Kingdom: Legendary War - Episode 2 and 3 Ranking and Review

Welcome back to my super delayed recap of Mnet's Kingdom. As last week they halved the performances I thought I would review all the performances in one countdown, so don't mind me and this messy post. Most of the show is the ads on Viki, breaking me every, single, time, I, try, to watch the darn show!

So, the rankings are revealed for the 100-second performance, and it is the following.

1. Stray Kids (Told you!)

2. The Boyz (Told you!)

3. Btob (deserved higher)

4. SF9 (deserved lower)

5. ATEEZ (Around right)

6. iKON (Deserved higher, but I told you!)

iKon's performance grew on me, and I would now put it at 4. Something about their free-wheeling charm is appealing. They seem surprised and dissappointed, and I can't blame them, they did fine. The rest of the groups seem shocked too. So far they have been hyped as the leading group, yet Mnet was not good at hiding the fact that iKon would come last. Meanwhile, Changbin hoping he could get first place to boast to his mother related to me on a metaphysical level.

So now TVXQ announce that the groups will perform more of their songs. I am kind of dissappointed, because I wanted more covers. Still, I can live with it, and am relieved with the rumors that next round the groups will cover each others' songs. Stray Kids get to put the order of the group, as they got 1st place.

Now, I rank all the performances, and recap them.

6. The Boyz - No Air (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Can I tell all artists? If you want to do a fantasy concept, please try Lord of the Rings, enough of a Song of Ice and Fire. The Boyz seemed worried, and I feel they seem to be under pressure. The whole underwater gimmick seems too risky for me, and I felt that it was not even used properly to justify the crazy effort and risk involved. It was just frustrating.

Honestly, The Boyz's theatricalness needs to be occasionally held in check. No Air is a pretty light-hearted tropical pop song, no matter what the members say. The remix was off. Imagine ATEEZ's Wonderland, aegyo cutesy version. Not pleasant? Sorry if I made sure you can't sleep at night. The POV angles could be a good tool, but it really did not add enough for me. I really want to support The Boyz, but this was not it. At least it was decent.

5. iKON - Love Scenario and Killing Me

iKON decided to call celebrity friends for choosing the song, including members of WINNER. But easily the best part is when Chanwoo called Chani. Now only if they called Moonbin, and let TVXQ in too, we'd get a Balloons masterpiece. Speaking of which, why can't these K-Pop idols cover TVXQ songs?

Despite having recieved last place, iKON seem to feel more stronger. I think this is what experience can do. Despite this, I was worried. Both songs they picked relied heavily on B.I., and I have a bittersweet feeling hearing them after B.I. bye bye (Acheivement reached: Dad humor).

Despite this, the performance turned out fine, particuarly Love Scenario, which sounds like the conclusion of a musical. I really feel this could have been used as an album closer. I really liked this remix. And even while iKON clearly were not working on peak budget due the Kingdom backstage error, their charisma won me over. That said, Killing Me was more mixed. It is a really unremixable song, and it was best when staying true to the original.

4. Stray Kids - Side Effects and God's Menu

A show of hands, who was half-expecting the performance to turn into Again and Again by 2PM? Only me? Okay. I mean, the JYP lights, Wooyoung appearing, somehow over-added up for me. The pre-show was a little too long for me, I even had to put a call from Hades on hold (will get back to him within the next 125 years or so, probably). Despite this, I really enjoyed the performance overall. The staging was fantastic, and the horror hypnosis concept worked brilliantly. Another favorite shot of mine was the mirror effect with a member on top and a dancer on the bottom.

That said, I am not sure why God's Menu was put here. No, I do not buy the 'evil' and 'live' idea, it just made me laugh. Had they stuck with Side Effects and stayed consistent, this would have ranked much, much higher.

Also, at times the vocals were clearly not live. The members seemed the least happy about this, with Changbin almost going out of his way to make it clear when it was the backing track by moving the mike away. Still, an enjoyable performance visually at least.

3. SF9 - Jealous (Now or Never)

While the end results have not yet been announced, SF9 are not doing too good. The experts gave them low scores. Mnet, hear me out! I am a critic and an expert, my rankings should count!

(Mnet left the chat)

The title also was a great choice for the remix, as in the original song, they are not saying 'jealous', but a Korean word meaning 'I did it'. Seems like FNC realized this, and now they called the performance Jealous, not complaining though. I loved the build through the whole performance and the orchestral rock. This may not really be a perfect performance, but it put SF9 on the map for me.

2. Btob - Missing You (Theatre Version)

Like iKON, and to an even greater degree, Btob can be calm, as they have nothing to prove. They may gain some new fans, but they don't need to move too much. They are fine. Thus, their backstage was more casual than most. It apperantly spoofed I Live Alone, a popular Korean reality show, and they chose their son while eating. Eventually, they chose Missing You.

Their performance had an oriental edge, with a bit of zither. The fact that they could make something so theatrical out of a ballad is certainly a good sign for the rest of the show for them. But then again, ballads are their strength. Their vocals showed through, and it is clear that they have the best vocals on the show.

The most jarring part of the performance was the martial arts themed dance break, but it was solid in its own right. Even if the remix did not add too much, it added where needed.

1. ATEEZ - Symphony No. 9 (Wonderland x Pirates of the Caribbean)

When Btob pointed out that ATEEZ was the youngest group, I jumped with the return of realization. Despite this, I think they have the second-best overall discography, after iKON. They also have a theme, and that gives them a boost.

Hongjoong seems to be leading the planning, and I am glad to see that. Eden in an interview with MTV pointed out how diligent Hongjoong is, and I am glad to see more of that here. Eden and gang also assist and plan, and I wonder if this is how all ATEEZ songs and performances are made. If so, I am glad.

ATEEZ provided a dramatic performance, filled with their pirate theme. The only remix that actually added anything to the song. I wish that they actually sampled Dvorak or Beethoven to explain the remix title, though.

Let me start with the best moment, Jongho's epic four-octave high-note, arguably his best vocal moment yet. I knew he was a fantastic vocalist, but this pushes him a whole level higher in my opinion.

I am missing Mingi's rap, but the fill-in was a good choice, even though I wish we got to see more wild San. Then, the Kraken appeared, and I rolled my eyes. I felt I was at Disney World again, and by that I mean lines longer than the side effects at the end of a medical commercial, and toddlers yelling they want Iron Man action figures 'cause NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE DARN MOUSE ANYMORE. Seonghwa taking it down in a single shot was over-done as well. But I would be denying it if I claimed I was not hyped each time the remixed chorus hit again.

Even if the climax was a tad skeletal, the rest of the song made up for it.

Recap

It looks like ATEEZ will top this round. Well deserved. The rankings were close this time. Also, I am looking forward to the rumored covers next round. Things look up from here!

Image Source: The Bias List