Shining SOLO, Episode 4: Sports. Meat. Good.

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(Written August 30, 2024)

Back in the intro, I mentioned I love the song “Only One” by former TREASURE member Bang Yedam.  While I was watching today’s episode, he dropped another great single called “O-he” (“misunderstandings”).  Watching the video, I had to wonder if he watched this show when it aired and what he would think of it.  He’s recorded a song with Winter, of the girl group aespa, so I’m pretty sure he has no trouble talking to women.  I like to imagine him watching this show and thinking, “My God, were they ALWAYS like this?!”

Here's where we left Yedam’s former bandmates in the last episode:

• Haruto had turned Joker-level mad.
• Asahi was forming a connection with Ji Yeon, who had left him a voice recorder.
• So Won tried to lie about leaving Haruto a voice recorder.
• Jihoon was clicking with nursing vlogger Ju Hee, the first woman to enter the house with a name.

On with the show.  Dinnertime is over, and everyone is sitting in the living room.  We now have six women and five men in the house.  Suddenly, the clock chimes midnight.  Everyone goes silent.  It’s voting time.

All six women get to vote now, so six jewels and six voice recorders will be distributed.  Our six women will make their choices and then leave the house.

Let the drama begin.

 

First up is Junkyu.  He got one jewel last time, and we the audience know it came from So Won.  After that, he had the amusement park date with Ye Won and Ji Yeon, and then he had a dinner date with Hyun Seo and Mi Ho.  He’s been on a roll.  So now he opens his locker to find … one jewel.  That’s a bit of a letdown.  But he’s happy, so okay.  He wonders who it’s from.  

Not so fast, rtanu.  We the audience find out it’s from our fashion student new girl, Hyun Seo!

We’ll find out, rtanu.  And by the way, love that energy.

EXACTLY what I was about to post, alvarez.  So Won owes Haruto that jewel after lying to his face on that date.

Hyun Seo tells us how kind and considerate Junkyu has been today and how she enjoyed dinner with him.

Speaking of the other guy (Jihoon), it’s his turn.  Back upstairs we go.  Last time, he got three jewels, from Mi Ho, Ye Won, and Ji Yeon.  Then he got stuck at home with the Terrified Twins while Haruto and Junkyu got to go on dates, but he met the two new girls, made them lunch, and learned how to ask a girl for her name.  He ended the day having dinner with new girl nursing student Ju Hee.  Now he opens his locker … and he has one jewel and one recorder.  That’s a bummer. 

We the audience learn that Ju Hee left him the jewel.  No surprise there.  They had a great conversation at dinner.  

Now it’s time to see who left the voice recorder.

Jihoon hits Play.  It’s So Won.  “Being kind to everyone and thinking about each person was so nice and charming, but I couldn’t find any different charm from yesterday, so I hope we can see a different charm of yours tomorrow.”

Agree to disagree, anijuz.  What else was he supposed to do?  So Won barely spent any time with him today, so how would she know what kind of charming he was being?  For Pete’s sake, he learned to ask a girl her name today!

I’m sorry, lala, but did you see how Asahi, Jae Hyuk, and Haruto (at the end) were behaving yesterday?  I spent an entire recap criticizing their behavior.  Well, okay, Haruto’s psychotic breakdown was pretty cool, so he’s off the list.  But there had better be recorders in the lockers of the Hysterical Hyungs. 

Next up, Jae Hyuk.  Last time, he got a voice recorder from Ye Won.  That turned him into a emotional mess until the two new girls arrived, and he finally sat down for a conversation.  By day’s end, he was having takoyaki with   Ye Won and So Won and was still miserable because he wanted to apologize to everyone for his behavior.  Now he’s dreading going upstairs. 

Jae Hyuk checks his locker, and then we cut to his return to the living room.  He’s so sad.  He doesn’t even want to talk to his bandmates.  He sits on the couch and covers his face with a pillow.  The other guys are very concerned.  What was in his locker???

We get a flashback to him opening the locker.  It’s a jewel and two voice recorders.  Good grief, Jae Hyuk.  I thought you’d found 56 voice recorders and a dead rat. 

Okay, so he’s smiling about the one jewel.  We find out it came from Ye Won.  Wow.  That’s a turnaround.  Now to listen to the recordings and assess the damage. 

Recorder 1:  It’s Mi Ho.  “We didn’t talk much all day.  But it seemed like you didn’t make many attempts to start a conversation, and I wish you had.  Could you please be more proactive next time?”

Recorder 2:  It’s Ji Yeon.  “I wish Jae Hyuk had done better today.  When everyone was together, I couldn’t really see his charms, and that was a bit disappointing.  Please show us more of your charming self tomorrow.”

Jae Hyuk is still smiling.  He wasn’t sad when we saw him go downstairs.  He was trying to hide his smile.  Nice fake-out, Shining SOLO.  He tells us he’s gunning for three jewels by the end of his stint in the house.

Okay.  Asahi’s turn.  He started with two recorders, and it also messed with his head.  But he made an effort and wound up having dinner and connecting with Ji Yeon.  

He opens his locker.  One jewel … and THREE voice recorders.  Like Jae Hyuk, he’s focused on and happy about the jewel. 

Wait, that’s all six recorders.  All accounted for.  So Haruto isn’t going to get any recorders.  We’ll unpack that when we get to him.  Let’s get these final recorders out of the way.

We learn that Ji Yeon gave him the jewel, of course.  I wonder if he’ll figure that out.  Now for the messages.

Recorder 1:  It’s Ju Hee.  “It was my first time meeting you today, and I saw you smile shyly at my greeting, which I found very charming.  But I feel like I haven’t seen all of your charms yet, which is a bit disappointing.  I hope you can confidently show your true self in the remaining time.  Be confident!”

Asahi whispers “be confident,” to himself and smiles.  Best reaction to a recorder yet.

Recorder 2:  It’s Hyun Seo.  “During the pajama party, we talked about two charming points about ourselves, and I feel like you could have been more confident when it was your turn.  Instead, you hesitated.  It would have been better if you had spoken more confidently.”

Once again, Asahi whispers, “be confident,” with a smile.  This is actually inspiring.  

Finally, Recorder 3:  It’s Ye Won.  “During the truth or dare game –”  (I’m sorry, first the pajama party and now truth or dare?  When was all this and why didn’t we see it?) “—there was a question asking about your charm, but you seemed to struggle to find an answer.  So I found that a bit lacking.”

Asahi tells us he is determined to be more confident tomorrow.  I want him give him a hug.  He took this so well.

Now for Haruto.  I can’t wait for him to open that locker.  He deserves it after everything yesterday.  As much as I joked about his villain turn, I think I was doing the same pivot to humor he was doing when he turned evil during dinner.  Now I want to see something heartwarming.

Haruto takes a deep breath, counts to three (“ha-na, dool, seht!”) and opens the locker.  He’s got two jewels.

(“omo” is a way of saying “oh my god” in Korean.)

He’s happy, as well as curious about who sent them.  The viewers learn it was Mi Ho and So Won, both of his bowling dates.  These two may have just saved the world from Haruto’s wrath.  He tells us he is determined to get at least the same number of jewels from now on. 

Now it’s Day Three at our lovely Treasure Castle, and we learn that the name of today’s episode is “B.O.M.B.”  (Spoiler alert:  This title will not make any sense over the course of the episode, at least not in English.)

The house is empty.  We’re heading over to a soccer field today for a Treasure Castle Field Day.  The narrator tells us the boys will have a chance to show off their charms outside, because physical strength is also a charm.  From the preview clips, it looks like the boys will be competing while the girls cheer them on and judge how charming they are.  I already hate this, but proceed.

They start by having each team do team chants.  This is something I have seen in every single one of these shows but haven’t brought up because there’s always been eight million other things to discuss.  But I need to point it out now.  Every time a group of Korean people forms a team, a band, a Squid Game viewing party, a neighborhood watch, they give their group a name and do a cheer.  The cheer usually ends with awkward silence from the audience, so the team claps for themselves, and everyone moves on.  That’s exactly what Teams Victory and Hulk do here.

Let’s move on.  First up … oh no it’s this again … cockfighting!  And since the girls are not participating, I don’t know why they’re part of the teams.  Junkyu eventually drops out because his legs and back are starting to hurt.  Looks like he’ll lose some points on charm, I guess.  Honestly, I don’t care of a guy is into sports or not, but this show apparently does.

Haruto commits a foul by pushing Jihoon with his hands, but he has an idea to make up for it.  He volunteers Asahi to fight one-on-one with Jihoon.  Wait, that can’t be right.  (checking notes)  Yes, that’s exactly what he’s doing. 

Everyone except Asahi thinks this is a great idea.  Okay, is Haruto a villain or not?  Why is he making Asahi fight for him?  Well, whatever the reason, Asahi, this is your chance to impress the girls!  Get in there and fight Haruto’s battles for him!  Because apparently, that’s charming!  I do not understand this show!

Asahi battles Jihoon, and it’s the most engaged and excited I’ve seen Asahi all series.  He wins the battle.  

Asahi’s teammates ask him about his winning strategy, and he says, “I’m confident in my core strength.”  He used his new word!  I hope the girls were within listening distance.

So Round 1 goes to Team Victory.  Next up is something called Waist Wrestling.  It’s like Tug of War, but the rope is tied around two people’s waists, and they try to run in opposite directions. 

Junkyu and Jihoon will battle first.  The first battle takes only seconds, and Jihoon wins.  First Junkyu has to drop out of the cockfighting due to back pain, and now he gets dragged on his ass across the field, fighting to keep his pants on.  He is not having a good day.  But the girls tell him he gets points for his sense of humor.

Next up, Haruto vs. Jae Hyuk.  They get into position, but then everything grinds to a halt because there’s a praying mantis on Ye Won’s pants.  “I was really shocked.  No one could do anything,” says Ju Hee.

Just … it’s a praying mantis.  They don’t bite.  Just gently flick it away, and let’s move on.  

But no.  We’re told that everyone is at a loss.  However, this is now a chance for one of the men to be a charming manly man, so Haruto steps up.  He pulls it off her pant leg and throws it, and it flies away.  The Korean Armed Forces are told to stand down.  Everyone applauds wildly as Haruto strides proudly back to the field.  Ye Won tells us she found Haruto really dashing.  It was a bug.  Just … never mind.  Let’s just do the sports.  Haruto and Jae Hyuk do the sports, and Haruto wins.

Quite a bit of Monday Morning Quarterbacking going on in the viewer comments.

So now both teams are tied.  Because there are only two guys on Team Hulk, and God forbid the women get involved, Jihoon has to play again in the tie-breaking match with Haruto.  I guess Asahi’s not playing.

Haruto snarls, “The plot twist starts now!”  Damn, that man wants some jewels.  This match is more of a nailbiter, meaning it lasts about eight seconds instead of five.  Jihoon wins.  The girls tell us in confessionals how strong and masculine Jihoon is and how they find that charming.  Feminism is dead.

Now they play regular Tug of War, and the girls are actually playing too this time.  Team Victory wins.  Now for the final match.  It’s a relay race.  It starts with Haruto vs. Jae Hyuk.  After the first lap, Asahi takes the baton from Haruto, and now all three of them are running because I don’t know how this game works.  The girls are participating in this match as well.  So Won is a FAST runner, helping lead Team Hulk to victory.

In confessionals, the girls go on about how sports brought out the guys’ charm and personality and okay shut up.

They go grocery shopping on the way home, and because of Korean broadcasting laws requiring all brand names be blurred, they look like they’re shopping while being swept into another dimension.  I love the blurred row that’s CLEARLY Pringles Potato Chips.

Back at the house, Jae Hyuk shows Ji Yeon how to work the coffee machine, so I guess that makes him even more charming.  They unpack the groceries and prepare for the barbecue.  Asahi is starting to look anxious again.  Can he remember his new word of the day?  Yes!  He steps in and helps with the food prep, participating in the conversation.

Asahi is being social and doing well.  He’s not spending much time with Ji Yeon, though.  It’s like every time a couple starts clicking on this series, the showrunners separate them before the fans riot.

The guys set up the grill on the second floor patio, which has become my favorite part of the house.  If I lived there, I’d spend most of my time up there with my laptop.  Or just staring at the mountains.  I love the lights on the railing.  Is the homeowner a single guy?  Because I would move to Korea.

Haruto is wearing glasses.  Our boy is REALLY gunning for more jewels.  I need to start a glasses count on these episodes. 

Of course the girls don’t know how the grill works, so Jihoon just does it.  (screaming into a pillow for a full ten minutes)  The subtitle actually reads, “A man who knows how to start a fire is charming.”  Hey, Shining SOLO, cavemen knew how to start fires, and their idea of “charming” was clubbing a woman over the head OKAY OKAY I’ll shut up.

Everyone enjoys the meal, and I keep waiting for one of the guys to fix a transmission or grow a beard, just to put him over the top in the charming competition.

Suddenly, classical music fills the house.  Stairway Mailbox Time!  What is our mission tonight?

Now please go to your assigned places and check the envelopes.  The 10-minute talk time will begin.  You’ll rotate to have one-on-one conversations with the women for 10 minutes each.  The guys can accurately find out which women gave them jewels and voice recorders.  It’s the last night before the Mr. Treasure selection!  This will be your last chance before the critical moment.

Okay.  So we know the guys can talk to women in groups, but not all of them have had one-on-one conversations with any of the women.  This will be the final chance for them to win jewels before Part 2 of this series, when we bring in the remaining five group members and start this thing all over again.

The episode is about to end, but it looks like we’ll get to see a few minutes of this mission.  Haruto is sitting upstairs in the small kitchen off the patio (I LOVE THIS HOUSE), and his first conversation partner arrives.  It’s Mi Ho.  She’s one of the women who gave him a jewel in the last voting round.

Haruto says he’s suspected Mi Ho and So Won gave him the jewels before he just now got the confirmation on his card.

Mi Ho tells him she’s noticed how attentive and thoughtful he’s been to everyone.

Haruto just goes for it, asking who she’ll give her final jewel to.  Of course, she says she’s still thinking about it.  Still, Haruto is making the best of his ten minutes, focusing on the conversation, trying to sway her decision.  This is more politics than charm, but that’s the game this show is playing.  (She does tell him he looks good in glasses.  I wonder if any of the other guys will be wearing them.)

“You know I have a thing for glasses,” she reminds him.  “I wore them for you,” he volleys back.

Mi Ho blushes and just manages to stammer, “Glasses are nice.”

A chime ringing through the house tells us it’s time to move on to the next conversation partner.  Mi Ho, still blushing and stammering, leaves, and in walks Ji Yeon.  She’s carrying a small red box.  It’s a box of snacks … that she just got from Asahi.  Uh oh.  Looks like Asahi has secured this jewel already.

Haruto has a question for Ji Yeon, going all the way back to the beginning of the series.  He wants to know who she gave her first impression rose to.

Woah.  That was a while back.  (scrambling through notes)  Okay.  Haruto didn’t get any roses, which is why it’s not on his card.  She says she gave it to Jae Hyuk, but she almost gave it to Haruto.  He asks why she changed her mind.  She said she didn’t get to talk to him much, so she couldn’t get any kind of impression.

He understands her answer and says there’s something else he wants to ask her.  Who, out of all the guys, is she most comfortable with?

Surprisingly, she says Junkyu.  She’s holding a gift from Asahi, she gave Asahi her jewel in the last voting round, she clicked with Asahi at the dinner mission, but she’s most comfortable with Junkyu?

Haruto, probably not knowing she gave her jewel to Asahi, just nods at her answer.  He turns on the charm, telling her he’s always watched her reactions and likes how she interacts with people.  The chime rings, and she leaves with something to think about.

The episode ends.  This was interesting.  We may be gearing up for a final battle between Haruto and Asahi.  Until next time, some questions to ponder:

1. What other masculine activities would have made the women swoon?  Explaining what qualifies as pass interference in American football?  Distilling their own whiskey while smoking cigars and filing their own taxes?  Driving a cybertruck through a war zone while refusing to look at a map for ask for directions?
   
   
2. What is Ji Yeon’s deal?  Seriously, I mean, just … what the hell?
   
   
3. If you were the Pringles company, would you pay the show to have your products be the only unblurred items in the grocery store scene?  Discuss.

See you next episode.

Episode 5:  Lies, Fake-outs, and LOTS of Noodles

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