Thanks, @nrllee, for the allkpop link about the spike in ratings. allkpop.com/na-in-woo

I badly needed a break from the world last night, but since I already had my 🚨Emergency🚨Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for dinner, this show was my happy pill.

According to wiki, this weekend’s episode had a nationwide rating of 15.6% and Seoul rating of 14.9%. This is higher than past two episodes.

January 30 (right before Olympics)
Nationwide: 9.5%
Seoul: 8.5%

February 13 (introduction of Na Inwoo + his solo trek in the mountain)
Nationwide: 12.8%
Seoul: 11.8%

February 20 (his first mission)
Nationwide: 15.6%
Seoul: 14.9%

Not bad at all, considering the last time they hit anything above 15% was during the introductory episodes of this current Season 4. The show had an all new cast and the viewers were eager to see how they compared with the old members.

December 8
Nationwide: 12.5% (Part 1), 15.7% (Part 2)
Seoul: 11.8% (Part 1), 14.6% (Part 2)

But the following weekend, the slow creep down began already.

December 15:
Nationwide: 11.6% (Part 1), 15.1% (Part 2)
Seoul: 10.8% (Part 1), 14.4% (Part 2)

We know that one swallow does not a spring make so let’s see how the show will fare with the variety show rookie Na InWoo.

All I know is:

a. Up until now, Season 4 was utterly boring. I’d be hard-pressed to recall a single show that made me burst into laughter. With Season 3, I can easily name a bunch. Like this episode when the members decided to mutiny against the director:

Or the episode when all the members, except for Cha TaeHyun, had to quit smoking for the entire duration of the show — 2 Days and 1 Night. I didn’t realize back then that so many Korean entertainers were smokers! The Director invited a nicotine-sniffing dog as special guest to detect the members who’d stuffed their pockets with cigarettes. It was a riot. Hmmm…maybe I’ll watch that show again.

b. The ratings confirmed that I wasn’t the only one who found Season 4 a snoozer. I said before that this show was supposed to be a great equalizer. It appeals to urban and rural audiences, young and old fans, and traditional and hip viewers because laughter is the common denominator.

c. The Producer-Director should have worried sooner that the show was only hovering around the 10% ranking for the past 110 episodes. Her ratings would have caused the previous directors (namely, PD Na and PD Yu) to have nightmares. Season 2 was cancelled when it reached the same ratings.

d. You can’t rely on image-conscious actors to carry the show.

Originally, I wanted to list the highlights for this episode, but I’ll just write about the first mission because I don’t want to spoil this show.

The first mission is teaching Inwoo how to light a fire using a battery and a gum wrapper.

The old members learned this skill last year when they marooned on an island. Now, they have to pass on this “institutional knowledge” to the newbie. Inwoo’s mission is to learn the skill from them (no time limit on the instruction) and then demonstrate his newfound knowledge by igniting a spark within 100 seconds. There’s the rub: the time limit. If he had all day, he could accomplish his mission easily. But because there was time pressure, it made the game funny.

On the line was their lunch for the day. If he succeeded, the members would get a box of combat ration for lunch. If he failed, then no lunch for all of them. It was an all-or-nothing mission for Inwoo.

The problem immediately began when the old members couldn’t remember how the gum wrapper was to be cut. After 30 to 40 minutes of trial-and-error, they began feeling sorry for their rookie.

I like the part when all of the oldies couldn’t remember how it was done and were feeling sorry for Inwoo.

JongMin: Yah! He can’t do this in 100 seconds!
Dindin: (asking the Director) None of us can do this. But you expect him to do it on his first day?
JongMin: And in 100 seconds?
Dindin: And if we don’t get to eat we’re supposed to criticize him for that?

Dindin then apologized to Inwoo for failing to give a good impression. The sad background music made his apology sound funnier than it was. Dindin is the whiny kid in the show, but being the youngest in his family, he knows the onus is on the “elders” to be role models. I think he’ll take his responsibility as the “hyung” in the show seriously.

Dindin: This is how we usually are but sorry you had to see it today.
Inwoo: (reassuring him) You guys look so cool right now.

While the rest were busy discussing how the battery trick was done, Inwoo took a piece of the tin foil and sniffed it. I believe the tin foil is a bubble gum foil. Inwoo sniffed it to identify the scent. He muttered “Acacia.”

The Director noted that saying, “Inwoo has a heightened sense of smell.”

I groaned when I saw that scene. The newbie shouldn’t have done that. You see, the director and her “game creators” typically create games that exploit the cast members’ quirks. For instance, if a member brags that he isn’t ticklish, then, in a later episode, a tickle game will be devised to detect his tickle (or “erogenous” lol) zones. So here, when Inwoo identified the scent with one whiff, I can imagine the “game creators” capitalizing on this talent for entertainment in a future episode.

Finally, after 50 minutes of demonstration, Inwoo is ready. He says, “I’ll finish this in one go.” Now, this is another thing to remember about variety shows. Whenever a member displays cockiness or assurance of success, the Deities of Variety Shows never fail to make him eat humble pie. It’s what makes the show hilarious: when the expectation doesn’t match the outcome. The unexpected reversals make the games funny.

Junghoon: Fighting, Inwoo!
Ravi: Don’t get hurt.
Director Bang: Don’t forget that everyone’s lunch is at stake on this mission you’re about to do.
Ravi: (snorts then pokes Inwoo with a stick) She always puts pressure on us.

Awww. I like that. Ravi was coaching Inwoo to ignore the pressure. There’s an interesting dynamic brewing here because Ravi was previously the youngest (or “maknae”) in the group. Now, it’s his turn, as veteran of the show, to guide the newbie through the ins-and-outs of the show.

Seyoon: You’d better feel the pressure.
Dindin: Wait. About 50 million people watch out show. If you can’t start the fire, about 30 million people will criticize you.

I swear Dindin has the weirdest takes on the reality. But although he exaggerates, there’s still a nugget of truth to what he says. In the background, Director Bang could be heard chuckling.

Inwoo: Really?
Dindin: You should be aware of that.
JongMin: (chiming in) Forget about living in Korea!

lol. I found this funny because the members ended up putting more pressure on him that Director Bang’s recap of the rules earlier. Inwoo didn’t know if JongMin was pulling his leg or speaking the truth.

Thus, the first mission began. From the looks of it, Inwoo seemed capable enough to accomplish his mission without problems. But the battery was misplaced, and the tiny strip of paper tore.

Seyoon instructed him to just connect the two broken ends together.

Seyoon: Do the baby-one-more-time move. Hurry up.
Inwoo: (singing) Baby, one more time.

The team was confused.

You see, the “move” that SeYoon was referring to was this:

This is the song, “Baby, One More Time” by Jewelry. The “move” they did as they sang the words, “Baby, one more time” involved their index fingers. The fingers joined together.

I really don’t know what entered in Inwoo’s head to make him sing out loud, “Baby, one more time.” Maybe he thought he was being ordered to sing it. Maybe it was just his reflex reaction to mimic any song, but Seyoon found it weird that he wasn’t concentrating on the task at hand.

Anyway, he failed his mission. I thought he was embarrassed but didn’t want to show it. Like a kid, he kept trying to attach the two tips of the foil wrapper although the Director had called time.

Like a good Hyung, Ravi stepped in to salvage the situation. He told Inwoo to watch…and learn.

Ravi: Watch. We’ll come up with a way somehow.

As he said this, he tapped SeYoon’s tummy.

That tummy tap was a signal for SeYoon to start his negotiation with Director Bang. I told you, right? SeYoon is the appointed spokesman of the team. Ravi first tapped SeYoon then pointed at Director Bang because he was signaling to SeYoon to begin negotiations for the group. That’s SeYoon’s role: mediator. He must eke out something good from the disasters that the team finds itself in.

SeYoon: (thinking on his feet) All right. He’s a new member on the show. But there should be a penalty. But this is his first day. We want to welcome him, too. Gosh, we have a lot on our mind. So I just want him to have some food. That’s all.
Ravi: (chiming in) Really? Thank you.
SeYoon: Yes.

Ravi is “tag-teaming” with SeYoon to broker a deal with Director Bang. He’s the reinforcement.

Inwoo: (naively) Do you meant that?
SeYoon: Don’t talk.

SeYoon didn’t want him to talk because he might ruin the “pity party” that SeYoon was setting up for him.

Seyoon:  (continuing) So he’s going to talk about our show when he goes to the drama shoot and the beauty salons. And there will be a lot of news articles. What will he say to them? That he starved and was criticized.
Ravi: He hiked for three hours.

Do you see what’s happening. Seyoon and Ravi were piling it on. They were talking about Inwoo’s hardships to appeal to the Director’s emotions. They wanted the Director to show compassion on Inwoo and give him another chance.

In other words, they were manipulating her by playing on their “tiniest violin of pity.”

SeYoon: (continuing) We should feed him at the least.

He was saying that the Director had been callous to call time’s up on Inwoo.

Seyoon: (continuing) “Ding! It’s over. Time’s up. You fail.” We can’t have that. Let’s play one more round. But we can’t ask for 100 seconds….How about 60 seconds?

See that? Seyoon had nicely set up his appeal so Director Bang would be “moved by pity” to give Inwoo a second chance for 60 seconds. Seyoon had the right idea. Everybody could see how reasonable his demands were. And he painted Director Bang in a corner. If she rejected this reasonable demand, she would have looked like a Grinch.

But Inwoo had another idea. As Seyoon bargained for 60 seconds, he blurted out his demand.

Inwoo: I want 120 seconds.

Everybody was stunned. He wanted 20 more seconds than the original deal.

In the reaction comments, the director put a lot of question marks and commented that Inwoo made her use lots of question marks on that episode.

Dindin: At times like this…you don’t know how to negotiate. We’re supposed to shorten the time.
SeYoon: (explaining like he was talking to a child) Look here. We have 100 seconds and 120 seconds. Where does the inequality sign go?

He meant the greater than sign “>” or lesser than sign “<”.

Inwoo: Toward the 120 seconds.
SeYoon: So that’s an advantage.
Inwoo: Yes.

SeYoon just looked at him. He was surprised that Inwoo didn’t get the point. He wanted an advantage when he should have been grovelling.

SeYoon: (giving up) I see. So you’re that kind of guy.

In other words, Inwoo was insisting on a favor. lol. To me, this indicated how naïve he was. He assumed that

a) the Variety Show Deities would be kind to those like him who are struggling, and
b) the director would be on his side to wish him success on his first mission.

But it’s not like that in variety shows. There’s a lot of schadenfreude going on in variety shows. Viewers are entertained when they see somebody’s misfortune.

SeYoon was too embarrassed to beg Director Bang for Inwoo’s terms because he knew they’d be flatly rejected.

SeYoon: Okay. You should tell her that. Ask her 120 seconds.
Inwoo: (intrepidly) I want…
PD Bang: (didn’t even let him finish) No.
Inwoo: (embarrassed) Okay.

This was a funny moment, too. He looked like a puppy that was scolded.

JongMin: Did you hear that? You must be shocked.
Inwoo: (bursting out) She’s so evil! She’s the evil one on the show!

Everybody’s jaw dropped.

Then they all started talking at once. Dindin told him that he couldn’t say that. (But, you can think it though…)

Dindin: Ya! Don’t say that to her face.
SeYoon: Inwoo-ya. Here’s how people negotiate. People who are more desperate have to give up something.

He meant that desperate people like him have to grovel. He was talking to Inwoo like he would to his daughter.

SeYoon: (continuing) It could be a jacket. Or it could be going into the water. We need to offer something so they can think about our offer.
JongMin: I saw a body of water over there.

I was shocked here, too. The river was frozen water, remember?

SeYoon: Gosh. In this weather?!
Dindin: (in disbelief) He’ll go into the water on his first day? That’s a bit extreme in this weather. It’s not even for a feast. Just to get another chance to try this mission again? That’s too much.

Although I totally agreed with Dindin, I understood Inwoo’s situation. He didn’t want to disappoint his members on his first mission as the newbie. It was bad impression. I remember Yoon Shi Yoon in Season 3. I like YSY but I’ll forever remember that he sucks at table tennis because of his inaugural episode.

JongMin: That’s right.
Inwoo: But I can totally do that.

Huh? The members were already giving him an “out,” a face-saving escape.

JongMin: Gosh. Really?
Inwoo: I would do it for you.
JongMin: Just for this? (holding up the wrapper)
Dindin: (advising him) No. Don’t to it.
JongMin: (quickly) He said he would do it. It’s not on me. He said he would do it.

A little bit of backstory here. As far as I know, there’s ALWAYS someone who’s “punished” to dive into the icy waters during these annual Winter Survival episodes. And 90% of the time, it’s JongMin. He often loses the water games and gets dunked in the water. Therefore, of all people, he knows how the icy water stings.

That’s why he was claiming innocence here. He wanted everybody to know that he didn’t instigate this. It wasn’t his idea but Inwoo’s.

Personally, I thought this showed again what an eager-beaver Inwoo was. Diving in the icy water is meant to be a penalty and a punishment. Everybody tries to avoid it. Nobody volunteers to do it. Except for him.

SeYoon: If he goes into the water in this weather, he should get 240,000 won.
Inwoo: But in return. In return, give me 120 seconds. So all of us can eat. Give me 120 seconds.

Director agreed.

Honestly, if I were the director, I’d agree too. You know why? Ratings. The viewers can ogle at his body. He’ll either show his naked torso or his torso in a wet tshirt. It’s a win-win situation. Even if he fails, it’s a win for the program.

And sure enough, he failed again. The other members couldn’t believe it. JungHoon stated the obvious.

JungHoon: So he’ll just go into the water for no reason?!
Inwoo: (sheepish) It worked earlier.

Awww…

JongMin: There’s nothing we can do.
Dindin: Then Ravi will go into the water next.

It was funny how Dindin came up with this idea. Of all members, he was the type to keep a running tally. He knew that Ravi hadn’t gotten wet. So he was killing two birds with one stone here. Ravi was shocked to hear his name.

Ravi: (protesting) Why me?
Dindin: You’ve never done that in winter.
Ravi: (insisting) Why me?!!
Dindin: Hey, go in there with the youngest member of our show, Ravi-ya.

And just like that, the other members volunteered HIM as tribute. It’s the opposite of the “Hunger Games.” lol.

Ravi: What are you talking about? I don’t want to eat lunch!
SeYoon: (quickly negotiates a deal) Our show has been airing for two years. But he never had the chance to go into the water. Not even once. But Ravi will go into the water if you give us 150 seconds.

Do you see that? He quickly learned and adapted Inwoo’s negotiating style. He asked for more time, 30 extra seconds.

Ravi: (complaining to Inwoo) You should have come on a warmer day. Why today?
SeYoon: (asking the director) Will you accept our deal?
Director Bang: If Ravi-ssi will do it together, I will accept your deal.
All members except Ravi: (Cheering!)
Ravi: (protesting) But I haven’t said yes to that yet.

Inwoo hugged Ravi.

Dindin went up to the Director and called her an angel. Do you remember what I said you about Dindin being familiar with her?

Ravi then called Inwoo’s attention.

Ravi: Inwoo-ya.
Inwoo: Yes?
Ravi: We have four more chances.

Pwahahaha.

That was so clever of Ravi. He meant that Inwoo SHOULD fail all his subsequent missions in order to drag everybody into the water.

This is “crab in a bucket” mentality. If he’s going to suffer, then everybody will have to suffer, too.

Ravi: (continuing) Just know that you have a lot of chances.
Inwoo: (approaching Seyoon) But you guys are a bit older….I’ll stop after Dindin.

SeYoon: (shocked) You’re evil! You’re evil. You must succeed now. You must succeed this time. (announcing to everyone) We have a handsome version of JongMin here. This is crazy.

A bit of explanation. JongMin is known to throw games – or to lose deliberately – in group games to get everybody in trouble (and for entertainment). He’s the original Mr. Crab in the Bucket.

JongMin: (feigning innocence) That’s what I do?
SeYoon: Jongmin. The thing is, he’s already like you when he’s still in his 20s.
JongMin: (smiling at Inwoo) Inwoo. Let’s do our best for the show.
Inwoo: Okay!

But he failed again. Without skipping a beat, Ravi recommended Dindin to go in the water with them. SeYoon quickly started negotiating.

SeYoon: Do you remember the hero of Geoje Island? Dindin will do it for all of us including Inwoo. He’ll risk his front teeth and jump into the water.
Jongmin: (laughing at Dindin’s annoyed face)
Ravi: Exactly! Why did you get me involved? Age shouldn’t have been used to set the order.
JongMin: All this for combat rations?
Ravi: Hey, why are we doing this?
Dindin: Just for combat rations?! Why are we going all-in here?

Going “all-in” here means to gamble everything. It’s a poker term. But in this episode, it meant that they’ve all committed to go into the water for a measly combat ration. However, Dindin knew that it was too late to back out. If they did, Inwoo’s and Ravi’s sacrifice would become futile.

Seyoon: Dindin what’s your answer?
Dindin: My answer is yes!
Inwoo: (giving him a backhug)
Dindin: Hey! Stop that! Stop that!
Ravi: Why does Dindin look so feminine today?

Lol. He meant that Dindin looked feminine standing beside Inwoo who looked manly. The others ordered Dindin to backhug Inwoo, and they laughed because Dindin couldn’t be seen behind Inwoo.

For the third time, Inwoo attained success at last. He jumped on SeYoon (who’s probably the only person who can support his weight).

SeYoon called him a giraffe. Probably because of this image.

And that’s the end of the Inwoo’s mission.

To recap then, what does this 15 minute segment tell me about Inwoo’s addition to the cast?

It tells me that he’s a loose cannon and the show will greatly benefit from his unpredictability. He forces the others to adapt to the crazy situations he unwittingly creates because of his inexperience. He’ll make the show fun to watch again. That’s what I need right now.

Okay, gotta run.