~ Episode 5: Re-Born (2) ~

Hello everyone and welcome to the debrief of Mnet's Kingdom Legendary War episode 5. This episode is the continuity of the second round: Re-Born, in which all the groups have to perform each other's songs while reviving them and giving them a second life. 

Last week we were able to see SF9, The Boyz and Ikon perform, and I explained that my favorite performance of last week was Ikon's. And in episode 5 we were able to see the three remaining performances: Ateez, BtoB and Stray Kids. 

This article will be split into three parts: The first one will be me giving my opinion about the performances of this episode, the second one will be me giving my own personal ranking as well as revealing the "temporary" ranking for round 2 (made of the group's self evaluation and the expert's evaluation, excluding the views on the videos and the global fans' vote), and the last one will be discussing the preview for the next episode. 

So, let's dive right into it!

I. Re-Born performances pt. 2

ATEEZ's "Rhythm Ta"

The first performance of this episode is Ateez performing Ikon's Rhythm Ta. To be honest with you, I was really skeptical since I saw the preview for episode 5, because Ikon had already performed Rhythm Ta during the meet & greet, and because I already love the original SO MUCH that I thought I wouldn't like the "rebirth" version of the song. Then, I got even more skeptical when they thought about implementing a "latin feeling" to the song because the preview of the episode showed a very "electronic" and "hardcore" version of the song. Adding to this the pirate concept, I thought this performance was going to be a mess.

Now, after watching the actual performance, my thoughts were confirmed, because the performance ended up being messy in my opinion. What I liked about the performance is the undeniably amazing stage presence and energy of the members, as well as the use of the stage and props. The choreography in itself was also pretty intense and fitting the amount of energy the members showcase every time they perform. However, the concept and the storyline are messy as hell, which left me not understanding and not liking the stage as I should have. This time, they went for a "bank thieves" concept, but I didn't know that until one of the other groups mentioned it. Then, the latin portion didn't fit at all with the electronic arrangement of the song. Finally, when Hongjoong broke the cube to get the hourglass, it confused me even more as I didn't understand what was the link between the hourglass and that performance. It's good if you want to link all the performances, but the link has to be clear. Here it definitely wasn't for me. 

Overall, Ateez didn't do a bad performance. I just think they could've done much better, either by choosing another song or by making the concept and the storyline more seamless.

BtoB's  "Back Door"

I could definitely feel the shock they had when Stray Kids chose to swap songs with them. Stray Kids' songs are indeed all pretty intense, but it's because both groups have such different concepts that this swap was going to be interesting. 

When BtoB met to brainstorm about which song they were going to choose, they mentioned TOP, Hellevator, Back Door, Slump, and some other songs. Then they were hesitating between TOP and Back Door, and ended up choosing Back Door. A small parenthesis: when asked "which song do you think BtoB's going to perform", Changbin replied "I am You" or "Hellevator". And when Changbin mentioned "I am You" (knowing that they would perform Back Door on my side), I thought that I wanted them to do a remake of I am You regardless of the competition, because I could totally picture BtoB singing that song. Closing the parenthesis now. 

For the actual performance, I liked how they got inspired from Mamamoo's "good luck stage" on queendom. If you didn't watch that stage, basically every member were individually on stage at first with different concept, before reuniting in the last part as a group on stage with a "common" concept. And that's what they did with back door. I also loved how they used the stage, they literally translated the song into the stage design. Plus, BtoB added their signature vocals, and we got Minhyuk's abs as a bonus ^^. I just wished they had implemented more parts from the actual choreography. Aside from the "knock knock", I think the choreography during the chorus is also an important part that characterizes the song. I noticed that they did an attempt, but it wasn't enough for me.

Overall, I liked BtoB's revival of Stay Kids' "Back Door". They really gave this song a second life, I just wished there were more hard choreography parts because that's what characterizes the song to me. 

Stray Kids' "I'll be your man"

I'm really frustrated about this performance because the performance in itself was amazing. However, it wasn't a revival of the original song since the concept is still the same, and I think that they should've precise the criteria for this round like the change of concept, the change of melody, the addition of a rap verse, etc. Because this performance is really amazing, it's just that the song wasn't "re-born" again and because of that, I'd put it off topic. 

For the performance in itself, like I said, it was amazing. First, they had the opportunity to showcase their vocal & rapping skills (although I.N made a slight mistake but it's okay, mistakes happen and sometimes the pressure is too high). Second, the storyline really works: the sacrifice to bring someone we love (portrayed by the kid) back to life. Third, the props & the use of the stage that play in favour of the storyline. Last but not least, the face expressions and the acting of the members was on point. 

It's really frustrating that this performance was off topic because otherwise it would surely be in my top 3. 

II. Personal & Temporary ranking

For the first round I was a bit confused on how the ranking works, but now I understood that the first ranking is temporary (only 50% of the votes are announced, and the global votes are opened once the round is over so the final results are announced on the next episode). So, the results of the self-evaluation + the experts evaluation are as follows:

1. ATEEZ

2. SF9

3. BtoB

4. Ikon

5. Stray Kids

6. The Boyz

As for my own personal ranking, here it is:

1. Ikon

2. BtoB

3. The Boyz

4. Ateez

5. SF9

6. Stray Kids

I cannot place Stray Kids higher because the concept of their version of "I'll be your man" is the same as the original concept, and I placed SF9 a bit lower than their actual rank because I know they can do much better. I also don't know why The Boyz placed so low, because although the Tango vibe is not that far from the Spanish original timber of the song, their performance was so well executed. And for this round, I think Ikon deserves the 1st place because they really understood the theme and they really turned an Ateez song into THEIR song. 

III. Episode 6 preview

Next week, it seems like the groups will take a "break" from the competition and will participate in a "sports" competition. It seems like it will be a good opportunity for the groups to relax a bit, to have fun, and to bond between each other. I really cannot wait to see this episode, because I know we'll laugh a lot, and we'll get to know each group and its members more, as well as get attached to them. I don't think I'll make a debrief on this episode since no new performances will be shown (and at the same time it will be an occasion for me to take a small break).

That's it for the debrief of episode 5! Take care, and I'll see you all soon.

Love, Swan