Bros on Foot: Episode 1 (First Impressions)

by stroopwafel

If you’re feeling cabin fever, the latest travel variety show to hit our screens, Bros on Foot, may be the perfect antidote. The all-star cast will explore New Zealand, all while completing missions for their survival and Dream Tickets.

Editor’s note: Continued coverage is pending based on Beanie feedback.
 
EPISODE 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Ha Jung-woo, Joo Ji-hoon, Yeo Jin-gu, and Min-ho of SHINee — it’s a dream lineup for any drama or film. (Minus Min-ho. Sorry, Min-ho. I enjoy you as an entertainer, but acting…) It actually feels surreal to see these names together for a variety show, especially since Ha Jung-woo and Joo Ji-hoon rarely ever make appearances in varietyland.

While Bros on Foot seems like a regular travel variety show, at its heart is a new take on the variety mission. During their travels, the cast must complete missions given to them in order to earn Dream Tickets. Each Dream Ticket means airfare for one person back home who truly deserves a special trip. So, there’s a touch of altruism to their missions too, since the cast will be working to get as many tickets as they can for strangers in need.

Six days before the flight to New Zealand, PD Lee Se-young (Master in the House) has convened the entire cast for the first time ever. Jung-woo and Ji-hoon are the first to arrive and they’re decked out in designer clothes. They’re good friends who go way back, as well as the oldest cast members. It’s the first time Jung-woo is meeting the two younger cast members, while Joo Ji-hoon has been friendly with Min-ho since they worked on a drama together a few years back. Jin-gu and Ji-hoon have met before — 15 years ago, lol.

They don’t have to wait long for Jin-gu and Min-ho to arrive, and with the group complete they start talking and exchange phone numbers. Everyone seems excited but there’s a bit of awkwardness and nervousness in the air. Lee PD explains that during their eight-day trip they’ll all have their own cameras to shoot selfie footage. Ji-hoon examines the camera and its mini tripod with interest and asks if it’s a scalp massager. He giggles that he’s determined to be as obvious a variety noob as possible and that he’s excited about the show — he even dressed up in Dior for this!

It’s D-Day and the guys have arrived in Christchurch, safe and sound. There’s a giant SUV waiting for them, complete with a rooftop tent, and a little info packet for their destination, Lake Tekapo. Jin-gu takes the wheel, and he handles the giant car well, despite the challenge of driving on the left side of the road. While they drive, Jung-woo has the car cracking up with his comments and jokes. An hour in, Jung-woo switches in as driver as the lake is still a good distance away.

The scenery is beautiful, all mountains and verdant pastures with plump, low-hanging clouds and grazing animals. They finally reach a supermarket and Jin-gu says even grocery shopping is exciting. Jung-woo marvels at the white wine selection, pointing out which ones are particularly tasty… and then he just walks away. All of them, in fact, keep peering at items but not picking anything up.

We jump backwards a little and it turns out before they could start shopping they had their first allowance mission. The team’s balance stands at zero and they can win up to $150 playing the Unanimous Game; all answers or gestures must all be unanimous to win. In a major shock to absolutely no one, they bomb their practice round. For round one, the keyword is “heart.” While the hyungs and Jin-gu flash tiny finger hearts, Min-ho opts to do a giant heart with his arms. All Ji-hoon can do is let out a disappointed, “Oh SHINee.”

Round two is a total trap, with the keyword being “Ha Jung-woo.” They all have different hand gestures while the man himself just stands there in a daze lol. There’s a hint of rebellion though, and when the cast appeals for another chance, Lee PD gives them another question: “What’s your favorite Ha Jung-woo project?” But once again, they fail. All’s not lost, though — there’s a bonus game. For each round of This or That that they have unanimous answers to, they win cash.

They finish with a measly $26 but they stay positive and shop by being super analytical. Items go in the cart, items go out, and they calculate down to the last few cents. They sigh at how expensive all the groceries are and Jung-woo says the team should have had more money in play in the first place since New Zealand is so expensive. Min-ho, as the variety sunbae, offers to go out and negotiate with the crew. So he steps outside — but the parking lot is completely empty. Thus begins the real mission.

The moment all four of them step outside, Lee PD and staff deliberately, slowly drive off in their SUV. The utter confusion on their faces is hilarious. They notice four bicycles in the spot where their car had been parked, and the hyungs find backpacks for everyone. Inside each backpack is a sandwich, a map to their destination, and details on their real mission.

The mission: Bike 44 km (roughly 27 miles, my fellow Americans) and reach Lake Tekapo by nightfall. For every 10km completed they’ll earn Dream Tickets, with a total of seven up for grabs. In a P.S. on their mission note, the staff explains that the mission was made for Ji-hoon. We see a pre-trip interview where Ji-hoon talks about his love of biking and how he’s always wanted to go on a long ride in the middle of nature.

They laugh at the absurdity of it all, but they just roll with the punches. Jung-woo tries on his helmet — try being the operative word because no matter how he wears it, the helmet is too small to wear comfortably. To make things even better/worse, it starts to rain. Ji-hoon is in his element and the ride starts off fine, but the closer they get to the 10km mark, the more obvious it is that Jung-woo is struggling. In a talking head, he explains that it felt like the back of his head was going numb because of the helmet, he couldn’t see because of the rain, and then there were the potatoes. He was carrying some of the groceries, including a big bag of potatoes, so the pain was coming at him from all sides. The staff ask why he didn’t ask the other guys to take on some of the weight. He’s unequivocal in his response — he’d rather walk and drag his bike along the way. It would be so uncool and undignified to divvy up the potatoes.

At the 10km point, we start to see how Ji-hoon got his new variety nickname, Mom Hoon. He’d already noticed how much Jung-woo was struggling so he proposes a plan: he finishes the bike mission with one person, while Jung-woo and another person goes on to the campsite by car to prep for dinner. After all, there’s no rule that says all four of them have to bike the full 44km. You can see the struggle on Jung-woo’s face: set an example as the hyung vs. exhaustion.

Exhaustion wins over ego and he agrees to continue by car. Jung-woo says the dongsaengs can play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser has to come with him. Aw, Ji-hoon says it’s an honor to be sous chef so he says the winner should go with Jung-woo. A very tired Jin-gu wins the match and he looks thrilled when he finally understands that he doesn’t need to bike anymore. In the car, Jung-woo looks beat while Jin-gu looks so, so happy while trying not to look so happy (it’s adorable).

They arrive at Lake Tekapo and the blue of the lake is so beautiful it’s unreal. They get things set up quickly, and while there’s still firewood and cooking to take care of, Jung-woo says they’ll take care of the firewood in due time. But first, rest. They actually seem a little guilty about it but they rest their eyes for a beat.

The biking duo are doing great, and I honestly can’t believe they managed to do this when they’re fresh off an international flight. When they get to a stretch of downhill road, Ji-hoon tells Min-ho he should hold the brakes lightly for safety, then catches himself, wondering why he’s fussing, since it’s not like Min-ho is a little kid. (So cute!) At the 30km mark, the biking duo hit up the Tekapo team with a video call.

You can see the guilt emanating from Jin-gu when the call comes in, and the questions from Ji-hoon and Min-ho seem to make him anxious. “Is there firewood?” Jung-woo replies for Jin-gu in the affirmative, pointing to the trees all around them. “Is there food ready for us?” Jung-woo: “Yeah, there’s salad everywhere.” (Heh, there are a lot of leaves at the lake.) As for firewood, they end up foraging around and build up a big pile in no time. With an eye towards dinner, they get a good fire going before heading to the camp entrance to greet their brothers-in-variety.

Back on the cycling front, things are starting to get rough. Ji-hoon is chugging along just fine but Min-ho lets out that he’s craving chocolate. At that, Ji-hoon worries that Min-ho might be on the verge of bonking. As adorable as that sounds, it’s a dangerous sign, and a bonk is what cyclists call hypoglycemia. The staff flag them down for a break and a PD tries to hand Ji-hoon some chocolate but he tells her he’s fine, and to take care of Min-ho first. Min-ho stumbles as he dismounts. A question from the PD hangs in the air: “Should we end here?” The episode ends there, leaving us wondering what will become of the mission.

Overall, it was a strong first episode with a fresh take on the travel genre. The idea of the actors working hard to win plane tickets for people is really sweet, and I do like that there are tangible prizes at stake here. The cast is wonderful too — they’re so chill and likable in different ways. I’ve always liked Min-ho and Jin-gu in varietyland, but Jung-woo and Ji-hoon are such hidden gems.

Jung-woo is so laidback with a really dry sense of humor that veers from witty comments to full-on dad jokes. He’s also really quick with nicknames (like Yeo Jin for Jin-gu) and has a penchant for sprinkling English phrases in his conversations that’s hilarious. I feel like by next week they’ll all be calling each other “baby” and exclaiming “Mamma mia!” He also seems to be great at coming up with shortcuts and looking at ways to game the system, so that will be fun to see in the later episodes.

Joo Ji-hoon was surprising to me in a lot of ways. I’ve seen him do interviews and a couple of guest appearances on variety but nothing prepared me for his Mom Hoon personality. He always seems to be clucking over people, like a mother hen, all softness. It seems as though he might be a little clumsy and goofy too, as Min-ho mentioned that Ji-hoon is a bit of a heodang. Ji-hoon himself talked about it as “his body being humble with his physical abilities” lol.

I was surprised at how physical the first mission was, though, and I assume all of the missions will have some level of physical intensity. I’m all ready to live vicariously through them, while I stay in touch with my inner couch potato. I also can’t wait to see their relationships develop. The guys talked about their relationships and impressions of each other, and the way Ji-hoon talked about Min-ho stuck with me. When asked about Min-ho, Ji-hoon mentioned Min-ho’s Burning Charisma variety image before musing that if he were to describe Min-ho as a season, he’d call Min-ho summer. It’s poetic and beautiful, and I hope all the cast members grow closer while they’re trekking across New Zealand.

 
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