Vagabond – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap & Review

Ambushed

Following yesterday’s dramatic episode, Vagabond returns for a much more action-packed slice of drama this time around, one that sees all eyes turn to Kim Woo-Ki and what he knows about the operation. As it turns out, he knows a lot and as secrets are revealed, the climactic shootout leaves things wide open going forward.

We begin with Jessica being interrogated over her involvement in the plane crash. As the evidence is laid before her she sneers, brushing aside the claims. It seems to work too, as the court dismiss the warrant and Joo-Cheol is told to let her go. As everything begins to align, the NIS agents realize something rotten is at the core of the Blue House.

Meanwhile Cha beats Woo-Ki to a pulp before being surrounded by officers who capture him and Kim. As the NIS agents scramble to work with the Tangier authorities to release the co-pilot, Hae-Ri heads in to see Cha, congratulating him for his good work. Unfortunately Ki-Soo arrives soon after and berates Cha and Hae-Ri for their recklessness, prompting Cha to incredulously ask if finding his nephew’s killer is really crossing the line.

Meanwhile, Director General An is confronted by Han-Ki who tells him he needs to change the entire task-force currently in charge of handling Kim. Disgusted, he storms out upon hearing the truth behind the operation, speaking to the President about the situation. Getting nowhere, Director An finds himself in a difficult position and reluctantly caves under pressure.

In Morocco, Lilly meets with the Tangier police while Hae-Ri and Cha team up with the NIS and interrogate Kim about the crash. Midway through grilling him for information, he lets slip the name “Jerome” before convulsing on the floor. Cha and Hae-Ri hold off giving him a shot to stop him fitting until Kim finally lets slip another name – Michael; the Vice President of John Mark. Through a flashback, we see the plan behind the crash being set into motion, including Michael’s subsequent death and Jessica’s involvement in the entire operation. Via a secret bank account, we also learn Kim was paid 5 million dollars to crash the plane.

As they drive toward the airport with Kim in tow, the car is stopped by numerous roadblocks in place, forcing the cars down desolate streets away from the main crowded areas. All of this ties into Lilly’s plan which includes killing Kim Woo-Ki by any means necessary.

When the attack comes, chaos erupts in the streets and the once peaceful air is broken by a barrage of gunfire and explosions. Lilly kills the driver of Kim’s car, Kim himself is shot in the leg and numerous agents are taken out in the crossfire. As gunfire rains down, Cha and Hae-Ri arrive on the scene and save the trapped agents. Racing away, Cha phones through to Joo-Cheol and tells him the local police are in on the operation too.

The NIS agents are told to pack up the operation, leading to Joo-Cheol fighting them off before being told by the Director that Min will be taking over the operation and he’ll be taken away for now. After speaking to Jessica on the way out, she hears word from Lilly that the others are currently in the embassy tending to Kim’s gunshot wound.

With no scalpel or anesthetic, the team operate by hand, opening up Kim’s leg while video-calling a doctor to get help patching up the severed artery. With scissors and quick-thinking, they manage to bandage up his leg as best they can but unfortunately Woo-Ki starts convulsing again thanks to blood loss. With him in desperate need of a transfusion, both Cha and Hae-Ri happen to be the right blood type and plead with Ki-Soo to let them transfer blood to him.

As things are left on a knife-edge, Vagabond bows out its duo of episodes this week with an almighty bang. With the Moroccan’s clearly in on the attack and deeper layers of this conspiracy are revealed, who knows how deep this one is likely to go. One thing’s for sure though, this conflict is far, far from over.

The romance between Hae-Ri and Cha thankfully takes a backseat this episode too which is nice to see, instead replaced by a much more exciting, action-packed shoot-out. The pacing in general has been very good too and consistently increases in tempo right the way through to the exciting finale. Quite what will happen next week remains to be seen but for now, Vagabond continues to deliver some very good drama.