Shining SOLO, Episode 10 (Finale): Once More Unto the Bridge

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(Written September 9, 2024)

Here we go, folks.  Final episode.  I’ll try not to be so grumpy this time, but these gender stereotypes are really getting to me.  

Also, I didn’t forget to include viewer comments in the second half of the last episode.  The viewers just stopped commenting after the Secret Day dates.  I threw in a few comments but got no responses.  Given that this is the finale, and we’ll probably get some real drama, I’m expecting a lot more viewer engagement.  Let’s do this.

We get a flashback clip montage bringing us up to the present.  We also get an enthusiastic TREASURE fan posting nonstop comments in the first two minutes about how the band members have improved and changed their lives and it’s such a good show … breathe, LorenDizzy.  Pace yourself.  We’ve got an hour to go.

We open at the house, which I’m really going to miss.  The boys arrive and settle into the living room.  Hyun Suk appears to be wearing a jumpsuit made out of quilting material, and I love it so much.  His stylist deserves all the awards.

I hadn’t even noticed that.  I hope he’s not tracking dirt through that beautiful house.

The women arrive together, and it’s dawning on me again that there are only five of them.  This is a little strange.  In Part 1, having more girls than guys made a 5-way tie impossible.

Everyone gathers in the living room and sits quietly.  It doesn’t feel like the usual awkward silence.  We know they’re surrounded by cameras and a production team, it’s the last day, and they probably have a million things on their schedule after this.  They’re just waiting for the classical music to start so they can get on with it.

Yoshi compliments the girls on their outfits.  The show tells us such compliments make their hearts flutter.  Oh, shut up, show.  Thank goodness the classical music starts up.  “This is the last time we’ll hear the music!” Hyun Suk says as he gets up to retrieve the mission.  The mission is the 10-minute talk time, just like with the previous group.  I’m hoping we get some top-tier flirting like the kind Haruto gave us in Part 1.

We start with Yoshi.  He’s waiting in the second-floor kitchen off the patio, and I am really, really going to miss this house.  While he waits for his first conversation, he brings out some blankets and puts them on a chair in case the women get chilly.  It’s a nice touch.  He also sets out some water and sodas and then worries that he’s overdoing it.  I’m going to miss this K-pop vampire fashion king sweetheart.

Min Ji arrives first.  She appreciates the blanket and the water.  He then takes a blurry package out of his bag and says he remembered she likes sweet things.  He hands her a blurry bar of chocolate.  She is surprised and happily thanks him.  But there’s more.  He’s going to draw a picture of her and give it to her as a gift.

(“Noona” is a Korean term used by men to address older women.)

While he’s drawing, they can’t really talk because she’s posing and he’s concentrating.  She does try, though.  She asks him what he thinks his best charm is.  He says that in a one-on-one conversation, where he feels more comfortable, he’s more manly.  I’m not sure what that means.

She loves the drawing and says she’ll frame it.  I’ll admit, I’d be excited to get a drawing from a K-pop star, even it if were just a stick figure.

Min Ji is touched and says she’s never received a gift like this.  The other band members are going to have to seriously step up their game.

Yoshi asks about her arm, because she apparently burned herself yesterday while cooking.  He picked up more bandages after it happened and gives them to her now.  It’s very sweet of him.  I would have preferred more actual conversation instead of gifts, but she’s completely swept off her feet, and she’s the one who’s voting in the end, so I’ll call this a success.

The chime rings, signaling the ten minutes are up.  Now we cut to our maknae, Jung Hwan, sitting out in the courtyard.  Ji Soo arrives.  Jung Hwan starts by saying he knows she gave him a recorder, and she tells him she also gave him a jewel.  She appreciated the way he looked out for her on the field day event when they were playing soccer.

They talk about how the little things matter, and he tells her that hers was the last jewel he received.  (I checked my notes.  He got two jewels last time, from her and Min Ye.)

He does have a gift for her, sort of.  It’s a hand warmer.  The same ones they’ve been using on the set all series.  He says this one is special, and since Hyun Suk is giving vitamins as presents, he wants to express himself in a warm way.  By … giving her a hand warmer he picked up off the set?  Come on, Jung Hwan, seriously?  Yoshi gave chocolates, drew a picture, and provided medical supplies.  Your game is WEAK.

The chime rings.  Time’s up.  We move to another part of the courtyard, where Doyoung is waiting.  Ha Yul joins him.  He has set up electric votive candles in the shape of a heart around her chair.  That’s sweet, I guess.  It’s hard for me to see the charm in acts like this when they’re being done to win a TV reality show competition, and we know these guys will never see these girls again.

I do have to laugh when Doyoung asks for Ha Yul’s honest reaction to the candles, and she admits she finds it a little cheesy.  But she adds, “It’s so you, Doyoung,” which softens it a bit.

Because they’re the same age, Doyoung asks if they can speak informally.  She asks if he thinks he can actually do that, and he says he’ll try.  Then he struggles to speak.  I am really missing a lot of the nuance of these shows by not understanding Korean.

Doyoung manages to keep the conversation going.  He remembers how she arrived at the house yesterday with star barrettes in her hair.  He says he liked that.  “It was vibrant and stylish,” he says.  She has Hyun Suk paid her a similar compliment.  Wow, Hyun Suk has been doing great, what with the vitamins and compliments.  I can’t wait to cut to his 10-minute session.

Doyoung isn’t going down without a fight.  Ha Yul tells him she almost didn’t wear the barrettes because she was afraid they would make her stand out too much.  Doyoung looks right into her eyes and says she looked like a red rose among purple roses.  She blushes and laughs, and then she comes right back with “I feel like you’ve prepared all these lines.”  Smart girl!

Doyoung protests that these lines can’t be prepared (yes they can), and she says it still feels that way.  Still she’s flattered that he thought she looked pretty yesterday.

I’ve never seen tomdjt this optimistic.

One good lesson Doyoung has learned is that his clumsiness is part of his charm, and he doesn’t have to be embarrassed by it.  So we’ve gotten at least one really good message from this show.

The chime rings.  Time to move on.  This is kind of like speed dating.  Now we get to hang out with Hyun Suk in the playroom.  He’s talking with Min Ye.  They talk about the fun they’ve had on this show, but Hyun Suk is worried that Min Ye may have felt uncomfortable, coming in on the second day. 

Min Ye says that he made her feel welcome, so the transition went smoothly.  We get a scene from the bus that we didn’t see before, in which all the guys get her up to speed on everything she missed the day before.

“Is there anything you wish you did more?” She asks him.  He says he wishes he’d been able to have more conversations with the women.  Min Ye tells him all the women like him a lot, which makes him happy.  The chime rings, but they keep talking through the sound until she finally has to leave.

Now we cut to Jeong Woo in the living room.  This poor guy.  He started Part 2 saying that his bandmate Jae Hyuk told him he’d be Mr. Treasure on Day One, and he wound up with an empty locker and being the third wheel on a date.  He’d better not leave the show empty-handed.  He doesn’t deserve that.

In walks Min Ji.  Again?  We still haven’t talked with Seung Ji.  She asks him if he has any regrets, and he says he’s got a lot.  She responds, “I think you’ll have a lot.”  OH MY GOD.  Can she go away now?

Min Ji says that Jeong Woo has many charms, but he just doesn’t know how to show them, and that’s a shame.  She asks how he feels now, and if there’s a charm he has that others don’t see.  He says he likes taking care of people.  He feels good when he can help.  But when it comes to women, he can’t do that so easily.  With his bandmates, it’s easier.

Min Ji tells him there’s no need for him to be shy with girls, and that all the girls found him charming when talking to him one-on-one.  He’s relieved to hear this.  He also tells her that she was the MVP among the women.  Jeong Woo, I respectfully and wholeheartedly and COMPLETELY disagree.  Thankfully, the chimes put a stop to this conversation.

Now we’re back to Yoshi in the upstairs kitchen.  Seung Ji arrives.  She tells him he looks great in pink.  (He really does.)  He tells her she looks amazing and loves the blush color she’s using.  He’s really good at noticing details like that.

She asks him how he feels now, and like his bandmate Hyun Suk, he also wishes there had been more time to talk one-on-one.  He takes out his paper and pen and sketches her as they talk.  Yoshi is too good for this world.  I just love him.

Seung Ji asks him what charm he’s discovered about himself during all this.  He says he’s learned that confidence is key.  As far as messages the show is sending, this episode is a huge improvement over the previous ones.

The chimes ring.  We go back outside to Jung Hwan, and night is falling.  This must be a looong day for this cast.  He’s talking with Min Ye, who tells him right off the bat that he answers questions like he’s reading from a textbook.  Well.  Hello to you, too.

He finds out that one of the jewels he received was from her.  I’m a little surprised that the guys aren’t told where all their jewels and recorders came from, like the previous group was.  Maybe because this group has already been talking about it so much.

They talk about how relaxed they feel talking to each other.  She says it feels weird that this is their last conversation.  They pretty much just keep repeating how comfortable they are with each other until the chimes have had enough and signal the ten minutes are up.  (BTW, he “gifts” her with a hand warmer as well.)

The 10-minute Talk Mission is over.  Time for the final ceremony.  We get a final shot of the house, and I actually get a bit misty-eyed over leaving it.  Just in case I haven’t said it enough, I really love this house.

Seeing it now for the last time, I’m reminded of a scene from the 1986 movie Pretty in Pink.  Molly Ringwald’s character, Andie, is a high school student who lives on the wrong side of the tracks and is studying and working hard for a better life.  One night, on her way home from a club, she drives through a wealthy neighborhood and points out the houses to her friend in the car.  She stops in front of one of the houses and says, “That one’s my favorite.  I wonder what it’s like inside.  You know what the sad thing is, though?  I bet the people who live there don’t think it's half as pretty as I do.”

I really hope the people who live in the house on this show see it the way I do.  I hope they see every day how beautiful it is.

Moving on.  I predict the final Mr. Treasure will be Hyun Suk.  He’s been consistently charming through this whole thing and didn’t seem to need help talking to women in the first place.  This guy can talk to anybody.

We go back to our Bridge of Fate with its beautiful lights and flags reflecting on the water’s surface.  In confessionals, the women say they’re still thinking over their choices, including  Min Ji, who just told us in the last episode she would choose whichever guy just popped into her mind.

Our guys stand in front of the bridge, and it’s nice to see none of them are wearing anything that has to be blurred out.  Ha Yul is the first to walk across the bridge.  She stand in front of them and gives the standard speech.  She provides a general description of her choice that could apply to any of these guys.  Just please don’t give us any fake-outs this time.

She steps forward like she’s going to choose either Hyun Suk or Jung Hwan, but then she sidesteps and give it to Doyoung.  The other guys clap, and he high-fives her. 

Hyun Suk says half-jokingly that now he understands why Jae Hyuk felt hurt.  No.  You’ll know that feeling if you’re the only one to go home with nothing after one of the girls embarrasses you.  Ha Yul didn’t get close enough to do an actual fake-out.  Yes, I’m still bitter.  Let’s get this over with.

Next across the bridge is Min Ji in a blurred-out sports jacket.  She makes her speech and then steps forward.  She wavers between Jeong Woo and Yoshi and then picks Yoshi.  His reaction is adorable.  Good bye, Min Ji.  I will not miss you.

Next up is Min Ye.  She gives the speech, steps forward, and gives her jewel to Jung Hwan.  That’s three guys who have received jewels.  This will either end in a five-way tie, or someone is going home empty-handed.

Next up is Seung Ji.  She gives her speech, steps forward towards Jung Hwan, and then veers over to Yoshi and gives him his second jewel of the evening.

Only one jewel left.  Here comes Ji Soo.  She gives her jewel to Doyoung.

So Yoshi and Doyoung win Mr. Treasure titles, and both Hyun Suk and Jeong Woo get nothing.  I’m glad it wasn’t just one guy this time.  Although it’s weird that the most consistently charming man of the entire series, Hyun Suk, was one of them.

The viewers have thoughts.        

I think laude_21 sums it up very well at the end.  This was a very interesting experiment in K-pop, and even though I have no intention of watching another dating show again, I’m glad I saw this one.  I also have a fondness for the guys in this group, even though try as I might, I couldn’t find any of their songs that I really liked.  Sorry guys, I went through your YouTube playlist, and none of it worked for me.  I do wish you tons of success, though.  You are all adorable.  Hyun Suk and Yoshi need their own fashion lines.

Also, I think your entertainment company seriously hates you.  Maybe check when your contracts are up and start looking around.  Baekhyun from EXO has started his own label, so that might be worth a phone call.

I’m going to wrap this up with my usual post-show essay, because I do have a lot of questions after watching this show.  In the meantime, remember what we’ve learned:

1. Sports equals charm.
   
   
2. Starting conversations equals charm.
   
   
3. Helping out in the kitchen does not equal charm.
   
   
4. Shyness is not charm.
   
   
5. Giving girls blankets, water, and bandages is charm.
   
   
6. Singing for girls is not charm.
   
   
7. I never want to hear or see the word “charm” ever again.

Let’s talk about Shining SOLO.

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Shining SOLO, Episode 9: Women, amirite?

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(Written September 8, 2024)

Well.  That was a rough episode.  Why would YG Entertainment put their own group through this?  And for Jeong Woo, how much worse can it get?  I’m almost afraid to hit Play on this episode.

(deep breath)  Here we go.

The women arrive at the house first, looking fabulous.  They decide to take the couches the guys usually sit in, because why not, they’ve already taken their self-esteem and sense of dignity and any hope of feeling confident when talking to a woman ever again.

What, too dark?

The girls talk about how much they love the house.  The boys arrive, and as soon as they sit down, classical music fills the air.  Okay guys, let’s do this.

Hyun Suk reads the mission:

Today is Secret Day.  Guys, please board the designated vehicles now.  Hyun Suk is in Car 1, Yoshi and Doyoung are in Car 2, and Jeong Woo and Jung Hwan are in Car 3.

Hyun Suk wonders why he’s separated from his bandmates.  Whatever the reason, the girls are supposed to join the vehicle containing the guy they’d like to spend the Secret Day with.  Each vehicle can hold up to four people. 

The girls immediately point out that one car may wind up with no girls.  I’m worried that in the cars with two guys, the girls who join them may just want to be with one of them, making the other guy a third wheel.  Seriously, does YG Entertainment hate their own band?

The guys go outside to the three SUVs, get in their assigned ones, and wait for the girls to come out and crush what’s left of their dignity.  Inside, the girls make a show of struggling with the decision.

We see Hyun Suk in his car, looking amazing in a slightly oversized suit with a school uniform blazer and glasses.  I would get in his car and demand he take me clothes shopping.  He’s talking to the camera, wondering why he’s so nervous about this mission.  “I’m actually feeling sad,” he tells us.  “But I am strong.  Life is meant to be lived solo anyway.  How to enjoy it alone, how to navigate it.”  He’s talking himself up in case he doesn’t get chosen.  We’re five minutes into this episode, and already I want to die.

Seung Ji is the first one to walk outside.  She passes Hyun Suk’s car and heads right for Yoshi and Doyoung.  She hops in and sits next to Yoshi.

Seung Ji says she’s here because she wants to talk to Yoshi.  Remembering her comments on his recorder, he apologizes for yesterday and says he was distracted.

Now it’s Ji Soo’s turn.  She immediately goes to Hyun Suk’s car and peers into the tinted windows, trying to see him.  She calls his name.  This is the woman he had a really good lunch date with yesterday.  I’m hoping these two will get a chance to talk again, especially since I wanted to hear more about her hesitation to continue with dancing.

So what does Hyun Suk do?  He looks away and doesn’t respond or open the door.  The subtitles tell us he’s embarrassed.  What?  He knows her.  He should feel comfortable enough with her not to be embarrassed.  Again, there may be a cultural thing I’m missing, but the only conclusion my Western mind can draw is that he doesn’t like her, or at least just doesn’t want to spend the day with her.

It gets harsher.  The windows may be tinted, but she can tell she’s been rejected.  Despite the fact that she’s probably feeling hurt, she keeps a smile on her face and moves on to the other two cars.  To which I say GOOD FOR HER.  I hope she has an amazing day with whomever she spends it with.

She peers into Yoshi and Doyoung’s car.  We cut back to Hyun Suk, who says to the camera, “Ji Soo, I wasn’t avoiding your gaze.  I hid because I thought you couldn’t see me.

I sat blinking at the screen when he said that.  He’s not apologizing for hiding.  He’s apologizing for her seeing him hide.  I have no idea what’s going on with him, but fortunately, Ji Soo chooses Yoshu and Doyoung’s car and is enthusiastically welcomed.  “I came for the snacks!” she says gaily.  Ladies, take note.  This is how you handle rejection.  You keep your head up and move on.

Both Yoshi and Doyoung are happy, especially Yoshi. He can now talk to two women who left voice recorders in his locker. 

Back in the first car, Hyun Suk is upset that he’s not getting selected.  Dude, you know I adore you, but this was completely your own fault.

Next up is Ha Yul.  I love her outfit.  I’m hoping she chooses the car with Jung Hwan and Jeong Woo because she’s left voice recorders for both guys.  She needs facetime with them.  But she goes straight for Yoshi and Doyoung’s car and finds it already full.  She moves on to Hyun Suk’s car.  Here’s another chance for him to behave like a decent human being.

Ha Yul is more assertive, actually opening the door instead of peering through the window.  Hyun Suk is happy to see her and offers blurry bags of snacks.  He tells us in a confessional he’s happy she chose his car.  Well, she chose another car first, but okay.  As annoyed as I am with him right now, I’m relieved that he’s not spending the day alone.

Meanwhile, Jung Hwan and Jeong Woo are bummed out in their car.  I really hope at least one girl chooses them instead of getting stuck with them because the other cars are full.

Min Ye is the next to emerge from the house.  She immediately goes to Hyun Suk’s car and gets in.  This is not looking good for Jung Hwan and Jeong Woo. 

Min Ji is the last one out of the house.  She goes right to Yoshi and Doyoung’s car and finds it full.  So now she runs to Jung Hwan and Jeong Woo’s car.  She gets in, and they’re all awkward.  Jung Hwan sits next to her, so it looks like Jeong Woo, who has experienced enough indignities on this show, is the third wheel.  But she has given voice recorders to both guys, so now’s her chance to talk to them in person.  

The cars move out to begin the Secret Day Mission.  Jung Hwan and Min Ji are chatting away while Jeong Woo sits quietly in the back row.

Right away, Jung Hwan screws up conversationally because he forgot Min Ji is a ballet dancer.  She’s insulted.  This is a very bad start.

Their car pulls up to a roller skating rink.  The show tells us roller rinks are the iconic symbol of retro for Gen Z.  As a Gen Xer who grew up going to roller rinks, I now feel ancient.  I always love when my childhood memories are called retro.  Jung Hwan tries to make up for his earlier mistake by helping Min Ji get her skates on.  He also helps with her wrist pads, knee pads, and everything else the show’s insurance policy is probably insisting on.

The three of them are not confident skaters.  As they struggle to stay on their feet, members of the show’s production team stay close.  But because the show doesn’t want to show the production team members on camera, they are blurred, making them look like ghosts of people who died at the rink and are now haunting the place.

Jeong Woo gets the hang of it and speeds around, trying to show off.  This date is going to end with an ambulance ride, isn’t it?  I can hardly bear to look.  It finally occurs to our speed demon that he can use his skating skills to get facetime with Min Ji, so he comes back and starts teaching her how to skate.

After a few laps, our trio sits awkwardly in the snack bar area with drinks and glow sticks.  The rink is empty and dead quiet.  I understand that playing music over the PA would interfere with the show’s audio, but couldn’t they have some blurry extras skating around and talking?  Anything to lighten up the atmosphere?

Now we check out what’s going on with Yoshi, Doyoung, Ji Soo, and Seung Ji.  It’s hard to follow the conversation when two couples are talking at once, but it sounds like they’re talking about the votes and who’s been getting jewels and recorders.  At least Yoshi is being positive about it, saying he learned a lot by listening to the recorders.

Their car pulls up to the date site.  It’s a sauna.  The show tells us that Gen Z considers the charcoal kiln sauna to be a trendy rural escape, and I’m pretty sure even Gen Z viewers of this show are demanding to see the raw data backing up this claim.  Doyoung says it’s a place to sweat it out, drink sweet rice drinks, eat baked eggs, go to the ice sauna, and then take a nap.  This sounds like the absolute worst date ever.  

Yoshi does not seem thrilled about this date idea.  He says a sauna is a place he usually goes with the guys.  Nobody in this car looks happy.  I wouldn’t blame any of them for jumping out and flagging Hyun Suk’s car down.

But our group decides to make the best of it.  They sit in the sauna with their rice drinks and boiled eggs.  Yoshi and Seung Ji get roasted sweet potatoes out of an oven in the middle of the sauna, and I have no idea what’s going on here.  But they do seem to be enjoying themselves, so … yay, I guess?

They go back to talking about jewels and voice recorders.  Doyoung tries to guess who’s been giving him jewels and then asks both girls to give one to Yoshi, which I guess is sweet.  I’m glad when they change the subject to first impressions of each other.  Deyoung liked that Ji Soo was smiling.  Yoshi said she looked like a rich girl.  Yoshi, ever anxious, is second-guessing everything he says.

This whole thing is making me anxious, too.  Dating has always stressed me out.  I’m glad when we switch over to Hyun Suk, Ha Yul and Min Ye.  They go to a café, which is a much better date location.  They order food that looks way better than boiled eggs and sweet potatoes.  Hyun Suk is being the perfect gentleman, making sure the girls have everything they need and passing napkins and other items around the table.  I don’t know where this guy was earlier when Ji Soo was trying to get into the car, but he’s here now.

Min Ye asks about his outfit, and finally, this is the date conversation I’ve been waiting for.  She says he looked flashy yesterday for the sports day, and he’s more clean-cut today.  Hyun Suk says he usually dresses as a maximalist, mixing styles and patterns, like how we first saw him on Day One.  Ha Yul says he pulls off the shiny, glittery style well.  Honestly, I think he looks good in anything. 

But then the talk goes back to the votes.  Hyun Suk comes right out and asks if either woman has ever given him a jewel.  We know he’s gotten jewels from Min Ji and Seung Ji, neither of whom are sitting here.  Of course, the girls don’t know where his jewels came from, so now he asks Ha Yul who got her lollipop in the first impression vote.  She cops to giving it to him.  He then asks Min Ye whom she would have given a first impression lollipop to when she first showed up on the bus, and she says Doyoung, because she liked the coat he was wearing.  I have no idea how to respond to that.  I guess that’s fair, since I had the same reaction to Hyun Suk on Day One.

FINALLY, everyone returns to the house.  No sooner do they arrive than classical music fills the house again.  I would need a serious nap after the Secret Day Mission, especially if I’d been on the sauna date, but the show seems to realize it’s running out of time and only has one and a half episodes left.  Off to the Stairway Mailbox to get a new mission.  Tonight, they will play the Truth Game to reveal each other’s thoughts.

How is the Truth Game different from the Secret Open Chat?  The boys and girls write down questions they have about the opposite sex and submit them anonymously for discussion.  These answers are just going to make me sad again, aren’t they?

Everyone gathers in the living room, and the first question is directed at Doyoung.  “If you had one more day to charm your way to becoming Mr. Treasure, what would be your plan for the day?”

Doyoung says they’d spend the day at the gym.  He’d show off his mad weightlifting skills, do some sports, and then he and the girls would go out to eat.  The girls say they haven’t had the chance to see him exercise.  They were all at the field day sports thing, weren’t they?  Never mind.  Doyoung takes the bait and drops and gives them ten clapping push-ups.  The girls cheer and clap and marvel at his manliness, and I watch my faith in humanity fizzle out like a sparkler in the rain.  When Doyoung finishes and stands up, the show tells us that he completely nailed the charm appeal.  Sure, show.  Whatever you say.

The second question is also to Doyoung.  “What do you think are your two best charms?”  In keeping with the macho theme, I’d love to see him respond by flexing his arms, kissing each bicep, and saying, “Meet my two best charms, Super and Junior.”  But no, he says something about his serious side and his playful side both being charming, which is an answer l like better than the push-ups.

The next question is for maknae Jung Hwan.  “Is there one thing where you can say you’re better than the older members?”  His answer is also about exercise, because he can’t be outdone by Doyoung.  He says he’s good at gymnastics.  The girls pout that there’s not enough room to demonstrate, but he says he can do it.  He’s going to do some Taekwondo moves.

He does an admittedly impressive jump kick while the girls gasp in admiration.  This is definitely as depressing as I thought it would be.

Next question is for Yoshi.  “What’s your secret weapon for charming someone?”  Yoshi struggles with the question for a few seconds and then says, “My fashion sense and proportions.”  I’ll give him that.  Unfortunately, no one asks him to get up and demonstrate runway modeling. 

Next question is for Jeung Woo.  “How close do you think you’ve gotten with the women in the house?”  I’d love it if he smiled brightly and said, “Close enough for them to stab me in the back, apparently!”  But of course, no. 

We’re shown that Min Ji wrote this question, and she expects the answer to be that he’s grown 60-70% closer to the women.  But Jeong Woo says he’s 35% closer to them now.  I think that’s a fair answer, given his experiences on this show.  He’s learned that even when he puts himself out there, he can’t get the response he was hoping for.  When Min Ji asks if he’s sure about the percentage, he raises it to 40%, but that’s as high as he’ll go.  Min Ji, you’re the one who left a long, vague criticism in his locker in the first vote.  Maybe back off.

Hyun Suk is asked which members of the group would he introduce to his sister, and I sincerely hope his sister would be confident enough to tell her brother to piss off while she talks to any of the members she wants.  He answers either Jung Hwan or Jeong Woo, because he trusts his maknae with his sister, and she can sing with Jeong Woo.  Is this episode over yet?

No, because it’s time for the girls to answer questions, and here’s where things take an even more frustrating turn.  These questions are directed to all the girls in general.  I don’t know how to unpack that.  I guess when you talk to one girl, you’ve talked to them all.  Proceed.

First question:  “Is there a specific act you like from guys?”  We get a standard answer from Ha Yul that she likes a good listener who makes eye contact and shows that he’s really paying attention.  This is strange, since the women have spent the whole show complaining that the guys weren’t initiating conversations, but moving on. 

Next question.  “What’s the most important factor when choosing the final Mr. Treasure?”  Min Ji gives an answer that stops me in my tracks.  She says she’ll probably choose the first person who comes to mind.  She says four days is not enough time to really get to know these guys, so she’ll just give the jewel to the first guy that pops into her head.

The fact that no one on the production team yelled CUT and told her to try again, or that this wasn’t edited out in the first place, tells me no one on this set was paying attention.  The members of Treasure just accept this as an acceptable answer instead of demanding to know why they’ve been bending over backwards for four straight days just to have her play mental eenie-meanie-miney-moe at the end.  Maybe they’re just nodding along and waiting for this show to be over so they can go back to not speaking to women ever again.

The next question simply reads, “Looks vs. someone with a compatible sense of humor.”  These are their only two options?  I’d love for one of them to say, “Someone with money, of course!”  But no, they know the right answer is to choose the sense of humor, so they choose the sense of humor.  

The next question is, “Do you like dramatic surprise events with flowers or balloons?”

Seung Ji says she likes romance and surprises, but some of the women disagree.  I’m pleasantly surprised to hear the women express differences of opinion on something.  This is when the guys decide that understanding women is tough.  I’m not joking about this – they say that women are difficult to understand because they don’t all agree on the same things.  It’s like we’re human beings or something.

Next question:  I don’t care.  I’m done with this, and thankfully it’s the last question and the episode ends.

For next time, I’m helping the men out with just a couple more questions for the women:

1. So, do women like food and stuff?
   
   
2. If I keep nodding and agreeing with you, will you give me a jewel?

 

Only one more episode of this, folks.  Fighting!

Episode 10 (Finale):  Once More Unto the Bridge

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Shining SOLO, Episode 8: Everything is terrible.

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(Written September 6, 2024)

It’s Manly Man Sports Day!  Will our guys prove their charms by doing the sports?  Will insects attack again?  Will the guys be required to do the sports while initiating conversations at the same time?  Let’s find out!

The one-on-one lunch dates are over, and classical music fills the glamping site again.  Yoshi reads the mission – they need to split into two teams and begin the ultimate charm and stamina showdown.

Jeong Woo is smirking.  He tells us, “When I heard it was about stamina, I thought I could show off my charms, since I really like sports.”  Yoshi, on the other hand, looks worried.  He agrees that physical strength is a charm that appeals to women, and he says he’s up to the challenge, but he doesn’t sound very convincing.

We get an unnecessarily long sequence of teams being chosen.  We end up with Team Sooo and Team Yoshi And The Kids.  We begin with the long jump.  The women will not participate in this, because you know how we women are, unable to jump because of our ovaries getting in the way and whatnot.  Team Sooo wins this event.

Next up, “mini” soccer.  With a cute name like this, of course the women can play.  I am NOT bitter.  Shut up. 

They do the soccer thing for a while, and then Min Ji steps to the sidelines to re-tie her shoelaces.  Doyoung notices and stands in front of her to protect her from the ball.  New girl Min Ye notices this and tell us she finds it charming.  During halftime, Jeong Woo brings bottles of water to the women because apparently they’re too weak and feminine to GET IT THEIR OWN DAMN SELVES, and I’m sorry, I just hate this.  Team Sooo wins the soccer match, so let’s move on. 

Time to choose today’s MVP.  The boys close their eyes while the women stand behind their MVP choice.  Of course, Min Ji plants herself behind Hyun Suk immediately.  The other girls run around giggling as they make their choice until I’m ready to throw a rock through the screen.  Eventually, even Min Ji changes her mind as all the girls line up behind Jeong Woo.  He was on the losing team, but sure.  Whatever ends this.

The girls say they were judging him based on how open and enthusiastic he was today and how he brought everyone water.  As MVP, tonight while the other men prepare dinner, he will get a one-on-five date with the women.  He’s told to use his charm to appeal to the women.  Jeong Woo really needs to get a jewel, so he can’t wait for this.

As evening falls over the glampsite, Jeong Woo’s bandmates gather around him and send him off to meet the women, whooping, whistling, and carrying on like they’re sending him to a brothel to lose his virginity.  He looks seriously stressed out.  This poor guy.  Don’t the other guys have a dinner they’re supposed to be cooking?

Jeong Woo joins the women around a glampfire.  He takes a long drink of something I hope contains alcohol.  He sets it down, turns to the women, and initiates a conversation by saying, “You guys voted yesterday, right?”

Um … Jeong Woo, whatcha doing?

The women cautiously say yes.  He asks if they know all the results, as in who got jewels and who got recorders.  They say they don’t, and I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.  They could have told each other, but if they didn’t, they wouldn’t know.  And Min Ye just got here and hasn’t voted yet.

Jeong Woo keeps going.  “Actually, my honest feeling was I hoped I would have at least one jewel.  With that in mind, I opened the cabinet.  Instead, I got three voice recorders.”

This feels a bit petulant, Jeong Woo.  You’re supposed to be trying to behave in a way that gets you jewels, not complain about the recordings.  Yes, you got some unfair comments, but bringing it up isn’t going to help.

Everyone is laughing it off, but the three women who left him recorders are avoiding eye contact.  Jeong Woo keeps going, saying he knows which members of his group got jewels, because of course they talk.  He says it would have hurt less if someone had gotten two jewels so he wouldn’t have been the only one to get none.  “But everyone got one except for me,” he says.

Okay, Jeong Woo, this is the show you signed up for.  And your three voice recorders were given to you in a secret vote, so you didn’t have to share that embarrassment with the girls.  Have you forgotten what your bandmate Jae Hyuk went through in the Part 1 final vote?  That was in public.  Maybe change the subject to something more positive, because complaining like this isn’t exactly charming.

But no, Jeong Woo keeps going.  He tells the girls that after he got the three recorders, he went home, laid down, and cried.  I don’t understand what he thinks he’s doing.  Is he trying to get an apology?

Min Ji points out that he went on to get five votes today for MVP.  She’s right.  That’s what he needs to be focused on.  The women just did him a huge favor with this vote.  I can’t believe Jeong Woo is making me side with Min Ji.

Seung Ji asks him, “What do you think your charm is as a man?”  He says he can take care of others well.  She then asks how he thinks the next two days will go, and I like how she’s leading him away from the self-pity and into a plan of action.

Or at least she’s trying to.  Jeong Woo says it will depend on the activities they do.  Oof.  Wrong answer.  No matter what activities are set up on this show, the one thing you can control is your attitude.

Min Ye asks him what activities he likes to do.  He says singing.  Okay, but this is a show about getting out of your comfort zone.  We know you can sing.  Can you try something new, like maybe getting over yourself?

Thankfully, we cut to the other guys preparing dinner.  They stop when they hear singing coming from the glampfire date site.  It’s Jeong Woo singing to the girls.  We cut back to them, and the girls are all clapping and oohing and aahing over his singing, and I’m officially done.  The girls applaud in amazement when he finishes, and I just want Jae Hyuk to stomp onto the set and hit his bandmate with a mic stand.

What’s even more frustrating is how the girls tell us in confessionals how Jeong Woo has really improved today, and he’s more confident and charming and (screams into a pillow for ten minutes).

When we come back from the confessionals, Jeong Woo is singing again while the girls sway and look at him adoringly.  When will this segment end?

We cut back to the bandmates, and Jung Hwan looks how I feel.  Doyoung can’t believe Jeong Woo played the singing card.  The guys agree that their singing bandmate will get all the jewels, and they don’t stand a chance.  Since the women seem to have fallen for it, I’m afraid they’re probably right.

Jeong Woo and the girls rejoin the group.  They grill meat at the table, and the whole meal looks really good.  The other band members are bending over backwards to be attentive and caring and helpful because they have to compete with the singing charms of Mr. Bruised Ego.  (screams into a pillow for 10 more minutes)

While I was screaming, a thought occurred to me.  I’m watching these bandmates fall all over themselves to be charming – pouring drinks, asking if anyone needs more food, etc.  And I realize they’re doing this just to get jewels from the girls.  The point of this show is “how to be nice to girls so they will give you things.”  Doyoung brings Min Ji a Coke, and now she’s in a confessional talking about how charming and considerate he is.  For bringing her a Coke.  Aim high, sister.

During dinner, the girls tell the guys that Jeong Woo told them he was the only one who didn’t get a jewel.  Hyun Suk’s reaction is 100% correct:

The girls ask who got the fourth voice recorder.  Jung Hwan raises his hand, which is fine because he was asked directly.  I’m surprised that he doesn’t know for sure who gave it to him.  Do these women sound that much alike?  Because I don’t speak Korean, I can’t distinguish regional accents or the kind of vocal differences   I can easily hear in English.  

Ji Soo does cop to giving Jung Hwan the recorder, and he has a sense of humor about it.  The maknae has a less fragile ego than his older brother in this group.  Still, Ji Soo feels the need to backtrack and apologize, and I can’t scream anymore because my voice is gone and my neighbors have threatened to call the police.

Finally, the midnight bell tolls over the glamping site.  Thank God.  The production crew has moved the lockers out here.  We now have five jewels and five recorders.  We also have footage of a lot of sporting activities we didn’t get to see earlier, which is fine with me.  This is not shaping up to be my favorite episode.

The women do the voting thing, and then I guess they get on the bus and leave.  First up to check his locker is Doyoung. Last time, he got one jewel from Ji Soo.  This time, he opens his locker and gets … one jewel.  Was it Ji Soo again?  We the viewers see that it was actually Ha Yul who gave him the jewel this time.  Last time, Ha Yul gave her jewel to Yoshi.  I’m just glad she didn’t fall for Jeong Woo’s emotional manipulation.

Next up, Yoshi.  Last time, he got one jewel from Ha Yul.  Today, he gets one jewel … and THREE VOICE RECORDERS.  I’m glad that’s another jewel that didn’t go to Jeong Woo, but what the hell?

Okay, let’s unpack this.  We’re shown that the jewel is from Min Ji.  I’m pleasantly surprised by this.  Now for the criticism.

Recorder 1:  It’s Min Ye.  “I’ll go with Yoshi.  Whether it was during sports, or just in general, he seems like he has a lot of talent and skills.  But when we had a deep conversation on the bus, he mentioned feeling a lack of confidence, which stayed with me.  So maybe Yoshi is too hard on himself and can’t easily satisfy himself.  The type that’s hard on themselves, that’s what I thought about him.  Acknowledging one’s strengths and being kinder to oneself might make one more attractive as a person and as a man.  That’s why I gave the voice recorder to Yoshi.”

Jeez.  I thought Min Ji was long-winded.  They definitely need time limits on these recorders.  Also, Yoshi let himself be vulnerable with this woman he just met, and she used it against him.

Yoshi actually defends himself, and I want to give him a hug.  He tells us, “I honestly told her up front that I lack confidence, but that honesty turned out to be a poison.”

This is awful.  These guys are criticized for not starting conversations, and then starting them and saying the wrong things, which I know is what I accused Jeong Woo of earlier, but Yoshi was being vulnerable in this case.  He may never speak to anyone again.

Okay.  Let’s get the rest of this over with.

Recorder 2:  It’s Seung Ji.  “I chose Yoshi.  I know he’s introverted.  When we played games today, I think he showed a lot of charm through actions.  But I didn’t really see him initiating a conversation with the women or trying to get to know them more.  And when I tried to initiate a conversation or compliment him because I wanted to talk to him, he didn’t really show any reactions or respond to me, and the conversation was kept very short.  That’s why I chose Yoshi.”

Yoshi feels awful because he remembers this incident and says he was distracted.  Remember in the Secret Open Chat when he said he was often misunderstood?  Yeah.  I see it now.

Recorder 3:  It’s Ji Soo.  “The man who lacked charm the most today was Yoshi.  Yoshi really tried hard in sports and other things.  I get that we were on different teams, but I feel like we talked the least today.  He seemed quite passive, so I chose him.”

At least she kept it short.

Yoshi is downright neurotic right now, confessing there were about three people he didn’t get to talk to today.  So now, not only does he need to make sure he initiates conversation with every single woman, he has to make sure he doesn’t say anything bad about himself, and at the same time, he doesn’t want to brag, and here, Yoshi, I’m just going to FedEx you some pillows to scream into.  It’s quite cathartic.

Okay, next up is maknae Jung Hwan.  Last time, he got a jewel from Seung Ji and a recorder from Ji Soo.  He’s a nervous wreck and has to sit down and breathe deeply before opening his locker.

Jung Hwan gets two jewels and two voice recorders.  Okay, that means there’s one jewel and no voice recorders left.  Guys, someone’s locker is going to be empty.  We have two people and one jewel left.  I can’t believe that hasn’t happened before.

Back to Jung Hwan.  The jewels came from Ji Soo and Min Ye.  Now for the criticism.  Let’s buckle up.

Recorder 1:  It’s Min Ji.  “I didn’t get to talk much with Jung Hwan, be it yesterday or today.  I haven’t seen that side of him yet.”

Well, that was thankfully brief.

Recorder 2:  It’s Ha Yul.  “We were on different teams today, so we didn’t get time to get to know each other.  I wonder what other charms Jung Hwan might have.  Unexpected charms.  It would have been nice to discover more of that.”

Unexpected charms?  You want unexpected?  I don’t know what more you want from these guys, ladies.  It was hard enough for this one to overcome his shyness and carry on a conversation.  Now he has to worry about surprising you every day.  Tomorrow, I’d love to see Jung Hwan show up in tap shoes and a top hat, singing “Ragtime Gal.”

Our maknae is a bit frustrated because he was on a different team from both women and didn’t have much of a chance to show his charms, expected or otherwise.  These poor guys.  And I thought the guys in Part 1 had it bad.

Jeong Woo’s turn.  Moment of truth.  He opens his locker to find … nothing.

This is HARSH.  I didn’t like his behavior today, but I wanted him to get a voice recorder telling him to put on some big boy pants.  At least it would have been SOMETHING.  This is not helpful at all.

Jeong Woo is confused.  What is he supposed to do now?  He has nothing to react to.

Jeong Woo stands there, stunned, and I feel horrible for him.  I don’t like seeing people get hurt and embarrassed like this on television.  K-pop shows can be especially cruel, and this isn’t even a survival reality show.

The show gives us confessionals with some of the women.  Min Ji is asked why she didn’t give him a jewel.  She says she thought about it, and it was a real struggle.

Again, I’m being forced to defend Min Ji.  Jeong Woo was not being charming.  He was being petulant and entitled. 

Ji Soo says, “I didn’t directly feel the charm.” 

Seung Ji says, “During singing and chatting, I thought I saw a lot of charm.  But then again, during dinner, his presence seemed to diminish.”

Wait, what?  No.  That’s really not fair.  For an introvert, the singing and chatting would have taken a lot out of him.  You can’t expect him to keep entertaining you all during dinner.  You’re not a child at a birthday party.

We get a confessional with Jeong Woo, and he’s asked why he was quiet during dinner.  He says he was out of energy.  He had used it up during the one-on-five date.  He needed time to recharge.  He does try to be optimistic, saying he’ll do his best tomorrow.  I’m just worried that he thinks doing his best will mean more complaining about the votes.

We have a couple more minutes left in this episode, and here comes Hyun Suk.  We all know what’s in his locker.  It’s a jewel from Seung Ji.  He deserves it, and I’m happy for him, but I’m just emotionally exhausted by this whole episode.

Now ends a truly frustrating episode in this series.  Until next time:

1. What other unexpected charms should Jung Hwan spring on the women tomorrow?  Playing ping pong on a unicycle?  Reciting the entire script of the movie Parasite from memory?  Breaking chopsticks with his butt?
   
   
2. How many years will Yoshi spend in therapy after this show? 
   
   
3. Would it be better if the women had to give the criticism face to face?  (Yes.  The answer is yes.)

See you next episode.

Episode 9:  Women, amirite?

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