Episode 7 Of "Kingdom": 4 Outstanding Performances That Blew Our Minds

May 19, 2021

It’s a new week and a new round on “Kingdom: Legendary War.” We’ve now reached part one of round three, where the six groups are divided into two larger teams who mix amongst themselves to form three units. This past week, we are treated to four amazing performances from the rap and dance units, and all the boys seem to be having so much fun intermingling and trying out new things. Intergroup performances like these are so rare nowadays, so this whole round is especially exhilarating to watch.

One little change this week is that there was no live streaming of the performance for the “experts’ evaluation.” Instead, a panel of 33 people, including Super Junior’s Donghae and Shindong, producers Shinsadong Tiger and Rhymer, professional choreographer Lia Kim, etc. were brought to the studio to watch.

Warning: Results for the unit battle and the first two rounds ahead!

“Full DaSH” (iT’S ONE’s rap unit)

Team The-i-9 from the track meet last week renamed themselves iT’S ONE for this third round. And for their rap unit, each group sent out Bobby, Hwiyoung, and Sunwoo, respectively. At their first meeting, THE BOYZ’s Sunwoo was completely gushing over iKON’s Bobby and even managed to get his number.

He was legitimately so excited!

SF9’s Hwiyoung was also adorably awkward with talking to Sunwoo informally, but by the end of their performance, they were three shoe-matching amigos.

Their performance itself was a hip hop based rap performance that fully centered around the idea of being free-spirited and having fun on stage. The lyrics were about them telling others to mind their own business while they continued to strive towards their own goals. The whole thing was swag-personified, and I’m sure no one could stay still during that high-energy performance. Their respective team members all looked super proud of them, and they deserved every bit of applause.

Bobby was even using two mics at one point!

Check out their full performance here:

“Paint” (Mayfly’s rap unit)

For the Mayfly team’s rap unit, Stray Kids sent out their producing big guns 3RACHA (Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han). ATEEZ similarly sent their producing member Hongjoong, while BTOB sent out their multi-talented rapper (and Visual King) Minhyuk. With so many talented chefs in the kitchen, having conflicting ideas and opinions was a very real possibility, and yet they all gelled so well that they soon dubbed themselves 5RACHA. In fact, they were probably the unit that was the most comfortable with each other from the get-go, with Changbin telling Minhyuk and Hongjoong that all drink orders at JYP had to be done through song. And yet when Han placed his order like a normal person…

Heh!

Their song “Paint” was largely about them creating a new color by mixing their three respective team colors, while also criticizing those who placed the worth of certain skin colors above others. The four younger rappers were all on fire, and when Minhyuk walked out later in the performance and shushed everyone, everyone went wild. Their stage was dressed like an art gallery, which sort of means their performance is a literal art piece, no?

Check out their full performance here:

Their style was decidedly different from Team iT’S ONE’s, and though both were electric in their own right, it was Team Mayfly who won the round, 23 votes to 10.

“King and Queen” (iT’S ONE’s dance unit)

Team iT’S ONE’s dance unit somehow managed to gather three boys who all had “early” birthdays, which meant they needed to sort out the formalities first. (In Korea, those born in January and/or February are considered to be the same age as those born in the previous year). After THE BOYZ’s Juyeon was deemed the maknae (he slipped right into the role too), they got down to business. (Also, did iKON’s seniority make anyone else forget how young the members actually are? Donghyuk’s a 1997-er!)

Juyeon, Donghyuk, and SF9 member Taeyang’s performance of “King and Queen” was about a king who slowly descends into madness. Each member portrayed a part of the king’s ego, including his tyranny, his pleasure-seeking obsession, and his eventual insanity. There were many prop-involved “tricks” in the performance that could’ve potentially failed (Taeyang catching a sword; Juyeon flipping a table over with his foot), but fortunately, they nailed everything, and it was adrenaline-pumping all the way. The whole sageuk-themed performance unfolded like an intense drama with ebbs and flows, and it easily had you wanting for more even after it ended.

Check out their full performance here:

“Wolf” (Mayfly’s dance unit)

Unlike Team iT’S ONE who used only three members for their dance unit, Team Mayfly took the strength-in-numbers route and sent the majority of the members here. There were five from ATEEZ, three from Stray Kids, and one Peniel from BTOB. Peniel was recommended to be the leader of the group, and he promptly won them over (even more) with some (expensive) ice cream.

Peniel learning from his hyung’s “mistakes.” Heh!

Team Mayfly danced to EXO’s “Wolf” and again, it was a completely different breed than Team iT’S ONE’s performance. They put their large number to good use and had little intergroup pairings throughout that the fans would undoubtedly enjoy. The nine boys brought their A-game, and it really looked like they were about to rip out some throats (and I mean that in the best way possible). Stray Kid’s Felix jumping onto ATEEZ’s Wooyoung was especially incredible, as was Peniel slaying his krump section.