A Display Of Talent And Tactics: “Queendom Puzzle” 2nd Episode Review

The latest episode of Queendom Puzzle, the much-anticipated Queendom spinoff, delivered a mix of exhilarating performances and competitive strategy. Continuing the “Up & Down Battle” challenge, the girls showcased their varying talents and received a range of scores from other contestants. Meanwhile, the introduction of the “7 V 7 Team Battle” threw in an added layer of strategy and team dynamics, with Cherry Bullet‘s Bora taking center stage.

Cherry Bullet’s Bora | Mnet

Part 1: “Up & Down Battle” Continuation

The spectrum of performances was nothing short of diverse. Rocket Punch‘s Juri struggled to capture the right aura in her performance of Sunmi’s song, while her bandmate Yonhee offered a vibrant rendition of SOMI’s “Dumb Dumb,” proving her mettle despite a minor wardrobe malfunction that she handled quite professionally.

Performances from Weeekly’s Soeun and Soojin followed, with Soeun’s act of Seulgi‘s “28 Reasons” falling slightly below expectations. In contrast, Soojin‘s delivery of Jisoo’s “Flower” was solid, neither dazzling nor disappointing.

The spotlight then turned to TripleS’ Seoyeon, who, despite having only a few weeks of training, bravely took the stage with “Cherry Talk.” Her performance was unfortunately disjointed, earning her only 2 upvotes, but she took it in stride with good humor.

CLC Yeeun‘s much-anticipated performance of “Cherry Coke” lived up to the hype, though not without a shaky start. As she found her groove, her energetic dance moves and signature rap skills came to the fore, earning her a score of 19 upvotes and 8 downvotes.

LABOUM Haein‘s dual performance of “Fresh Adventure” & “Between Us” unfortunately fell flat, with obvious nerves hindering her execution. Similarly, WEKI MEKI’s Elly struggled with her rendition of “Song of Temptation,” and Cherry Bullet’s Chaerin had a difficult time with “Bicycle.”

Despite no agency support, former MOMOLAND member JooE made a brave effort with Sunmi’s “24 Hours”. However, vocally she fell short, and a few missteps in the choreography further affected her performance.

Lovelyz’s Kei, on the other hand, delivered an impressive vocal performance of “Destiny” by Lovelyz. The choreography could’ve been better, but overall she held her ground well. While she was not able to grab hold of 1st place — currently occupied by Cherry Bullet’s Bora after an incredible vocal showing during the first episode — Queendom Puzzle did a not-so-subtle job at setting up a fiery competition between the two talented vocalists.

Part 2: Introduction of the “7 V 7 Team Battle”

The episode moved forward with the “7 V 7 Team Battle” in a friendlier-looking set. The contestants were told they would be separated into four teams of 7 members. First, each of the contestants would have to pick between two songs specially created for the show — the trendy track “Charismatic” and the hip-hop number “Snap”— each song group would hold 14 contestants.

[7 vs 7 battle]

Charismatic: Jiwon, Chaeyeon, Nana, Jihan, Zoa, Soojin, Jooe, Yeonhee, Jiwoo, Jooe, Haein, Wooyeon, Seoyeon

Snap: Bora, Yeoreum, Hwiseo, Yeeun, Kei, Fye, Yuki, Sangah, Dohwa, Riina, Juri, Miru, Elly, Chaerin#QUEENDOMPUZZLE #퀸덤퍼즐 pic.twitter.com/SzvhQSUyQb

— Queendom Puzzle Updates (@qdmpuzzleupdate) June 20, 2023

The song decisions were made starting with Bora — the highest-ranked contestant who highlighted the tension rising after she and Kei chose the same song, knowing their parts would overlap as main vocals —  and ending with TripleS’s Seoyeon, the lowest ranked. It would be after this that Queendom Puzzle would provide the much-loved survival show drama when MC Girls’ Generation‘s Taeyeon asked the highest-ranked contestants from each song group to choose which girls they want on their team and which they want to drop.

mnet trying to make a rivalry between bora and kei when we could’ve had the two powerhouse vocalists team up pic.twitter.com/we9fogQuyD

— jœ (@httpshbn) June 13, 2023

Part 3: Team Selection And Strategies

Essentially, Cherry Bullet’s Bora and Jiwon, who were the highest-ranked members from the “Charismatic” and “SNAP” groups, had to pick 7 contestants they want to keep on their team (or PICK team), and the other 7 would be put in the team they are set to compete against (or DROP team).

While Jiwon’s choices seemed to come from a place of which performances she liked most, Bora proved to be quite the strategist as she made choices that will undoubtedly cause a lot of commotion among K-Pop fans. Knowing “SNAP” was a hip-hop track and the importance rappers would have during the performance, Bora made sure to keep the best rappers in her team and leave the other team with none.

Another bold decision came when the Cherry Bullet star decided to drop Kei from her team, following the acknowledgment that they would have to compete for the same parts. Bora’s decision may not sit well with some, as it gives the DROP team an extremely low chance of succeeding. However, it’s a bold reminder of her drive and determination to win, something more than necessary in a show like Queendom Puzzle.

Plus, these choices led to one of our favorite quotes from the episode.

So… you didn’t choose me? You’ll see.

— Rocket Punch’s Yeonhee

YESS BE FKING SCARED OF YEONHEE! pic.twitter.com/HPpugKBaMM

— manno|yeonhee QUEENDOM winner idc (@tinyeonhee) June 20, 2023

 

And despite Bora’s determination, she remained loyal to her bandmates, not losing her trust in Chaerin despite her low tier ranking and disappointing performance.

chaerin and jiwon holding back tears during bora’s performance these girls genuinely love and support each other…#cherrybullet #체리블렛 @cherrybullet pic.twitter.com/EKnhZDYwrh

— cherry (bullet) (@lulletsite) June 14, 2023

Overall, the episode was a blend of stand-out performances, a few underwhelming ones, and the added thrill of strategic team-making. It teased a future filled with exciting competition and intense rivalries. While the show felt dragged out at times and poorly edited at others — with unnecessary cuts and reactions being shown for the purpose of drama — it remains a solid piece of entertainment.

From the looks of the next episode’s teaser, we are in for even more drama and surprises, notably the shocking departure of Lee Chaeyeon. Stay tuned for more excitement in the world of Queendom Puzzle!