Dreamcatcher Solves Their Way Through Reality, Smashes Barriers To End May 2021

K-Pop — Dreamcatcher Recall

The first episode of Dreamcatcher’s very own reality show tops end-of-May news and activities from K-Pop’s rock/pop girl group.

Dreamcatcher fans all knew it was going to be a bit of a busy week last week when they finally found out when their highly-anticipated reality show was going to be placed on their YouTube channel for all to see — May 26th. The news broke via an article on Daum announcing the reality show premiere date along with the number of episodes (10) and when they would be airing (every Wednesday). Obviously, there was a ton of excitement around this among InSomnia, including from me, as it pretty much guaranteed I’d have at least one thing to write about Dreamcatcher for 10 weeks. We’ve never had a problem with getting content from the group, but having a guarantee of it through the middle of summer is a nice bonus.

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A day after this, a short teaser announcing the premiere was dropped, revealing both the title of the show (“Dreamcatcher Mind”) along with a curiously interesting look for the group who has been best known in the K-Pop world as having a darker fashion about them. The bright, school uniform colors generated a bit of buzz about just what exactly Dreamcatcher was going to be up to for the show. Was it going to be a scripted faux-drama? Would there be some hilariously hammed-up acting like Dreamcatcher did for their “World of Dreamcatcher” parody? The speculation ran rampant in Dreamcatcher fan communities.

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Excited InSomnia hoped for a few crumbs in the form of spoilers when Dreamcatcher aired a vLive broadcast with the group just before the premiere on Wednesday, but got precious little — there were, they said, many locations where the show had been filmed, as well as quite a few talents shown off by the members themselves, we’d get at least one episode where all of the group would be emotional, and the episodes would be subbed in English immediately - but not much else dropped. The rest of the vLive was, as is wont to happen in a full group live stream, barely controlled and entertaining chaos, as JiU started a “give a weird compliment to the member to your left” game that ended when SuA said that Yoohyeon had a lot of “interesting scents”. I definitely laughed quite a bit, but came away no more knowledgeable about the show than when the broadcast started.

But honestly, that was just fine by me, because it allowed me to go into the premiere episode mostly blind and with very few expectations. Either way, though, I had a feeling I’d love the show, and I wasn’t disappointed. So with that, let’s check out what happened, as well as some of the fun moments from the premiere episode.

First off, here’s the TL;DR recap:

• We found out each episode would be at least or around 20 minutes long
• We discovered the potential concept of “Dreamcatcher Mind” — a show filled with fun missions and challenges for the group to use their smarts to solve
• We saw some of SuA’s (and Dami’s) boxing skills and JiU’s tips on maintaining the right “ending fairy” pose for music shows
• Missions/challenges cleared:

• A numerical code pattern tracing puzzle to open the door to the vacation house

• A picture hint puzzle to find the keys to unlock the chains barring their way to the rooms

• A drawing puzzle with a fake red herring clue to unlock a box full of fun activities

• A picture/word puzzle to get access to a delicious bunch of food for an outdoor barbeque

Finding out the concept behind “Dreamcatcher Mind” was perhaps one of my personal highlights, mostly because it showed exactly why Dreamcatcher were dressed as students, why the show is called what it is, and, of course, how well they could adapt and think about certain puzzles. I’ve watched a decent amount of idol reality, and I don’t recall many of the challenges being as difficult as these were. They were definitely not “gimmes” and required Dreamcatcher to think on their feet a little bit, and save for having to receive one small hint on the third puzzle, managed to get through them all without issue. This is a nice way to highlight new talents or sides to the group — in K-Pop, we’re so often focused (and rightfully so) on entertainer-focused elements like choreography, singing, dancing, and visual stage presence. Having the group out of that element and seeing some fun being had through somewhat cerebral missions and challenges is a good way to show off more depth to the group and perhaps get to know them a bit better (though for outside viewers, it might have been a good idea to provide some basic info about the group to familiarize them).

Of course, part of the fun was also getting to see many fun Dreamcatcher moments as well. InSomnia are very well acquainted with how loud, funny, and chaotic the group can be off-stage, a stark contrast to their serious, aggressive, and darker portrayal during performances. Seeing it quantified in a reality show format, like when they somehow managed to break the container with the key to the vacation house after solving its puzzle, just showed that the production crew, and the company, realize this is part of their charm.

Other fun moments included the following:

• JiU’s immediate solution to almost every puzzle being to smash or rip things

Maybe it’s the glasses, or the fact that we might not know Dreamcatcher’s outwardly sweet and kind leader as much as we think we do, but JiU’s attempts at choosing violence over brains was a pretty funny departure from both the show’s concept and her personality.

• SuA holding onto that “top 1% at Harvard” book like a talisman

The contrast between the explanation of SuA holding onto a book about a prestigious university of some of the smartest people and her declaration that she had absolutely no clue how to solve a puzzle was great. Gahyeon even called SuA out on the fact that SuA was holding onto that Harvard book of hers like it would help her brain work faster.

• Siyeon backing up her trash talk during the “Toilet Water” game

There were a couple entertaining moments during the whole “Toilet Water” game segment, but one of the best was Siyeon first saying she’d “do what she always did” in facing off with SuA, backing it up, then dropping a thumbs-down victory pose. Fans of Dreamcatcher know Siyeon can be quite competitive when it comes to games, so having the double benefit of seeing her win and doing so against her constant partner-in-crime SuA was fun to see.

• Dami handling losing in true “idol commercial endorsement” style

The most memorable moment of the “Toilet Water” game, however, was Dami deciding at the moment she knew she was going to lose that she would treat it like a photoshoot by the beach, leaning into the water and mugging for the camera as if she was endorsing a towel, a moisturizing spray, or both at the same time. Fans of Dami know that her aggressive, in-your-face rapping stage presence belies a softer offstage personality as well as what some might even call an underrated visual look. Having the latter be shown and highlighted was a stylish way to lose a game, as well as remind people that everyone in Dreamcatcher is certainly a K-Pop idol in every sense of the word.

• Dreamcatcher ending the episode filled with food and passion to have fun with the show

It’s reality show trope in a nutshell, but having the “heartwarming group end” to the episode was still appropriate here, especially after having solved so many puzzles and being able to enjoy the fruits of their labor in the form of an outdoor barbeque. Dreamcatcher is a close-knit group, and working as a team to solve the puzzles and challenges certainly showed their group cohesion. Whether we will see as many challenges solved in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but setting the stage for this being a fun, brain-focused show with personality is a good strategy to pursue to making the show entertaining and successful to fans. I’m very much looking forward to the rest, and if the responses to the company’s Dreamcatcher reality show premiere event on Twitter are any indication, others are as well.

There were plenty of jokes from fans about JiU’s smashing tendencies on Dreamcatcher’s reality show, but what people might not realize is that the group basically spent the week actually smashing things — in this case, the barriers that have been traditionally in front of them as a less popular K-Pop group with a non-traditional concept.

One of these was certainly SuA’s appearances on SBS Young Street radio these past few Tuesdays. The latest episode featured guest DJ Yoo Jiae from group Lovelyz, and along with Sleepy, SuA discussed social media addiction in the context of a caller’s somewhat obsessive ex, received some nice cupcakes, talked about if it was possible to date someone with different likes, and consider who was the worst roommate type to deal with — one with a lot of appetite, one who never cleans, or one that always borrows from you. SuA, for her part, chose the third, referring to a certain Dreamcatcher member who kept borrowing a hair dryer to the point of buying one for her (we’d find out just who that was later in the day).

It was, as SuA’s other appearances on the show, as entertaining as ever. But the barrier-smashing came in the form of news per Dreamcatcher’s fancafe that SuA would be scheduled for all of June to appear on SBS Young Street radio every Tuesday. The fact that SuA was able to parlay two guest appearances into two months of them just shows that at least one network is starting to see that Dreamcatcher has members that can surely provide professionalism and entertainment. SBS, in particular, has been fairly kind to Dreamcatcher this year, with their own Weekly Idol appearance, a 45-minute special about their history, and now this. It’s nice to see this barrier being broken.

The other barrier being smashed this past week was the announcement that Dreamcatcher would be part of Barcelona’s annual Primavera Sound festival in 2022, a huge affair with a ton of artists both large and small. Dreamcatcher will be the festival’s first K-Pop artist invited to perform, and it’s clear from the artist profile page put up for Dreamcatcher that the organizers realized their unique place in the industry.

Not only is this a confirmation that Dreamcatcher will be traveling in 2022 with at least one stop in Europe (assuming things recover pandemic-wise), but it is validation that at least one international event sees the value in having them perform. It’s true that other, more famous groups could have been invited, but having Dreamcatcher in such a diverse lineup is a testament to their international reach, which has grown exponentially in just the past year. I’ll be looking forward to them being seen and recognized on such a well-attended international stage.

Along with the reality show premiere and barrier-smashing that happened this past week, here are a couple other news bits from Dreamcatcher content-land:

[embed]https://www.vlive.tv/video/249914[/embed][embed]https://www.vlive.tv/video/249914[/embed]

• A double vLive helping from the members.

In one, we got a Dami and Handong vLive that eventually turned into a 5-member loud fest, with SuA, Yoohyeon, and Siyeon joining the voice-only stream. We got to hear Handong finally hit her limit with teasing SuA with her (and Yoohyeon, for not knowing about SuA’s Young Street appearance) being told by SuA to “pack her bags” and leave the dorm after suggesting she go back to her hated short hair days from Minx, Yoohyeon being revealed as the member SuA talked about on the radio that kept borrowing her hair dryer to the point where SuA just bought one for her, Siyeon showing off her glow-in-the-dark nails, and everyone laughing about dinosaur names. Definitely one of the more entertaining vLives in a while.

The other vLive of the week was a bit more calmer affair, with Dami, Siyeon, and Gahyeon talking about the reality show after the first episode aired. Some teasers were dropped, including that Gahyeon would not be featured as much in episode 3 for an unknown, interesting reason. There was also some brief talk about driving licenses, with Dami and Gahyeon commiserating about getting them and Siyeon (who doesn’t have one but who might get one “in 10 years or so”) nodding and smiling along with the conversation. Overall, a nice and chill session after experiencing so much chaos.

• KCON’s YouTube channel releases KCON:TACT 2’s Dreamcatcher performances

Unfortunately, after appearing at the last two, Dreamcatcher will not be appearing at KCON:TACT 4, happening in late June (it’s certainly possible that they are busy with other plans, making fitting in another appearance a bit difficult). But if you still want your Dreamcatcher fix, you can get it by seeing Dreamcatcher’s KCON:TACT 2 stage performances from last year, featuring “BOCA”, “Scream”, “Red Sun”, and “Break the Wall”. This was the last 6-member appearance before Handong’s return to the performance stage, so know that before going in, but it was certainly fun to go back to this and see Dreamcatcher’s first invitation to a KCON in several years.

This turned out to be a busy past week for Dreamcatcher, and as we creep into June, we’ll certainly hear more from the group, if for nothing else, for the very next reality show episode of Dreamcatcher Mind. I’m looking forward to seeing more of them entertaining us with their brains and their fun, offstage personalities, and I’ll see you back here next week for the recap of all of those shenigans. Be sure to follow, drop a clap if you want, and spread the word about these recaps if you can!