I-Land, Episode 8: Heartbreak

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(Written October 22, 2024)

Welcome back.  When we left off, Ta-Ki and his team were about to crash and burn because they got stuck with the wrong BTS song.  That is a sentence that makes perfect sense in the world of K-pop survival reality shows.

We start with a recap of the last episode, and here’s where we find out how all the teams are divided for the BTS Test.  Future Enhypen members are highlighted.

We have to wait to see the Fake Love Team perform.  We open on a sunny morning at the I-Land, where everyone is having breakfast. K is in a better mood.  Everyone agrees that the DNA Team is strong and has a good chance of winning.  So we then cut to the DNA Team in rehearsal, where they’re struggling with the usual stuff – voices cracking, trying to decide who gets the best dance parts, etc. This  may not be the team to beat after all.

The Fake Love Team is also rehearsing, but we saw this in the previous episode.  They’re worried because the vocal parts are quite high, and we already know what happens at their midpoint check.  It doesn’t help that Ta-Ki has never been a leader before and has no confidence.

A drawback of this episode is that it’s designed with the voting audience in mind.  They do a lot of flashbacks for each finalist so the voters can remember who they are, so we wind up spending a pretty big chunk of time not really doing anything.  Our trainees joke and goof off to show their playful sides and connect with the voters.

About eighteen minutes into the episode, we get some drama from K’s DNA Team.  Ni-Ki has thrown an ad-libbed move into the choreo because he saw V do it in the original BTS video.  K scolds him for not asking permission from the group first and demands to know if he thinks he’s a solo artist.  “You only think about yourself!” he snaps.

This seems like an overreaction, especially since Ni-Ki had a solid reason for throwing in that move.  Jay and Hanbin look uncomfortable.  Ni-Ki storms out of the practice room.  K calls him back for a private conversation in a dressing room with no cameras.  But they’re still wearing their mics.  K sounds like an angry dad, and Ni-Ki responds like a sullen teenage son.  This is really uncomfortable to listen to.

We now cut to the midpoint evaluation with all three teams gathered in the big practice room.  Son Sung Deuk asks how their rehearsals are going.  He tells them he choreographed all three of these songs for BTS, which I find really impressive because each one has a different style.  If he and BTS can adapt to these varied styles of dancing, then our finalists should also be able to do the same if they want to debut.

When the DNA Team performs for the midpoint check, we see that Ni-Ki isn’t doing V’s move anymore and is just sticking to the original choreo.  Overall, I think the performance looks good, but Son Sung Deuk has a different opinion. 

Next up is Ta-Ki’s Fake Love Team.  Like we saw last time, Ta-Ki is out of sync with the others, and there’s nothing smooth about his movements.  The choreo is supposed to dramatically flow, but when Ta-Ki does it, it’s all jerks and twists.  Plus, no one on the team can hit the high notes.  This is a disaster. 

The evaluation ends without us getting to see the I Need U Team perform.  Ta-Ki turns away and starts crying.  His team tries to console him.  I just want this show to cut him already and put him out of his misery.

We get some more audience voter fanservice as we cut to later that night, and the finalists share their experiences as trainees.  This goes on for several minutes that I fast-forward through, and finally, we cut to D-Day.  Let’s see the final performances!

The stage area lights up, and Namgoong Min appears on a screen in a snazzy white suite with purple shirt and tie.  Perfect formal K-pop attire.

Back in the giant egg timer room, the Top 7 are instructed to turn in their badges.  The rankings will very likely change after tonight.  The one with the lowest score will be eliminated.

The DNA Team is up first:  K, Ni-Ki, Jay, and Hanbin.  The judges comment that K and Ni-Ki are two of the best dancers in the group of finalists, and they are now on the same team.  The DNA Team walks through the gate to the stage, while the others remain with the giant egg timer to watch their performances on the screen.

But first, we get another flashback.  We need to learn if things were resolved between K and Ni-Ki.  The DNA Team is doing another midpoint rehearsal with Son Sung Deuk, and this time, Ni-Ki throws in the ad-libbed move.  After the run-through, our coach has Ni-Ki do his part alone, and he does the move again.  K is not happy, judging by his scowl.

To my surprise, Son Sung Deuk isn’t happy either.  He tells Ni-Ki to lose the move and asks the other team members if they knew he was doing that.  They all stammer, so Son Sung Deuk goes back to scolding Ni-Ki.  I wasn’t expecting this.  The tests are now about individuality instead of teamwork.  You’d think throwing in ad-libs to stand out would be encouraged, especially since this move comes from the original video.

Later that night, Ni-Ki again walks out of practice.  K calls him to come back, but when Ni-Ki does return, he just can’t seem to focus.  K stops the rehearsal and complains about how exhausting this has become.  He’s especially harsh with Ni-Ki, who leaves and heads to the bathroom, where he can cry away from the cameras.  When he doesn’t return, K goes looking for him.

Again, we only get the audio.  K sort of apologizes but follows it with, “I really hope you can change.”  I am so done with K at this point.  I know Ni-Ki is being petulant, but K is not handling it well and is just escalating the bad energy. 

Now we finally end the flashback.  Time for the performance.  It looks like each team gets backup dancers, which should give the choreo more energy.  K tells the judges he and Ni-Ki have talked things out.  Okay, I guess.  Let’s just start this thing.

I really hate to admit this, but K is amazing.  It’s hard to believe from watching this performance that he won’t make the final group.  He’s a visual stunner as well as an incredible dancer.  The whole group performs flawlessly, but K’s the one I can’t take my eyes off.  Dammit.

The judges praise their performance, and the DNA Team waits for their score.  Each individual can earn a score up to 100, so the team can get a score up to 400.

The DNA Team score is 287.  Woah.  Out of 400?  Really?  Now I’m really curious to see the individual scores.  But we’re not going to see them yet.  The DNA Team sits with the judges to watch the next two performances, and K puts his head down.  He knows his team is in trouble.

Next up is Team I Need U, consisting of Jungwon, Geonu, Jake, and Daniel.  We get a flashback of their rehearsal process.  Basically, the problem is that they’re having trouble conveying the sorrow of the song through their performance.  Will they resolve it by showtime?  Let’s find out.  

They definitely get the expressions down.  I’m not as into this song or the performance as I was with the DNA Team, but I’ve learned that I don’t always see these stages through the same eyes at the judges.  Honestly, I’d give this one a score of 287 and score the DNA Team higher.

Surprisingly, I got it right.  Bang Si Hyuk tells them this performance was way below his expectation.  He says that instead of conveying despair, the performance just felt scary to him.  I thought it was more “meh” than scary, but I’ll hold off on any more comments until I see the team score.

Geonu doesn’t seem at all surprised by this feedback.  He knows immediately that it was a bad performance.  The other finalists comment to each other that he looks physically ill.  He tells us in a voiceover that he missed several parts of the choreo.  I’m a little worried about him.  Let’s get this score posted so he can go sit down.

Team I Need U gets a score of 275.  I’m surprised it wasn’t lower, but the judges say Jungwon gave a great performance.  Team DNA is still in the lead for now.

Now it’s time for Team Fake Love, with Ta-Ki, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Heeseung.  After the disastrous rehearsals all week, this team is sweating bullets.  We get a flashback. Ta-Ki is still moving too fast, and I think I see the problem.

I pull up the BTS music video for comparison.  The original choreo flows like water.  Even in the quick moves, there’s nothing sharp or jerky about the movements.  They still flow.  But Ta-Ki has been doing locking movements ever since he started dancing.  He doesn’t know how to flow.  And the more frustrated he gets, the sharper and jerkier his movements are.  The quicksand has him and won’t let go.

After the painful-to-watch evaluation, Heeseung steps up to help Ta-Ki lead the team.  Ta-Ki actually starts to get the flow.  The performance stops being so jerky.  They’re even hitting the high notes when singing. 

My fingers and toes are all crossed for this performance.  

It flows.  It flows beautifully.  The judges praise the performance and single out Heeseung, saying that he really showed them how good he is.  Bang Si Hyuk says to him, “I feel proud of you.”  Heeseung has been a trainee with Big Hit for three years.  This has to be a triumph for him.  Wonderkid says he was so mesmerized by the performance, he forgot to take notes, but I’m pretty sure any shiny object would have had the same effect on him.

Sunghoon and Sunoo also receive high praise from Bang Si Hyuk.  But not poor Ta-Ki.  He’s told that his performances vary from very good to very bad, with no consistency.  Bang Si Hyuk tells him, “You can’t keep performing like this.  You must do better.  It was quite disappointing this time.”  Ta-Ki looks crushed.  This is so hard to watch.

Now for the team score.  Team DNA is in first place with 287 points, and Team I Need U has 275 points.  Team Fake Love gets … 306 points.  Their entire team, including Ta-Ki, is safe from elimination.

Now the judges have to decide on the finalist to eliminate.  With Ta-Ki safe, my guess is Geonu, who still looks like he needs ALL the Pepto-Bismol.  In preparation for the new rankings, the finalists are told to pack all their things and gather in the giant egg timer room.  (The announcer calls it the “lobby,” which is no fun.)

Once they’ve packed their things and left them in the “lobby,” the boys return to the stage for the new rankings.  We’re starting with the Fake Love Team, since they are safe from elimination.  The four of them step forward.

Sunoo’s score is 77, ranking at #5.  He’s dropped from the Top Spot and will need to leave the swanky bedroom with the massage chair, but he still gets to wear a Top 7 badge.

Sunghoon’s score is 79, ranking at #3.  He’s moved up one spot and gets the upgraded accommodations. 

Heeseung’s score is … wow … 93.  He ranks at #1 now, up two spots.  Unlike his predecessor Sunoo, Heeseung is humble, saying he won’t get complacent with this score and will continue to work hard.

Now for Ta-Ki, and I’m dreading this.  His score is 57.  Oof.  He’s dropped to 12^th place, but because he’s on the winning team, the 11^th-ranked finalist, whoever it is, will get eliminated in his place.  This has to be agonizing for Ta-Ki.  He looks miserable.  At this point, after the humiliation of the past week and the public scolding from the judges,      I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s wishing he could just be eliminated instead.  It’s hard to believe he goes on to do another survival reality show after this.

The Fake Love Team is dismissed to return to the I-Land.  At least Ta-Ki won’t have to stay and look the 11^th-ranked finalist in the eye.  As they go through the gate, Ta-Ki’s teammates hug him when he breaks down.  All he can say is that he feels terrible for the person who gets eliminated.  When they get back to the lobby, he can’t even look at the screen.  His heart and spirit are broken.

Back onstage, we’re now doing the rankings in order.

Jungwon ranks #2, with a score of 81.  He’s up five spots.

K ranks #4, with a score of 78.  He’s up one spot.  

Jay ranks #6, with a score of 74.  He stays at the same spot as before.  That’s a little frustrating, but at least he remains in the Top 7. 

Jake ranks #7, the last spot in the Top 7, with a score of 70.  He’s moved up one spot.  He’s overwhelmed and has to fight back tears before he can compose himself and return to the I-Land.  He clearly thought he was being eliminated today.

Ni-Ki ranks #8, with a score of 69.  He’s up one spot but still just out of reach of a Top 7 badge.

Hanbin ranks #9, with a score of 66.  Our former last-ranked finalist has jumped three spots.

Daniel and Geonu are the last two left.  One of them is being eliminated.  I really think it’s going to be Geonu, and judging by the way he still looks physically sick, he thinks the same.  Over at the I-Land, Ta-Ki isn’t looking much better.

The last survivor is Daniel.  He ranks #10 with a score of 64.  He’s dropped eight spots, but he’s still here. 

I was worried Geonu might collapse, but now that it’s over, he’s starting to look a little better.  No more uncertainty.  He can go home now and sleep for several days.  He’s calm and accepting about all this.  Ta-Ki, on the other hand, is not okay.  Daniel hugs Geonu, who tells him, “It’s okay.  Do your best.”

Of course, I did some research on Geonu, and this was not the end of the line for him in the K-pop industry.  He went on to do two more survival reality shows and eventually debuted in a group called Just B, which later teamed up with a group called ATBO to create a project group called The Crew One.

In a weird side note, another member of Just B was eliminated I-Land contestant Jimin, who changed his name to Siwoo.  In July 2024, Jimin/Siwoo was suspended from the group.  Why?  He was dating someone.  I couldn’t find any other details, even on Reddit.  And now I’m sad again.  That’s K-pop in a nutshell.  You look up an eliminated contestant, hoping for good news, and then you find the good news, only to get upset over something that happened to someone else.  Rabbit holes were made for K-pop Google searches.

Back to I-Land.  Geonu tells the sobbing Daniel, “You must debut,” before he officially leaves the show.  I didn’t really like Geonu back in Episode 1, but I respect him now and am glad things eventually sort of worked out for him. 

I am worried about Ta-Ki, though.  After this awful week, if I were him, I would purposely screw up the next test and get myself eliminated.  What time he has left on this show will be spent knowing that everyone knows he doesn’t deserve to be here.

This is where the episode ends, on a really down note.  I recommend Xanax for all viewers for the rest of these episodes, because the heartbreak has just begun.  Each test will bring another elimination.  See you next episode.

Episode 9:  Underdogs

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