SYNOPSIS - 'Invincible Youth 2' Ep. 31

It's harvesting day! The 'G6' cast members - Sunny, Hyoyeon, Yewon, Suzy, Bora, and Jiyoung - team up with this week's guests (ZE:A's Kwanghee, 2AM's Jo Kwon, and MBLAQ's Lee Joon) to share the fruits of their labor as they start harvesting. Kwanghee steals the spotlight in the first team-selection game as he proves, once and for all, that eating watermelons is not a task to be taken lightly.

Divided up into the 'onion' (Bora, Jiyoung, Lee Joon), 'potato' (Suzy, Sunny, Jo Kwon), and 'garlic' (Hyoyeon, Yewon, Kwanghee) teams, they make quick work of the harvest. Kim Shin Young provides some comedic moments as her jokes fall flat on an apathetic audience, and Lee Joon quickly gets thrown for a spin by his jokester 'onion' teammates.

After finishing their harvest, the trio of teams play a game to win as much ingredients as possible for the final competition: create the best-tasting dish possible! The winner will get to eat a bountiful samgyeopsal feast for dinner, a tempting prize indeed.

The teams are all given an individual dumpling and asked to name the ingredients that went into it. Hi-jinks ensues as Lee Joon proves to be worthless ("I think this was bought frozen at the supermarket!") and Kwanghee's tactic of opening his mouth so the rest of his team can look at what's inside backfires horribly.

In the end, Kwanghee's team is stuck with the least amount of ingredients - but Yewon and Hyoyeon have an idea: take some of the lettuce they planted a few months ago and swipe an egg from their chicken coop. Thanks to them, crisis is averted and the 'garlic' team makes good headway. Meanwhile, the other teams progress smoothly as well. Suzy creates an impromptu 'potato song' using the same melody from her famous 'birthday song' to Taecyeon in 'Dream High'.

Boom and Kim Shin Young make the rounds, dressing up as screenwriters and prodding the cast with their whiteboards to create something dramatic. Lee Joon creates a movie-worthy scene as he cries over noodles ("I'm sorry, noodles. It's hot, isn't it?") and Jo Kwon pretends to be electrocuted by the extension cord. Kwanghee and Lee Joon have a battle of chicken over some pepper - I think we can all guess who lost that one!

Somehow, in the middle of all that chaos, they finish cooking, and the 'potato' team's menu - fried potato pancakes and potato/noodle/carrot stew - take the top honors.

And finally...a sad moment as the cast bids goodbye to one of the longest-running members of 'Invincible Youth', Sunny. The girls present her with a signed photo of the 'G6', and her last farewell is a bittersweet one.

Next week shows the appearance of new MC Lee Young Ja and the creation of the 'Youth Hostel'!

REVIEW - 'Invincible Youth 2' Ep. 31

I have a confession to make: it's been a long time since I've tuned in to 'Invincible Youth 2'. It just wasn't, well, interesting enough for me, and as someone who absolutely loved the first season, it didn't feel quite the same. The last episode I remember watching was the episode with 2AM when they teamed up to make kimchi. After that, my weekly viewing of 'IY2' petered out a little - it simply slipped out of my schedule.

But the recent double-header news about the introduction of a new host (Lee Young Ja) and the departure of Sunny piqued my interest enough to start watching again. I was also curious: was the show really as disappointing as many people made it out to be? How big is the hole that was left by Woori and Amber, and the soon-to-be hole of Soonkyu?

Most importantly, though, I wanted to know if it was genuinely fun to watch - I've heard reports that the show's format had gone through several changes (and will soon be changing again), and I was curious whether or not they had impacted the show in a positive way.

So let's get this out of the way: this isn't 'Invincible Youth 1'. Precious little time is devoted to farming, farm animals, and farmers. The 'G6' (soon to be 'G5') spend most of the day playing games by themselves and with the weekly guests. Although filmed in a farming/fishing village (Daebu-do), the residents themselves get little screen time. Hosts Boom and Shin Young add to the 'outdoor game show' atmosphere, carrying on the show just as if they were inside a studio.

And in that manner, I can see how it would be a disappointment to the legions of 'IY1' fans who had clamored for a second season, and initially, I belonged to that camp as well.

However, if we can look beyond the fact that pretty much the only thing that remains from the previous season is the name, this episode of 'Invincible Youth 2' proved to be an enjoyable show with a few clever moments and above-average cast. It's no 'Infinity Challenge', certainly, but it was definitely a nice little time-waster for the weekend, with a few laughs along the way.

The cast has been getting better at taking the initiative and creating their own material. Jiyoung and Bora had some fun playing around with poor Lee Joon and the onions, and Hyoyeon and Yewon went beyond the planned script to come up with their own ideas about dinner.

Jewelry's Yewon is definitely the hidden card of 'Invincible Youth 2'. She displayed her skills early on as one of the few then-G8 members who could take a joke, or a situation, and run with it. Yewon hasn't lost it here, and her spats with fellow labelmate Kwanghee were hilarious to watch. That girl can make a falling leaf into a running gag; no wonder Shin Young seems to favor her whenever she wants to pull a situational gag from someone.

In fact, all of the cast seems to have gotten better at general variety sense since the beginning, which is definitely a good thing. There is Yewon, of course, but there is also choding Hyoyeon, energetic Bora, and sprightly Jiyoung. The one member who has some work to do is Suzy - the girl doesn't talk! But even that could turn into an advantage when placed in the hands of a good MC, like how Season 1's Hyomin turned her timid character into variety gold.

Speaking of good MCs, Kim Shin Young has also been a blessing; her adeptness at situational comedy and pulling random gags out of the smallest piece of bait is second to none, and for this episode, I was truly awestruck at the way she managed to create a running joke out of members not paying attention to her.

We shouldn't look at 'IY2' as merely a pale shadow of its former season, devoid of everything that made it great. While it is lacking in several key areas that made 'IY1' such a legend, 'IY2' is a different beast entirely, to be watched with a different set of lenses. And once we can get over the fact that this season is 'Invincible Youth' in name only, it becomes so much more fun to watch.

This Week's Highlights: 7/9 - 7/15

Here's our recommendations on what to catch for the week coming ahead. Keep in mind that these picks are the writer's personal choices; your own opinion may vary.

Monday, July 9th

Come to Play  :::  MBC, 11:15 PM

Hosts - Yoo Jae Suk, Kim Won Hee

Come to play on 'Come to Play' and the 'girl group special' with Wonder Girls' Sunye, f(x)'s Victoria, SISTAR's Hyorin, KARA's Gyuri, Brown Eyed Girls' JeA, and Secret's Hyosung! Viewers will be able to look forward to the fresh appeal of the beautiful ladies as they battle it out for supremacy. Don't miss out on their appearance next week - laughs are a dime a dozen and deep-hearted conversations are the talk of the hour on Yoo Jae Suk and Kim Won Hee's 'Come to Play'!

Tuesday, July 10th

Strong Heart  :::  SBS, 11:15 PM

Hosts - Shin Dong Yup, Lee Dong Wook

Spirit away the heat of summer with 'Strong Heart!' Listen to 2PM's Wooyoung share his personal stories about his mother, be blown away by Jo Kwon's trademark variety sense, and pick up a few dating tips from Yoo Yun Suk. Also, who's the surprise guest that made Jo Kwon cry? And don't miss the exclusive reveal of Boom's musical comeback - tune in this week on 'Strong Heart' to find out!

Wednesday, July 11th

Golden Fishery - Radio Star  :::  MBC, 11:05 PM

Hosts - Yoon Jong Shin, Kim Kook Jin, Kyuhyun, Yoo Sae Yoon

It's the attack of the foreigners on this week's 'Asian Dream' special on 'Golden Fishery - Radio Star'! With special guests 2PM's Nichkhun, f(x)'s Victoria, and actor Robert Holley, this week's episode promises to serve up bountiful laughs. Victoria's strange dietary habits revealed - scorpions? Cicadas? She eats them! And just what sent her former 'husband' Nichkhun into peals of laughter? 'Khuntoria couple' fans shouldn't miss this episode. It's time for another fun-filled episode of 'Golden Fishery - Radio Star'!

Thursday, July 12th

Happy Together 3  :::  KBS2, 11:15 PM

Hosts - Yoo Jae Suk, Park Myung Soo, Park Mi Sun, Shin Bong Sun

[Preview not available at press time.]

Friday, July 13th

Dancing With the Stars 2  :::  MBC, 9:55 PM

Hosts - Lee Duk Hwa, Kim Gyu Ri

Three finalists remain in the tightening competition that is 'Dancing With the Stars 2' after Tony An's defeat in last week's episode! In the battle to determine the winner, who will have fate on their side and emerge victorious? Don't miss Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon, Yeh Ji Won, and Choi Yeo Jin and their partners as they put on what is sure to be a spectacular performance once again.

Saturday, July 14th

Immortal Song 2  :::  KBS2, 6:15 PM

Hosts - Shin Dong Yup, Moon Hee Jun, Jun Hyun Moo

Celebrate summer with 'Immortal Song 2' and the summer special! Give your ears (and eyes) a treat as some of Korea's most talented artists take their own spin to some of the nation's popular warm-weather songs. This week's singers include Hong Kyung Min, Ulala Session, Cha Ji Yeon, Younha, Ailee, INFINITE's Sunggyu, Lee Hyun, Super Junior's Ryeowook, Sweet Sorrow, 2PM's Junsu, and aT. Don't miss this spectacular lineup of artists as they compete to win this round of 'Immortal Song 2'!

Sunday, July 15th

Running Man  :::  SBS, 6:00 PM

Hosts - Yoo Jae Suk, Ji Suk Jin, HaHa, Lee Kwang Soo, Song Ji Hyo, Kim Jong Kook, Gary

It's Shin Se Kyung and Noh Sa Yeon in the 'Beauty and the Beast' special! With their 'beauties' in tow, the 'Running Man' cast completes a series of fun missions with laughter a prerequisite. But there's an unsettling surprise lurking for the 'Running Man' members - what is the true identity of the mysterious guest Yoo Joon Sang? What will be the fate of the Running Men and the two female guests? Tune in this Sunday to find out!

 

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