going seventeen | 13 angry men
premise:
a spoof of the film 12 angry men, seventeen earnestly debate, jury style, on topics that gradually get more and more serious. no jokes allowed!
comments:
i have two opinions on this episode... on one hand, i agree with joshua's comment at the end -- "hearing everyone's thoughts made me realize what kind of people you all are." our 't' type members particularly, who are definitely on the more quiet side in most going seventeen episodes, vernon, the8, and jun, all take much more prominent roles in this episode. on the other hand, i agree with dokyeom's comment somewhere in the middle - "i really hate this episode. can i talk to the pd?" because ultimately, especially in the beginning when the topic is still pretty silly (whether or not killing pinocchio is considered murder or vandalism), 13 angry men is actually just a gutted version of debate night. and yeah, it gets more serious and does actually reveal more about what goes through each member's head and how they perceive the world, but you can't ever too deep into each member's individual philosophies when ultimately they all gotta agree at the end!!
why is debate night such a good recurring episode? because it's funny to see seventeen pull all kinds of tactics to defend an outlandish prompt assigned to them so their side can win, even if it doesn't really give them much of a benefit. i understand wanting to bring that back to refresh the formula and i understand wanting to change it so the concept doesn't get trite. at the same time, half of the members are doodling on their papers at the end just to pass the time, and the funniest moments of the episode are at the very end, from when the seriousness drops a little bit ("i luv my car"). did we REALLY need an entire half-hour episode dedicated to the pinocchio question? i love our quieter members as much as the next person, and i love the way gose tried to shine the spotlight more on them, but this episode just slightly missed the mark for me. going up against all three other debate night episodes it just doesn't really compare. going up against the entire gose catalog... is a tall order.
ranking:
concept: 4.5; i get what they're going for but at the same time it's just debate night but not as fun
chemistry: 6; the way each member's viewpoint conflicts is fun to watch, but it never really carries the episode
enjoyment: 5; i have a personal vendetta against the pinocchio episode
overall - 5.2/10