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(Written October 28, 2024)
Welcome to the penultimate episode of I-Land! I’m expecting rehearsal chaos, followed by great performances. Let’s dive right in.
We’re down to ten finalists, and we’re told one more is going home in this episode. So we’ll be saying goodbye to Hanbin, Daniel, or K.
We open back at the giant egg timer after everyone has said goodbye to Ta-Ki. The survivors are still sad and probably still recovering from the stress of the whole ranking process. Then the announcer voice speaks up, and for the first time, I realize it might be coming from the egg. They only hear the announcer voice when they’re in this room or onstage. Is the egg talking to them, like the Tower in Wild Idol? How have I not noticed this before?
The egg congratulates them,
and the new banners unfurl.
The Top 7 get their badges, and Jay is so happy to get his. “It looks small and ornamental,” he tells us, “but it feels like my life’s riding on it.” In a way, it really is. For Hanbin, getting a badge is a new experience, and he doesn’t want to let it go. For Jungwon, it’s his first time not getting a badge. He looks sad and a little embarrassed, but we know he’s going to make it to the end and be the Leader of Enhypen.
Our low-ranked finalists are
very stressed, even more so now that we’re getting close to the end, and they
don’t have much time left to prove themselves.
Ni-Ki looks like he hasn’t been getting any sleep. He’s about to get even more stressed. It’s time to reshuffle the teams for the
Concept Test, now that Ta-Ki’s gone.
Sunoo, as the top-ranked member, gets to decide who leaves Team Flame On (the awesome team) to join Team Chamber 5 (the cutesy pretty boy team). If he sends Jay to Team Chamber 5, I will throw my computer in a dumpster.
Thankfully, he picks future bandmate Sunghoon, although now that I think about it, that’s not much better. I hope Sunghoon makes him pay for this. He was miserable on Team Pretty U. Sunoo is grinning proudly like he just achieved peace in the Middle East.
I don’t think Sunoo is thinking this through. He’s also on Team Chamber 5, and he just recruited someone who hates the whole pretty boy vibe and might cause them to lose. Ni-Ki would have been a much better choice, or even K, the Expression King. To make it worse, Team Flame On is now losing their Leader to the other team.
Well, what’s done is
done. Right now, they all need to sleep,
and Jay is excited to be in the luxury room with Sunoo and Heeseung. As he looks around his new digs, his new roomies
decide to read the goodbye letters he wrote them when he thought he was being
eliminated. They read the letters out
loud with Jay cringing and protesting, “I was crying when I was writing those!”
The next day, Sunghoon is stressing out during rehearsal with his new team. He’s still doing beast idol moves to the new pretty boy idol choreo, moving aggressively and stomping his feet instead of moving lightly. He’s still in “Flame On” mode. He’s also having trouble with the cutesy expressions. This was a really, really bad idea.
In fact, Sunghoon decides to get into the cutesy vibe by imitating Sunoo all day. He starts bopping and singing in the kitchen area, which freaks out the other finalists and is pretty funny to watch. He’s probably going to lose his mind by the end of the episode.
Over at Team Flame On, not
only have they lost their Leader, but Jay is starting from scratch. He really believed he would be eliminated, so
he’s been recording the rehearsals instead of actually rehearsing. I’m dreading the midpoint evaluation.
They also need a new Leader, and this time, they’re able to talk K into doing it. Not wanting to make the same mistake as before, he tells his teammates, “I want everyone to give feedback to each other and go through this time well together.”
We watch both teams practice as the days go by, and now it’s time for the midpoint evaluation for Team Chamber 5. Son Sung Deuk is surprised to see Sunghoon here. He asks Sunoo if it wasn’t a bit cruel to take the other team’s Leader, and Sunoo laughs, thinking it’s a joke. It’s probably a good thing that Sunoo isn’t the Leader of Enhypen.
Son Sung Deuk has them run through the choreo, and it’s a bit messy. Sunoo is the only one able to keep a bright, cheery expression through the whole thing. Son Sung Deuk does not look impressed. When it’s over, he says the fact that nobody looks happy makes the whole performance awkward. They all have a lot more work to do. Sunghoon and Jake, who are having the worst time with the expression part, have no trouble expressing their depression afterward.
Now for Team Flame On. Son Sung Deuk asks Jay how he enjoys being in the swanky room, and we learn that all the finalists like hanging out in there, and they make a mess. Poor Jay. But on the upside, their rehearsal goes really well. Son Sung Deuk is actually smiling. He tells them this is his first time being impressed during these training sessions. I’m so happy for this group that’s been through so much already.
We do get one red flag, though. After all the praise, Son Sung Deuk tells Hanbin he needs to pick up the energy. He’s not keeping up the same enthusiasm as the rest of the group. When he runs through the choreo on his own, I notice how awkward he looks compared to the others. This is worrisome.
Later in the kitchen area,
Sunghoon hears Team Flame On talk about the positive feedback they got at their
evaluation, and he gets upset. He walks
out, and in the next scene, we see him really focusing on his expressions with
the rest of his team. I feel so bad for
him. Sunoo really did him dirty.
Everyone takes a break to do some cleaning around the I-Land, and suddenly the giant egg timer starts beeping. Maybe it needs a new battery. Everyone runs to the lobby. The gate opens, so everyone goes inside and just starts cleaning it. This is one of the weirdest segments I’ve seen on this show.
Afterwards, they all gather in the kitchen to eat pizza and play games, and I’m wondering if this is a filler episode. The show feels like it’s running out of steam.
As night falls, the giant egg
orders the first, second, and third-ranked finalists to go to their room. The three of them find cell phones on their
beds. Jay’s cell phone is placed on his
“giant head of V from BTS” blanket, which I totally forgot he had, and the
image startled me. A sign on the wall
says they can call anyone they want. I
have a million questions, including didn’t this show already give them cell
phones, and have they not been able to call anyone all this time, but let’s
just move on.
The boys talk about maybe calling their families and how happy they are to have cell phones. Have they been hostages all this time? Again, the show gave them BTS-branded cell phones in the early episodes. Did they just take the phones away immediately when the cameras stopped filming?
This was driving me nuts, so I had to stop and look it up. During the three months of filming, the contestants were not allowed phones or any access to the internet. They did get movie nights, but that was it. The tablets they used to record their practice sessions did not have internet access. There was a one-month gap between parts one and two of the series (part two started on the episode where BTS showed up), so during that month, they took a break and connected with their family and friends. I guess the show gave disconnected BTS phones to the contestants as a promotion for Big Hit Entertainment, like everything else on this show.
All the finalists gather
together and decide to call an eliminated contestant and put him on
speakerphone so they can all say hi.
They call Jaebeom, our songwriter trainee sent home in Episode 7. He sounds happy to hear from them and is
enjoying watching the show.
Sunoo, Heeseung, and Jay all find places to be alone and call their families. I’m curious to hear the conversation between Seattle Jay and his mother. They speak in Korean. His mother initially believes that he’s calling because he was eliminated and immediately reassures him that it’s okay and she’s proud of him and oh my God I love her so much.
She talks a LOT before Jay can finally get a word in and let her know he’s in third place, and she talks more about how proud she is of him. I see where Jay gets his verbosity.
Meawhile, both Sunoo and Heeseung have family members who are fans of Jay, which cracks them up. Their families all sound supportive and excited for them. This is really sweet.
After the calls, when they’re trying to settle down so they can sleep, Jay and Heeseung discuss their fears of being eliminated and how much they’ve sacrificed to get here. Jay says he was so upset when he was ranked last at the midpoint evaluation, he wanted to break his own hands. Jay is kind of intense.
Rehearsals get more
intense. We get a montage of everyone
practicing with higher and higher energy.
Everyone is gunning for a badge.
And finally, it’s D-Day.
Our stage lights up, and Namgoong Min appears on the screen, taking a page from the Steve Jobs fashion pamphlet.
Tonight, the judges will be making the decisions instead of the viewers. Our judges tonight are Doobu, Son Sung Deuk, Bang Si Hyuk, and DAMMIT WonderKid. Why is this guy still here? He never shows up for midpoint evaluations and doesn’t seem to contribute anything else to this show or help the contestants. Is he the nephew of someone at Big Hit Entertainment?
Back at the giant egg timer, the Top 7 turn in their badges. The one who ranks 10th tonight will be eliminated. Team Chamber 5 is up first. Good. Let’s get the cutesy song out of the way first.
They’re off to a bad start
when they can’t even do their team greeting in sync, but at least the judges
find that funny. Hopefully the
performance will be better. Let’s go.
It’s cute, bubbly, adorable,
perfectly in sync, and makes me want to barf.
So, mission accomplished, I guess.
The judges praise Sunoo, Jake, and Sunghoon for their expressions. Apparently Sunghoon learned to swallow his
pride and plaster on a believable smile.
He’d better get a badge out of this.
The judges didn’t find Heeseung’s expressions quite as believable. Heeseung is twenty years old and has aged way past this. Jungwon lacked energy in parts. But overall, the judges are pleased. Good. Please let these guys go back to their rooms and look for what’s left of their dignity.
Now Team Flame On takes the stage, and right away, I approve of their jackets, although on Hanbin, it looks more like a raincoat. The stylists should have made his jacket a little shorter. They do the usual chitchat with the judges, and then it’s showtime.
This is straight FIRE. I feel like I’m watching an actual Enhypen performance, even though there are only two future Enhypen members on this team. The judges love it. Doobu gives them a standing ovation. “You really destroyed the stage,” Bang Si Hyuk tells them. “I felt like I was watching pros. This is how a performance should be. I could tell you came to burn the stage.”
He singles out K and Ni-Ki
for praise, and this is the happiest I’ve seen Ni-Ki in a long time. Daniel also gets praise, so I don’t think
he’ll be eliminated today. Hanbin, sadly,
is told that he was slightly out of step with the rest of the group, and his
singing could have been better. Oof.
Team Flame On returns to the I-Land while the judges huddle. The power is in their hands now. Every time Wonderkid speaks, I want to shut off his mic.
Back at the I-Land, I think Hanbin knows it’s over. He’s 23 years old, which is middle age for K-pop trainees who haven’t debuted yet. He sinks to the floor and puts his head in his hands, and K tries to comfort him. This is heartbreaking.
I looked up Hanbin to see
what happens to him after this show and OH MY GOD HE’S IN THE GROUP TEMPEST. HOW DID I NOT KNOW HE WAS IN THE GROUP
TEMPEST??
Last year, when I first started getting into K-pop, one of the videos that appeared on my YouTube feed was “Dangerous” by Tempest, and it’s been one of my absolute favorites ever since. I still play that song on my power walks. I also love the video, but Hanbin is styled as the bad boy of the group, so he looks VERY different, and I didn’t recognize him on this show.
Tempest has another song I really like, “Baddest Behavior.” So far, they’ve released six albums and won a bunch of awards, including a Seoul Music Award and two Asia Artist Awards, and they were nominated for MAMA’s Best New Male Artist in 2022. (They lost to a group whose name I can’t pronounce, and it doesn’t matter because they’re still awesome.)
So, judges, please cut Hanbin
from this show. He has to go be in
Tempest. Yes, he’ll be heartbroken, but
then he gets to be in Tempest. The
longer you keep him on this show, THE LONGER HE’S NOT IN TEMPEST!!! WHAT IS HE STILL DOING HERE??!!!
Okay. I apologize. I got a little carried away. I still don’t even know if Hanbin is the one getting eliminated in this episode. He’d better be. I have never wanted to see someone get eliminated so desperately in this entire eight months of recapping these shows.
As the I-Landers wait for the new rankings, they pack their bags and say some prayers. Ni-Ki especially. Jay, on the other hand, takes out his spiral-bound book of fan letters and reads through them for moral support. Ni-Ki and Jay, you’re going to be fine. You’ll be bandmates in Enhypen, and as a bonus, you’ll be friends with a member of Tempest! You can hang out with Hanbin at the 2022 MAMA Awards when Enhypen loses to BTS in the Best Male Group category and Tempest loses to something called “Xdinary Heroes,” and then both your bands can go out together and celebrate that you have better band names than “Xdinary Heroes.” I know it’s supposed to be “Extraordinary Heroes,” but first of all, that is WAY too long of a band name, and secondly, the “X” doesn’t cover the “extraor” part, so the band name is “Ex-dinary Heroes” which is a worse name than “Wonderkid.”
Time for the rankings. Our boys are summoned back to the stage. Here we go.
#1 is K, with a score of 92. Woah. I did not see that coming. We are off to a very surprising start. I’m happy for him. He’s going to leave this show with a performance he can be proud of and then go on to join Ta-Ki in the ampersand band.
#2 is Ni-Ki, up seven spots, with a score of 87, and finally getting a Top 7 badge! The look on his face gives me life. He is beaming while the others congratulate him, while he says his thank-yous, and while walking through the gate back to the I-Land. I love this kid.
#3 is Sunoo, with a score of 86. Down two spots, but still ranked high. He’s very grateful. I don’t think he thought he was going to be eliminated, but he was expecting to have to leave the swanky bedroom.
#4 is Heeseung, with a score of 83. Thank goodness, because he was fully expecting to be sent home. He’s been looking physically sick this whole time, and now he can finally breathe. He breaks down in tears during his thank-yous and says, “I really want to be a good idol.” Oh, sweetie. In 2024, you’ll be part of a group that will be touring arenas in the United States.
#5 is Sunghoon, with a score of 81. He’s at the same spot, and I’m so glad after he suffered his way through that sappy pretty boy song. He just looks relieved. He’s been through it this week, getting yanked from a beast idol group to the one with pillow fight choreography.
#6 is Jay, with a score of 79. He’s still in the Top 7. Again, stunned and relieved. He may have dropped three spots, but he’s still alive, kicking, and wearing a badge.
#7 is Jake, with a score of 78. Man, these scores are close. And he remains in the same spot, despite getting double votes last time. Believe me, this is the most flattering screenshot I can get of his reaction. He’s also been through it this week, but he’s still got the badge.
#8 is Daniel, with a score of 77.
Up two spots. The only two left
are future Tempest member Hanbin and future Enhypen leader Jungwon.
Jungwon is announced as the
final survivor. Hanbin looks like he’s
just been punched in the gut.
After Jungwon thanks the
judges, he runs to hug Hanbin, who is now smiling. He’s accepted the elimination. He saw it coming, and he knows it’s time to
go.
Hanbin, get out there and find your Tempest bandmates.
Episode 12 (Finale): Enhypen, after an Eternity (and thank God for
BTS)
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