QUEENDOM PUZZLE EP.04 || REACTION

Enjoy!

- Kaia

Performance ranking/further thoughts:

Okay so having now re-watched the performances and watched the full cam versions, my ranking has changed slightly from what I said in episode (I knew it would but y'know). Here's my personal ranking now incl. my mvp for each stage:

*remember this is just based off my personal preference*

1st (tied) Fighting

• I honestly thought this would be very hard to beat after watching the previous episode and I was correct. I'm a sucker for theater kid vibes in kpop and this was that all over. The energy, the vibes and the sheer will power of the members was everything. The section from Yuki & Jiwoo's rap break onwards got me so aggressively hyped
• MVP: Juri - not only for her infectious energy and amazing vocals in the performance, but also for her ability to pull the team together when she needed to

1st (tied) Shut Down

• OKAY SO FIRST OF ALL forget what I said about this being on the cusp between feeling like a cover & feeling like their own song. They made this their own song and I will not be forgiving the audience for that abysmal vote.
• Anyway, if you haven't already, go and watch the full cam of this performance. Imo the in-episode camera work did NOT do this performance justice. It was a good time watching it during the episode for sure but watching the full cam actually gave me a much better idea of the sheer *power* these girls were giving. Vocals, rap, choreo & presence all ate down and they truly deserved better
• MVP: Hwiseo - listen, I know I'm biased but seriously watch that full cam. She gives 130% at all times and I'm lov her

3rd Only One

• I was *thiiiiiis* close to just making it a three way tie for 1st tbh. The only reason I didn't was bc I thought it'd be silly lmao
• In all seriousness tho Kei's vocal tone makes me want to sob. She has that ability to make you feel every emotion under the sun with just a few words sung and I'll never get enough. Pair that with Soeun's clear beautiful tone AND powerful dancing and it's a match made in heaven. This was the hardest one to choose an MVP for as they both were so perfect but...
• MVP: Kei - it's the vocal tone for me. Soeun's dancing nearly snagged it for her cause god damn but if I'm honest, this performance was made as emotive as it was for me in large part because of Kei's vocals so..

4th Nxde

• Not much to say here tbh. It's a fire performance. They ate it up and I'm not surprised by their win at all. The only thing I'll say is it doesn't have quite the same level of impact on me personally as the top 3. I also think they had one of the weaker vocal performances in terms of stability but that doesn't really mean much bc they still destroyed
• MVP: Jihan - she's dominating this competition and I'm absolutely here for it. Our little chameleon I stg

5th Don't Call Me

• It feels wrong to say this is 5th because like that shit was dope??? But the other performances were just stronger for me in terms of use of the stage and set pieces etc. I'd also say the song was one of the most similar to the original out of the bunch as well. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily but it does increase that feeling of it being a cover stage versus making it their own y'know? Yeoreum, Zoa & Wooyeon ate DOWN tho
• MVP: Yeoreum - once again biased yes, but I'm not wrong lmao. Imo she proved in this performance that she's the strongest dance performer in this competition. Like did you see her move? Unreal

6th Dance The Night Away

• Must preface this by saying that I still enjoyed this performance and I think the girls did great! However...
• Out of all the performances I stand by what I said where this feels the most like a cover stage rather than a ~remix~. It was very fun and bubbly and bright but that's exactly what I'd expect from this song so part of me kinda wishes they'd switched it up a little bit more. I'm not saying dark version or anything but just idk given it something a bit more unexpected. I also think having the same person lead the dance break AND do the big belt was a bit of an L on the line distributer's part. That should have been split between Yeonhee & Bora
• Regardless, it was still a lot of fun and the girls all did great in their respective roles. It just didn't have the same impact or lasting impression for me as the others
• MVP: Seoyeon - idk what it is man, I know she's the "least skilled" member on the team but that rough-around-the-edges charm makes me like her even more, especially when it's paired with those expressions and that goofy, bright energy. She brought this performance to life for me