Stray Kids, Episode 6: ready for the battle ground

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(Written May 12, 2025)

Before we start this recap, attention must be paid.  Hyungwon was discharged from the military as I was writing this recap and is finally returning to Monsta X.  The entire band will be reunited soon, at least until I.M has to enlist.  I watched the livestream of his return and got these screenshots.  Welcome back, Hyungwon!  You have been seriously missed!

Back to business.  We’re at the halfway point of our Stray Kids series.  Our boys are about to do their first mission without Lee Know, who is busy plotting his return.  And I do know that someone else will get eliminated at some point, so recapping this show will be like keeping 50 plates spinning at once.  Let’s go!

We open with our boys walking down a city street, where the subtitles helpfully tell us, “Stray Kids are arriving somewhere.”  After a few seconds, we learn that this is quite the somewhere.  They’re going to YG Entertainment!

Welcome back to the recaps, YG Entertainment!  Those of you who read my Shining Solo and YG Treasure Box recaps will remember this visuals-obsessed company with its CEO’s bewildering criminal history.  Why in the world are Stray Kids here?

Turns out the next mission will be a battle with YG trainees.  Maybe it will be a tax evasion contest (ALLEGEDLY) or a race to see who can (ALLEGEDLY) threaten the most witnesses in a drug case!  This should be exciting (ALLEGEDLY)!

But no, this will be a band battle, the fourth one in a series of battles these two companies have hosted since 2001.  And who will the Stray Kids be up against?  Why, hello, Bang Yedam!

YG Treasure Box hasn’t been filmed yet in this show’s timeline, so right now he’s the star of YG’s trainees and not yet part of Treasure.  God, he looks so young.  He’s standing with several other YG teammates, but I can’t get a good look at any of them yet.

And of course, hello again to YG Entertainment’s CEO Yang Hyun-suk.  

It’s weird to see him now, knowing that in just a couple of years, he’ll be in a ton of legal misadventures, some of which will include Psy of “Gangnam Style” fame.  (Seriously, Google it sometime, or check out my YG Treasure Box wrap-up.  It’s a LOT.)

Changbin is so ready for this battle.  In a confessional, he tells us, “We didn’t come here to battle.  We came to teach you.”  Damn.  Then, as Yang Hyun-suk walks away, he mutters to his YG trainees, “If you don’t do well, you die.”  I’m sure he’s kidding, but DAMN.

Our Stray Kids huddle at the JYP building.  They have a week to prepare.  They sit in a half-circle facing camera, all their Coke cans in front of them with the labels also facing camera.  I love how not subtle the product placement is.

Bang Chan tells his group the battle will cover the three categories of vocal, dance, and rap.  Our vocal team is Seungmin, Woojin, and I.N.  But it looks like Han is on standby for this team, as Seungmin is dealing with a sore throat. The team will be doing their own arrangement of Blackpink’s “As If It’s Your Last.” 

Seungmin, Woojin, and I.N

Now for the dance team.  Felix wants to throw some acrobatics into the mix.  He does a backflip from a standing position, and my jaw hits the floor.

As for the rap battle, our 3RACHA team is handling that.  They will be performing their song “Matryashka,” which is the name of those Russian nesting dolls.  Bang Chan is also arranging the vocal team’s song as well as 3RACHA’s song, so the poor guy is working through the night.  I like how he’s turning Blackpink’s original bright, poppy song into something dark and sinister.  Eventually, his energy runs out, and he falls asleep in his chair.

We cut to the Stray Kids rehearsing during the day, and JYP stops by to check on progress.  The rap team goes first. JYP is disappointed with Han’s flow.  I’m a little confused because in the previous mission, he had nothing but praise for Han.  I’m still wondering if he’s trying to turn the bandmates against each other.  Bang Chan gets some minor criticism as well, but he’s been operating on no sleep. 

JYP wants Bang Chan to make changes to the rap song, and since that’s going to keep him busy, he only wants Han and Changbin to do the rap battle.  Now I’m wondering if JYP is getting enough sleep.  If Han isn’t performing that well, shouldn’t Bang Chan stay in the group to help cover?

I guess not.  Now for the vocalists and their revised Blackpink song.  Woojin starts strong, but I.N struggles to stay on key.  I’m getting worried.  He’s already been at risk of elimination earlier in the series.  My fears get worse when JYP eliminates him from the vocal battle.  He’ll have to stay on the sidelines.  Meanwhile, in another strange decision, Bang Chan will be replacing I.N on the vocal team.  Wasn’t he supposed to be too busy working on the music?

Now for the dance evaluation, and it looks like everyone is going to be on this team.  I love the cute opening sequence.

True to form, the dance then morphs into something more dark and aggressive.  We only get to see a few seconds.  I can’t wait to see the whole thing.

JYP, who is really being a bummer today, praises Felix’s dancing but says he needs more confidence and charisma.  I never thought I’d see the day when someone told Felix he wasn’t charismatic enough.  However, JYP likes the overall performance and decides not to cut anyone.  That’s a relief.  At least I.N can participate in the dance battle. 

JYP is still worried about the vocal battle.  So am I.  Bang Yedam is one hell of a singer.

We get a montage of the group rehearsing over the next few days.  “We’ll eat up the stage,” Woojin promises us.  

Finally, it’s D-Day!  Our boys return to the YG building to kick some Kpop butt.  Outside the building, JYP inspects the troops.  Then they stride confidently inside, prepared for battle.

Our YG Team, led by Bang Yedam, is waiting.  I can’t get a good look at the other trainees.  After recapping YG Treasure Box, I’m looking for familiar faces.  Bang Chan recognizes Jeongwoong right away.  Why does his name sound familiar? (checking Google)  Okay, he’s now the main vocalist of AB6IX, and I’ve seen some of their videos.  He used to be with JYP and trained with Bang Chan.

I could swear I recognize a couple more faces on the YG team, but the camera is focusing on Bang Yedam.  Also, their CEO Yang Hyun-suk hasn’t arrived yet, probably because he’s having to make bail again (ALLEGEDLY).   While everyone waits, JYP asks the YG team their names, and HEY – it’s Doyoung, soon to be of Treasure!  He’s only thirteen years old here.  Everyone is surprised at how young he is.

Before we can meet the others, CEO Yang finally arrives, rubbing his wrists from where the handcuffs were chafing him I’M KIDDING.  I’ll stop, I promise.  What we actually see is even weirder.  He’s playfully dragging someone with him in a headlock.  We find that it’s Yoo Byungjae, television personality and former writer for Saturday Night Live Korea.  What is he doing here?  We never get an answer.  He awkwardly greets everyone and then leaves.  That was … strange.  Why wasn’t that edited out?

Yoo Byungjae looks genuinely scared in this picture.

Moving on.  We meet another YG Trainee – Choi Raesung, who is now a YG producer under the name MILLENNIUM.  I want to meet the rest of them, because I think I see more Treasure members, but the battles are about to begin. 

JYP wishes everyone the best.  CEO Yang looks at his team and says, “Do well, or I’ll kill you.”  Everyone laughs, but this is the second time he’s done this, and I legitimately think he’s crazy.

We get a sweet moment when the teams hug each other before battling for the chance to get murdered by their CEO.

I recognize future Treasure member Jihoon in the YG group, so basically Stray Kids will be battling Treasure.  Then finally, we get a cutaway to the whole YG team.

Seunghoon is here.  He won’t make it into Treasure, but he’ll go on to debut with CIX.  Lee Mi Dam is also here.  He was on YG Treasure Box but left the show early. 

Rap Battle Time!  Changbin and Han are up first.  It’s their first time performing without Bang Chan.

They give an electrifying performance.  Even the YG team is cheering.  This is the best performance I’ve seen on this series so far.  CEO Yang is very impressed, calling their rhythm excellent and telling them to keep working hard.  JYP is proud of them.

Next up is Bang Yedam with a vocal performance.  I love Stray Kids, but I also love that I’m getting a chance to hear this guy sing again.  He sings the Shawn Mendes song “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back.”  The language is no barrier – he sounds like a native English speaker.  What a voice.

Now it’s time for the Stray Kids vocal team of Woojin, Bang Chan, and Han.  Did we just skip the YG rap team?  Maybe they’re saving that for the next episode.  When our vocal team says the name of the song they’re performing, CEO Yang looks very interested.  I’d forgotten that Blackpink is a YG group.  He says, “You can get eliminated on this show, right?”  Everyone laughs nervously. 

Bang Chan gets set up – he’s going to be playing keyboards as well as singing.  Then we suddenly cut to a flashback of this group rehearsing, and they keep making mistakes.  It looks like the show is jamming a Flashback Formula in here just before the episode ends.  We’ll have to see the performance next time.

So we’re ending on a cliffhanger.  Will the Stray Kids beat the YG group?  Will I.N be the next Stray Kid to be eliminated?  When is Lee Know coming back?  Will CEO Yang get time off for good behavior?

See you next episode!

Episode 7:  it ain’t live, it’s holding on

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