Vigilante (2023) Episode 4

Ji-young and the Vigilante “Fan” Spar

After crossing paths during the final moments of Episode 3, Ji-young’s “fan” extends his help in offer to “hunt even bigger prey together”, but Ji-yong can’t stand by this idea, and the two end up sparring against each other. Ji-yong admonishes the “fan” for tarnishing the pure way of serving criminals that he’d originally come up with. Even given the opportunity, Ji-yong doesn’t remove the man’s mask, declaring his indifference to his existence.

Cho Kang-ok / Jo Gang-ok (Chairman of DK Group) Meets Ms Choi

Kang-ok approaches her (wearing the bruises landed by Ji-yong on his face as badges of glory) to get rid of the Vigilante’s footage and proof of his arrival at the hospital following the murder of Jang Soon-do, Cho Kang-ok makes his vehement confession of affection for the Vigilante and his actions, and how he’s looking out for him. Initially, also offering her full support for her Vigilante exclusive, he’s ultimately turned down as but Ms Choi hopes to continue reporting the case freely without an upper hand controlling the narrative.

When Kang-ok expresses his ardent admiration of the Vigilante, he touches a nerve with her, claiming that he knows that she loves too the hooded man serving justice, which given them all the more reason to protect him together. Retrieving the USB drive from her that contains the Vigilante footage, he leaves in the end.

 

Ms Choi Follows Up on Kang-ok and His Connections

She later checks up on his “Pro-Vigilante company” which leads her to his subtle connection with Kim Sam-doo’s company. One of her acquaintances from Dongseon Daily, journalist Moon Dae-seok, had covered the news of Sam-doo being acquitted of his murder charges, so she decides to seek his word on the matter. Once she meets up with him, he reveals that though his company had been dealing with raw material imports, it was secretly operating the largest illegal gambling site in Korea, and was also a rumoured drug distributor. Seo Doo-yeop, the drug handler Ji-yong dealt with in Episode 2 also used to work for them.

 

Ms Choi overreaches and asks if Sam-doo was somehow linked to the DK Group too. The answer is not clear enough to corroborate any theories, but with Dae-seok under a lot of pressure not to cover the story, he joins forces with Ms Choi, considering her hold as an influential reporter.

Is the Vigilante a Police Officer?

Meanwhile, the police starts studying the Vigilante’s pattern and actions, and come up with the conclusion that his meticulous planning isn’t something that can be achieved by just about anyone. Jo Heon suggests the involvement of someone from within the police force, a theory that is equally backed by Professor Lee Jun-yeop. The two meet at the police academy, where again, Heon crosses paths with Ji-young, even if a bit distantly.

Jo Heon asks for the pictures of the students working with the Professor, but is denied the access. The seniors get to talking about the possibility of the Vigilante being a cop and what they’d do if it were to be true.

 

Jo Heon Unleashes the Beast

Jo Heon goes out to check the CCTV footage of the neighbourhood, but his investigation seems to have been obstructed beforehand with Jang Soon-il’s Ogeori Mob having checked the footage a day before despite Heon advising him against it initially. He then hits his home turf and confronts him and his mob for having interfered, which results in a lot of broken walls and tiles and faces, but the deed gets the message across, and once again establishes Heon as a beast in hiding.

Back at the university, the Professor catches sight of Ji-young’s face injuries during role-call, and pushes him to explain the cause for the same. Just in time, a detective from Yongsam Station calls him out to talk about something. Alongside him, a woman comes to Ji-yong’s aid, claiming that he had saved her from some drunk guys who came out to harass her. Once the professor calls him out for not telling the truth earlier, Ji-yong supposedly comes clean that he’s a student at the National Police University, and fighting with a civilian could be an issue so he chose to stay mum.

 

It was obviously a ruse crafted by Kang-ok despite Ji-yong not paying heed to his words at the beginning. Eventually, Ji-yong starts looking deeply into the “perfect” plan of pairing up with Kang-ok, and asks him to meet up.

Vigilante Episode 4 Ending

 

Sam-doo tortures two of his former workers once they took off with goods after Doo-yeop’s arrest. They meet with a gory end. On the other hand, Dae-seok and Ms Choi approach actor Jae-hak, who was ready to spill the dirty details about the criminal operation. They reach his home, but the apartment seems to be deserted with his phone left behind. As they step in further, they find him dead, hung up from the ceiling, but they can already sense that it wasn’t a suicide. The police doesn’t take heed, but they start digging up dirt on their own.

Meanwhile, Kang-ok prepares for his meeting with Ji-yong, with the help of the same girl who came to his rescue earlier it seems. But Ji-yong catches sight of Jo Heon tailing him, and they eventually get to talking. He then reveals that he and Professor Lee Jun-yeop had worked together four years ago, so it made Ji-yong his junior officer too. Eventually, Jo Heon drops the bomb and asks Ji-yong how the Vigilante would write a report on the Vigilante, considering Ji-yong has been assigned a report on the case too.

 

And Ji-yong puts forth the idea that he would do it objectively, without dropping any hints of him being antisocial, especially since the Vigilante doesn’t see himself committing any crimes. Jo Heon also drops the formality and comes clean that he’s focusing on eradicating crimes, rather than being hung up on the Vigilante. He promises to catch him, and extends a direct advice that Ji-yong shouldn’t waste his talents on these stunts. However, Ji-yong continues playing dumb.

And it’s then that Jo Heon’s reply to the Professor’s previous question is revealed. If the Vigilante were to be a righteous man indeed, the public will go out of control. Moreover, if he was a handsome man too on top of that, it would be nearly impossible to frame him as the bad guy in this narrative. Heon suggests that they pick out candidates for playing the Vigilante, and the worst among them will be framed under his name to show the people that the man behind these “righteous” moves is actually a worthless man, not a hero. This according is the best way to put vigilantism to an end.

 

Vigilante Episode 4 Review

 

It’s almost funny how Jo Heon is always mistaken as a crime boss, but the same idea interestingly blends into the ambiguous palette of characters laid out by the show. Each one of the main characters hints of some or the other association with at least a tinge of darkness, if not more, in turn, convoluting the track ahead. Half-way into the season, Jo Heon has already figured out Ji-yong is the Vigilante, but with no hard proof to corroborate his story, he’s still stuck in the middle. Props to the series for not dragging out unnecessary drama and getting straight to the point of conflict.

Plus, with Jo Heon’s alarming plan in the works, the series also balances out the measuring scale on both sides. At the moment, it seems like both parties have secured at least one win, but with both onto each other, the stakes are also higher than ever. In the midst of all that, the manic presence of Lee Joon-hyuk’s character has made the journey spicier than before, and thankfully, Kim So-jin’s character hasn’t been chucked aside to the sidelines either so far. Episode 4 particularly portrays Ji-young struggling to keep up the facade of innocence, but you have to give it up for Nam Joo-hyuk for pulling up with a pure smile seconds after drowning under mental conflict.