***Episode 4 was filmed on Nov 18, 2015 and broadcasted on Dec 12, 2015.
Episode Summary
After three weeks of filming, 4 competitors have been eliminated. Beginning with this episode, the remaining 12 competitors are divided into trios with Xiao Zhan being drafted into the Red Team to join Peng ChuYue and Bai Shu’s group.
On top of their performance, each team must also fulfill a mission challenge in each episode. Episode 4’s theme is water. Each team will face a photoshoot challenge around the theme of water, and they have five hours to complete it. After, a group of six fashion professionals will rate each team’s photoshoot and the score will be added to the team’s performance score later on.
| Name | Team | Song |
| Bin JunJie, Xia ZhiGuang & Chen ZeXi | Red | “Get Down” |
| Han MuBo, Wu JiaCheng & Gu JiaCheng | White | “Laugh and Forget the Book”《笑忘书》 |
| Xiao Zhan, Peng ChuYue & Bai Shu | Red | “Frozen”《冻结》 |
| Guo ZiFan, Zhao Lei & Yan XuJia | White | “West Wing”《西厢》 |
One thing I want to say is, I feel bad for Xiao Zhan here. It is blatantly clear he didn’t feel good after Long DanNi questioned his capability to “breakthrough” the so-called “warm boy” image. I remember in Xiao Zhan’s letter last year, he mentioned that from day one of entering the entertainment industry, he’s always been tagged with labels. This “warm boy” label was the first in a long train of labels created by the entertainment circle and the media. Labels are a way for the entertainment industry to pigeon hole artists into limiting categories where they’re only known for one thing. When Long DanNi asked the guys “What is your role in the group?” I like the guys’ answers: I am responsible for being handsome. In other words, they represent their own individualistic appeal and talent, and they are still guided by their own original intentions, not the intention of the industry. They are not playing any role that the industry has labelled them with.
This labelling happens in all entertainment industries. I remember when Backstreet Boys became a big hit and right after, there were numerous new boybands popping up everywhere. I guess that’s when the media coined the term “manufactured boybands.”
I don’t really have much else to say about this episode since all of them are just getting adjusted in their new groups. And I’m sorry to say the performances and songs didn’t really stand out for me this time. It’s a different dynamic in this episode, but I know from watching later episodes that they will all get even better. It’s just this particular episode, I couldn’t really get into it.
Xiao Zhan shares some of his thoughts about this episode in his Dec. 11, 2015 weekly vlog, recorded the day before Episode 4 aired.