1 Night 2 Days: Episode 444

by girlfriday

EPISODE 444. Broadcast on June 23, 2013.

javabeans: So here we are for Part 2 of the Bokbulbok Trip, where the show has to go to Joo-won’s hometown (Seoul), in the luxury RV, wearing team T-shirts (which got swapped for slightly more embarrassing outfits), with a stop along the way (to a member’s home), with a snack (ramyun), and no work. Basically it’s the PD’s Bad Luck Trip where the guys get everything easy and he’s left with no entertainingly humiliating footage.

girlfriday: To make up for that is Jong-min, who is currently dressed as Miss Korea (or Disney princess, take your pick) and standing outside YG asking random fans if they’ve seen CL. I’m cringing in embarrassment for him, and his day is just starting.

javabeans: I know, he heads to the info booth to ask about CL’s possible whereabouts, but you just can’t go in dressed in that getup and suggest you’re here to “interview” her, because you just look crazier.

girlfriday: The hyungs don’t look any less crazy though, sitting by the river in their strange outfits with nothing to do but look like a group of bored crazy people.

javabeans: Shi-kyung is totally getting into his hippie free spirit persona, which makes him look part ’70s porn director. Turns out CL is out today, so the PD tells Jong-min to pick someone else to fulfill the mission. So Tae-hyun starts rattling off a bunch of impossible stars (mixed with a few possible ones), like Jeon Ji-hyun, Sohn Ye-jin, Suzy…

girlfriday: Haha. So basically just even more embarrassing/impossible, times six.

javabeans: He spins a few times and is all, “That was practice!” An ajumma finally spins and lands on Sistar, which seems doable. Easier to get idols than A-list actresses, for sure.

girlfriday: Oh he’s got an easy connection too — their manager was once his manager, back when he was an idol, so how hard could this be?

javabeans: As it turns out, it’s not very interesting to watch six guys sitting around trying to figure out what to do.

girlfriday: Right? Go figure. I don’t know why we’re not editing around this stuff.

javabeans: Or… this IS the edited version.

girlfriday: They finally get a game plan going and set up in a park. But it’s another version of the bokbulbok wheel event they had on the beach at Haeundae… which we already saw the first time. And it wasn’t interesting then, so I don’t know why we’re giving it another go.

javabeans: Dude, it’s the same wheel. They’ve just slapped on pieces of paper over it to write the new entries. I guess I don’t blame them this time because they’re trying to create something out of nothing (gee, wouldn’t it be great if there were a staff for that?) but like you said, this was not fun the first time either.

girlfriday: I’m fast-forwarding…

javabeans: I’m not fast forwarding literally, but my brain is. Oh, this is uncomfortable, never mind. FFW. Jong-min’s promenade through Seoul is pointless too, but at least it’s so ridiculous that you could just find entertainment in the reaction shots. Then back to the spinny wheel of fast-forwarding. It’s just a bunch of girls dancing on cue.

girlfriday: This goes on FOREVER.

javabeans: Did that lame autograph signing at the end really win them 70 bucks for dinner? Lame. Now are we just going to watch them eat a normal dinner all normal-like?

girlfriday: Apparently. At least Jong-min is having a more interesting day, even if it’s sadder.

javabeans: It’s way sadder to watch him eating chapaghetti out of a plastic bag in a convenience store window with a crowd watching outside like he’s some kind of performance artist.

girlfriday: Plus, he had to earn that money by being a Miss Korea waitress.

javabeans: All three dollars of it. Yeah, much more interesting. On the bus he chats with a few other passengers, until one woman blurts, “What about Joo-won?” Ha, that’s not awkward or anything. Turns out she’s a huge fan, and her smartphone screen is papered with pics from a Joo-won blog.

girlfriday: That’s cute. Meanwhile the other boys now have to figure out where to sleep, which is harder than it sounds because they have to house the staff too. Otherwise they could just sleep in the car.

javabeans: I know this show has done impromptu trips before and made the boys fend for themselves and come up with their itinerary. But they were entertaining. Why does this one feel like the staff forgot to have a meeting and are telling the cast, “Figure it out”?

girlfriday: Because I think the staff forgot to have a meeting and are telling the cast to figure it out. SIGH.

javabeans: I mean, it’s fine to tell seven guys they have ten bucks and a screwdriver and make them figure it out. But to tell them to find a place for eighty staffers to sleep? Uh…?

girlfriday: Or at least add a time limit so there’s less meandering. Anyway, back to Jong-min, who finally makes it across town to see Sistar. He crashes their practice session and tells them his mission, which horrifies them a little, but then he asks to learn their dance, and it’s pretty cute ‘cause he’s dressed like a princess and learning the steps.

javabeans: Also, he’s not good enough to be good, but is just good enough to catch on and be funny. Although I really do think that his Miss Koreawear is his saving grace, because it makes him interesting and pathetic, instead of creepy or just dull.

girlfriday: I know. It instantly makes him non-threatening, which you kinda need when you’re crashing a girl group out of nowhere.

javabeans: Jong-min finally trudges to basecamp after his hard day, and I feel tired just watching him. I’ve had my issues with liking him before but I really think he did a great job of just sucking it up today and Getting It Done, and with a smile on his face.

girlfriday: And when he says “I missed you guys,” with tears in his eyes, it’s so endearing.

javabeans: But sadly, I feel like the other six guys sort of stand out in relief next to him, because they actually kind of rolled in luxury so complaining feels whiny. Like they tell Jong-min they couldn’t even start dinner bokbulbok without him, as though that was so hard, only you just stuffed your faces with fried chicken with the allowance money you barely earned so you know what, I don’t really care that you had to wait another hour for your *real* dinner.

girlfriday: Seriously. They make Jong-min play for the group (he has to choose between two watermelon wedges with a 50:50 shot at dinner for everyone) and tell him either way he can eat the rest of the watermelon, heh. Can we just let him eat please?

javabeans: Yeah watching someone eat ramyun out of a plastic bag is really the bottom of the pathetic barrel.

girlfriday: Thankfully he picks the right wedge, so they get to eat.

javabeans: But it’s not over yet, because they have to choose WHAT to eat (another game of chance) and who has to get it, and all that.

girlfriday: Agh. So many games. I can’t believe I just said that, but there are too many games.

javabeans: It’s because it’s like hell for indecisive people, where you nitpick every little decision to death and it makes you want to SNAP at some point and just be like, JUST PICK A THING AND LET’S DO IT OH MY GAHHHH.

girlfriday: Especially when dinner turns out to be more convenience store food that they have to go get themselves (at least I’m guessing that’s where they’ll go at this hour).

javabeans: So Tae-hyun and Joo-won are picked as dinner delivery boys. Oh god and then right away they play another game for sleeping bokbulbok. God, I know we discussed dropping this show at the end of a trip, but I’m considering dropping this show in the middle of a game.

girlfriday: I know, why are the games so boring?

javabeans: First of all, it’s because we’re watching games that are all about planning a thing, not actually the thing. Who wants to watch a wedding being planned, instead of just going to the damn wedding? And second, it’s because there’s nothing at stake. So what if one cast member gets stuck delivering food instead of the other cast member? What’s the point?

girlfriday: Nothing, sadly, which is why this feels like a pointless exercise.

javabeans: The one funny thing about the sleepy wheel is that among the choices (like sleeping only an hour at a time, or in your underwear, or sitting), they land on “sleep comfortably.” The PD is like, Seriously?!

girlfriday: Well, you’re the one who designed the games with comfortable OPTIONS the whole day, so whatchoo gonna do?

javabeans: Yes, this is what we call design flaw. Why even offer the luxury RV, instead of a clown car without AC? Why no bus passes instead of cars? Why were there T-shirts at all and not six parkas and a Miss Korea gown?

girlfriday: He should trade a bigger dinner for the underwear option.

javabeans: We should just produce the damn show.

girlfriday: Tell me about it. Though I’m too mad at it these days to even do that. So all the guys spin for indoor/outdoor sleep, and Hae-jin suggests adding a half-in/half-out option just for kicks… and then lands on it. Ha. Tae-hyun and Joo-won go get ddukbokki for everyone, and then it’s bedtime.

javabeans: They sleep, and in the morning they have to do this karaoke-pedometer mission, where they’re trying to score on the singing front while simultaneously logging steps. This should be funny. I don’t actually understand why it isn’t. Maybe because there was no setup or context? They’re just jiggling around singing and showing off their step counts.

girlfriday: Yeah because there was no setup. Though Joo-won’s dancing always gets a laugh out of me.

javabeans: Then New PD has the boys list a place in Seoul they like to go to so they can introduce them on the show, because he’s just given up any pretense of having prepared for this trip at all. And then the boys split up to go hiking, or street shopping, or yaaaaawn. I get the point of this exercise, but to me it looks like watching people walk down a street looking at stuff. Wait, it’s not LIKE that, it IS that.

girlfriday: Hae-jin climbs a mountain and the other boys do touristy things, and Joo-won and Shi-kyung visit Alex’s restaurant. I don’t think I would’ve minded it so much if the rest of the episode had been chock full of laughs, because the travel bits are normal for this show. It’s just that on top of an episode that was lackluster, it just feels like drawing out the ending with filler stuff.

javabeans: This whole episode felt like filler, in a more drawn-out way than usual. I never fast-forward this show, even in the slower moments, just on principle—how can I recap if I haven’t seen it? But the show has gotten so irrelevant at points, and so meandering, that you can honest-to-goodness fast-forward whole chunks and miss nothing.

girlfriday: Basically, the whole show has felt that way for a while now, which is why this is going to be our last recap for 1 Night 2 Days. It wasn’t an easy decision, especially because I’ve watched this show for YEARS and letting go is hard, but to be honest, this isn’t the 1N2D that I knew and loved. At least not anymore.

javabeans: I feel like I was going to go out with a lot of tears and bittersweet memories and fond nostalgia and maybe a nice ending tribute to the show we’ve known and loved… but you know, I think most of my love is pretty much gone. I find I actually have very little to say. And I don’t think this decision comes as a surprise, either, since the writing has been on the wall for a while now. It just took us a long while to actually cut the cord.

girlfriday: I do still have lots of love and nostalgia for the old 1N2D, but that show ended long ago and will always hold a special place in my heart. I just don’t think I have any tears for this one.

javabeans: It would have been nice for the show to end its years-long run on a high note instead of steadily sinking downward, just for fans’ sakes. But I suppose that makes the decision easier for us, inasmuch as it’s really quite a painless and natural course of action at this point.

girlfriday: I know people always say, “It’s not you, it’s me,” but in this case, it really really is YOU, Show.

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