The 8 Show – K-drama Episode 3 Recap & Review

The Voting Game

Episode 3 of The 8 Show begins with 7F’s back story. He meticulously investigates the studio before starting the game. At present, the participants realise that the time extends when the viewers are entertained. Jin-su tries mukbang and ASMR but it doesn’t work. He is interrupted by 7F who likes Jin-su as he subbed in for 1F.

It is also revealed that 7F doesn’t send his waste to 1F’s room which has Jin-su trusting him. They discuss strategies to entertain the audience. It doesn’t have to be just funny which means the participants may suggest violent acts to extend the timer. 

When it is time for the group discussion, of course, 8F suggests wrestling. 7F herds the ideas towards comedy and they finally land on talent shows. He goes first as he plays a recorder with his nose. Everyone is impressed and the timer extends to 20 hours.

7F also proposes that they need to decide when to end the game. 5F suggests 1F should take a call as he earns the least. He says he needs a billion which means they need to be in the game for two and a half months. The prize money increases for everyone with 8F playing for 34 billion so everyone is up for it.

On to the talent show – everyone has an idea except Jin-su who has no clue what his talent is. The participants begin and everyone wins different amounts of hours. We get singing, breaking tiles, high kicks, playing on the slide and even off-key yodelling. Jin-su dances awkwardly and secures only 18 minutes.

He thinks 1F will be worse than him but he has everyone laughing with his mimeing and clown tricks. 1F secures the most time with 30 hours. Finally, 8F is the only one left and she claims her talent is in bed. Jin-su is intrigued but after 7F passes his chance, she picks 6F who is more than ready. They put on a show and secure 69 hours. 

With a total of 5 days secured, 1F now asks about the waste storage in his room since they aren’t running anymore. No one wants to volunteer and they decide to vote on whose room to pick. Jinsu is worried they will vote for him as he was last in the talent show. 4F is worried too as she is second last and she manipulates 1F, Jin-su and 7F to pick 8F. She is worried about 7F when 6F calls him out but Jin-su trusts him.

However, 6F tells 7F that he and 8F are voting for Jin-su and 7F agrees. It is D-day, and it is a tie between 8F and Jin-su. A flashback shows 6F trying to win over 2F but she ends up voting for 8F. But 8F isn’t deterred as she celebrates the win. The timer also extends to a day thanks to the voting and scheming.

Jin-su asks 7F who could have voted for him apart from 6F and 8F since 5F abstained from voting. Turns out, the third vote was from 7F but he tells him to let it go. 1F and 2F bond as he thanks her for sorting the waste in his room to make space for him to sleep.

At that moment, 4F needs to go to the toilet but 8F refuses. Everyone is confused as they try to explain the votes to her. She understands but she doesn’t care. She takes it one step further by taking all the food that day and leaving empty kits for the rest at the end of The 8 Show Episode 3.

The Episode Review

If it felt like the stakes were already so high, The 8 Show Episode 3 makes it worse. Like the participants, it lulls the viewers into a false security that everything is fine now that they have figured out the timer. We get a brief period of entertainment and filler with the talent show and Jin-su’s nervousness. 

It then drops a plot twist like any good variety show with 8F being difficult. This also makes us wonder if something is going on behind the scenes. We know that most reality shows and variety shows are scripted. They would never leave any dangerous variable like 8F to chance, so what are the chances that she knows something the others don’t?

If we think from a K-drama perspective, the show now needs that one big conflict in the first half to keep the second half running. So far, it has been a format of question and answer. But with 8F messing it all, this will create the fodder for the remaining episodes. And what better way to do it than to create a loophole? And yes, Player 0 from Squid Game has given us trust issues, so there’s that too. Doesn’t help that 7F just betrayed Jin-su for no reason.