[Reality Show] The Genius 더지니어스 Season 3 - TVN (Season concluded 17th Dec 2014)

[Guest kingjichangwook]

alasti said: Yeah, he's actually the webtoon writter I wonder if he will be acting in his own story that must be fun

[alzalya]

Episode 3 ranting

I'm a bit conflicted about this season after watching episode 3. This episode main match is really testing their individual skill, both skill for the game and social skill. I have to admit it's really hard understanding the MM explanation with my really basic Korean. It took me a while to understand what each card has to over and its flaws. I'm still confused about some of them. From my point the safest card was Push coz you can make sure to have someone in front or behind you at all times if you play the number right and it also has a lot of bargaining power. The only flaw I can think of is that it would be really hard to make sure in getting the black garnet as your strategy would be based on following others. It is also one of the card that doesn't really need an alliance with anyone. The card explanation was so simple that most people might just disregard it. The lamest card was Jump. It will only be useful if you're threaten to be the last place, while at other times it might as well secure the first place for you. The other cards are a bit harder to figured out, you'll need more complicated strategies to make it work. And I'm still undecided about the Quick, it's a bit like Jump but at least you have a say on it.

The card selection turns just show you how important it is not to put a target on yourself. The lawyer survival instinct flared up during the last DM, that he kinda showed off the bad side of him to basically everyone else. He was cornered in the last MM by his teammates and Hyunmin brilliance understanding of the game (yes, I'm rooting for Hyumin, if you haven't notice it yet), so he felt the need to scare everyone just to make sure he survive the DM. Btw, I personally think that his end strategy at DM (to make a draw with the others player) was inspired by Hyunmin strategy in MM. Anyway, he put a really big target on himself that it was obvious everyone was going to choose him as the last player to pick. And I think the lawyer was really afraid of Hyunmin that he chose him to pick before him. And just as my point, everyone seems to avoid the Jump card, so in the end the lawyer got that, and also kinda make sure him for the DM unless he could make some great alliance to help him.

What made me surprised was that Hyunmin got the Push card although he was the second to last to pick. What was everyone thinking? Didn't they know that this card has a lot of bargaining power? And giving bargaining power to Hyunmin who almost definitely will used it in some complicated plot? Well at least it'll make the game more exciting.

After watching the MM I felt a bit disappointed, the game could've been more exciting, the players could've done some great strategies with all the rules and loopholes the cards gave them. But instead, what I see was most of them were playing it safe, keeping their good image at all times. The only one that stood out was, of course, Hyunmin. He was able to make a few strategies right off the bat. He knew how to make the game interesting. He knew who to gather for his strategies, he's not afraid to plot against someone behind their back, while putting a nice face in front of them. This time his target was the lawyer and the doctor. All that plotting is what make genius such a great show to me. What made Hyunmin stood out so much was the fact that he think all of the game was just a game and that he will try to to everything he could to win it. It's like what the other player don't know won't hurt them, but if they know in the end then it's just in the name of the game, nothing personal. While the others put their public image first before doing a certain strategy. I think this is what make the lawyer quite mad at Hyunmin. To Hyunmin nothing is personal but to the lawyer it's very personal because he's being targeted again, and seeing Hyunmin targeted the doctor made him blow up. I could see Hyunmin was a bit taken back by the lawyer remarks, but I really hope he won't bring down his game in the next episode.

Applause for the doctor for being able to accept that he was being sacrifice and at the end he was more ready for the DM. Although the DM was a recycle one but it gives different feel this time. This time it was not a lucky win, but a win using a strategy, and a good one at it. And also the lawyer was a bit too predicted. I'm really glad that the doctor turned out to have a good head after all. I really wish he could show more of his worth in the next MM.

And just a little note on the poker player, he's truly a betting man. He offered something he didn't have yet on a bargain and he somehow managed to get the bargain. I wish he could pick a more influential card and so he could be more involved in the game. But considering all, and how he managed to get a black garnet in the end, I still think he's someone to look forward to. I'm still waiting for the webtoon and the finance adv to act more. They definitely could make a good strategy, but they lack the initiative to act on it. As for Dongmin, I still think he's just someone loud with quite a good luck. He definitely got a better head than HongChul from season 2, but I still couldn't picture him making a great elaborate plot like Hyunmin. With the lawyer gone he could be the next target.

I couldn't wait for next episode. I hope it'll get more heated. Sorry for the long rant.

[TumTumTum]

Eng subs for Ep 3 is out : Part 1 | Part 2
Credit: Bumdidlyump

[Guest snowdjinn]

MIDDLE RACE is one of the Best Main Game Rules in the History of "The Genius" !!

EPISODE 3 :
- includes Main Match and Deathmatch Analysis
- includes "THE 6 MOST POWERFUL PLAYERS OF Season 3" !
spoilers !! *Click "Show" to view*

A. Main Match
Awesome Rules ! i love how they had a special rule in the beginning with vote and then the loser picks the next loser and so on ! This kind of rule to decide which player gets what power is really great and suits the format of a Social Skill Gameshow. Its much better than just random drawing powers. I love it ! The game itself is a little bit complicated but if you think about it you understand the rules and then its really fun to come up with a strategy. Many Many Possilibities to Use Powers.: 1. Gravity (my fav pick right after the introduction of powers, it can stay in the midfield and it can always draw a player of your choice back, the only small weakness is that you risk coming last a little bit but i think Gravity survives 9 out of 10 games) 2. Quick (you can move fast forward and you also move fast backwards, thats perfect because you can keep yourself in the midfield and when its time to speed up to get a black garnet you can just speed up and launch forward) 3. With: This one is perfect choice if you want to be friend with other players and gain allies, any alliance would be happy to take you, you will always be part of any alliance which means you will never go to the deathmatch   4. One: Just like Dongmin said, this power is used a lot so you can push players 1 back and 1 forward many times. Its just 1 space but you do it so often that it adds up. A nice power. 5. Mirror: my 2nd favorite after the introduction of powers. This piece really can "kill" with 1 powerful attack, especially if Mirror allies with Gravity. Personally, i like this one very much and would love to play this power if i cannot get Gravity. But objectively, its probably 5th best power in the game. 6. Delete: This power also has a powerful attack as it picks the card that another player has to play. Also a good power. 7. Silence: the punisher of the game, you can pretty much bully other players into the deathmatch. Not a good choice in a Social Gameshow like "The Genius". I have to play with the other players next week again, and being a bully last week can ruin my chances in the next episode. No thank you. Not good.  8. Reset: Well, at least you can gain allies if you give them cards. But not really the power to survive this game. 9. Push: A weak version of One. Its okay but other powers are better. 10. Union: a useless power unless you can find a combination with another power that works, i am not sure if there is a good combination for it. Useless! 11. Jump: great danger of coming 1st. you are just too fast in both directions because you always jump over other players you just move too far in 1 round. Worst Power !!

I think its a great game for a show like "The Genius". Players can form alliances according to their powers. It reminds me of S2 Episode 1 "Food Chain."

B. Death Match
It pains me to say this but the better player won. I cannot believe the Lawyer would make so many stupid mistakes. Lawler Yongguk got very angry and frustrated when he realized that the players targeted him and pushed him in the deathmatch. He got very angry and he also lost his ability to play well. In the Deathmatch he made a lot of mistakes and he was rightfully eliminated. How sad.. really... He just broke down mentally and was so full of anger that he became a weak player. But i still think that Oriental Doctor is the easiest target and weakest player of Season 3..


C. THE 6 MOST POWERFUL PLAYERS OF Season 3
Lets take a look at my Top 6 Picks for Favorite Players to win Season 3:

Finance Expert Sujin. Her tactic to hide her skills and remain silent paid off. No one picked her and she got the very powerful "Gravity" Power. Then she easily earned a BLACK GARNET without even participating in a deathmatch. Sujin is probably my Number 1 pick right now to win Season 3. If you look back at the 3 episodes, she is awesome when it comes to predict the actions of other players. It happened quite a few times. GREAT PERFORMANCE !

PokerPlayer YooHyun. Perfect Play, he picked a good power. He used his charme and social skills to get help from other players. He is also a leader-type that other players ask for advice or want to ally with. That gives him an advantage as well. He got a BLACK GARNET without playing a death match. GREAT PERFORMANCE !

Web-Toon-Writer Jong Bum. A very quick thinker. Immediately picked "WITH" knowing fully well that this will make him part of the alliance and will protect him from going to the deathmatch. Seriously, JongBum understood very well that Genius is most of all a Social Skill Game and he takes great care of his image and reputation. He definately gained some allies in this episode and can be very happy about this episode. GREAT PERFORMANCE !

Comedian Dongmin Last time i wrote "Dongmin knows exactly what is important and whats not-so-important." So far, Dongmin always knew what he had to focus on, in order to survive. We can see this again in episode 3. He knows the most powerful powers immediately. Dongmin doesnt even try to analyze the whole game, he just finds out the most important factors and then makes a strategy based on that. Very Effective. Dongmin has a lot of players who ally with him and has taken a Leader-Role. His Alliance is always the most powerful in each episode. GREAT PERFORMANCE !

Hyunmin another scary Super-Player. He is the God of Strategy, a Master Tactician. His natural skill to understand game rules and knowing how to play a game to win is awesome. By far the best Main Match Player of all time, probably even better than Jinho because Hyunmin is also better with social skills and forming alliances compared to Jinho. The most talented player of all the players. GREAT PERFORMANCE even with a "weak" power.

Lawyer  Yong Suk  when he was choosen to be last for picking powers, he was upset. When he noticed that an alliance planned to push him into the death match he was angry. When he was eliminated and pushed into the deathmatch he was superangry and lost his patience. From that moment on, he could no longer concentrate and played terrible. YongSuk broke down mentally and was rightfully eliminated. 1 of the 6 Favorites is eliminated.

D. The 5 Underdogs. 5 Underdogs remain.
Actress Yeon Joo and Oriental Doctor Yeonseung seem helpless and lost. Sooner or Later they get eliminated. i am sure. Announcer AhYoung is also a bit helpless and a bit lost. I think she makes mistakes every once in a while and she makes bad decisions. She has to be superlucky to win season 3. Hweejong has to be careful. His bad manners show once again. He got arrogant as soon as he was given "Silence". He will make a lot of enemies in the next episodes and i dont think he can survive til the final four players. Actor Junghoon is doing okay. He is the only Underdog that has potential to become a powerful player. He is not really good but he is an allrounder and unlike other underdogs he is not making any big mistakes. An average player who makes no mistakes is better than a great player who breaks down mentally (for example: the lawyer).

Thank You for reading the Snowdjinn Report
See You next week :-))

[taengstache]

One thing I REALLY didn't like was that the guys were gunning for Yongsuk but none of them had the balls to make him come in 1st place. They had to use Ahyoung to do it. Like really? come on. You could say they tried to do the same thing with Yeonjoo & Yeonseung. That's probably why Yeonjoo was upset. She didn't want to be the one to put the nail in the coffin for Yeonseung since she was pretty neutral with everyone.
Ahyoung needs to watch out because I have a feeling she'll become the guys puppet.

Hyunmin, Dongmin & Yoohyun are my front runners to win this season.

[Guest clumsycaked]

Hello, lurked for some time but decided to give my 2 cents on this
Like the lawyer, I'm one of those who understands a game the more I play it, so the more complicated the game the less I focus on the game itself (I just watch their interactions).

Like others have mentioned, it feels like many of the players are careful about their image.

Can't comment much on the MM in Ep 3 as it was confusing for my poor brain, but the DM was fun to watch. The lawyer might have thought that the doctor will try to win it as soon as possible, but it was a good strategy to drag it out to a draw (props to the webtoon writer! And to the doctor for keeping his cool instead of rushing things).

A few thoughts on the players:
Seeing how the lawyer threatened the others during ep 2's DM, I figured it would make the players wary of him and karma did happen (can't say I was entirely unhappy to see him go). He and Hyun Min seem to have some beef with each other, and the lawyer made the atmosphere tense as he took it very personally instead of a game to win. Perhaps he was pissed from being singled out for 2 episodes consecutively.

Hyun Min: Underneath the cute face is a schemer! He definitely makes things interesting, and I hope he gets far because he is good at MMs. I understand why people like him, but I agree with the lawyer in the sense that I don't exactly root for his game play. He allied with the doctor early on but after they realised the plan will not work and the alliance (probably) came to an end, he planned to take the doctor down once he realised he could do so. Same with ep 1, he tried to make the 3 watermelons last even though he was supposedly on their side. I get the same feeling from Kyung Hoon, but Hyun Min is better/luckier with his games and he has that cute face for camouflage lol.

Financial planner: Look forward to seeing her being more active in MM, hopefully she can show some of her prowess before being eliminated because she seems to have potential.

Ha Yeon Joo: After she used a threat on the webtoon writer, I had hopes that she will show more interesting play But she is still mindful of her image, if she could show her skills it will be fun.

Webtoon writer and pro poker player: The webtoon writer seems a little more loyal, while the poker player seems like he can betray anytime lol. They do shake things up in their own way, and I'm looking forward to what they have up their sleeves for future game plays.

[Guest snowdjinn]

@alzalya

yes, agree with you that Jump is the worst power. I think Quick is much better because it moves 2 cards forward and then 2 cards backwards. That means you can move forwards and backwards all the time and avoid being last or first. Still, you move quicker than the other players so you have a good chance to catch a black garnet. Jump is just too powerful moving forward. Also, its really a bit unfair that Jump cannot reload cards when its 1 of 4 cards even though it reloads with 2 of 4 cards. That makes it absolutely the worst power of all.Its way too easy for the Delete player to destroy the Jump player. the Push power is not that great. I am not surprised that Hyunmin got it. But of course, any weak power becomes deadly in the hands of Game God Hyunmin. HaHa ! :-)

Quote:  "The card selection turns just show you how important it is not to put a target on yourself."
i think this is really the most important rule for "The Genius". We want it to be a show about being a Strategist and play a Main Match in a cunning way but the truth is.... the way to win the Genius is to stay out of trouble. Many of the players who got far in the Genius are the ones who hide in the background. If you are too loud, you get annoying and they unite to kill you. If you play games well, they see you as a dangerous enemy and they unite to kill you. If you are very active you will have to go against 1 or 2 other players and those players will try to make an alliance to kill you !!!!!!

Genius is most of all a Social Skills Show ! Because its not about winning ! Genius is about not losing, (BIG DIFFERENCE !!) not going to the deathmatch ! And that is why you should stay in the background and dont anger any other player, dont take any side.... and you pick a victim and then ally with other players. Hyunmin said it: "if we dont want to be in danger to get eliminated, we need to pick a victim and unite against him. Make him lose." Thats really the best way to survive in "The Genius". Sad... not nice to watch.. i dont like it... but if you just play the games well without allies, you get eliminated very quickly. They will team up on you.

@taengstache

The players hesitated to kill the Lawyer  because Season 2 had bad viewer comments when they killed players without a second thought. So everyone wants to avoid an image of a "heartless killler" because of that. Everyone in S3 wants to be nice and fair and focus on the gameplay. Of course, this will not work. They have to push each other into the deathmatch. The show IS cruel. The show IS about betrayal. I guess the players just wanna do it as nice as possible and dont want to be as cruel as they players from Season 2 who got a lot of hate comments because of their heartless behaviour.

@clumsycaked

I think the financial planner is already using her prowness. She stays invisible but she is doing a lot of stuff in her invisible mode. She is like a Ninja, who strikes without anyone noticing. Check out her remarks in Ep1 on the watermelon team. She predicts exactly what the other team will do.

I agree. I also think Financial Planner + Webtoon Writer + Poker Player are very interesting players. Will be fun to see what they do in future games. yes!  And then there is Hyunmin, our cute but dangerous schemer. Cant wait to see those players go against each other in future games. HURRAY !

[alasti]

I think the show is starting to get interesting in this episode.

As usually Hyunmin the cute youngster is the most interesting and promising player so far. However, I think he made a mistake by being too loud. He will eventually be a target for elimination as others will view him as threatening. However, at the same time, people will probably avoid him as a DM opponent as they will be scarred to face him. So, he kinda of gained an advantage and disadvantage at same time.

Yeonjoo the beautiful actress. She doesn't seem to possess much to her but I think her strenght is her neutrality. So far she didn't backstab/hurt anyone and that is a huge advantage. Also, when she cried she gave the impression of someone who is really nice and trustable. People will find it easy to trust her as an ally without worries of betrayal. But at the same time, she doesn't have enemies so she won't be an elimination target for now. However, she is at danger for being chosen as a DM opponent. I know I will choose her, she seems weak and easy. An easy DM win.

Hweejong not sure why they cast him again. Didn't like him in season 2. There was nothing special about him and he confirmed that again in this season. sigh i wish he gets eliminated fast

Jongbum I am most interested in this guy. There definitely is more to him and he is smart by staying quietly in the background.


Overall, I liked this episode. Thought I was disappointed in how they all teamed up against one person. It is quite mean and I can see how much the ahjussi was upset. It's definitely a cruel game. But I prefer to see two groups fighting each other/betraying each other. It's better than All against just one person. Being an outcast feels horrible even if it's a game.


[spoiler/]

[Guest acrobaleno]

No wonder Hyunmin is good. He is the KAIST Genius champion after all. And if you look at it, he has the most experience out of all the players since he probably played this kind of games already and know what he needs to do. The only problem I have with him is he seems to be kind of merciless? I mean if you look at the past episodes he'll do what it takes to survive or be at an advantage. And in the preview too he seems to be persuading Dongmin to betray someone? Anyway, does anyone know if KAIST Genius was actually shown in TV? If it is I wish someone will sub it.

[Guest m1deoyo]

acrobaleno said: No wonder Hyunmin is good. He is the KAIST Genius champion after all. And if you look at it, he has the most experience out of all the players since he probably played this kind of games already and know what he needs to do. The only problem I have with him is he seems to be kind of merciless? I mean if you look at the past episodes he'll do what it takes to survive or be at an advantage. And in the preview too he seems to be persuading Dongmin to betray someone? Anyway, does anyone know if KAIST Genius was actually shown in TV? If it is I wish someone will sub it.

[Guest TeddyAllen]

Just finish episode 3, and truthfully the Middle Race Game is kinda hard for me to follow, lol. I wonder how the contestants play the game, it's totally a mental breakdown. They are cast for The Genius for a certain reason.
At the moment I cheer for Hweejong, but unfortunately I don't think he'll last long (instinct maybe). Yoohyun and Hyunmin are strong indeed, as well as Sujin. Dongmin is an interesting character. And some of the rest might be underdog, while some might be dark horses.
I hope the next game will not be too hard to follow for an average viewer like me.

[alasti]

m1deoyo said: acrobaleno said: No wonder Hyunmin is good. He is the KAIST Genius champion after all. And if you look at it, he has the most experience out of all the players since he probably played this kind of games already and know what he needs to do. The only problem I have with him is he seems to be kind of merciless? I mean if you look at the past episodes he'll do what it takes to survive or be at an advantage. And in the preview too he seems to be persuading Dongmin to betray someone? Anyway, does anyone know if KAIST Genius was actually shown in TV? If it is I wish someone will sub it.

[Guest acrobaleno]

The doctor has some potential!

LOL. I thought he didn't know how to write Arabic numeral system.

The thing I don't like about ep. 3 is how they just pick a person to be in a deathmatch and that's it! It's like a 1v1v9 scenario really. And also don't like how they didn't just backstab them, they also frontstab them telling them straight they're targeted. I would like this episode better if it's a alliance vs alliance thing really. What I'm worried about this season is that the show may get backlash again because of some not so nice events. Hyunmin is right I guess, It's because of this games that they do some not so nice things to survive. Those who don't like Liar Game will probably don't like this show cause The Genius has some similar concept to Liar Game and one of those is doing what it takes to win.

My favorites to win this season is the same as most of you here. Dongmin(I want to win), Jongbum, Yoohyun, Sujin, and Hyunmin. Hweejong is showing his character again... If what the profile of him is true and somehow become a favorite to win, then we might see it again.

[TumTumTum]

alasti said: m1deoyo said: acrobaleno said: No wonder Hyunmin is good. He is the KAIST Genius champion after all. And if you look at it, he has the most experience out of all the players since he probably played this kind of games already and know what he needs to do. The only problem I have with him is he seems to be kind of merciless? I mean if you look at the past episodes he'll do what it takes to survive or be at an advantage. And in the preview too he seems to be persuading Dongmin to betray someone? Anyway, does anyone know if KAIST Genius was actually shown in TV? If it is I wish someone will sub it.

[TumTumTum]

TeddyAllen said: Just finish episode 3, and truthfully the Middle Race Game is kinda hard for me to follow, lol. I wonder how the contestants play the game, it's totally a mental breakdown. They are cast for The Genius for a certain reason.
At the moment I cheer for Hweejong, but unfortunately I don't think he'll last long (instinct maybe). Yoohyun and Hyunmin are strong indeed, as well as Sujin. Dongmin is an interesting character. And some of the rest might be underdog, while some might be dark horses.
I hope the next game will not be too hard to follow for an average viewer like me.

[noslalson]

acrobaleno said: The doctor has some potential!

LOL. I thought he didn't know how to write Arabic numeral system.

The thing I don't like about ep. 3 is how they just pick a person to be in a deathmatch and that's it! It's like a 1v1v9 scenario really. And also don't like how they didn't just backstab them, they also frontstab them telling them straight they're targeted. I would like this episode better if it's a alliance vs alliance thing really. What I'm worried about this season is that the show may get backlash again because of some not so nice events. Hyunmin is right I guess, It's because of this games that they do some not so nice things to survive. Those who don't like Liar Game will probably don't like this show cause The Genius has some similar concept to Liar Game and one of those is doing what it takes to win.

My favorites to win this season is the same as most of you here. Dongmin(I want to win), Jongbum, Yoohyun, Sujin, and Hyunmin. Hweejong is showing his character again... If what the profile of him is true and somehow become a favorite to win, then we might see it again.

[Guest SheenaF]

Quite an interesting episode / v \EP 4 SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Main Match is...I didn't watch it fully, but Veritas team won.

They donated black garnets to Junghoon but he burnt it....
DM is Some kind of a poker game with a special rule
I kinda felt bad how the eliminated lost but you have to give it to Junghoon for playing really good... maybe because Yoohyun helped him
He gave Sujin all his garnets...ahh this is too sad...

Player opinions

Hyunmin may be good but he'll never best Hong Jinho for me just because he's too cold. Jinho is constantly betrayed and ousted but he managed to survive and win. He reminds me of an even lesser nice version of Sangmin or Sunggyu. I have a feeling he will come up short just from the win as he's the current frontrunner.

I was impressed with Junghoon in the DM, he knew when to fold and using the strategy he gained from Yoohyun, he managed to absorb his card counting skills and use it to beat the eliminated. I only wished he didn't burn the black garnets because it's such a waste!! 
Yoohyun... I actually like him more than Hyunmin because he's such a charming person. Good at games, good at picking alliances, he's actually quite nice.
Ahyoung please get out as soon as possible. You're not even half as good as Kim Kyungran. Sorry
Sujin. Was quite sad to see her kinda sob after the eliminated gave her their garnet... all around decent player, Would love to see her skills, either in MM or DM. She reminds me of Eunji.
Yeonjoo... oh man I have no opinion of her she's just too neutral.

[Guest acrobaleno]

@Sheenaf Click the spoiler thought you're talking about episode 3 . State next time what episode is it

[Guest mmuin96_e4cd]

@Sheenaf Please be extra careful with the spoiler. Since all the discussion was about EP.3, what a shame.
Now I know who won EP.4 without having seen the episode yet. (

[Guest snowdjinn]

noslalson said: acrobaleno said:

The thing I don't like about ep. 3 is how they just pick a person to be in a deathmatch and that's it! It's like a 1v1v9 scenario really. And also don't like how they didn't just backstab them, they also frontstab them telling them straight they're targeted. I would like this episode better if it's a alliance vs alliance thing really. What I'm worried about this season is that the show may get backlash again because of some not so nice events. Hyunmin is right I guess, It's because of this games that they do some not so nice things to survive. Those who don't like Liar Game will probably don't like this show cause The Genius has some similar concept to Liar Game and one of those is doing what it takes to win.