[Sportschosun reporter Jeong Bit] The production team’s design was meticulous, but the people moving within it did not follow the script.
Wavve original ‘Bloody Game X’ has completed its epic run, bringing together players from previous seasons and new faces. In a format that began with teams and ended with individual competition, stronger-than-expected bonds formed, while Kang Ji-hoo, who had once been eliminated, returned and ultimately claimed the championship. It was a season in which the players’ emotions and relationships became bigger variables than the rules prepared by the production team.
Producer Jeon Chae-young recently spoke with this publication about the behind-the-scenes story of the season, from the teams’ unexpectedly strong cohesion and the unusually long runtime of nearly four hours to Kang Ji-hoo’s victory, the rediscovery of Yoonbi, and ‘Plunder Day,’ which sparked heated reactions.
This season was also a new challenge for Jeon. She took over as the main director of the program from producer Hyun Jung-wan, with whom she had co-directed the previous seasons.
Jeon said, “I asked senior producer Hyun Jung-wan many questions and received a lot of advice, so I didn’t face any major difficulties.” She added, “He shared his experiences and thoughts on his choices, while also strongly supporting me by saying, ‘This is your program, so do it the way you want.’”
The production team’s top priority from the casting stage was also ‘relationships.’ They brought together players who already had connections, including Lee Sang-min and Kim Kyung-hoon; KAIST alumni Heo Seong-beom and Kang Ji-hoo; and Lee Gwan-hee and Choi Hye-seon, who became acquainted on ‘Single’s Inferno 3.’
Jeon said, “When recruiting each person, I kept their relationships foremost in mind.” She continued, “We also tried to make the most of those relationships during the game. We tried to listen more closely to Gwan-hee and Hye-seon when editing.”
However, once filming began, emotions emerged that far exceeded the relationship map the production team had drawn in advance. What Jeon discovered anew this season, in particular, was the power of team competition.
Jeon recalled, “The emotions I thought would emerge around Episodes 4 or 5 were already appearing. Team competition was more compelling than I had expected.” She added, “Even during a single game, the emotions kept changing back and forth. I think the production team failed to keep up with 20% to 30% of the story’s flow.”
Above all, because there could ultimately be only one winner, the production team expected the existing bonds to naturally loosen when the game shifted from team competition to individual competition. They believed the players would prioritize their own survival at decisive moments. In reality, however, the players’ bonds were stronger than that.
Jeon stated, “If I had imagined the team bond as 100, it was actually 500 or 600.” She explained, “We thought that, knowing there could ultimately be only one winner, they would place importance on their own survival. But their sense of solidarity and connection was greater than that. It was unexpected.”
Trying to follow all the complicated relationships and emotions also extended the runtime. Episode 3, in particular, was released at nearly four hours. The rough cut was a staggering six hours long.
Jeon explained, “After the first screening, I even thought, ‘This is a disaster.’ Even if we tried to keep only the main storylines and remove the subplots, everything was connected, so it could actually have become harder to understand.”
Wavve also backed the bold decision. Jeon said, “The people involved told us, ‘Let’s not remove things that are all entertaining just for the sake of it.’” She added, “I was worried that releasing four hours of content would draw a lot of criticism, but viewers were able to take it in. I thought it could become a new kind of attempt.”
After that, the team stopped forcing itself to cut scenes it wanted to show. Jeon said, “From then on, we began showing what we wanted to show without filtering it. We didn’t make a point of trying to shorten it.”
Jeon identified the P2 team—Ha Seung-jin, Yoonbi, Hyun Seong-ju, and Lee Jin-hyung—as one that created unexpected synergy. She expressed satisfaction, saying, “The four of them were not even all on the same team during Season 2, but once filming began, they created many entertaining scenes.”
Among them, she singled out runner-up Yoonbi as the season’s biggest beneficiary. Jeon assessed, “Although this was supposedly his seventh survival show, I don’t think he had shown that much of himself before.” She continued, “He is genuinely very smart and fully deserving of finishing second. He speaks entertainingly, has a distinct character, and wants to be on television, so I think those qualities came through well this season.”
The production team sensed the potential of eventual winner Kang Ji-hoo during the semifinal. Jeon said, “The final matchups were arranged according to the semifinal results, and we knew there would be a chess game, didn’t we?” She added, “We thought that if Kang Ji-hoo achieved a good result in the semifinal, he would have a strong chance of winning. He is exceptionally good at chess.”
However, the process by which Kang Ji-hoo, who had been eliminated once, returned through a revival match and went on to win was beyond the production team’s calculations. Jeon said, “It seems there is a god in survival games.” She added, “Who gets eliminated and who comes back seems to be in the realm of the gods.”
The story of ‘Plunder Day,’ which generated heated reactions, also cannot be left out. Physical force was permitted for 60 minutes, intensifying physical confrontations and conflicts among the players. Shin Seung-yong’s actions also drew a range of responses.
Jeon said, “Everyone had their own circumstances and emotions at the time. I think what they said and did was what they could do in that situation.” She added, “I think adding any further commentary is the viewers’ domain.”
Regarding safety, she explained, “Beforehand, we ran simulations with the staff and stationed staff members in dangerous areas. We also briefed the players before filming on what actions were and were not allowed.”
Because the latter part of ‘Plunder Day’ unfolded largely around Shin Seung-yong’s actions, the editing process also required considerable thought. Jeon emphasized, “Since the overall flow of the latter half was driven largely by Seung-yong’s actions, it was difficult to edit it down.” She continued, “Rather than turning a particular person into a villain, we tried to show things as they were. We avoided deciding who was the lead and who was a supporting character and presenting them that way.”
Jeon viewed the recent wave of survival programs as a positive development rather than competition. She said, “I don’t dare consider them competitors.” She added, “People who watch ‘The Devil’s Plan’ may also watch ‘Bloody Game.’ Since survival programs are still a less mainstream genre than other variety shows, I think the increase in such programs is positive for us as well.”
She also expressed her willingness to continue the series. Jeon said, “If we can continue, I would like to.”
However, discovering new faces becomes a challenge as the series continues. Jeon admitted, “Watching Seo Chul Gu, I thought he had reached another level.” She added, “I’m also concerned about the ‘inflation’ caused by the contestants’ continually rising level, as well as finding new rookies.”
At the same time, she left the possibility open, saying, “I’m curious to see what the contestants who competed for the first time this season will be like next time. It’s difficult to single anyone out, but I have also wondered what it would be like if someone who had appeared on another survival show came to ‘Bloody Game.’”
For Jeon, the power of ‘Bloody Game’ lies in its rawness. She noted, “Before ‘Bloody Game,’ there didn’t seem to be many programs that showed things this raw. There was probably also a shock factor in seeing celebrities do things like this.”
She continued, “Survival shows definitely have their own appeal. All we did was create the world, and all we do is show the characters creating things within it. There is enjoyment in watching that unfold.”
Reporter Jeong Bit rightlight@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
