#fallindomino

[boysplanetrecaps]

on scheming, popularity, confidence, and skill -- responding to a cool ask!

I got a great ask from someone and I wanted to publish it, but it would be a spoiler to anyone who hasn't seen ep9, or is behind on who has or hasn't been eliminated, so I'm putting it here behind a read more. They're responding to my theory as to why a certain trainees was kicked out of Over Me and make some good points! It's all behind the read more.

fallindomino asked:

heyy just read your ep 9 post and i found what you said abt Keita getting kicked out of over me really interesting, both bc he’s my one pick lol but also bc i both agree and disagree. i think he’s closer with the other trainees than mnet seemingly wants viewers to think, in dance practice behind the scenes vids and other content that not everyone who watches the show probably watches you can see other contestants being more physically affectionate with him and vice versa. this confuses me solely bc he’s the japanese trainee with the best shot at making it into the final line-up, and you’d think mnet wants at least one to keep up the perception of this show producing a “global” boy group. then again, trying to understand what mnet is thinking is a fruitless endeavor in itself.

I see what you mean about Keita certainly having friends among the trainees -- I think that a lot of the trainees feel close to him, especially the Japanese trainees, I'd guess. But remember when Park Gunwook shook Keita's hand at the ep8 ranking ceremony? He shook his hand warmly, with a huge smile on his face, but he didn't HUG him. Now maybe Gunwook just isn't a hugger, but still. I just think Keita isn't quite as "in" with the cool kids clique as he could be. Everyone likes and respects him but I don't sense that bond, that "stay up all night talking, crying on each other's shoulders, telling each other stuff you've never told anyone before" kind of bond. But maybe I'm wrong! I should watch some more of the behind the scenes content -- let me know if there's a specific video that you think I should check out.

And yeah, you'd think for sure they'd want at least one Japanese trainee, but who knows what goes through MNET's single collective brain cell. It's like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.

buttt abt the threat bit i completely agree. i think the other trainees see him as a threat in a way he doesn’t view anyone else at all. i remember you said smth like “Keita sets a high standard even among the other previously debuted idols on this show” in one of ur posts, and i think this is a contributing factor. Keita simply has less to prove. he knows he’s good enough to be in the group, the judges know, the other trainees know, the viewers know, even people who don’t LIKE him know.

this is why he was so completely unafraid to make a super stacked team for Kill this Love even though he definitely wanted the killing part, and in ep 6 when they chose for the second mission, though they don’t show Keita choosing Zoom, in background shots you can see that Krystian, who he kicked out, was simply standing on the bottom row, closest to the walkway, and that is most likely the reason keita kicked him out.

Oh, I love this kind of close analysis! Nice work. I think Krystian was better suited for Limousine anyway so it worked out.

comparing this line of thinking to Ricky, who kicked Jongwoo out of Love Killa because it meant he would be more likely to get the killing part, to Jiwoong who did the exact same thing to ricky two minutes later, and the differences in their thinking become clear.

Aaaannnd we ended up with an underwhelming performance of Love Killa, so thanks, everyone!

this isn’t me hating on any of them ofc, it’s a good strategy. but it’s a strategy that Keita isn’t using, partially because he is literally just that kind, but also because he doesn’t feel that pressure to prove everything he has the way most of the other trainees do.

Totally agree. It's kind of like what I was saying about how Matthew leads from a place of anxiety, while Keita leads from a place of confidence. It doesn't enter Keita's mind to scheme because he knows he has the goods. I think that this might contribute to his comparative lack of super close, emotionally bound friends -- you bond with people who you feel a connection to, and maybe it's hard for people to feel that connection with someone who doesn't seem to experience the same frustrations and difficulties that they do. But again, maybe I'm wrong.

and yeah, considering that there were two yuehuas on over me team as well, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that they made a plan to vote out the members they felt would be the biggest threats to them, position-wise, and any friendships made on the show def pale in comparison to years spent training tgt. i just thought it was rlly interesting cause all last week i was curious to see how ppl ended on their new teams (i did get spoiled lol) and after watching and thinking it over, it makes tons of sense. your recaps are always interesting reads, and i look forward to the performance specific ones !!

Thanks so much! Back atcha, friendo!

#ask #fallindomino

[boysplanetrecaps]

hii i just found your recaps and i think they’re awesome ,, detailed analysis of anything i like is my genre fr. i love how your objective and snarky tone, and it’s interesting to read abt how someone with vocal training sees the performances. also i love how critical you are of mnet’s editing, as someone who has heard abt it but never watched an mnet show to see it before, sometimes i do fall into the trap a bit ,, so any reminder that these dudes 99% of the time are not nearly as bad as they are made out to be is good (and needed ,, i’m prob the target audience with this show lmao i get emotional fast) i can’t wait to read the rest !!

That's so sweet of you! I wrote the recaps that I wished existed in the world and I'm glad that some people like them. I really do try not to fall for MNET's editing. I was a big fan of Fu Yaning in GP999 and it was so upsetting to see how dirty MNET did her. Also, because I have a history of being the one fucking up in my real life, I try to give grace to those who are fucking up in front of me. As Sloane says in Ferris Beuller's Day Off, "Sooner or later, everyone goes to the zoo."

#ask #fallindomino