Apartment 404 Episode 1 Recap and Review: The new variety show stars BLACKPINK’s Jennie, Yoo Jae-suk, Oh Na-ra, Yang Se-chan as well as Moving stars Cha Tae-hyun and Lee Jung-ha. The 8-episode series follows these 6 members through various mysteries in a large apartment complex. They are given reenactments of real-life incidents and through games, they solve the mysteries. With 6 of them split into two teams, they use each other to carry out their mission and the result is only one of them can win!
– Apartment 404 Episode 1 Review Contains Spoilers –
Apartment 404 Episode 1 Recap
Apartment 404 (아파트404) begins with the members dressed as different popular characters from the 90s. With the episode set in 1998, the production was all about the 90s- from the cars to the apartment styles. Even as they gave the first brief, it was through the radio with the important information removed during the broadcast.
The teams were divided into BLACKPINK’s Jennie, Yoo Jae-suk and Yang Se-chan as one team and Cha Tae-hyun, Oh Na-ra and Lee Jung-ha as the second team. As they reached the apartment complex, they were separated into two apartments. The 6 members began looking for clues through the various items in the apartments. With the 90s theme, the apartments also had VCR machines, old electronic kitchen appliances as well as music records.
Jennie’s team and Oh Na-ra’s team went head-to-head in a ‘Red Light, Green Light’ game with many obstacles and hilarity ensued! With each member receiving a different mission for the game itself, the two teams tried their level best to win as the prize was a delicious lunch but most importantly, the first clue. Jennie’s team eventually won and enjoyed the pork belly but soon discovered their first clue.
While Oh Na-ra’s team lost, they also received a clue while making their lunch. As the two teams received different clues, there was another common clue, “Look into Apartment 406”. Soon enough, both the teams realised the missing piece that links the whole mystery together- gold. Jennie showed her skills as she deduced the link by just looking around at the other team’s apartment, surprising her teammates.
That’s when they understood the incident was based on a true story where construction workers found a vein of gold as they were building a huge apartment complex. Big rocks with gold glittering in them had the workers in awe as some claimed that they had never seen gold in their entire life. This further motivated the two teams to continue the game.
With another game that ended with Jennie’s team as the winner, they received their next clue. After contemplation, they realised that the gold bars were lying in the bathtub of Apartment 406. Jennie was quick but not quick enough as she discovered that someone else had already taken the gold as the final mission was to bring the briefcase filled with gold to the finish line between 4:30 PM- 5:00 PM.
The episode takes a shocking twist as Cha Tae-hyun is revealed as one of the construction workers who stole the gold and hid the briefcase away from his team and the opposing team. But as he went to retrieve the bag during the intended time, he noticed that it was gone.
The teams got to know that two construction employees were the ones to find and hide the gold. Cha Tae-hyun was shocked to hear that another person had double-crossed him. As the two teams search for the missing bag, Oh Na-ra discovers the second employee who crossed the finish line with the gold- Yang Se-chan. The members felt betrayed, especially his teammates- Jennie and Jae-suk, who thought he was showing suspicious behaviour earlier.
The episode ends with them in shock as the two construction workers- Se-chan and Tae-hyun reveal their plans. Lee Jung-ha, the youngest of the lot, was in shock at the various twists of the entire mission.
Apartment 404 Episode 1 Review: Conclusion
The first episode was a great introduction to the concept of the series. The continuous 90s theme reflected in the apartments as well as the delivery of the clues felt like an immersive experience. BLACKPINK’s Jennie shined throughout, despite being surrounded by popular and experienced variety show personalities. The only downside to the episode would be the drawn-out introduction that sometimes forces you to zone out from the episode but as soon as the mission begins, it grabs your attention right away.
Apartment 404 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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