chef clothes.

7. Mi-ri creeps me out. She knows too much about the gold.

8. Stupid or smart that Mr. Cho helped close the basement knowing that the device was inside his jacket?

9. Vincenzo crying is the funniest thing ever!

Seung-hyuk’s true allegiance is questioned

10. What do we feel about Joon-woo Han-seok’s new hair? I don’t like it.

11. Seung-hyuk is playing with fire playing in the middle of the two Jang brothers. I wonder who he’s going to end up siding with.

12. Yesss, we’re finally back to the Vincenzo vs. Babel story. How I missed it after all that distraction with the gold.

13. So Mr. Cho and Vincenzo are just letting bygones be bygones? That’s a shock.

14. Oooohhh, a mystery person in a coat just approached Mr. Cho. I have a feeling that it’s Ms. Choi. Get those hand analysts ready!

15. What game is Jang Han-seo playing throwing this tantrum in the police station?

16. Seung-hyuk’s right. The union leader being killed is quite irresponsible.

17. IDK about Han-seok telling Han-seo why he kept him alive. Seems pretty stupid… wouldn’t it have been better to let Han-seo ponder on it?

Getting information from the company union leader

18. Okay, nooooow Han-seok looks dapper.

19. Here we go. It’s been a while since we’ve had one of Vincenzo’s elaborate schemes.

20. Aaaannnd here’s another torture scene. My favorite! I don’t think anything’s gonna top the Russian roulette torture from episode 11 today.

21. I can’t stop thinking about how fashionable these matching gang outfits and face masks are.

22. Them being all buddy-buddy with this company union leader is bizarre, but I’ll take it.

23. Vincenzo smiling at Cha-young when she said she wanted to try splashing pig blood was subtle but cute.

24. Prosecutor Jung is lowkey a really strong character not succumbing to any of Babel’s BS.

Han-seok’s reputation takes a hit

25. Ms. Choi, if only you knew… if only you knew what they were really up to.

26. The arrogance of Ms. Choi and Han-seok is seriously going to be their downfall. They haven’t done anything to deserve to be that arrogant… at least not Han-seok.

27. Vincenzo and Cha-young eating popcorn… they’re also pretty arrogant themselves, but at least they got something to show for it.

28. Han-seo’s smirk through it all is freaking glorious. He deserves this small victory, tbh.

29. Pig’s blood. Why didn’t I see this coming when they were talking about it earlier?

30. And in that moment, Jang Han-seo realized that he must align himself with Team Vincenzo if he wants to take down his brother.

What were your thoughts watching the thirteenth episode of Vincenzo? Leave them in the comments below! And if you missed it, you can view our reactions and review for other episodes here.

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The post ‘Vincenzo’ Episode 13: Review, Recap & Reactions appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

It’s the k-drama that will have you doing spit takes and thigh slaps from all the hilarious hijinks! This Welcome to Waikiki review is basically one huge fangirling session because I just finished it last weekend, and it was so freaking good. I’m so glad that I was able to see this in my Netflix algorithm because it would’ve been so easy to miss out on this hidden gem.

The sequel of the show has found some newfound popularity after the entire Asia population fell in love with Ji-pyeong from Start-Up. The actor who plays him, Kim Seon-ho, stars in Welcome to Waikiki 2, leaving the first season to go unnoticed.

But we all know that a show being obscure does not mean it’s automatically a bad show. Find out why Welcome to Waikiki is the perfect example of that after the jump. And good news: we are keeping things relatively spoiler-free for this one!

Welcome to Waikiki Synopsis

Before we delve into the actual Welcome to Waikiki review, let’s first get to know what it’s all about. The JTBC-produced show is good ol’ classic comedy sprinkled with some cute romance in between. When we say “classic comedy”, that means leaving your expectations of smart humor out the door.

We follow six normal young adults — three men and three women — who always find themselves in insane situations while living their daily lives. All of them eventually stay together under the roof of the breathtaking Waikiki Guesthouse which they also run. The ensemble of roommates include the petty Kang Dong-gu (played by Kim Jung-hyun), his sister Kang Seo-jin (played by Ko Won-hee), the geeky Bong Doo-sik (played by Son Seung-won), and the breakout star of the show, Lee Joon-ki (played by Lee Yi-kyung).

Things start to shake up in the guesthouse when they see a random baby inside one of the rooms. Later on, they learn that the adorable but awkward Han Yoon-ah (played by Jung In-sun) left her there because she was afraid of being a single mother.

The guys feel bad for her situation, and slowly welcome her into their family. Dong-gu is the most reluctant one at first because he found her ditziness quite annoying. But in traditional k-drama style, he soon starts to develop some romantic feelings for her.

They are also joined later on by Dong-goo’s ex-girlfriend and aspiring model, Min Soo-ah (played by Lee Joo-woo) after she falls for a scam. While her brash attitude and history with Dong-goo makes it hard for her to win over the hearts of the other characters, she soon finds herself fitting in naturally with them.

Welcome to Waikiki Review

Welcome to Waikiki is a fun and easy-to-pick-up k-drama with a lot of heart. We actually placed this show in our 2021 list of feel-good, lighthearted k-drama recommendations, and for very good reason.

It’s like a sitcom presented k-drama style; think high production value and tight writing. The sticky situations they get into are usually a direct result of their own ridiculous choices and their stubbornness, and their problems snowball into bigger ones until they get their well-deserved comeuppance. While most of the situations only happen within the space of a half-hour, certain storylines last for multiple episodes. Basically, you’d still have to watch the entire thing in order.

Don’t get it twisted though: Welcome to Waikiki is not pure unadulterated comedy. They suck you in with ridiculous humor at first, and then inject some romance and a tiny wee of drama later on. It doesn’t get in the way of the show’s “flow” though.

In fact, some of the best moments in the show come because there’s a little drama in it. You’ll find yourself laughing at a guy munching on buffalo bones to go viral one minute, and then loudly cheering on a guy who confessed his feelings for the girl.

It’s the perfect show to watch if you’re looking for a fun little break from all the heavy k-dramas that you’ve been watching. Whenever I was on a binge for the weekend and needed something to rinse off some major boredom from the previous show I had watched, I’d always put this on because I knew that it was a guaranteed way to improve my mood.

There are many good things about this show which make it a required watching experience for everyone who likes to have fun. So… that’s everyone.

The Good

First, the humor is different (in a good way) from many modern American sitcoms that you may be accustomed to. It doesn’t rely heavily on sarcasm or witty comebacks to get some laughs out of the audience. Instead, it focuses on the situation at hand and how the characters deal with the unrealistic ridiculousness they are faced with.

I will admit that the show’s humor does tend to border on childish sometimes especially when it gets to slapstick territory. But once you get used to it, you’ll find that its part of the charm.

As we said earlier, Welcome to Waikiki starts to veer into romantic territory halfway through. While this allows room for more melodrama into the show, those parts are usually kept to a minimum. The romance is not really why someone would watch this particular k-drama, so it’s okay even if they are largely forgettable.

The writers are still able to work in the humor into the romance relationships anyway. Having them in the show also helps with some key character development, so they are very much welcome. My only gripe is how a large portion of the final episodes does get brought down a bit by all the romance drama.

What I’m saying is the romantic relationships (especially the build-up to them) is enjoyable to watch, but ultimately, it’s not really the number one reason why you should seek out Waikiki.

Aside from the humor, the cast of brilliantly funny actors makes the show really enjoyable. I found myself constantly surprised with how committed they are to making themselves look like clowns for laughs. I’ve always had the idea that Korean actors are afraid to look un-beautiful, but Waikiki proved me wrong. I mean when one of your main girls’ quirks is being able to grow a moustache overnight, looking beautiful doesn’t matter.

All of them look like they’re having fun throughout it all. While the show didn’t explore some relationships among the characters as deeply as they could’ve, I was able to feel the chemistry among them. This is especially towards the latter half when the actors have become noticeably more comfortable with one another. I could not imagine other actors filling in their roles.

And if I do see these actors in other projects, I don’t think I would be able to disassociate them from the people they played here.

The characters are really the ones that turned this show from “just good” to great. Everyone is likeable in their own right, especially Lee Joon-ki. He is an aspiring actor who has the most memorable storylines in the show. He just steals the scene all the freaking time with his huge movements and wacky facial expressions.

The other ones in the ensemble cast are able to balance him out pretty well, but trust me: all of them are dorky idiots… idiots we love.

Unique is a word that encapsulates Welcome to Waikiki. You’ll notice this from how it’s edited and all the way down to the set design. For instance, the entire show is presented in pleasing pastel colors which helps bring accentuates its lightheartedness and easy-watching vibe. Aside from that, there were so many memorable one-off/side characters who brought so much laughs into the show even if they were only there for a little bit. If you ask me right now, I could probably name half of them.

I just wanted to point these small things out in my Welcome to Waikiki review because they all add up together to make the show even more brilliant than it already is.

The Bad

There are only two cons I would like to point out in this Welcome to Waikiki review, and they are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. The first one has to do with the awkward first impression it gave me. I will never forget how I tried to watch this way back in May, but the very beginning of the show involved toothpaste getting into the mouth of a sleeping Dong-goo. Just like that, I turned it off because “meh, it wasn’t for me”.

I obviously ended up giving it a second try and fell in love with it afterwards.

Looking back, Waikiki relies on a lot of similar “childish” humor at the first couple of episodes and it isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea. I know it didn’t seem like the show for me who was so used to American sitcoms. But the more you watch it, the more you get used to it. Then it really starts to get when Yoon-ah starts to settle in with the other residents in the guesthouse.

If you’ve read any of my reviews, you’d know that how long an episode lasts is a huge deal for me. For Welcome to Waikiki, every episode runs for approximately 60 minutes… and that is a lot of comedy to get through in one sitting.

Even if I was laughing my ass off and having fun with what I was watching, I would find myself constantly checking how much time was left before it ends. I just don’t think a scripted comedy series was meant to have that running time. As I learned, you do get tired from laughing a lot and there is some fatigue involved from having too much fun.

As a result, the last twenty or so minutes of most episodes recurringly become an afterthought. If I’d already get exhausted halfway through a single episode, that does make me doubt how “binge-able” Waikiki truly is.

  Welcome to Waikiki Rating: 8.5/10 

Any questions about our Welcome to Waikiki review? Leave them in the comments below! And if you missed it, you can view our reactions and review for other episodes here.

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