In the previous episode of Queendom 2, the vocal units did their first and last performances together. In the end, viewers were left wondering what the final rankings would be. Episode seven starts by revealing what places the vocal units ended up in.
Sun & Moon placed third, which is not a huge surprise given that their song was the most harmonious yet the weakest of the three from episode six.
33 ended up as runner-up with Milky Way Who Embraced the Universe, taking first. While this may be an unexpected outcome for some, the strength of the latter’s vocals and the song’s popularity sounded like it swayed the on-site voters in their favour.
The best thing about these results was that Brave Girls received some much-needed points to keep them away from placing last. However, it put more pressure on Eunji to not place last like she did last time as Park Bom’s avatar.
With the singers done, it was time for some dancing. First up to bat was KEVIZ, who were tasked with performing a Hip-Hop routine created by HolyBang.
This was in the wheelhouse of many members except for Umji, who was a bit slow to catch on to the intricate movements in practice. However, she did well in the real thing and matched the vibe of the rest of the team.
The real star of this group was Hikaru, who, much like in GP999, showed she excels at girl crush concepts.
Team number two was Ex-it, who drew a Hip-Hop routine made by La Chica. Eunseo and Yeoreum needed to add more intensity to their movements and facial expressions to match the song, according to their coaches. This is something they are not accustomed to with WJSN’s choreography.
Come game time; the two WJSN members did indeed show the intensity and attitude needed for the dance.
The last team to hit the stage was Queen Na. However, unlike the previous two teams, their choreography was not Hip-Hop based. Instead, it was more rooted in modern and interpretive dance. So it looked more complex than the other two routines.
Queen Na’s coach Monika was shown to be pushing them to their limits in practice and rehearsals. But unfortunately, the way this team is being presented, they either kill their routine or fail miserably.
When it came to performance time, the former ended up being the result. Compared to the first two performances, which were similar in tone, this one was on a completely different level.
This team took a routine no one wanted and worked their asses off to tear up the stage. Seeing the members of LOONA, in particular, do something entirely out of their element was great.
Once the dancers were done, it was time for the live audience to vote. The final rankings for the dance units had KEV1Z in third, much to the disappointment of Kep1er. VIVIZ, on the other hand, was not as upset.
Queen Na ranked first, having impressed the live crowd with their dramatic and powerful performance. But, much like the vocal unit placement, Brave Girls gained more valuable points to get them out of the basement.
That left Ex-it in second place. Marking the first time, Hyolyn did not sweep the rankings for either competition at the top spot.
Episode eight contained the start of the FANtastic Queendom portion of the third round. This is where fans helped choose the songs that each artist would perform. The point value for this part of the competition is the highest at 15,000 and could turn the tide for those who need it the most, assuming they manage to place first.
Each group had their way of interacting with fans to select a song.
Hyolyn sent invitations to her fan club for a busking session, LOONA attended a fan appreciation event, and Brave Girls held a live stream.
VIVIZ decided on doing a fan cafe where they prepared rice balls and cosmetics gift bags for the lucky fans able to attend. Na.V was craving to see VIVIZ perform Bop Bop as it was the overwhelming choice among those who attended the cafe.
Because of the pandemic, they could not perform their debut song before fans, and VIVIZ saw this as an opportunity to make up for that missed time. The other important point they wanted for this part of the competition was to come out as VIVIZ and not former GFRIEND.
In this rendition of Bop Bop VIVIZ added elements of cheerleading to spice up their choreography, such as lifts, high kicks, a drum line and their backing dancers dressed as cheerleaders.
And it certainly was a lively performance that showed the group’s charm as they are now, with the concept fitting them perfectly. I also thought the dig at WJSN at the beginning was some funny stuff.
Kep1er went with a surprise fan meet under the guise of a dance lesson for WA DA DA.
The deliberation with Kep1ians resulted in many suggestions. Still, it started to lean in favour of Girls’ Generation songs after Yujin explained that it would be nice to do a tribute to Tiffany and Taeyeon. The masters who have been part of the programs that Kep1er has been on.
The songs suggested by the fans were The Boys, Mr. Mr. and Genie. Kep1er decided on The Boys since they related to the lyrics and felt the song could bring back the energy of their opening performance.
This was the best that Kep1er has done on stage outside of their introductory performance of See The Light. Youngeun, in particular, seemed to have a sudden shift in character for this performance. The only downside was giving Bahiyyih any lines. Her parts were the weakest.
WJSN had planned an online fan meeting but had the tables turned when it was revealed there were live fans in attendance. They also had a gift for their fans as Bona returned to join her comrades on the battlefield that is Queendom 2.
Once the fan meeting was over, WJSN discussed what the fans suggested for their next song. It came down to a choice between Masquerade and Pantomime. The former was chosen due to the number of exciting concepts associated with the song. The reasoning for the latter was that it was a great song that had a clear identity.
Pantomime was the clear winner because it opened up the opportunity to get away from the dreamy concept and show something new to their fans and the live audience.
They decided to go with an extravagant musical concept complete with LED effects and aerialists. But, of course, such a bold idea could go incredibly well or bomb hard with the slightest mistake. For WJSN, it was a spectacular performance that was the fruition of the group’s creative vision. The LED effects at the start created a festival-like atmosphere that continued to progress to a climax where members were flying over the stage.
That was a hell of a way to end episode eight. I can see this ranking very high after all of FANtastic Queemdon is over. The preview of episode nine showed the start of the Brave Girls performance and the shocked reactions from the other competitors. So either something goes majorly wrong, or Mnet is doing their usual thing and swerving the viewers. We shall see.
