Fast forward to the day of the connect mission. Tension is high as this could be the only performance on this show for some of these girls. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, there is no live audience to perform in front of, only the watchful eye of the masters and their fellow competitors to see the results of the hours of practice.
The teams performing TWICE’s Yes or Yes were first up to the stage. Unfortunately, the interim reviews of these teams showed that team one was unstable and all over the place. The positive energy of the song was missing, and their center Jiwon was invisible.
The negative review had Team one go back to practicing harder. For some of the Japanese members of the team, the song was difficult since they had problems keeping up with the fast pace of the practice sessions. Chae Hyun sensed there was a gap between them and wanted the team to get closer. The unit cannot perform well if there is not a strong relationship between the members after all.
When it came down to go time, team one fixed all the issues the masters pointed out. They looked energetic and confident compared to the mess they were in the interim and received high praise from the masters.
Team two had one member of concern for the masters, and that was Se In, who made several mistakes in the interim check. The masters were hard on her. Even her teammates were concerned about her lack of concentration and wondered if she could get it together. Her cellmates especially did not appreciate her lack of effort, given that this is an elimination round.
Everyone’s fears appeared to be alleviated as Se In did not make visible mistakes and turned things around. However, it was pointed out that she was a little ahead of the song, and she looked out of place as the main vocal. Otherwise, they did well.
The masters had a hard choice to make as both teams had excellent performances and did not have any overbearing issues that swayed the votes in their favour. In the end, it came down to which team was most consistent, and that was team one.
The following teams to compete were those performing BLACKPINK’s How You Like That. The masters commented that both teams were good during rehearsal, and it would be hard to choose a winner. Team one has the more competent individual members and highly ranked members. But their teamwork was suspect. Team two, on the other hand, has excellent teamwork and strong leadership from Seung Eun.
This difference was shown clearly by the practice sessions. Team two believed in the Vulcan logic that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, making a positive impression on the masters in the interim evaluation. Whereas team one was going in the opposite direction, making multiple mistakes and missing the high bar of expectation set upon them.
When it came to the final performance team two failed to live up to the hype generated in their interim evaluation and rehearsal. They were ahead of the beat, and Zhou Xin Yu and Da Yeon missed dance steps. The masters felt they did well but thought their nerves got the best of them.
Team one also disappointed the masters; they also thought this group did better in rehearsals. There was a lack of fire for the killing part by Shen Xiao Ting, and she was overshadowed by the charisma of the rapper Cai Bing. However, that didn’t leave Cai Bing off the hook since she also made a mistake by missing a beat at the beginning of the song, causing a domino effect that caused a loss of focus in the performance.
Deciding on the battle’s winner was tough on the masters since they felt both teams worked hard but choked under pressure. In the end, team one (this round’s Avengers team) squeaked by with a victory, much to their surprise.
The next performances consist of those who chose to cover the boy band songs for the chance at the more significant benefit and then the remaining girl group songs. First up was the group who chose EXO’s The Eve. The masters commented that this group shouldn’t make any mistakes but were also afraid their overconfidence could be their downfall.
Cue a small clip of the beginning of their performance and cliffhanger.
Now that we are getting to the heart of the competition, this show is a lot easier to watch without all the useless filler. The previews of episode four indicate there will be a shock winner of the boy band challenge. There are hints of which group it might be, but we’ll have to wait to see if the clues being dropped are correct or a swerve.
