The Final Round | Reacting to The Genius Season 1 Episode 12
Added 2025-10-14 15:00:12 +0000 UTCNext up: Season 2!
Comments
I was just thinking that! I wonder how much sexism affected the game as a whole honestly
I Co
2025-10-30 12:12:18 +0000 UTCI forgot how frustrating game 2 was with Kyungran being the better player there but being so screwed over by that twist - if they didn’t have that audience mechanic we for sure go to game 3 which would’ve been more exciting
Conor Collins
2025-10-15 10:41:14 +0000 UTCJust a fun thought, any chance of getting Stephen on a viewing for a Season 3 episode? Could be interesting to see more discussion of strategies. He and Rob stopped at Season 2 of Genius Know-it-Alls and I think it's a pity that they never got to Season 3
Lin
2025-10-15 05:29:24 +0000 UTCIt's interesting to note that besides strategy for the games themselves, the finale format also introduces strategy for using items. (when and how to best leverage a given 'advantage'). This adds another layer of gameplay dynamics. I think Kyungran's loss also came down to her not optimizing her items while Jinho used his more effectively. I say this keeping in mind that in future seasons, there are player(s) who use items masterfully to their benefit
Lin
2025-10-15 05:24:43 +0000 UTCI really think the cast carries season 1, the top 4 are some of the biggest standouts of the entire show. But as the seasons go on I feel that the games and overall production quality greatly improves. Both seasons 3 and 4 are some of the best reality televisions that's ever been made!
Jared Sitner
2025-10-15 01:56:27 +0000 UTCReally excited for your season 2 rewatch!
IshDW
2025-10-14 17:12:40 +0000 UTCComments throughout watching the finale reaction: Season 2 has better games than Season 1 but Season 1 has a better cast, better storylines, is more entertaining and overall better season. Season 3 and 4 are seen as the holy grail. Jinho really starts to make a name for himself after the famous Open Pass moment and they start to edit him in a better light. We get to see the unbalanced possibility in a future season finale. We get to see a very different Jinho next season. Gyul Hap! While a great core game, they take a few tries to get it right and this is the first instance of them trying to get 'audience' participation into the finale Going to the third game doesn't always necessarily make it a better finale watch. Ultimately, I think the best player won and he improves a lot more as a player in future seasons.
IshDW
2025-10-14 17:10:55 +0000 UTCYeah, tbh a lot of the comments around Kyungran 100% came from a misogynistic place. As a matter of fact, I think a lot of these sorts of Korean competition elimination shows have pretty bad track records when it comes to both how the other players treat female contestants and how the show edits them. (As do American reality shows, shocker, sexism is global). One lowkey positive aspect about the Devil's Plan that I never hear get brought up is how they're actually one of the few shows in this vein that in my opinion (mostly) sidesteps this issue. The Genius certainly has this problem, and many of the Genius imitators *really* have this problem. Looking at you Bloody Game.
Lane Hawkins
2025-10-14 17:05:34 +0000 UTCThanks Taran, this was an enjoyable watch! I am personally most interested in Australian Survivor reactions (Heroes v Villains and Titans v Rebels) but I'll be watching whatever you put out!
Michael Battaglia
2025-10-14 15:49:01 +0000 UTCSo glad to hear you're jumping right into season 2. No spoilers, obviously, and I think this is a fairly common opinion, but I do believe that season 2 is the weakest of the four. That being said, even the weakest season of "The Genius" is still really, REALLY good. Season 3 is my absolute favorite and season 4 does a great job of tying the whole experience together. Also, I totally agree with you about Kyung-ran. The whole "she's scary" thing never sat well with me. It always came off as low-key misogyny to me in the sense that all it took for her to qualify as scary was being a self-confident, assertive woman. Nothing she ever said or did was scary. She was just the most headstrong of the female players.
Jeremy
2025-10-14 15:39:08 +0000 UTC
