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(Written May 8, 2024)
We get our regular horrifying opening credits, right before cutting to a bright, sunny day in front of the JYP Building. Ten seconds in, and the tonal shifts of this show are already giving me whiplash.
Our trainees are on the move. They have luggage. They get on a bus. Since we missed the second half of the first episode, I have no idea where they’re going.
On the bus, they’re asked what they want to do most on the M.T. Okay, I know what this is. Membership Training is something Korean college students do before the start of the school year. They go on a retreat and do fun activities to get to know their classmates and blow off steam before classes start, so I’m guessing our boys are going to do the K-pop version of this. Based on the mood swings of this show, they will either play football on the beach or battle to the death in the UFC Octagon.
A ferry takes them to an
island. The trainees enjoy the ride,
feeding the seagulls and soaking up the sun.
You know, I take back what I said at the end of the last recap. If you’re a teenage boy in the US and are
approached by someone wanting you to go to South Korea with them, it’s worth
the risk if you get to spend a day on the water like this. Go for it.
Then suddenly – DRAMA. We cut back to the JYP Building. The ominous music makes me think a Disney villain is about to summon a storm to capsize the ferry. An unidentified man emerges from the JYP Building and gets into a van. This whole scene is shot in black and white. And then – back to color, as we’re back on the ferry in the sunshine and the lovely weather. Not sure what the point of that was, but okay.
The
trainees arrive at the island and drive to a beautiful beach house right on the
water. Khun and Taec Yeon walk toward
the beach, and it’s the first time I’ve heard a full conversation in English on
these survival shows. Taec Yeon speaks English
as fluently as Khun, like it’s his native language. I looked him up. He was born in Seoul, but at age ten, he and
his family moved to Bedford, Massachusetts, where he lived for seven years before
being approached by a JYP rep and invited to audition for the trainee
program. He applied to be a model but
was told to try dancing and singing instead.
Wow, he and Khun have a lot in common. And just how many JYP reps are lurking around the US at any given moment, approaching random Asian kids with no musical experience? I mean, clearly it worked out fine for Khun and Taec Yeon, but it still feels kind of creepy.
Back to our show. One of the other trainees joins Khun and Taec Yeon and practices his English as he walks around with them. It’s a lighthearted little scene, but then SUDDENLY WE SWITCH TO BLACK & WHITE and the SOUNDTRACK MUSIC OF DOOM. We see the other trainees exploring the house, and the screen text says, “The members wander around, BUT … someone has been assigned to watch them!”
Um, yeah. I just assumed the Mnet team was doing that. Unless this someone has been assigned to hunt them for sport, I don’t think we should panic.
We get a dramatic pause, and in the next scene, we are back to color, and of course, Baek PD and his assistants are here. Baek PD has called the trainees together and issues the following terrifying threat: “Instead of rice for lunch, we will eat ramen. Make the ramen and eat it until 3:30, and then in each room, plan and rehearse for the talent show.”
Well, that was certainly worth the dark foreshadowing. Can’t wait for the red-alert lockdown when the mail delivery guy shows up.
The trainees cook ramen and slurp it up in a way that I wish was socially acceptable in America. We’re raised to not slurp our soup, but it makes so much sense to eat it like this. They just bite off the end when they reach a mouthful and savor it. Sometimes we Americans are no fun.
But wait – our mysterious
danger guy is on the ferry! He’s getting
closer! And BOY, does he look … casual
and non-threatening.
I do not understand the tone of this show.
Back at the house, our unsuspecting trainees rehearse for the talent show. Khun is leading his team in English, so I assume they’re all somewhat fluent. The other team is putting costumes together. Baek PD brings everyone together to discuss the rules while the threatening, scary CASUAL LAID-BACK DUDE gets closer and closer.
Baek PD tells the two teams that there will be a BBQ party tonight, and the losing team will have to cook the food, serve the winning team, clean up afterward, and then prepare to die by the hand of the mysterious visitor. Sorry, I just threw that last part in to try to play along with this weird vibe. I have no idea what’s going on here.
The talent show is fun to
watch. The teams take turns performing a
cappella songs, dancing, and doing skits.
The best skit is performed by Khun’s team. They act out Olympic events, including a
ping-pong match that goes wildly out of control. It’s inspired lunacy, and I love it. They win the talent show. I enjoy it so much, I almost forget that
they’re all apparently about to die.
But the show hasn’t forgotten. Suddenly, there’s a noise in the house, and everyone turns around. In strolls the man whose arrival was foretold in the Sacred Text of Dramatic Foreshadowing. He is sinister. He is evil. He is … wearing jeans, a bright pink hoodie, and a friendly smile. We are told that he’s a new trainee who is joining the group mid-episode.
Everyone greets him
cheerfully. Somewhere, Monsta X’s I.M is
watching this episode and FUMING.
The new guy is Park Jae Bum. The group 2pm has a member named Jay Park, and I’m hoping that who this guy is. Otherwise this whole buildup is rather anticlimactic in hindsight. The rest of the trainees tell him he has to perform a talent, so he does an impressive breakdance right there on the spot.
The losing team cooks dinner while the winning team relaxes and watches the Eminem movie 8 Mile on a laptop. They have a big BBQ dinner in the main room and head off to their rooms for some much-needed rest.
But of course, we can’t end on a peaceful note. Sometime in the night, a bunch of guys in camo uniforms barge into the house, blowing whistles and waking everyone up. We cut to a title screen reading, “Starting next week, the real cruelty training!”
Given the tonal fake-outs
we’ve seen so far, I’m guessing the military guys will drag our trainees off
for a day of spa treatments and playing with puppies. But they will look mean and yell a lot while
doing it. This is one emotional roller
coaster of a show.
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