[Official] SPARTACE COUPLE KimJongkook-SongJiHyo

[sana82]

about the size of sa ship compare to mc it's right that mc have a big fanbase but sa never were connected to each other in rm or news articles in romantic way and rm never promoted them as a couple too.so for me it's amazing how big this ship is. It's possible that with some captions and romantic music in rm episodes they be able to gain more fans compare to mc .actually some times i feel pd could use lot of their reactions to each other if they were not limited because of official love line.
And something that made my day and i wanted to share that here . last weekend my cousin called me and said "i think that Korean singer that you like is dating someone their pics in insta were fishy" then i thought it's not my bias eyes anyone can see there is something between them. 

[androkia91]

What I am afraid of is this : they bring back a little bit of MC in RM to facilitate the MC in the fanmeets. They still had that random Halyang cap on JH for the 1st game in the RM vs Avengers episode. Not to mention the captions we get whenever JH and KG interact (the PSH episode, also the Yeo Jin-gu episode). The CF contract will probably end towards the end of this year, and they might also try to to squeeze out another award for MC in the SBS awards like they did last time.

I am actually surprised that they have as many as 9 fanmeets. Considering how busy LKS is going to be with 2 new dramas and how JK has the US tour, his Chinese song, Turbo comeback, guest appearance in Chinese variety, RM and Welcome Show, I doubt they can have all 7 in 1 FM tbh. While I do expect LKS to attend every one of them, YJS's schedule will probably allow for only 1 FM, and with JK's crazy schedule, I really, really hope that we don't have an FM where there is no JK.

About the size, I agree @linzer03, that the SA ship is a lot bigger than we give credit for, and also that it is only growing. However, the MC fanbase is pretty big too, and still has strong footholds in China and other SEA countries despite JK, JH and KG being popular individually too. Not to forget how many of the admins of the RM fanbases are MC shippers themselves. In this regard, we can split it up into 4 types of fanbases:

1. KG's fans : almost all of them are MC shippers if not all.

2. RM fans : Neutral in the basic sense, but do enjoy M* interactions- but they are fine without it too.

3. JH's fans: Now here, a lot of people became JH's fans because of MC and a lot many became her fans because of the Ace character ( I don't know of many fans who were her fans before RM as well). In her case, while they might have liked MC in the past, they are now tired of it. WGM with CB gave JH fans another chance to view JH minus her RM and MC baggage. This made a lot of her fans fine with anybody, but there is also quiet a few who are tired of any and all lovelines - be it SA or M* or Kwangmong. Whatever be the case, my main gripe with say JH's DC is that they were not vocal enough when it mattered- or rather when RM kept bringing back M* and JH wasn't given screen-time nor opportunities to showcase herself on RM.

4. JK fans : I think JK's fans are fine with anybody he chooses as long as he is happy, but I have noticed a lot of M* fans who hate the idea of SA become either JK-Y** shippers or ship JK with any homo sapien who is not JH. Then there are the original JK-Y** shippers too, though not a significant number.

All in all, yes SA is the biggest ship after MC, despite it not being promoted in the show (and sometimes discouraged, I might add). And that's why the popularity of our couple surprises me every time. Also, the general trends are that people do migrate from M* to SA, and those who do leave the SA ship don't go back to MC, rather just refrain from any shipping, lol. And if they do have long-term plans for RM, i would like to believe out of sight out of mind, for M* which will generate more neutral fans, which would only be beneficial if JK and JH are truly dating.

[mary-ann]

2 hours ago, androkia91 said:

What I am afraid of is this : they bring back a little bit of MC in RM to facilitate the MC in the fanmeets. They still had that random Halyang cap on JH for the 1st game in the RM vs Avengers episode. Not to mention the captions we get whenever JH and KG interact (the PSH episode, also the Yeo Jin-gu episode). The CF contract will probably end towards the end of this year, and they might also try to to squeeze out another award for MC in the SBS awards like they did last time.

I am actually surprised that they have as many as 9 fanmeets. Considering how busy LKS is going to be with 2 new dramas and how JK has the US tour, his Chinese song, Turbo comeback, guest appearance in Chinese variety, RM and Welcome Show, I doubt they can have all 7 in 1 FM tbh. While I do expect LKS to attend every one of them, YJS's schedule will probably allow for only 1 FM, and with JK's crazy schedule, I really, really hope that we don't have an FM where there is no JK.

About the size, I agree @linzer03, that the SA ship is a lot bigger than we give credit for, and also that it is only growing. However, the MC fanbase is pretty big too, and still has strong footholds in China and other SEA countries despite JK, JH and KG being popular individually too. Not to forget how many of the admins of the RM fanbases are MC shippers themselves. In this regard, we can split it up into 4 types of fanbases:

1. KG's fans : almost all of them are MC shippers if not all.

2. RM fans : Neutral in the basic sense, but do enjoy M* interactions- but they are fine without it too.

3. JH's fans: Now here, a lot of people became JH's fans because of MC and a lot many became her fans because of the Ace character ( I don't know of many fans who were her fans before RM as well). In her case, while they might have liked MC in the past, they are now tired of it. WGM with CB gave JH fans another chance to view JH minus her RM and MC baggage. This made a lot of her fans fine with anybody, but there is also quiet a few who are tired of any and all lovelines - be it SA or M* or Kwangmong. Whatever be the case, my main gripe with say JH's DC is that they were not vocal enough when it mattered- or rather when RM kept bringing back M* and JH wasn't given screen-time nor opportunities to showcase herself on RM.

4. JK fans : I think JK's fans are fine with anybody he chooses as long as he is happy, but I have noticed a lot of M* fans who hate the idea of SA become either JK-Y** shippers or ship JK with any homo sapien who is not JH. Then there are the original JK-Y** shippers too, though not a significant number.

All in all, yes SA is the biggest ship after MC, despite it not being promoted in the show (and sometimes discouraged, I might add). And that's why the popularity of our couple surprises me every time. Also, the general trends are that people do migrate from M* to SA, and those who do leave the SA ship don't go back to MC, rather just refrain from any shipping, lol. And if they do have long-term plans for RM, i would like to believe out of sight out of mind, for M* which will generate more neutral fans, which would only be beneficial if JK and JH are truly dating.

 

Actually alot of SJH's fans are neutral when it comes to her shipping, they just enjy watching her interaction with the members, i also noticed that many want her to end up with an actor/idol

[linzer03]

It's hard to determine the size of RM ships because there's so many different countries and languages in RM's fandom, and there's probably a lot of lowkey shipping, where maybe fans of LKS ship spartace but aren't vocal about it since they're bigger LKS fans. It's a lot easier to be an MC fan since it's the obvious choice, so MC gains fans a lot faster than spartace. But yeah, I'm just amazed at how popular spartace is considering how it seems like RM at times discourages it. If you watch a video of the Beijing 2015 fanmeet, when the introduction videos come on, listen to the crowd when an image of spartace (from their first chasing ep) comes on screen. It's loud. Louder than I think it was for some of the members individual introductions in the videos and definitely louder than when an image of the betrayers club comes on. 

One thing to add, I feel like the RM IG has seriously started to make use of spartace's popularity. I mean, did y'all see the posts for last week's episode where they posted KJK and his partner next to a picture of a frowning SJH looking in that direction (which was most likely pure coincidence on the IG account's part) but then they posted a picture of KJK next to and looking in the direction of SJH and her partner (which was probably them noticing the spartace fandom's comments about SJH looking at KJK and decide to keep it going). But it seems like they usually try to give the fans some picture with both KJK and SJH even if KJK and SJH aren't interacting in the picture. 

Also, this just popped up on IG. Apparently, it's just the two of them and they met the PD.

 

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

Superbusy, but couldn't believe my eyes seeing this pic. Yayyyyyy!!! The fan said JH is very pretty and JK is kind. She asked for autographs, but got a picture too. Wow, lucky fan! Wonder whether it was a casual dinner with the PD (wonder which one).or a work-related one. JH had met the PD with JSJ earlier, so could be work-related too.

Wonder whether they were sitting on the same side. Looks that way, doesn't it? No wonder they allowed the fan to take a pic since the PD was also there!

[elevenpapitus]

I also think and wish that MC won't revive coz of the next 9 fanmeetings.RM cast used a whole episode to prove MC just the relationship of colleagues before,and JH also shot the WAIL with CBL,calling their couple as orange juice couple.After WAIL broadcasting,OJ cp also had many fans in both China and Korea（although they look like not many people).

In recent episodes of RM,I also don't feel Myuk pd want to revive MC coz they not only haven't stayed in the same team for a long time,but also their expression and communication seemed just like friends and colleagues,I think.

Plus,just like episode 307,production team,Myuk pd and RM casts are more likely to make KG and Hyorin to be a couple,which made me remind of the episode 255,RM casts also made KG and KSH to be a couple,but at that time,JH was mentioned an ex gf.And in this episode,JH was no longer mentioned anything.

And pd is changed,too.Myuk PD is on good terms with all members,so I don't think he will revive MC,but who knows?Let's see.

Btw,JH and JK was photoed with a fan in the restaurant,and the fan said they are together with runningman pd(maybe Myuk pd?),not any other members.So they are discussing about the future of Spartace in RM??maybe..I guess

[dragonlovers]

@linzer03 Oh dear I will certainly not really hate LKS in person. I know his role in RM but I just want to point out that when comparing among the members recently (2015-2016), LKS is the one that always not able to control and identify how far his act should go, until he crossed the line and then said sorry or bow to members after the game. And I am not only talking how he always crosses the line when gaming with JK, but also KG and others. Just to show an example, the episode where Henry, Amber joins RM (I forgot which episode), KG is totally pissed with LKS. And in this episode, people are also pointing out that how LKS crossed the line for KG in the pole game that leads to KG's bad attitude to LKS in the badminton game (KG threw the badminton to LKS partner when LKS reach out to get it. And KG simply said "it is Bora to start the game anyway" with no expression given. Just like how he act and with the same expression that you can find a lot in the episode I mentioned before. And as far as I observed, KG seldom shows his anger and he is seldom being upset for real in rm. And among the little scenes when you can see KG angry for real, two of the scenes are related to LKS. ( I actually did not see him having this bad attiude to anyone, but just if I missed out some)

Here, I am not saying cross the line as of how audience feel, but the different bottom line for individual member. After working for so many years, you can tell that they are close and should be able to know the bottom line of each other. Sometimes they may cross the line unintentionally to produce a funny scene, but it is okay since it is not that frequent. When I stating JS and Haha in my previous post, I would like to point out that as the ones being closest to JK among the members, they clearly know the bottom line of JK, as mentioned in IC EP 409 by JK himself, he said JS really good at not crossing his line. Being the third closest member to JK after JS and HaHa, I believe LKS should also know JK's bottom line. However, he always crosses it during the game and you can often see him bowing or say sorry to JK after the game. (If you didn't cross the line, you don't need to apologize and even bow immediately to your close friend, right? As you know each other well and understand that your friend is not angry at you. At least it is how I distinguish close friends from normal friend.) And you can see him bowing to JK right after he come and join the members and guests.

Once again, I understand it is part of his image in rm, and he is doing it just to win the game. (I agree with some of you that he is having image change as he is seen more competitive in recent episodes, especially this episode, you can see him basically have no smile and using all possible methods to win whenever his turns, no matter it is with JK, KG or JS) But for you info, Haha is also sharing the same image that is known for using every method he can to win, no matter it is dirty of not. When comparing the two of them who share the same point in their role, you will be surprised that HaHa seldom crosses the lines of members, much less than LKS. So it concludes that, it is not a necessary way (or you can say the requirement) to act dirty like LKS (hitting other's crotch, removing underwear or so on) to establish and maintain the image both of them shared. You can also find that most of LKS screen time is on his dirty act or move to other members. Is it impossible for LKS to maintain his image and get screen time if he does not do the dirty moves/acts? As proven, it is not necessary, at least not the basic requirement. I got to give appreciation to HaHa for keeping his image without crossing the lines of members. LKS can learn from HaHa indeed.

For now, I think LKS is in a frustration stage to bring new side of him in variety field. People are bored and not appreciate his frequent dirty acts which he even cross the line of members frequently for the sake of being funny. He started to be more and more dirtier than before.(At least you will not see him hitting others crotch when he played pole game before) When he learn how to get screen time without acting that dirty and lead to him often crossing lines of members, I think at that moment you can say he has grown as a comedian.

 

I did not read all your post in details as I am busy, but I also saw the photo which JK and JH is dining with PD. @athoughtcloud1 And just to add more info for your discussion, Chinese fans believe they are filming the food variety show produced by SBS and baidu mentioned before. And also, Chinese fan translated some news that SBS will stop some of its shows airing in weekends, three shows including one of JS show as I remember, but I am not sure about the exact number, you can search info related to it. Since they are wearing their own clothes, it should not be rm. And having PD with them, it is highly possible they are really filming the food show or have something to do with the show. With SBS having less shows for weekend, the possibility for having the food show increases. But I am not 100% sure for that due to JK's pack schedule and also rm fan meetings are confirmed. (JK's Chinese Agency is the company that sign contract with SBS and responsible for organizing the fm, I am sure they will certainly arrange the dates so it will not overlap with JK's other appointments)  If it turns out to be ture, JK is definitely overloading himself. He already has more than ten schedules and appointments in the remaining half year known by his fans, and half of them are not short term appointments, not to mentioned the ones that are not known for now. So finger crossed that his body can handle it well.

[linzer03]

All right, while we’re eagerly waiting for the next RM episode… I’ve always wanted to ask what everyone’s favorite spartace episodes are and why. I know there are the obvious ones like 95 (liger couple), 103 (piggybacking), 163 (princess SJH), and 228 (pepero game), but some of my favorites aren’t well-known as spartace episodes so if I’m curious to see if anyone else has some unusual favorites.

If you had to list your top five spartace episodes, what would they be and why?

[sana82]

about sa pic with pd at restaurant i saw some postscand comments on insta that they want to leave running man,it's not something that they discuss about at a restaurant it seems too friendly for a serious matter like this.
But about that secret mission theory i think they failed this mission before even start it.why would they let fans take a photo of them in this situation? unless it's something normal for members that they hang out with pd.
And those sa fans that wrote they want to tell pd that they want to marry and discuss it with pd it just seems too much i can't accept they do something like this in current situation.
That dinner seems like a dinner with a friend and it's just my opinion if they discuss something about work and related to runningman in that dinner it's about their future role in rm maybe we can have high hopes to see more of their interactions in rm.
And about that theory that they were there for thst food variety ,i think that fan know the pd that was with them it should be some one famous like myke pd that at least rm fans know him very well but if they were really discuss about that new variety and jk really wants to accept it i will be more than happy it would be great to see sa in other variety shows.

[sana82]

4 hours ago, dragonlovers said:

@linzer03 Oh dear I will certainly not really hate LKS in person. I know his role in RM but I just want to point out that when comparing among the members recently (2015-2016), LKS is the one that always not able to control and identify how far his act should go, until he crossed the line and then said sorry or bow to members after the game. And I am not only talking how he always crosses the line when gaming with JK, but also KG and others. Just to show an example, the episode where Henry, Amber joins RM (I forgot which episode), KG is totally pissed with LKS. And in this episode, people are also pointing out that how LKS crossed the line for KG in the pole game that leads to KG's bad attitude to LKS in the badminton game (KG threw the badminton to LKS partner when LKS reach out to get it. And KG simply said "it is Bora to start the game anyway" with no expression given. Just like how he act and with the same expression that you can find a lot in the episode I mentioned before. And as far as I observed, KG seldom shows his anger and he is seldom being upset for real in rm. And among the little scenes when you can see KG angry for real, two of the scenes are related to LKS. ( I actually did not see him having this bad attiude to anyone, but just if I missed out some)

Here, I am not saying cross the line as of how audience feel, but the different bottom line for individual member. After working for so many years, you can tell that they are close and should be able to know the bottom line of each other. Sometimes they may cross the line unintentionally to produce a funny scene, but it is okay since it is not that frequent. When I stating JS and Haha in my previous post, I would like to point out that as the ones being closest to JK among the members, they clearly know the bottom line of JK, as mentioned in IC EP 409 by JK himself, he said JS really good at not crossing his line. Being the third closest member to JK after JS and HaHa, I believe LKS should also know JK's bottom line. However, he always crosses it during the game and you can often see him bowing or say sorry to JK after the game. (If you didn't cross the line, you don't need to apologize and even bow immediately to your close friend, right? As you know each other well and understand that your friend is not angry at you. At least it is how I distinguish close friends from normal friend.) And you can see him bowing to JK right after he come and join the members and guests.

Once again, I understand it is part of his image in rm, and he is doing it just to win the game. (I agree with some of you that he is having image change as he is seen more competitive in recent episodes, especially this episode, you can see him basically have no smile and using all possible methods to win whenever his turns, no matter it is with JK, KG or JS) But for you info, Haha is also sharing the same image that is known for using every method he can to win, no matter it is dirty of not. When comparing the two of them who share the same point in their role, you will be surprised that HaHa seldom crosses the lines of members, much less than LKS. So it concludes that, it is not a necessary way (or you can say the requirement) to act dirty like LKS (hitting other's crotch, removing underwear or so on) to establish and maintain the image both of them shared. You can also find that most of LKS screen time is on his dirty act or move to other members. Is it impossible for LKS to maintain his image and get screen time if he does not do the dirty moves/acts? As proven, it is not necessary, at least not the basic requirement. I got to give appreciation to HaHa for keeping his image without crossing the lines of members. LKS can learn from HaHa indeed.

For now, I think LKS is in a frustration stage to bring new side of him in variety field. People are bored and not appreciate his frequent dirty acts which he even cross the line of members frequently for the sake of being funny. He started to be more and more dirtier than before.(At least you will not see him hitting others crotch when he played pole game before) When he learn how to get screen time without acting that dirty and lead to him often crossing lines of members, I think at that moment you can say he has grown as a comedian.

 

Agree with you.ks really crossed lines in this episode but may be he doesn't know lot of fans are dissatisfied with some of his dirty actions he have lot of fans who think even that pole wrestling with jk or kg was ok and never see nothing wrong with his dirty methods and i just saw one or two comments in their official insta that said they didn't like these kind of jokes.may be we are in minority who think they shouldn't use these dirty jokes in a variety. 

[twinlovers]

41 minutes ago, sana82 said:

i so agree with you about the dinner it seem to me like friends meeting up just to have dinner and casual chat from the way jh and jk are dress  don't think it has anything to do with whether they will be joining the china food show or them leaving running man but that could just be my thinking, other fandom seen to think its about the food show and some are saying that its nothing because a while back jh and sj were seen with the pd also, but to me jh and sj look like they were attending some kind of event from the way they were dress and meet up with the pd there but jh and jk in the recent pic they dress like they are hanging out with a friend (but i could be wrong also).

 

[aschae]

3 hours ago, linzer03 said:

If you had to list your top five spartace episodes, what would they be and why?

Crap. This is a hard question!  

In no particular order, of the episodes that first come to mind...

#1: Episode 111: Their bickering is one thing I love about them, and this is one episode where their bickering stands out for me, cuz it's so darn cute (and flirty)!

#2: Episode 182: Not only is JH's excitement over discovering JK's role super cute, he also goes down, trying to protect her, and chooses to sandwich her safely behind him. 

#3: Episode 163: It was a very enlightening episode to watch how JK treated JH. I get that this was big for MC shippers, as Gary kissed her on the cheek, but that was it, with the exception of cheesy jokes and greasy attempts later on in the episode. JK was 110% committed to the concept. While you could say, "eh, that's JK, he just works really hard," he doesn't have a loveline with her. He has no (obvious) reason to go above and beyond as he did. And, to add some icing to the cake at the end, he got the ace card in the end.

#4: Episode 207: Another episode where their bickering comes out, along with taking care of each other...even though you've gotta have eagle eyes to catch many of the moments! (Considering that all of the images I'd like to add in here would be re-posts from this thread, I'll just let you guys find those yourselves )

#5: Episode 95: Um, hi guys. Pretty sure the PDs emphasized this was supposed to be an individual mission. They were the last two standing in the 8th member mission, and worked together to find the two suitcases. JK successfully takes down the first water gun sniper in the hunt for the 10th man, and assists in the final elimination. Then, when it comes time to find the 11th man, these two stick together not only through it, but then through a stroke of luck, they're able to conspire together as to how to get JH the W in the end. Plus, he acts all disappointed that only JH wins. Nice try, Kkukie. I'm pretty certain you were happy for her. While I don't think they were quite dating at this point, the fact that there is this much trust between then already, and that they used their strengths to once again work together to get the win, definitely speaks volumes. 

Really looking forward to seeing everyone else's!!

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

@dragonlovers and @sana82 I get the feeling it was a casual chat over dinner. For one, if the fan could easily spot them, that means they hadn't reserved a private room. You don't discuss serious work-related stuff in a place where people can easily overhear you. And based on what SJ said once in an interview, RM castmates do reserve private rooms in restaurants where they talk for hours. So perhaps Myuk PD meets up with members to have a casual chat about their roles and give/get feedback. I really don't see them discussing SA relationship or about changing the members in a restaurant where anybody can walk in and overhear the conversation. I would really like the Chinese variety show to materialize since I would love to see them interact more freely outside of RM, but till now we haven't heard any talk about it. But since it is such a high-profile and high-budget thing with SBS at the helm, there is some chance Kookie might take it up since the opportunity is too good to pass up (at least that is what I hope). Also, I think that talk about replacing members is over at least for now. Myuk PD re-joining RM was not there in the main producer's interview. So I think they have changed their plan if what we got out of the interview was actually true.

I have been really really busy and looks like that will be the case until august 1st week. I do read up everything on soompi and have so many things to discuss, but not getting the time to write long posts. Loved all your posts @linzer03 and @aschae. It is nice to read everybody's thoughts on particular episodes.

I don't think I have much to contribute regarding the last episode.  I agree with almost all the things you said @linzer03 I too thought the nametag ripping was a letdown. It were the other couple games that were more entertaining. This was also not my favourite episode, but considering they had to improvise the games on the spot, they did a really good job.

I hope this episode marks repositioning Gary as a single man who can be used for lovelines with female guests. Like you said, it is fairly obvious who the RM castmates think of as single. YJS is quite good at making lovelines, but he was not at all interested in teasing JK though he was chosen by two female guests. On the other hand, YJS was almost on fire teasing Gary and Hyorin trying to create a loveline for them. YJS saying things like the managers should make sure they both reach home safe was some strong teasing! In the Seven Spoons episode, it was YJS who insisted that JH and Gary should do WGM as punishment which I am sure was him executing the production team's guidelines. Therefore, YJS taking this strong interest in creating a new loveline for Gary (he was reminding everybody about it from time to time and even made that 'you should date for a month' comment at the end) points to attempts of the production team to re-position Gary away from his Monday BF image. While Gary has had lovelines in the past on the show, this is one of the rarer times where there was no reference made to Gary having been the Monday BF. One can read the cast's over-enthusiastic response to Gary's loveline in this episode along with that. When the pepero dance between Gary and Hyorin was going on, Haha was standing up and clapping, JSJ was taking a video of the dance, Kookie was alternately watching and covering his face in embarrassment and YJS was saying things like "this gives me the chills". Let's see where they go with that. Anyway, it was after long that I enjoyed Gary's cheesy lines! So far, the general reponse to Gary-Hyorin loveline in this episode has been positive, at least on the forums I visited. Hoping that Gary's identity as the ex-Monday BF disappears as we proceed into the future episodes and that he doesn't need to bring up the Monday Couple thing again. Gary was really happy this episode and I would love to see a relationship between Gary and JH develop in the show where they can comfortably tease each other without the Monday Couple thing hovering in the background (found it sweet that it was Gary who informed everybody about how JH had covered Hyorin with a blanket). Without the MC thing, both Gary and JH look so happy and carefree. It is that carefree-ness and genuineness I missed in the short preview of 'take care of my refrigerator' I watched. Not sure about others, but I cringed a bit watching that coz I felt both Gary and JH had to be louder than their real selves to make the loveline work even for a simple variety show. Hoping that the actual episode is better than the preview and that we get to see some genuine moments. Like @linzer03, I too think they will be forced to do some fanservice as the Monday Couple as long as the pharma CF is there.  I cannot predict whether there will be a MC redux once the fanmeets are announced, but till now on RM, there haven't been that many signs. Let's see!

Btw Kookie's pepero dance was the most awkward thing ever. I think it was Soyou's snapback that stood in the way. Everybody else had theirs turned the other way so that they could hold the pepero properly. But because Soyou's was sticking out, JK had to crane his head to make some room and rather than a dance, it looked like a mini-wrestling match with JK and Soyou trying hard to keep the optimum distance between each other . It was so awkward to watch!!! LOL

I didn't enjoy the pole games. It mars my enjoyment as a viewer when somebody is in pain and it was hard to see Kookie lying down on the ground in pain. I know all the members cross the line at times which can happen in a variety show and like JS says everything is forgiven as long as it is in front of the camera. I am sure these things don't affect the relationship between the members since they are mature adults and have such strong bonds, but as a viewer, it made me uncomfortable (just like how everybody stealing off items from Kwang Soo's well-deserved feast in a recent episode and the Unlucky hand episode both made me feel bad for KS). Perhaps LKS is also going through some kind of character crisis. I saw him reverting back to the old KS from the last episode. Even during the pillow fight with JK where poor KS was beaten up like anything, he didn't resort to any underhanded tricks. Anyway, let's point out if we don't like something, get it off our chests and move on. It doesn't finally affect my perception of any of the members. KS is born for variety. He is genuinely funny and like YJS, has the knack for giving good reactions to other members's statements helping even their plain statements look funny in the process. To his credit, he has played the underdog and taken other members' bullying when he need not have.  Despite being strong in real life, by playing the weakling on the show, he has helped build the characters of the commander and the ace. However, I agree that he has a tendency to go overboard at times especially with people he is close to, gags which often cause pain to people who love him. Hoping that he is able to rein in that part of himself in the future coz he will be far better as an entertainer if he can find that balance.

[dragonlovers]

@athoughtcloud1 actually why many people say JH and JK dining with PD have something related to food show is because of the pic below:

A japanese fan posted this pic as well yesterday saying she took the pic with JK during the break time of the recording. (As translated by fans) So having JH with JK, many predict it has something do with the food show. Agree that it is not a meeting as serious matter should be discussed in a more formal venue. And there is no confirmation on which pd is dining with them. Rm have a few pd, and pd are acutally employee of sbs, so it will also be possible that the pd will be related to the food show which is produced by sbs. When someone can state it is a rm pd, the pd must be known by public, right? So it may be Myuk PD or the pd who is replaced by Myuk pd now. (He had interview before, so people know about him. And haven't really seen him around after Myuk pd is back) This is the logic of why Chinese fans think it is about the food show. I think it is quite clear that other options are not possible. The fact is either they are having casual dinner with pd or it is something related to food show. But it is all our predictions. It can only be confirmed if there are news regarding it.

I am not also expecting too much for sa moment in next episode. Since their team have no guest and from the preview, it seems the female guest has high reputation as well. So I think JS team with the female guest will have more screen time. But Myuk pd is quite good in balancing screen time among everyone as you can see in recent episodes, so we can only wait and see what is actually happening.

I have no comment on whether they will rivive MC in the show for the sake of fm. But noticed that even there are no caption saying they are jealous for each other, you can see that the camera will often switch to KG if JH did sonething with her partner, and the same goes to JH as well. When KG is dancing intimately with his partner, the screen switches to JH immediately to show her expression. And when JH dance cutely with her partner, KG is immediately shown. I don't know whether this has something related to determine whether mc is revived, but just to state it out for your discussion. In my opinion, at present, they still have not come up with how to define JH and KG relationship. Thus, they use some implicit and not too obvious way to link up the two. Whether mc will revive or not, we can only wait and see how they are doing in the upcoming episodes.

[aschae]

7 hours ago, athoughtcloud1 said:

Therefore, YJS taking this strong interest in creating a new loveline for Gary (he was reminding everybody about it from time to time and even made that 'you should date for a month' comment at the end) points to attempts of the production team to re-position Gary away from his Monday BF image.

 

This is an excellent point.

PS: @athoughtcloud1, I really liked your final paragraph about KS. Excellent points all around, as always!

[linzer03]

@athoughtcloud1 I don't want to talk too long about LKS's character on the show, since this is a spartace forum, but I just wanted to add that I think LKS is going through a character change and he's struggling with balancing his old identity with his new one. LKS gained his fame for being a betrayer and "king of foul", but that stemmed from him being one of the weaker members in the beginning. He then had to maintain his image as the weakest who needs to cheat, which led to him not trying hard in games. However, now he's actually being more active in games and since's he's physically fit and also 31 to KG's 38, KJK's 40, and YJS's 43 (who I would count as the other physical threats in RM), he' winning a lot of those games. However, the people with physical advantages don't need to cheat to win - in fact, it's usually frowned upon. The whole cheating and betraying in RM really came about as a way to counter KJK. Out of the three physical threats - KG, YJS, and KJK - YJS cheats the most but I'd say he has the most control over knowing when it's acceptable and when it's too far. I honestly can't recall any KG cheating moments right now, since I'm not a huge fan of his and he's the least likely out of all the members to cheat or betrayn. KJK, because he's built up as this larger-than-life commander, actually gets criticized by fans if he cheats. I remember reading comments about the SNS Race where fans were criticizing KJK for tearing LKS's nametag like he did. Anyway, my point is that the physically stronger RM members don't have to cheat to win and can be frowned upon for cheating in order to win, and since LKS is now proving himself to be a physical threat, it's at odd with his "king of foul" persona. Maybe he hasn't figured out how to be this physical threat and still be the "king of foul"/betrayer that he's famous for and he's overcompensating in his cheating to make up for it. Maybe he struggles with knowing other people's boundaries when it comes to thing like this or maybe he feels like he can take advantage of those boundaries when he's close to people. But I definitely think he needs to reel it in a little and figure out how his character is going to change. The cast have almost all struggled with their characters at some point or another, so now it's LKS's turn and I hope he figures it out in a way that doesn't negatively affect the other members.

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

@dragonlovers JK looked so emotional during his wedding segment in TFS. When he was waiting for the bride, seemed to me like he was reminiscing about something else and had to snap back to the present. Also, when he was going down on his knees to bow to the parents, he looked really emotional. I can see how much he wants to get married. Though he began with 'this is something embarrassing to talk about' while initiating the conversation about his dream wedding, he went on and on about what he wanted, who all he would invite, about making the guests feel relaxed etc. The way he was going on and on about his dream wedding made me feel this was a favourite topic of his to discuss with his friends and acquaintances. LOL No wonder YJS asked him once to talk less about gifting his girl friend flowers and to just get married. I wish they would do something special for the wedding if SA get married, something fun keeping in with the RM theme. But most probably, if they get there, it will be the typical hotel wedding since JK says he prefers that (though i wonder whether having something quirky like this does help in changing his mind). JH also says she wants a simple wedding, so it may not be that elaborate an affair. The other thing I found interesting was Noh Hong Chul accusing JK of constantly texting someone during his breaks, the implication being that he has someone special to talk to. JK's response is to get flustered, pull NHC by the collar and insist that it is just work-related things. It was Seojin  (who once told JH that he was not the only one with secrets which promptly shut JH up LOL)  who saved JK with his 'I saw JK was texting the gym guy to keep the gym open for him so that he can go there after his schedule gets over and he was doing that again and again'. But the way JK was smiling after that made me feel the truth was far from that. LOL JK and JH had the dinner with the PD on a wednesday which is the usual shoot day for TFS. Hmm... so wondering if it is only the gym guy JK texts about meeting up after his schedule is over! Anyway, I am glad the show is focusing a bit more now on JK since I did feel the show was too concerned with positioning Seojin, the relative newbie to MCing in the first few episodes that the other two MCs didn't get the highlighting they deserved. So I am glad JK got his own segment in this episode. Besides, among the MCs, JK was the one who wanted a hotel wedding which is Park Soo Hong's forte. He also knows JK well which makes it easier for him to plan what would suit JK. Of course, since JK has so many quirks, his theme would be the most funny for variety as it turned out to be.

@twinlovers Sorry, it took me this long to watch episodes 221, 222 and 223. I had watched only bits and pieces of 221 before and hadn't watched the other two. I had watched 224 in full and like you said, JK helps JH in the last mission, so I think that episode does have spartace moments. You felt may be JK and JH had a fight in episode 221 which got resolved only by episode 224, right? I can understand why you may feel that way since JK and JH barely interact with each other in these 3 episodes and some of them are MC-centric.

Based on what we see in the episodes, with the editing that is done, it is really hard to say what could have transpired. You may get to see SA keeping distance from each other which may make one believe they had a fight. But they may be interacting with each other off camera. So we cannot really predict what might have been happening during a particular episode. We can only speculate based on what we see. So, my impressions of these 3 episodes come with that caveat. Anyway, episode 220 was the one in which Jae Suk nudges JH and pushes her towards JK which is an indication that they were dating happily during that time and were possibly getting teased by their castmates about that. Not to mention JK's murderous glance at Soo Hong when he proposes to JH. LOL So, these 3 episodes are around a time when we strongly suspect they are dating.

Episode 221: Each of the teams have their own missions, so they come together only by the middle of the episode. In the shot where the teams are lined up for their mission, you can see JH's body turned in the direction of JK's team. Is she secretly keeping an eye on JK? LOL

Spoiler

cre: Cookie Cookie, naver

 

The most important thing that happens during this segment is what happens after the game when JK tries to blow some dust off Hong Jin Young's eyes which makes Gary go 'what are they doing?' prompting the other cast members to interpret it as a kiss. JH cannot be seen, but her words though they sound teasing have a bite of sarcasm to them 'New Romance? jalhanda" . I think JH is feeling a bit pissed here. It doesn't help that the teasing goes on for some more time with one of the guests joining in. When Lee Teuk tries to take it further, you can see JK patting him as though saying the teasing is enough. I thought KS trying to re-enact the supposed kissing scene with JK was his way of cooling things down. I did feel that JH's mood was slightly off during the meal segment. I also thought she was taking peeks at JK's team at times.

Spoiler

cre: cookie cookie, naver SA cafe

 

There are a few shots during this segment where JH and JK are looking in each other's direction, but they don't interact much.

Spoiler

cre: 南峰20, SA baidu

 

HJY is very touchy with the guys (that is how she is, it is not like she is specifically doing that to JK). Also, she has guested on escape crisis and as singers, they know each other, so JK is also friendly with her. Anyway, I wonder whether JH was feeling a bit pissed there. The next time HJY comes as a guest, JK tries his best not to be on her team and tries twice to move away, but since she is adamant and the guys love teasing JK, he is forced to be on the same team as her (Offcam, I think they are friendly. It is just that JK feels uncomfortable when the cast tries to pair them up for the camera since he feels their interactions may be misinterpreted. When Gary says JK glared at him when he tried to join their team, JK tells him not to say that since people may take it for real). That episode requires much more detailed analysis which I will do later. The third time HJY guested, we know JK was really careful with his interactions with her. He clearly didn't want his castmates to force him into a loveline with her. So when Haha was trying to spice things up, he put an end to it. While dancing too, he was trying to dance near JH. HJY was also a bit more careful this time around and I feel JH has also become quite close with her. When JY was doing her aegyo and JK was shaking his head in half-exasperation, you can see JH laughing out loud.

So my impression of the episode is that the teasing JK got about the supposed kiss with HJY did make JH uncomfortable and perhaps slightly jealous?

Episode 222: I don't think JH and JK were having any tiff in this episode. I don't know which episode got shot when (both 221 and 222 were shot around Jiri mountain), but if we presume that 221 was shot earlier (I think it is so since Gary does HJY's aegyo action in 222), then whatever discomfort JH felt in 221 must have got resolved quickly. The most obvious spartace moment in this episode was when JH says that whoever is on the same team as the blond ahjussi has an advantage. That sure doesn't sound like JH and JK having a tiff. If it is the game on the running machine that you are thinking about where JK helps all the members except JH, then isn't it natural that JK will have to step aside for the Monday BF to do his duty? Even otherwise, holding JH's head for the game in his lap, keeping her mouth open, involves the kind of skinship that JK would not usually do with JH when there is a game going on and the camera's focus is going to be on them. Since helping JH to do her task would involve some skinship, Gary and Lee Kwang Soo are the only people I can think of who can do the job (Gary coz he is the Monday BF and KS coz he is her close dongsaeng). However, I hadn't noticed that JK actually nudges Gary to go and help JH during the game and it is only then that Gary goes and supports her. I have to give it to the hawk-eyed SA baidu shippers. If you watch carefully, you can see JK moving away to his left after nudging Gary.

Spoiler

cre: mintgarden, SA baidu

 

I get the feeling JK was injured during this episode since he has something tied around his leg and he doesn't participate in the name-tag ripping until the end. The name-tag ripping here is interesting. It is apparent that for the episode to work, JK should be there till the end since he is the only alien from Venus.  Though we all know JK is the first person everybody tries to eliminate in any nametag ripping game, nobody tries to do so here. JK is standing by himself on a rooftop while all the Martians are trying to eliminate each other. Though KS tries to go after JK for some time, he also doesn't try to rip his tag. Why is it so? That the others thought JK could be a Martian is not enough of an excuse since the others, especially KS have never cared about betraying him even when on the same team. So I wonder if the other members were told not to target JK till the ending stage of the game. Finally, JK, KS, Gary and JH are left in the game and they have to find out who their allies are and eliminate the enemy from the other planet. Suddenly, JH gets bitten by a mosquito, gets distracted, KS tries to rip her tag, but doesn't succeed and then gets eliminated by Gary. That sure looks scripted to me. If JH didn't get bitten by that mosquito, the three of them would have remained in the game against JK. Honestly, JK couldn't have won against 3 RM members, not to forget that he was battling an injury at the time. Since JK was the only member from Venus, his getting eliminated automatically would mean the end of the episode. So KS getting ousted like that seems to me quite scripted to give the episode a thrilling finale with the Monday Couple Vs Commander showdown. JK has won against two people (like in episode 113) and JH is a woman, so it would look more like an equal fight. Two interesting moments for me are what happens between Gary and JH.  Gary once he realises JK is the guy to beat comes and interlocks his fingers with JH's, JH then points to Gary doing that and laughs in the direction of JK or the crew. It could be because of two reasons. Perhaps JH finds the hand-holding uncomfortable and her laughter is a way to mask her discomfort. Or more probably JH is laughing at the fact that Gary needs her to lead when it comes to a fight against JK. When Gary tries to put his finger on JH's lips trying to shut her up, she moves away before he can do so.

The editing of the segment where JH rips off JK's nametag is pretty interesting since after a point, we are only shown her hand on his tag and no full body shots. The real reason they didn't give a full shot was perhaps because JK's and JH's faces were far too close. It also makes one wonder how JH's face comes so close to JK's face since she is shorter than him. It looks like she has her hands wrapped around his neck and is thus hanging on to him and his one hand is holding her to support her. The hand which is holding JH is far below her nametag which makes me wonder whether JK was that interested in ripping JH's nametag. He tries to rip off her tag in the beginning, but after that just seems to hold her while his other hand goes for Gary's tag.  It is also striking that JH who doesn't like it when Gary tries to put his finger on her lips is putting her face so close to JK's face, their faces almost touching each other.

Spoiler

I have some impressions on the segment after the name-tag ripping though I don't have much proof to go by. But then I do feel something is going on there. I felt that JH's mood was really off after the name-tag ripping. Her eyes are a bit teary and she sniffs a bit, but that could be because they were shooting in the night around a mountain. So one cannot really take that as indication of her mood. However, JH is strangely unexcited after her big win even though she is told that she has the option to win a lot of gold. She has to be coaxed by the other members in different ways to claim the gold which is kind of surprising. She has that face where she is laughing a bit loudly to cover the fact that she is feeling a bit low. I have a feeling that these kinds of games where JH has to team up with someone, especially her Monday BF, to rip JK's tag aren't exactly easy affairs. In that segment involving the last name-tag ripping, JK tries to joke around a lot, perhaps trying to dissolve some of the tension that comes with the awkward turn of affairs. Finally when JH and Gary win and hug each other, JK turns away. So I wonder whether JH' slightly off mood was a result of what went on before with her having to rip JK's tag. Earlier when the other members were talking about going after JK, it was JH who dissuaded them saying that even JK could be a martian like them or the mission could be about proving their unity as aliens (in the ending segment, when JH blames the guys for not being united as a group, all of them claim that it was because of her that they lost). Hence, the final face off seems to have been something unexpected and perhaps a bit hard for JH. I have never seen the members literally coaxing JH to accept the gold and it is an indication to me that they were trying to cheer her up. Perhaps, she felt she didn't deserve the gold, I don't know.

Anyway, so I don't think there was any tiff between spartace in this episode.

Episode 223: Spartace interaction is again very limited in this episode, even less than that of the previous episode. But rather than JK and JH having a fight or something like that, I think it is coz there are restrictions on their interactions. JK and JH arrive one after the other to do their morning mission at the subway station though we are not shown their interactions. During the sit up segment, it is interesting that the members expect JH to be good at them. The cast has 5 men other than JK, yet it is surprising that they think JH has a higher chance at getting the mission done than some among them. It could be coz they expect JH to get more leeway with the sit ups since she is the female member (JH doesn't go full down for her sit ups)  or they know she does it regularly and hence has the chance to get more than 35 sit ups in one minute. The only other member who succeeds in the mission is JK. Can we go delu and think it is coz the members know JH gets trained at the gym by JK that they expect her to be good at it? Who knows! After all, Haha had made that comment about JK training JH's abs. Or perhaps, JH, being quite athletic, is naturally good at them. When JH is doing her sit ups, JK looks on quite happily. When it is  JK's turn to do his sit ups, though there are other male members around and KS is already holding on to his legs, JH also goes and helps him hold JK. Is that coz JH has experience helping JK with his sit ups? In the game where they have to throw the ball at the bottle, JK and JH do stand near the table for some time.  So, I don't think they were having a fight. It was just that there were restrictions on their interactions and yet they were still trying to help each other in non-obvious ways.

The final rock-paper-scissors game was kind of awkward to watch. Poor JH didn't really have a choice. It is apparent from how slowly she moves that she didn't want to be on Gary's team, that given a choice, she would have gone to the teams of either Haha or LKS, castmates she is closer to. However, because everybody was shouting for her to support her Monday BF, she had no choice but to join Gary's team. JH looks so relieved when YJS joins her team. Either YJS wanted to avoid a situation where he had to choose between Haha and LKS, both of whom he is extremely close to (and so chose Gary whom he doesn't hang out with that much) or he wanted to help out JH in a potentially awkward situation.

Anyway, so I don't think JK and JH are keeping away from each other these three episodes because they had a fight. Both 222 and 223 had obvious MC moments, so I guess JK and JH were told to keep some distance from each other. There are episode where I feel JK and JH may have had a tiff, but the thing is I think these get resolved once they get a break in the shoot. After all, they are professionals and would know that it would affect the overall dynamics of the cast if they keep at it for a longer time. I have kind of observed that the other members are also in tension in situations where I suspect JK and JH may have had a fight or a tiff. May be the other posters can add in their opinion about these three episodes.

[aschae]

...never mind...was going to post, changed my mind...

And now, back to your regularly scheduled program!

[linzer03]

I’d have to rewatch those episodes, but I agree with @athoughtcloud1 that spartace weren’t fighting, and if they did in ep 221, it was brief. RM filming takes over ten hours but they only show us one and half of those hours. It wouldn’t be that hard to cut out most of the spartace moments if the staff wanted to, especially if a lot of the missions take place separately (like in the beginning of ep 221 and 222), and make it look like spartace doesn’t interact. We’ve seen plenty of BTS where KJK and SJH are shown together even when there’s next to no moments in the episodes. For example, in ep 242, where KJK is on the three person team it looks like he doesn’t interact with SJH at all during the nametag portion of the game, but if you watch the clip from Fashion King (I think that’s the show), she walks up to him and holds his arm. They may also have been told to stay apart for the sake of MC or they may have chosen to stay apart because they want their relationship to be a secret and the spartace fanbase had come onto their radar.

I’ve said this before, but I think during late 2014-early 2015ish KJK and SJH didn’t like being on the same team. Not because they weren’t close or didn’t like each other, but because it’s probably a bit weird to have to act like you’re not close to your significant other on camera. And they probably got less screen time when they were paired because MC must be protected. Late 2014 saw the return of scripted MC with the Snow White episode. After the Partners of Fate ep 183, KG and SJH didn’t end up on the same team (excluding RM team) until ep 206 (Snow White was ep 204). From episodes 184 to 203, MC is just KG making occasional jokes, the cast’s occasional teasing, and captions. If I remember correctly, some people were speculating the end of MC before the Snow White episode came about. The Snow White episode is such a bizarre one in term of spartace and I think we had a long discussion about it previously on this forum so I won’t go into it. But for whatever reason, in 204 the staff decided to script MC again. In ep 208 with Suzy, we have KJK avoiding the rabbit because he thinks it might be SJH and it’s not until after she calls that he decides to pick the rabbit. In ep 213, you can see how awkward they are after finding out they’re partners in the final race. They sit with one chair separating them where no other couple does that and they’re rather stiff an awkward when shaking hands. And in the beginning of ep 228, YJS says that “They don’t like being on the same team” when KJK, SJH, and JSJ end up together. That doesn’t mean there aren’t spartace moments when they’re together and they don’t enjoy being together, but they probably preferred not be under the pressure of having to act like they don’t know each other and supporting MC while on the same team. Episodes 221, 222, and 223 fall in this time frame so they may be limiting their interactions themselves. This is just my theory, it’s also possible that the staff specifically told the cast to act like KJK and SJH don’t like teaming up, but that’s seems a bit heavy-handed, which is why I think it was decision made by KJK and SJH.

I’ve never seen episode 222 before for some reason, so maybe I should sit down and watch it. But I’ve seen screen caps and gifs from that episode and I want to add that it’s supposedly the episode where KJK gave SJH the bottom half of his pants. Normally, I try not to put too much faith in the theories that they’re sharing clothes (the shorts that some spartace fans claim KJK, HH, and SJH share are sponsored and there’s absolutely no proof that KJK gave SJH his jacket in the beginning of ep 219) but the pants in this one are kind of hard to ignore. Everyone has long silver pants except KJK and SJH. KJK have silver shorts over black leggings while SJH has black leggings with silver only on the bottom half of her legs. The fact that it fits so perfectly is hard to argue against. The guys all have silver pants, but SJH, the lone girl, had black leggings and KJK gave the bottom half of his pants to SJH (because she was cold? because his pants didn't fit so he had to cut the bottoms off and she thought it'd be fun to wear them?) There’s also a scene where they’re walking and SJH helps KJK fix his shirt. If he’s doing that, I’d say they weren’t arguing, but staying apart for the camera or by editing.

@dragonlovers I don’t think RM can abandon MC completely yet. MC is still a huge part of RM fanbase and they wouldn’t want to alienate them by abandoning MC as soon as possible. I mean, the way MC’s brain scan was revealed was really . SJH and KG went on a date first, there were nice captions wondering about the possibility… People who aren’t MC fans or who are neutral can see how uncomfortable SJH when KG makes moves on her, but there’s enough in the date that hardcore MC fans will be satisfied. The MC version of WGM was like a really subtle, hand-holding way of telling fans that MC isn’t real. Keeping the MC fanbase is also why SJH and KG couldn’t say they don’t like MC outright in interviews. So while Myuk PD may be done with MC, he may not be able to throw away MC completely and why we will never get a blunt statement on SJH and KG’s feelings towards MC. It’s kind of similar to how in the beginning, RM IG would post the occasional spartace picture—you don’t want to alienate a large portion of your fanbase.

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

11 minutes ago, aschae said:

...never mind...was going to post, changed my mind...

And now, back to your regularly scheduled program!

What happened? The dates were helpful.

@linzer03 Yeah, agree with your thoughts. I feel KS is going through a dilemma about where to take his character. For the past few months, I felt KS was trying to grow out of his betrayer persona. Especially after Hwan Jin PD took over, the focus has been almost exclusively on KS being the unluckiest member than on him being the betrayer. What was different about the baywatch themed RM episode was how Myuk PD went back to the two mountains concept with JS and JK acting like how they used to in the early episodes. In the openings of episodes under Hwan Jin PD, it were mostly the unlucky trio who used to carry the conversation. JK would usually pitch in with a comment or two, but he was not really one of the centres. What also used to happen under Taek PD's last episodes and Hwan Jin PD's episodes were that the ones good at the banter like YJS, LKS and JSJ were allowed to go free with that which often resulted in the other members not getting enough screen time. It is too early to say, but if you look at these two episodes with Myuk PD, members who were left to fend for themselves - JH and Gary got a lot of focus. I wouldn't say JK got that raw a deal under Hwan Jin PD since there were attempts to showcase a different side of him and there were episodes which were heavily physical that let him shine. However, under Myuk PD, the slightly brash JK of the early episodes made a comeback in the Baywatch episode. I feel making JK the leader of his group is a role he is familiar with and good at, so perhaps that helps bring out more of his variety persona. Watching the Baywatch themed episode, I did feel LKS was slightly more subdued than I had been used to seeing him in the previous episodes. If I can put it this way, I thought the members who were given a free reign with the banter were reined in a bit so that the relatively silent members could also make their presence felt. So LKS trying to revive his 'brash' image may be coz he feels there have been changes in the characters of the other members or like you said, he is going through some confusion as to how to pitch his character. Let's see what happens! Anyway, really early days to predict anything since Myuk PD has just taken over and we have just got 2 episodes. I wish Haha would also get a bit more focus since he has also slightly been in the shadow in the recent episodes.