When it comes to idol shows, this is probably the first time I found myself eagerly anticipating how things were going to be after that massive failure…Only for the events to suddenly shift to a vacation episode.
I probably should have saw this coming though. The mood might become too heavy and depressing if the entire episode was filled with unease and tension that followed after they’ve been disbanded. It was a smart move for President Takanashi take them on a trip, away from the city/public sights and hopefully help them relax and reset. Everyone was coping with the failure different, but the ones who were hardest hit appears to be Iori, Sogo and Riku. Iori hasn’t been able to sleep properly because of being plagued by dreams, Riku has been almost uncharacteristically hyper-happy, in attempt to comfort Iori but also himself at the same time, and Sogo has a lot on his shoulders, burdened by Idolish7’s future depending on their success as a unit, Mezzo. And it certainly doesn’t help when Tamaki starts acting like a stubborn child.
The duo’s future as Mezzo is going to be a difficult one to say the least – that is unless Sogo manages to “discipline” Tamaki to break his bad habits that have grown over the years. The tricky part in their relationship is the tension between them. They are constantly at odds and butting heads, personalities are clashing, but they need to make it work, and Sogo is trying to do just that. He has shown us he can be clumsy when it comes to expressing himself or his intentions, and all he is trying to do the right thing, even though it may not be the right way to do it. Tamaki wasn’t entirely wrong when he called Sogo out for doing things that he has been told to do. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who initiated it. For the sake of their success, it’s an obligation for them to get to know each other, regardless if it’s just building a fake image to please fans, because if they don’t, they will fail, and Idolish7 will lose their opportunity to redeem themselves. This is precisely why Sogo told Tamaki he won’t play his childish game (but make no mistake, his comment did hurt him), and took the extreme route of pointing a knife at him to get him to do his task.
But currently, of all the members, Sogo worries me the most. Although he does express his concerns, it was never about him, but the group as whole or for others. It feels as though he is bottling up his own struggles, frustrations, despair because he doesn’t want to burden the others. I always thought Tamaki was probably going to be the one to uncork the bottle, but if Sogo actually spooked him enough to do what he is told/expected of him from this point on, I do wonder if he is willing to poke him further (though chances are, he probably will).
I am not always a fan of these type of episodes, but I really enjoyed this one a lot. It was not only hysterical (the King’s Game and Pillow fights were the best), but it was well executed, had it merits, and it gave us a chance to learn more about the characters. Up to this point, Tamaki, Iori, Riku and to some degree, Mitsuki (well he’s pretty transparent with how he is feeling), have all revealed the good and the bad side of them, and what makes them so flawed, followed by an explanation of why and how they became that way. This leaves, Sogo, Nagi and Yamato as the most mysterious members of the group. A common characteristic they share is how they keep their secrets close to their hearts, and haven’t quite revealed their true colors as of yet.
We did however learn a little bit about them, but mostly fun facts such as Nagi can speak eight languages! Sogo has a poor alcohol tolerance (gets drunk easily)! Yamato is that dare-devil you want to avoid if you’re playing the King’s Game. However then things suddenly got interesting when Nagi and Tsumugi started to passionately talk about the famous actor Chiba Shizuo. His face suddenly dropped, looking deflated and unimpressed, which leads me to believe he has a connection to Chiba Shizuo. Naturally the first thing that crossed my mind was perhaps they are related or have some sort of connection. Despite the differences in their lat names, it shouldn’t be overlooked, a valuable lesson we learned with Riku and Tenn.
