Vagabond – Season 1 Review (2/5) [Netflix]

VAGABOND is a new series on Netflix. The action thriller series is from South Korea (org. title Baegabondeu) which is enough to catch our attention. Unfortunately, this isn’t anywhere near the level we’re used to! Read our Vagabond review here and check out the series on Netflix now!

Vagabond is a new series on Netflix in the action-thriller genre. The production is South Korean (org. title Baegabondeu) and this is always a huge plus in our book. We tend to adore both movies and series from South Korea and Netflix has a rather large collection of them already.

Be sure to check out: Our review of the South Korean Netflix zombie series KINGDOM here >

When it comes to Vagabond, we’re dealing with a very different kind of production. It’s a TV production and it shows in all the worst ways; Stereotypical characters and plot development worthy of a soap opera. But, unfortunately, without any of the kitsch elements that could make it oddly entertaining. 

Read more in our Vagabond review below!

Not what I expected from a South Korean production

I had no way of setting my expectations appropriately for this Vagabond series on Netflix. I’ve watched a lot of movies from South Korea and I absolute adore them. Later, I’ve also watched South Korean TV series on Netflix such as Kingdom and Mr. Sunshine. 

Unfortunately, I cannot in any way compare those impressive productions to this one. It would be like comparing a Lifetime movie of the week with an HBO movie production. Or even just one of those really well-made Netflix movies that impress and surprise.

The Vagabond series has a plot that feels like something from a 1990s TV series made in the US. And while the plot is just one part of a TV show, the pacing and character development is very much off as well. Basically, I couldn’t really find anything I liked.

However, I do recognize that the production quality is still at a high level and I feel confident that Vagabond will find a big audience on Netflix. I’m just not part of this audience.

The cast of Vagabond

To most, the cast of Vagabond probably won’t be very familiar. That includes us here at Heaven of Horror despite loving both movies and series from South Korea. The reason is probably to be found in the fact that the cast of Vagabond consists mostly of actors that have performed in TV series that aired on national television. Not on major streaming platforms.

However, the two stars Lee Seung-Gi and Bae Suzy may still be familiar to some. Especially the latter for fans of K-pop. Bae Suzy is a former member of the K-pop group “Miss A”. Both have acted in quite a lot of TV series. In fact, they were both on Gu Family Book from 2013, so they’re already veteran TV actors in South Korea.

Whether you know any of the actors before watching Vagabond or not, is irrelevant anyway. What matters is how they do in this production and I have nothing to say either way about that. Basically, both the plot and character development are too slow and predictable to keep me interested. 

Watch Season 1 of Vagabond on Netflix now!

The director of Vagabond is Yu In-sik who is certainly no stranger to directing TV series. In fact, this is the ninth TV series for Yu In-sik and in terms of quality and style, it shows that we’re dealing with a very experienced director.

Two screenwriters are attached to the TV series; Jang Young-Cheol and Jung Kyung-Soon. The two previously worked together on both the Incarnation of Money and Empress Ki series which aired in 2013-2014. 

In South Korea, Vagabond (with the original title Baegabondeu) will air on good ol’ “flow TV” on Fridays and Saturdays. For Netflix viewers in the US (as well as my native Denmark and most other countries), it will air one episode at the time as well on those same days.

If you like movies from South Korea, then you should check out this new Netflix series with very low expectations. The production quality is good (as you would expect), but the storyline and characters are nowhere near the level of the South Korean productions we’ve become accustomed to.

Still, Vagabond is a series that should appeal to a rather big audience on Netflix, so hopefully it will be yet another hit for South Korean producers. For me, watching the first episodes was more than enough.

Episode 1 of Vagabond is available on Netflix from September 20, 2019. The next episode will be released the day after while you’ll have to wait for episode 3 and 4 to air the following weekend.

Details

Director: Yu In-sik
Cast: Lee Seung-Gi, Suzy Bae, António Pedro Cerdeira, João Aguiar

Plot

Cha Dal-Gun is a stunt man who dreams of becoming a world famous action actor. A plane crash changes his life as he faces a hidden conspiracy behind and digs up a national corruption case. His life also intertwines with Go Hae-ri, who is a covert operative for the National Intelligence Service.