Roommates - Episode 13 (Bom? Who's Bom?)
In which Soo Hyun narrates, and I find her session both irritating AND boring. This week's episode is supposed to be about new things. We have a new guest, and some of the roommates face new challenges. Sort of.
bcook: Did she even narrate? I heard her voice a couple of times in the beginning and then nothing.
Lafer: I can honestly say that to me it makes little difference who narrates each week.
The camping trip is over, but only SoRa, Soo Hyun, and Sung Woo are at home yet. The younger folk have stopped on the way to have a meal. I guess they worked up an appetite from all that adrenaline over the bungee jumping last week!
The ladies at home are excited because Baek Hyun, one of Chan Yeol's group mates, has invited himself over. I'm not sure why...he doesn't strike me as one of the boys particularly built to entice older women.
bcook: I guess coz he's cute? He has a lot of fans in the EXO fun world.
Lafer: Soo Hyun and So Ra crack me up whenever new men enter the house.
Mama Shin makes him some dinner, of course, because Baek Hyun flat out says he's been hoping for 'Eomma' to make him some food. To fill up the time while they wait for his food, Baek Hyun gets a tour of the house. He is clearly a fan and marvels at everything he's been watching on the television.
bcook: He was very blunt and forthright. No beating around the bush for this kid. I kinda liked that.
Lafer: I kept thinking it wasn't quite as exciting as when the roommates first arrived. Baek Hyun has been watching the house every week, so he says.
Like Chan Yeol on the night HE arrived at the house, Baek Hyun has said he could eat anything, but then as he actually eats his meal one of the women notices that he pushes all the cucumbers to the side and he admits that he 'can't eat them', much to Mama Shin's mortification. As it turns out, though, it's just that he hates the smell of cucumbers. He assures Mama Shin that THESE cucumbers didn't stink at all, and he ate two to show his appreciation of the effort. Sung Woo is adorable, of course.
bcook: ..... cucumbers don't smell when cooked. Do they?
Everyone arrives, introductions are made all around, and the entertainment portion of the evening begins. But first, a shot of Baek Hyun, because he IS a cutie.
Baek Hyun is playing the Gene Kelly role in Singing in the Rain, and first, The Great Se Ho demonstrates his ability to at least do a little bit of everything known to man, then Baek Hyun shows his stuff. They go through the now-standard routine of GaYeon choking any newcomer, Baek Hyun does his impersonation of a famous line from an old movie - one that happened to have been uttered by a woman, but okay - and in general, they have a lovely time - to include a personal performance of Overdose by the two members of Exo, and then an impromptu dance lesson.
bcook: It was all kinda cute. Especially the hiccup with BaekHyun's "powers".
Lafer: All I can say is Baek Hyun as Gene Kelly. Kinda blows one's mind.
Baek Hyun's invited to spend the night and shares Se Ho's room. They end the evening with a nice conversation even though Se Ho did feel a bit awkward being left to entertain Chan Yeol's friend.
There's a strange little sequence where Kang Joon films Min Woo in the shower. It's not as bad as it sounds at least, since he's in the shower in shorts, washing only his hair. I would have preferred the roles reversed, perhaps. Or maybe Mama Shin.
bcook: Yeah...that was just all kinds of strange. Did he know he was going to get filmed? Did anybody else notice there were cameras in the bathroom but we've never seen footage before? Nobody but ME should get to see my baby in the shower. Got that?!?
Lafer: Maybe they are trying to undo some of the damage they've done to Min Woo over the last couple of weeks by giving him a shower scene.
Ga Yeon is working hard for her upcoming fight, exercising and dieting. She has an injured shoulder and we follow along as she has an imaging session and then gets a shot after the doctor pronounces it safe for her to continue training after a brief rest. Poor little punkin, I'd have been really upset for her if the news had been bad.
bcook: I'm quite excited for her first fight on August 23rd(?)...or is that the date of the first episode of Dr. Who? Either way! August 23rd is going to be awesome!
Ga Yeon is just a complete sweetheart of a young woman. She's hardworking and respectful and kind, and she so appreciates everyone who has helped her on this quest to become a fighter. How can you NOT root for a kid like that?
bcook: I think probably her, my oppahjussi and Se Ho are the ones who'll get the most out of this show.
Next up we have Soo Hyun's segment, where she is going to record a song at Yoon Jong Shin's studio with Eddy Kim. You may recognize Jong Shin from his many hosting gigs, but he is also a famous singer of many years standing and has his own agency. Busy guy. Famous guy. One you think you might research a little bit before visiting. Soo Hyun only seems to know an older song of his, talks about how she 'trained' a bit under Bom at YG studio - a completely different style than at Jong Shin's - and jokes about how she thinks it'd be nice if she had one of his songs, and how she's recording this song 'because she likes to sing.' He's really nice about it but I wonder if he was a bit irritated. She came across as flighty, thoughtless, and ill-prepared. Plus, she CANNOT sing.
bcook: Oh My lordy. That Paris song was just...hilarious and she really cannot sing. She tries though and I guess that's what counts?
Lafer: I just love her. She is sooooo different from the roles she's played. I love how when she tried to sing the guy was like "you need to make some sound" because nothing was coming out of her mouth.
She's doing a duet with Eddy Kim but finds his singing distracting and wants him not to sing at certain parts, or to sing more quietly - because she is so bad at it that she can't even push sound out at certain places. The professionals have some fun with it, and even Kang Joon and a friend named Ye Rin are laughing when they visit. I couldn't wait for this section to be over. She had the grace to be embarrassed and shy, at least, but still. It was just a painful experience. It's not that she thought she was good - although I think she thinks she's better than she is - it just seemed like a waste of the time of some talented professionals.
bcook: I just couldn't watch this bit. Everybody was laughing hysterically and I kinda felt bad for her. Don't feel bad for the others though, they wanted to be on TV.
Next, we have Se Ho on his continuing efforts to lose weight. So Ra has brought him to a Pilates studio and he's a bit google-eyed over how pretty the instructor is. She has that long, lean, graceful body you associate with Pilates people and she really IS pretty. Se Ho actually acquits himself quite well. Speaking as a non-Korean, he's chubby but he's not THAT fat, and he's very limber and flexible.
bcook: He's surprisingly limber and flexible for a guy. Pilates with the machines always looks like a torture chamber.
Lafer: And besides, the guy can move. He's a really good dancer.
While I watch him get put through his paces I am suddenly struck by the realization that if something went wrong, these stretching devices - which look quite innocuous - could actually cause MAJOR injuries. Look at Se Ho, and think about what would happen if his arms slipped off those bars in that second picture.
bcook: You think they look innocuous??!
Lafer: I love Pilates but I can guarantee you I would never be in one of those parallel bar contraptions. Ouch.
Next up, Ga Yeon wants the fridge from Se Ho and Dong Wook's room. She chooses to compete against Se Ho, and the game will be spinning around 10 times to get dizzy, then threading a needle. First one wins. Of course they smack heads, and of course Ga Yeon wins. Dong Wook is not amused!
bcook: Wookie's reactions were the best part about this bit. Poor guy. He comes back from filming and then loses everything.
Lafer: Wookie's reactions are always great.
The loser of the game loses by being the first to show teeth, hence the odd expression on Mama Shin's face, above. The funniest part was that after, Dong Wook comments that it's impossible to watch without ALSO trying not to show your teeth, as the camera pans a room of people pursing their lips. Since I was doing the exact same thing, does that make me a Roommate now, too?
bcook: We are all Roommates!
Lafer: Well, they will need to replace Bom after all, so there is hope.
They're followed by NaNa, who wants Se Ho's ceiling projector. She wins, and he gives it up, but not without a pout. And finally, the Pretty Brothers want to compete for Se Ho and Dong Wook's bedroom. If they lose, they'll have to sleep in the yard in tents - but if they win, they'll switch bedrooms. The competition is sit ups, and I don't even need to explain who wins, do I? Poor Dong Wook has lost both his room and his fridge...but I don't exactly feel sorry for him since that competition came at his suggestion: Let's do one last one, and make it big! Be careful what you wish for, Wookie.
Comments
This episode didn't seem to suffer as much from heavy handed editing - I'm sure it existed, it just wasn't AS noticeable. There was VERY little of Bom. Some really brief moments where she was part of a group shot, no real conversation. Sad. I wish they could have at least said good bye to her and pretended it was because her schedule got too busy or something. I'm sure they were affected by her departure, and wouldn't it have been nice for them to be able to show her some affection?
bcook: Yeah. It kinda goes counter to what the news reports were saying about the show saying they were ok with her staying if she wanted. Maybe she/YG asked to be edited out? These past few episodes haven't been that fun to watch and I'm beginning to wonder if it's coz there's no Park Bom.
Lafer: I miss her, too, but feel it's even weirder when she's there but not shown at all. I thought I read this was her last week, no? I guess we'll never see who stole her pudding.
Next week, some of the roommates appear to be headed for Taiwan. Perhaps they'll kidnap Aaron Yan and bring him back to live in the house. That would make me happy.
bcook: Taiwan and Japan! Should be fun! A little bit of engrish, a little bit lost in translation (hehe. oh bcook, such joke...much bad)
Lafer: Hopefully the trip provides more interesting moments. How many different games can they come up with?
bcook: Did she even narrate? I heard her voice a couple of times in the beginning and then nothing.
Lafer: I can honestly say that to me it makes little difference who narrates each week.
The ladies at home are excited because Baek Hyun, one of Chan Yeol's group mates, has invited himself over. I'm not sure why...he doesn't strike me as one of the boys particularly built to entice older women.
bcook: I guess coz he's cute? He has a lot of fans in the EXO fun world.
Lafer: Soo Hyun and So Ra crack me up whenever new men enter the house.
He arrives before Chan Yeol and the gang get home and it is awkward, awkward, awkward. The women stare at him like he's a puppy in a cage at a pet store, and Baek Hyun is not exactly at ease with strangers. He is a gangly little cutie, though. At a certain point he mentions that he took the bus to their house - later, I think, when Chan Yeol arrives - and I am impressed that he can still travel around the city incognito, but then again, off stage he pretty much looks like ANY 20-year-old kid, to me.
bcook: Did you see how my Oppahjussi was a maestro in the kitchen? So Hot. Baek Hyun is pretty adorable. But that chin tho! How manufactured is that chin?
bcook: Did you see how my Oppahjussi was a maestro in the kitchen? So Hot. Baek Hyun is pretty adorable. But that chin tho! How manufactured is that chin?
Mama Shin makes him some dinner, of course, because Baek Hyun flat out says he's been hoping for 'Eomma' to make him some food. To fill up the time while they wait for his food, Baek Hyun gets a tour of the house. He is clearly a fan and marvels at everything he's been watching on the television.
bcook: He was very blunt and forthright. No beating around the bush for this kid. I kinda liked that.
Lafer: I kept thinking it wasn't quite as exciting as when the roommates first arrived. Baek Hyun has been watching the house every week, so he says.
Like Chan Yeol on the night HE arrived at the house, Baek Hyun has said he could eat anything, but then as he actually eats his meal one of the women notices that he pushes all the cucumbers to the side and he admits that he 'can't eat them', much to Mama Shin's mortification. As it turns out, though, it's just that he hates the smell of cucumbers. He assures Mama Shin that THESE cucumbers didn't stink at all, and he ate two to show his appreciation of the effort. Sung Woo is adorable, of course.
bcook: ..... cucumbers don't smell when cooked. Do they?
Everyone arrives, introductions are made all around, and the entertainment portion of the evening begins. But first, a shot of Baek Hyun, because he IS a cutie.
bcook: It was all kinda cute. Especially the hiccup with BaekHyun's "powers".
Lafer: All I can say is Baek Hyun as Gene Kelly. Kinda blows one's mind.
As expected, Nana picks it up right away, GaYeon figures it out, and Soo Hyun is just hopelessly awkward.
Se Ho is just...Se Ho.
There's a strange little sequence where Kang Joon films Min Woo in the shower. It's not as bad as it sounds at least, since he's in the shower in shorts, washing only his hair. I would have preferred the roles reversed, perhaps. Or maybe Mama Shin.
bcook: Yeah...that was just all kinds of strange. Did he know he was going to get filmed? Did anybody else notice there were cameras in the bathroom but we've never seen footage before? Nobody but ME should get to see my baby in the shower. Got that?!?
Lafer: Maybe they are trying to undo some of the damage they've done to Min Woo over the last couple of weeks by giving him a shower scene.
bcook: I'm quite excited for her first fight on August 23rd(?)...or is that the date of the first episode of Dr. Who? Either way! August 23rd is going to be awesome!
bcook: I think probably her, my oppahjussi and Se Ho are the ones who'll get the most out of this show.
Next up we have Soo Hyun's segment, where she is going to record a song at Yoon Jong Shin's studio with Eddy Kim. You may recognize Jong Shin from his many hosting gigs, but he is also a famous singer of many years standing and has his own agency. Busy guy. Famous guy. One you think you might research a little bit before visiting. Soo Hyun only seems to know an older song of his, talks about how she 'trained' a bit under Bom at YG studio - a completely different style than at Jong Shin's - and jokes about how she thinks it'd be nice if she had one of his songs, and how she's recording this song 'because she likes to sing.' He's really nice about it but I wonder if he was a bit irritated. She came across as flighty, thoughtless, and ill-prepared. Plus, she CANNOT sing.
bcook: Oh My lordy. That Paris song was just...hilarious and she really cannot sing. She tries though and I guess that's what counts?
Lafer: I just love her. She is sooooo different from the roles she's played. I love how when she tried to sing the guy was like "you need to make some sound" because nothing was coming out of her mouth.
She's doing a duet with Eddy Kim but finds his singing distracting and wants him not to sing at certain parts, or to sing more quietly - because she is so bad at it that she can't even push sound out at certain places. The professionals have some fun with it, and even Kang Joon and a friend named Ye Rin are laughing when they visit. I couldn't wait for this section to be over. She had the grace to be embarrassed and shy, at least, but still. It was just a painful experience. It's not that she thought she was good - although I think she thinks she's better than she is - it just seemed like a waste of the time of some talented professionals.
bcook: I just couldn't watch this bit. Everybody was laughing hysterically and I kinda felt bad for her. Don't feel bad for the others though, they wanted to be on TV.
bcook: He's surprisingly limber and flexible for a guy. Pilates with the machines always looks like a torture chamber.
Lafer: And besides, the guy can move. He's a really good dancer.
While I watch him get put through his paces I am suddenly struck by the realization that if something went wrong, these stretching devices - which look quite innocuous - could actually cause MAJOR injuries. Look at Se Ho, and think about what would happen if his arms slipped off those bars in that second picture.
bcook: You think they look innocuous??!
Lafer: I love Pilates but I can guarantee you I would never be in one of those parallel bar contraptions. Ouch.
Min Woo shows up to join the fun - he wants to increase his flexibility and get stronger. There's not much to say about that. We do end the session learning that so far, as a result of his efforts, Se Ho has lost almost half of the 10kg he promised. Yay, Se Ho!
Now we come to the only part of the segment that was really any kind of funny at all...earlier they'd set up a box for suggestions, and what it was full of was actually things they'd each like from the other's rooms. Being Korean TV, of course they decide to compete with games.
First up: Kang Joon wants Sung Woo's hair dryer, which he wins with a bottle cap competition. Cut to Sung Woo drying his hair by fan, just because this episode is sadly lacking in Oppahjussi pictures:
bcook: Poor guy. :( Come here and let me towel dry it for you.
Lafer: At least that shaved part on the side will dry quickly.
bcook: Poor guy. :( Come here and let me towel dry it for you.
Lafer: At least that shaved part on the side will dry quickly.
bcook: Wookie's reactions were the best part about this bit. Poor guy. He comes back from filming and then loses everything.
Lafer: Wookie's reactions are always great.
Next, Min Woo wants to use Sung Woo's bathroom freely, since his own is not as nice. They compete by kicking their slippers onto the end table. Sung Woo wins, but graciously offers his bathroom anyway.
Now it comes to Sung Woo and So Ra - Sung Woo wants some kind of clothes press that So Ra has in her room. They have a TICKLE CONTEST, which So Ra loses pretty much immediately despite having picked it. Perhaps she didn't get the message that you should pick something you're good at?
bcook: I think this just proves that they had something in the past. The skinship and eye contact was too much for the poor woman. I was giggling silently too.
Lafer: What woman in their right mind would choose a tickle contest? I have always considered that a form of torture.
bcook: I think this just proves that they had something in the past. The skinship and eye contact was too much for the poor woman. I was giggling silently too.
Lafer: What woman in their right mind would choose a tickle contest? I have always considered that a form of torture.
bcook: We are all Roommates!
Lafer: Well, they will need to replace Bom after all, so there is hope.
They're followed by NaNa, who wants Se Ho's ceiling projector. She wins, and he gives it up, but not without a pout. And finally, the Pretty Brothers want to compete for Se Ho and Dong Wook's bedroom. If they lose, they'll have to sleep in the yard in tents - but if they win, they'll switch bedrooms. The competition is sit ups, and I don't even need to explain who wins, do I? Poor Dong Wook has lost both his room and his fridge...but I don't exactly feel sorry for him since that competition came at his suggestion: Let's do one last one, and make it big! Be careful what you wish for, Wookie.
Comments
This episode didn't seem to suffer as much from heavy handed editing - I'm sure it existed, it just wasn't AS noticeable. There was VERY little of Bom. Some really brief moments where she was part of a group shot, no real conversation. Sad. I wish they could have at least said good bye to her and pretended it was because her schedule got too busy or something. I'm sure they were affected by her departure, and wouldn't it have been nice for them to be able to show her some affection?
bcook: Yeah. It kinda goes counter to what the news reports were saying about the show saying they were ok with her staying if she wanted. Maybe she/YG asked to be edited out? These past few episodes haven't been that fun to watch and I'm beginning to wonder if it's coz there's no Park Bom.
Lafer: I miss her, too, but feel it's even weirder when she's there but not shown at all. I thought I read this was her last week, no? I guess we'll never see who stole her pudding.
Next week, some of the roommates appear to be headed for Taiwan. Perhaps they'll kidnap Aaron Yan and bring him back to live in the house. That would make me happy.
bcook: Taiwan and Japan! Should be fun! A little bit of engrish, a little bit lost in translation (hehe. oh bcook, such joke...much bad)
Lafer: Hopefully the trip provides more interesting moments. How many different games can they come up with?