Vigilante (2023) Episode 2

Vigilante episode 2 starts with news of Deuk-heung’s death hitting the airwaves. The police quickly regroup and try to find out why the vigilante made Deuk-heung leave the bloody wall message. One of the detectives notes that the message is from Tao Te Ching, and refers to a net in heaven that catches sinners.

One of the officers questions whether the vigilante was wrong to kill Deuk-heung after what he did to one of them. (Remember, the detective who was stabbed twice). Nonetheless, the vigilante is still wanted for murder, and it is the police’s duty to find him. They hold a brief and update each other on the case. 

Based on the crime scene, they argue that the vigilante had premeditated the murder and left no evidence behind. They also believe he did not intend to hide the incident and left the message for everyone to see. Other than the lack of clues, the police also find themselves on the end of the public’s bad side.

The public feels that the vigilante is doing a better job at punishing the criminals and is refusing to come forward with any information. To make matters worse, Repo25h broadcasts the crime scene photos. 

As things get hectic, Professor Joon-yeob is summoned to help the police create a profile on the vigilante. Before leaving, he calls Seon-Wook and Ji-yong and reminds them to keep working on the profiling app. He cautions them to refrain from taking the work outside his office. Seon-wook tries to give his opinion on the vigilante, but Professor Joon-yeob warns him to remain professional. 

Professor Joon-yeob meets with the detective in charge of the case and visits the crime scene. While there, one of the residents chastises the police for trying to arrest the vigilante. The detective also notes that Siyoon is refusing to cooperate.

On the other hand, some people praise Repo25h while others criticise them for sensationalising the vigilante story. However, Mi-ryeo is intent on following the story to the end. She claims there is no bad publicity and puts her boss, Chang-hyun, in his place. At this point, she is basically running the show, and he is her puppet. She insists they are the vigilante promoter and demands they hit harder on the next story. She selects three stories to air in hopes of finding out the vigilante’s preference and distracting the police at the same time. 

Meanwhile, at the police academy, Ji-yong and his friends talk about the vigilante. They joke he is narcissistic and ostentatious and displays leadership qualities just like Ji-yong. As they talk, Repo25h airs their latest show, talking about three different crimes. One on fraud, another on robbery and the last one is about a family murder. The family murder strikes a chord with Ji-yong.

On the other hand, his friends think Repo25h is trying to feed the vigilante a list of targets, but Seon-wook argues the vigilante is intelligent and can do his research. 

Later that night, Ji-yong sneaks out of the room and goes to Professor Joon-yeob’s office to conduct his research. He looks up the family murder case and learns that in July 2018, a man broke into his former boss’s house and killed the mom and two kids. The culprit is Seo Doo-yeop, and after the murder, he proceeded to party and post pictures online as if nothing happened. He was given a light sentence and is back to partying his nights away.

The following weekend, Ji-yong agrees to tag along with his friends to a club that Doo-yeop frequently visits. Unfortunately, Ji-yong meets a lady and accidentally gets high on drugs. He is unable to deal with Doo-yeop but overhears a conversation on how he managed to get a light sentence.

Doo-yeop is a small drug dealer and runs his business in the club, selling drugs to international students. Ji-yong finds himself at home the following day and barely remembers what happened. 

As usual, he goes back to the police academy after the weekend. This makes Repo25h anxious as the vigilante fails to punish the culprits they covered in their story. However, Ji-yong continues to research more about Doo-yeop and the victims.

The following weekend, he follows Doo-yeop and learns his schedule and where he secretly stashes his money. He gives Doo-yeop a chance to repent and leaves the number for a narcotics detective from Busan on Doo-yeop’s windshield. 

Doo-yeop is scared to find the letter asking him to repent and asks his friend Sung-yeol to look into the number for him. Sung-yeol calls back later and informs him that the number belongs to a DEA agent in Busan. Doo-yeop is flustered and orders Sung-yeol to stay under the radar.

He is unaware of Ji-yong following him as he picks his stock from the big boss and receives his cut. Doo-yeop starts asking questions about the drugs, and his boss becomes wary of him. 

Later, the police arrive at the club, and Doo-yeop flees the scene. He rushes to his house and tries to get his secret money stash. Unfortunately, Ji-yong has already taken the money and is watching him lose it. He then calls him and says he hoped the police would arrest Doo-yeop and make it easy on him. Ji-yong sets the money on fire, and Doo-yeop tries to fight back.

However, Doo-yeop is no match for Ji-yong and is beaten to a pulp. Initially, Ji-yong gives him a chance to repent and apologise, but Doo-yeop proves stubborn. After Ji-yong starts choking him, he changes his stance and asks for mercy, but none is accorded to him. After killing Doo-yeop, Ji-yong heads home and sleeps.

The next morning, the police are called to the scene and quickly move to secure the site. The head detective refuses to give the media access, and the big boss holds a press conference. He assures the public that they will not condone any violent crime and will launch an investigation into the vigilante. However, most of the public supports the vigilante and is against the investigation. 

Concurrently, the media holds different shows discussing the morality of the vigilante. Even the reporters have mixed feelings on the vigilante issue. Meanwhile, Ji-yong watches the news and listens to both sides of the argument. 

Back at Repo25h, the station celebrates the show’s success, but Mi-ryeo is pissed they are holding a party to thank her. She orders them to get back to work and find any shred of evidence on the Doo-yeop case. The police might be playing coy with information, but she is on a witch hunt to gather and reveal any new information on the vigilante.

The media reports that the crime rate is starting to decrease, and the police take a different direction. They merge the current investigative team with the regional unit police. They hope to solve the vigilante case quickly. Even though the local police team is unhappy working with the regional unit, they agree to cooperate. The local police team is wary of the Regional unit team leader, Cho-heon.

Speaking of Cho-heon, he immediately starts by meeting with Sung-yeol and demanding to know more about Doo-yeop’s recent activities. Sung-yeol plays hard to get, but after a few slaps and a brush with death, he comes to his senses and reveals what he knows. It is not much since he didn’t notice anything strange. He only tells Cho-heon that if someone was following Doo-yeop at the club, they must be young.

Cho-heon receives a call and tells the other party that he will solve the case quickly and help people forget about the vigilante. 

The episode ends with Mi-ryeo revisiting Doo-yeop’s crime scene while Ji-yong practises boxing. 

The Episode Review

The second episode of Vigilante doesn’t disappoint; if anything, it heightens the viewers’ interest in the story. The introduction of Cho-heon tightens the grip; he seems like someone you don’t want to mess with. He is willing to go the extra length to capture the vigilante, and we look forward to seeing how he will handle the case. From what we have seen so far, he is not above bending the law to get his answers. 

We are also curious to see if Mi-ryeo finds anything at the crime scene and who the vigilante will target in the next episodes. 

Overall, the suspenseful writing and the superb execution of the plot by the actors make this show a thrilling watch. For anyone who loves a dark and twisted thriller, Vigilante highly delivers on this. Nam Joo-hyuk once again proves he is a talented actor and carries the show on his back.

The supporting characters also hold their own, pulling the viewers into their story. We are mostly excited to have Yoo Ji Tae on our screen again and have no doubt he will deliver as Cho-heon.