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Welcome to my episode eight and final review of NCT Universe: LASTART.
If you have not read my introduction post yet to this competition reality show, please go back and read it to get a great idea of what to expect from this show.
If you do not want spoilers, please do not continue reading because I will not hide anything in my review. Besides, these episodes already aired a while ago and the winners were already announced in the last episode.
I sincerely delayed my last episode review because I was in huge denial of the fact that although there are seven debut members of the New NCT Team, one of my favorite members dropped out of the team. Therefore, my motivation for writing this last episode is low and bittersweet. Still, I don't like to back out on my promises and this is no exception. There is a saying that to "eat an elephant," one can do it one mini-task at a time so I took my time to write the review for the eight episode.
The show continued with all the contestants bowing on stage, echoing thank yous or kamsahamnidas in Korean. Artist Director Eunhyuk and the other artist directors replied back with the word, Chukahamnida or Congratulations before standing up and getting out of their seats. Eunhyuk suggested that everyone go on stage to cheer up all the contestants.
As the artist directors go up on stage from the right side, Heitetsu was the first to get the "good job" or "you worked hard" or "sugohasimnida" comment followed by Haruta. I'm really going to miss all the eliminated trainees. This was another reason why reviewing this last episode was difficult since it was bittersweet. Eunhyuk told Ryu that Eunhyuk can tell that Ryu worked hard. Director Jang gave Anderson a thumbs up. Leeteuk encouraged Anderson not to cry. Eunhyuk shook Anderson's hand and told him sincerely that he was good and Eunhyuk meant it. I thought to myself if Anderson was really that good, then Anderson would be on the team. Anderson ended up bursting into tears again. This part of the show was going to be very hard to watch. Anderson walked away a little bit, wondering out loud to himself what he was doing crying like that. When Anderson rejoined the group, Daeyoung also told Anderson, "Sugohasimnida" in almost a whisper. In Anderson's personal interview, he admitted that it was a big mix of feelings, but he understood that he had a shorter training period than other trainees (six months when he started the competition). He thought that it would be more beneficial to him in the long run if he trained a longer period of time. He rather enjoyed training with such intensity of a competition, which I understand, because trainees can get complacent when the training life becomes repetitive. I will always remember what Jungwon from the male K-pop group, Enhypen, said in his winning speech to become Enhypen that he was previously practicing without any goal in mind, so I think he meant that he lost his focus in life and that can happen while being a trainee with no debut plan on the horizon.
Director Jang gave Minjae a hug and told him that he had many chances in the future. It seems whoever Director Jang talks to would break down in tears. I think this was how close the trainees were with Director Jang. Eunhyuk also told Kassho nearby that he did well. Eunhyuk naturally walked over to Minjae who was crying and asked why he was crying. BoA also came by and smiled at Minjae. Honestly, I think artists know all about rejections so they would probably learn or try to take it with stride. BoA expressed to Minjae that he was good though. After wiping his tears, Minjae went to look for his buddy, Daeyoung. It was bittersweet that they collaborated two times already and only one of them got to debut so I felt that Daeyoung started crying for this reason while in an embrace with Minjae. Daeyoung thanked Minjae for helping Daeyoung all this time. Minjae downplayed his role by saying that he didn't do much for Daeyoung. In Minjae's personal interview, he felt that the competition time felt short and so many things happened while on the show. He felt sad the journey came to an end. Gosh, they all really have potential to debut so I will also wait for good news from them in the future.
Leeteuk was back at the right side of the stage praising the contestants again and Heitetsu was tearing up. Leeteuk encouraged Heitetsu by saying that Heitetsu might have noticed others grasping the choreography faster than Heitetsu, but in the end, Heitetsu completed all the missions. For that, Heitetsu did well. I agree because even though Heitetsu consistently ranked low, I have to give him credit for doing his part in every mission and trying his best. Leeteuk wanted to stay in touch with all the contestants. Leeteuk thought Haruta looked really handsome. Leeteuk and Kangta said their goodbyes with the "fighting" phrase. Heitetsu remembered every moment and wanted to tell himself that he did a good job. He hoped to bring good news to the people who supported him. He would use this experience as a stepping stone to gain confidence.
The trainees started making their way to center stage. Heitetsu and Minjae embraced. Ryu was a little surprised at himself for tearing up. Haruta was a little teary-eyed, but positive as he quietly stood by. In Ryu's personal interview, he realized that all the memories that they had together were precious. I felt like crying again. Ryu thought that this was a great experience.
In Haruta's personal interview, he planned to focus more on live singing and practicing basic dance technique. He would work harder in his next opportunity. I think if Haruta kept this momentum up, he would be in the next male debut team.
Yushi was praised with "you worked hard" phrases from Eunhyuk and BoA. BoA insisted that Ryo grew taller as Ryo was taller than BoA in height. I really couldn't tell because I never saw Ryo and BoA stand side by side before. Next, Haechan praised Jungmin that Jungmin was great and Jungmin will be great. Leeteuk congratulated Jungmin and asked if Jungmin's throat was fine. Jungmin held his throat and nodded.
Eunhyuk faced Sion and the group that their journey was starting now. Next time, they will probably meet, but BoA cut Eunhyuk off by telling him that it would be at SMTown. Eunhyuk offered the debut group advice to not hesitate to ask him or BoA any questions and he will do his best to help them. Eunhyuk then joked that Johnny will go on a power trip on the debut group. Johnny smiled and responded that Eunhyuk will scare them into thinking as such.
Director Jang continued to collect crying contestants by reaching out to Yushi to tell Yushi that Yushi worked really hard. Yushi nodded and lowered his head. Director Jang leaned in for a hug and told Yushi that he worked hard. This fatherly gesture caused Yushi to break down in tears. Director Jang congratulated Yushi and commented that it has been many years. I think Yushi probably couldn't believe this day has come and all the hard work he put in with Director Jang has come to fruition. Director Jang confirmed to Yushi once again that he worked hard and that Director Jang meant it. BoA came by to ask why Yushi was crying. Eunhyuk also followed BoA. Director Jang moved on to comfort Jungmin, but I couldn't hear what Director Jang said to Jungmin. Yushi replied between sobs that it was nothing. Eunhyuk commented to Yushi that it was not like BoA scolded Yushi. I think everyone probably understood the feelings all the trainees had, but wanted to focus on the positive side of things. They probably know that crying is not a sole reason for negativity, but it could be used as a way to express overwhelming emotions in general whether it is positive or negative. BoA commented, "Ottoke? What to do?" Eunhyuk joked that it looked like Yushi was crying because BoA scolded him. Yushi then cried even harder, which made BoA laugh out loud. Eunhyuk carried the joke further and asked BoA if she made Yushi cry again. Eunhyuk went to put his arm around Yushi and of course, Sion made his way over to put his arm around Yushi too from the other side. Sion seemed to be the protector of Yushi. Yushi finally was able to muster up a "thank you." In Yushi's personal interview, Yushi admitted that Director Jang's "good job" comment made Yushi very emotional. Yushi had complicated feelings about it. Yushi thought that Sion and Yushi was able to show good results together with hard work. Yushi did not have any regrets. Yushi thought there were a lot of tough moments, but he will continue to work hard as he has done so far. I remember BoA said in the last episode that their professional career would be three times as hard after debut. I have faith that Yushi was ready for debut.
Leeteuk seemed to have ran out of things to say as he and Kangta stood at the corner of the stage. Being the natural announcer and MC that he is, Leeteuk told the camera that they will be back for another season of LASTART. Therefore, if anybody had talent that other people recognize them for, Kangta mentioned there is a phone number at the bottom of the screen and asked the audience to join SMTown. Leeteuk continued to state that there will be global auditions as the show would be aired around the world. Nationality, age, and gender would not matter at all. Haechan and Johnny looked at each other with an incredulous feeling. I'm pretty sure Haechan would have been the one to be an announcer in this situation. Leeteuk ended his speech with hoping that the future contestant could become the boss of K-pop. Unfortunately, there will be no more LASTART shows as this show was already mentioned by SM Entertainment to be the last NCT unit for the company. One can only hope that SM would do this type of show again, but with the next debuting group in the future. I would love to review it on my blog, Wehaiyo!.
Eunhyuk announced that the trainees can talk among themselves as the artist directors were leaving. I was a bit disappointed that there was no footage of the New IP TF team congratulating the contestants. I figure they probably wanted to be off camera instead for their privacy. The Artist Directors clapped for the contestants before they left the stage.
Sakuya adorably walked toward Ryo and they didn't hug, but have sort of a bonding moment. They acted like brothers who denied their love for one another. As the unofficial leader of the group, Sion maturely goes to all the other members and congratulated them. Minjae and Riku hugged. Kassho and Jungmin also hugged, which caused Kassho to shed tears. Jungmin mostly stayed silent throughout as I think he wanted to preserve his throat. I felt really bad that this happened to him during the finale of the show. Sion came over to comfort Kassho. Sakuya and Riku also came over to comfort Kassho. Despite having little screen time, Kassho was loved by other contestants on the show. Seeing Kassho cry, Riku eventually started bursting into tears himself and Sion quickly came to him to comfort him. Sakuya then came over to Riku as well to tell Riku a good job. When the trainees started leaving the stage, Kassho and Jungmin never left each other's side and Jungmin continued to hold Kassho as they exited the stage and out into the hallway. Kassho confessed to Sion in the hallway as they were walking that Kassho wanted to debut with them. I felt heartbroken that Kassho was in this situation. In his personal interview, Kassho stated that he did not get the result that he wanted, but he was sincerely happy for the members who made the group.
The staff members all presented the contestants with a gift after each of their personal interviews. As each trainee or trainee-debut opened the gift, it was revealed to be a photo album with pictures of their time on the show and the album had each contestant's name on it. The staff was so generous, thoughtful, and kind. I thought that this was such a beautiful gift for the contestants to look back on their memories and remind them of why they were doing this and what inspired them to do it. Daeyoung's album was probably smaller than the album of other contestants because Daeyoung joined mid-way in the show, but I would say he still had enough photos to make him tear up at the sight of it. Jungmin stated something very mature to say that people remember hardships the longest, which made this photo album present very meaningful. SM has enough trainees to make a second Japanese debut group in the future so I will look forward to it.
The last segment of the show made me cry a lot when I was watching it for the first time, so it was also a bit tough writing about it as well. I'm sad and happy that NCT Universe: LASTART was over. I have such mixed feelings, but I also can't wait to see the new debut group.
Moving on, the NCT New Team participated in their final benefit photoshoot at Studio A in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. The first concept was the black and chic look. I can tell the boys were more comfortable in front of the camera than ever before. Riku mentioned in his voiceover that he gained more confidence than ever before. While checking on their photos, Yushi mentioned that they need more variety of poses. Sion agreed. They are really becoming professionals with their own opinions.
The next photoshoot was a colorful and vibrant theme, which I think suited them better. I thought it was funny how the photographer asked the group to act natural, but Sion showed everyone a fake laugh. Then, Ryo followed afterwards with his own fake laugh. This was so ironic. I think it was Daeyoung who started making "Hng" noises while smiling for the photos. Out of nowhere, Riku kept complaining and asked one of his members to "stop it." I was feeling sibling energy. The culprit was none other than Yushi, who tried to maintain an innocent smile while he extended his arm to tickle Riku's legs. Of course, Yushi's next target was none other than Sion, who was in close vicinity of Yushi. Sion ended up collapsing further onto the ground due to the tickles in which Sion also had to tell Yushi to stop tickling him. They all had such fresh, young faces.
Some moments later, Riku, who was all the way on the right side, leaned forward to tell Ryo, who was all the way on the left side that "they," meaning probably the staff, told Ryo that Ryo looked cool. Yushi matter-of-factly told Ryo that Ryo was pretending to look cool. Ryo did not respond, so I guess he was too cool. I can't believe I witnessed Yushi's playful side when I have been seeing his serious side throughout the show. It was time for the members to review the photos again. Sion thought and mentioned in his voiceover that the picture where they unintentionally laughed was their best photo (Keep it natural, remember?). Riku mentioned in his voiceover that he was happy to see the natural sides of his members that day. In every photo shown, Yushi was right in the middle of it. It is clear to me that Yushi was the visual and the center of the group.
In the last part of the day, each member took individual photos. Sion started his individual photoshoot first. Sion started off by doing a relaxing shoulder wiggle, which Yushi mirrored and followed as the rest of the group stood on the side. After a brief smile, he lowered his gaze and instantly turned into model mode with a stern expression. He moved his head up and down very naturally as a model. I think Jungmin saw this and was impressed. The other members freely gave their opinions on the side as Sion kept posing for the camera.
Yushi went next. He naturally has a stern face, so I can see this as his natural face. Sakuya cried out that Yushi was handsome while Sion expressed that Yushi was cute. Yushi apparently had a wide range of emotions. If we looked back at some of Yushi's clips, Yushi made many different facial expressions while the cameras were rolling and focusing on other trainees. I don't think he realized that he was doing it. Upon receiving compliment after compliment, Yushi couldn't resist a laugh, but quickly went back to model mode.
Riku was third to do his individual photoshoot. Sion tried to get a rise out of Riku by declaring that Riku was handsome. In mid-pose, Riku confidently responded to Sion that Riku knew that he was handsome. Ryo's eyes widened with shock in response to Riku's narcissistic comment.
The show cuts to an earlier scene in which Jungmin asks the members to point out the person who looked the best that day among the group. Yushi responded out loud that this request would be hard, but all the members except Sion ended up pointing to Riku on the count of three including Riku himself. Sion basically opened his arms wide with his hands behind Sakuya and Jungmin and I am not certain who Sion ended up pointing to or if he decided to give up his vote. If Sion gave up his vote, it seemed to be such a leader thing to do and not take sides. Riku quickly acknowledged that he was the best dressed. Yushi was quick to point out that Riku picked himself with the translation, "By the way." at the end of Yushi's sentence. Yushi was getting sassier by the minute, especially when it came to Riku. Riku responded by placing a hand in front of his mouth, almost embarrassed to reply that Riku himself was handsome. The group was flabbergasted at such a response from Riku that Daeyoung dropped to a squat. Sion quietly turned around, exercising his jaw silently. Jungmin placed a fist in front of his mouth. Yushi shook his head and sucked in his breath in disbelief. Riku, with his fancy, lace shirt, seemed to be the "prettiest" looking one in my opinion. The voiceover echoed Riku's voice that he was the most handsome and confident one.
Back to the present photoshoot scene of Riku, Sion continued the compliments by lamenting that Riku was the treasure of Fukui, Riku's birthplace. That comment was enough to make Riku break out of character and pause the photoshoot. Upon reviewing his photos, Riku commented out loud with a straight face that he was so handsome, causing Daeyoung to bend over and Ryo and Sion to laugh.
Sion announced that the treasure of Saitama is next, which is Sakuya. Sakuya did a cute "W" shaped stretch with his shoulders before starting. Sion machine-guns the word, "kawaii," causing Sakuya to dip his head in shyness. Sakuya ended up grinning most of the time with perfect standard portrait pictures.
By this time, Sion was the announcer of the group, announcing that the son of Nowon-gu is to go next: Jungmin. Based on this information, Jungmin is then assumed to be from the Nowon district of Seoul. Sion managed to make Jungmin smile before Jungmin even started. Sion continued that Jungmin's chin was so sharp (with Jungmin's side profile) that Jungmin might cut them. When Jungmin does his cheesy "방긋" or bang geut (meaning an open, bright, silent smile, a term I mentioned in episode one) smile, Sion then openly called out his "deadly" smile. Sakuya followed up with a cute expression, "좋았다잉" (pronounced, jo-ah-da-ing?, with a questionable tone at the end), meaning in a cute way that Sakuya liked it.
The pride of Daegu is next: Daeyoung, which I mentioned many times in my review that he is from Daegu. Daeyoung announced that he was going (to do the shoot). Daeyoung always reminded me of somebody, but I couldn't point out who. I think Daeyoung's cat lips (I am not sure what it is called) reminds me of actress Kim Sae-Ron's lips. Riku also acknowledged Daeyoung's lips, which made Daeyoung laugh in shyness. Daeyoung also had dimples on the side when he smiled. When I saw Daeyoung posing in front of the camera, I really thought he came a long way from being a three-month trainee to now a full-fledged member of NCT. Sakuya, once again the comedian, used a restrained, stressed tone to exclaim, "살아있네! (pronounced, sa-ra-in-ne!)" The term, to me, meant "Looking alive" as an observational phrase. Daeyoung'e eyes widened, burst out a laugh, and had to turn around upon hearing the phrase, especially coming from Sakuya and not some older Korean grandpa. He then cried that saying that comment was cheating.
Ryo was the last member to do his individual shoot. He was also met with compliments. Sion commented that Ryo was nice, cute, and a pretty boy. Ryo silently shot Sion a look of disbelief before Ryo continued his photoshoot. Ryo looked very focused to complete his mission. I thought that he has a strong willpower to succeed. Sion then expressed that Ryo has a cute face, but a manly facial expression. With the conclusion of Ryo's photoshoot, all seven members have completed their photoshoot.
Several days later, the members met again in a gymnasium in Seoul. Upon entering the gymnasium, they saw a huge congratulatory banner with each member's portrait shot in each banner. I thought that was very cool and exciting to see. It was also refreshing to see them somewhere besides a practice room or stage. The main reason they were at the gym is to play three games and win prizes.
A staff member asks the group what they have been up to after the show. Yushi represented them all to answer that they have been talking a lot and trying to get closer to each other. Sion gave details about Ryo's sister, who is a NCTzen (NCT fan), almost passing out after she heard the news that Ryo became an NCT member. Riku claimed that his younger sister passed out for real. His story was definitely more shocking than Ryo's story. Yushi frankly told Riku that he was lying. I am really seeing these two members constantly banter. Riku tried to playfully imitate his younger sister's reaction with what looked like a pale ghost look, frozen in time. Yushi didn't look convinced. Daeyoung talked about his older brother, who was recovering from Lasik surgery at the time. Upon hearing Daeyoung's debut news, Daeyoung's brother thought he could open his eyes with a full recovery.
The first game was an individual competition game, which was the "Going Far in the Chair" game. Whoever rolled the farthest in the chair with wheels won the game. However, if their feet touched the ground or if their chair rolled out of bounds on the sidelines, then they were disqualified. The winning prize was a massage gun. The members looked eager to win this prize. Honestly, I think I would want that prize too as I never had a message gun in my life and perhaps it would cure my fatigue. However, I was not in this competition. Yushi wanted the prize too. The members quickly started discussing strategies. Riku thought that simply getting to the finish line was sufficient. Yushi tried to one-up Riku by saying that Yushi will go farther up past the finish line. Jungmin told the members that he will literally go to Germany with it. The members are incredulous, saying that Jungmin would need to fly to get to Germany.
Ryo was up first and got a feel of the chair with arm rests on the side. He accidentally used his feet past the start line and Yushi immediately noticed. Since it for practice, Ryo changed his strategy to roll backwards instead. The members were surprised that Ryo was allowed to roll backwards. Yushi predicted that the chair might roll slower when going backwards. Ryo started his backwards roll, straight and steady. Sion joked that Ryo might end up in Japan at this rate. However, Ryo made it only in front of the finish line despite trying to rock his chair backwards for more momentum. Sakuya thought he could beat Ryo easily. Yushi thought that going backwards looked too easy and forward facing might be the way to go. Sakuya agreed. Riku asked Ryo if it was scary to go backwards and Ryo replied that the resistance is stronger when going backwards.
Sion also thought going backwards is scary so he chose to face the chair backwards, but his body remained facing forwards like he was skateboarding. Sion started off strong and his chair easily glided across the room fairly quickly, but that became his downfall as he was unable to stop his chair after the finish line and dropped his foot to the ground to prevent him from crashing violently into the wall. All the members saw Sion's foot violation and hence, Sion was eliminated. Sion thought the experience was scary, which caused Yushi to get nervous.
Somehow Yushi looked uncertain as he sat down on the chair for his turn when he was so confident moments before it was his turn. The members yelled fighting as encouragement. Yushi sat on the chair facing forward and started his roll. However, his chair leaned to the side and he was unable to air yank his way back into the safe territory. Therefore, Yushi was also eliminated. Bye bye massage gun. Ryo was delighted as he was currently in first place.
Riku announced that he has a plan in place. Riku sat forward facing in the chair, but he planned to roll backwards. He started with strong momentum and quickly passed by his members, but his chair veered toward the direction of one of the stadium exits, even rolling onto the exit ramp, and the members playfully told him to "leave well," which is basically bye bye. Eliminated. The caption read that Riku took a lap around Seoul in a rocket chair, which I found hilarious. Sion asked Riku if it was scary and Riku confirmed that it was indeed scary.
Jungmin took a shot at the prize by taking baby steps with his chair. He faced forward in his chair. However, like Yushi, his chair veered to the right and Ryo gleefully bid him bye bye. Jungmin continues to go towards the staff members and spun on his chair for the staff's entertainment. When Jungmin rejoined the group, Sion told him that he had a beautiful disqualification.
Daeyoung took his turn on the chair, also facing forward. Once he started, it seemed that he got his footing wrong and he already started exclaiming, "Wait! Wait!" Luckily, he did not yet pass the start line, so he was able to start over. Daeyoung started his take off again and stretched his legs forward after he passed the start line. Like Yushi and Jungmin, Daeyoung's chair started veering to the right. In panic, Daeyoung used the power of his butt momentum to force his chair away from the elimination line. Not only was Daeyoung able to control his chair's direction, he was able to put himself back on the path to win the prize. Ryo looked on in disbelief. Daeyoung yanked himself all the way to first place while still on the chair.
Riku tried to give the last contestant, Sakuya, some pointers to go a certain direction. Sakuya looked like he understood and while going to the start line, he started yanking his legs in the air similar to Daeyoung's strategy. The members were in awe of Sakuya's power. Sakuya waved to the members to signal them to move out of the way. All the other members stepped back in response and panicked, wondering where Sakuya was going to go and what would happen. Sakuya also sat facing forwards and started racing forward. As with Daeyoung, Jungmin, and Yushi, Sakuya's chair veered to the right and he desperately tried to push his chair away from the elimination line. Sakuya tried hilarious bicycle air kicks, but it was no use. Jungmin happily wished Sakuya farewell.
The winner of the first event was Daeyoung, who won the massage gun. Riku stated that he was jealous. That was a really cool prize. Daeyoung said that he would use it well.
While the group took a short break, they took out cameras and began taking selfies. Sakuya led the group by saying a quick cheer (Anybody who has signed up for the Rakuten Drive one year subscription promotional event would have access to the behind the scenes photos and pictures of these moments). Actually, it wasn't really a break as the members started promoting the phone that they were using and how fast they could share the video that they just took without the video needing to be downloaded by the receiver.
The second game they played was "Gym Ball Rugby." In this game, each member would face another member in pairs. They each would start at opposite ends of the court and once the game starts, one of them would have to take the huge exercise ball by hand and place it in the basket on their end to win the round. They will have three rounds with the winners moving up to the next round. As they have seven members, one member would only start joining in the second round. To make it fair, each member would blindly pick a ball from a box and whoever picked the green ball would only join in the second round. The prize for winning all rounds was a turtle shell cushion, which I also really want. SM had nice prizes. This cushion is perfect for anybody who ever dreamed of being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle because the person can also wear the cushion with a hole for the body and arms. I found the cushion on Amazon. The younger members, Sakuya and Ryo are smitten with the turtle cushion while Riku mentioned that he really wanted it.
As they drew balls, the first round is decided: Jungmin vs Ryo (yellow balls), Yushi vs Daeyoung (red balls), Riku vs Sakuya (blue balls), and Sion who picked the green ball out of the box and got a free pass to round two.
Round one began with Yushi and Daeyoung. Yushi had a silent determination on his face. Once the game started, they both raced toward the exercise ball, but Daeyoung grabbed it first. However Daeyoung was bouncing the exercise ball like a basketball. Yushi used his arms to block Daeyoung's every move. Yushi managed to hit the ball once, which surprised everyone, but Daeyoung still had a hold on it. Daeyoung tried to shoot it in the basket, but it didn't go far enough toward the basket and Yushi caught the exercise ball. Yushi made a dart to the other side of the court and Daeyoung runs after him. Yushi expertly turned around, catching Daeyoung off guard. Yushi almost made the exercise ball go into the basket when Daeyoung's hands tried to block the ball with his last attempt for defense as Daeyoung passed by. However, Yushi dodged the block and eventually dropped the ball into the basket. Yushi moved to round two.
Ryo and Jungmin moved to their spots for their round one match. Jungmin was worried as he has no idea how he would beat Ryo. Ryo taunted Jungmin that Ryo would win no matter what. Jungmin retorted that he would not go easy on Ryo. After the game started, both players ran to the ball, but Jungmin missed the golden opportunity to grab the exercise ball and Ryo expertly held the ball down before rolling it towards himself. Ryo then ran to put the ball into the basket as Jungmin was stunned that he missed grabbing the ball and smiling the whole time. Ryo moved to round two.
The third round one match was between Sakuya and Riku. Both players are crouched down in anticipation to run. Riku apologized to Sakuya in advance because Riku told Sakuya that Riku would win. Sakuya had a laughing hyena face, which made him look a bit crazy. Sakuya only responded, "Ay Ay Ay Aya" as if we knew what that meant though Sakuya was probably trying to slow down Riku's perceived momentum. Once the game started, the two players ran to the ball, but due to Sakuya's crazed face, Riku was a bit intimidated by it, though Sakuya ran passed the ball into defense territory while Riku had some time to pick up the ball. Riku ran in semi-circles, but Sakuya was there to defend against Riku. Riku even ran behind the other members and eventually his tactics worked to run around in smaller semi-circles around Sakuya to place the ball in his own basket. Riku moved on to round two, but he was thoroughly exhausted. Yushi also responded the same way.
In the semi-finals, Yushi was set to go against Ryo. After the game started, both players ran to the exercise ball, but this time, they both have a hold of the exercise ball, which seemed hilarious to them because it looked like they were hugging the ball instead. Yushi put more effort into grabbing the ball, but Ryo was strong. Therefore, Yushi used his body to force Ryo to move to Yushi's side of the court instead, one step at a time. Eventually, Ryo used his superpower strength to force Yushi to walk back to Ryo's court. Yushi eventually dropped the ball and Ryo took the golden opportunity to grab the ball and run. Yushi tried to run after Ryo and made one last attempt to block with his arm while they were near Ryo's basket, but Ryo dodged it and placed the ball into his own basket and won again. Ryo went to the final round.
Riku took on Sion in the semi-finals. After the game started, Riku raced to grab the ball and then threw it in the direction beyond his own basket. Riku and Sion went off camera to grab the ball which went out of bounds. Riku somehow got a hold of the ball and Sion was actively blocking Riku from scoring into the basket. It turned out that Daeyoung previously gave Riku the strategy of throwing the ball to his own court, running to the ball and then scoring into his own basket. Riku used his body to push his way towards the basket. After a few circles around Sion, Riku eventually scored the ball into his own basket.
The final round should be an exciting match between Ryo and Riku, who seemed to be expert players at this game. It would be sad if Ryo lost the prize because he almost won the first round. However, I saw how bad Riku wanted the turtle cushion so I think either win would be satisfying to watch. Riku started in a crouching position again while Ryo preferred to stand up. Once the game started, Riku ran at full speed to the ball, outpacing Ryo by a bit, but that became Riku's strength as Ryo was not able to defend against Riku well after that. Riku ran a straight path back to his basket, but Ryo was unable to block Riku from putting the ball into the basket. The match ended quickly. Riku was the final winner.
Riku happily ran over to accept his prize and eventually wore his turtle shell cushion. He looked so cute. Riku tried lying on the floor on his back on top of the shell cushion and everybody laughed as Riku laid on the floor.
While setting up for the third game, the members had a bit of a break. With the help of staff members, Ryo tried on the turtle shell cushion. Sakuya asked Ryo to turn around so Sakuya can poke Ryo through the cushion a few times. Sakuya ended up wearing the turtle cushion as well. Unlike Riku, Sakuya laid face forward on the floor like a turtle instead as Ryo watched on. Sakuya looked so adorable. Ryo asked Sakuya to lie on Sakuya's back. Sakuya complied and then ended up rolling across the floor. The one turtle cushion was enough to entertain the young members.
The last mission was the 99-Second Last Mission game in which all members must complete their assigned task in sequential order altogether within 99 seconds. Normally, in these types of games, the group usually fails on the first try. There were seven missions on the court:
1) Egg carton table tennis: Player must bounce the ball once on the table and the ball must land on one of the egg carton spaces that is colored in red to succeed.
2) Bump the volleyball seven times with the wrist or palm without the ball touching the ground
3) One player must kick a slipper from afar and the other player must catch the slipper with a hand basket. They can fail this mission a maximum of three times before the mission is considered an overall failure.
4) Seven plastic mini chairs must be stacked without falling.
5) Water bottle flipping so that the bottom of the bottle lands upright on the table. This mission can be re-tried until succession.
6) Wear a cute sleeping bag and make it across the room.
7) With two people as the rope holders, five players must jump rope ten times as a group.
If the timer went beyond 99 seconds and all missions were not completed, then the group failed the mission. If there was an individual mission failure without the option to retry, then the team must start over with the remaining time leftover. If the team succeeded the mission within three overall attempts, then the team won the game with high quality pork as their main prize. This reminds me of when they all went out to a Korean BBQ restaurant. Sakuya and Ryo could not hide their surprise upon learning what the prize was for the mission.
The team first discussed strategy with Sion leading the discussion. Yushi volunteered for mission one, the egg carton challenge. Riku volunteered for the volleyball bounce. Jungmin suggested that the slipper basket challenge go to the maknaes (youngest members) of the group, Sakuya and Ryo. Sion asked for volunteers for the chair-stacking challenge. Nobody volunteered for it. Jungmin chimed in again to tell Sion that stacking chairs was good for a calm older member of the group. Sion smiled and accepted the challenge. Daeyoung volunteered for the bottle flipping challenge as he said he has done it countless times in school. Jungmin then volunteered himself for the sleeping bag sprint. Jungmin then also volunteered himself and Daeyoung to turn the jump ropes while the other five are the jumpers. Jungmin tries to demonstrate for Daeyoung on how to turn the rope. This was a very smooth meeting with nobody in conflict over which challenge to do.
The team members went to their own station to practice. Everybody was struggling in some way to finish their mission. Yushi already felt the pressure as he was the first to attempt his mission. I am wondering a bit if Yushi chose the wrong mission to do because it is a difficult mission, but maybe he had some confidence in the first place.
Yushi started his mission, but he was constantly failing as the balls either went out of bounds or the ball landed on a different egg spot. The group tried to encourage Yushi and with one determined gaze and pause, Yushi threw another ping pong ball and it hit a different egg position, but rolled into a red spot at the end. With 66 seconds left on the clock, Riku starts his volleyball mission. Riku was smart to bounce the ball low so that he could finish seven bounces faster. Sakuya kicked his slipper and Ryo caught it smoothly. With 50 seconds remaining, Sion started stacking small plastic toy chairs. However, when Sion stacked the fifth chair, it collapsed. At the same time, Riku and Yushi were wondering if they could finish the challenge on time, but Yushi had to run back to his station as Sion failed his mission. Yushi took a few tries to succeed on his mission. Riku, Sakuya, and Ryo succeed on their mission easily, but right after that, 99 seconds have passed and they failed the entire mission.
Riku mentioned that the ping pong mission was the hardest. Sion also mentioned stacking chairs was the hardest since there was wind blowing it (from the vents above). Sion suggested if they should switch places. Ryo thought for a bit before he asked Sion to switch places. Ryo started doing analysis on the chair stacking challenge. Meanwhile, Sion checked if doing the ping pong mission was right for him. He continuously failed to get the ping pong ball into the right egg spots. Sion ended up taking Ryo's old position as the basket holder.
The second attempt started with Yushi throwing a few ping pong balls before he succeed to get a ball into a egg spot on the left side. He only took eight seconds for his attempt so now I thought that perhaps this assignment is suitable for Yushi after all. Riku succeeded in his volleyball hit attempts. However, when Sakuya kicked his slipper, the slipper his the corner of Sion's basket and Sion was dumbfounded, sitting on the floor. Daeyoung quickly reminded the team that they had three tries to do it. Yushi busily cleared his ping pong ball station in case they had to start over. Sakuya kicked his slipper again and Sion caught it without a problem. As Ryo started stacking the chairs, Daeyoung and Sion ran behind Ryo to block the wind from affecting the chair tower from falling down. Sakuya joined them to block the wind. The entire gymnasium stayed silent as Ryo stacked the seventh chair and succeeded. Daeyoung started his mission with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Daeyoung flipped his bottle many times as it did not go smoothly for him and his claims from school seemed invalid. The other members told Daeyoung to be calm and eventually Daeyoung flipped the bottle successfully. Jungmin took his sleeping bag and jumped across to a spot marked by a block on the floor and cleared his mission. Jungmin then ran over to start the jump rope session. Yushi ushered all the members to go into the jump rope one by one, but when it was his turn, he had a hard time finding the timing to go in. After three to four attempts, the time was over and they failed the mission once more. Yushi drops his head in disappointment.
Ryo told the members of the group that Jungmin should not do the jump rope. Due to Jungmin needing to do mission six, he lost 6 seconds to run over to do the last mission and start the jump rope. Sion said that either somebody else do the jump rope part or the sleeping bag challenge. The group decided that Sakuya should do the sleeping bag challenge. Therefore, Jungmin and Sakuya switched places.
The last challenge started and Yushi had a hard time getting the ping pong ball into one of the egg spots. With further concentration, he managed to get the ball into a slot on the right side. Seventy seconds remained on the clock. Riku had a bit of trouble as his volleyball went in different directions, but he completed the challenge. Jungmin kicked his slipper high up, but Sion caught the slipper into the basket. With more than half the time remaining, Ryo started stacking the chairs. Four members including Yushi stood behind Ryo to block the wind. Ryo did his challenge well and succeeded. Thirty seconds remained on the clock, but Daeyoung finished his challenge on the first try and flipped the water bottle perfectly. Sakuya carefully stepped into the sleeping bag and happily started bouncing across the way while the other members frantically get in place. Daeyoung and Jungmin started the jump rope and Sion almost immediately went in followed by Riku. Yushi, Ryo, and Sakuya also went in smoothly and they all started jumping perfectly ten times. Just like that, they succeeded in doing the 99-Second mission. This group could do anything if they tried. Sion represented the group and returned with the pork meat prize.
The group took turns to summarize their experience, which was overall positive. This was just the beginning of their journey. Sion placed the pork prize on the floor and they do a final cheer by each member mentioning his name while putting his hand in the center one by one above the pork prize and they all screamed, "Fighting!"
Finally, I have finished my recap and review of this reality competition survival show. Overall, I had a great time giving my thoughts on each trainee's performances. I cannot wait to see what else these boys can do and while I eagerly wait for the winners to debut, I will also do my best to be patient to hear news about those who are still trainees. I have faith in them and I hope everyone will get to debut one way or another. If there should be another reality competition survival show again from SM Entertainment, I will be sure to review it as well. It has been a pleasure and I enjoyed every minute of it.
I thank you for your support, I thank SM entertainment and all their staff and participants, and I hope to see you back on my blog to read other content that I have published.