going seventeen | don't lie
premise:
seventeen play a combination of a scavenger hunt and mafia, where 500,000krw is hidden by the mafias, and whether the mafias' identities are revealed/the citizens find the money and live decides who gets that prize money. occasionally interrupted by minigames to determine whether or not the citizens get extra time to scavenge.
comments:
in beautiful timing to me finishing the last episode of going seventeen 2025, mafiapoly, as well as being in between the releases of parts for the newest episode of going seventeen, a new installation of don't lie, i'm bringing it back to where don't lie first started back in 2020. an episode idea so good they ran it back that same year and teased the second part in the first episode!! it's no wonder don't lie became a gose staple alongside insomnia zero and ttt because... well, it's simply brilliant!
the dual nature of the episode keeps the pace constantly moving, with real tangible stakes that add a very compelling wrinkle to the tried-and-true mafia formula -- one that, as early as ttt and as recently as mafiapoly, is something that's always going to bake up a wonderful time with seventeen because of how much natural interaction it cooks up alongside all the backstabbing, betrayal, and blackmail the format creates. add the monetary incentive with the scavenger hunt extending the runtime beyond discussions and giving the mafias something to worry about aside from getting caught, and you have an episode that's perfect to keep the great moments coming. the minigames here feel like mostly an afterthought, though they're meant to break up monotony, i feel like they actually put a halt in pacing (to the point where a lot of the games are actually cut for time), but it's something we already know is improved in future formats.
so what happens when you implement this concept in a group as large as seventeen? you get godly moments. joshua's apple sagwa joke saving him from suspicion, and then his saving seungkwan actually clearing him and leading to an insane hype moment with everyone praising him as the doctor? mingyu picking his nose in the corner? hoshi's accidental slipup snowballing into his 'king mafia' role, with mingyu becoming the poor scapegoat? this is SUCH a fun episode, and it's already top-tier even before hoshi's confession makes sure shit hits the fan. and you have all that on EPISODE 2 of going seventeen 2020 with their new format.
what i love about this episode, and don't lie in general, is how much joy they are able to bring on such a small budget (a theme that permeates throughout going seventeen 2020 in general, especially due to the restrictions brought on by the covid pandemic). it's such a simple concept but it works so well and permeates as one of the best even almost seven years after this episode was filmed. it's truly an episode that means so much to me, and i'm so happy that we got it. (and of course, it birthed my favorite of all episodes of going seventeen, don't lie ii).
p.s. episode so good i literally couldn't remember who was and wasn't a mafia (aside from hoshi the obvious), so it was almost like experiencing this episode all over again :')
p.p.s. i don't think i ever watched to the end -- it's so cute realizing mingyu was the one who made the name 돈't lie :)
ranking:
concept: 9; the mini game is the sore thumb here, but even still it's such a top tier episode you can't really complain.
chemistry: 10; one of the greatest! even members eliminated early get their aegyoful moments (the beginning of vernon's eyes that see the truth & jun and seungkwan's reaction shots, plus we see the early beginnings of jun complaining he always gets eliminated first LOL)
enjoyment: 10; let's not lie here
overall - 9.6/10