going seventeen | don't lie iii
premise:
the same as the second don't lie, now with two brokers.
comments:
don't lie ii is my favorite episode of going seventeen and has remained so as we go into the 8th season of this new going seventeen format, and 6 seasons after don't lie ii. it had the most nail-biting and entertaining game reliant on the members' wits and instincts, with interaction between the members at its core while constantly using the format as a vehicle for more interaction between the members. as a result, you got some of the most iconic moments in the series. how do you follow up on that episode? ... spoiler alert: they didn't.
actual spoiler alert: the staff are the mafia of this episode. it's a twist i really hated and why i kinda ended up empathizing with fans who disliked let's go home because of how the staff became inherent to the game. i don't dislike team going -- far from it, actually, with going vs. seventeen being an episode i remember fondly (review coming soon) and one of the most memorable moments in going rangers involving one of the staff members. however, this episode just kinda felt unfair and cheap. the members get a bit frustrated by the end and despite hoshi and seokmin laughing hard when they find out who the mafia really is, i wasn't really amused. actually, it's all i remember from this episode (no, really!) because i distinctly remember being so excited that they made a follow up to my favorite episode, watching that first part and waiting another week in suspense, and then getting a slap in the face in return when it turns out there isn't really a mafia -- the person who was the mafia was technically not disclosed as a player of the game. this isn't heavy rain. this is GOING SEVENTEEN. i don't understand what the staff were thinking when they made this choice. you get the members wondering, "is there really a mafia?" and despite it being funny to the members who were eliminated, the ending kinda just feels like a wet fart.
anyway, i do like how mingyu did end up finding the money and got to keep it anyway despite the members not Really figuring out who the mafia was, though i think the camera acting as a red herring but not really was kinda cheap (maybe the set was so big, that's why they had two brokers this time? idk). i also like the liar game this time, though maybe not as much as when the members made their own lies (the tonal whiplash between asking members whether or not they were the mafia versus whether or not they had brushed their teeth...?? just felt awkward to me). and even though hoshi was eliminated super early, i couldn't stop laughing at how everyone flip flopped all over the place with their mafia picks, including hoshi after his monologues, as well as woozi's over-the-top reactions, and seeing mingyu getting revenge after being played by hoshi for two straight seasons was hilarious.
the members do get really close to figuring out who the mafia is despite the staff basically cheating in my eyes because they ARE right -- by a certain point people usually have an inkling to who the mafia could be, but the entire episode, they didn't have a clue. that's INCLUDING the whole pharmacist act jeonghan put on, though the reveal that he was for real just making shit up (likely as a response to knowing who the mafia actually was) kinda justifies that. (i actually remember being fooled by him last time as the pharmacist). seeing seungcheol reaffirm his alliance with the citizens as the policeman was a cool moment, and i liked seeing him backstabbing everyone he allied with. i liked seeing jun and vernon suddenly wearing glasses in the middle of this episode, plus minghao somehow going through the entire episode without any suspicion. i don't know that's as far as praise for this episode goes. again it just feels kinda cheap and unfair despite how many moments of this episode are actually good!! (like these episodes have been making me miss hoshi, woozi, and wonwoo big time!! i can't wait for them to come back).
but i think the team realized that, despite knowing they needed to shake things up for don't lie to continually improve upon the literal best episode of the show, they maybe changed things in a way that wasn't necessarily for the best. so they shook things up in a different way -- the next episode i'm reviewing here will be surprise don't lie :)
ranking:
concept: 6.5; the core don't lie format is still extremely fun, but the actual reveal drags everything about the episode down and creates this fatigue as the episode comes to a close because the members don't really get any closer to the answer (and how could they?)
chemistry: 7; as a result of said reveal ^ the push and pull between mafia and citizen is gone because there simply isn't any. aside from the scavenger hunt, all stakes are erased because there is no mafia among the members trying to outsmart everyone else.
enjoyment: 7; it has its moments, but again, i can never find myself fully saying i like this episode because of how it's inherently just kinda off.
overall - 6.8/10