Welcome to my episode four review of Make Mate 1.
If you have not read my introduction post yet to this reality survivor competition 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, this episode already aired a while ago.
After a little boot camp fun and a 24 hour dance performance from the contestants in episode three, I am ready to get back to business! I feel like I am more familiar with the contestants than ever before.
The episode begins with the current online ranking of the contestants. I appreciate that they showed everybody's current rank and not a select few to rig the votes by voter sympathy. I feel like every time I see the votes, there are drastic changes in the rankings. I think the audience is just like me that we really don't know who to vote for in this competition. It's also super hard to actually narrow it down to seven contestants.
I don't think the midway rankings are important because it is subject to change at any moment. What surprises me is that Lee Do Ha is in tenth place. Did people see episode three or are they inspired by him? I can't believe Chen Shiau Fu would be in sixth place if he was basically last in rank. That is a dramatic difference. Once again, Lin and Bing Fan are top two with Bing Fan leading the online votes. I will have to assume that there are a lot of Chinese voters out there supporting their favorites as it is unheard of for Chinese contestants to be on top of a Korean reality survivor competition show.
The show reminds the audience that on site and online votes total 40% of the score and the six C mate evaluations of vocal, rap, dance, and star power total 60% of the votes. Exactly who is evaluating the star power part? All of them? Six C mates? Maybe we are counting the scores of special C mates? Benefit scores are also added to the overall score, but the show still do not explain how the benefit scores work. We are still in the dark about how the scores are calculated. Online votes are somehow converted into points.
NOTE: In this post, I referred to this upcoming mission as "mission two" but I was informed that this is actually considered "mission one." Therefore, any reference to "mission two" in this post is actually in reference to "mission one" and any reference to "mission one" in this post is in reference to a pre-mission.
The second round competition is held at the Paju "B" studio in what I assume is in Paju, Korea. I see fans lining up outside the studio with the Make mate banners. Somehow, only foreign fans are interviewed to explain where they are from: China, Japan, and USA. Wow, somebody came all the way from USA to represent my country. I feel like the show is telling me that the deciding factors will be the foreigners who decide who will debut or not. It just feels that way. Personally, I am a little uncomfortable with that since this is K-pop and I am not an expert at evaluating the language and culture of Korea, but I am giving my opinions in this review for fun.
Finally, some Korean fans are shown, but it was disappointing to see that the reasons why they support their makemates of choice is due to the contestants looks. This is really going downhill fast. Of course, having good looks is a bonus, but this is not a beauty pageant. I'm really here for the performances and to see the talent. It's nice to see also male fans attending the show. It can't be all female as that wouldn't be a fair representation though the majority would always be female.
The make mates sitting in the waiting room felt that the audience was larger in size when compared to the first mission. I checked it and they are are correct. Round one included 300 audience members while round two included 500 audience members. The audience members were selected through a lottery system.
With a theme of cosmic explosions, MC mate Xiumin makes his grand entrance to the stage. Exo's "Love Shot" song was played so Xiumin proceeded to dance to Love Shot as he observed the audience's excited reactions. Xiumin explained to the audience that he was the guide mate of the 35 contestants. He mentioned that it is his first time becoming an MC so he may be as new as the contestants at their jobs. Kim Seung Ho (07) already thought that MC guide mate Xiumin was perfect.
C mates are then introduced on stage: Solar, Lim Han Byul, Hanhae, Vata, Ingyoo, and Kim Sung Eun.
I had forgotten that in this episode's preview, Solar from the group, MAMAMOO, was part of the C mate team. I am not sure if this is permanent or temporary. If we are using a thousand point scale, then each C mate can give up to 100 points to each contestant to make up the 60% of the votes. This also would mean that Vata and Ingyoo each have 100 points in voting power. I wasn't sure how they were calculating the scores in previous missions.
MC mate Xiumin stated that C mate Solar will join the show. That statement answered my question about Solar's part in the show.
Special C mates for round two of the competition are: Kwon Eunbi (formerly from the IZ*ONE group) and Enhypen members Jungwon, Ni-Ki, and Heeseung. Initially, I was excited to see the Enhypen members, but at some point in the next episode, these members lost their screen time in the show without any explanation or the show somehow edited them out or maybe they had to leave the show. I think that is bizarre.
The make mates were beyond excited to see the appearance of the special C mates. I love how Japanese contestant Kai shouted with "Eh?" It is a typical surprised reaction from a Japanese person. Also, I am not sure if I ever heard Kai being this loud.
MC mate Xiumin mentioned that today's special C mates are all people who have won audition programs. Kwon Eunbi would like to offer her support to the contestants. Jungwon stated that he wondered if he ever possessed such tenacity and wanted to return to his roots. Ni-Ki had a special message for the Japanese members. In a vague way, he stated that many things will be harder from now on, but to form a solidarity with the group members beside them and to also fight on until the very end. This made sense as Ni-Ki was somebody who was almost eliminated from the final group if he didn't make significant improvement towards the end. He was someone who had a rocky start, but shot to the top when it mattered the most. The Japanese contestants were grateful for Ni-Ki's words.
MC mate Xiumin asked an important question to the C mates, which is what important factors will be evaluated in this competition? C mate Solar mentioned that of course, natural singing and dancing skills are evaluated, but also star power. I think I am also subconsciously looking for a make mate who will attract the audience's attention in a positive way. This also will mean that C mates will pay attention to how the audience react to each contestant on stage. Solar added that the C mates will look for discernible charms from a contestant. I need to also start solidifying my final team using this criteria as well. C mate Lim Han Byul boldly stated that the contestants will better than episode one, which gave the contestants sitting in the waiting room added pressure to exceed their past performance. Afterwards, the C mates started to leave the stage to go to their "C mate" room. I wonder where the C mate room is and if they have a good view of the stage or whether they are looking at monitors. It would be strange to be on site and not actually see the live performance.
MC mate Xiumin proceeded to announce the first round of the competition with the theme of one artist, two stages. Two teams, one from Mate Group A and one from Mate Group B, will battle each other using one song from the same artist. The mission was explained to the make mates after they completed their special dance battle mission. The following artists were announced: 2PM, TXT, and SHINee.
The show actually explained how the participants decide who will participate in which round. They actually explained it in a complicated way, stating that the contestants were put in order by their rank to join each round by default with six members in a team (except if there was no sixth member), but I will explain it even better. The team lead of each Mate Group could decide on the placement of the team members into one of the three rounds. This was basically saying that the team leader could decide everything so there was no need to put make mates in rank order in the first place.
Unfortunately, MC mate Xiumin announced that in this mission, there will be eliminations to add more pressure to the contestants. The Korean key word here is 탈락 (tallak), which means to drop out or specifically to be eliminated from a competition.
Special C mate Kwon Eunbi thought that it would be difficult to perform another artists' song in a different way (successfully). I would agree with her because every time I see somebody covering another artist's song, I tend to make major comparisons to the original song and in the end, more often than not, I mostly conclude that the original artist performed the song more successfully than the cover artist. Of course ,there are exceptions, but I have high expectations and it would be difficult to surpass the original artist's performance. I also feel the same way about song remixes and tend to like the original song better than a remixed song. There are rare exceptions.
MC Hanhae commented that Enhypen members also covered Seventeen during their audition program. Leader Jungwon explained that they covered BTS and Seventeen songs. Furthermore, Jungwon had difficulty expressing his cute charms (both Jungwon and Heeseung actually, but Ni-Ki was spared from the cutsy song. Check out the song "Chamber 5 (Dream of Dreams)). However, MC mate Lim Han Byul thought that Jungwon would be good at acting cute. Jungwon did not hesitate to show his two-finger V heart and C heart sign. I thought contestant Kim Shi On invented that heart sign, but maybe it was already in use. Yes, Jungwon was a natural.
Again, the winning team of each round will receive benefits, but I don't know what kind of benefits and I dislike the show for making it a mystery so that we can't actually find out if the scores are correct or not. Each contestant will have their own score and if the total of their scores on a team is higher than the total score of the opposing team, the team would win the round and the mysterious bonus benefits. I know benefits will influence the final outcome, but I also know the online voting will also influence the final outcome.
The smack talk finally begins with Lee Do Ha announcing that there is a rumor that his team with Mate Group B will win. Han Yu Seop added that they have better visuals (looks). Kim Seung Ho (07) who sits on the opposite side can only retort "A" and roll up his sleeves. Han Yu Seop comments to see how far Kim Seung Ho (07) can roll up his sleeves to which Kim Seung Ho (07) shows Han Yu Seop that he can only roll up his sleeves to a certain point.
MC mate Xiumin kept providing information one idea at a time. Every song will have a unique aspect in which there will be a dance break to highlight the participant's dance skills. The show overly emphasizes dance skills. I am starting to believe in the Hybe concept for this show where it seems dance skills are way more important than vocal skills. Interestingly, the contestants themselves will choreograph the dance break.
The first artist battle is for TXT. I think the show is presenting the artists from junior artists to senior artists. C mate Lim Han Byul asked Enhypen members if they are friends with TXT. What a loaded question. Jungwon answered that they are friends. I don't know what to do if Jungwon said that Enhypen and TXT, Hybe labelmates, are not friends. We don't want to start another war within Hybe. However, I saw in the past that the two groups got along well and support each other. TXT may be older hyungs (older brother type role) to Enhypen. Lim Han Byul commented that Enhypen was not that much older than Jung Hyun Jun (who is fifteen years old) upon debut. Yes and no as only Ni-Ki and Jungwon were close to 15 years old upon debut. The other members are at least two years older and beyond with Heeseung being 19 years old upon debut. Too bad Heeseung barely got any screen time or a chance to speak.
The competition becomes a little bit more exciting when the opposing groups for TXT songs enter the stage with Mate Group A on the left side of the stage and Mate Group B on the right side of the stage.
Mate Group A led by Jang Hyun Jun (not surprised) took the TXT puppy concept in their introduction. I could start to envision Jang Hyun Jun as a leader for the final group as I don't think anybody would contest that Jang Hyun Jun become the leader should he be included in the final lineup.
I thought Mate Group B's introduction was very creative. Each team member, led by Jung Hyun Jun, shouted their two-digit year of birth in seemingly random succession. Each member was born in a different year so there are no team members with 동갑 (Dong Gap) or same age as in born in the same year. The team referred to themselves as the "Domino" team.
MC Xiumin asked the two groups whether they have confidence that they will beat the opposing group. Jang Hyun Jun revealed his secret weapon that while the Domino team showed cute charms, the Puppy team also prepared puppy expressions of the puppy that they most resemble. Jang Hyun Jun resembled a Chow Chow. Seo Ji Ho resembled a Welsh Corgi (my favorite dog! However, he didn't look like a Welsh Corgi to me). Kim Shi On resembled a Chihuahua (and he nailed the part with an eager look and one eye bigger than the other). Shin Won Cheon described himself as an "erroneously sized" and "enormously cute" bulldog. Kim Seung Ho (06) labeled himself as a inquisitive Dachshund. I a not sure about that one. Lastly, Takuma described himself as a diligent and good-natured golden retriever.
After being challenged, the Domino team also attempted their refreshing facial expression challenge. They all squatted down before jumping up together to become facial flower poses with their hands making a V shape below their chins. Jung Hyun Jun tried to explain that the Hyun Joon and Miraku duo can never lose, but Jung Hyun Jun mistakenly said "never win" instead. He quickly corrected his blunder.
In the "green" waiting room, Mate Group B was shocked and exclaimed what is wrong with Jung Hyun Jun while Mate Group A exclaimed that Jung Hyun Jun's admitted that he cannot beat the Mate Group A team and that Jung Hyun Jun "spoke from the heart." This was funny, but could also be a bad omen for those people who are superstitious.
"Blue Hour" performed by Mate Group A TXT
Jang Hyun Jun
Seo Ji Ho
Kim Shi On
Shin Won Cheon
Kim Seung Ho (06 as there are two people named Kim Seung Ho)
Takuma
The Mate Group B Domino team left the stage to allow the Mate Group A Puppy team to perform first. The Mate Group A Puppy team members gave personal introductions. Jang Hyun Jun mentioned that he was in charge of the group's "carrot and stick." I interpret this to mean that Jang Hyun Jun was in charge of the direction of the team. Seo Ji Ho was in charge of the team's freshness. I'm unsure what that means unless it has something to do with the group's fresh image concept. Kim Shi On was the maknae (youngest of a team) and in charge of the team's vibe on stage and in practice. Shin Won Cheon was in charge of the team's physique. However, MC mate Xiumin asked Shin Won Cheon how he uses it, but Shin Won Cheon was caught off guard by that question. A fan in the audience helped out by shouting "doing Judo" since Shin Won Cheon won Judo competitions so Shin Won Cheon used Judo as the explanation. From the Green room, Kim Seung Ho (07) thought it was a shame that Shin Won Cheon wasn't a part of the 2PM group. Honestly, it makes sense if Shin Won Cheon joined the 2PM group as I expected physically strong guys like him and Seo Yoon Deok to be on the team. Kim Seung Ho (06) was in charge of the team's mischievousness. I guess he was the prankster of the group. Takuma is the member who gave love to all the members on the team. I guess he was the mother figure of the team. These descriptions are all very interesting.
MC mate Xiumin began asking Shin Won Cheon about his struggles with facial expressions. Shin Won Cheon pointed out that his team helped him with facial expressions, but Kim Shi On especially helped Shin Won Cheon. Kim Shi On seems to be a natural at facial expressions. Everyone was surprised that Shin Won Cheon called Kim Shi On his chingu (friend). Generally, only Koreans who are the same age can be considered friends or else there is a social hierarchy in place. Therefore, C mates and contestants concluded that Shin Won Cheon and Kim Shi On are 동갑 /donggap (same age), but they looked like an odd couple since they are so physically different in stature and physique.
After Shin Won Cheon's explanation, MC mate Xiumin decided to challenge him to give everybody a dashing smile. Kim Shi On had no problems biting his lips, hands on his hips, and posing to fit the part.
The song, "Blue Hour" was announced by MC mate Xiumin to be Mate Group A's TXT performance. The C mates discussed that the song was difficult with a lot of high notes.
During the mid vocal assessment with MC mates Lim Han Byul and Kim Sung Eun, Mate Group A's TXT team started singing the "Blue Hour" song. Unfortunately, Shin Won Cheon couldn't hit the high notes, which was surprising to me since I praised his high notes when he performed "Growl" in mission one. Unfortunately, Kim Shi On joined Shin Won Cheon with an unstable vocals.
C Mate Lim Han Byul didn't know what to do with this performance. He mentioned that if this is 5:53 (in reference to the "Blue Hour" song title in Korean), then everything would have fallen apart by 6:00. Lim Han Byul asked Kim Shi On how many singing parts Kim Shi On has and Kim Shi On replied that he had four parts. Lim Han Byul asked Kim Shi On how he could be bad at all four of those parts. If I remember well, Kim Shi On excelled more at rap than vocals.
Unfortunately, Shim Won Cheon is going through a voice cracking period of time. C mate Kim Seung Eun explained that Shim Won Cheon shouldn't shout out the sounds when Shim Won Cheon's falsetto is not working. Kim Seung Eun recommended to lower Shim Won Cheon's breathing and use his chest sound more.
Just to show a contrast, the Mate Group B TXT team showed the C mates their wonderful and confident progress and C Mates have nothing but positive words where Kim Seung Eun thought that the B team found what suits them and Lim Han Byul concluded that his suffering has ended, worrying Jang Hyun Jun, who was quietly paying attention to the feedback. Lim Han Byul concluded that the B team can continue their progress while the A team needs to seriously practice until 5:53 AM when they can truly be found in the sky.
Back at the practice room, Jang Hyun Jun confessed to a teammate (I wasn't sure who it is since the recording was not clear) that he was going through a lot of feelings and felt embarrassed at the interim check. The B team was doing so well so Jang Hyun Joon is worried that his team members might face elimination.
Going back to after the interim check, Kim Shi On came into the room and directly went to Jo Min Jae for a hug. Those two contestants are often together so they must have a good relationship. Jo Seung Hyeon also tried to give some tough love that Kim Shi On wasn't the only person who got scolded during the interim checks and almost demanded Kim Shi On not to cry.
Kim Shi On believes that it was because he had no confidence to sing so he kept making mistakes. Once again, I saw Jang Hyun Jun giving a private lesson but this time to Kim Shi On, asking Kim Shi On to not enunciate perfectly. At the end, Kim Shi On ended up sitting on Jang Hyun Jun's lap. I already commented about Kim Shi On's strange way of speaking and singing, but he will need to turn his unique voice delivery into a strength.
In a smaller practice room, Kim Shi On and Shim Won Cheon work on their weakness. According to Shim Won Cheon, Kim Shi On can work on mastering the notes even though he already knows them and Shim Won Cheon needs to work on raising his notes. They also need to work on their joint dance parts together and Kim Shi On started helping Shim Won Cheon with facial expression feedback as Shim Won Cheon has what Kim Shi On thought was a weird smile. As proof, Shim Won Cheon showed proof that they were practicing at 5:53 though it wasn't clear to me if it was AM or PM.
I wished that the story focused on the other team members too, but the show takes me directly to the performance itself. The song begins with Kim Shi On centered in the middle with what seems to be arm movements behind him to resemble clock hands. Kim Shi On's strength is definitely his facial expressions. Jang Hyun Jun sang his part in a little bit rough style than I thought, but it wasn't bad. Kim Seung Ho (06) found a refreshing and youthful concept that works well with him and I hope this performance was less stressful than his last special dance battle performance. I can definitely tell that Shin Won Chun worked on his smiles. Takuma's performance was stable and he had the best smile of all, which I think fits this concept the best. Jang Hyun Jun came in strong and perfect in the chorus part. That chorus part was truly perfect with no flaws. He also perfectly stressed the "nation" part of the word "imagination." I don't think I ever described anybody as having a flawless performance at least in this chorus part even as he was dancing at the same time. My eyes has opened for Jang Hyun Jun. Seo Ji Ho singing the latter part of the chorus and his performance was not bad at all, but he was definitely missing some star power that Jang Hyun Jun had where Jang Hyun Jun knew where to accentuate his parts to make it exciting. I'm happy that Shin Won Chun nailed his high notes and nobody would have ever known that he couldn't sing high notes or falsetto singing. Kim Shi On stably sang his part and nobody would have ever known that he struggled with singing his parts. Takuma led the dance break and I really can't ignore Takuma for his ability to draw the crowd with his dance skills and his dance expressions. He looks like he really enjoys dancing on stage. Once again, Jang Hyun Jun stably sang the first part of the chorus so it is not a fluke. Shin Won Cheon sang the latter half and his body seems a little bit stiff for this concept. It felt awkward when Shin Won Cheon and Kim Shi On tried to bump arms, but it looked more like a collision and the show captioned this move as "hitting a rock with an eggshell." As Kim Shi On ended the song, I can definitely tell that he went through major improvements since the practice days. My initial impression of Shin Won Cheon's performance was that he wasn't too stable and he didn't fit the concept of the song that well. Maybe he should have joined the 2PM team after all. However, after watching the performance again, I can see that he his best and I could see his efforts after all.
Conclusion: Watching this performance after my initial impression of it just gets better and better. Judging the performance by the criteria of natural singing, dance skills, and star power, I will already recruit two contestants in my mission two vote:
Jang Hyun Joon - His performance was near perfect. I wasn't too impressed at the beginning of the song, but he executed his chorus parts so perfectly. Total star power and met all criterias. I guess the last episode's trauma of him being a scary leader has left my memory.
Jang Hyun Joon - His performance was near perfect. I wasn't too impressed at the beginning of the song, but he executed his chorus parts so perfectly. Total star power and met all criterias. I guess the last episode's trauma of him being a scary leader has left my memory.
Takuma - He is becoming very memorable in my mind. He has a great singing voice and his dance skills are so fun to watch because if he is enjoying it, then I am enjoying it. He has a lot of potential for star power, but I don't quite see it fully yet.
I have to be a bit stricter if I want to pick the top seven contestants. I think Kim Shi On and Shin Won Cheon have potential and I am wavering between supporting them and not supporting them. I thought they were great in the first mission to be in my personal lineup, but now other contestants have caught my eye with their talent. Kim Seung Ho (06) and Seo Ji Ho did a good job, but they did not catch my eye with star power. I love to see Kim Seung Ho (06) with his confident self.
Once again, the live audience could vote only once per contestant and C mates are also giving their evaluations, but I am not sure how the scoring is done. If I were in the audience, I would have given all five members my vote because they all performed well.
Special C mate Kim Eunbi thought that Jang Hyun Jun and Takuma showed great balance, holding the center of the performance really well. Special C mate Jungwon thought that Takuma stood out in terms of performance. Jungwon also thought that Takuma had a wide smile. Special C mate Ni-Ki thought that Shin Won Cheon would be great at the krump dance style, but I think Shin Won Cheon is a soft-hearted man by nature though I can see why Ni-Ki thought this way, given Shin Won Cheon's physique. C mate Ingyoo and Lim Han Byul talked about Shin Won Cheon's long arms that would be great for the krump style of dance. The C mates joked about the arm collison move again between Shin Won Cheon and Kim Shi On. I would label that my least favorite part of the performance as it didn't fit the song.
It was the Mate Group B's turn to perform.
"Crown" performed by Mate Group B TXT
Jung Hyun Jun
Miraku
Yoon Jae Yong
Lee Jang Hee
Kim Sun Yub
Chen Shiau Fu
In his introduction, Jung Hyun Jun labeled himself as the charismatic leader of the team. Miraku introduced himself as the main dancer and miracle Miraku or maybe the miraculous Miraku sounds better in my opinion. Yoon Jae Yong introduces himself as the sentimental vocalist who will show the audience his different charms. Lee Jang Hee describes himself as a Hamtaro, a Japanese manga character, and someone who wanted to land in the audience's hearts. For some reason, C mates thought that Lee Jang Hee lost weight each time they saw him. I really can't tell. Kim Sun Yub would like to delve into the audience hearts with a refreshing voice. Chen Shiau Fu described himself as having an angelic smile. I am not that convinced since I stated in the last episode that Chen Shiau Fu lacked enough facial expression.
MC mate Xiumin announced that the Mate Group B TXT team will perform the "Crown" song. Xiumin also stated an interesting fact that Mate Group A TXT team has the oldest team member as the leader while Mate Group B team has the youngest member as the leader of the group. I guess Jung Hyun Jun is done with his "scribe" duties from the last special mission and will be promoted to leader for this mission. Jeong Hyun Uk also stated that Jung Hyun Jun is not the youngest in the competition and that Kim Shi On is the fake maknae (youngest of the team).
MC mate Xiumin also mentioned an awkward fact that he is 20 years apart in age with Jung Hyun Jun. Xiumin proceeded to ask Jung Hyun Jun how much pressure Jung Hyun Jun was feeling as the leader. Jung Hyun Jun responded that he did feel pressure, but his older members accepted him, so he is a very happy leader. Back in the Green room, leaders Han Yu Seop and Kim Seung Ho (07) acknowledged that being a leader was difficult.
In the C mate room, Lim Han Byul asked what the special C mates thought about the youngest being a leader. Ni-Ki responded that he was a leader once in the I-Land reality survivor competition show and therefore he knew that it must have been hard for Jung Hyun Jun and Ni-Ki had to use honorifics to the older members.
Back in the practice room, Group B TXT team was deciding who should be the leader. Foreign members Miraku and Chen Shiau Fu are not present (I wonder if this was the time period when they had to renew their visa?) Jung Hyun Jun volunteered to be leader to scribble movement paths, make notes, and lead the team by scribbling things. I see that Jung Hyun Jun wanted to put his scribe experience to the test. Without any objections, Jung Hyun Jun became the leader, which therefore gave Yoon Jae Yong and Kim Sun Yub, former leaders of their past groups, a break. I feel a bit shocked because I don't recognize Jung Hyun Jun too much without his make-up on.
Next, it was time to divide the vocal parts. Jung Hyun Jun asked an innocent question of who wanted specific parts, but that quickly introduced a conflict between Kim Sun Yub and Yoon Jae Yong because they both wanted a certain part. Kim Sun Yub quickly tried to reason that the part requires a lot of strength and has a high register, but Kim Sun Yub has confidence in vocals and dance. Yoon Jae Yong tried to be considerate, but did not attempt to explain his reason for wanting the part. Since there was no conclusion, Jung Hyun Jun wanted to move on to other parts of the song before he makes a decision. Kim Sun Yub became more bossy by demanding a different part without negotiation, which made Jung Hyun Jun taken aback by Kim Sun Yub. Kim Sun Yub continued that he cannot imagine having any other part since he is hooked on that part. Kim Sun Yub believed that vocals suit him better, but Yoon Jae Yong also expressed that vocals suit him as well. Poor Lee Jang Hee seems to be quietly stuck in the middle with no parts or greed. Jung Hyun Jun carefully stated that if they continue the conversation this way, a fight might happen. Therefore, Jung Hyun Jun made a resolute decision to give the part to Yoon Jae Yong since it was about taking the center part anyway and Yoon Jae Yong was a better dancer. He then stated that the parts are not final and that they could change them so he would like all members to memorize all parts instead. The members decided to follow Jung Hyun Jun's lead.
During the dance practice with all six members, Jung Hyun Jun was leading the practice while all members were working on floor moves while Miraku was standing in the middle, keeping watch of the dance formation. Jung Hyun Jun had to guide Chen Shaiu Fu to the correction position and Miraku helped Lee Jang Hee to his correct position. While Jung Hyun Jun was busy with other team members, Miraku took the initiative to practice with Lee Jang Hee and Kim Sun Yub. Miraku took on a sub-leader role once again to help out with dance practice and even giving singing lessons to Lee Jang Hee, Chen Shiau Fu, and Yoon Jae Yong.
As the practice continued, Lee Jang Hee had difficulty keeping up with the choreography. It's not a good sign that Lee Jang Hee was mentioned as someone who had difficulty keeping up in the last special mission and in this mission. It's fine to see somebody struggle as long as they are showing growth and improvement. Because Lee Jang Hee has a center part, he needs to, at a minimum, master that part according to Yoon Jae Yong. What started off as smiles and support eventually became frustration with Lee Jang Hee. Ki Sun Yub boldly stated to Jung Hyun Jun that the group cannot keep matching up with Lee Jang Hee's progress anymore and Lee Jang Hee has to keep up with the group instead. According to Jung Hyun Jun, Lee Jang Hee's memorization of the choreography is slow and Lee Jang Hee tends to lose focus during the choreography practice. Eventually, the members became sensitive so when they heard Lee Jang Hee laugh at a part that he could not do, Yoon Jae Yong stepped in to explain to Lee Jang Hee that this was not the time to laugh since he kept continuously messing up during the practice.
Later on, Miraku also tried to talk to Lee Jang Hee to tell him that Jung Hyun Jun spent a lot of time and effort to practice with Lee Jang Hee so how did Lee Jang Hee feel about that? Miraku explained that Lee Jang Hee was not grateful unless he start practicing harder and to show more passion. Miraku explained in his solo interview that he knew that Lee Jang Hee could do the moves and show a great performance, but Lee Jang Hee does not practice, I guess, enough.
Lee Jang Hee stayed behind after practice was over in deep thought and an apologetic mind. During practice, while the team is resting, Lee Jang Hee spends that time to do more practice by himself. I felt like this group went through a lot of drama and hard work to attain perfection.
At this time, Mate Group B, TXT, took the stage. They started the song in such a cute sitting position with legs spread out on the floor and Yoon Jae Yong had cute facial expressions. Miraku sang the first verse, but his voice did not sound smooth. Even Kim Sun Yub who claimed that he sang well, sounded unstable even when he was standing in place. I liked how strong Chen Shiau Fu's voice was when compared to the previous weak vocals. I think Jung Hyun Jun was also stable in vocals as he danced. Lee Jang Hee was fine, but it's not enough to impress me. I didn't want to become disappointed in Miraku because he looked like he was excelling as a performer, but I found his performance underwhelming. I wanted to give him a shot after the first mission, but the second mission did not give me a better impression. Their human wings formation was a nice touch to have Yoon Jae Yong come out like a force. I wasn't that happy that Chen Shaiu Fu had such little parts in the song as I think he has a good voice and in the special mission, he was also a great dancer so he really did not belong at the bottom of the competition. Having little parts in this song won't help him rise in rank that much. The dance break ending was super awesome that they had their back to the audience, but they twisted their back to smile at the audience. Towards the end of the performance, everybody's singing skills seemed to have gotten better and they ended the performance back in a cute sitting position like a teddy bear.
Conclusion: I must say that this group concentrated super hard on the choreography, but neglected to incorporate stable singing into their performance. I like to be amazed by choreography, but if the vocals do not sound good, it is a major disappointment. When considering final picks, I would say Jung Hyun Jun is an overall great performer with barely hints of weakness in vocals while dancing at the same time. Therefore, he is included in my mate pick as my third choice in order of appearance.
The other members gave a great dance performance and during the first time watching the performance, I barely saw Chen Shiau Fu to know that he was actually a great singer. The rest of the group members need to strengthen their singing abilities while dancing at the same time.
This round was a tough call. Both groups gave it their best and I know it is difficult to sing and dance at the same time so it's easy for me to complain about singing quality, but I do recognize their hard work. After watching this a second time, I would think that Mate Group A won this one because the team sang better overall and had better synchronized teamwork except for that collison move. My initial thoughts was to lean toward the cutie Mate Group B team because they had dance moves that impressed me so they were memorable. I didn't want to discard Mate Group B's hard work.
The C mates were very impressed by Mate Group B's performance. Special C mate Jungwon was very impressed by their teamwork and thought that they were a real team and not a team made for an audition program. Miraku caught special C mate Ni-Ki's eye the most and Ni-Ki would like to see Miraku tackle a different genre of music.
When Miraku gave the audience his cute expressions, contestant Jeong Hyun Uk stated that Miraku was too cute and asked what would happen if Miraku got kidnapped (for being so cute).
If I were in the audience, I would give every single member a vote. I feel their efforts when I see Yoon Jae Yong's face covered in sweat.
Mate Group A TXT group joined Mate Group B TXT group on stage for final announcement to see who will win round one of this mission. When MC mate Xiumin asked if both teams performed well, Mate Group B team was very enthusiastic, but on the Mate Group A side, only Takuma gave a hesitant acknowledgement. Maybe Mate Group A lost their confidence. In the Green room, Jeong Hyun Uk asked Mate Group A if perhaps Mate Group A has sensed defeat. Mate Group B was feeling really confident for the win. However Mate Group A wanted to take the high road and did not want to respond to Mate Group B's every single taunt. MC mate Xiumin pressed again to see who thought they beat the opposite team. Kim Sun Yub responded that he thought the audience cheers were louder for the Mate Group B team. Kim Shi On thought the audience roars were louder for the Mate Group A team. C mate Lim Han Byul said that Kim Shi On is a totally different person on stage and that is a good thing. Apparently, Kim Shi On knows how to go into performance mode.
Special C mate Heeseung thought Mate Group B showed more promise as a team. They looked well-prepared. Special C mate Ni-Ki agreed and added that Mate Group B had better harmony than Mate Group A. Finally, C mate Jungwon explained that so many people covered the "Crown" song and Mate Group B's "Crown" song performance was very memorable. In terms of performance, I agreed the first time I watched it that Mate Group B gave me such a well-prepared feeling.
When the winner was shown on the screen, it was Mate Group A who won. When I first watched the show, I wanted Mate Group B to win, but watching it again made me realize why Mate Group A could possibly win. After all, I did pick two people from Mate Group A to be in my mission final lineup. Mate Group A had 3852 points vs Mate Group B with 3730 points. Mate Group A did a little bit better.
Mate Group B TXT team were mentally in shock, but acknowledged the results. It was the same situation in the Green room where Mate Group A mates were really surprised and Mate Group B mates sat in shocked silence.
After being asked by MC mate Xiumin on their thoughts of winning, leader Jang Hyun Joon explained that the team had the mentality of having fun rather than winning, which was strange because I saw villain sub-leader Jang Hyun Joon not to long ago in the last episode, pushing his teammates to perfection. Jang Hyun Joon revealed that his team was not very confident in winning this round, especially after he saw how in sync the Mate Group B TXT was in Mate Group B's performance.
Leader Jung Hyun Jun explained that he knew how hard all the members worked so that they have no regrets. Instead, Jung Hyun Jun felt sad about himself how he couldn't lead the older team members well so it was too bad. C mate Kim Sung Eun was afraid that Jung Hyun Jun would blame himself for the loss.
Yoon Jae Yong was the mature member in the group and stressed the importance of needing to move on to the future since they had fun and had no regrets. I admire such mature thoughts because it is true that this will not be the end of the road.
Now, both teams will go to the Green room where their individual scores will be revealed. While Mate Group A TXT was feeling high after their win, Mate Group B TXT walked back to the Green room in with a silent sorrow. Yoon Jae Yong tried to comfort Jung Hyun Jun to repeatedly tell Jung Hyun Jun that Jung Hyun Jun did a great job, but Jung Hyun Jun cried and apologized to the team.
Seeing a scoreboard in the Green room made everybody nervous. C mate Vata and Solar exclaimed that this type of score reveal was brutal. Kim Seung Ho (06) worried about what would happen if he placed last. Seo Yoon Deok replied to tell him not to lose courage even if he placed last. Yes, we need to be mentally prepared for rejection.
The ranks are revealed from lowest rank to highest rank:
Seo Ji Ho with 537 points vs Chen Shiau Fu with 495 points
Seo Ji Ho with 537 points vs Chen Shiau Fu with 495 points
Kim Seung Ho (06) with 544 points vs Lee Jang Hee with 552 points
Kim Shi On with 662 points vs Kim Sun Yub with 560 points.
Takuma with 672 points vs Miraku with 676 points
Shin Won Cheon with 687 points vs Joon Jae Yong with 700 points
Jang Hyun Jun with 749 points vs Jung Hyun Jun with 747 points
The results were almost neck and neck. I think a huge turning point would have been if Chen Shiau Fu was recognized more as he could have turned the tide with more points. I'm happy for Kim Seung Ho (06) that he didn't have to worry about being in last place. Kim Shi On scored major points for his team. Even though Miraku didn't sing as well as Takuma, Miraku has captured the audience's hearts with such a high score in the six hundreds. I knew this would be a tough competition.
Jung Hyun Jun couldn't crack a smile knowing that he let his older team members down, but I felt bad seeing him be so hard on himself. Failures are bound to happen in life.
MC mate Xiumin is back to reveal the next artist battle: 2PM
Countless artists have tried to cover 2PM songs and it would be very hard to give a performance as great as 2PM and their athleticism. Given that the last episode showed us the physically weak side of the contestants, will be get to see some type of beastly side to the Mate Group 2PM members? Mental strength is just as important.
Mate Group A 2PM team began their introduction first as a group who will race towards perfection. Mate Group B 2PM made three consecutive couple poses as they said their introduction as a group that you would miss more the longer you see them.
So far, I'm on the Mate Group B team as it seems I am more attracted to this group's mental suggestion. Mate Group B 2PM team dressing in black also made them mysterious.
MC mate Xiumin asked Mate Group A whether they were worried since they had foreign members (Aki and Kai) in their team. I find that to be such a weird question as the Mate Group B TXT group had Miraku and Chen Shiau Fu, but nobody asked if that team was struggling with foreign members. Jo Jae Hyeon wittingly answered that it was difficult to communicate with the foreign members, but it is all okay now since they are going to win.
MC mate Xiumin asked his next question of what they think they will be better at than the opposing team. Kai surprisingly spoke for the Mate Group A 2PM team to say that they expressed the song's sentiments better than the Mate Group B 2PM team. Kai had some type of catch phrase going on with the "이긴다 카이" or "iginda Kai" phrase, which meant that he was going to win. I'm not a native, but perhaps a native knows a deeper meaning to this phrase.
Jeong Hyun Uk responded by saying that the other team looked like kids, but the Mate Group B 2PM team is slightly more mature with a mature sexy concept. It was hilarious how one audience member brought binoculars to see closer. I used to do that myself when I was younger and had to sit in the back during concerts. When it comes to sexy, I don't think I can take my eyes off of Han Yu Seop. He was made to have this concept. I don't think Shin Won Cheon or Seo Yoon Deok can pull off the sexy look as well as Han Yu Seop.
After the introductions, Mate Group B 2PM walks off stage to allow Mate Group A 2PM to perform. I am wondering why Mate Group A always had to go first or is it another perk of having benefit points?
Mate Group A 2PM "10 ouf of 10" performance
Kim Seung Ho (07 as there are two Kim Seung Ho contestants in this competition)
Ki Hyeong Jun
Kai
Aki
Jo Jae Hyeon
Mate Group A 2PM group started with their individual introductions. Kim Seung Ho (07) described himself as a vocal genius. Ki Hyun Jun described himself as the charm genius, but semi-lost confidence as he spoke his name. The audience including special C mate Kwon Eunbi thought that Ki Hyun Jun has charm. Kai introduced himself as the smile genius. Interestingly, Aki introduced himself as the Korean language genius and I wonder how so since I can't claim that title myself. Aki started sheepishly reciting the Korean consonants: 가 나 다 라 마 바 사 ... (Ga, Na, Da, La, Ma, Ba, Sa...) That was cute. Lastly, Jo Jae Hyeon refers to himself as the ratio genius. I interpret that to mean that he has good body proportions since he is tall with long arms and legs. C mate Lim Han Byul remarked that he felt displeased every time he saw Jo Jae Hyeon since Lim Han Byul is much shorter than Jo Jae Hyeon.
The Mate Group B team was revealed to be performing the "10 out of 10" song. MC mate Xiumin then dropped a bomb to reveal that the team was heavily scolded during their interim check. Instead, the group was quoted to be 10 out of 1,000 points. Ouch.
During their interim check, only three members, Ki Hyun Jun, Jo Jae Hyeon, and Kim Seung Ho (07) were present as opposed to everybody being present in the Mate Group B 2PM team. Kim Seung Ho (07) revealed in his personal interview that two out of the five members (Kai and Aki had to leave the county due to visa issues). Since there were not that many members, sharing a practice room with other teams was difficult since it was hard to know their placement and they seem to be in the other team's way even though each team is sharing half the room.
The remaining members of Mate Group A 2PM team proceed to go to a smaller practice room to work on their dance break. Ki Hyun Jun started off practicing with Kim Seung Ho (07) and Jo Jae Hyeon, but eventually veered off into his own practice. I am not sure why Kim Seung Ho (07) as the leader, not set the correct direction for Ki Hyun Jun. It turned out that both contestants were awkward with each other. At first, Ki Hyun Jun admitted that he knew the dance break a little bit. Kim Seung Ho (07) played the music for Ki Hyun Jun only for Ki Hyun Jun to admit that he didn't know the dance break. Kim Seung Ho (07) stated in his interview that he felt that Ki Hyun Jun was a bit timid and their personalities were not compatible. Ki Hyun Jun mostly stood in place watching the dance practice instead of practicing himself. This atmosphere would definitely lead to trouble.
Back at the interim assessment with C mates Vata and Ingyoo, Ingyoo asked the Mate Group A team who was doing the acrobatics, but Kim Seung Ho (07) replied that nobody was doing it. After their bland performance, C mate Vata asked Ki Hyun Jun if Kim Hyun Jun felt fun while performing the dance. Ki Hyun Jun thought a bit and said the dance was burdensome, leading to Jo Jae Hyeon and even rival team leader Han Yu Seop feeling shock. Ki Hyun Jun explained in his solo interview that nobody on his team is an exceptional dancer with Kim Seung Ho (07) being considered the best dancer. It seems Ki Hyun Jun is lacking guidance. I think teammate Aki needs to come back fast. C mate Ingyoo asked Ki Hyun Jun to look at how much sweat he has compared to his teammates who were drenched in sweat. Ingyoo thought that each team member was performing at different levels. That's when the highlighted quote was said by Ingyoo that this team's performance was not 10 out of 10, but 10 out of 100 in which Vata corrected Ingyoo that it should be 10 out of 1000. Ouch again.
During practice, the team tried focusing again, but it was hard to mark their positions. Ki Hyun Jun suggested to draw out the movement plan, but Kim Seung Ho (07) explained that they have no time to draw it out and memorize them. Ki Hyun Jun then asked if they were moving too fast in which Kim Seung Ho (07) had a change of heart and decided that they were going to memorize their movement paths first that day and then they will draw out the movement paths the next day to match the choreography with their memory. Jo Jae Hyeon revealed in his solo interview that he expected a leader to be all smiles and gathering his team together, but Kim Seung Ho tends to get angry when he is leading the team. Weren't they all together during the last mission when Jang Hyun Joon played the role of the devil sub-leader? Kim Seung Ho (07) was probably nothing compared to Jang Hyun Joon.
It seemed when Kai and Aki returned, the team got their mojo and confidence back. They were able to share the practice room again with the opposing 2PM team and even performed with a lot more confidence. I wonder how Kai and Aki learned the choreography so quickly while they were absent. Perhaps they had to do solo practice until they can rejoin the team.
Unfortunately, they were faced with another problem during rehearsals when the group underperformed and Kim Seung Ho (07) messed up the cartwheels that he tried to do across the stage. C mate Vata commented to the C mate team that the situation they feared most has happened. C mate Vata addressed the Mate Group A 2PM team and told them that they performance was boring. C mate Solar, who joined the C mate team for the first time, thought that the performance was comparable to a local talent show. C mate Solar went further to say that it was impossible to perform like this these days. I interpret that to mean that it was impossible to perform as bad as they were in the performance. The feedback was truly harsh remarks. Too bad the performance rehearsal scene was cut so that I couldn't see most of it. At this point, it is a cliffhanger whether this team can do well.
Once the Mate Group A 2PM team performance started, I saw how energetic each member was as they each bounced up to show a great start. I am not sure if I noticed it the first time around, but watching the performance a second time led me to believe that Kim Seung Ho (07)'s singing skills seems boring. I think Jo Jae Hyeon sang slightly better than Kim Seung Ho (07). Ki Hyun Jun is very unique on stage. I do believe that he is not the traditional performer, but I can't help but keep watching him. I see that Kim Seung Ho (07) whipped out his secret last resort move, which is to show his abs while doing a body wave. I always find that men showing their abs on stage to be a cheap tactic to grab votes in a competition because there is no response other than screams from the females. I think Aki fit the concept of the song very well. He has that attitude of somebody rating a female. Kai was too smiley in his performance. The dance break itself wasn't over the top with simpler moves compared to the other teams that I have seen so far. I see that Kim Seung Ho (07) scrapped doing cartwheels across the stage and especially when it seemed as though he injured his hand during the rehearsal. Aki was really doing well in this song, but too bad he didn't have more lines to sing. Kai attempted to the leap frog jump over Aki, but it was not as amazing when compared with Seo Yoon Deok's leap frog jump over Shin Won Cheon in the last special dance battle episode. I was impressed by Kim Seung Ho (07)'s quick jumping turn at the end. The audience seemed impressed with endless screams.
Conclusion: I see that it is a tough road for this team to achieve success, which I admire, but I also felt something similar to what C mate Vata felt. Nobody overly impressed me in this performance. Kim Seung Ho (07) had the most lines to sing, but he failed to capture my attention. I'm looking for the wow factor and I didn't see it in this performance, while it was a good performance. This leaves me room to think about the rival C mate Group B team.
I initially thought Kim Seung Ho (07) and Aki fit the concept and Jo Jae Hyeon not so much fitting the concept, but I have different thoughts when I watched it a second time. I think Aki fit the concept the most and was the most memorable when I think of the "10 out of 10" concept. Jo Jae Hyeon was not as bad as I thought the first time around, but Kim Seung Ho (07)'s performance still gave me an underwhelming feeling.
After watching the performance, Mate Group B 2PM team believed that they can do better than Mate Group B 2PM team. Their confidence was raised higher than before.
Special C mate Kwon Eunbi thought Kim Seung Ho (07) balanced the team and tried to lead the team. C mate Solar thought that each team member's individual talents were bubbling up and bursting out. C mate Vata thought the song was not a great song for the participants, but they made the song their own. Am I the only one who felt underwhelmed? Yes, I saw some talents and some star power, but it was not explosive enough for me to want any of the members as my make mate.
MC mate Xiumin asked Kim Seung Ho (07) whether he prepared to show his six-pack for the performance. Kim Seung Ho (07) revealed that he did a great deal of ab workouts. The audience asked for an encore of abs, so Kim Seung Ho (07) showed them again. Of course, I agree that Kim Seung Ho (07)'s abs are fine, but I really can't focus on that to sway my opinion.
I believe that if I were in the audience, I would vote for every contestant on this team because they gave a good performance. There's no reason to not vote for anybody.
After voting ended, Mate Group A 2PM group left the stage so that Mate Group B 2PM group can take the stage. Just by looking at them, I can tell there's fire and passion. Dressing in black also helps their image. Han Yu Seop looks to be the most dangerous looking member that could make any girl shy.
In their introductions, Han Yu Seop stated that he was in charge of fiery charisma. Yoon Ho Hyeon matched the fiery description with stating that he is in charge of fiery visuals. Lee Do Ha also continued with the concept and stated that he was in charge of fiery passion. I need to shake my head because the image in my mind is only of him watching TV when he was supposed to practice in the last episode. How could it be passion? Choi Han Gyeol introduced himself as the firey maknae (youngest member). I had to laugh because I have no idea what that means to be a firey youngest member. Choi Han Gyeol is adorable. Sticking to the theme, Jeong Hyun Uk introduced himself as the member with firey charms. He was the one who tried to force the rival team to stick to their side of the practice room. I would say he had fireball charms. Kim Hak Seong introduced himself as the one with firey sexiness. I honestly think that Han Yu Seop should take that position and his fiery charisma position. I still haven't figure out Kim Hak Seung's specialty yet as I didn't find his true special charm yet.
MC mate Xiumin expressed that the members all look like real men with sexiness. Lee Do Ha and Choi Han Gyeol starting making gestures to match the concept. They have charmed me already.
The group's song was revealed to be "Again and Again." C mate Ingyoo explained that the "Again and Again" song is hard to express correctly. C mate Lim Han Byul added that the contestants need to show mature sexiness. C mate Vata commented that he is worried. Why? I'm sure we will get the story soon.
As the Mate Group B 2PM team get into their starting positions, a close-up of Han Yu Seop was shown since he was standing at the very front of the vertical line formation. The other contestants were attacked by Han Yu Seop's handsome face. This is a totally different concept for Han Yu Seop compared to his "Very Good" performance. Kim Seung Ho (07) had to stop his team from gawking at Han Yu Seop. A small preview was given to show the group's razor sharp dance moves and the episode ends.
I hate having the episode end when the rival group didn't get a chance to perform. That will really affect the end vote results because I didn't get to see the other team perform.
As of this moment, I have three contestants on my vote list:
Jang Hyun Jun - He gave the best and most perfect performance so far in this second mission competition.
Takuma - He is showing consistent and stable singing and dancing skills. I just need him to raise his star power.
Jung Hyun Jun - His performance is almost near-perfect. I feel at ease when he performs because he performs seemingly flawlessly. He is someone who I feel is a safe choice, but he is keeping a high standard of performance.
On my radar list is the following contestants:
Kim Shi On
Kim Shi On
Shin Won Cheon - His second performance was not as good as his first performance so he is in danger of falling off my radar.
Miraku - He is dropping in favor for two underwhelming performances
Yoon Jae Yong
Chen Shaiu Fu - I'm afraid of him getting eliminated because I feel he has the potential
Kim Seung Ho - I'm not sure how I feel about him, but I'll keep him on my radar
Kai - I am still looking for the wow factor
Aki - He seems to be someone who has potential
What did you think of the mission two performances so far? Who are your favorites? I hate to end in a cliffhanger, but at least writing this review kept me busy to not think about it. We shall finish the mission two performance reviews in the next episode.
