going seventeen spin off: ttt (mt svt reality)
premise:
seventeen go on an mt ("member training," or a bonding retreat).
comments:
first pre-going seventeen theme song i'm ranking for this little project of mine! i couldn't remember if i'd seen this episode before or not until i got to the portion where jeonghan, wonwoo, and joshua are in a pool, and then it all came back to me :) (EDIT: but i definitely remember seeing the first episode since hoshi's THAT'S MY HOUSE MASEOK bit is too iconic to forget) these are meaty episodes ... and also happened just at the tail end of my initial ride with seventeen :') if you hadn't already known, while i have been a seventeen fan since their 2016 era, i did take a break from keeping up with them between the end of 2018 (a bit after oh my! came out) until late 2020 (coinciding with semi;colon and while the last few episodes of going seventeen 2020 came out). so watching this episode is a crazy trip because they're all so young, and all the song choices in this episode are so nostalgic for me!
something that's really jarring is the length of this episode because it's probably the longest one i've seen so far here. THREE EPISODES sitting at about 35 MINUTES EACH is crazy. though the reason for that isn't necessarily that they're doing more than other ttt's despite it feeling like that in comparison to water sports ttt and grreuk kak kak ttt. i think it's a combination of the younger seventeen being so much more energetic and the lower stimulation editing style. watching this, i was really reminded of the younger seventeen's boyish charms that really lured me into stanning them in the first place: the playful and fun-loving energy that made it truly feel like you were watching a bunch of kids who formed a band together rather than a typical k-pop group whose members were lumped together. seeing how many games they're playing in order to avoid punishments like cleaning, shopping, or cooking seriously hammer that home (the editor even calls this out by saying gameteen's excitement necessitated a third episode). at the same time, though, a lot of this feeling is also from how little they're trimming the fat here. new going seventeen episodes, especially with the Great Monthly Going Seventeen Shift of 2020, have a very snappy editing style that keeps up a fast pacing and piles on the jokes, not only with the members, but with the editing. meanwhile, here there feels like there's a lot less pressure. it's partly due to the vlog style origins of going seventeen being particularly visible, but also due to how the editing is being fairly non-intrusive. the producers of going seventeen feel like they're trying to make themselves known as little as possible to really keep the 'reality' in ttt, even if you can see their hand a bit (such as with the wake-up mission, the shaking camera following them around, or the hand holding the alarm immediately before boom boom starts blaring throughout the house). it feels like watching an episode of blue's clues or oswald right after being fed cocomelon my whole life. it's very calming and comforting.
this episode was so nostalgic and gave me such a warm feeling of sentimentality. in the past i would probably say watching this would make me feel sad because of how i missed two years of content with seventeen (i missed the whole transition period of going seventeen! that's why the 2020 shift felt so jarring to me and pulled me in so deeply). now, though, i watch this episode with so much warmth, especially since dino and seungkwan enlisted two days ago. two years of casual stanning is so little compared to the combined 8 year period i've spent actively loving seventeen. even if i say 2025 was a period that i kinda lagged, that's still 3 years versus 7. it's so heartwarming seeing how much seventeen have grown into the people we know today after how young they are here.
ranking:
concept: 7; it's a good start and we'll see it peak with ttt3 hyperrealism version.
chemistry: 10; most of this episode is just young seventeen being young seventeen. they're so full of energy and playful, and it's so fun to watch. when i first stanned, i said, "i love that they have so many members because that means you get more people to love in one group." i never saw their large number as a downside. this episode is probably one of the best pieces of evidence for that. again, though, we haven't hit the cei
enjoyment: 10 <3 i love you seventeen
overall - 9/10