Let’s talk about YG Treasure Box.

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(Written March 13, 2025)

KKP!:  YG Treasure Box was UNREAL. 

Right after watching the YG Treasure Box finale, I had to take a break from writing my recap to go to my dental cleaning appointment.  While in the waiting room, I figured I’d use the time to pull out my phone and research what happened to Treasure after the show.  

By the time they called me into the room, I was a confused mess.  Here is a partial transcript of my appointment:

Me (while the hygenist is cleaning my teeth):  Unf onf feefh dis!
Hygenist:  What won’t I believe?
Me:  Za gruf cuddin dezu cuz seeoh ent ta dale!
Hygenist:  The CEO went to jail?
Me:  Un expeddushns uh too aye!
Hygenist:  Yes, well, sometimes high expectations cause stress for a group before they can debut.  Rinse, please.

When I got home and read some more, I realized it wasn’t just YG Entertainment mismanagement that caused problems for the group.  But let’s start there, since that’s what caused the delay with the debut.

After the finale aired on January 18, 2019, the final three members were revealed to be Jeongwoo, Jaehyuk, and Hyun Suk.  So after an awkward and unnecessary weeklong delay, we finally had our seven members.  They were scheduled to debut sometime between May and July of 2019.  So far, so good.

According to the Kpop Wiki, right after the members were announced, CEO Yang decided to bring some of the eliminated members back from the show and form a second group called Magnum.  This group consisted of Jihoon, Yoshi, Yoon Bin, Mashiho and his back flips, Asahi, and Doyoung.  So at least now all our future Treasure members are back in the game.  CEO Yang was going to debut this group later in 2019, after Treasure debuted.  

It must have been hell to work for CEO Yang during this time.

CEO Yang:  We’re forming a new boy band!  It will have five members!
Assistant:  Great idea, sir!
CEO Yang:  No wait, ten members.  No, five!  No, seven!
Assistant:  Sir, we’re already halfway through filming the series.
CEO Yang:  Okay, seven then.  Wait, what happened to the other trainees?
Assistant:  You eliminated them, sir.
CEO Yang:  Bring two of them back for the finale!
Assistant:  O….kay.
CEO Yang:  What a great finale!  How many final group members have we announced so far?
Assistant:  Four, sir.  You’re supposed to announce the other three after commercial.
CEO Yang:  Nope!  We’ll end the show now and announce the rest next week.
Assistant:  …
CEO Yang:  What happened to the other trainees?
Assistant:  (swallowing a handful of Xanax)  You eliminated them, sir.  Remember?
CEO Yang:  Bring them back!  We’ll have TWO bands!
Assistant:  Bring them back yourself.  I quit.

I’m pretty sure the above scene isn’t completely fictional.  After both bands were announced, CEO Yang announced that the Magnum and Treasure would be promoting together.  And separately.  Then he said, you know what?  Two groups is too much of a hassle.  Let’s debut them all together as Treasure 13.

Just as I’m starting to wonder if maybe the real reason the CEO went to prison was because he was snorting coke by the bucket, he then announced that the entire debut was put on hold because of a series of scandals.  Scandals, plural.   According to Koreaboo, they included (settle in folks):

March 2019:  Remember early in these recaps when we talked about Seungri from BigBang and how he was involved in the Burning Sun scandal?  Around this time, disposal trucks began showing up at YG Entertainment, and CEO Yang had to release a statement saying they were NOT shredding documents.  Then, in a completely unrelated matter, the cops found that CEO Yang owned nightclubs that were allegedly evading taxes.

April 2019:  CEO Yang is accused of receiving preferential treatment regarding bank loans.  He allegedly borrowed the equivalent of almost nine million dollars USD and used the YG Entertainment building as collateral.  Keep in mind, this was when he was putting two bands together instead of just the one, so at this point I have a theory that he was desperately trying to bring in more money to pay back these loans.

May 2019:  This is around the time that the original Treasure from the show was supposed to debut.  Here’s where CEO Yang now gets hit with a flood of charges involving solicitation of prostitutes.  He was accused of hiring prostitutes for VIPs in the industry and giving them (the prostitutes) (and who knows, maybe the VIPs) expensive Chanel bags as part of the payment.  He sent an email to all the staff at YG Entertainment, denying the claims.

June 2019:  This is where EVERYTHING blew up.  Not only is CEO Yang still fighting off charges about the prostitutes and the loans and the tax evasion and the document shredding, but here’s where he’s accused of witness tampering in the case of iKON’s B.I’s drug use.  Also, PSY got dragged into this mess.  Remember the “Gangnam Style” guy?  Well, he AND our CEO were accused of hiring prostitutes at an adult entertainment place during something called an “alcohol gathering.”  It was at this point that the CEO resigned from YG Entertainment in order to spend more time with his prostitutes.  LAWYERS.  I meant lawyers. 

Lots more happened after this, including PSY having to cancel concerts because of the fan backlash AND the CEO being accused of illegal gambling on top of everything else.  And to no one’s surprise, this is when YG Entertainment ALLEGEDLY had a problem with their trainees trying to leave the company.  In August 2019, it was reported that all the trainees from both YG Treasure Box and Produce 101 had left the agency.  YG Entertainment denied this.  This is the one thing I actually believe them on, as today, Treasure is still signed with YG.

So. Where did that leave our Treasure/Magnum/Treasure 13 boys?  Their debut was delayed through the rest of 2019 while all this was going on.  Group member Yoon Bin cancelled his contract in December 2019. 

In January of 2020, it was announced that Treasure 13 was moving forward.  (The timeline is a bit sketchy here.  Different websites have different timelines, and I understand completely because trying to follow all this gave me a migraine.  Also keep in mind that COVID was hitting around this time, which I’m sure contributed to more delays.)

Treasure began releasing music and promotional material in January and February of 2020, but in May, Yedam began releasing solo material.  YG Entertainment told everyone who would listen that this was TOTALLY part of the plan and that they’d been producing solo music for Yedam before Treasure was even formed.  (And yet they still put him through the survival show.  Let’s just say I have my doubts.)  Finally the debut for the group was announced for August 2020.

The good news is that the debut was a huge success, despite the insane pressure the group was experiencing at this point.  They became the fastest Korean act to chart on the Billboard Social 50 (which ranks the most active musicians on social media) and logged nearly 1.5 million subscribers on their YouTube channel.

They released music and did a web drama and fan meeting, and everything was going incredibly well.  However, Mashiho and Yedam went on hiatus from the group in early 2022 and announced their departure later that year.  That leaves Treasure as the 10-member group we know today.  (I want to add that Mashiho and Yedam got out just in time, before Treasure had to film Shining Solo.)

The group members had a couple of individual scandals that hurt them.  Hyun Suk was accused of cultural appropriation in 2023 because of a braided hairstyle he wore in a video, and Haruto was accused of homophobic behavior in 2024 that lost the group a lot of fans.  However, neither of these scandals seem to have slowed the momentum.  While I was recapping this series, Treasure announced their first US Tour, which begins in less than a month in New York.

As for CEO Yang, he was originally acquitted of threatening the informant in the iKON drug case, but in 2023 the acquittal was overturned.  He spent six months in prison and was under a one-year probation, which has been completed as I write this. 

He returned to YG Entertainment in late 2023 and helped produce the girl group BABYMONSTER.  He made a not-at-all-creepy statement to the press about how the youth of the girls in the group resonated with him because he has a daughter their age.  Mr. Yang is in his 50s.  The youngest member of BABYMONSTER is fifteen years old.  I need all the showers.

There is probably so much more to be said, but I’m done.  I have spent almost 12 straight hours covering the finale and then writing this wrap-up.

There will always be a special place in my heart for Treasure, and I’m very excited to read the upcoming reviews and see the TikToks from their first American tour.  After everything they have been through, they deserve all the love and success.  I will always keep them on my radar.

Right now, I need sleep.  Tomorrow I’ll start working on Debut’s Plan, a new survival show from Starship Entertainment, the company that brought us Monsta X.  In fact, some members of Monsta X will be coaching and judging on Debut’s Plan.  The show will steam on YouTube, or maybe it’s already started.  I’m too tired to go look.

Huge, HUGE amounts of love to aplateoflasagna and jeongjeongii on Tumblr for so much of the background information on Treasure, as well as feedback on these recaps and the ones for Shining Solo.  Now let’s all get some sleep.

 

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YG Treasure Box, Episode 10 (Finale): What. The. Hell.

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(Written March 13, 2025)

Welcome back to the finale of the most frustrating and exhausting show I have ever recapped, and we haven’t even begun to discuss what happens to the final group.  K-pop is a crazy business, but Treasure has really been through the wringer.  This finale is 90 minutes, so we’ve got a lot to cover.  Let’s do this.

We have another auditorium packed with 600 excited fans, our largest audience yet.  I swear, our ice castle stage keeps getting bigger.

The fans are waving their signs and shrieking with excitement.  A single spotlight shines on our announcer.  He tells us our final group will have seven members (no. it. fucking. won’t.)  and we’re going to find out who they are tonight.  (no we fucking won’t.  more on that later.)  Our 600 fans are going to be voting, and now it’s time for the voting rules. 

Out of a total of 1,000 points, CEO Yang will have 50%.  The pre-show online votes will take up 20%, and the live audience will have 30%.  I have so many questions, but since they involve math, I won’t understand the answers.  Let’s just get started!

We open with a performance by all … thirteen finalists.  We ended the last episode with eleven.  Why are there now thirteen?  They’re going to perform the signal song.  The announcer gives no explanation for the new number, but it looks like we’re getting a flashback.

The Dumb and Dumber Team is out clothes shopping.  We’re told new clothes add to their charm.  I would argue so do the two new members.  Who are they and when do we get to see them?

Now we go to the training center, where the eleven finalists are gathered, just sitting on the floor and waiting.  A YG producer walks in and tells them the final mission will be a genre competition – rap, vocal, and dance.  The finalists who come in first in each genre will be in the final debut group.

Now we’re finally getting the news.  It won’t be eleven trainees who compete.  We get a flashback within a flashback, and let’s just cut to the chase.  Our ever-decisive CEO has decided to bring back two trainees who were cut.  I hope they stopped those two before they flew all the way home and had to fly back.  I’d be PISSED.

First to walk through the door is Seung Hun.  You have got to be kidding me.  Everyone cheers and hugs him and yeah okay either Yoshi or Jaehyuk had better be walking through that door next. 

We won’t get to find out until the Signal Song performance who the second addition is because this show clearly hates us.

As the song begins, our finalists step into the spotlight, one by one.  But it’s only the first five, and not the new one.  Finally, he comes out.  It’s Jaehyuk.  He’s finally catching a break.  And as the thirteen trainees dance onstage, we finally see Yoshi.  In the audience.  Sitting with the other eliminated trainees.  I feel so sad seeing him there.  And why are the eliminated trainees wearing military uniforms?

Now the audience votes for their favorite trainees from the Signal Song performance.  As they vote, the CEO launches into a little speech about how initially he thought seven members would be too many, and okay just shut up.  Let’s move this along so we can fix this final group you’re throwing together.

I can already see why this episode is so long.  They are REALLY dragging out the vote reveal.  Junkyu comes in first place, but that’s only the online and audience member vote, so we don’t know who CEO Yang chose.  Everyone carries on like he’s already been chosen to debut, and then the announcer clears the stage.  It’s time for the performances by genre.  First up are the rappers.

We get a flashback in which we see the finalists choose their genre groups.  This also drags on, and I’m starting to think this episode could easily be cut down to thirty minutes.  But I’ve learned from doing these recaps that almost all finales are like this.

This is every bit as exciting as it looks.

After several loooong minutes, we finally get our teams.  Treasure members are highlighted.

Seriously, this takes forever, and I started fast-forwarding.  Some of us have other shows to recap.  Let’s pick up the pace.  Also, you’ll notice we have ten highlighted names, and only seven will be in the final group.  Welcome to the chaos that will be Treasure!

The rap team starts rehearsing.  Their song is “Hit Me” by MOBB.  We suddenly see that the audience at the finale is  is also watching all these recaps on giant screens.  If I were in the audience, no matter how much I love these trainees, I’d be desperately searching my voting device for a fast-forward button during these flashbacks.  Even the parents look bored.

Wake up, everyone!  Flashback is over, time for the rap performance!

I love this.  It’s wild and fun, and our boys are having the time of their lives up there.  The cameras can barely keep up with them.  I don’t know how anyone could choose a favorite.  All four absolutely kill it.

Our Style King Hyun Suk wins the online vote.  We still don’t have the CEO’s input, but I’m just happy seeing Hyun Suk happy.  Haruto wins the audience vote, which now puts him at the top.  But we won’t get CEO Yang’s votes yet, so I’m not sure why we’re doing this.

Now we get a surprisingly undignified moment, even for this show.  Each rapper has to tell the CEO why they deserve his vote.  This can’t possibly serve any purpose other than to inflate CEO Yang’s ego.  I really, REALLY do not like him.

Thankfully, the groveling is kept short.  The boys use humor, and I’m wondering if the CEO is actually using this as an opportunity to show charm.  Okay, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.  The rappers bow and leave the stage.

Next up:  Dance.  We get a flashback to rehearsals.  This is the largest group, with six people, so there’s more competition.  They want to throw in as many new techniques as they can, and – oh no.  Mashiho wants to try the backflip again.

Instead of launching from a standing position, he wants to run and leap over a kneeling finalist and flip in the air.  The fact that he’ll make the final group is how I know he’s not going to be killed doing this.

Doyoung practices a back somersault.  They’re all practicing gymnastic moves, and I’m wondering if this is going to look more like a circus act than a dance mission.  They’re starting to get injuries during rehearsals.  Please, someone stop them.

No one stops them.  It’s showtime.  I can’t look.

Wow.  It’s amazing.  It’s not just gymnastics.  It’s intense interpretive dance.  The song ends with a series of gunshots, and one by one, they fall as if dead.  My jaw is on the floor.  These finalists have seriously stepped up their game.

CEO Yang says he didn’t know YG was capable of producing a performance like that, which is one of the highest compliments I’ve heard on any of these shows.  The audience and online votes come in.  For now, Mashihi is in the lead.

Finally, the vocal performance.  We only have three finalists in this group:  Yedam, Jeongwoo, and Junkyu.  All future treasure members.  But I’m pretty sure Favorite Son Yedam is going to win this category.  It’s pretty much a done deal.  I love Yedam and am a fan of his work, but I really would like to see someone do better than him for once.

They choose the song “Last Dance” by BigBang, a group I’ve been learning more about ever since I saw T.O.P on Season 2 of Squid Game.  This is a beautiful song.  Jeongwoo feels outclassed by the way Yedam and Junkyu sing it so beautifully.  Now I’m pulling for Jeongwoo to win.

We may be headed in that direction if the Flashback Formula is working.  At the midpoint eval, the vocal coach praises Yedam and Junkyu but tells Jeongwoo he still needs work.  He does say that Jeongwoo has improved a lot from being on this show.  I’m hoping he’s improved enough to win the vocal category.  Let’s find out.

I’m definitely adding this song to my playlist.  It moved me to tears, and I didn’t even understand the words because the lyrics weren’t translated.  I’m not the only one.  When the song ends, all three vocalists are fighting back tears.

The online and audience votes are counted.  The one currently in first place is … wow, it’s Junkyu.  It’s not the final vote, but still.  It’s nice to see someone else get recognized.  Well done, Junkyu.

We now get a montage of all the trainees from the very beginning when they first started with YG.  We see the bad times and the good times and it’s very heartwarming and can we please get on with the show?  No, wait – we get video messages from the eliminated trainees.  Hello, Asahi.  Hang in there!

Finally, it’s time to choose the debut group.  Let’s do this.  We see our finalists on the stage.

Are those also military uniforms?  Why are they dressed like that?  Whatever the reason, we’re going to have the top three from the vocal, rap, and dance categories.  As for the remaining four spots, they will be chosen by the highest number of votes.  And, I’m sure, CEO Yang’s thumb on the scale.

First we get the winner from the rap group.  Our first member of Treasure will be:  Haruto!  He is overwhelmed.  We see his family, including his little sister, laughing and crying.

Now for the vocal group.  There’s no way it won’t be Yedam.

It’s Yedam.

Now for the dance group.  The winner is our Treasure maknae Junghwan.  He was definitely not expecting to win.

This next part is frustrating and confusing.  They say they will announce the rankings from the audience and online votes for the remaining four members, but CEO Yang hasn’t weighed in yet.  So for right now, Junkyu is ranked Number One and Hyun Suk is Number Four, but it’s not the final vote, so I don’t know why they’re telling us this.  Junkyu is asked to say a few words.  What is he supposed to say?  All he can say is, “I want to debut,” and the announcer thanks him for his honesty. 

I really, really hate this series.

Junkyu is finally announced as the fourth debut member.  He sinks to his knees.  This finale has put him through hell.

Okay.  Let’s find out the rest of the group!

CEO Yang picks up a mic.  I’m ready for this.

He says that these four will be the only final members to be announced tonight.  The remaining three will be announced over the next several days on VLIVE.

What.  The absolute.  Fuck?

The family members of the finalists have come all this way.  We’ve sat through this finale and all its endless flashbacks.  The fans have invested over ten hours of their lives on this series.  And you’re not going to finish naming the group members?

Even the announcer looks pissed.  I keep waiting for CEO Yang to say, “Nah, I’m just kidding.”  But no.  The show actually ends here.

I am FURIOUS.  This has been the most undecisive, poorly-structured survival show I have ever seen.  I never want to stop punching everyone at YG Entertainment in the face.

Honestly, once I cool down, I realize this is kind of appropriate.  Treasure’s debut and lineup changes will be a total mess, so it makes sense the finale would kick off the process with the worst ending to a finale possible.

Join me for the wrap-up essay, coming up next.  These kids deserved so much better.

Have fun in jail, Mr. Yang.

Let’s talk about YG Treasure Box.

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YG Treasure Box, Episode 9: We are now at DEFCON Catastrophe.

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(Written March 12, 2025)

Welcome back.  It has been suggested to me that I should not encourage my readers to spam Yang Hyun-Suk of YG Entertainment.  I have taken that suggestion under advisement but make no promises.  The man eliminated Asahi from the show.  This cannot stand.

Moving on.  We’ve got some team battles to look forward to.  Battles without Asahi in them, which is an affront to all that is good in the universe.  But fine.  Let’s do this.  (through gritted teeth) Welcome to Episode Nine.

We’re jumping right into the team battles, as a new stage is being built.  And we will have fans in the audience!  Real fans, not just YG employees!  FINALLY!

I love the fans and the energy they bring to these shows.  This is going to be awesome.  We have our ice castle stage, which looks bigger than before.  Our announcer welcomes everyone, and we’re starting with a performance by the Treasure 5 Team.  Of course, it’s the “Going Crazy” signal song.  Let’s goooooo!

It’s a high-energy start, but I’m ready to battle.  We learn that the 300 fans in the audience will be the Treasure Makers, voting for their favorites.  They will be voting with those little calculator-things.  (I miss the light stick voting devices from Boys Planet.)  We find out that nine trainees will be eliminated today, leaving eleven finalists.  I wonder if CEO Yang is still determined to get a final group of five.

We’re starting with Team 1, consisting of future Treasure members Hyun Suk, Jihoon, and Yoshi, along with Yeon Gue and Do Hwan.  We get a flashback, where we learn that YG has chosen the songs for the teams, and the teams have to pick from the list.

Right away, I’m excited about the BTS and EXO songs.  But Hyun Suk, who usually has impeccable taste, chooses the Wanna One song “Boomerang.”  I’m not a Wanna One fan, but I hope this team can make that song work.

The rest of the flashback shows the Boomerang Team struggling to put a performance together, which is all part of the Flashback Formula.  We get a scary moment when Jihoon lands on his knee and needs medical attention.

 He insists he’s fine.  I’m sure he is.  Now for the battle!

I watched this twice.  They performed this song better than Wanna One.  You’d never know Jihoon had hurt himself.  And again, I get to hear Yoshi rap.  This is my new favorite performance of the whole show.

The audience votes for their favorites.  Now it’s time for CEO Yang’s feedback.  He says it was more amazing than he expected.  Given how frenzied the audience is, he probably can’t give any criticism or the fans will drag him off the platform and beat the crap out of him with their signs.  K-pop fans will defend their biases by any means necessary. 

We’re getting the voting results already for this team.  

They get 647 votes.  That seems kind of low for an audience of 300 who are allowed to vote for five members each, but I never know how this works.  For now, Team Boomerang is in first place.

Next up, it’s the team doing EXO’s “Growl.”  The future Treasure members are Junghwan and Jaehyuk, and the others are Seok Hwa, Jong Seob, and Yun Seo.  Right away, we learn this is the underdog team.  None of them were picked by Byoung Gon or Hyun Suk for their teams.  They were left over and put together by default.

Thankfully, they get a kickass song.  I’ve seen “Growl” performed on almost every show I’ve recapped, and it’s always a huge crowd pleaser.  But strangely, none of the teams wanted this song, and this team isn’t happy about being stuck with it.  Are they kidding?  Or is this part of the Flashback Formula?  They can’t be serious about not wanting to do this song.

Okay, as they go through rehearsal, I see it’s because it’s a difficult song to do, especially with the falsetto. At first, I think it’s all part of the manufactured drama of a survival show.  But then Jaehyuk runs into the bathroom in tears after being scolded by both the vocal and dance coaches.  Maybe this song is too much for this young team.  It’s a beast idol song, and they’re just kids.

Or maybe I’m being tricked by the Flashback Formula again.  We watch Jaehyuk practice and improve.  He’s going to give a great performance, isn’t he?  They’re all going to be great, right?

Let’s find out.

They’re not quite beast idols yet, but they definitely pulled it off.  The audience screams are deafening.  CEO Yang looks absolutely delighted.  Not bad, kids.

The fans recover enough to cast their votes.  CEO Yang tells them this was the team with the least training – holy crap, they’ve only been training for six to eight months, and they just pulled THAT off?  Give them ALL the votes.

Well, no.  They get 607 votes, putting them in second place.  What is up with these fans?

Time for Team 3, who has chosen the iKON song “Dumb and Dumber,” meaning that they will unfortunately be referred to as “Team Dumb and Dumber” for the rest of the episode.  Do not tell me the producers didn’t do that on purpose.  Along with Byoung Gon and Yoon Bin, the team includes future Treasure members Mashiho, Junkyu, and Doyoung.

We get a flashback.  We’re getting the opposite of the Flashback Formula.  The dance and vocal coaches praise them to the skies at the midpoint evals.  I’m suspicious.  What is this show trying to pull?

Flashback over.  We never get a flashback where everything goes perfectly.  What is going on here?

No time to dwell on it now.  Let’s watch Team Dumb and Dumber!

It really is a dumb song, but it’s a perfect performance.  Confetti rains down on the fans.  The group even dances out into the audience.  It’s wild and fun, and not a single thing goes wrong, WHICH STRESSES ME OUT.  I’ve never seen this before.  A perfect flashback followed by a perfect performance.  That never happens.  The other shoe must be about to drop.  One of the guys is going to fall off the stage during the voting, right?  Someone will slip on the confetti?  Suddenly decide K-pop isn’t his thing and leave to join a monastery?  WHAT HORRIBLE THING IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN?

CEO Yang wonders if Treasure 5 could possibly beat this group.  I know – they’re going to get a terrible score!  That must be it. 

We finally see the score.  And wow.

It’s 864.  They’re in first place.  I’m astonished.  Mark your calendars, K-pop fans.  This perfect journey will never happen again on a survival show.  I’m pretty sure this was an accident, and a show editor is getting fired for this.

So now all that’s left is Treasure 5.  Bang Yedam looks STRESSED.

To review:  this team has future Treasure members Yedam, Jeongwoo, and Haruto, as well as Seung Hun and Keita.  They’ll be doing my favorite of the four songs, “DNA” by BTS.  We get a flashback, and since the last flashback really messed me up, I have no idea what to expect.

We get some drama.  Yedam has to miss a lot of rehearsals because of tests at school.  When did he have time to study?  Do the other trainees not go to school?  Something must be up.  I think Yedam is really sneaking off to plan his solo career.

We cut to a confessional with Yedam.  He’s stressing out over trying to fit school in with the show.  This hasn’t come up before for him or any of the other trainees.  He says he’s worried. 

The group’s midpoint eval is with the group Winner.  Yedam arrives an hour early to catch up.  And, of course, he memorizes the dance in 30 minutes.  Wait, no.  That’s not how the flashback formula works.  He’s supposed to do badly at the evals and get yelled at, and we’re supposed to wonder if he can pull it together in time for the battle.  This show is so messed up, it can’t even do flashbacks right.

“Yedam is a genius,” says Doyoung.  Fine.  He’s a genius.  I give up.  Then, I swear to God, we get the members of Winner in a confessional, and they call Yedam a genius.  I think my brain is actually breaking.

Showtime.  Let’s see Yedam the Genius get a thousand votes by himself and have BTS rush onto the stage and beg him to join their group.

Honestly?  It wasn’t that great.  The other teams were full of energy of fire.  This team did the steps well, but it just looked like they were going through the motions.  I know the CEO will love it, and they’ll get ALL the votes, but I’m disappointed.  It just felt low energy.  The audience is screaming its collective lungs out, so I guess I’m going to be the lone dissenter here.

The votes come in.  CEO Yang gives Yedam the highest praise, because of course he does.  He also singles out Seung Hun for praise, which is all that poor trainee has ever wanted, so I’m happy for him. 

The announcer drags out the wait for the final vote and then cuts to commercial.  The crowd sounds like it’s about to riot.  When we come back, we finally find out the Treasure Team score.

It’s 812.  The Treasure Team doesn’t get first place – Team Dumb and Dumber does.  I feel a little vindicated. 

This means no one from Team Dumb and Dumber will be eliminated.  They all take their places on the Finalist platform.  That’s five spots taken, six spots left.

Only three from the second place team – Treasure 5 – can take the platform.  Two will be eliminated.  And just like on No Mercy’s finale, they’re not going to do eliminations with the audience there.  The announcer tells the fans to watch the show to see who the finalists are.  The fans find it hard to leave and start shouting for CEO Yang’s attention, demanding that all the trainees be allowed to debut.  Aha – entitled behavior!  Now they’re acting like Americans!

Finally, the audience leaves, and we can get on with this.

Back to Team Treasure 5, from which two will be eliminated.  So who’s surviving?  (Hint:  There are three future Treasure members in the group.)  They are Yedam, Haruto, and Jeongwoo.

Yedam, Haruto, and Jeongwoo

 

This is really hard on Keita and Seung Hun, who have been trainees at YG for years, and now another opportunity is gone.  I know they’re both going to debut eventually and be okay, but I really feel for them right now.  Keita is keeping that bright smile on his face, but Seung Hun looks ready to give up.  The screen text tells us he’s been a trainee for nine years.  We see a camera guy standing next to him, zooming in on his tears, and I just want to give that guy a hard shove off the stage. 

In a confessional, Seung Hun asks, “What do I do with my life now?”  Kid, get over to C9 Entertainment.  You’ll find your CIX bandmates there.

Ugh, this industry.  Okay, let’s move on.

Time to inflict emotional trauma on Team Boomerang.  Only two will become finalists, and there are three future Treasure members in the group:  Hyun Suk (don’t you dare cut him), Jihoon (don’t cut him either), and Yoshi (seriously, I WILL KILL YOU).

Survivor 1 is Hyun Suk.  He’s been in tears this whole episode and now almost crumples to the floor.  I can’t imagine what our guy is going through.  He barely manages to make it to the platform.  Survivor 2 is Jihoon.  Which means that our sweet K-pop anime vampire and badass rapper Yoshi gets eliminated.  My heart is breaking along with his.

Hyun Suk, Jihoon, and Yoshi

 

Only one more spot on the podium, and we still have two future Treasure members waiting, Junghwan and Jaehyuk. 

Future Treasure maknae Junghwan gets through.  Jaehyuk, who cannot seem to catch a break ever in his entire career, is eliminated.  

Junghwan and Jaehyuk

 

The eliminated trainees leave.  Our eleven stand on the platform.  The announcer tells us that YG’s new group is among these eleven.  Oh, no it isn’t.  I can’t wait to write the final wrap-up essay explaining the total dumpster fire that finally led to the 10-member group we know, love, and take fashion advice from.

The announcer asks our CEO how many will be in the final group.  CEO Yang says that his decision has been changing every day.  Just the kind of decisive thinking we want from a CEO.  He’s finally decided the group will have seven members.  No, it fucking won’t.  

Sorry, I am fed up to here with our CEO, especially since I spent all that time trying to subliminally implant the number 10 in his head all last episode.  Up10tion just sent me an invoice, and I don’t want to talk about it.  We end the episode here.  We have eleven finalists, seven of whom have absolutely no idea what kind of debut is in store for them.

We have a lot of ground to cover over the next few days.  There’s the final episode of this show and the wrap-up, and in between all that, Starship Entertainment has a new survival show starting on YouTube.  I want to recap that one as it happens.

We’ll be talking a lot.  See you soon.

Episode 10 (Finale):  What. The. Hell.

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