Season 4 is under new management. Lee JeongGyu is the new PD. PD means producer/director. Choi HyeRan is the new writer.

I’m going to be honest here. I prefer this director to the PD Bang. He gets it.

PD Bang and Writer Noh were too motherly, indulgent and accommodating to their cast members. As a result, the cast members were coasting along. They knew that Moon Seyoon could negotiate their way out of trouble. Have you seen MSY broker a deal with this new PD?

Nope. In fact, in last week’s episode, he was left at the rest area and had to find his way to the meeting place. THIS is a classic 2D1N move prior to PD Bang. Members would get dropped off in the middle of nowhere and made to find alternative mode of transportation. Compared to other PDs, PD Bang coddled the members. True, she made show “kinder, gentler” but the trade-off is the show’s boring and trite.

Like, I’m glad he scrapped the silly doll (was it called “Singley”?) and the unicorn statue.

And I keep on saying this. Kim SeonHo could get away with doing the minimum for comedy and slapstick because all he had to do was flashed those dimples of his at the director and he would get plaudits for aegyo. If the director and writer were male, I swear his charm offensive would be ineffective. He’d be forced to try harder to actually entertain with his wit.

Now, with this new PD Lee, there’s a noticeable return to the tried and tested ways of 2D1N.

Eps 123 (I’m going with Viki’s designation) and 124 were the trip to Gongju. I think PD Lee crammed too much in this episode.

The theme of the show was “Good Son & Bad Son” race. But PD Lee also wanted to do several things on this trip.

1. To pay tribute to the old production team members on the show. I think he was trying to subtly show the audience that there’s a continuity here, that he was part of the “Old Guards” who made the show successful, and that he would return the show to its roots.

Thus, there were old clips. Jong Min made sure to mention that he and the PD worked on Seasons 1 and 2 together.

He looked young before.

And he still looks young now.

2. To link the show’s theme with Family Month in Korea. May is celebrated as “Family Month” so they did a home visit to Na Inwoo’s place. At his place, the members performed the usual rite of initiation, i.e., home invasion. I don’t know when this initiation began. All I know is that in Season 3, the members had a surprise visit (more like a surprise ATTACK) from each other. And their unfiltered reactions would be caught in camera.

I think Na Inwoo did well. He’s actually a boring person. Dindin astutely said that he couldn’t possibly have a girlfriend because he had no couch for entertaining. Lol.

3. To trick members into spending money at the rest stop.

I don’t know about PD Bang, but in Season 3, the members often got their own spending money that they could budget as they saw fit.

But I like the twist that the new PD did. He punished Dindin and Moon SeYoon by forcing them to buy food with the leftover money and finish the food themselves. The moral lesson here is filial children don’t skimp on their parents.

4. To introduce the audience to Gongju, South Chungcheong Province.

It looks like a place with rich cultural history so I wished the PD had focused on just a few touristy spots, instead of cramming all the historic sites in two days, one night.

He could have planned a return trip in future episodes.

5. To introduce two historical figures who were known as good sons.

But I forgot their names. lol.

6. To celebrate Moon Seyoon’s birthday with a feast prepared by Dindin’s mom.

7. To tie in the show with “99 Seconds Standby Cue” a variety show that aired in 2001.

Apparently, Jong Min made a debut on that show, and 2D1N’s main cameraman Kang Chan Hee was the one who filmed the TV show. I don’t get why they had to dress up in costumes from fairy tales. But okay, perhaps this sort of dress-up appeals to old people in Korea.

It was painful when Na Inwoo couldn’t break the gourd even after several tries. He looked so guilty that he failed the team. But Dindin saved the day when he pointed out that the gourd had a crack. They appealed to Mr. Kwon, the “international referee” for consideration.

As it turns out, Mr. Kang, the 20+ year main cameraman, was the key to their victory because he was the one who determined that they accomplished their mission.

8. To re-introduce the “Morning Angels.”

In Season 3, guests were invited to wake up the members. They’re called “Morning Angels.” They had Suzy, Rain, and Park Shin Hye. But I think PD Bang ended this tradition. I wouldn’t be surprised if she thought that “Morning Angels” were a bit sexist because former guests were female idols.

The new PD warned the cast that they’d sing first thing in the morning. He gave them a song about mothers (a tie-in with the themes of filial sons/family month). It was easy enough to memorize the song. But the members didn’t expect to sing it with a real choir, the Asan Municipal choir.

I died laughing at their attempts to sing. They couldn’t concentrate once the choir began their distracting attacks.

I’m impressed with Na Inwoo’s determination to win at this game. He’s competitive; he hung back until he was confident that he could finish it.

Jong Min’s rock style was hilarious, too.

I was also pleased to hear the xylophone again. Previous PDs used this to signal failure. I think however, the new PD needs to learn to hit the right notes.

9. To tie in the show with another celebration, “Teacher’s Day.” The show would air on the day so the PD invited one of the members’ old teacher.

10. lastly, To spotlight the statue of King Muryeong in the middle of the city of Gongju.

The statue was a novelty. I’ve never seen a statue being rotated before. This statue can be rotated 360 degrees. The rotation is done weekly on Saturdays with much pomp and circumstance.

I wouldn’t mind trying this if ever I end up in that part of the world.

Again, I like Na Inwoo’s attitude here. He and Dindin were nervous because they thought they would actually push the massive statue — like slaves who shifted stones for pyramids. But he was excited because it was a once-in-lifetime experience.

That’s a wrap.

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Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m VERY impressed with all the work that this PD did. He, the writer, and the staff certainly put a lot of thought, energy, and preparation into this.

However…

he did too much. He’s like a newbie traveler (2D1N is supposed to be travel variety show) who visits 7 different European cities in 5 days. Afterwards, he’s only going to have a fussy memory of his itinerary in this whirlwind tour.

It’s a rookie mistake.

So I’m going to borrow a line from Taylor Swift’s song and say, you need to calm down, PD Lee.

The best trips – and shows – are those that savor the moment.