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Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Make Mate 1 - Episode 4

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.
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
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
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.


Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Make Mate 1 - Episode 3


Welcome to my episode three 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.

We are at the exciting part of announcing the first mission ranks. I honestly have no idea how this is going to pan out. Of course, I had my personal picks, but there is no guarantee that the people I picked are safe to remain in the competition. Luckily, there are no eliminations in this round. These votes include the 300 live audience votes and the C mate have a total of 500 votes. This is a total of 800 votes. If each C mate has 100 votes, does this mean one person loses a vote since there are six C mates in total or does C mate Vata and Ingyoo share a 100 point vote? The show is a bit shady for not mentioning the details. KBS announcer Lim Ji Woong announced the trainees ranks. If you watch side Youtube MakeMate 1 videos on the MakeMate channel, announcer Lim Ji Woong also announced midway results with the contestants.

The announcements were super quick until we get to the top eleven ranks. It is still unknown how many members will the final group have in the end, but it seems that the show wants to show a huge distinction for the top ten who get to stand on higher stage pedestals. Odd number rank contestants will stand to the right side of the stage while even number rank contestants will stand to the left side of the stage.

The results were actually shocking for me. Chen Shiao Fu who I thought had potential is in last place with rank 36. He said he would work harder, but usually I don't believe these words unless he proves me wrong. There were contestants who I thought performed worse than Chen Shiao Fu. In episode two's online real-time poll, Chen Shiao Fu was ranked in sixth place so honestly, ranking can't be taken seriously in this show without the online votes.

The ranks are as follows:
36. Chen Shiao Fu
35. Kai (wow, such a low rank!)
34. Lee Jang Hee
33. Ki Hyeong Jun
32. Kim Hak Seong
31. Kim Seung Ho (06 - since there are two Kim Seung Ho contestants)
30. Choi Min Jun
29. Jung Jae Young
28. Kim Sun Yub
27. Aki
26. Han Yu Seop (his rank is lower than I expected when his rank was 7th in the episode online real-time poll)

Those contestants who are considered in the mid-tier contestant ranges are:

25. Kim Se Gon (who left the show - It seems the audience must have liked his performance despite not knowing how he ditched his team, but even then, his performance left a lot to be desired).
24. Jeong Hyun Uk
23. Takuma
22. Jo Seung Hyeon
21. An Xin
20. Lee Do Ha
19. Seo Ji Ho
18. Yoon Ho Hyeon
17. Shin Won Cheon (lower rank than I expected)
16. Midori
15. Jo Jae Hyeon
14. Miraku (Glad he is still close to the top ten)
13. Jeon Joon Pyo (who knew he can sing well and dance?)
12. Jia Hao (his rank is too low! Are you kidding me?)
11. Kim Shi On (I can tell he was disappointed as he just missed the top ten rank and it was a bit cruel that he was announced after he mentioned that he would work really hard.)

Those contestants who are considered top-tier contestants are:

10. Noh Gi Hyeon (I guess I would have expected him to rank top 10 since everybody complimented his looks)
9. Seo Yun Deok (Somehow, he was praying to be on the even side of the team, but ironically, he ranked 9th so he was on the odd side. He engaged the audience well in his performance so that must have earned him some major points and also with the C mates as well.)
8. Lin (What a shocker as he was number two on the online real-time poll in episode two. Lin did not look happy at all and Jeon Joon Pyo tried to give Lin a thumbs up, but who knows if Lin reacted to it. I guess all contestants tried to put on a straight face since I guess this is a serious moment.)
7. Jang Hyun Jun (I expected him to rank high)
6. Yoon Jae Yong (such a high rank and I am happy for him!)
5. Kim Seung Ho (07 - since there are two Kim Seung Ho contestants, but wow, he made it to the top ten when I didn't notice him that much)
4. Choi Han Gyeol (He was too outstanding in his group. He looks like somebody who needs protection)
3. Bing Fan (He received a higher than expected rank in my opinion. Let's see if he can stay on the top. He was number one on the real-time online poll in episode two so not bad that he secured the top three position.)
2. Jung Hyun Jun (I think it was his passion that shot him straight to the top ranks. Not bad for somebody that I was still debating about in my top lineup.)
1. Jo Min Jae (It's a no brainer for me. His vocals are on par with Exo vocals and well, he could just debut right now and his dance skills are not bad at all. Let's see if his skills are stable enough for the next rounds.)

How do I feel about the top ten? It's still too early for me to say that this is a sure thing because we are only getting started on this show! I will expect the rankings to normalize by the time we get to the final round. There are way too many contestants that I did not pay attention to so I'm hoping to get to know the other contestants better. Still, the current top ten is not too bad in my opinion with a lot of my favorites in there. I'm feeling bad about Jia Hao though so he needs his rank to increase dramatically, but I can't think about whose rank will fall as a result of Jia Hao entering the top ten.

I want to say ranking is nothing but a number. What matters is if the contestant will be in the debut team or not. With the debut team factor unknown, everybody needs to do their best as they still have a shot to be in the debut group.

On a refreshing day in May, the MakeMate 1 contestants arrive to get on a bus to go to a resort. The show did not bother mentioning that Kim Se Gon has departed from the show. He was at the ranking event, but that was the last we saw of him. 

In the meantime, Mate Rule has been explained to the contestants during the ranking event. There will be a competition with odd number ranks vs. even number ranks. Contestants who ranked in an odd number rank are considered the Mate A group. Contestants who ranked in an even number are considered Mate B group. There will be a boot camp to improve the bond among the group members.

The contestants started off the trip on the bus in good spirits and chatty, but after they left Seoul, all of them eventually took naps on the bus. I would nap too if I were them since the idea of "boot camp" would give me anxiety as I am not particularly athletic. 

Eventually, the contestants arrive in the countryside to what is called the "L" resort. I'm sure the identity of the resort was purposely hidden. Ironically, the day started off sunny and bright, but at the resort, it was rainy and cloudy. 

The first action needed at the resort was to determine which rooms each contestant will stay in for the trip. For example, Jang Hyun Jun and Kim Seung Ho (06) from Mate A group and Miraku and Jung Hyun Jun will from Mate B group will room together as bootcamp roommates.  Jang Hyun Jun joked about how he and Miraku will try to find out Mate Group A's secrets since he is staying in the same room as his rivals. 

Roommates are set as follows:  (with the first two names being Mate Group A and the last two names being Mate Group B):
Seo Ji Ho, An Xin, Lee Do Ha, Jeong Hyun Uk
Jeon Joon Pyo, Bing Fan, Choi Han Gyeol, Han Yu Seop
Takuma, Seo Yun Deok, Lee Jang Hee, Yoon Jae Yong
Kim Shi On, Shin Won Cheon, Kim Hak Seong, Yoon Ho Hyeon
Jo Min Jae, Jung Jae Young, Midori, Lin
Ki Hyeong Jun, Kim Seung Ho (07), Jia Hao, Noh Gi Hyeon
Kai, Jo Jae Hyeon, Choi Min Jun, Jo Seung Hyeon
Aki, Chen Shiao Fu, Kim Sun Yub (Mate Group A would be missing a contestant)

Once the topic of working out was mentioned, Seo Yun Deok was super excited. I bet he was the only excited one in the group and Shin Won Cheon didn't look particularly excited either. Those two contestants are the most athletic ones as we have seen in episode one. The contestants are expected to go to their rooms and change to athletic clothes. 

I feel like this is the mini break that the contestants get before their next mission. The rooms are just one small room with a kitchenette on the side and some vanity desks on the other side. The contestants are expected to sleep in the middle of the floor. Shin Won Cheon wasted no time in undressing his upper half to wear his team sweater. It was a bit funny when Aki used onomatopoeias to explain that he snores and suggested Kim Sun Yub to sleep in between Aki and Chen Shiao Fu. However, both Aki and Chen Shiao Fu snore big time and poor Kim Sun Yub probably couldn't sleep at all.  I hope he suggested to sleep on the side instead on the next night. 

Meanwhile, the contestants discuss who is athletic on the team. They also try to guess what types of sport competitions that they might go into: boxing or arm wrestling. Either way, it was raining on that day so the next Boot Camp Athletic Competition event is held indoors. 

Each round will have a mystery prize to motivate the contestants to win. I love the dynamics between Shin Won Cheon who guessed snacks and Kim Seung Ho (07) who playfully responded back with "Chicken?" Indeed, there will be snacks and soft drinks as a prize. It makes me wonder what the trainees will eat as a meal while they are at the resort. Seo Yun Deok, who sits behind Shin Won Cheon playfully suggested that they give some of the snacks to the Mate Group B team (probably as a consolation). It's funny how the other Kim Seung Ho (06) was sitting behind Kim Seung Ho (07) and Kim Seung Ho (06) laughed at Seo Yun Deok's comment.

Both teams had to decide on a leader for their teams. Seo Yun Deok was elected leader probably for his athletic abilities for Mate Group A while a game of rock, paper, and scissors determined Noh Gi Hyeon as the leader for Mate Group B.

As both groups size each other up, Mate Group B felt a bit deflated that all the big, strong guys are in the Mate Group A team. Han Yu Seop tried to defend the Mate Group B group by explaining that he will use his brain intelligence instead, causing Kim Shi On from Mate Group A to react and comment on how funny that comment is to him.

Mate Group A performed their cheer which consists of swinging their hips from side to side while singing "A" in succession. They are also in triangle formation to make the shape of a capital A. The Mate Group B team called the Mate Group A team weak before Mate Group B made a one arm wave like with a succession of Bs to sound like a bee with a finger fling at the end. As a result of Mate Group B's cheer, Mate Group A declared themselves as the winners. The group went further to mock the Mate Group B team as a bunch of "French fries" as the Mate Group B team was dressed in yellow sweat shirts and they look thin. 

The first game is a pull-up match. Instantly, I knew this would be a hard one since I doubt we have physically strong contestants in this competition. Shin Won Cheon already declared their Mate Group A team as the winner. 

In panic, Mate Group B immediately looked for volunteers. Han Yu Seop volunteered himself. Many pointed at leader Noh Gi Hyeon and Jia Hao. What is dubbed as Mate Group A's "trusty three" came out to face the competition: Shin Won Cheon, Kim Seung Ho (07), and Seo Yun Deok. The Mate Group B team lost their minds at the sight of the trusty three. Some video clips of Kim Seung Ho (07) and Seo Yun Doek doing pull ups and push ups are enough to scare the competition. 

Jeong Hyun Uk snapped the Mate Group B team back to reality by commanding them to be confident. Seo Yun Doek retorted back to ask Mate Group B to try to win. 

Once a team wins two rounds of the first game, then they are declared the winner. As Mate Group B's representatives talk about their strategy, they reason that they cannot beat Seo Yun Deok so Noh Gi Hyeon who admitted that he cannot do more than ten pull ups was picked to face off with Seo Yun Deok. Han Yu Seop thought that Seo Yun Deok will go second in the lineup. Before Mate Group B can strategize further, Mate Group A is already doing their loud cheer, so Mate Group B responded back with their cheer as well with Han Yu Seop grooving to it. 

Unfortunately for Han Yu Seop, Seo Yun Deok decided to go first in the first round of the competition. As Seo Yun Deok proudly exclaimed, "A!," Han Yu Seop used one finger to hold his nose to indicate that Seo Yun Deok smells. It is hilarious to see the former "Very Good" team members going against each other. The contestants joked that Han Yu Seop and Seo Yun Deok are "very bad" friends that day. 

Han Yu Seop tried to put on a poker face, but Seo Yun Deok kept taunting him even as he is doing the pull-up, making Han Yu Seop lose confidence. Han Yu Seop could not go for the eighth pull-up and came down. Seo Yun Deok quickly pulled up to ten pull ups before he came down. Han Yu Seop covered his mouth and walked away in embarrassment.

Next, Kim Seung Ho (07) came out to face Noh Gi Hyeon. Choi Han Gyeol from the Mate Group B team somehow had the guts to tell Kim Seung Ho (07) that he was not muscular enough. Kim Seung Ho (07) had no problems doing his pull ups, but Noh Gi Hyeon already showed signs of struggle. Noh Gi Hyeon gave up on the sixth pull up. Noh Gi Hyeon admitted that it has been a while since he did pull ups. After Mate Group A was announced the winner of the first game, Han Yu Seop said out loud that he wished that he worked out regularly. 

An individual pull up match was announced so Seo Yun Deok and Shin Won Cheon competed with one another. Shin Won Cheon was a bit disappointed before that he did not get a chance to participate in the pull up competition so this is his chance. Let's not forget that Shin Won Cheon won a triple crown in sport competitions. Things were going well until the tenth pull up when Shin Won Cheon became shaky and gave up. Seo Yun Deok continued for his personal record and managed to do up to 16 pull ups. Pull ups are no joke. I don't think I can even do one with my weak arms. I feel like this episode is all about highlighting Seo Yun Deok's qualities as obviously there is nobody who is physically his rival. 

The next game is the long jump match, but with individual records. Everybody will get a chance to jump as each team member will go up against an opposite team member to jump at the same time, but the individual who holds the highest record will win for their team. 

As both teams strategize, Noh Gi Hyeon taunted Jeon Joon Pyo by asking Jeon Joon Psyo when Jeon Joon Pyo will come out. Jeon Joon Pyo smiled back. Some contestants started doing stretches. 

I won't really go into detail with the jumps, but in the end, Seo Yun Deok won that competition too at a long jump of 275 cm. Mate Group B's Jeong Hyun Uk came in second place at 273 cm. Third place is shared between Mate Group A's Shin Won Cheon's "butt" landing and Mate Group B's Chen Shiao Fu's long-legged landing at 268 cm. Again, this whole athletic competition is skewed towards Seo Yun Deok. I'm a bit concerned about Chen Shaiu Fu's facial expressions because he seems to have no reactive expressions and I can't see how that will help him when he performs on stage. There are people who will go into performance mode when on the stage, but Chen Shaiu Fu does not seem to be one of those people so I'm concerned about him. Even in a reality show, he needs to appeal to the audience and having no expression or being expressionless is not going to help him rise up from being in last rank.

Mate Group A won both competitions and Seo Yun Deok had his own screen time moment and he only took advantage of it for two seconds as he became shy. Mate Group A won protein shakes as a prize, which I am sure is some type of product placement (PPL) tactic. 

For the next event of the day, the contestants sat on the floor. C mate Vata and Youngbin from the "We Dem Boyz" dance crew came to introduce a special mission for the contestants. Both Mate Groups have 24 hours to perform a dance mission of a legendary song. 

Mate A group received the "We Are the Future" song originally performed by H.O.T. What was funny was that a lot of the contestants were born after the 1997 song was released and Shin Won Cheon admitted in his solo interview that he did not know H.O.T. Jeon Joon Pyo stated in his interview that he couldn't "see" his future. Aki mentioned in his interview that he heard of H.O.T from somewhere, but he has no idea where. These contestants are hilarious. I understand there are songs that were released before we were born, but I knew a lot of American pop songs that were from before my time and that's no big deal. Honestly, if these contestants want to be K-pop idols, they really need to study K-pop history a bit more. I wasn't in the k-pop fandom when H.O.T was released and I was alive then, but I have heard of H.O.T many times and heard of their music. 

Mate B group received the "Perfect Man" song originally performed by Shinhwa, released in 2002. We are really digging into the SM Entertainment archives. Apparently, the BTS group covered this song so it was familiar to some of the contestants. Jia Hao loved the BTS performance and choreography so much that he already memorized the choreography, I guess, from previous times. 

The Mate group that wins the dance contest will receive special benefit points. Again, the show never lets us know exactly what the benefits are if there are benefits until much later. The most important thing that C mate Vata tells the contestants is that having special benefit points may affect the next round of ranking results.Vata continues that working without conflicts and being considerate is crucial to success so they should listen to their leader well and the leader should also lead his followers well. I think it is because they only have 24 hours to get the performance right. 

We focus on the adventures of Mate Group B as they head over to a different practice room. Han Yu Seop stated that he already memorized some of the chorus part of the song already just by looking at the video. The team sits in a semi-circle to plan out their next steps. There are 18 members in Mate Group B. Without hesitation, the members elect Jia Hao to be their leader. This is amazing as Jia Hao didn't tell his team that he knew the choreography already, which is a huge advantage for the group. I'm also glad that a non-Korean contestant is recognized as a leader since I see that the foreign contestants in this show tend to be shy and reserved. Sub-leaders are also chosen: Jo Seung Hyeon and Miraku. I didn't know Jo Seung Hyeon was considered a great dancer because he never entered my radar. The group gave maknae Jung Hyun Jun the "scribe" role so he can take notes.

As a first declaration of his leadership, Jia Hao explained to the group to not get upset over which role they take because in this competition, it does not matter and if somebody leads the group well, they all get the benefit points. 

Meanwhile, in Mate Group A, the team is also deciding the leader. It seems Jeon Joon Pyo was unanimously chosen as the leader with Jang Hyun Jun as the sub-leader. So far I can already see which contestants are important in this competition based on who is leading the competitions and teams. This episode allows me to see the personal relationship dynamics in this competition. 

The leader and sub-leader began practicing the opening and even that looks hard especially to coordinate a lot of people to be in sync. I didn't realize it then, but at some point during that day's practice, the groups changed into their practice outfits with Mate Group B wearing light blue shirts and Mate Group A wearing dark navy blue shirts. 

There is a place called "M" studio where the Make Mate contestants will perform. The show's new host is waiting for the contestants there. The contestants are shocked as they enter the room to see their new host: Exo's Xiumin. Xiumin introduces himself as the contestant's MC Mate. Xiumin will be joining them for the rest of the competition. 

MC Mate Xiumin announced the judges: We Dem Boyz' Vata and Youngbin. Special C mate judges include Simeez of the La Chica dance group and dancer and instructor Harimu from the 1Million dance studio.  Xiumin mentioned that Vata had a hard time inviting the special C mates to the show and Vata explained that he wanted other people to view the performance through fresh eyes since he was already watching the contestants since the beginning of the show. Vata knew that since Simeez and Harimu were professional dancers, they would have critical opinions about the contestant's dance skills and performance. Is that meant to scare the contestants? They haven't even debut yet. Contestant Han Yu Seop looked genuinely concerned. Harimu playfully showed the cut throat gesture with her thumb towards the contestants, which the contestants received with concern. 

The C mates will be judging the performance from the second floor of the venue. Mate Group B was performing first. Leader Jia Hao reminded everybody about their footsteps and cheered on the other members before they began their performance. 

We skip back to the practice time period in which it was clear that contestant Lee Do Ha was falling behind the others during the practice. This is natural as he did not have any previous dance experience before joining the show. Jo Seung Hyeon spotted Lee Do Ha struggling and tried to help him with the choreography on the side. Lee Jang Hee was also highlighted as somebody who struggled with the choreography. Yoon Ho Hyeon is the third contestant who struggled as well, but he was somebody that I did not previously pay attention to in the last performance. The fourth contestant who struggled was Chen Shaiu Fu. Lastly, the fifth contestant who struggled was Choi Han Gyeol, who I said needed protection as he seemed so fragile. Leader Jia Hao asked Miraku to help Choi Han Gyeol. 

Jiao Hao didn't know how to help those who were struggling with the choreography. He had a small meeting with his sub-leaders. Chen Shaiu Fu was worried that he was going to drag the team down. Chen Shaiu Fu started proactively asking Jia Hao to teach him the parts he didn't understand and started seriously practicing his part at every spare moment even at his room. Other teammates were also practicing individually. 

Yoon Jae Yong was dancing half naked in the hallway (must be refreshing). Lee Jang Hee ended up joining Yoon Jae Yong in the hallway to practice as well. Almost by fate, Choi Han Gyeol saw them in the hallway and joined in as well. Yoon Jae Yong ended up putting his pajama shirt on for the rest of the hallway practice. At least we saw that three out of the five contestants are trying their best to master their part.

Unfortunately, the other two "weak" contestants remained undisciplined: Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon. Midori asked Yoon Ho Hyeon if he was going to practice and Yoon Ho Hyeon ignores Midori. Passionate sub-leader Miraku decides that they have to practice more before going to bed. Lee Do Ha asked that practicing now is fine, but what if he can't concentrate tomorrow when he wakes up because he did the extra practice? Miraku did not accept that nonsense and practically answered that Lee Do Ha will need to focus (no matter what). Jo Seung Hyeon rounded up Yoon Ho Hyeon to do more practice, but Yoon Ho Hyeon explained that he was already in bed and didn't understand why he had to get up. He was not happy that the bed mattress was taken away from underneath him. Noh Gi Hyeon explained that Yoon Ho Hyeon is the person who needs to practice the hardest. What flabbergasted me was that Yoon Ho Hyeon was still holding a remote in his hand while doing the minimal motions and watching TV in the room while the other trainees were doing their practice. Worst of all, Lee Do Ha followed the TV as well. Why were they even allowed to watch TV? Miraku explained in his solo interview that it is fine if they are not good dancers, but they need to focus and practice. Miraku already senses trouble. I really liked Lee Do Ha, but if this lack of seriousness and effort is going to be his philosophy, I can't see myself picking him for the final lineup. I didn't even think about Yoon Ho Hyeon as he was never in my radar so it was not much of a loss for me, but I am disgusted by his lack of effort. How do they expect voters to be on their side when they don't even help themselves? 

The next day, Yoon Ho Hyeon is still messing up his moves and Kim Sun Yub tries to direct Yoon Ho Hyeon to the correct position. Unfortunately, Lee Do Ha was ending up in the wrong dance positions. 

C-mate Vata and Youngbin entered the practice room to see Mate Group B's progress and Vata asked how far along they are in the practice. Jia Hao explained that they practiced up to the end of the choreography which meant that they should be able to show the entire performance. Yoon Ho Hyeon admitted that he wasn't ready and Lee Do Ha was facing the wrong way before the song started. I'm really nervous for this team. 

I don't think I have to tell you how that performance went for Yoon Ho Hyeon and Lee Do Ha. C mate Vata stated that the team was in trouble. Too many people can't keep up with the choreography. Vata specifically called out Lee Do Ha to ask why Lee Do Ha could not keep up and constantly messing up. Lee Do Ha tried to give an excuse, but Vata explained that there must be a reason whether it was that Lee Do Ha can't keep up or Lee Do Ha couldn't focus. Vata also singled out Yoon Ho Hyeon who couldn't keep up at all. Vata said he mentioned this to mega crews all the time that it didn't matter if the the guys in the front dance really well because all Vata sees is the weakest link, which was Lee Do Ha. The weakest link determines the grade because the weakest link steals the show. As a result, Jia Hao also got scolded for not bringing the weakest links up to par. Jia Hao stood in stunned silence as he shuffled his hair. A huge wake up call is needed for Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon. 

After the mid-assessment review, the team morale was down. Lee Do Ha said in his commentary that he felt bad and scared. Yoon Ho Hyeon thought he was the reason the team would fail. He sat down on the side lost in thought, but soon after that, roommate Kim Hak Seong nonchalantly pulled Yoon Ho Hyeon back up and even shared Kim Hak Seong's drink with Yoon Ho Hyeon. I thought it was interesting that none of the other team members scolded the weakest links or at least talked to them about their attitude. Perhaps, they took Vata's advice too seriously to work without conflicts.

I believe it was fellow Fiction teammate Yoon Jae Yong who tried to comfort his friend Lee Do Ha and asked if Lee Do Ha would like to dance naked with Yoon Jae Yong that night. I wonder if Yoon Jae Yong was joking around or was he serious about that half naked comment because that comment would make a female go wild. Jo Seung Hyeon tried to repeat the "Cheer up" or the "Himnae" strength phrase to change Lee Do Ha's mindset. Other teammates who are not even the leaders tried to help Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon catch up. This is the definition of Make Mate in my opinion with contestants helping each other out in times of need. 

Jia Hao adopted the practice of needing to start over as soon as he discovers a problem. This leads to endless practice to get every aspect perfect.

"Perfect Man" performed by Mate Group B 


In other Youtube videos, the reason why Mate Group B is performing first is because Jia Hao won the hoop shot match against Jang Hyun Jun to be able to perform first.

In the beginning, Noh Gi Hyeon led the triangle formation followed by Miraku. This group focused a lot on synchronized dance. Jung Hyun Jun entered the center with a super high kick. When Jia Hao entered the center for the chorus, I felt relieved. I was pleasantly surprised to see Chen Shaiu Fu leading his mini team in the next verse. I can't believe Chen Shaiu Fu could be somebody who ranked last in 36th place with this performance. Jo Seung Hyeon surprised me with a solo part of his own and it's a shame that I did not pay attention to him in the past. Miraku stands out whenever he dances in the center. I think he has that star power that convinces me that he could debut. I really liked the style and pace of this song that highlights certain team members. I would say that I like the "Perfect Man" song better to begin with and this song and dance fits my personal music style.

The leader of Mate Group A team, Jeon Joon Pyo started to worry that they might not beat Mate Group B. Mate Group B could be the underdog team. 

It was funny how Vata tried to show leniency before Mate Group B's performance by telling special C mate, Simeez that these are mostly kids. Simeez told Mate Group B that they did so well and she could not believe they only practiced for 24 hours. She said that the group can smile now. Simeez thought that Mate Group B did justice to what it means to be in a mega crew. 

Special C mate Harimu mentioned that the Mate Group B's energy level went all the way to the second floor. They get the audience excited when they stomp in unison. 

Simeez gave special compliments to Jia Hao and Miraku who claimed all the attention at the center. I totally agree with this comment. Jo Seung Hyun was also mentioned by Simeez as being angry and wanting to destroy the stage. However, I had a different feeling that Jo Seung Hyun was the best at feeling the mood of the song and acting it out the best. 

Harimu gave special mention to Noh Gi Hyeon who had the responsibility to start off the song at the center and made his turns a bit too long, but still managed to hold the dance together. Harimu thought Chen Shaiu Fu made the killing part shine.

Next Simeez actually pointed out dancers who were lacking a bit in the performance. Here comes that critical thought. Yoon Ho Hyeon was dancing off beat in the back so Simeez could definitely tell he was struggling in the performance. Harimu stated that she is not looking for perfection, but she could tell Lee Do Ha did not memorize the dance moves yet. Lee Do Ha straight up admitted that he messed up the formation. It turns out that towards the end, he ended up dancing in the front next to Yoon Jae Yong, but Lee Do Ha was supposed to be in the same dance line as Midori. Unfortunately, every time Lee Do Ha had to mention something unfortunate about himself, Lin is standing right next to him looking like he is quietly judging Lee Do Ha. 

C mate Vata mentioned that Mate Group B had the contestants that were "left behind," but this performance was less noticeable since the leading members did a great job. So, in a way, the leading members are masking the mistakes of the weaker members. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to compliment Yoon Jae Yong, whom I noticed while watching this a second time that he put in a lot of effort into his dance and was an excellent dancer despite not getting any leading dance parts. He was somebody whom I noticed at the corner of my eye.

At episode three, based on this performance, I am inclined to vote for:
1) Miraku (I really thought he could steal the show)
2) Jia Hao (That's a given)
3) Chen Shiau Fu (What a surprise that he was able to improve his performance)
4) Han Yu Seop (I didn't mention him much, but I feel sorry that I didn't notice his talent sooner. Like Yoon Jae Yong, I also saw Han Yu Seop's efforts. The only reason why Yoon Jae Yong was not on this list was because I didn't think of him the first time around while watching the show.)
5) Jo Seung Hyun (He embodied the song the best.)

That only leaves two spots open for Mate Group A. This might be tough.

Mate Group A came prepared with a greeting, which is a chant about who is the winner and who is the future and the answer is A. I admire that they put in the extra effort to create an introduction. 

Back during their practice time, sub-leader Jang Hyun Jun began teaching the choreography while leader Jeon Joon Pyo stayed in the back to map out the dance formations. During their practice, Jeon Joon Pyo came back to let each team member know where their positions are on the dance floor. In his solo interview Jeon Joon Pyo explained that flow and formation are the most important aspects of a mega crew so this guy knows his stuff, being in a dance group himself. He was seriously treating this as the real thing and real mega dance crew despite it only being a temporary mission. 

At some point, Jang Hyun Jun became confused at which direction certain members have to dance toward and tried to work it out. Jeon Joon Pyo was worried that they did not have enough time to practice.

At night, the Mate Group A members seem to be more relaxed than the Mate Group B members, having pillow fights, talks, and jokes. However, Jeon Joon Pyo was working hard to continue to map out the formation and flow without going to sleep. Make Group B "spy" Jung Hyun Jun tried to ask Jeon Joon Pyo to play with him, but Jeon Joon Pyo respectfully refused as Jeon Joon Pyo was busy. I wasn't sure if Jung Hyun Jun was spying, sabotaging Jeon Joon Pyo or that Jung Hyun Jun genuinely wants to spent time with Jeon Joon Pyo. I mean to explain this thought in a playful way.

With ten hours to go in practice the next day, C mate Vata and Youngbin soon arrived to do their mid-assessment check. Leader Jeon Joon Pyo mentioned that they only learned up to the first verse. That doesn't seem to be a lot of progress. The performance looked messy and it was clear that the team did not master their performance yet with bad angels, misalignment, different vibes, and missed beats. It looked a bit chaotic. C mate Vata leaned his head to the side in thought while C mate Youngbin squinted seemingly in pain. 

C mate Youngbin started off with summarizing their performance as a disastrous performance. Youngbin did not know if the team will improve that much by the next day. Vata strongly stated that they were not in sync at all. Their directions were also not right. They did not know their left or right movements. Vata stated that it was amateur and that the group simply did not practice enough. Vata then blamed the leader Jeon Joon Pyo for not being assertive enough. Vata concluded that the team cannot win this way. 

Jeon Joon Pyo started doubting his effectiveness as a leader. After a bit of thought, he explained to his team that they need to focus on doing well. Sub-leader Jang Hyun Jun became what the show called a "villian" for being stricter at this point. He had the ability to become an authority figure to make sure everybody understood his commands and to do the movements instead of just listening to him. 

Unfortunately, a weak link was pointed out as Kim Seung Ho (06) who could not keep up with the movements. Jang Hyun Jun started giving Kim Seung Ho (06) a blank stare that would make anybody uncomfortable. Without any pretext, Jang Hyun Jun calmly and directly asked Kim Seung Ho (06) if Kim Seung Ho (06) did not want to do the dance. Kim Seung Ho (06) promptly denied it. Then Jang Hyun Jun asked if Kim Seung Ho (06) did not understand the dance moves in which Kim Seung Ho replied that it was a bit difficult for him. Jang Hyun Jun kept his cold tone and told Kim Seung Ho (06) to ask Jang Hyun Jun if Kim Seung Ho (06) has any questions because Kim Seung Ho (06) kept messing up. Geez, I am not sure what Jang Hyun Jun would have done if Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon were in Jang Hyun Jun's team. Would there be an all-out fight?

Unfortunately, Kim Seung Ho (06) continues to have difficulties and Jang Hyun Jun calls Kim Seung Ho (06) out for it. I'm sure Kim Seung Ho (06) is already under a lot of pressure to do well and his brain and body are probably on overdrive. In his solo interview, Kim Seung Ho (06) believes that he understood the choreography with his head, but his body couldn't keep up. He had a hard time counting the beats. 

During his solo practice, Jang Hyun Jun called him out again to make him state out loud his weakness in the choreography. When Kim Seung Ho (06) didn't know anymore weaknesses, Jang Hyun Jun pointed out that his turns were not done well and asked whether Kim Seung Ho (06) did not focus. I really think Jang Hyun Jun went overboard to become a villain of the team. Placing added pressure to a contestant who is already trying hard is not helping him. Certainly, accusing the contestant without verifying the truth will not help. I am personally sensitive to these things because I grew up in an environment where adults always put their thoughts into my head as to the reason why they think I am not doing well instead of trying to understand why I was not doing well. Kim Seung Ho (06) certainly didn't know how to respond back to Jang Hyun Jun.

Jeon Joon Pyo promptly asked Kim Seung Ho (06) to come over, walking across the room where Jeon Joon Pyo is standing. Maybe Jeon Joon Pyo wanted to save Kim Seung Ho (06) from such an awkward situation. The one thing I liked about Jeon Joon Pyo is that he put his arm around Kim Seung Ho (06) first to show trust before Jeon Joon Pyo asked him what was wrong. Like a child, Kim Seung Ho (06) mumbled that he tried to focus and work hard, but he kept on messing up. He immediately apologized to Jeon Joon Pyo, but Jeon Joon Pyo wanted further validation from him whether it was difficult for Kim Seung Ho (06). Hearing these words, Kim Seung Ho (06) reached his breaking point and started sniffing. Jeon Joon Pyo assured him that it was fine and Kim Seung Ho (06) can continue to work hard and Jeon Joon Pyo recognized that Kim Seung Ho (06) was working hard. This is the type of leader I admire, not somebody who only barks orders and accusations. 

I am not sure if it was because Jang Hyun Jun and Kim Seung Ho (06) are roommates, but at night, Jang Hyun Jun gave Kim Seung Ho (06) extra practice lessons. I don't think of this as a negative thing as I could see that Kim Seung Ho (06) appreciated it. 

From the looks of it, there was only one weak link and he was working really hard so I have the impression that Mate Group A could be a formidable team simply because they had some tough love training methods. 

"We Are the Future" performed by Mate Group A


Mate Group A team got into position and started hyping themselves up with "Fighting" remarks. 

The song starts off with Ki Hyeong Jun leaving his formation to tease the audience as to what is to come. This team shouts openly to increase their energy, which is a great tactic. It was great to see Shin Won Cheon and Seo Yun Deok partner up when Seo Yun Deok performed a surprise leap frog jump over Shin Won Cheon. Kim Seung Ho (07) and team made some really fast dance movements to a fast beat. Aki got a small solo part where he can show more sensual moves. I totally forgot about Bing Fan for much of this episode where he swayed over to the middle with Jo Jae Hyeon coming from the opposite side. Jo Min Jae had a small part in the middle before going into circle formation. Leader Jeon Joon Pyo came to claim the center for the chorus part with sub-leader Jang Hyun Jun dancing in sync behind him. I must say that the formations are looking pretty good and well-choreographed. I was surprised at Takuma's crazed dance part where he fit the song's vibe the most. Also, Takuma's facial expressions are no joke. He seemed to have stolen the show for me. Jung Jae Young came out for a small part with Aki. I love how all the solo parts are unique, but overall, it was chaotic to watch. The part where it was only awesome instrumentals, I caught Kai in the maroon sweater doing an amazing job with flexible moves even though it wasn't a solo part, doing powerful floor hip-hop moves. It was enough for me to pay a lot of attention to him. Ki Hyeong Jun returns in a highlight part that was uniquely for him as it involves a lot of rigid moves. The group ended their song very powerfully and solidly. 

Just for fun, I watched the performance again only focusing on Kim Seung Ho (06) and he did such a decent job supporting his team. Hard work pays off. I also did not know how handsome Bing Fan was in the center and even though I did not mention it before, Kim Shi On caught my eyes during the performance for a second or two.

C mate Vata explained that he felt like he was at a buffet with so many good dancing parts in the song. Vata thought that Seo Yun Deok jumped really high during his leap frog jump.

Special C mate Simeez thought that she was watching a group similar to Seventeen, which is interesting as there were 17 team members standing on stage. Takuma caught Simeez's eye. Also, Bing Fan dances so handsomely to Simeez. I admit that Bing Fan was handsome, but his handsomeness did not hit me until after the song ended and I was watching the replays. Ki Hyeong Jun also has his own distinct charms. 

Special C mate Harimu noticed the group was smiling while dancing and when they shouted, it appeared as if they were also singing live as well. The vocal aspect of it made the performance exciting. Harmu mentioned Jeon Joon Pyo as the leader and somebody who made it clear that it was his turn to shine as he walked forward towards the front and center. The group synced up nicely. Harimu ended her comments with saying that since the song title is "We are the future," this group is K-pop's future.

Mate Group A had all compliments and praises from the judges.

Now, it was time for the judges to make their decision to announce the winner. I was honestly hoping that they would pick Mate Group B. The first time I watched the performance, I had a soft spot for Mate Group B because the presentation was easier for me to watch, spotlighted members were easily seen, and there was not so much going on like the action that took place in Mate Group A's performance. I suppose I had sensory overload. I really had a hard time following what was happening, but by seeing the performance a second time, I started to appreciate why Mate Group A also deserves to win. I suppose that I didn't initially appreciate Mate Group A as there were too many distinctive parts to it.

In the end, all three judges, Harimu, Simeez, and Vata showed the team A votes. I suppose C mate Vata and Youngbin share a vote. I was earnestly hoping that Youngbin would show a B card just so that it doesn't seem like Mate Group B totally lost. It was a huge, sweeping win for Mate Group A who claimed the sports glory and the performance glory. 

Based on this performance alone, I am inclined to vote for (in no particular order):
1) Miraku (I really thought he could steal the show)
2) Jia Hao (That's a given)
3) Chen Shiau Fu (What a surprise that he was able to improve his performance)
4) Han Yu Seop (I didn't mention him much, but I feel sorry that I didn't notice his talent sooner.)
5) Jo Seung Hyun (He embodied the song the best.)
6) Seo Yun Deok (I have to acknowledge him now after all that he's done for this episode. That high leap frog jump was no joke)
7) Kai (I can't help that Kai caught my eyes with his flexibility and power moves).

Jeon Joon Pyo deserves the credit for the choreography, flow, and behind the scenes, but my initial reaction to watching this episode was that he wasn't too present for his team as a leader and I wasn't feeling that he was leading that much.

I unfortunately did not put Jang Hyun Jun on my top list simply because he showed me his scary side in this episode. I felt that I must escape from him.

It pains me that I should include Takuma because I have been thinking about him a lot after the show and he deserves to be in my top seven as well. This competition is tough in that I can't seem to settle on a proper lineup.

What does this episode, which seems like a special episode, mean for my overall final line up? Did this episode influence my final lineup thoughts? I think so. My top two contestants have not changed.

Proposed Final Lineup:
1. Jo Min Jae (no question, best vocalist)
2. Jia Hao (all rounder plus!)

However, everybody else is unstable in my lineup and have almost completely changed. I didn't see anything in particular from this episode that would make me hold my vote in place.

3. Jeon Joon Pyo (very stable performance)
4. Shin Won Cheon (surpassed my expectations with matching the concept and falsetto singing)
5. Kim Shi On (he is still too memorable in my mind)
6. Jung Hyun Jun (this is going to be tough as Jung Hyun Jun is now on the brink of elimination from my top 7)
7. Bing Fan (He was the best in his team.)

3. Miraku (I was certain that he is meant to be a performer.)
4. Han Yu Seop (I can no longer ignore him from the first round performances and he represented his team well).
5. Seo Yun Deok (I am not one to care about physicality, but he impressed me with his athleticism on stage. I can see how that can be useful in a group.).

This is where I'm a bit stuck as I cannot decide from a pool of contestants who would be my last two picks. I decided that I will keep the two most dedicated contestants. They seem to be safe picks.

6. Jung Hyun Jun (perhaps I will still continue to put him on standby.)
7. Jeon Joon Pyo (He seems to have a lot of good qualities and dedication.)

Let's see who is still on my radar (21 contestants, which increased instead of decreased from 16 in the last episode):

Mate Group A:
Kai - I didn't know that he had hidden potentials
Takuma - He had really great stage presence and facial expressions.
Shin Won Cheon - Somehow, he lost my attention in this episode. Perhaps his next performance will bring me back to consider him again.
Kim Shi On - I still have a mini-watch on him to see if I should bring him to the final lineup. I notice that he does have some type of accent when he talks or at least a unique way of speaking.
Jung Jae Young - Initially, he almost left my radar, but I kept coming back to see his extroverted side and also his dance performance was a bit eye-catching so I won't let him go yet.
Jang Hyun Jun - It's not exactly a deal breaker for me yet that he scares me in this episode, but talent-wise, I want to keep him on my radar.
Kim Seung Ho (07) - I didn't know how extroverted he was and I feel like this person should not be ignored for the competition even though I didn't pay attention to him in the first performance.
Bing Fan - I'm still keeping Bing Fan on my list as I am expecting him to wow me later.

Mate Group B:
Chen Shiau Fu - He improved himself a lot.
Jo Seung Hyun - He was not on my radar before this episode, but now I want to pay attention to him after his solo part.
Yoon Jae Yong - I saw how hard he was working, but I don't know yet if he is at the point where I want to give him a final spot in the lineup.
Noh Gi Hyeon - I was not impressed with his first performance, but him being a leader in episode three made me take a note of him again. I hope to see him in the next performance to have a better determination. I don't mind giving second chances.
Choi Han Gyeol - I didn't see him much in this episode. He still needs protection so I am keeping him on my radar.
Jeong Hyun Uk - I barely saw him during the dance performance. Given his positive record, I want to see his next performance.

Mate who left my radar:

Lee Do Ha  - Sorry, but this episode made me very disappointed in his work ethics. It will take hard convincing for me to bring him back on my radar.

This is tough. I ended up not narrowing down the list, but increasing the radar list. Maybe the next performance will determine a lot. I believe contestants can have a bad day so maybe the next performance will convince me who deserves to stay as if I control the votes.

What did you think about this special episode? Who are your favorites?

Here are some bonus videos to watch of the mega crew performances (Encore!):












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