production – A Piece of the Sky

Kyeonghun (경훈) got a crack in the case, but the bandits were determined not to be found out, and no one believed Kyeonghun; they just dismissed his hunch. Even when Dongmin (동민) Oppa (오빠) correctly guessed Jeongmun (정문) was a bandit queen, the bandits were determined to survive, and win, while the villagers were just content with not losing.

Jeongmun was just fighting to survive. Kyeongran (경란) Eonni (언니) wasn’t innocent. She was also a bandit. Jeongmun didn’t sell her mentor out. She won legitimately – bandit queen vs. bandit queen. I empathized with Jeongmun so much, at that moment. You have to survive. Hyunmin’s (현민) reaction was mine: big time relief.

Jeongmun’s face, when she found out Kyeongran Eonni was a bandit, was just the best. I was blown away. Jeongmun could at least hide it better. Kyeongran Eonni had zero poker face. That’s how Eonni ended up on Exile Island. Kyeongran Eonni couldn’t stop smiling, for the entire episode. There was no hiding it: she was a bandit through and through. Obvious bandit is obvious. I was Jeongmun, in this video game.

Episode 5 is definitely the best episode, of Season 4 – if not, the entire series. You know a show is a winner, when every time you re-watch it, it gets better and better. I love The Genius. The stage was set for there to be so much drama over whether one bandit would escape, while one innocent person would be sent to the Death Match. Thankfully Kyeongran Eonni was indeed guilty. But that was such a good Main Match and hence, such a good episode. It was true catharsis – like medieval Korean dance, with folk masks, or ancient Greek theater.

Nobody got it right, so the viewer wasn’t the only one fooled. Literally no one, in the house, knew for sure, 100%, that Kyeongran Eonni was a bandit, until the reveal. It’s so ironic that Dongmin Oppa was legitimately the villagers’ king, but by the end of this tumultuous Main Match, half the village put him down as the main suspect, for the bandit king. Dongmin Oppa and Jeongmun got the evil edit and Kyeongran Eonni got the crystal clear, innocent person edit.

Thankfully, like in real life, it was a bit of both: Dongmin Oppa and the villagers weren’t so smart to figure out who all the bandits were – but they weren’t so diabolically self-interested to sacrifice innocent people, just to get ahead in the game. Kyeongran Eonni actually being a bandit queen saved everyone from being forced to go over a pretty steep moral event horizon. The group could have voted out an innocent villager, and maybe justified it or rationalized it – but what would that say about them? What would that say about society?

Stay calm and stay regular. “Take your Metamucil.” I mean, Brett played the game. I am glad Angela wasn’t surprised, in regard to Brett’s impending treachery. We just witnessed the Level 6 civil war!

Tyler, Angela and Kaycee flexed their first strike capability against Brett, before he could even make a move.

I am happy for Tangela; I just don’t do showmances well. The “I love you”(s) feel forced. Law 20, of the 48 Laws of Power: “Do Not Commit to Anyone.” It takes years to truly love someone. Fans, this is for TV. Just pull out a script.

Also, in the Stupid File: Nobody decides anything on Thursday morning. Governments and corporations have things planned out, beyond 2023. Wake up, Hay. She didn’t deserve a coup de grâce – and she didn’t get one. In Survivor, telling someone he or she is going, is risking that such a person will dump the rice.

I get excited when my favorites win comps, because I value action, over words, but Kaycee doesn’t have the killer instinct. She was really excited, to get Brett out of the house – but only once Tyler walked her through it and explained a blindside, to Kaycee, Barney-style. Otherwise, Kaycee would still be saying “Let’s Go,” for all of Level 6. That’s not how the real world works, Kaycee. Out there, some people are devious and underhanded.

Kaycee will be rocked by a betrayal – if Tyler doesn’t carry her to the end, and lose to her, in the Final Two. In the GBMs, Angela and Tyler decided to blame Hay’s exit on Brett. But that’s just poor planning, since Brett will be following her, soon after and they will compare notes, in the jury house. Hay will then wonder why Tyler and Angela had to lie to her, even in the GBMs. Again, we’re looking at a Kaycee win, by accident, not on purpose.

JC was more horrified for himself, than for Brett. JBrett was over before it even began; Tyler and Angela nipped that power pair, in the bud. JC didn’t even vote to keep Brett. JC is just trying to keep all his ducks in a row. He did jump off the Brett boat, before it went down, but JC’s still a rat, fleeing sinking ship, after sinking ship, Titanic after Titanic. Could JC still win? Maybe, but also only by accident, not on purpose.

If Julie asks you if you are going to vote for Tyler or vote “bitter,” that’s not a real choice. Of course, on live TV, Brett is going to be a good sportsman. But coach the question, in another way: voting “emotionally,” instead of voting “bitter,” and Brett is totally on board.

You cheer, when you get out an enemy, but Tyler, Angela and Kaycee really laughed, while twisting the knife, into their friend. Yes, friends expect everything and betray, at the drop of a hat, just like in the 48 Laws of Power – while enemies expect nothing, and will be loyal, for a scrap of goodwill. But Tyler and Angela are killing their chances with the jury. Pyrrhic victory? We’ll see.