#obviously it’s Wendy heard but the second half is honestly way more exciting than the first half

[juniperhillpatient]

oh my god you guys I knew Wendy Heard was practically made in a lab for me to love but this is getting out of hand

[survivorwildwest]

Episode 1 - Still Hot, Still Sandy, Still a Buncha Liars

Jeff begins his narration as a train bends around the rocks of the Mojave Desert. He says, “Since humanities inception, societies rise and societies fall. Societies evolve. Societies change. And so, Survivor is once again changing things up!”

The camera pans to Jeff on horseback standing over the Grand Canyon, “Welcome to Survivor: Wild West! We’ve brought back some of your favorite Survivors from west of the Mississippi. They’ll be stranded outside an old ghost town in the Mojave Desert with only the supplies on their back and whatever they can scavenge in the remains of this town.”

“People forget, a lot of the first cowboys were black.” Carl says in a talking head before adjusting his hat.

Probst rides his clydesdale to the middle of an intersection. He looks around the skeletons of buildings and notices a saloon on the corner. He ties his horse to the hitching post outside and walks inside. The spurs on his boots spin as he steps in front of the cast. The 20 castaways sit around the saloon, at the bar stools and the poker tables, on the stairs and the piano bench. Jeff welcomes the cast of returnees to the new season. He first calls out Cao Boi, “Cao Boi, obviously, you’re the first person we call when we start to think about a Wild West theme.”

“It’s not the Wild West without a cow boy,” Cao Boi says.

“From one Cowboy to another, Colby, our first season in America, we need to get Colby Donaldson.”

“Yeah, I guess I was America’s Favorite Son for a while,” he answers.

“Still are,” Jerri interjects from the other side of the room.

“Jerri,” Jeff says turning his attention to her, “Why are you here on the Wild West season?”

“Well, I’ve already got the hat,” Jerri jokes as she tips her hat, “but, I’m just here to bother Colby. Same as always.”

Colby rolls his eyes and looks back to Jeff.

“Not excited to see Jerri, Colby?” Jeff asks.

“How could I not be excited to see Jerri Manthey? It’s been 20 years,” Colby says, presenting a purposeful smile.

Jeff then turns to Michaela, “Michaela, how old were you when Colby was first on Survivor?”

“I woulda been eleven, Jeff.”

Colby laughs at his own age.

“So, was Colby an idol of yours at that age,” Jeff asks.

“Honestly,” Michaela says, “not really. I mean, it was cool that he was from Texas and all cause I’m from Texas, but no I couldn’t relate to him. To hear you call him the proto-American, I just have to ask, ‘Who’s America?’ I just don’t see what makes Colby Donaldson any more American than Michaela Bradshaw.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Michaela,” Jeff says, “And with that, the season begins. Teal tribe, you are Suhtai,” he tosses the tribe to his left a satchel with their buffs and a map to their camp in some nearby hills. “Orange tribe, you are Tsitsistas.” He does the same for the tribe to his right.

“Your tribes are named after two Native American tribes who travelled together until the early 19th Century, the two tribes came together, or merged, and became known as the Cheyenne people,” Jeff explains, “Now, you have 30 minutes to scavenge this town. There are supplies hidden throughout these ruins. As of now, Survivor: Wild Wild West is on.”

Jeff leaves the saloon and the hunt for supplies begins. A few people dive over the bar for any bottles of alcohol they can find. Some whiskey, gin and red wine are found by Wendy Diaz.

“I don’t even really drink,” Wendy says in a talking head, “but I noticed the label on the wine bottle was a little... oh i don’t know... curled up in the corner, so I took it!”

Wendy runs off to a corner away from everyone else to unfurl the wine bottle. She crouches under a table to avoid any witnesses when she sees Russell and Brandon Hantz enter the room to chat.

“But then,” Wendy continues in her talking head, “Russell and Brandon showed up! And Russell is on my tribe!! And I hate Russell.”

Russell tells Brandon he’ll take care of him, he just needs to get to the merge. “Find an idol if you can,” Russell advises.

“But then,” Wendy’s narration continues.

Wendy removes the wine label when the Hantzs leave.

“There’s Gold in them thar hills!” She exclaims, reading the label in her talking head.

Wardog opens a crate of supplies behind the saloon where he finds rations, kerosene and a small tube he suspects is an advantage.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a coyote sits on the porch of a saloon.

After the scavenging of the town, each tribe hikes to their camp. At the Tsitsistas Camp, Colby builds a fire and Ben gathers everyone around, “Alright, so let’s all introduce ourselves. My name is Ben Driebergen. I’m 37 years old. I have a wife & kids. I fought in the marines and then I played in Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers and again last season in Winners at War. Who’s Next?”

“Yeah, hi, I’m Lauren, 23, I played in Edge of Extinction. No kids. No significant other. Just… little ol’ me,” Lauren says with a grimace.

“Uh, I’m Kass, Chaos Kass, you may have heard, I played in Cagayan and again in Cambodia… or Second Chances I guess”

“Hey, I’m Ken. I played Millennials vs Gen X. I was on the Gen X tribe. I am also single.”

“Hey everyone, yeah, I’m Brandon. I’m Russell’s nephew.“

Everyone stares at him and nods slightly.

“Hi, I’m Kim-”

“And, I just want you all to know,” Brandon continues, “I know last time I played, things didn’t look so great. I want you all to know, I’m good now. I’m not gonna throw any tantrums or any fits or anything. I’m gonna be good. I’m good now.”

Kimmi Kappenberg says, “Alright, I’m Kimmi, I played in Season TWO” she holds up two fingers, “And then again in Second Chances.” She mirrors the peace sign she made on the other hand for “Second Chances.”

“Hi, I’m Bi. I played in David vs Goliath but had to leave early because of an injury.“

“And I’m Lisa! I played in the Philippines like a hundred years ago.”

After a few minutes of small talk, people begin to go their separate ways. Ben, Brandon, Kass, Lauren, Ken and Kimmi use some wood they’d taken from town to build a shelter. Lisa pulls Bi aside to lend a shoulder if Bi wanted to talk about losing her opportunity. Colby continues to work on the fire as Michaela sits with him.

As the desert sun beats down on him, Colby rubs two sticks together. He sweats through his shirt. Michaela reaches in her pocket, “Colby,”

He looks up. Sweat drips from his eyelash into his eye.

“You think these might help,” and she pulls out a dry box of matches, “I found them next to a stove back in town. They’re old and they don’t look like they’ll work but it’s worth a try.”

“Sure. You know,” Colby says as he places the dusty match against its dustier box, “I don’t think of myself as more American than you.”

The match lights and he brings it to the kindling to ignite. He looks back to Michaela, “After everything going on, you know, the world’s fucked right now. Honestly, living in the desert for a month and a half sounds alright right about now,” Colby jokes.

“The world certainly is fucked right now,” Michaela laughs, “You’re not wrong, Colby.”

“It’s been fucked for you guys for a while though, right?”

“’You guys’ meaning black folks?”

“Well, yes and no. I just mean, people who don’t look exactly like me.”

“Ha,” she laughs, “sure, that’s true.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s alright. You’re learning.”

“I know. I just feel bad.”

“I’m not asking for your pity, Colby. Just asking for your assistance.”

“You know,” he says, “I’ve been doing a lot of listening since everything started and what I keep hearing is ‘Listen to black women.’ So, that’s what I’m gonna do. I really do want to help, however I can.”

She looks at him, taking in his intention. She sticks out her hand for him to take and they shake hands.

“Colby’s a good dude,” Michaela explains in a talking head, “He means well. That’s good. ”

“Okay, so, with us working together now,” Michaela asks, “who would you recommend we go for first?”

Colby looks down toward Bi and Lisa, then at the group building the shelter, then back at Michaela, “How about Ben?”

“I don’t see why not. He’s already won. Have you won?”

“Not once. In 20 years, never once.”

“Me neither.”

The two of them stare down Ben from across the camp.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a desert collared lizard scurries from the shade of one rock to the shade of another.

At the Suhtai Camp, everyone drops their things. Jerri immediately turns to Russell, opens her arms and says “Russell, my old friend!”

“Jerri, hello again,” he says.

“I saw your nephew is here.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” he chuckles.

Carl calls everyone to the center of camp and introduces himself, “Hi everybody, I’m Carl, I played in David vs Goliath, along with Elizabeth.”

“Oh, hi, yeah, Carl’s right, we played David vs Goliath together. We were on the Davids tribe.”

“Oh! I played my season with Taylor!” Hannah Shapiro exclaims.

“Hey everybody… I’m Taylor, or Tails. We played uh…”

“Millennials vs Gen X!” Hannah finishes.

“Well, I think I’m the only person from my season, I’m Todd,” Todd says.

“What’s up, man,” Taylor says.

“I’m the only representative from my season too. I am Cao Boi, obviously. I was on Cook Islands.”

“I was on the same tribe as Wardog!” Wendy exclaims.

“Wendy!” Wardog shouts, as if no one would have figured it out.

“We were on the Edge!” Wendy explains, “of Extinction!”

“Wendy’s funny, man,” Taylor says in a talking head, “She’s kinda uhh cooky but she’s fun, man.”

“Do you want to go get water,” Jerri asks Russell.

“Yeah,” he mutters, “Grab one of them young kids.”

Jerri looks over the crowd of people getting to know one another, then looks back at Russell and grins, “Let’s go.”

As they make their way through camp, Jerri turns to Wendy, “Do you want to come get water?”

Wendy nods and follows Jerri and Russell.

“So,” Russell starts with his deceptively charming southern grin, “What do you think of everyone so far?” 

“Well, so far everyone seems cool! Although, maybe I’m not the best judge of character. I didn’t make it far my first time out.”

Russell and Jerri make pouty faces at each other outside of Wendy’s view. 

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that this time, honey,” Jerri promises.

“Yeah, you’re with us now,” Russell assures her.

Wendy nods in agreement to Russell and Jerri, but in a talking head yells, “Who said I wanted to be in an alliance with you, RUSSELL?!”

The three of them find the camp’s well. It’s nestled amongst a rock formation. Overhead, there’s a sign deeming the well, “The Oasis." Wendy eyes a small hill on their way back, then explains in a talking head, “There was a little crease in the rocks where it looked like something could be hidden and the sand around it looked... weird... So, after we all got back to camp and sat around the campfire, I got up to use the bathroom aaaand…” she pulls out a two and half inch tall gold nugget, “There’s gold in them hills! It’s the idol!”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a coyote surveys the landscape.

When he has a moment alone, Wardog sneaks off to open the advantage he found in the scavenge. He reaches a finger inside and finds a note reading “Extra Vote” and one voting parchment.

“Holy shit. Alright. Alright. That’s good.”

The next morning at the Suhtai camp, each survivor wakes from their tent and makes their way to the fire. Kass is the first person awake and begins to tend to the fire. Lauren wakes shortly after her and yawns for what feels like eternity, then sits near the fire with Kass.

“How long you been up,” she asks through the remnants of her yawn.

“Oh, just a little bit.”

“You go looking for an idol?”

“Please, Lauren, it’s far too early to worry about that.”

Ken saunters his way around the campfire from the tent.

“Morning folks, What’s on the docket for today?”

“There’s a challenge,” Kass tells him.

“Oh, right on. I think we’re pretty strong, so we should be alright. Didn’t you play soccer, Lauren?”

“I-- yeah, I did.”

“So you’re probably pretty strong. Michaela’s strong, Brandon’s probably strong, Bi’s a boxer so she must be strong.”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a lone desert cottontail rabbit hops over and under the rocks, looking for shelter.

At high noon, both tribes head to their first immunity challenge. Jeff explains, “Each tribe will have a conestoga wagon. You must move your cart through various obstacles, disassembling and reassembling pieces throughout. Along the way, you will collect puzzle pieces. Then, two people from each tribe will solve the puzzle. First tribe to complete the puzzle wins immunity.”

Kass and Michaela are chosen as the puzzle solvers for Tsitsistas. Todd and Cao Boi volunteer for the puzzle on Suhtai.

Both tribes fumble a bit as they figure out how to situate themselves around their large conestoga wagons. Once they finally do, Tsitsistas takes a slight lead. Lisa is slow getting back to her position after the reassembling portion of the challenge. Brandon starts yelling they’re “not going to win” until Michaela yells from the puzzle, “Bro, just shut up and get it done.” The disorder causes Suhtai to catch up and take the lead, inciting Brandon further.

“We got it on the puzzle,” Michaela promises, “Be cool, Brandon.” 

Suhtai makes it to their puzzle first and begins working on it, but Tsitsistas is only a few steps behind. As soon as Kass places a tile, Todd is right behind her, then Michaela is right behind him, then Cao Boi next. The four of them are finding pieces with no trouble. When Suhtai goes up by a piece, Tsitsistas is right behind and vice versa. Todd and Cao Boi slam their final piece in and call Jeff. He checks it as Kass and Michaela continue working. “Suhtai thinks they have it,” he places one hand on the puzzle as he looks it over, “That is not right!”

Kass and Michaela clamor for Jeff. He does the same to their puzzle and announces, “Tsitsistas wins immunity!”

In a talking head, Todd blames the loss on Cao Boi after he placed two pieces in their opposite places, “I just don’t understand why you would volunteer yourself and then miss something like that!”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a purple-throated hummingbird hovers over a nest.

Back at the Suhtai camp, the first vote scramble begins. Todd goes to Taylor first, “Look bro, we shoulda had that challenge.”

“Yeah, man.”

“Cao Boi fucked us,” Todd says, mimicking Taylor’s cadence, “He misplaced two of the pieces.”

“Why would he do that,” Taylor genuinely asks.

“I don’t know, man, but we gotta get him out.”

“You got it man. Let’s do it. I’ll talk to Hannah.”

Taylor wanders over to Hannah, who’s sitting with Wendy, “Han.”

“What’s up, Taylor?”

“So, I was just talking to Todd, he said it’s Cao Boi’s fault we lost. Yeah. So, we have to take him out.”

“Tonight?”

“I mean, yeah. Are you down?”

“Yeah, I mean, sure. That works for me.”

“Wendy, are you down to vote Cao Boi?”

“Sure!”

After Taylor leaves, Hannah asks Wendy if she’s got Wardog. 

“I think so. At least, I can get him to vote with us this time.”

“Okay, That’s good. Wardog’s good.”

“Wardog!” Wendy yells from across the camp.

“Wendy, hey, what’s up,” he asks as he walks over.

“What do you think of Cao Boi,” Hannah asks.

“I’ve got no allegiance to Cao Boi. You guys want to do Cao Boi tonight?”

“Yeah,” Hannah says. 

“Alright, let’s do it,” Wardog says.

Meanwhile, Cao Boi recognizes he’s being targeted. He goes first to Todd and explains, “Everyone here on our tribe has played with someone else on our tribe. Some people have played with people on the other side. You & me, though? We haven’t played with anyone else. Why don’t you and I start something?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Jerri and Russell, that’s a strong connection. They went far together in Heroes vs Villains. You know who else they went far with? Colby. Is there a better story in Survivor history than Jerri and Colby?”

“So, Jerri?”

“I’m just saying. With Jerri gone, Russell and Colby aren’t working together. With Jerri there, they might.”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a bushel of daisies blow in the wind.

Wendy goes to Russell and Jerri to tell them the Cao Boi plan. They hear the plan, then Russell asks, “Who came up with this?”

“Todd,” she tells them, “Hannah and Taylor already agreed to it. And Wardog.”

“Thanks, Wendy,” Jerri says.

“This is very helpful information,” Russell says, sounding more condescending than he realizes.

In a talking head, Wendy is exasperated, “He talks to me like I’m a child. I can’t stand him. I wish we were taking him out tonight.”

After Wendy leaves, Jerri points out to Russell that Todd and Cao Boi are going to team up to take out the other couples. She believes she’s the target.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a mantis prays.

Cao Boi approaches Carl and Elizabeth and gives them his pitch for Jerri. They hear him out and agree to the plan. He then finds Wendy shortly before Tribal Council. “Wendy,” he says, “We’re voting Jerri tonight.”

“Okay,” she agrees without question.

As the sun sets over the horizon and the temperature drops, the Suhtai tribe join Jeff around a campfire outside a cave. Unlike previous tribal councils, this season’s has only one row of seating around the fire so everyone is in full view of one another the whole time. The voting booth is inside a small cave in the nearby hills. “So,” Jeff begins with his infectious grin, “Here we are. Survivor 41. Tribal Council. How does it feel, Wardog?”

“Honestly, Jeff, it sucks. No one ever wants to be here.”

“How about being in the desert, Russell? Any different?”

“It’s still hot, still sandy, still a buncha liars. Don’t matter if it’s Samoa, Nicaragua, Fiji or right here in the Wild West. It’s still Survivor and I’m still the best at it.”

“Haha yeah, alright, dude,” Taylor laughs.

Jeff and Russell turn to Taylor to finish.

“You’ve never even won, dude. How can you call yourself the best?”

“Gotten a lot further than you, bro.”

“Alright, bro. We’ll see.”

“Are you voting for me tonight?”

“No,” Taylor laughs.

“Who are you voting for?”

“Cao Boi! He fucked us in the challenge! Todd said!”

“Alright,” Russell says with a quiet grin before he turns back to Probst.

“Alright, with that, It is time to vote. Taylor, you’re up first.”

Taylor gets up and proudly votes. The other nine make their votes. Jeff tallies the votes and returns to read the votes. “If anyone has the hidden immunity idol and you’d like to play it, now would be the time to do so.” No one stands up. Jeff reads the votes. “Cao Boi, Jerri, Cao Boi, Cao Boi, Cao Boi, First Person voted out of Survivor: Wild West: Cao Boi.”

Read Episode 2 Here

[novaent]

** This episode was uploaded at 12PM on Nova Entertainment’s official YouTube channel.

The episode starts with a quick reminder of what has happened so far during the run of the show. As the last part before the grand final concert, it has the role of making sure everyone is up to par on what has happened so far. In one week, it’ll be time to reveal the results of this three-month long journey. The practice room where results were shared have one person left and the colorful vests are switched to match each trainee’s current ranking.

Minsoo, the rap coach, starts to speak. “This will be the third and last month of this project. To bring it to an end, we’ll make sure to do it properly.” He nods before looking over to Yonghwa, the one who keeps the explanation going. “SAFE and DANGER will work together for this mission, but you’ll be separated between boys and girls. Each group will receive two original songs which were never heard before. By the end of this week, you’ll have recorded it, by the end of the next one, you’ll have learned the choreographies to it. At the end of the month, a new concert will be held where you’ll get to perform these songs, and is where the final results will be revealed to both you and the public.”

The camera zooms into Solji, the one wearing the golden vest, and then it changes to her interview. “How are you feeling after the results of this last month?” They ask her. “I’m obviously very excited and thankful. Honestly, a little shocked as well. It was a real relief,” she chuckles, running a hand through her hair. “When you’re practicing, there’s always a part of you that wonders if you’re doing enough. And then when the performances happen, you question whether the performances you chose were what the judges wanted. Unlike some of the other contestants on the show, I’ve never gone through the MGAs or anything of that sort and so, it’s hard for me to gauge exactly what I should be doing. But I think that, despite all that, for Hyun Bin sajangnim to recognize my talents through all that is…” Solji swallows thickly. “I’m just really happy,” she nods her head.

Jungwoo is the one next, the only one who matches with her. “I’m honored, really. I never dreamed of getting MVP. Shouldn’t it be someone else? A better dancer?” Unlike Solji, the boy looks more worried than relieved. “I’m gonna do my best to live up to this title. I’ll work harder.” He promises firmly, nodding at the camera with conviction. The opening sequence plays soon after and lets people know this is the start of the last month. The camera shows an image from the top of the girls living room, and then it changes to the boys. While the images play on screen, the words on the bottom change from ‘Month 2, Week 4’ to ‘Month 3, Week 1’.

“Notice anything different about me?” Hosung asks jokingly while posing cutely with his hands around his face. “I made the safe team! Ta-da!” The camera zooms out, showing what he’s wearing. “I’m wearing the blue jersey today and for the rest of the month. I just want to take this month to thank Hyunbin CEO-nim for the chance to continue on this project and for believing in my hard work and potential. I will dedicate myself fully to improving myself and being the best version of Hosung there is.”

The setting is still the same, but the one in front of the camera is Yongsun. “Are you satisfied by the results from last month?” She looks up with a small smile curving her lips before she nods. “For my group, yes, I couldn’t be prouder or happier - both Kaeun and Meiqi made it to the next round… As for myself,” she thinks for a second. “I am happy for myself too of course, but as Hyun Bin said, I was the only one in my group that was mainly a vocalist so I would stand out naturally regardless…”

“Who are you the most excited to work with this month?” Yongsun looks up at him, her lips purse together, “Solji for sure, Chaeyoung, Wendy- but I’m especially happy that I get to work with Meiqi again.” The scene goes back to the practice room after results. Once they’re told they can go, the younger heads directly to Yongsun, giving her a hug. “We did it! Yongsunshine, we did it! We’re safe!” Yongsun hugs her back, both smiling. “Yes we did,” she nods. “You did so well, Meiqi-yah.” The scene returns to the woman in her interview. “She has grown on me a lot since the project began.”

The one next is another girl sporting the blue, Lee Kaeun. “...Trainees. We spend so much time in front of mirrors dancing and singing for a simple shot at debut. I’ve been here for two years, and yet there are so many others who had been here even longer. Four, five, six… some people spend a quarter of their lives preparing for something that they had no idea when it will start. It’s not easy. I hope that people would be able to see and understand that part. That the path to debut is simply not easy.”

It’s the inside of a practice room now and Wendy sits by herself, rehearsing some of her lines as she winks to one of the cameras. She lets out a loud laugh before trying to listen to the demo again, but the song on the background makes the scene a bit more sad than funny. The girl makes a few notes in her paper before it changes to her interview. “I hate not being good enough,” she sighs. “We’ve all worked hard, and it’s rather disheartening to see that sometimes, our effort isn’t enough.” The girl pauses for a moment before continuing. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Kaeun unni, Yongsun unni, and Meiqi all made it to safety. It’s just that… why to be at the expense of Sunmi unni, Hyuna unni, and me? Why can’t we all be safe” Wendy sighs, and while she speaks, a few more scenes of her in the practice room play for the public to see.

“I’ve never reacted to defeat very well, especially when I know this is my last chance,” she admits. “I can’t afford to make any more mistakes. We all know that Nova won’t debut another girl group after the end of this project after a long time, yes? If I don’t debut now, then when? How many more years would I have to wait if I don’t make it now? I don’t want to be the one left behind.” After she pauses, they ask her a question: “Is your heart still in the competition?” Wendy replies without much thinking: “Yes.”

Huidong walks closer to Wendy who’s taking notes on the song assigned to her. “I don’t think that color vest is right on you. You should be in a blue one.” She turns to him with a smile. “I should say the same for you, oppa. Red isn’t your color either.” He returns her smile but his expression isn’t exactly joyful. The man has one hand in his pocket, the other holding his own sheet of lyrics. “I don’t think they were right about your zone, but they were right about mine… They said I’d been too busy helping the other boys and forgotten about myself… There was some truth to that.” Wendy gives him a pout. “I don’t think you should be in the zone you’re given either.”

“No offense to the other boys, but had this been another type of show, you’d have been my one-pick because of your leadership, oppa. You did what you could, and I’m sure the boys are thankful for that.”

The scene shifts back to an interview, this time with an excited boy in blue. “Congratulations on being safe.” Haknyeon smiles. “Thank you,” he replies. “How do you feel now that you’re in the safe zone?” The boy looks down at the blue vest and holds onto it, as though desperate. “I don’t know if you could call it safe,” he says. “I’m still scared… I’ve been in danger once and I can’t mess up anymore.” There’s a pause before he continues. “It feels nice, to be moved up from danger to safe, but at the same time, the responsibility is all the same. I have to do well and prove it to everyone. To the viewers, the other trainees, sajangnim, myself.” Haknyeon keeps holding onto his vest. “Huidong hyung and Hugo hyung are in the DANGER zone. Huidong hyung…” His voice trails off. “He’s so selfless and he’s very talented. If Huidong hyung’s in DANGER zone… then nobody is really safe.”

The cameras show Sunmi walking down one of the hallways leading to the practice rooms. She stops by one of the doors and the screen shows who is inside. “Hey, I’m just about to head up. Want to come with?” She keeps herself by the doorway, not walking in. “Our beds are calling us.” Hyuna looks over to the other. “Oh… I think I’ll stay… sleep can wait half an hour.” She laughs, but it comes out dry as she looks back at the other trainee.

Sunmi gives in and walks inside. “Are you worried over your lines?” She asks. “Have you taken a break at least?” Hyuna shakes her head. “It’s not that. Lines aren’t a problem.” The woman runs a hand through her hair. “I have, probably more than I should.” She laughs. “Hey. You don’t have to answer me this if you don’t want to, I’m… I’m probably being too nosy by asking this either way. What’s been keeping you motivated for so long?”

There’s a bit of silence before she replies. “My mother,” she replies simply. “She was my initial drive. For a while, she was my sole reason but I learned that aside from that, I really loved performing. Not only did I want to honor her memory - may she rest in piece - but I love being on stage. It’s just too bad I haven’t been able to in a couple of years.” She snorts and shakes her head. “But now… I’m just stubborn. I’m going to do what it takes to debut even if that means setting my sights elsewhere.”

“How do you feel about your placement this month?” They ask her, and the camera slowly zooms into Sunmi’s face who carries an expression rather somber. “How do you feel?” They have to ask her again before she takes a short intake of breath. “Numb… I feel numb. I’m at the point where… I can’t sit here and get mad. I’m at the end of my line. I’ve been training for five and a half years total. The last four have been with Nova. If I can’t do something here then this is the end of my line with Nova. I cannot do more in this company and I cannot make anyone change their mind.” She shrugs, but her eyes start to sparkle with tears. “So I’m numb. Because I’m not going to argue with the decision. I’m going to accept it and I’m going to deal with it. I have no other choice now.” The woman doesn’t break down into tears, but the tears do start slowly falling down her face. “I’m so proud of the others though. They’ve really stepped up. I think they needed this environment to excel. Some people get too comfortable when it’s normal training. An environment like this pushes everyone to do better. I’m glad it’s working for other people.”

Sitting on the chair next is Chaeyoung. “I have mixed emotions over the results. I’m forever grateful and happy that I was in the safe group once again, but seeing someone leave and change teams is conflicting to me?” She tilts her head. “To me, I see eliminations as something that I dread seeing especially that so much is on stake for this. We have trainees from all backgrounds and experiences that if they were eliminated from this project, it feels like as if a huge part of their dream was crushed, you know? It’s why whenever these eliminations and comparisons happen, I wished it didn’t but sometimes we need this to become better versions of ourselves.” Her voice grows softer after when she brings up another point. “As for the current results, I find it quite sad seeing three people in our previous group move to the DANGER team. I know they worked hard and want it so much, but…” there’s a brief pause before she smiles. “I know they’ll do everything they can to go back to the safe team!”

Then it’s back to a practice room. Jungwoo smoothes the paper out in front of him which most likely contains the lyrics to the original songs. “You can’t breathe here.” He points to a spot in the lyrics and looks over to the other boy. “It’s in the middle of a phrase, it’s like if you-” he stops, takes a dramatic gasp of breath, and then continues, “stopped talking to breathe in the middle of a sentence.” Ricky doesn’t look too happy about this sitting beside him. “But I didn’t-” he stops for a moment to think of his words before continuing. “I didn’t do it on purpose…”

“That’s okay!” Jungwoo replies. “I didn’t think it was on purpose, but we gotta think about it on purpose sometimes so it doesn’t happen when it actually counts!” He nods. “Can I hear it again? I wanna listen to your vowels. I’ve got the worst habits when it comes to them.” Ricky glances up apprehensively, swallows, and then does his best with the lines he’s given. “Good!” His current teacher congratulates him. “Much better. Just open your mouth a little more, that’s my own number one mistake.”

The following scene is of Jungwoo in his interview sporting the gold vest. “It’s weird,” he says. “Ricky was my coach on he MGAs. He’s been helping me learn dances all through this project, but I became the teacher this week! It’s a little strange, right? It was fun, though. I like working with him. I hope we’ll continue to work together.”

It’s the end of the week and the trainees slowly go one by one inside the recording studio. Not to spoil much of the songs, the editing team made sure to only show the pieces that were already aired before, playing it as background for each person who appeared. With one week done, it meant less than a month to go.

The camera shows an image from the top of the boys living room, and then it changes to the girls. While the images play on screen, the words on the bottom change from ‘Month 3, Week 1’ to ‘Month 3, Week 2’.

A camera spots Solji in one of the hallways and a smaller figure right behind her. They pat her on the shoulder, and when the woman turns around, she finds Chaeyoung. “Happy Birthday! I hope I still kept the tradition and was the first person that greeted you.” The younger girl smiles, followed by laughter. “Oh my gosh, that’s today?” Solji asks with eyes opened wide. “You are definitely the first person that greeted me,” she says. Chaeyoung offers her a card as a birthday gift. The camera zooms in to show in better detail the drawings of a birthday cake and colorful balloons. “I’ll be going to the practice room first so come back soon!” The younger rushes inside a room, clearly embarrassed. “Don’t leave me all alone with the cameras!”

Solji appears in her interview instead. “How do you feel about your progress?” They ask her. “I feel pretty good,” she nods her head. “Similarly, I think it’s really cool we’re getting this opportunity to make these songs our own. That’s probably one of the best experiences that I’ve had here so far. Just getting to see how the song is really made from start to finish.” Chaeyoung appears right after her. “When we were introduced to the choreography, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement? I felt as if I was an idol because I started thinking about how other idols feel when they’re given a song and choreography to something that would be their debut or comeback song. There is the initial reaction as to whether it is something that the individual likes, but underneath that is this sense of pride knowing that it’s yours. Does it make sense?” The girl purses her lips.

“It’s the second week of the month,” Haknyeon says. “It’s starting to feel more and more unreal but… still real at the same time.” He takes a brief pause. “Everything that sajangmin has said, I’ve heard and I’m trying to improve. I know… I’m aware that I’m lacking in many areas, especially in comparison to the other sunbaes here, but I’m thankful for the feedback he’s given me. I want to be more than eye catching, I want to be memorable. That’s what I want to be.”

The boy sits by the mirror and the camera slowly moves to show Jungwoo dancing in front of him. The scene breaks for a second to show a flashback of the previews episode back in the first month. It was a situation similar to this, except Haknyeon wasn’t very happy. When it comes back to the present, Jungwoo had just finished his routine. “Hyung,” the younger starts. “How do you think you did?” The boy asks but there’s already a smile on his lips.

Jungwoo’s face twists up. “I could be sharper. I was late on a beat in the middle part. Um… floppy hands?” He rests his hands on his hips, pushing his should back. “Was it okay? I mean, I know it could be better, but better than last time, yeah?” There’s a slight smile on his face, and Haknyeon gets ready to answer him. “Your hands weren’t floppy,” he says. “They weren’t the best, but they weren’t floppy.” The younger boy gives the other a thumbs up. “You did much better than last time. I could tell you were trying to make your moves look sharper and nicer. They were smoother this time, hyung,” he explains. “Be confident of yourself, hyung. You did good.” Jungwoo’s eyes immediately light up. “I’ll try,” he grins and slaps his hands against his friend’s for a high-five. “Whew, I’m glad to get a good review from you. You’re a tough judge, Joo Haknyeon!”

The following scene is Jungwoo’s interview. “I’m better.” He says. “I mean, skill-wise. I’ve improved a lot in the last several weeks, maybe more than I thought I could. I mean, we still have to practice a lott, all of us. We can’t afford to get lazy now. These songs we’re doing… they’re original to us. No one can perform them better than we do. And that’s exciting and terrifying.” There’s a quiet pause. “Like… we have to do it the best. There’s no other option. Regardless of who wins or loses, we’re the next generation of Nova performers. This is our first chance to show the public that we can hold our own, with our own concepts and stuff. If it’s not good, then we’re not good.”

Yongsun appears next. “How do you like the choreo for the original songs?” They ask her. “I think they are rather nice, especially for someone like me who is known to struggle with dancing.” She smiles. “If you told me a year ago I’d be where I am today- I wouldn’t believe you.” She nods her head. “I find the growth I’ve done within dance pretty amazing. Considering where I started. Even if I don’t debut, I’m grateful for this experience… but I’d like to debut.”

They show an empty practice room except for Sunmi who sits tiredly on the floor. When she looks up, the camera slowly focuses on what she’s looking: the clock on the wall saying it’s 1 in the morning. “My initial plan was to just work on songs nothing more,” she says to the camera. “I was going to keep practicing singing and try to do what I can to sound good but… I don’t want to strain my voice.” The woman pulls her knees to her chest, making the bruises on her leg visible. “I’m really skinny so I bruise easily in some places.” She points at her knees. “I dance really hard even when practicing so if I’m doing drops and stuff repeatedly as I practice, I get bruises. I’ll be fine! It doesn’t hurt or anything…”

“I’ve been trying to do what CEO Hyun Bin said,” it’s Wendy’s turn this time for an interview, “and trying to stand out even when I don’t sing. But I’m not exactly sure how I am supposed to do that. I keep practicing even beyond what people think my limits are. But then again, I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong and doing right. Does it mean I have to dance better? Fix my stage presence? Do I have to be prettier?”

Most girls appear to be eating, some others resting, when Sunmi approaches Wendy and tells her that they need to talk. When the older walks off, the screen shows scenes of Wendy turning on her sleep at night and then a sped up version of her time spent in the practice rooms at night. They zoom in on the table where the other girls were eating as she only takes a sip of her tea before standing up. When she makes her way inside one of the bedrooms, she finds Sunmi standing with her arms crossed, waiting for her. “I’m sorry unni,” she says with her head down. “I promise I’ll work harder to improve faster.”

“That is not what I called you in here about,” Sunmi snaps and Wendy’s eyes grow wide. “You’ve been working too much, Seungwan. When is the last time you slept? Or even eaten? What are you hoping to achieve by doing this?” The younger appears surprised. “Working too much? I think it was around the day before the recording, but even then it was pretty hard to sleep. Eating is hard, since I’ve been throwing up everything that I thought I was sick,” she explains. “Every time I close my eyes or just stop thinking of our lyrics and choreography, I hear CEO Hyun Bin’s voice in my head telling me he’ll kick me out of the company as soon as the project is over.” The girl shakes her head. “I don’t know what I’ll do with my life if that happens. I can’t let another dream I worked hard to die again.”

Sunmi sighs, closing her eyes. “I understand. I know this is hard but you cannot just stop taking care of you because of this.” Her jaw clenches. “You have to take care of yourself! That doesn’t stop because you did bad one month. You’re still here. The facts are that you are still in the dorms. BamBam, who is already eliminated, wasn’t kicked out of the company. You won’t be kicked out either. You have to pay attention to the actuality of the situation and stop giving into the things your brain manifests because you’re scared.” Sunmi gesture towards the door as she yells. “Practicing and not taking care of your body is only going to lead you to fainting. You’re ruining yourself to the ground. If you’re so scared of being kicked out then how good are your chances when you’re so malnourished you can’t even move? Huh? Tell me!” The woman runs a hand through her hair. “This will accomplish nothing but close the coffin in your dream.”

The following scene is back to Wendy’s interview. “I heard that you had an altercation with another trainee. May I ask you to tell us about it?” And she replies. “I wouldn’t call it an altercation,” she says with a soft sigh. “Sunmi unni was just reminding me to take care of myself. Apparently, my method of coping with failure wasn’t very healthy and I hadn’t realized it,” Wendy admits. “I haven’t been able to sleep at all. It’s been difficult.” She takes a breath before continuing. “I’m competitive by nature, and I’d rather die knowing I tried everything rather than live to see myself fail. I’m thankful to her for that talk. I’m now actively trying to be better.” She takes a deep breath. “I want to be better…”

They show scenes of the girls practicing together, an emotional song playing in the background. It’s followed by the boys doing the same thing, and then the screen freezes as if it’s the end of a drama. From this point on, there was only one more week to go.

EPISODE SEVEN TEASER: Scenes from their first mini-concert appear on the screen, fans cheering for the contestants. For their final episode, the trainees will go back on the stage to perform four different original songs. The final results will finally be revealed. Who will debut? Who will be eliminated? It’s their last chance to show what they’re worth. Do you think you’re favorite trainee will make it? Tune in next week for the final episode to find out.