The 8 Show – K-drama Episode 5 Recap & Review

Game Within The Game

Episode 5 of The 8 Show begins with 6F’s back story. He litters, easily gets naked, and only orders a pillow to sleep on.

At present, 7F finds himself in 8F’s room with her, 4F and 6F. The trio bring him to their side as they need him to control the chute for food to the lower levels. They purchase more tasers and bats, lock the square’s intercom and break the remaining floors’ intercoms.

A game within a game begins with the upper floors in control now. Of course, 7F comes up with all the ideas to control the lower floors and extend the timer. Every day, 1F, 2F, Jin-su and 5F have to play a game at random with violent penalties. The winner will have to execute the penalty after which 9 coins will be distributed. The lower floors have to secretly ask for a certain amount but if the total is above 9, they won’t get any coins. 1 coin equals water or food.

The first game is hide-n-seek with the upper floors beating those they find. As usual, 6F goes overboard with the violence when he finds 2F but 7F stops him. Jin-su wins and the penalty is a human pinata. He is blindfolded and he apologises as he ends up beating 1F. As for the coins, he tries to be altruistic and selects 1 coin but everyone else picks 2 coins.

The next day, the game is 20 questions and Jin-su sets it up for 2F to win as he hopes she can beat up 6F during human pinata. However, she cannot gauge her surroundings and smacks Jin-su instead. 

This continues and now 47 days have passed. At one time, all 4 floors ask for 3 coins and since the total is more than 9, they don’t receive any. Jin-su gives up all hope and even thinks of killing himself at one point.

The tide almost turns when the lower levels attempt their first revolt by refusing to go to their rooms. But a diabetic 5F gives in when 6F offers 10 coins to the person who stands down first. Jin-su is hopeless when 1F comes up with an idea. 

On the right day, he will signal Jin-su and 2F to come down the chute to his room. He will then lure 6F in and beat him. 7F overhears and warns Jin-su that the chute makes a sound when it stops at each floor.

The lower floors worry if it is a trap but they realise 7F is right. On one particular day, they notice that 4F, 6F and 8F are bored with only 7F overseeing the game. They realise it is time as 1F gives the signal that he is sick.

Early the next morning, 1F starts screaming for help. 8F, 7F, 6F, 5F and 4F wonder what’s going on and go to check. 6F realises that something is wrong with 2F and Jin-su missing and he hands 8F the taser. He barges into 1F’s room and 2F and Jin-su attack. It is a mess as they stumble over the waste bags but 6F escapes. He grabs the taser and shoots but it doesn’t work as 7F had taken out the batteries. At the end of The 8 Show Episode 5, 7F signals them and 2F knocks out 6F as her hand has healed now.

The Episode Review

The 8 Show Episode 5 takes a different route as it is all about revolts, capitalistic machinery, hope, switching sides and violence. Instead of watching harmless games, the viewers, both fictional and real are now more invested in who will take control of the studio. The upper floors or the lower floors. And with 7F, the brains, on the upper floor, it seemed that all hope was lost.

But the moment the tide turns, we feel the same rush of adrenaline that Jin-su feels as their plan falls into motion. It isn’t smooth, they don’t have any backup but only sheer anger. Fine, they do use 7F’s help but it is super satisfying to see 6F being knocked down, literally. We do wonder though how the actual game runners feel with the participants hijacking their script.