Back to Site Table of Contents
Welcome back to this confusing game! Anton is still the BOSS, and his clan-mates Shotaro and Wonbin are nagging him to recruit a spy from the Worker Clan, which would be kind of pointless because now everyone knows a spy might get recruited, so the Worker Clan won’t trust each other anymore. Or, who knows, maybe they will. One thing this show has taught me is that nobody seems to learn any lessons from this game. Time for Episode Three!
We open with the BOSS Clan hopping into the luxury bus, only to be surprised when the Workers hop right in after them instead of cramming themselves into a cab. Anton says he’s letting the Workers relax in the bus because he has a lot of work planned for them today. I’ve got my fingers crossed that today’s workload involves actually getting to see Shanghai.
Anton reminds the Workers there may be a spy in their midst. His BOSS Clan-mates are confused, because apparently he didn’t tell them anything about it. Wonbin and Shotaro have their guards up. They suspect Anton will betray them. Wonbin’s paranoia is getting triggered, and it’s only the third episode.
We’re told that Anton has
chosen Sohee as the spy. No one else
knows. I wonder if Sohee even knows yet. In the dramatic Spy Graphic the show gives
us, Sohee looks like he has no idea what’s going on.
We get a flashback of Sohee getting his Spy Mission. I have no idea when this was filmed, but at least he has been informed. We’re told the Cab Alliance is still united, which is (checking notes) Anton, Sohee, and Sungchan. I’m not sure the Cab Alliance should still be united, seeing as Sungchan botched his Spy Mission by telling the rest of the alliance about it.
Sungchan is sitting behind
Wonbin and touches his bandmate’s hair.
Wonbin is immediately suspicious and accuses him of trying to complete a
Spy Mission. Poor Wonbin. He’s going to wind up jumping out of the bus
and hailing his own cab. “Getting a
snack was a mission too, right?” he demands.
“We caught them red-handed, right?
His mission is to touch our ears, isn’t it?” Oh, you poor guy.
Wonbin really is losing it. The entire bus ride, whenever someone fidgets or says anything, he accuses them of being a spy. Thankfully, we finally arrive at an activity park. It’s a huge indoor arcade. Again, this looks like fun, but why are we spending so much time inside? I want to see Shanghai.
This place has some daring indoor rides, and now Wonbin is anxious because he doesn’t like the scarier rides. I’m right there with him, but he’s got it worse. When I go to amusement parks, I’m usually not suspecting my friends of treason.
The production team announces
the Activity Time Race. Each team (BOSS
vs. Workers) needs to do as many of the rides and activities as possible to
collect points or stamps or something. The
winning team gets two ballots each. The BOSS
Clan is already at a disadvantage because Wonbin doesn’t want to go on the scary
rides. This oughta be chaotic. Especially since the graphics department is
now giving us the red mist effect, which makes Sohee look like he was just shot
in the back.
I’m not sure what the red mist signifies, but we’re told that Sohee’s mission is to make his team lose the race. Each game has a bunch of rules I’m not going to get into. Anton agrees to sub for Wonbin on one of the scary rides, which is sweet. Sohee is doing everything he can to sabotage his team. Here’s a bunch of fun pictures.
We get a really touching moment when Wonbin has to go down a very steep slide, and he’s scared to death. He spends almost ten minutes hanging on to the bar at the top, refusing to let go. This would be tough for him under regular, normal person circumstances. In this case, he’s an idol on television trying not to have a panic attack.
I’m on the edge of my seat, wondering if he’ll go through with it. I also hate scary rides. If I were in a K-pop group, and they told me I had to ride a roller coaster or even just go on one of those log flume rides, or ride through a haunted house, or basically do anything scarier than a carousel, I’d quit the group right there and find a new job. I just Googled popular careers in South Korea, and hey look, I could be a shipbuilder! Building a ship could be fun! As long as I don’t have to ride in it. Too scary. There might be waves.
But Wonbin is braver then he
thinks. With his bandmates encouraging
him, he finally takes a deep breath and lets go of the bar.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the most inspiring moments in all the shows I’ve recapped so far. I know that kind of terror, and I’ve always chickened out. But Wonbin actually did it. I actually threw my hands in the air and cheered. My bias, ladies and gentlemen! (Is that the first time I’ve said that non-sarcastically on the show? I believe it is.)
Wonbin gets a standing ovation from his bandmates, the entire crew, the arcade employees, and me at my desk. He sits up at the bottom of the slides and decides that it wasn’t so bad after all. I’m actually getting a bit teary-eyed.
Now Sohee goes to the top of
the slide, his mind working overtime as he tries to figure out how to betray
his Worker Clan-mates.
We know he’s not scared. This is the same guy who calmly did the haunted scavenger hunt last season and frustrated the ghosts because they couldn’t scare him. But he knows the longer he stalls, the more time his team loses. So he sits up there and takes his sweet time while the BOSS Clan moves on to the other rides. From the top of the slide, he can see when the BOSS Clan is on the final ride, and that’s when he finally lets go of the bar.
But that’s not his only tactic. When he gets to the bottom, Sungchan and Eunseok realize their park map has disappeared. Sohee tells us in a confessional that he hid it under a mat while the other two were climbing up to the top of the slide. Sungchan and Eunseok are convinced the BOSS Clan took their map, so they steal the BOSS Clan’s map. Sohee is good at staying under the radar.
The BOSS Clan eventually gets
their map back and runs to the trampoline jump.
Sohee waits until they get there and then “finds” his team’s map. They all run to the trampoline, which looks
like so much fun.
The BOSS Clan finishes the trampoline mission first. It’s the last one. All they have to do is get their map stamped by the production team, and they’ve won. But their map has gone missing again. Sungchan and Eunseok, still convinced the BOSS Clan originally took their map, have stolen it again and hidden it in one of the arcade games. Sohee didn’t even notice. At least he has plausible deniability. But he has to play along with his clan-mates and do the trampoline mission, knowing his team is about to win.
Sohee stalls as long as he can. But the BOSS Clan doesn’t find their map, and the Worker Clan wins. Sohee has failed the Spy Mission. The teams are now switched. The BOSS Clan is Sohee, Eunseok, and Sungchan, and the Workers are Shotaro, Anton, and Wonbin the Brave. The winners get their two ballots each. Now it’s time for another election to determine the new BOSS.
Former BOSS Anton is
PISSED. Not only did his team lose, but
Sohee accuses him of hiding the Workers’ map during the mission, and everyone
believes Anton is the culprit.
The boys leave the arcade and
drive through Shanghai. They pass the
Jing’an Temple and the Huangpu River. I
really wish we’d get more of this. I’m
fascinated by the mix of old and new architecture in the city. (Fun Fact:
The Jing’an Temple contains a 15-ton silver statue of the Buddha. It faces the main door, towering over you as
you first walk in.)
Thankfully, we will get some sightseeing. They stop at a street market in Jing’an to eat and find an Italian restaurant.
The table is set up with one
side for the BOSS Clan, and one side for the workers. The BOSSes can eat whatever they want. The Workers can only choose one item on the
menu. Oof. This is HARSH. The BOSS side even gets a nice tablecloth and
glassware, while the Workers get bare tables.
I have to laugh at how mean this is.
Now, imagine you’re
Anton. You didn’t get to be the BOSS at
all the first season. This time, you got
to be BOSS and made Sohee your spy, promising him you’d make him part of the
BOSS Clan if he succeeded. Not only did
he fail, but your whole team lost the mission, and you personally got framed
for stealing a map. Now you’re hungry
and only allowed to eat one item off the menu.
You look across the table at Sohee and see this.
Sohee’s gonna die, isn’t he?
The Workers have to pour water for the BOSSes while enduring insults. Then the BOSSes are given plates and plates of different food, including eggplant lasagna, caprese salad, and vitello tonnato. They keep bringing more plates of bolognese pasta and margherita pizza, while the Workers sit there and drool. This is getting uncomfortable to watch.
The Workers offer their extra ballots in exchange for a few bites of food, and Sohee tells them no. “It’s going to be one of us anyway,” Sohee says, gesturing to the other BOSSes. “You may not know it because you’re new, but workers have little to no power.”
Wow. Sohee is turning into the Eunsoek of the
group.
As the Workers beg, Sohee finally says they can eat if they can make him laugh. This is exactly what Eunseok did last season. Eunseok is thrilled to have a disciple. “I want to have a joyful meal filled with laughter!” Eunseok says, egging Sohee on. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see an assassination this season.
The BOSSes order the Workers
to come up with a poem about Shanghai. Anton
responds with a verse singing his own praises and smiles sweetly at his tormenters.
Wonbin, on the other hand,
has lost his fighting spirit. He comes
up with a verse saying he will do anything the BOSSes tell him to do. In return, he gets a small plate of pasta. He scarfs it down. “Hurry, make them laugh!” he urges his fellow
workers. My bias, ladies and gentlemen.
Anton gives in with a verse
and gets a slice of pizza. Shotaro does
a verse making fun of Eunseok, which does not go over well. He tries again and is rewarded with grilled
octopus. The Workers then get to order their one menu item. For the first time, I hear the Boston-born
Anton speaking English as he orders for his team. They get to order more food by doing favors
for the BOSSes, including Wonbin giving Sungchan a shoulder massage. I feel like I’m watching a fraternity hazing.
“At least if you’re eating, you’ll have the energy to work,” says Sohee, and the graphics department gives us Wonbin’s head exploding.
The episode ends here, but we
know what’s coming. An election, and
hopefully some serious payback. I’m going
to order pizza now. See you next
episode!
Back to Site Table of Contents
No comments:
Post a Comment