Note: Square brackets indicate a behind-the-scenes confessional is taking place.
Note: I write this show on my own, so there are bound to be mistakes. DM me on Discord (@pakehaswag) if anything needs fixed.
Note: Dialogue is in Korean unless stated otherwise.
The episode began with a recap of the previous episode. There then was a cut to Lee Seogeon in an office. Each contestant was listed on the screen as Lee Seogeon explained it was his ranking of the girls’ performances in the first episode.
1. Esther Kwon
2. Iyah Tanaka
3. Marina Brahimi
4. Madison Thao
5. Malibu Han
6. Kim Jia
7. Hong Jiseo
8. Kim Joobin
9. Esmae Santana
10. Jasmine Pinchantha
11. Nelly Psarrou
12. Hoang Tien
Lee Seogeon: “Had this been the final ranking, the three members joining The Girl would have been Esther Kwon, Iyah Tanaka and Marina Brahimi. However, of course, this is only the first ranking. In the previous episode, last place was spared from elimination. That will not be happening this time. If they don’t impress me today, they’re out of the running. In contrast to ep 1, the girls will be joined in teams of 4. I will rank each team, and each girl, from first to last. The contestant ranked last will be eliminated.”
The screen was overlayed with a graphic of the 3 teams:
Team A:
Esther Kwon
Kim Jia
Esmae Santana
Hoang Tien
Team B:
Iyah Tanaka
Malibu Han
Kim Joobin
Nelly Psarrou
Team C:
Marina Brahimi
Madison Thao
Hong Jiseo
Jasmine Pinchantha
Lee Seogeon: “The teams have chosen a song each to perform today. The broadcast will, for the first time, include behind-the-scenes footage of the girls preparing for their stage. For starters, here’s Team A.”
The 4 girls were sitting in an empty practice room, brainstorming ideas for their song.
Kim Jia (#6): “I suggest we do something old school, maybe late 2000s.”
Esther Kwon (#1) glanced at Hoang Tien. “I agree, but we should be careful not to choose a song that isn’t too challenging. I don’t think we can handle some songs, vocally speaking.”
Hoang Tien (#12): “Shouldn’t we challenge ourselves? I could be eliminated here. Playing it safe won’t let me show off my skills.”
Esther Kwon (#1): “Respectfully, any of us can be eliminated. We should ignore last week’s ranks and do something we’re comfortable with. If one of us messes up, it’s over. They’re gone, that’s it. Now isn’t the time for risk taking.”
Esmae Santana (#9) (in English): “We could go classic. Like SNSD, “Gee” or “Into The New World” or something.”
Esther Kwon (#1): “I like “Into The New World” for us. You guys?”
Kim Jia (#6): “Sounds good.”
Hoang Tien (#12) hesitated. “Sure.”
As the 4 girls practiced the choreography together, Hoang Tien fell behind immensely. Esther Kwon, noticing this, stayed behind with her after practice, with Jia and Esmae heading to bed.
The next morning, with Tien caught up to speed, the 4 of them split the vocal lines evenly between them. Jia and Esther received the high notes, with Esmae and Tien given a chorus each to compensate. Similarly to the choreography, Tien fell behind and required much help from Jia.
[Kim Jia (#6): “I was shocked. After all her training, she should know this song. She should know how to do this, but she struggled. I’m worried for her, with eliminations coming up.”]
After their single week of preparation was over, it was time for their performance.
[Hoang Tien (#12): “I’m scared! We weren’t given enough time to practice. I hope I do well.”]
[Esmae Santana (#9) (in English): “As a team, I’m not sure we’re adecquately prepared for this. All we can do now is our best, and keep our hopes up.”
The song began, starting with Jia’s part. Tien was offbeat, and visibly checked her other members to make sure which part came next. Esmae danced well, to no one’s surprise, but was vocally shaky. On the other hand, Jia sang with grace and hit her high note flawlessly, yet danced with little power and came off as weak. Esther aced her high note, even winking at the camera after, a moment which went viral across social media. Tien’s nerves seemed to get to her, as she appeared stressed all throughout the stage. Her vocals were mediocre and best, and she never recovered from her mistake in the beginning, repeating it several times over.
Lee Seogeon: “Not a great start. Esther, you’re great, almost like an idol. Viewers of the show will understand why you’re in first place. But Jia, you seem bored. Like you don’t want to be here. You need to think of these things, you’re on camera. How does that come across? As for Esmae, when you aren’t singing, anyone would think you’re a backup dancer. Obviously you’re a great dancer, but you don’t stand out at all. If you continue fading into the background, people will forget about you. Tien… I have no words. You were truly awful. You’d better hope one of these other teams make a huge mistake, otherwise you don’t stand a chance.”
[Esmae Santana (#9) (in English): “That was harsh, Jesus.”]
[Hoang Tien (#12), through tears: “His words dissapointed me. I don’t want to go home. I have to debut.”]
There was then a cut to Team B’s practice. They settled on a song comparitively easily, with Malibu Han suggesting Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” to no protest from the team.
During practice, each member helped the others when they struggled, and listened to one another’s advice. Though not the most skilled team of the show, their teamwork was admirable and they all got along well.
While divvying out lines, Iyah Tanaka suggested Kim Joobin write her own rap verse, replacing the bridge.
Kim Joobin (#8): “It would eat into the little time we have here. I’m not sure it’s worth it, what if I can’t keep up with the choreography?”
Malibu Han (#5): “But you want your rank to rise, right? If you do it and do it well, it will make the performace just that much better.”
Kim Joobin (#8): “I know, but… we’re in a time crunch here. It makes me nervous. If you all want me too, maybe…”
Nelly Psarrou (#11) (in English): “People will love it, the competition is tough. You could make us win.”
As Malibu translated Nelly’s words, Joobin nodded, agreeing to a verse.
After the practice week ended, they showed up to the stage ready to perform.
[Kim Joobin (#8): “I think I’m prepared. Very very nervous though” she giggled.]
Their performance began unsteady, with Nelly Psarrou singing too early, before professionally correcting herself without skipping a beat. The rest of the stage followed suit, with Malibu Han energetically sung & danced, visibly enjoying herself. Iyah Tanaka performed similarly to her friend Malibu, beaming with joy, as well as clearing her high note with ease. Kim Joobin shakily began her rap verse, which commented on her haters, directly adressing a comment made by a netizen calling her “too ugly for The Girl”.
Lee Seogeon: “Joobin, I don’t know why I ranked you so low. That was simply incredible. Good singer, great dancer, even better lyricist. I’m genuinely proud. Nelly, you made a mistake, but I almost forgot about it. Excellent recovery. Malibu & Iyah, you both gave it your all and I respect that, but I wish you had chosen a more challenging song. I know what you’re capable of, and now is the time to make it known.”
The show cut to a clip of Team C’s practice. Much like Team B, they had little struggle to pick a song to perform.
Jasmine Pinchantha (#10) (in English): “I suggest we do “Love Dive”.”
Marina Brahimi (#3), while translating for Jiseo, stated that she liked the idea.
Hong Jiseo (#7): “Me too, I think we should.”
Madison Thao (#4) (in English): “I agree.”
Jasmine Pinchantha (#10) (in English): “Ok, easy!”
During dance practice, Jiseo clashed with Madison & Jasmine due to a misunderstanding. Madison suggested Jasmine be in the center for the chorus because it suited her, while Jiseo believed Madison said so because of Jasmine’s low rank.
After working out their differences, they began deviding lines. Despite receiving the most time, Jiseo did not get any lines in the chorus. She seemed unhappy with this, but uncharacteristically kept her mouth shut.
As their practice ended and performance day arrived, Jiseo expressed doubt at her group winning.
[Hong Jiseo (#7): “It’s been really difficult, with me not speaking English. Everything had to be relayed through Marina, who acted as a translator. I feel that we wasted a lot of time trying to figure out what each other were saying.”]
Nevertheless, their stage started off strong with Marina’s stage presence radiating through the screen. While usually considered a rapper, she experienced no difficulty delivering her vocal lines smoothly. Jiseo, despite her apprehensions, similarly expressed the song’s energy well with dreamy vocals. Jasmine struggled to keep up, especially with the choreography, stumbling and losing her place near the song’s finish. Madison made little impression vocally with her lack of lines, but cleared the choreography as if it was easy.
Lee Seogeon: “Not bad. Marina, you’re great as usual. Madison, I almost forgot you were here sometimes. Giving you the job of handing out your own lines appears to have been a mistake. Whoever’s decision it was to give you so little, it was a bad one. Jiseo did well, though I wish you’d continue putting in effort when it’s not your turn in the center. You’re still on camera. As for Jasmine, you’re lacking a lot. You had a week to get the choreography down. Any professional would do it without issue.”
Lee Seogeon: “Now, I will announce my ranking of today’s teams.”
1. Team B
2. Team A
3. Team C
Lee Seogeon: “Finally, your individual ranks.”
(=) 1. Esther Kwon
(+1) 2. Marina Brahimi
(+5) 3. Kim Joobin
(-2) 4. Iyah Tanaka
(=) 5. Malibu Han
(+3) 6. Esmae Santana
(-1) 7. Kim Jia
(-4) 8. Madison Thao
(-2) 9. Hong Jiseo
(+1) 10. Nelly Psarrou
Lee Seogeon: “That leaves Jasmine Pinchantha and Hoang Tien as my candidates for elimination. Unfortunately, I had a difficult decision to make. That decision has put Jasmine Pinchantha…”
The girls all glanced at Jasmine, who lowered her head in shame.
Lee Seogeon: “... in 11th place, meaning Hoang Tien will be eliminated from the competition, and will not be debuting in The Girl.”
(-1) 11. Jasmine Pinchantha
(=) 12. Hoang Tien
The show faded out as the cast bid their friend farewell.