The thing I hate about survivor-based programs is that they can’t see the picture of how to act in the middle ground. Leaders tend to put targets on their selves while outcasts are singled out.
In some ways, it’s the same as in team missions where the leaders carried the bulk of the guilt for losing with the members with the least responsibilities getting kicked out.
It’s the same thing with The Black Sheep Game.
SPOILER WARNING
I will try to stay as vague as possible but I can’t hide the fact that D (Kim Kyung Hoon) is basically manipulating the white sheep to their demise but at the moment, he is killing it with the way he handles himself. I know there is a target on him because he tried to act as a leader at the start but he’s not going to hide the fact that he’s a former reality show runner-up. Furthermore, he is showing humor and compassion – two unique things a person can bring in a show that needs greed and malice.
The thing about getting ostracized is the comeuppance. I thought the events that led to G’s situation messed up the voting council vote. It also messed up the game’s most recognizable alliance. Any time a person breaks down a major group, it’s either a boss move or a recognizable one that is going to last forever (see Hong Jin Ho’s Open Pass Game on The Genius S1 or Jonny Fairplay’s dead grandmother bit on Survivor: Pearl Islands). A, B, D, and E had this alliance but they also had bad intentions for each other. I mean, D is the black sheep after all and I think E is the other black sheep. B tried to save his life in the worst ways (just see the episode if you can) and A just sat there visibly annoyed and rightfully shaken to the core. He is basically like Kang Gary when Running Man has spy-related missions... but in this case, there are no laugh tracks, witty comebacks, and an assurance that everything would be alright.
Returning to B, he did all the wrong things to save himself and his previous plays came to haunt him. He wasn’t subtle in his playstyle though. Ignoring the way things he did, it’s really hard to believe that he’s the code.
And the best-kept secrets about this game for me are the two female contestants – C and F. F regularly gets cut off with G – her perceived archenemy – as the only person talking to her. C on the other hand is seen as a ditz – or the contestant that should have been on a dating show than a strategy program. Like the code, C, F, and G played the game as individuals without real alliances. F had a lot of things to say and she gets to blurt them out in the important moments. C does the same as well – but the only difference between the girls is that one is not clinging to her life – which is why C’s moves are a bit more powerful – especially when she gives the “dumb pretty girl” vibe. C is actually devious as heck – which is why angelic, innocent-looking girls are great on-screen villains.
Anyway, the episode was so messed up that I like it. The con is on for a lot of the people and with the finale looming, the winner isn’t as obvious at the moment. D is doing well but he also has a chip on his shoulder. I don’t think he’s going to win the game but keeping him there makes The Black Sheep Game extra interesting.