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Sunday, July 14, 2024

Make Mate 1 - Episode 6


 Welcome to my episode six 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.

This is an episode that I am dreading because it includes the first round of eliminations. As you can see above, I only voted periodically and sometimes forgot to vote so my dedication was placed towards my blog instead. This is how I contribute to society to promote Make Mate 1.

I know for sure that eliminations will include contestants that I would like to see have a career in K-pop and I hope that they will have other opportunities in the future due to appearing in this program. The only problem with that is that fans of the eliminated contestants will have to wait a long while before they can possibly see them on stage again in one way or another.

One of the things I was confused about in this show was how they organized each event. I will write this down for reference:
First stage - Contestant's first performance - no eliminations
Special Mission - The Mega Dance crew mission that includes benefit points for the winners
Round One Mission - The One Artist, Two Stage missions includes benefits (still confused about this) for the winning team

Voters from 114 countries voted online in this round, which is amazing. A whopping nine contestants will be eliminated. That is about 25% of the contestants if one contestant didn't drop out. Despite all trainees participating in the Round Two mission, the eliminated contestants will need to leave the show and not have a chance to perform in the Round Two mission. I dislike the fact that survival shows make contestants work up to the point of being laid off or fired, but maybe some of the contestants would rather be part of the show than not part of the show. It would be painful to work towards a goal just to become eliminated. Teams will be rearranged based on the results of the elimination. This is sounding more like corporate life to me where it's not uncommon for a company to move their employees to other areas of work or lay them off. 

Another explanation on how scores are calculated are given for each contestant in the first round one ranking event:
Onsite audience and online votes = 40% of the score 
Only 50% of the domestic (South Korean) online votes and 50% of the rest-of-world online votes are counted. That is really confusing. So how is the rest of the 50% treated? Ignored? What would be the criteria to count as the 50% of the votes that do count? I really think this part is fishy. Why bother having online votes if they are only going to count 50% of them? This show might be wasting the viewer's time. Maybe it's best I stick to blogging rather than voting. They should count ALL online votes. Period.
C mate scores = 60% of the score

All points were added in proportion to the 1st place vote except for the benefit points. In my interpretation, if first place had a thousand points, then the points for all the other ranks are adjusted in relation (scaled down). I really think this show is making the grading system way too complicated.

The show determined first place top score rank with benefits is 8,500 points and online votes can add up to 3,000 points for a total of 11,500 points for rank 1. I don't understand why online favorite voting scores are in a separate category. They lost me. Maybe they already announced the rankings without the online points in the last episode, so they need to create a separate category in this episode to be clear.

Then, the show proceeded to show the benefits points separated into three categories:
Special Mission - 100 points
Winning Team - 400 points
Mate Group Win - 400 points

For example, Kim Shi On had an extra 900 points because he won all three benefits. 
In addition, all first place winners of each team battle in Mate Group A received 600 points: Kim Seung Ho (07), Bing Fan, and Jang Hyun Jun.

Round 1 rankings are as follows:

Top 9 (listing previous rank in brackets and Mate Group team in parenthesis)

1. Bing Fan with 11,134 points (so not sure why it's not 11,500 as mentioned, but I wasn't surprised about the rank result since Bing Fan conquered the round one mission with a bang and he was previously number one in online votes. He held onto his top rank well.) [same rank before online votes] (A)
2. Jang Hyun Jun with 9593 points (what a big difference between 1st and 2nd place!) [same rank before online votes] (A)
3. Kim Shi On with 8699 points [ranked 9th before online votes. Winning almost all standard benefits like I mentioned above helped. I love his expression when his name was announced. He's so precious. (A)
4. Lin with 8523 points [ranked 21st before online votes. Should I call him "Miracle Lin" then? The last time I checked, Lin was ranked 2nd in online votes. Getting up to 3000 points does make a huge difference.] (B)
5. Kim Seung Ho (07) with 8473 points [ranked 4th before online votes] (A)
6. Jo Min Jae with 8429 points [same rank before online votes] (A)
7. Shin Won Cheon with 8365 points [ranked 5th before online votes] (A)
8. Jung Hyun Jun with 8149 points [ranked 7th before online votes] (B)
9. Takuma with 8062 points [was 3rd place without online votes, then that means the online votes overpowered his rank] (A)

This is why online votes are so important even if they only counted 50% of them to my dismay. It made a lot of the contestants drop in rank if they couldn't secure enough online votes. Only two Mate Group B members made it to the top 9 ranks. If a contestant did not gain benefits, they better be sure to gain online votes to survive.

To me, the top nine lineup still isn't ideal. I expect the ranks to still shift a bit more as I'm thinking that I need Jia Hao and Han Yu Seop at least. 

Mid-tier survivors

10. Jeon Jun Pyo with 8000 points [same rank before online votes] (A)
11. Han Yu Seop with 7960 points [previously ranked 8th before online votes. (He would have been ranked third if Team B won all benefits) (B)
12. Yoon Jae Yong with 7890 points [same rank before online votes] (Not bad for being in team B, holding his position.) (B) 
13. Miraku with 7592 points [previously ranked 11th before online votes] (Kim Shi On would have taken this rank without benefit points) (B)
14. Kim Seung Ho (06) with 7320 points [previously ranked 16th before online votes] (A)
15. An Xin with 7274 points [previously ranked 14th before online votes] (A)
16. Seo Yoon Deok with 7268 points (very close with An Xin in points and) [previously ranked 20th before online votes] (A)
17. Noh Gi Hyun with 7264 points [previously ranked 18th before online votes] (B)
18. Jung Jae Young with 7183 points [previously ranked 13th before online votes] (A)

I want to draw an imaginary line here because I predict that a cut in elimination would probably be here. The below contestants from rank 19 to 26 is what I would label as in danger of being eliminated in the next round.

19. Jia Hao with 7143 points [previously ranked 17th before online votes] (B)
20. Seo Ji Ho with 7094 points [previously ranked 22nd before online votes] (B)
21. Jeong Hyun Uk with 6786 points [previously ranked 15th before online votes] (What a huge drop!) (B)

The show considers any rank below 21 were participants out of the previously labeled red zone.

22. Lee Do Ha with 6603 points [previously ranked 27th before online votes] (Without any benefit points, the online votes majorly saved him from elimination. The viewer must have adored Lee Do Ha and I do too, but just not for my top mate team. I expected him to be eliminated, but still glad he's part of the show.) (B)
23. Kim Hak Seong with 6484 points [previously ranked 26th before online votes] (Another contestant saved from elimination and he had a slight benefit from being on the winning team. Had Team B 2PM not win, he would have been most likely eliminated, but I am super glad he is still in the competition.) (B)
24. Choi Min Joon with 6475 points [previously ranked 22nd before online votes] (He felt down in ranks without enough online support. I am also beginning to notice him so maybe others have not noticed him as well.) (B)
25. Lee Jang Hee with 6467 points [previously ranked 23rd before online votes] (He's really lucky!) (B)
26. Midori with 6399 points [previously ranked 25th before online votes] (Midori survived death. He is not one of my top contenders for the final lineup, but I know he has a lot of support. (B)

I see that the contestants that I think are in danger from rank 19th to 26th are all from Mate Group B. Mate Group B suffered greatly without benefit points and gambled with online votes to survive.

Eliminated:

- Kai with 5833 points [previously ranked 32 before online votes]. It's sad that he was in Mate Group A, but even with benefits, he couldn't make it to the next round. Somehow, Kai hit rock bottom with the lowest amount of points, which is a shame. I really wanted to see more of Kai and wish him the best in his next adventure. (A) (Would have been ranked 35th)
- Aki with 5876 points [previously was ranked 30 before online votes] Without significant online votes, he would not have made it to the next round. To succeed as a minority where there isn't many Thai K-pop artists, Aki would need to be highly prepared in this competition, but I was not able to see his full potential. It was a pleasure seeing Aki on stage and hope to see him again in the future. (A) (Would have been ranked 34th)
- Chen Shaiu Fu with 5887 points [previously ranked 34th before online votes] He beat Kai and Aki in points and he is on the B team so online voters must have wanted to save him and as do I, but I didn't vote for him too many times, unfortunately. This contestant has a lot of potential. He even went up one rank starting in the last rank every single time there was a rank event. I can totally see him reaching success in the future as long as he doesn't give up. It's a regret that he did not get many parts on stage and he did not display his full potential on stage. (B) (would have been ranked 33rd)
- Jo Seung Hyeon with 5905 points [previously ranked 28th before online votes] He also had potential and he had skills to be a performer, but too bad that he did not charm the audience enough to survive. He had a shot to stay in the competition with previous rank 28th, but fell in benefits and online support). Unfortunately, even if he won the team benefit, it would have still been hard to rank high enough to stay in the competition. He shouldn't give up and continue on to pursue his dream. (B) (would have ranked 32nd)
- Yoon Ho Hyeon with 5927 points [previously ranked last, 35th before online votes] I think the online voters tried to save him, but it wasn't enough. In my opinion, if he wants to pursue a career of a K-pop idol, he needs a lot more training so I hope he can find a path to improve his skills. (B) (would have ranked 31st)
- Jo Jae Hyeon with 6009 points [previously ranked 29th before online points] I never really noticed Jo Jae Hyeon as a top contender, nor was he on my radar. (A) (would have ranked 30th)
- Ki Hyeong Jun with 6233 [previously ranked 31st] He wasn't a top trainee, but he was unique and I will miss seeing Ki Hyeong Jun on the screen. He should take his talent to the next challenge and not give up. It's sad that pretty much all of the "10 out of 10" 2PM team was eliminated except for their leader Kim Seung Ho (07). If they had won the benefit, things might have been different or not because they lack online support. Ki Hyeong Jun though, probably would have stayed in the competition. (A) (would have been ranked 29th)
- Choi Han Gyul with 6246 points [previously ranked 33rd before online votes] I can tell that online voters supported his significant rise in ranking along with his team benefit points, but it was not enough to stay in the competition. It's sad when he was so close to being in the next round. I have confidence that Choi Han Gyul can debut as a K-pop idol. He is only missing significant experience. I really hope to see him again in the future and I know I will cheer for him (and still protect him). Fighting! (B) (would have been ranked 28th)
- Kim Sun Yub with 6302 points [previously ranked 24th before online votes] He definitely was not as popular as Midori so unfortunately the online votes have determined his elimination. Kim Sun Yub has potential so as long as he keeps pursuing his dream, he could be on stage again one day. (B) (would have been ranked 27th)

That's a lot of people eliminated and I feel sad for them and the fact that I won't see them on the show anymore. It's a competitive world and I hope to see these contestants again in the future. They may be picked up by other entertainment agencies since they are free from the show. Make Mate 1 is only the first door of entry. 

If anyone is interested, I would recommend watching the behind-the-scenes Youtube video of the round 1 elimination where tears will flow some more. 

The show jumps directly to the next round, round two of the competition.

MC Mate Xiumin started the show in the green room with all the contestants before moving onto the stage to introduce this round's Special C mates: Sunwoo and Ju Hak Nyeon from The Boyz and Sieun and Yoon from STAYC. The C mates commented that both The Boyz members started off in audition programs with Sunwoo participating in "High School Rapper" and while it wasn't mentioned, Ju Hak Nyeon participated in "Produce 101 Season 2." This is what I mean by having a career beyond failing an audition program. 

MC Mate Xiumin explained that there was a reason to invite these special C mates for this mission because the leaders of each Make Mate team were selected through a facial expression contest. I interpret that to mean that all four special C mates do well with facial expressions. STAYC special C mates performed a little bit of their "Teddy Bear" song while The Boyz special C mates performed a little bit of "Maverick." The special C mates then headed to the C mate panel room.

MC Mate Xiumin then announced this mission's theme, which is "Change." There were two sub-themes: Solo and Girl Group. Girl group songs will use the following artists: LE SSERAFIM and Aespa. Solo songs will use the following artists: G-Dragon and Taeyang.

The Mate Group teams already had everybody assigned to one of the subgroups, but Mate Group A team for the girl group subtheme ended up with 9 members after round one's eliminations. while the solo teams in Mate Group A and B only have five members each. Therefore, two members had to move over to the solo team from the Mate Group A girl group team. The show made it a cliffhanger as to who will be moving teams.

MC Mate Xiumin explained that the "Winning Team Benefit" will be given to the individual teammate with the highest score of each battle and the group that wins the battle will also win a benefit of the "Mate Group Benefit" Therefore, the teammate with the highest overall score can possibly win two benefits, the highest score benefit and the team win benefit. Jeong Hyun Uk explained in the Green room that Jia Hao needs that benefit to which Jia Hao nods. Yes, Jia Hao needs to go up in rank, but so does Jeong Hyun Uk whose rank is two ranks lower than Jia Hao.

Two Group Mate Teams entered the stage in one single file line before they spread out in the front in one single line. Mate Group A introduced themselves as a seducer and they were "Team Villains."  They all seem too upbeat to be Team Villains. Mate Group B was looking to hunt for the audience's hearts with their name being "Rock Skill Boys." 

MC Mate Xiumin revealed that the battle will be for "Girl Group" songs. C mate Ingyoo stated that today's winner will honestly be about who can show their masculinity in the best way. C mate Kim Sung Eun replied that liberties can be taken with the original song (from the original K-pop artist). 

After MC Xiumin asked if there would be a war of nerves, Jeong Hyun Uk from Mate Group A team said that they didn't give Team B a single thought, which the C mates thought was too strong of a comment. Mate Group B girl group team Yoon Jae Yong responded back with the same comment that their team also did not give the Mate Group A girl group team a single thought either. Yoon Jae Yong went further by saying that his group will show everything that they prepared and let the audience be the judge of it. Miraku replied in the green room that Yoon Jae Yong's ment (stage comment) was good and Noh Gi Hyun added that Yoon Jae Yong had a way with words. I totally agree that Yoon Jae Yong's words were so mature and he wants their actions on stage to do the talking. MC Xiumin then commented that the two groups looked like they were concerned about each other (as a threat). 

MC Mate Xiumin must have heard my thoughts in the previous round, because he also announced that the order of performance will be different this time around with a chip toss. I was wondering in the last round why Mate Group A was allowed to always perform first. The MA1 chip has a black and white side. Leader Jung Hyun Jun asked Jeon Jun Pyo which side Jeon Jun Pyo prefers and Jeon Jun Pyo picked black since the Mate Group B girl group team were all dressed in black. Jung Hyun Jun tried to play it cool by saying that they were equally confident to perform first or second so in this case, they will go with the white color. Xiumin flipped the chip and playfully asked Jung Hyun Jun what he thinks the color is and Jung Hyun Jun stated that his team wanted to go first so he stated that he wanted to perform first. Jeon Jun Pyo also replied that his team wanted to go first when asked the same question. In the end, the chip was black side up so Mate Group B girl group team would perform first. 

Mate Group B "Black Mamba" performance (originally performed by Aespa):

Jeon Jun Pyo
Han Yu Seop
Yoon Jae Yong
An Xin
Seo Yoon Deok
Kim Seung Ho (07)
Kim Seung Ho (06)


Mate Group B "Girl Group" team began with their self-introductions. Jeon Jun Pyo introduced himself as the all-rounder leader. Han Yu Seop referred to himself as the "romantic guitarist" but forgot to mention his name leading to his personal malfunction. Yoon Jae Yong almost followed suit as he introduced himself as a "skilled vocalist" and almost forgot to mention his name. An Xin stated that he was skilled at tapping his forehead and had sexy dimples. Seo Yoon Deok then mentioned that he can "hit the waves with skills." I am not sure how that is related to being a performer, but I guess he wants us to know that he can swim and surf maybe. Kim Seung Ho (07) only confessed that he wanted to steal the hearts of the mates. The next Kim Seung Ho (06) explained that he was a pianist with skills so he is pianist Kim Seung Ho. Han Yu Seop then concluded that they are (hence) the "Rock Skill Boys."

MC Mate Xiumin revealed that Mate Group B will be performing "Black Mamba" originally performed by Aespa. Xiumin then asked the "Rock Skill Boys" whether they thought that they can beat the Mate Group A team. Mate Group B "Rock Skill Boys" definitely thought it was possible, but the Mate Group A team was not too fazed by the comment. The Mate Group B "Rock Skill Boys" team definitely had an advantage in that they did not have any rearranged members as per MC Mate Xiumin. Leader Jeon Jun Pyo explained that because they had no rearranged members, the team was able to focus more on teamwork. MC Mate Xiumin concluded that Jeon Jun Pyo seemed to be the official leader of MA1. I kind of also agree that Jeon Jun Pyo seemed to have a leader vibe throughout the show. MC Mate Hanhae commented that this is the first time on the show that Jeon Jun Pyo is showing skin since he is wearing a sleeveless shirt, baring his arms and showing the side of his waist. 

Back at the practice room, the team gathered for discussion and they noticed that they have ranks 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, and 16th on the team for a well balanced team. They thought that to beat their rival Mate Group A team, they should not let their guard down.

It was revealed that whoever has the highest evaluation during the interim check will get the benefit of stage direction in their performance. This means special effects such as confetti or cold sparklers. Jeon Jun Pyo then concluded that since "Black Mamba" is such a powerful and sexy track, having special effects on stage will do 80 percent of the work for them. Jeon Jun Pyo and Han Yu Seop (who is titled as the sub-leader) started discussing more about their performance details. The movement paths were tricky to them. Jeon Jun Pyo then wondered if the group would be upset if the group had to stay late for practice, but Han Yu Seop answered that they have to do what they have to do. They want to get the special effects so at the practice, Jeon Jun Pyo gave the team the direction that taking a rest is a luxury and that the team has to realize the severity of the situation. They are really exaggerating the benefits, but I understand that they are aiming high so they should put in the effort to match that type of outcome. Ironically, while laying on the floor and resting (luxury), Jeon Jun Pyo worried about not letting anybody get eliminated. Their movement paths were not completed yet and lots of the performance details were not completed yet. In a way, Jeon Jun Pyo would become the inevitable "venomous Black Mamba" as per the show's captions. 

During the subsequent practice session, he warned his team that if anybody gets the moves wrong, they have to start over. Jeon Jun Pyo started nitpicking on the members if they did not do the move correctly, but this is different than when Jang Hyun Jun was the strict sub-leader. Jeon Jun Pyo never crossed the line to make his team have any self-doubts like gaslighting them. 

At the interim check, the C mates acknowledged that the Mate Group B team had team members who are in the mid-tier ranks, but leader Jeon Jun Pyo cooly stated that ranks actually did not matter to him. I believe it because Jeon Jun Pyo never once showed greed to be on the ranking platform during the rank events. He only wanted to create a cool and satisfying performance with his team members. 

After Mate Group B's "Black Mamba" performance, C mate Ingyoo could definitely tell that no members were switched out and that Jeon Jun Pyo was a good leader. C mate Vata stated that Mate Group B Black Mamba's teamwork was the best so far and the level of completion was also the highest. They were in sync as well. Vata thought that the ranks of the members on the team can easily rise higher if they keep up the good work. 

Unfortunately, the rehearsal for the performance was a different story. The Mate Group B Black Mamba team was revealed to have won first place so that they receive the special effects. Leader Jeon Jun Pyo thought that their performance could be legendary with the special effects. The staff mentioned that the special effects could cause some heat, which led C mate Solar to believe that it was a fire special effect. Somehow, their unstable rehearsal performance did not match up to the special effects. Jeon Jun Pyo didn't seem to have enough vocal power and Yoon Jae Yong sounded weak. 

The opposing team member, Jeong Hyun Uk said to his members that his expectation may be too high. Seo Ji Ho could sense that their performance was worse than the interim check. C mate Solar began to give her thoughts that she had high expectations from the interim check and the special effects might be a waste in this case. Without the special effects, Solar thought the team was lacking more than team without them. Furthermore, Solar mentioned that there was no element of fun in it. The team were dancing without facial expressions and basically going through the dance moves, somehow elongating the song, making it feel 10 minutes long. C mate Ingyoo stated that the group could get a high score for technical points, but there was no soul or flavor in their performance. The team should stop trying to calculate their dance moves and just "kill," meaning dominate, the stage. 

As the Mate Group B Black Mamba team gets ready for the actual performance, the opposing Mate Group A teams still thought they had a chance to win based on the disappointing rehearsal performance that Mate Group A presented. 

However, as soon as the performance started, Kim Seung Ho (07) was in devilish character and a strong gaze. His voice gave himself a dark character. It seems the group had better energy than their rehearsal performance. I think the audience cheers could only give them strength to pull through. Their performance was so strong that rival leader Jang Hyun Jun was playfully annoyed by their awesome stage. In the Green room, Takuma and Miraku were admiring the fire effects. Han Yu Seop was matching the concept with his smooth vocals and dominant male vibes. Yoon Jae Yong sang decently, but somehow he didn't make full eye contact with the audience. Kim Seung Ho (07)'s movements and voice needs practice and improvement. He was almost to the point of shouting and his dance movements could be more accentuated. Once Jeon Jun Pyo sang, I could immediately feel that the performance became stronger. When Jeon Jun Pyo performed the the slow head roll for the Black Mamba performance, it was a killer highlight. I think everybody would remember Jeon Jun Pyo after that if they didn't remember his skills already. I think the audience and all the C mates felt that head turn. Jeon Jun Pyo also let himself dance a little more freely with his body, which is great because this song is also about possession and being possessed in a way. Kim Seung Ho (06) and An Xin's parts were short, but fine. In the second chorus, Seo Yoon Deok was the person to lead the head turn move and honestly, that is so refreshing to see compared to the original performance by Aespa. When a cover song is performed, it should always be the aim of the performer to bring something new and special to the performance. It seems Kim Seung Ho (06) dance skills could use some improvement. I like how Han Yu Seop and Yoon Jae Yong's voices complement each other so there doesn't seem to be an obvious vocal difference when switching parts. It was really nice that the pre-chorus was made more special when Yoon Jae Yong was lifted up as he sang his part. I felt that Yoon Jae Yong secured the climax. An Xin really brought the power when he took center stage. His kick was full of energy and it was nice. Yoon Jae Yong followed by accenting the base line notes with his body. The rest of the performance was a like a cherry on top to the finish line. At one point, it seemed as though they were dancing in hell or fire everywhere. They just had to finish the song so that it could be remembered as a huge success.  

Conclusion: For me, I was stunned by Jeon Jun Pyo's performance. That head turn that he did was worthy of him being in the final Makemate lineup for me. It felt like Bing Fan's legendary SHINee performance. I would say Jeon Jun Pyo is a head-turn killer. He is just that awesome. Han Yu Seop is continuing to do well in my opinion by matching the concept with very stable vocals. I wanted to give Yoon Jae Yong some credit as well, but his facial expressions are not up to par yet for me. Yoon Jae Yong definitely surpassed my expectations of him though. An Xin captured my attention with a powerful kick and dance moves. The rest of the members did well, but did not convince me enough to vote for them.

For the Round two ranks, I have added Jeon Jun Pyo and Han Yu Seop into my lineup.

Rival Mate Group A team were still confident that they could beat Mate Group B, especially with their intro part mentioned by Jeong Hyun Uk.

It was at this moment in the C mate panel room that I found out that special C mates did not have to evaluate the performances. The C mates were having a hard time evaluating the performance though. If I were in the audience, I would totally vote for all members since they all gave an overall great and memorable performance. This could be one of the most memorable performances in the whole show at least for me. Aespa should take note that maybe they want to do a slow head turn in the chorus like a snake. 

Special C mate Yoon thought that An Xin and Jeon Jun Pyo stood out for her when they both took the center parts and their facial expressions looked relaxed and stable. Special C mate Ju Hak Nyeon also agreed that Jeon Jun Pyo stood out. C mate Vata realized that this was the first time Jeon Jun Pyo was in the spotlight. C mate Ingyoo responded that it was a hard thing to do since the group had to power through the stage. I'm glad that Jeon Jun Pyo was in the spotlight because if he had not shown a special side of him and his potential, then maybe I would not consider voting for him and if other people thought like me, Jeon Jun Pyo could be eliminated in the competition just because we could not recognize his special skills and he never ranked in the podium.

Special C mate Sieun thought Joon Jae Yong had a great expression during his killing part. I think Yoon Jae Yong has a shot to be in this competition, but he needs to bring something next level for me to consider him. 

During the audience vote, I saw Kim Seung Ho (07) performing dance isolation moves and I wondered why he didn't dance like that during the performance. He was too relaxed on stage where his walk was just a regular walk and not a dance walk. If he danced with better isolations, I probably would have noticed him more. Unfortunately, Kim Seung Ho (06)'s actions to grab the audience's attention were too meek to gather votes. He cannot possibly win the competition this way.

Backstage, the Black Mamba team thought that they really killed the stage, which is a good feeling.

Now, we move on to the Mate Group A Villains team.

Mate Group A "UNFORGIVEN feat. Nile Rodgers" performance (originally performed by LE SSERAFIM)

Jung Hyun Jun
Bing Fan
Shin Won Cheon
Jia Hao
Seo Ji Ho
Jung Jae Young
Jeong Hyun Uk


In their individual introductions, Jung Hyun Jun referred to himself as the Boss Baby. Bing Fan was the visual villain. Shin Won Cheon introduced himself as the physical villain (physically strong villain). Jia Hao stated that he was the shy villain, which I thought was cute. C mate Kim Sung Eun countered that Jia Hao is not shy when he dances on stage. Seo Ji Ho named himself the cutie villain. Jung Jae Young stated that he was the clear-eyed villain, but I am not sure what that means. I don't like descriptions that I do not understand. Is he trying to say that his eyesight is very good or that he is pure with clear eyes? Jeong Hyun Uk evil laughed and referred to himself as the witty villain, which I understand since he is so talkative. 

When the Mate Group A Villain team first convened, they were so happy to be in the group with the bonus of Bing Fan as the highest ranking contestant, perhaps believing that Bing Fan would be leading them to a performance win. Unfortunately, Choi Han Gyul was eliminated leading to a gap in the team. Since the team could only have seven members, two members must leave the team and go to the solo contest A or B team. One of the team members have no choice, but to leave the team and to go to the Mate Group B solo team: Midori. He was ranked the lowest so he had no choice. This was ironic as Midori would have done a superb job dancing a girl group song. Shin Won Cheon joked in his solo interview that he hoped that Midori does not do well since Midori has joined the opposite team as an opponent. 

When Jia Hao asked the team who would like to go to the Mate Group A solo team, Miraku volunteered so there was no question that Miraku would join the other team.

Then, an announcement from the staff was made that the person who won the facial expression contest was Jung Hyun Jun and the person who wins the contest would be the leader of the team. Therefore, Jung Hyun Jun took leadership away from Jia Hao. This was not Jung Hyun Jun's first leadership role as he took on the TXT "crown" performance as a leader. For thoses who want to know more about the facial expression contest, I recommend this Youtube video where the facial expression contest was determined as a side contest with the secret reward of being the leader of the group.

Jung Hyun Jun's leadership style was to focus on the details from the start of the song to the finish. Therefore, the dance practice stopped every time something was not correct. Since Jung Hyun Jun had so many comments, his comments delayed the progress of the dance practice.

Eventually, Jia Hao suggested that they get familiar with the choreography first and then go through the details later so that they do not progress too slowly. Leader Jung Hyun Jun wanted to repeat the details again and then do the entire song with two hours left. Jia Hao reasoned that they must know the choreography first before reviewing the details. He continues that they need to be smart about their practice. Jung Hyun Jun still believed that going over the details first was more important. 

During the interim check, I could tell that Jia Hao was into character. After the group's performance, C mate Ingyoo was semi-speechless. C mate Vata took over and asked the group directly whether they had enough time to practice the dance. The dance was too much in flight like pollen, too hard to grasp. Vata concluded that the dance was terrible at this point because the group wasn't showing their potential. For the first time, Vata didn't think Jung Hyun Jun looked good on stage and it looked like he was overdoing it to the point of being fake. C mate Ingyoo finally found what he wanted to say by stating that the key to success lied in other members. Jiao Hao created his own moment. Ingyoo saw that Jia Hao almost got a move wrong due to him being so immersed in the song. Ingyoo stated that every member needed to do something that is at the level of Jia Hao to see their potential. They lost the villain concept to pull the viewers in. Ingyoo recommended that the members talk more with Jia Hao and the ability to lose oneself is a talent. Ingyoo wanted Jia Hao to decontruct that ability and explain it to his team. Before sitting down, Jung Hyun Jun had one last question for the C mates on how to bring himself out more and C mate Ingyoo answered to ask Jia Hao as Jia Hao has the answer. I could see that Jia Hao was so internally happy with the compliments. 

At the next practice, Jia Hao explained that immersion was the most important feedback from the interim check. He politely asked the group if he can explain his thoughts. The "UNFORGIVEN" song had a sad and heavy feel with villains and unfairness themes. Jia Hao then reinterpreted the song to match his life. He is born in 2022 and 23 years old so he considers this show his last chance, which meant that he needs to debut now or never. Jia Hao believed that he worked very hard to show his potential in his performance, but he kept receiving negative results (and low ranks, though it was really mid-tier ranks). Therefore, Jia Hao interpreted the song as him being the villain suppressed by unfairness. The world is the hero, but the world is unfair where the ones who try the hardest might not win. Therefore, that was Jia Hao's mindset for this song. Jia Hao wanted revenge against the world for its unfairness and to show the world his greatness. He went as far as to think that if he could not debut, then who can? However, Jia Hao could not be blindly mad. He had to think about why he wanted to debut and what he wanted to show the world. Ultimately, there is the question of "Who am I?" That was deep thinking from Jia Hao. 

Jung Hyun Jun responded that he wrote a lot of notes in his notebook, but none of that matters as he dropped his notebook on the floor. I think the team understood what the assignment was about and how to find their inner demons. I'm surprised that Jung Hyun Jun can make such great facial expressions, but had trouble immersing himself into the song. Jung Hyun Jun stated that he lacked the most important tool and the answer was Jia Hao. Jeong Hyun Uk confessed that he was also trying to figure out how to act the song out. Seo Ji Ho said that only expressions from their hearts would work on people. Somehow, the hairs on Jeong Hyun Uk's arm stood up after that. The group seemed to have found their direction to become actual villains on stage. 

As Mate Group A Villain team gets ready on stage. The C mate team anticipated a lot since there are top-tier contestants in this group. Also, C Mate Kim Sung Eun commented that this will be the first time that Jung Hyun Jun would not act cute on stage, which I think would be interesting to see on stage.

The actual performance started with Jia Hao in the middle, bringing strength to their introduction. I can see Jia Hao's duality between happy Jia Hao and serious Jia Hao. I agree with C mate Kim Seung Eun that Bing Fan has presence on stage. I feel like Bing Fan can do any concept well because he knows how to act on stage and do it well. I think all attention is on Bing Fan whenever he takes the center stage. Jeong Hyun Uk sang his part well. I always appreciated his vocal or rap skills. The only thing he was missing is stage presence. When Shin Won Cheon performed, I wasn't convinced that he was a villain. He acted too nice. When Jung Hyun Jun leaned back and turned his head while singing, that was really villain-like and effective for his stage presence. Seo Ji Ho was good, but there were no wow factor. He is not villain enough for me. Jung Jae Young also had no wow factor and he tried to stay in character, but I am looking for something more. I was surprised when Jia Hao's voice wasn't stable when he sang the bridge part of "UNFORGIVEN" during the interim check, but on stage, nobody would have known since he sang it beautifully during the actual performance. Even though Jung Hyun Jun is smiling during the dance break, it was more of a devilish smile, which was appropriate for the song. Jung Hyun Jun also looks great in the center. Special C mate Sunwoo also commented on Jung Hyun Jun's dance skills at such a young age and C mate Lim Han Byul stated that he could only look at Jung Hyun Jun at that moment. Rival Kim Seung Ho (07) already determined that compared to the "Black Mamba" performance, the "UNFORGIVEN" performance was weaker. Jia Hao followed up the chorus with his own set of high notes, while no vibrato, but secured the notes. I knew Jia Hao can do it, but so sad that he wasn't able to help out Noh Ki Hyun in the last round.

Conclusion: Jung Hyun Jun once again proved himself worthy of debut. I am really surprised that at such a young age, we have such a talent on the show. I felt like he is like Taemin from SHINee or Jisung from NCT Dream who debut at age 14. Jung Hyun Jun has potential to debut.

Bing Fan was also consistently doing well in the center. His presence leaves after-effects and memorability. 

I want to add Jung Hyun Jun and Bing Fan to my second online vote.

Honorable mentions go to Jia Hao who was really in character and Jeong Hyun Uk for his consistency, while these two are great performers, I'm looking for outstanding performances worthy of being in my top votes. I have to say that they are really close though and I wish I can vote for more contestants.

Therefore, my round two votes so far are: 
-Jeon Jun Pyo (memorable snake head turn)
-Han Yu Seop (matching concept)
-Jung Hyun Jun (duality achieved)
-Bing Fan (memorable center)

I also would vote for all the contestants as an audience member since it's cruel to discredit their hard work. I'll leave actual judgements to the online votes where it is cruel to only vote for seven contestants.

The Mate Group A performance left rival Han Yu Seop questioning who would win since this might be a close call. 

In the C mate panel room, Special C mate Sunwoo wondered if Shin Won Cheon had a nickname and he gave Shin Won Cheon a nickname of Won Cheon power as in "power source" 힘의 (power) 전원 (source), him-ui woncheon. Special C mate Ju Hak Nyeon called Shin Won Cheon 삼두 (Samdu) person or "Triceps", Shin Won Cheon's other nickname. C mate Hanhae took it further by calling Shin Won Cheon "신삼두" (Shin Samdu) or Mr. Shin Triceps. I like these jokes, but then it just seems that Shin Won Cheon's physique overpowers his talent on stage. Ju Hak Nyeon continued that at first, Shin Won Cheon caught his eye. Special C mate Sunwoo continued that however, Bing Fan caught his eye since Bing Fan knew what style on stage was all about. Sunwoo continued that it wasn't just Bing Fan's face that carried the performance, but his entire body movement, making him better-looking overall. Bing Fan was primed for stardom according to Sunwoo. 

Special C mate Yoon thought Jung Hyun Jun is a great talent. C mate Sieun agreed that Jung Hyun Jun did extremely well on his part. Sieun continued that Jia Hao caught her eye as he led the whole performance well. 

Looking at Jeong Hyun Uk appeal to the audience makes me think that I found what he was missing, which was charisma. If he had some more charisma, I think this contestant would be higher in the ranks.

Mate Group B "Black Mamba" team rejoins Mate Group A "UNFORGIVEN" team on stage for the announcement of the voting results. For me, "Black Mamba" was a clear winner and a performance I would want to watch over and over again (which I did). 

MC Mate Ximin asked the two groups what I was also curious about, which was "what was the hardest part of covering a girl group song?" Leader Jeon Jun Pyo answered that "Black Mamba" was changed to a rock version of the song and to go beyond the original version and master its reinterpretation was difficult. Leader Jung Hyun Jun answered that it was the same for them to master the song's mood. 

MC Mate Xiumin followed up with asking what each group did better than the other. Leader Jeon Jun Pyo mentioned that it was their energy. Mate Group A Villain team then concluded that it was their mood and and overwhelming feeling despite the audience shouting out words like "physical" (physique) or "face". I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed that the audience criteria is focused on the outward beauty. Kim Seung Ho (07) countered that he thought his team's mood was better. In the green room, each Mate Group team is anticipating their own group's imminent victory. 

At this moment, it was a good time for C mate Lim Han Byul to ask the STAYC members which girl group they think would win the battle. Special C mate Yoon thought that the "Black Mamba" team had an overall "wow" factor to which Special C mate Ju Hak Nyeon agreed. Special C mate Sieun followed up with stating that the "Black Mamba" team's teamwork made their overall performance great while "UNFORGIVEN" made individual members stand out more. I am not sure if I agreed with that because Jeon Jun Pyo's snake head turn is still in my head. Special C mate Sunwoo thought the "UNFORGIVEN" team gave him the most goosebumps. C mate Kim Sung Eun weighed in and thought that the "Black Mamba" performance had some excitement element to it. 

Ultimately, Mate Group B won the battle as I expected. I still felt bad for the Mate Group A team though as Jung Hyun Jun was shown as the leader for two consecutive times and lost the battle two consecutive times. Jia Hao also had not won yet for two consecutive times. 

Jeon Jun Pyo explained that they performed without regrets regardless of the results. Since the results were so great, they were happy. Han Yu Seop added that it was great for Mate Group B to taste victory and he wanted to express a job well done to the Mate Group A friends. 

On the Mate Group A side, Jung Hyun Jun once again mentioned that he had two consecutive losses, making Jia Hao on the brink of tears. Jung Hyun Jun expressed that it was a disappointing result. Jia Hao spoke that he had mixed feelings since his members showed their best selves to the point of 100% so therefore they have no regrets. Bing Fan started tearing up and expressed that he tried to do his best to help Jia Hao and Jung Hyun Jun win for the best results. A tear streamed from Jia Hao's eye while Jia Hao kept his straight face. Therefore, I think Bing Fan felt the responsibility to bring his team to victory as a person of the highest rank, but they still did not achieve the results that they wanted. MC Mate Xiumin tried to console both teams that both groups did well, but because this is a contest, there must be a winner and a loser so there is no need to feel so down about losing. I want to agree with Xiumin, but at the same time, this is a contest as he said so not gaining possible bonus points and gaining support votes will eliminate the contestant off the show. In a way, it is also serious as having screen time will keep their career alive. Of course, it is not the end of the world. At this point, it was hard for Mate Group B Black Mamba team to feel happy about their win so they all looked somber. 

In the C mate panel room, C mate Lim Han Byul commented that it was not anyone's fault since both groups did so well. I agree because these are not bad performances. 

Kim Seung Ho (07) confirmed my thoughts by saying that he had mixed feelings even though they won. Jeon Jun Pyo called his team members reliable. Unfortunately, when the Black Mamba team saw the Villain team on the other side of the stage backstage, their hearts dropped at the scene. I think An Xin purposely walked up to the front so that he could see Jia Hao faster. Even though An Xin ended up hugging Bing Fan first, he tried to grab Jia Hao as well. Kim Seung Ho (07) told the Mate A group that they worked hard. Even Shin Won Cheon was sobbing eventually when surrounded by other contestants. Jia Hao seemed to have took it hard by standing aside to cry alone. I think he is the type to mull over a problem alone. 

It was time to return to the Green room where their individual scores await. Once again, C mates thought it was cruel to see the contestant's facial expressions in real time as the rankings are announced.

Individual Scores:
Rank 7:  Jung Jae Young with 604 points vs Kim Seung Ho (06) with 636 points
Since average scores have increased for the contestants overall, there is a higher expectation from points.
Rank 6: Seo Ji Ho with 667 points vs Kim Seung Ho (07) with 719 points.
C mate Ingyoo recalled that the highest score was around the 700 points in the last round (it was 797 to be exact with Bing Fan)
Rank 5: Shin Won Cheon with 706 points vs Seo Yoon Deok with 724 points.
Rank 4: Jia Hao with 727 points vs Han Yu Seop with 744 points.
Jang Hyun Jun exclaimed that he had 749 points in second place last time. Noh Gi Hyeon then replied that he had over 600 points in 1st place (665 to be exact). 
Rank 3: Jeong Hyun Uk with 741 points vs Yoon Jae Yong with 745 points.
I think it was Noh Gi Hyeon who commented that there was only point difference between Han Yu Seop and Yoon Jae Yong. I noticed the rank three battle was also very close in points.
Rank 2: Jung Hyun Jun with 786 points vs An Xin with 755 points. 
Rank 1: Bing Fan with 840 points vs Jeon Jun Pyo with 828 points.

I really think Jeon Jun Pyo should be the overall winner because he dominated the battle in my opinion. However, Bing Fan has a lot of supporters so it is natural that Bing Fan won. I think the audience would be warmed up to Jeon Jun Pyo after this performance.

Our episode ends here as the next battle will be seen in episode seven.

So far, as mentioned, I have the following contestants on my round two vote:
-Jeon Jun Pyo (memorable snake head turn)
-Han Yu Seop (matching concept)
-Jung Hyun Jun (duality achieved)
-Bing Fan (memorable center)

Considered for the final:
-Jo Min Jae (lead vocal)
-Jia Hao (main dancer)
-Han Yu Seop (sub-vocal)
-Jeon Jun Pyo (leader - This last performance solidified my decision to include him in the final lineup.)

For the overall makemate vote, the following contestants are still on my radar list from the girl group battle:

Jang Hyun Jun - He is getting closer to the final lineup
Bing Fan - Bing Fan seems to be a steady pick for the final lineup
Yoon Jae Yong - I appreciated his performances, but I don't see a wow factor from him to include in the final lineup. Most likely, he will leave my radar soon.
Jeong Hyun Uk - He came back onto my radar list as soon as he left. I feel like he is a solid performer if only he worked on some charisma on stage.

The following contestants have left my radar:
Shin Won Cheon - I cannot imagine having him in my final lineup. He has not made any significant improvement to grab my attention.
Kim Seung Ho (07) - I will consider him off my list as I cannot imagine him joining the final lineup. He definitely needs more practice before he can debut, but I have a good feeling that he can debut if he doesn't give up and put his mind to it.
Seo Yoon Deok - I cannot imagine Seo Yoon Deok in the final lineup. He is also lacking in stage presence.
Chen Shiau Fu - He left my list due to elimination.
Kai - He left my list due to elimination.
Aki - He left my list due to elimination.
Choi Han Gyeol -  He left my list due to elimination.
Jo Seung Hyun - He left my list due to elimination.

The following will not be rated yet until the next episode:
Kim Shi On - I am starting to forget this contestant, but I will not let him go yet.
Takuma - I am keeping a close eye on him as he has great expressions while dancing and a great voice. 
Miraku - This contestant is going in and out of my radar. He is vocally unstable, but I like his attitude and I think he has potential to reach success, one way or another.
Kim Hak Seong - I did not include him on my radar list before, but I finally see his potential when he improved his presence on stage with better dancing and singing skills. I see a rapid development in him, but I am not sure if others see it as well.
Noh Gi Hyeon - I have mixed feelings about this contestant as I can see his weaknesses vocally, but he put in so much effort into the last round that I need to keep him on my radar list a bit longer.
Lin - I came to see the power of Lin through the mission one round. He has amazing stage presence that forces the audience to focus on him. He has entered my radar for the first time.
Choi Min Jun - He is somebody who entered my radar out of nowhere. I had no idea he was such a strong performer and why didn't I see it sooner?

That is about a total of 11 more contestants on my radar. I suppose this is a good thing to help me narrow down to perhaps top nine since I am not sure how many members will be in the final group.
I think it is going to get harder and harder to figure out who should be in the top nine.

What are your thoughts so far on the Round 2 competition? Is it becoming clearer who you will be rooting for?


Monday, July 1, 2024

Make Mate 1 - Episode 5

 



Welcome to my episode five 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.

I am a bit behind on posting episodes since I took a week long vacation break, but I am back to finish up mission two or should I write, mission one because in episode 6, I was informed that the next mission is actually mission two so this mission is considered mission one, "One Artist, Two Stages," since this mission introduces the eliminations. I guess the previous missions were warm-ups or intro missions. Therefore, I will refer to this round of the competition as mission one even though in my previous episode four review, I mentioned that this was mission two. I won't change the description in my episode four review at this point since it is already published.

Let's continue the review where we left off in the 2PM, One Artist, Two Stages battle with Mate Group B 2PM team on stage for their chance to shine.

Mate Group B 2PM "Again and Again" Performance:

Han Yu Seop
Yoon Ho Hyeon
Lee Do Ha
Choi Han Gyeol
Jeong Hyun Uk
Kim Hak Seong


It is clear that when leader Han Yu Seop walked on stage that he was the main star. There was no question that this performance would be his turn to shine. If I didn't notice him before, I definitely notice him now. 

Miraku from Mate Group B already determined that Mate Group B 2PM would win just by Mate Group B 2PM team's presence on stage. 

Han Yu Seop introduced himself as the one with fiery charisma. Seo Yoon Deok from rival Mate Group A team mentioned that he shouldn't have mentioned pumping muscles to Han Yu Seop before Han Yu Seop went on stage because now it looks like Han Yu Seop had the advantage. I would have to say that this is a competition, but basic sportsmanship characteristics are still in place and that is what I love about Korean culture.. I think, deep down, about the purpose of the Make Mate 1 show is to cheer and support each contestant including the contestant themselves. 

Yoon Ho Hyeon introduced himself as the one with fiery visuals. Visuals? Yes. Fiery Visuals? I didn't see it. I think when somebody adds the fire characteristic to describe themselves, it's all about the eye gaze. There must be a stare that makes the receiver a bit uncomfortable at least to exude a fiery characteristic. Lee Do Ha described himself as having fiery passion, but he gave such a weak one-two punch. I would recommend that Lee Do Ha become more confident and give me an eye gaze worthy of being fiery. Choi Han Gyeol was trying to be the fiery maknae (youngest member). This could work since he is showing innocence which contradicts the fiery part. This is just enough tease to make me curious about the fiery part which he has not shown yet. Jeong Hyun Uk introduced his fiery charms. I am not sure how to envision fiery charms, but he looked to be on the cute side. Kim Hak Seong went a step slightly further to display fiery sexiness with his attempt to pull his collar back a bit to show his bare neck. I like that attitude. So far, Han Yu Seop and Kim Hak Seong are already top contenders for the fiery style. Actually, I think the male contestants could benefit from some female opinion or perspective to make their stage and personality fit the concept better. I do not know what happens behind the scenes. Also, they shouldn't appear shy on stage, but there are certain times in which it looks adorable, but I prefer if they stick to the concept as a default. 

Since MC Mate Xiumin mentioned that the team returned as real men, Lee Do Ha and Choi Han Gyeol tried to copy Kim Hak Seong's concept of playing with his collar in a cute way. MC Mate Xiumin then announced that the song this group will perform is 2PM's "Again and Again." 

Back in the C mate panel room, C mate Ingyoo mentioned that this song is difficult to do and Vata was a bit concerned about this group. 

MC Mate Xiumin continued by commenting that Han Yu Seop's happiness as a leader was short-lived and asked which members gave Han Yu Seop a hard time, in which Yoon Ho Hyeon, Lee Do Ha, and Choi Han Gyeol raised their hands. They were the most inexperienced contestants, it seems since they were mostly performing like rookies so far in the competition. 

The Mate Group B 2PM story started off with the interim assessment, but they did not finish the choreography. I saw Jeong Hyun Uk's powerful efforts during the interim assessment. MC Mate Ingyoo thought the beginning choreography was a disaster. All he could see was Lee Do Ha and his snake attack movements. Leader Han Yu Seop was blamed for the shortcomings of the group.

In the beginning, Han Yu Seop started one-on-one lessons with the weaker members of the group: Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon, who unfortunately, were on the same team so there was a lot of work to do. Because doing the one-on-one lessons slowed down the group's progress, the group was not able to complete the choreography on time for the interim assessment. 

Han Yu Seop decided to change the direction of practice for the group. Basically, members who fell behind would need to practice until they are satisfied with their own performance. I didn't quite catch what Han Yu Seop meant, but he went down to teach the basics like a simple hip-hop walk with Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon. Amazingly, this seemed to have worked as I see major improvements from Lee Do Ha and Yoon Ho Hyeon. They still seems a bit rushed with their movements, but at least it was better than the original interim performance. I think a great dance performance is achievable if the dancer puts in enough time and effort into it. I know that they didn't have enough time, but they have to work with what they have at the time to achieve the best outcome that they can achieve in this situation. 

During the final rehearsal, the Mate Group B 2PM team encountered another setback. As per C mate Solar, Han Yu Seop's facial expressions were not good when he sang. C mate Vata added that the song will not work if the members only scowl. The song requires manly charms and sexiness. Vata advises the team to go home and practice in a drenched state like how they are drenched on stage at that moment. C mate Ingyoo continued the thought of asking the team to relax and focus on the emotion of regret that is conveyed in the song. 

Four members of the team, Han Yu Seop, Lee Do Ha, Kim Hak Seong, and Yoon Ho Hyeon did as suggested to turn on the shower in their dorm bathroom. However, the shower was not big enough for the four of them. Han Yu Seop ended up drenching Lee Do Ha the most. Leader Han Yu Seop believed that they would put on a good performance simply because the team members have been helping each other. 

The Mate Group B 2PM team was on stage and ready to begin their performance and Han Yu Seop, who lined up in the front of a vertical line, looked a bit nervous. Rival Seo Yoon Deok was impressed by Han Yu Seop's looks. Mate Group B's Midori also commented that Han Yu Seop looked sexy. Rival Mate Group A 2PM were also in awe of Han Yu Seop's handsome looks, but leader Kim Seung Ho (07) tried to snap them out of it by asking the team not to be too impressed. The C mates weren't sure what to expect since rehearsals did not go smoothly. 

Han Yu Seop started off the song with strong movements and the team matched up to create an awesome background formation for him. I was impressed when the group naturally split up into a V formation and danced in sync and they didn't sing yet. Unlike what C mate Solar mentioned in the rehearsal, I thought Han Yu Seop's expressions were fine and he sang stably with a longing emotion. Jeong Hyun Uk sang really clearly, but he didn't particularly match the concept that Han Yu Seop built up for Jeong Hyun Uk. Yoon Ho Hyeon and Lee Do Ha seemed a little bit unsure of themselves. Lee Do Ha displayed a bit of cuteness as he switches his gaze from one camera to another, but this didn't match the concept and made him look a bit confused. Han Yu Seop surprised the C mates with his facial expressions as he sang his part. There must have been a major improvement since the rehearsal, but I couldn't compare since I could not see the rehearsals in detail. Choi Han Gyeol performed a chorus part and he sang just as clearly as Jeong Hyun Uk and Choi Han Gyeol did well to stay in character so I would say Choi Han Gyeol performed better than Jeong Hyun Uk. Kai from rival group mate A 2PM team was the most impressionable by Choi Han Gyeol and Han Yu Seop. When I saw Kim Hak Seong perform his chorus part, I thought he most resembles the 2PM concept. In the second verse, Jeong Hyun Uk stepped up his game and went back into character. I can tell that his dance movements are are polished. 

In the dance break section, I love that superman jump move that all the members do at the same time. With Han Yu Seop in the middle, the dance break looked strong and stable. I'm glad that Kim Hak Seong took over the center position in the last part of the dance break because he really fits the 2PM concept. Jeong Hyun Uk came back to deliver a strong rap to keep up the momentum, but unfortunately Lee Do Ha couldn't maintain the momentum when it was his turn. I can't exactly remember why I was so impressed with Lee Do Ha's rap skill in Lee Do Ha's very first stage performance, but it seems that he is not very consistent with rap skills. I thought if he at least had one strong point, I can continue to support him in the competition, not as my top mate picks, but support him to stay in the competition as long as possible. Lee Do Ha's rap had a little mumble and it seemed that he had trouble keeping up with the beat. I think, with more experience in the future, he should he have more opportunities in this industry. Lee Do Ha can definitely improve his performance skills. However, C mate Solar commented that Lee Do Ha was better than yesterday's rehearsal so I have to take her word for it that Lee Do Ha improved on some level. When Yoon Ho Hyeon took the center to sing the chorus, I didn't see him commanding the stage so he had a missed opportunity there. I can hear Jeong Hyun Uk so clearly in the chorus parts while Han Yu Seop took the lead vocal/adlibs to finish the song off. C mate Lim Han Byul commented that the performance was so much better when the Mate Group B 2PM team members are relaxed. Apparently, as per C mate Lim Han Byul Special C mate Ni-Ki gave his first applause in the competition after Mate Group B 2PM finished their performance.

Mate Group A tried to console themselves with leader Kim Seung Ho (07) commenting that the Mate Group A 2PM team had a louder applause. 

In the C mate panel room, C mates were praising Han Yu Seop's relaxed sexy image on stage. Special C mate Jungwon highlighted Jeong Hyun Uk since Jungwon stated that one cannot overdo or downplay the performance and Jeong Hyun Uk knew how to moderate that part. I guess I was nitpicking on the beginning part of Jeong Hyun Uk's performance, but I agree that Jeong Hyun Uk ended up being a stronger contender as the performance went on, but there is still something missing, something bland that I can't quite state that stops me from elevating Jeong Hyun Uk into my top mate pick radar. Unfortunately, Choi Han Gyeol and Kim Hak Seong were more memorable to me.  

If I were to vote for any of the contestants on stage, I think there is no question that there is no reason for me to not vote for any contestant so all contestants will get my vote by default if I were in the audience. I have to vote after seeing them work hard to put on a performance. This reminds me of when I went to a KCON event in New York years ago and even rookie acts were giving over a 100% effort into their stages so I was really wowed by everybody on stage. I can be more picky when it comes to my top 7 make mate picks, but overall, this "Again and Again" performance is a performance that I would like to rewatch for fun and the performance can garner an encore from me.

Conclusion: After this performance, it is clear that I need to add Han Yu Seop to not only my mission pick, but for my final mate pick as well. I think he is a necessary team member for the final team. So far, I had Jo Min Hae and Jia Hao in my mental final lineup so now I have three people reserved in my mind for the final lineup. I guess the vision is getting clearer for me, but I still do not know how many members are in the final lineup. Han Yu Seop is needed in the group to be the center and visual. I did not notice him that much when he was in the "Very Good" team, but now my eyes have been opened. 

I wanted to give some special mentions to Choi Han Gyeol even though he had a small part and Kim Hak Seong who appears to be a natural for the 2PM concept. However, I need to scrutinize to seven contestants so only Han Yu Seop made it to to my final mission round one pick from this team as the fourth contestants in my mission one pick along with Jang Hyun Jun, Takuma, and Jung Hyun Jun.

There was still funny banter between the two 2PM mate groups to hype up their own team to win including who was the tallest. MC mate Xiumin shot down that topic since he was much shorter than the tallest contestants. 

The special C mates weighed in on who they think would win. Kwon Eunbi rooted for Team B since the song was more difficult to perform and the group managed it well. Jungwon thought Team A had better teamwork and Team B had better facial expressions. Considering the camera cuts, Team B probably looked better on screen. Jungwon had a lot of considerations in his mind. In the end, the C mates all agreed that the live audience might have a different view altogether, which I think could be true and also audience members might have their own biases already so it might not be an objective vote. Personally, based on what I wrote and especially when I wanted to watch the performance again (and again?), I personally rooted for Mate Group B 2PM team.

Once again, MC mate Xiumin explained that the total scores from each group will determine the winner. Mate Group B 2PM team was announced as the winner. Han Yu Seop thanked his group members, They received a good result from their hard and difficult work. I would think their journey was rough. Han Yu Seop felt like he was a leader that their group can be proud of so he was extremely happy. Han Yu Seop was visually emotional. Jeong Hyun Uk added that the team was worried that they would let Mate Group B down, but now the team can't wait to tell their Mate Group B team the good news. 

From the Mate Group A team, Jo Jae Hyeon explained that their group also put in a lot of effort as well so the results were disappointing. 

Back in the green room, it was time to reveal the individual results. Since Mate Group A 2PM team only had five members, the lowest score from Mate Group B 2PM team with six members would be excluded from the final count. Yoon Ho Hyeon had 470 points so his score was excluded. 

In fifth place was Aki with 473 points and Choi Han Gyeol with 488 points
In fourth place was Jo Jae Hyeon with 498 points and Kim Hak Seong with 496 points. That was very close. 
In third place was Kai with 507 points and Lee Do Ha with 535 points
In second place was Ki Hyeong Jun with 522 points and Jeong Hyun Uk with 584 points
In first place was Kim Seung Ho (07) with 703 points and Han Yu Seop with 691 points. I'm surprised that Kim Seung Ho (07) beat Han Yu Seop in points, but it was a close match. Han Yu Seop thought he would win, but that was a big surprise that he didn't get the top score. 

C Mate Hanhae mentioned that Kim Seung Ho was the only 2PM contestant that went beyond 700 points. I wonder why Han Yu Seop did not score high. It's not clear to me where Han Yu Seop went wrong. 

Now, it's time for the last battle: SHINee teams. Both Mate Groups were hyping this battle as the highlight. I think so since SHINee songs are no joke and the choreography for a lot of their songs is mindblowing. If there is a God level in difficulty, this could be it. 

Both SHINee teams walked on stage and the Mate Groups were hyped up because this battle will be the tiebreaker. Mate Group A SHINee team gave a strong, sharp and strict introduction while Mate Group B SHINee team did the gentleman bow with a flourish just like the "U" team did in the pre-mission round. 

MC Mate Xiumin announced that this will be an "ace" match. Leader Jung Jae Young mentioned that they have two leaders on the team (with Jeon Joon Pyo) and four members on the team who previously won first place (Bing Fan, An Xin, Seo Yoon Deok and Jo Min Jae) in the pre-mission round. 

Mate Group B SHINee team leader Jia Hao tried to counter that his team has no weak members and every member is good which is why they are confident that they will win. That sounds like a bold statement given that none of the team members except for Jia Hao is on my top mate pick list.

Mate Group A SHINee team will perform first. I am not sure how it was determined that Mate Group A always performed first. Maybe it was part of their benefits.

Mate Group A SHINee "Everybody" Performance:

Jung Jae Young
Bing Fan
An Xin
Seo Yoon Deok
Jo Min Jae
Jeon Joon Pyo


Leader Jung Jae Young introduced himself as the captain robot. Bing Fan described himself as the energy puppy. The crowd was screaming for Bing Fan so much that Midori from the Group B SHINee team asked teammate Lin why Bing Fan was so popular. I wish the show aired Lin's response because I would like to know as well. Perhaps Bing Fan was already famous before he joined the Make Mate 1 show. An Xin introduced himself as the Chili boy. I have no idea where these ideas come from so far. Seo Yoon Deok described himself as the mischievous robot. Jo Min Jae started with singing the chorus of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and described himself as the Brave Orgel Doll. I have no idea what this means. The best I can search in Google is that an Orgel doll is a Japanese musical doll that can be found in a music box. Special C mate Kwon Eunbi was drawn to Jo Min Jae's voice. For some reason, we no longer get any more scenes of special C mates Enhypen for the rest of the show. Did they leave early? Lastly, Jeon Joon Pyo named himself as the Big Hero Jeon Joon Pyo who will rescue the viewers. I guess this is a reference to concept of the "Big Hero 6" Disney film. The introductions are too random for me.

MC Mate Xiumin proceeded to reveal Mate Group A SHINee's song: Everybody. Xiumin mentioned that he heard that the team was determined not to look human. Seo Yoon Deok answered that they tried to act like robots in their everyday lives and they practiced in a synchronized state. Should I say those that match their concepts well are likely to become winners? 

In the Mate Group A SHINee's practice story, they began taking a relaxed approach to practice while Mate Group B SHINee team already started working on the choreography. Mate Group A SHINee group had a false sense of security since they had all high ranking contestants. Given the volatile ranks so far, I would not be so sure about it. I might see another Han Yu Seop rise from the dead. The fact that Jung Jae Young became the leader without explanation made me believe that this might have been one of the 200 songs that he has memorized. Otherwise, I assume Jeon Joon Pyo might have led the team instead even though he is one of the leaders. The team flew through the first verse of the song. Mate Group B SHINee team kept diligently practicing while Mate Group A SHINee team relaxed some more.

The interim check was a different story. I guess some type of humbling is needed. C mate Vata asked the Mate Group A SHINee team what their goal was and leader Jung Jae Young responded that they wanted to display energy on a grand scale. After Mate Group A SHINee's performance, rival Noh Gi Hyeon thought that his Mate Group B has a chance to win. It seemed that the producers wanted to point out that the group was the opposite of their goal as they ran out of energy and steam by the end of the song. C mate Ingyoo asked Mate Group A SHINee team if they understood the concept of the song. Bing Fan answered that they should be like a robot. C Mate Ingyoo then questioned who became a robot in this dance. Nobody answered in the group so C Mate Ingyoo concluded that the team looked too human. An Xin missed the mark completely according to C Mate Ingyoo. The group needed to figure out what kind of robot soldiers they want to become. C Mate Vata added that the group needs to also be convinced that this is 100% cool to be a robot. If the group was not convinced that they were robots, they will tend to do the movements too fast (without restraint). 

After the interim assessment, an "emergency" meeting was held with the Mate Group A SHINee team. However, I don't really understand why that was an emergency meeting. It would have been a good, standard practice to schedule a meeting to regroup after the interim analysis to discuss the feedback received as a team. I think the show's editors were being dramatic. They ended up discussing the robot concept further as expected. 

During practice, to make the robot concept more realistic, Bing Fan suggested a robot turn instead of going straight and because that was still not enough, he suggested a electrified robot turn with his head electrified as well. Jeon Joon Pyo needed to match the concept with Bing Fan in the back. It made that performance more visually appealing when I saw the whole robot start-up section altogether. The story continued with the group refining the aspects of the robot dance.

Before Mate Group A SHINee started performing on stage, the Mate A group is already hyping them up with Kim Seung Ho (07) stating that they were the pride of the Mate A group. This meant that there were high expectations. In the actual performance on stage, Seo Yoon Deok started off the performance, but he was not fully convincing as a robot, but I loved his deep voice. Jeon Joon Pyo was professional as a robot and matched Seo Yoon Deok's deep voice well for a continued deep sound. Jo Min Jae combos the effect with a SHINee like power vocal. To have Bing Fan in the center was genius for a awesome stage. In my opinion, Jeon Joon Pyo has always been stable in all his performances and his voice is very clear. Seo Yoon Deok's breathing techniques seems to need some improvement. I was always taught in music that each musical phrase has a beginning and end and we need to learn to begin and end it beautifully as the situation calls for it. I think what drives the audience crazy is that Bing Fan knows what details to add to his dance to enhance his charms on stage. Maybe he does it naturally as he sweeps his hand over his hair before he moved on to the next dance move. When he impressed all the C mates with his finger snap that lets his hair fly up due to the sudden motion, he secured himself a lot of points. Flying hair during dance movements reminds me of Jungwoo of NCT 127 as Jungwoo is the master of it though for SHINee, it's definitely Taemin, especially when he had a mushroom cut hairstyle. C mate Ingyoo told C mate Vata that Bing Fan's move deserved a perfect score. I loved An Xin's facial expressions as he started up all the robots on stage. Thinking about An Xin, I don't think I heard him sing yet. I did get to hear him sing in the next verse, but An Xin has some trouble with securing strength in his high notes. I understood that Jo Min Jae wanted to shine with lots of ad-libs on his part, but I felt that it was too much for me. Jeon Joon Pyo was slightly weak in his high notes for the dance break, but I appreciated June Jae Young and Seo Yoon Deok's accelerating arm-moving pinwheels, which left rival Midori with Midori's mouth wide open. I felt that Jo Min Jae felt rushed to sing his parts since there were so much dance movements so he couldn't sing to his potential. Overall, this was a strong group and definitely not a group to underestimate.

Conclusion: 
It's not a question that I would add Bing Fan, who excelled as the center of the "Everybody" performance, to my mission one make pick list. He seems to naturally have charisma as the center.  Jeon Joon Pyo is another top mate pick for mission one as he gave an excellent performance overall. These two contestants are top talents.

I know this is a team with popularity. Jung Jae Young is still vocally weak for me in the two performances that I have seen so far. An Xin's high notes worry me and he is not considered a stable contestant. Seo Yoon Deok is needs more general experience before I consider him a top pick. Jo Min Jae is a natural top pick, but for this mission, I find his ad-libs overbearing for the song. He definitely has the "SM" sound. 

Since I have already six top picks for mission one, there is only one spot left for a seventh pick if it applies to the last performance, but if not, I will have to decide among all the performances for a seventh pick.

Mate Team B SHINee are overwhelmed by Mate Team A's performance and the audience's cheers so they now have a lot of pressure to do well. Meanwhile in the panel room, C mates are buzzing about Bing Fan and how amazing he was during the performance. Jo Min Jae is another contestant whose vocals blew the C mates away. I admit that he gave it his all with his mouth wide open as he sang and that is what I expect in these reality survival competition shows, but I think most contestants are uncomfortable with the stage, shy, and have stage fright, which is natural so there needs to be a lot of willpower and mental preparation to fight through it. I know that every time I needed to go up on stage, I give myself a mental prep talk, envision that I can do it well, and no matter what happens, keep going. Even in the Green room, contestants are buzzing about Bing Fan as the highlight of the performance.

I don't think I have to mention that I would have voted for all six members if I were part of the live audience.

Mate Group B SHINee "Sherlock 셜록 (Clue + Note)" Performance:

Jia Hao
Noh Gi Hyeon
Lin
Midori
Jo Seung Hyeon
Choi Min Jun



The Mate Group B SHINee group's introduction was introduced in the style of SHINee's Minho's dibidibidi "My Name is Minho" rap. 

Interestingly, the song is from their SHINee World album. I typically slept on SHINee's album music because I wasn't ready for their musical direction.


Jia Hao introduced himself as broad shoulder leader Hao. MC Mate Xiumin was confused since I think he did not immediately understand the Minho reference. Noh Gi Hyun introduced himself as "comic relief" Gi Hyun. Lin described himself as A.I. Robot, maknae (youngster) Lin. He actually performed the A.I. movements better than Mate Group A. Midori referred to himself as the "Frog Prince Midori" as he bent down into a frog squat position. Jo Seung Hyeon introduced himself as "Little Giant Seung Hyeon," ready to pounce. Choi Min Jun gave himself the introduction of "small face Min Jun." For those who are not familiar with Korean culture, having a small face is a desirable trait. Each member then posed a different pose to end their introduction. 

MC Mate Xiumin introduced Mate Group B SHINee's song: Sherlock 셜록 (Clue + Note). C mate Solar and C mate Lim Han Byul commented on how difficult this song is to perform. MC Mate Xiumin also observed that there are a lot of foreign members on the Sherlock team, which is about half the team (Jia Hao, Lin, and Midori). 

Xiumin asked how the leader was decided and Noh Gi Hyeon explained that the team members voted for Jia Hao. Jia Hao is an unofficially leader in this show. I don't see him as a leader for the final group, but when need be, I feel that he can step up to do the role, so I can see him as a sub-leader. In the green room, fellow Mate Group B team members commented on the revelation from MC mate Xiumin that Jia Hao cried. Kim Sun Yub explained that Jia Hao never cries and if Jia Hao does, that meant things are ready hard. Miraku followed up with powerful and cute cheer, "Jia Hao, it's okay!" I also agree that based on what I observe, Jia Hao is the type of person who will internalize his feelings and not let it out until he is forced to do it. I can tell that he felt a great amount of pressure to be on this show as he couldn't crack a smile easily and he is putting his soul into it. 

Back in the practice room for the backstory, the group was beginning to decide the leader. Midori had to join the group meeting by video chat and Noh Gi Hyeon boldly represented the group to ask Midori to be the leader. Midori promptly waved his hand to reject the proposal. It was unanimous that all members voted for Jia Hao to be their leader. Jia Hao cannot escape leadership in this show. I knew it was a reluctant decision for him. In his solo interview, Jia Hao confessed that he felt a lot of pressure to be a leader. The shadow of his Mate Group B loss also weighed heavily on him. As I suspected, Jia Hao blamed himself for not leading the Mate Group B team well so they ended up losing the mega (dance crew) mission. In a Mate Group B meeting, Jia Hao mentioned that he was a hundred percent confident that they would win, but because they did not win, he lost his confidence. Jia Hao was grateful that his Mate Group B members encouraged Jia Hao to take on the challenge once again to lead his team to victory. 

Jia Hao's strategy to practice is a lot of repetition. Under Jia Hao's direction, I can see the team is taking shape with all members becoming one team. His team members almost fainted from practicing repeatedly and in hot and exhausting conditions, but Jia Hao either knew it and ignored it or just ignored it and practiced like a true robot. 

Hard work certainly did not betray the Mate Group B SHINee team because at the interim check, they gave a good performance in front of C mates Vata and Ingyoo. C mate Vata expressed that Mate Group B SHINee team was more immersed into the dance than the Mate Group A SHINee team. C mate Ingyoo thought it was nice that the dance was centered around Jia Hao and I can see that Jia Hao definitely had his own dance style. However, Noh Gi Hyeon was pointed out to be dancing too fast during his part to the point where it was uncomfortable to watch for the C mates. 

In Jia Hao's solo interview, he mentioned that he was the most concerned about Noh Gi Hyeon. Back when the group was dividing the vocal parts, Noh Gi Hyeon ended up with many parts since he was the only member who can sing high notes with strength. However, I thought Jia Hao could sing high notes too and I thought about his "Very Good" performance, but perhaps Jia Hao's high notes didn't sound as good as Noh Gi Hyeon's high notes. Noh Gi Hyeon had to start rejecting extra parts because he took on too many vocal parts already. Noh Gi Hyeon explained that Jia Hao and Jo Seung Hyeon are dancers and Midori, Lin, Choi Min Jun, and Noh Gi Hyeon are rappers. Since there were no vocalists, Noh Gi Hyeon took on the vocal position for this performance. Now, that sounds like a big mistake. Mate Group B's leader, Jia Hao, supposedly could determine the performance group for each member by switching contestants to another group, but why didn't Jia Hao put in a vocalist for this team? I wish the producers asked Jia Hao to explain this situation.

During practice, it was clear to me that Noh Gi Hyeon was struggling to sing and if I were the leader, I would need to address this huge gap and imbalance. Members need to step up and help bridge the gap. I don't expect every team to be like NCT Dream where other members can perfectly fill in the gaps of missing members Haechan and Mark as needed or do I? I have such high expectations. I remember when Jeno filled in for Taeyong in NCT and that was a big position to fill, but Jeno did a good job. I know we are talking about singing parts here, but how bad could it be? At least I know Jia Hao can sing high notes and I also know that he has been burdened as well since he is also the leader. 

As Noh Gi Hyeon mentioned, this song has a difficult (killer) dance because it's SHINee so we can't have gaps in vocals or dance skills. Mistakes or subpar performance won't be easily masked. Noh Gi Hyeon should have discussed his difficulties with Jia Hao to work out a solution as I am not sure if pushing himself to the limits is the answer in this case. I've seen miracles like when Park Woodam worked out his high notes in time for the Seventeen's "Mansae" performance in Produce 101 Season 2 (pretty legendary in my mind), but we can't expect a good outcome every time because it's a gamble (I could make a D1CE pun since Park Woodam was part of that group, but I won't). I don't want to be holding my breath when Noh Gi Hyeon sings during the performance. 

During rehearsals, the C mates saw how much effort Noh Gi Hyeon had to put in for the performance. C mate Solar told Noh Gi Hyeon that his voice sounded raw in the beginning. Noh Gi Hyeon's performance sounded like yelling more than singing to Solar. I also agreed that I felt he was yelling throughout the performance and based on this limited view of the performance, I am really nervous for the team. Noh Gi Hyeon's way of remedying the criticism is to go back to the dance practice room to practice his singing skills. Again, there was no discussion on how the group can help him or was it too late to switch parts? From Noh Gi Hyeon's "Be Mine" performance, I already thought he was not that stable so it was a different feeling than when Han Yu Seop was struggling during rehearsals. I am genuinely concerned and I hope Noh Gi Hyeon doesn't lose his voice before the performance from over practicing because that was what happened to two main vocalists, Daeyoung (Jaehee) and Jungmin in NCT Universe: LASTART , another reality survival competition show. Noh Gi Hyeon knew the team was depending on him.

Now, the Mate Group B SHINee team is ready for their actual performance. The group started off strong with three members on each side before they spin into the snapping fingers move with their backsides to the audience. I thought Lin could be a little more enthusiastic with his "Yeah" phrases. I suddenly think that maybe Lin and Jo Min Jae should switch teams as an ideal situation since Jo Min Jae could have ripped the stage apart with his vocals in this song and Lin's robot dance would be very appreciated in the other team, but I also think the other team wouldn't want to let go of their main vocalist either. Noh Gi Hyeon started off his verse one in a strong way. Now, it's all about stamina from hereon. I think Noh Gi Hyeon acted more of a detective than Lin. Hearing Noh Gi Hyeon sing his verse made me think that these weren't high notes so the first part could have been given to somebody else, but it is a key introduction to the song. I was really surprised to hear Choi Min Jun sing because Choi Min Jun totally fell off my radar in this show. I barely had a thought about him in the "Be Mine" performance. I wanted to hear more from him. Jo Seung Hyeon sang well, but I didn't particularly like his facial expressions during his part where it felt like he was scowling at the audience. I am especially concentrating on the vocal parts because I wanted to understand why Noh Gi Hyeon was the only contestant who can sing the difficult parts. Choi Min Jun was really into the detective character and I am loving his interpretation of it. I am sure Choi Min Jun will get some recognition from this performance. Unfortunately, Jia Hao is lost in his facial expressions. I expected more from Jia Hao. Before the chorus, Noh Gi Hyeon matched well with Jia Hao singing an octave higher. I think Noh Gi Hyeon gave it his best. I wish Jia Hao matched Noh Gi Hyeon's energy. I can see why Jia Hao wasn't a candidate to sing high notes because he doesn't have the strength to maintain his high notes. If he worked on that more, he could be an all rounder (can sing, rap, and dance well). I didn't know that he had vocal weaknesses before. Unfortunately, Midori's vocal performance was shaky and I did not think his performance added anything special to it. Choi Min Jun matches the concept the best. Even when he wasn't the highlight, I saw him and he was still in character. Choi Min Jun had the confidence of Minho of SHINee. Interestingly, Noh Gi Hyeon also had a move where he brushed his hair with his hands as in confusion to match the concept. I liked that even though it didn't have the same impact as when Bing Fan brushed his hair with his hand. Noh Gi Hyeon was singing the chorus, but I didn't understand why there was no accompaniment from his members. It would have possibly masked Noh Gi Hyeon's shaky note somewhat at the end, but because there was no one else singing, the audience could probably hear Noh Gi Hyeon's instability. The only time Jia Hao showed some emotion was when he was doing his "Woo!" like Michael Jackson. At least Lin tried to help sing some the high notes, but he didn't belt it out like how Noh Gi Hyeon does it. We move to the dance break where Jo Seung Hyeon takes over with no problem. Unfortunately, when Jia Hao does his spin, he performed a traveling tornado instead and I don't think that was what he intended so it was a little bit sloppy. Lin ended it with a cartwheel of charisma which is definitely worth highlighting as the climax of the song. I think this is Lin's best performance so far. He totally took control of my attention at that moment and I felt his power of attraction.

Special C mate Kwon Eunbi thought she could tell that Noh Gi Hyeon focused a lot on his vocals so his dance performance suffered as a result. This thought caused her to watch the performance in suspense. C mate Kim Sung Eun mentioned that in this situation, nobody could become the main vocal. Kwon Eunbi had personal experience of this type of situation as she said she was not a main vocal in her reality survival competition show (Produce 48), but had to step up to become the main vocal. C mate Solar said it the best when she mentioned that the SHINee performances were a great learning experience for the contestants to grow faster. I agree that they all took the difficult road.

Conclusion: I really want to give Noh Ki Hyeon an A+ for effort, but unfortunately, I am not confident enough to put him in my mission final lineup as he is a bit unstable. Even one of my favorites, Jia Hao would not make it to my mission final mate pick. I expected more from him. I was impressed by Jo Seung Hyun's dance and Choi Min Jun, who went above and beyond in this performance, surpassing my expectations, but only entered my radar from this performance. 

I am giving my last mission vote to Lin because I felt his confidence and charisma on stage. He commanded the stage during his cartwheel part. I didn't understand why Lin was popular in the beginning, but I am beginning to understand it now. I had some criticism for Lin, but I am willing to overlook it if he can show his true charm on stage.

Therefore, my final mission one picks are: 
Jang Hyun Jun, Takuma, and Jung Hyun Jun, Han Yu Seop, Bing Fan, Jeon Joon Pyo, and Lin.

Also, there is no reason for me not to vote for all six members as a member of the live audience so if I were there, I would have voted for all of them because performing a SHINee song was no joke. Lin gives off a tsundere attitude that I find charming on stage. It felt like he didn't care if the audience voted, but he does one last thing like a cute robotic "I love you" in Mandarin to ask for a vote as if he is checking up on the audience.

As both SHINee teams are on stage, Jeon Joon Pyo mentioned that it would be hard to predict the outcome if the opposing team performed so well. Choi Min Jun was confident about their win. C mate Vata commented that SHINee was all about charisma regardless of the song or dance. Special C mate Kwon Eunbi thought that SHINee songs were too difficult (for a competition show) and C mate Kim Sung Eun heartily agreed and responded that SHINee songs should be banned from competition. 

Special C mate Kwon Eunbi predicted that Mate Group A team did better since they had better energy and balance. In my opinion, this is why some K-pop groups fail if they cannot maintain a good balance in the team.  

The votes agreed with Kwon Eunbi because Mate Group A SHINee team won. I felt so bad for the Mate Group B SHINee team, knowing how much effort they put in. I felt like if they strategized better, they might have a better chance. 

Bing Fan commented that the song was hard for their group and they practiced really hard. He was grateful for the members. Jeon Joon Pyo who was already in tears said that since the teams were tied, he could have felt ashamed to face his team if they had lost. Jo Min Jae said that he was a bit embarrassed to cry so much and that his team members made up for his shortcomings. 

In Mate Group B SHINee team, Noh Gi Hyeon started off by apologizing to the Mate Group B team because he thought that he was not able to dominate the stage. He will reflect on himself and work harder. Hearing this, Jia Hao had a harder time to contain his tears. These words also made Team Mate B's Kim Hak Seung to also cry. Jia Hao apologized to all of Mate Group B before he almost bursted into tears again. This time, it was hard for Jia Hao to recover and I understood his situation because Team B is seriously in the elimination zone since they won zero benefits. However, Jia Hao had no regrets over the great performances that the Mate Group B team gave in mission one. 

In the panel room, the C mates were saddened to hear Jia Hao's speech. C mate Ingyoo said that Team Mate B did not lose because of any one person. It was a matter of who did better than the other. I understand that, but I still had my opinions about how SHINee Mate Group B could have possibly won. C mate Ingyoo hopes that the contestants do not think it was because they performed badly. 

Individual scores await the teams when they come back to the green room. C Mate Vata said that he had a hard time grading the SHINee performances. From the lowest rank to the highest rank, the individual scores are shown below:

Sixth place: Seo Yoon Deok with 540 points vs Jo Seung Hyeon with 528 points.
Fifth place: Jung Jae Young with 579 points vs Midori with 565 points
Fourth place: An Xin with 584 points vs Choi Min Jun with 601 points
Third place: Jeon Jun Pyo with 619 points vs Jia Hao with 630 points
Second place: Jo Min Jae with 660 points vs Lin with 647 points
First place: Bing Fan 797 points vs Noh Gi Hyeon with 665 points

I'm thinking that if the top possible score (without the online votes) is 800 in a 1000 point structure, then Bing Fan almost had a perfect score. He somehow missed three points. I am thinking simply since the audience and online votes count as 40% and if I divide that equally in half with 20% of the votes coming from the live audience and 60% of the votes coming from th C mates then Bing Fan could have as much as 800 points in a 1000 point structure. There is no way that Mate Group B could have won even if we took out the first place set of points. 

Choi Min Jun was also a surprise winner and definitely somebody I have to pay attention to in the future.

C Mate Lim Han Byul theorized that Bing Fan could have been the deciding factor because other contestants had around the same scores. However, that is why I added up the scores without the first place rank just to see that Mate Group A SHINee team came out slightly better so Bing Fan, to me, was just icing on the cake. 

It was comforting to see how many contestants tried to cheer up Jia Hao who was continuously crying. I think Jia Hao supporters will start furiously voting for him because of this sad story. We have to keep looking forward so a few failures isn't the end of the world. In the end, the Chinese contestants escorted Jia Hao away as they exited the Green room. 

The show wanted to tease the audience by announcing ranks before the online votes. What a tease as we know none of this counts until the very end. This time, there are only top 9 spots on the podium instead of 10 spots. However, I understand from MC Mate Ximun's explanation, the ranks are needed to divide the contestants into teams again for the next round where nobody will be eliminated just yet. 

I'm assuming it's announcer Lim Ji Woong again to explain that the points are derived from 300 audience members excluding online votes (for now, at least), the votes of the six C mates, and benefits received (if any). All scores excluding benefit scores had the first ranking proportional scores applied. Now, this explanation is tricky. The audience and C mates point can equal to 7,000 points. There are three benefits that can total 1,500 points. The first place winners (correction: winner) receive(s) 8,500 points.

I can't recall what three benefits there were on the show: Winning the mega dance crew contest, winning the overall artist battle, and winning the Mate Group battle. However, they put first place winners in a separate category so maybe those are extra points. I don't really understand it all. Why is it so confusing? 

This means that TXT "Blue Hour" team, 2PM "Again and Again" team, and SHINee "Everybody" team wins a winning benefit. 

I think I understand it a bit better that those who ranked in first place receive the 8,500 points since they came in first place in their respective teams (except I was wrong).

The ranking is as follows (and take it with a grain of salt):
35th place: Yoon Ho Hyeon (Dropped 17 spots) with 4,695 points (Funny how Lee Do Ha commented that this is his future as they are both viewed by me as the lazy trainees) (B)
34th place: Chen Shaiu Fu (He said that he lost some of his drive, but he said he will hold on until the end) with 4,715 points (B)
33rd place: Choi Han Gyul with 4,733 points (B)
32nd place: Kai with 4,827 points (A)
31st place: Ki Hyeong Jun with 4,875 points (A)
30th place: Aki with 4,930 points (A)
29th place: Jo Jae Hyeon with 4,938 points (At this point, 2PM "10 out of 10" team was wiped out except for Kim Seung Ho (07)) (A)
28th place: Jo Seung Hyeon with 4,940 points (B)
27th place: Lee Do Ha with 4,972 points (B)
26th place: Kim Hak Seung with 5,016 points (B)
25th place: Midori with 5,129 points (B)
24th place: Kim Sun Yub with 5,288 points (B)

The ranks above are in danger of being eliminated (탈락 (tallak) zone).

23th place: Lee Jang Hee with 5,397 points (B)
22nd place: Choi Min Jun with 5,597 points (B)
21st place: Lin with 5,693 points (B)
20th place: Seo Yoon Deok with 5.748 points (A)
19th place: Seo Ji Ho with 5,753 points (A)
18th place: Noh Gi Hyeon with 5,773 points (B)
17th place: Jia Hao with 5,835 points (B)
16th place: Kim Seung Ho (06) with 5,875 points (A)
15th place: Jeong Hyun Uk with 5,946 points (B)
14th place: An Xin with 6.053 points (A)
13th place: Jung Jae Young with 6,175 points (A)
12th place: Yoon Jae Yong with 6375 points (B)
11th place: Miraku with 6,456 points (only Han Yu Seop and Jun Hyun Jun left from Mate Group B) (B)
10th place: Jeon Joon Pyo with 6,553 points (A)

Standing on the podiums:

9th place: Kim Shi On with 6,591 points (He's just happy to be on the podium this time) (A) 
8th place: Han Yu Seop with 6,609 points (I don't get it. Don't first place winners get 8,500 points or is that just the ultimate rank 1 of each battle? Han Yu Seop was proud of himself as he was previously ranked 26.) (B)
7th place: Jung Hyun Jun with 6,778 points (This is as high as a B team member can get) (B)
6th place: Jo Min Jae with 6,850 points (A)
5th place: Shin Won Cheon  with 7,018 points (A)
4th place: Kim Seung Ho (07) with 7,114 points (A)
3rd place: Takuma with 7,236 points (I am not sure how Takuma had more points that Kim Seung Ho (07), but my theory is that Takuma scored major C mate points) (A)
2nd place: Jang Hyun Jun with 8,208 points (A)
1st place: Bing Fan with 8,500 points (Did I previously interpret the mission one score wrong? The first place winner can only have up to 8,500 points, which is exactly what Bing Fan has in 1st place.) (A)

This concluded the rankings and MC Mate Xiumin announced that Mate Group A will be the odd number contestants and Mate Group B will be the even number contestants. Since Bing Fan is the odd man out, he had the benefit of choosing which Mate Group that he wanted to join. After all, there are an odd number of contestants due to one contestant dropping out of the competition. Bing Fan choose A group again since he was in the A group in the last round.

I am glad to have survived this mission. The point system is really confusing me. It doesn't seem like benefit point is that useful, but it will help for contestants on the verge of elimination. 

For this round one mission, I vote for the following contestants (in no particular importance):
- Jang Hyun Jun (trustworthy performer)
- Takuma (great expressions on stage)
- Jung Hyun Jun (Very talented and stable performer)
- Han Yu Seop (has an alluring presence)
- Bing Fan (An excellent center position and performer)
- Jeon Joon Pyo (consistent performer overall with a clear voice)
- Lin (Has a powerful stage presence)

For the overall competition, I will support the following members (unknown how many members in the final team and contestants are listed by order of discovery):
1) Jo Min Jae (A great main or lead vocalist)
2) Jia Hao (An experienced dance performer with potential to be an all-rounder. I worry about his rank though with the possibility of elimination before the final round.)
3) Han Yu Seop (A charming contestant and great singer/potential musician arc. He can possibly be a main vocalist or sub vocalist. I predict that he will stay in the top ranks for the rest of the competition.)

The following Make Mate 1 contestants are on my radar list along with the three top mate picks:

Jang Hyun Jun - I can tell that he is a really great performer with potential to be in my final lineup.
Kim Shi On - I am starting to forget this contestant, but I will not let him go yet.
Shin Won Cheon - This contestant is almost leaving my radar list as I haven't seen anything that so far leads me to include him into my final mate pick.
Takuma - I am keeping a close eye on him as he has great expressions while dancing and a great voice. 
Jung Hyun Jun - He has a lot of talent and a potential all-rounder, but I cannot yet commit to him being in my final lineup.
Miraku - This contestant is going in and out of my radar. He is vocally unstable, but I like his attitude and I think he has potential to reach success, one way or another.
Yoon Jae Yong - He is someone I am not sure about, but my impression of him is improving with each performance.
Chen Shiau Fu - It is a shame that he barely has parts in the performance. I am worried that he will be eliminated. I see a lot of potential in this contestant.
Kim Seung Ho (07) - He still has a lot of room to grow and improve, but my impression of him is better than before.
Kai - He did not get many chances to shine so I am worried he will be eliminated. I saw potential in him.
Aki - This is the first time I listed Aki on my radar. He doesn't have a lot of parts, but I can tell he is a great performer. Unfortunately I don't see him in my final lineup unless he starts doing something amazing on stage.
Choi Han Gyeol - I always say that this contestant needs protection. He has a great power singing voice, but he is a rookie in his awkward stage and the only way he can debut is with more experience. He needs more time.
Kim Hak Seong - I did not include him on my radar list before, but I finally see his potential when he improved his presence on stage with better dancing and singing skills. I see a rapid development in him, but I am not sure if others see it as well.
Bing Fan - I saw the power of Bing Fan in this mission one round. I wasn't sure about him before, but he looks like he is ready for debut. I'll keep an eye on him until I am sure he can join the final lineup.
Seo Yoon Deok - He is memorable, but not enough to keep in my final lineup. I will keep him on my radar for now.
Jeon Joon Pyo - He is an excellent performer with consistency. At this rate, he may be in my final lineup.
Noh Gi Hyeon - I have mixed feelings about this contestant as I can see his weaknesses vocally, but he put in so much effort in this round that I need to keep him on my radar list a bit longer.
Lin - I came to see the power of Lin through the mission one round. He has amazing stage presence that forces the audience to focus on him. He has entered my radar for the first time.
Jo Seung Hyun - He is a strong and powerful dancer with a strong voice. Somehow, for this performance, he was lacking something like better expressions when I was impressed by his expressions in the previous mega dance mission.
Choi Min Jun - He is somebody who entered my radar out of nowhere. I had no idea he was such a strong performer and why didn't I see it sooner?

Leaving my radar list:
Jung Jae Young - I wanted to see some potential in this contestant, but I had trouble finding it so he will exit my radar for now.
Jeong Hyun Uk - Unfortunately, he naturally left my radar. I might be making a mistake, but if he might come back as he has potential to come back.

There were 21 contestants on my radar, but now there is 23. My list keeps growing, but it's possible that I could narrow this down if I became more brutal with my critique. I wanted to leave it open since the competition is still underway.

Who are your favorite contestants? Is there anybody definitely in your personal final lineup? What is in store for the next mission round two? Who will be eliminated? I think I will be disappointed to see some of contestants leave the show as I became emotionally invested in them.

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