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(Written October 4, 2024)
We are BACK, baby! And since I’ve been caught up in Enhypen
World with the I-Land recaps, let me get caught up on what we’ve covered
in this series.
- So Hee has been
the best BOSS so far.
- Anton can swim.
- Eun Seok is not
to be trusted.
- There’s a LOT of
Korean mukbang on this show.
- Car cams are fun.
- Three out of six
RIIZE members can’t identify their own song “Siren” when it’s been slowed
down. (Two members never even made it
that far and got disqualified.)
- Snails and eggs
are vegan now.
- Won Bin is the current BOSS. Anton is the only one who hasn’t been the BOSS.
Let’s do this.
Our band seems to be done with swimming and have hopped into the SUV to get lunch. Won Bin is suspicious of everything his bandmates say, wondering if they’re trying to stage a coup. Shotaro suggests a Word Relay, and Won Bin suggests he stuff a sock in it. “It’s obviously a mission coup,” says the wise So Hee, half asleep in the back row of seats.
The others start suggesting games just to watch Won Bin have a nervous breakdown. Eun Seok, who is the sole worker under Won Bin’s regime, is really enjoying this.
We arrive at a cute little
restaurant. Must be mukbang time. We get close-ups of boiled duck and side
dishes. Everything is shot like food
porn. The text on the screen even describes
the food in vaguely sexual terms:
“Fleshy meat and sticky rice that look so tender.” I need an adult.
Once they are seated, the crew tells them they need to check the budget first. Apparently there was a “water sports experience fee” of 50,000 won. The snacks they had at the creek also cost them. That, plus the current meal, takes 250,000 won out of the budget. They only have 50,000 won left. Win Bin is not a financially savvy BOSS.
Now for a long segment of
everyone eating. We zoom in on them as
they chew, swallow, and savor. It’s kind
of fascinating how good they are with chopsticks. I’m a little clumsy using wooden chopsticks
for sushi, but I’m useless with chopsticks for all other meals. These guys can even use them to assemble
lettuce wraps.
But Won Bin is having trouble enjoying his food because he’s waiting to hear the music signifying a successful coup. He looks around for the voting booth. He’s too stressed out to enjoy his own regime. The others are still suggesting games and laughing at his twitchy responses. If the mission coup is to drive Won Bin insane, it’s working. Won Bin even thinks Eun Seok is trying to pull out his hair, so now he’s sitting with his back pressed against a support pole.
Suddenly, the crew tells them
the BOSS has correctly guessed a mission coup, so the coup failed. Yes, Eun Seok was trying to pull several
strands of Won Bin’s hair.
You’re right, Melissa, but it’s also an unfair thing for Won Bin. The point of a coup is to try to trick the BOSS into saying or doing something, not just attack him by pulling at his hair.
Won Bin says now that they’re
done eating, they’re going to drive away and leave Eun Seok behind.
Why are the viewer comments on Eun Seok’s side? I don’t get it. Did he make alliances with the viewers, too?
They all leave the restaurant and arrive at the beach. This place is gorgeous. They stop at a café to get dessert and wind up ordering Hajodae Coffee, which is a specialty brand, like ordering Starbucks. It’s not cheap. They also get croissants and cookies because Won Bin appears to be worse with money than I am.
They sit outside the café and talk about other trips they’d like to take, like Won Bin’s hometown of Ulsan, or New York City during Christmas. Now I’m paranoid because I’m wondering if this is part of a coup. Then Shotaro playfully tries to kiss Won Bin on the cheek, and Won Bin demands to know if it’s a coup. We’re all losing our minds.
Or maybe not. We get a quick flashback to the restaurant after lunch, when both Shotaro and Eun Seok request and receive mission coups. Shotaro does indeed have to try to snuggle with Won Bin. Since Won Bin called it immediately, the coup failed.
Eun Seok’s second mission was to get the BOSS stamp on his hand, but Won Bin is at the point where he’s not letting anyone touch him. He threatens to punish anyone who gets into his personal space. Eun Seok gives up on his mission.
Everyone starts teasing Anton about being the only one who hasn’t been BOSS yet. But the teasing stops when the crew tells them this is the last day of the trip, so they will have an election to choose the final BIG BOSS. I really think Won Bin should be removed from power before he goes insane and locks himself in the café bathroom, screaming for everyone to leave him alone.
The crew prepares for the 2024 BIG BOSS test. They will be tested in the Korean language (especially challenging for Anton and Shotaro), Sensibility (Won Bin is losing his), Math, and Research, whatever that is. For every question they answer correctly, they get a ballot. As the current BOSS, Won Bin gets to assign each band member to a subject. Or a chair. The translations are not very clear.
They go through the questions, and I don’t understand most of them because you have to understand Korean and the culture to get most of it. We do get one cool question under the “Sensibility” topic:
Q: What is one before you eat but two after you
eat?
A: Wooden chopsticks.
The episode ends here, halfway through the test. Sung Chan has won two ballots. Anton, Won Bin, and So Hee each have one. Eun Seok and Shotaro have none.
For our final episode, I want banished member Seunghan to return and become the final BOSS. Come on, SM Entertainment. Imagine the ratings.
Fingers crossed for the last
episode.
Episode 12 (Finale): The Politics of BOSSing
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