Froehlein

"bruh, the whole point of the game was to show how ruthless humans can be, isn't that the devil's plan..."

Uh no, that's not it...

Mmh, yes, the Treasure Hunt Game was his last appearance, so of course that sticks in the memory more and I think it blurs Justin's playing strength a little. But I think he was simply at a physical and mental disadvantage that day. The match with Harin was so intense, then it went on for several hours until well after midnight, little sleep, no good food. That must have taken an incredible toll on both of them. And then the very next day + just one piece. It was simply too much. Sleep deprivation alone is enough to make you unable to think clearly.

In my eyes, sitting in prison all the time was a clear physical/mental disadvantage for players for the reasons I mentioned. And unfortunately it has to be said that once you were in prison, you never got out again (with the exception of Hyun Joon)...

This! I don't understand why people keep making this argument or saying "it's called The Devil's Plan not Angel's Plan". The devil is the masked man and he confronts you with devilish decisions and you have to make them for yourself, how you deal with them and how you want to play. Seok Jin, for example, has shown how to play sincerely. He played the devil off. The Devil's Plan does not mean that the winner is the devil or that you have to play like a devil as a contestant, but only that the devil presents you with difficult mental and moral challenges with his tasks.

"Justin is a good solo player. he was great at playing the death matches but made 0 efforts for alliances. "

The point at which Justin decided against any alliance was clearly recognizable. It was the point at which Eun Yu betrayed him when she rejected his proposal, but then pursued the same plan with Harin and Hyun Joon. He clearly drew the consequences. He still played in the team afterwards when it was important, but the trust was gone. You could see that and he expressed it in different ways. I also think you underestimate him in terms of his strategic thinking. Because he was always very quick to develop strategies and adapt them very quickly if necessary. Be it when he found out about the betrayal in prison or when he realized that a whole alliance was forming against him and Se Dol. He always found good solutions. And he played casually with the fact that others underestimated him, because he always presented himself as a little awkward at the beginning of the games, only to strike at the end. And you can't really say anything about his quick mathematical calculations because we never got to see them...

Oh, episode 3 was really fun.... Prince Khanin is slowly getting into top form. The episode was really intricate and detailed. Really good... and next episode we finally get the ball? Yay. Looking forward to it!

Oh I enjoy the show. The cast is so endearing. I didn't know GMS before but she's great. I'm glad her series character is so likeable. KHN is brilliant. I'm crying with laughter. And together ML and FL are simply cute. The show is just fun, it's lighthearted, the cast is adorable and man, can't they just pass me the yummy food through the screen? I am starving. 🤤 The appreciation of the food is really wonderful. Finally a KDrama that takes me away again.

You've described it really well.
Ultimately, you have to criticize the production, because in my eyes it is their concept that is causing the imbalance here and which is being exploited by players.
It would look very different if it were possible for prison inmates to win more than one piece for the winner, if pieces were hidden in the prison or if there were games in the living area where residents could lose pieces. Imagine the winner in the death matches would win 4 pieces, 2nd 3 pieces, 3rd 2 pieces, all other survivors 1 piece. That alone would have been enough to make some people want to stay in more than just the living area.

Even in the game episode 10/11, it's basically not about skill but about luck and the number of pieces.
At the very beginning, I thought Hyungyu's style of play was straightforward and fair, but he basically said it himself in episode 10: he's become greedy and his game has changed as a result.
As the saying goes: give a person power and it will show you the persons character (in this case, the player character).

There could have been a game for both camps, which would have completely swapped prison inmates and living area people when winning. In my opinion, the game left no chance to switch to the living area once you had landed in prison. There was only one chance. That's why Hyun Joon made it.

And production should seriously reflect on this and make improvements.

Oh really? Okay. That's completely absurd and inexcusable. I'm only on the show here on the site. I see more criticism here. Ultimately, the underlying criticism hits and should reach the production, because in my eyes they should have designed the games differently and also prevented the formation of camps and their consequences. But the fact that Hyungyu is now receiving such disgusting comments is simply reprehensible and should be punished consistently. He doesn't deserve that. At the end of the day, it's just a game show and he played by the rules. I'm really shocked by what you're telling me.... Thanks for the clarification, I was simply puzzled.

I don't know who you mean. I find the season frustrating towards the end and find his behavior worthy of criticism and for me, I don't think there is a worthy winner. But I don't hate anyone, my life is too precious for that. I always find it exaggerated when criticism and an opinion that doesn't correspond to one's own is declared as "hate". The card is quickly pulled out to evoke feelings of guilt.

I differentiate winners into those who deserve it in my eyes, which for me includes fair play, courage to play both as a team and as an individual player and to deal decently with my opponents, and winners who in my eyes win undeservedly because they build their victory on the backs of others. Hyungyu just benefited so much from So Hee and used her as a pawn.

I liked So Hee a lot, but her submissiveness and double standards made her unbearable for me. She didn't seem independent to me at all. When Hyungyu really stood alone, he whined until So Hee and Kyuhyun switched sides. Just like he whined that he didn't want to go to prison and they sacrificed Tinno for him. Where was he then, the strong player? In the end, he had had no problem throwing Kyuhyun under the bus. Because he almost certainly knew that was the best possible chance of what would happen. I personally found his posturing afterwards in the living area and at the next game arrogant. Just like the way So Hee talked about Hyun Joon. You can win gracefully or not. The people in prison didn't play in such a personal manipulative way even when they banded together. The exception was when Harin, Hyun Joon and Eun Yu joined forces in a game.

A devilish game does not mean that you have to act like a devil yourself. The best example is Seok Jin. You're welcome to have a different opinion, but I have certain values in my life and I form my opinion accordingly. So it's not just winning that counts for me, but also how I achieve it.

My goodness, these last few episodes are just frustrating, the players who have done the most on the show and played the most games and played the fairest have all had to go. While the manipulative and yes, I have to say it by now, most arrogant players who are only strong in the group and otherwise whine and are afraid of going to jail keep coming...
"They want to humiliate you" - This statement by 7High describes Hyungyu and So Hee so precisely in the last episodes... I find their behavior inside and outside the games unbearable. They seem like the mean kids at school, with So Hee now seeming subservient to Hyungyu. Pathetic.
Initially, I thought 7High could exhibit such problematic behavior. But he's the one who keeps surprising me in a positive way. The season started strong and has slowed down a lot. There won't be a deserving winner like Seok Jin was. Show dropped.

I also see these as the only explanations and would guess both, with the latter being the stronger reason...

I would have liked to see Chuu stay longer, like all the players who had to leave so quickly.

Yes, my amazement at So Hee has turned into frustration. I'm at the beginning of episode 11 and she's literally adopting things Hyungyu says without even thinking about whether it's logically possible... A waste of her intelligence. So Hee is Hyungyu's queen in the chess game... What amazes me about Kyuhyun is how easily he can be manipulated... In my eyes, he lacks what Justin excelled at. A team player who can strategically switch and develop a new strategy when he realizes that people are conspiring against him. Justin was straight forward, addressed things, was always fair in the game and fought for himself. (He is still my favorite player of all the candidates).

I also liked So Hee very much. But with episode 10 her double standards and her constant subordination to Hyungyu, I really just want her to leave. It's not fun to watch her anymore.

The prison games and players are the fairest and best thing about the series. Especially in the last few games you can see how the games are approached in a really sporting way. That's how the game should be in general. It's really fun to watch, exciting and fair, full of emotion, with good winners and losers. I didn't like Eun Yu's action against Justin back then. But episode 10 shows once again how strong she is and that she has nerves of steel. In fact, she seems to be the strongest player.

Episode 10 also shows me once again that Hyun Gyu's success is built on So Hee and I personally find So Hee's permanent subordination to Hyungyu exhausting. You don't want to win? Then why are you there? I'm curious to see if I can really see Hyungyu play successfully on his own in the next episodes without So Hee's constant support. Many are celebrating him, but when I see how he reacts when he's really on his own, I can only say for myself that he's not as strong as he's being sold here and I think he'll be inferior in a direct duel with Eun Yu.... If the endgame is Hyun Gyu vs So Hee, he has already won, she would give him the victory.

I find the living area mega boring this year. There was the hidden chamber, but apart from that nothing else happens... They should also play additional games without elimination, but for the jackpot or different games in the hidden room to win an extra piece. What's the point of them watching the prison games? Let them have a little fun...

On to episode 11, hoping Eun Yu doesn't have to go too, I'm starting to run out of favorites.

Ji Yeong is the only one to address the double standards of Kyuhyun and So Hee... They don't feel bad about isolating and eliminating anyone unless it's Hyungyu. They have no problem wanting to kick Hyun Joon. So Hee has disqualified herself from the finals for me. I don't feel sorry for Kyuhyun either. I want to see Ji Yeong in the finals and as the winner.

Well, I think you should always keep in mind that the storyline is from 2013+.

"There were also no more collaborative games to ease tensions between confrontations game and allow time to recuperate afterward. Some smarter and nicer players haven't even had a chance to go to the main residence, connect with other players, and clear things up. "-

I actually miss that too. The fronts were literally hardened after the first night. And once you've made it out of a group, you don't really have any allies left. Just look at Hyun Joon.
The only person who I think could be in both groups and would be accepted is Ji Yeong.

Your thoughts match my thoughts.

It occurred to me that it might be interesting if the jackpot was won in the first part of the show through group games and no participant left the game. (Because there were really interesting players here and I would have liked to see more of them) and in a second part, games like in the death room are played, where alliances are rather difficult but still possible and the winner is determined in this part.

For example, I'd rather Justin was still around instead of Kyuhyun. I like the latter, but when I see that Justin, Se Dol and Harin have been eliminated, it doesn't really fit for me. I mean Kyuhyun builds good connections, which in my eyes is an advantage and a disadvantage, but in terms of pure play he is inferior in the games in my eyes.