going seventeen | mafiapoly
premise:
seventeen play a combination of mafia and monopoly, with two mafias and one 'golden bat' (purposefully misleading the citizens)
comments:
i actually had high hopes for this one, as my next mission (now that this is the last episode of going seventeen 2025 i haven't seen) is to conquer the don't lies in order, especially since the new episode of going seventeen, which i didn't plan at ALL when i was determining this as my next mission, is a new don't lie! (i am SO happy we are still doing them). however, my dear friend and favorite dinonara matthew told me to lower my expectations for this one, which i tried to do, but i was honestly still quite entertained with this one!
the monopoly in this game didn't make ANY sense imo i had absolutely zero idea what was happening and had to fully lock into this episode (i tried watching with friends but just couldn't understand them) and i feel like the balance between monopoly and mafia was generally very skewed. i feel like the monopoly aspect actually ended up being very inconsequential in the end, especially as it only really made an impact on the episode by narrowing down the possible mafias (and, funnily enough, the only person who would've been completely cleared as a citizen at this point would've been seungkwan, who was the first person voted out). i actually found the conclusion to this episode super satisfying and fun to watch even as mingyu and seungkwan were endlessly being frustrated and even misled themselves by the members! i always talk about the quieter members in seventeen as being integral to determining whether or not an episode has good chemistry because they are so often easily overshadowed in an episode because they don't really have the drive to secure screentime like our more enthusiastic members. however, in this episode, everything worked really well! early eliminatees (spoilers) mingyu and seungkwan discussed really well and kept their screentime up despite that, and vernon and minghao actually felt like the people who spoke the MOST in this episode(!!!). and Again spoilers jun's quietness throughout this episode even despite his attempts to get involved (his constant rock paper scissors losses????) actually works in his favor because it seems like just him trying to not stand out as the mafia (even if he becomes a primary suspect anyway), and his tendency to get sulky becoming his biggest defense protecting him as the mafia since no one wants to accuse him and make him upset is adorable (so is his small little steps to get his role and his face when he sees he's actually the mafia) ;-; and dino's acting in this episode is actually insane -- i really thought dokyeom was a mafia this whole time -- and minghao's late realization and exclamation of dino's smirk was just hilarious. i love love love the reveal that minghao initially got mafia and they let him pick again for his mental wellbeing LOL
also, the editing is really good in this episode! i love the timing on when they decided to reveal who the mafias are so we're in the dark alongside the members for most of it, and the comedic moments are very much intensified with the little screenshots on the bottom!! it reminds me very much of older gose. i just loved the timing of everything and it was really well done and funny. i ended up actually enjoying this episode much more than i thought i would, and i'm now so much more prepared for my don't lie marathon!
ranking:
concept: 5; honestly like a 4 on concept because the mafia aspect just seems really unnecessary and a lot of the entertainment in this episode is in the mafia side. but the editing elevates it a little!
chemistry: 8; seventeen doing mafia is a weak point for me and i'm always going to love it...
enjoyment: 7.5; a surprising hit!
overall - 6.8/10