Starting a new thread for Part 2 of #ILAND since my thread about Part 1 is so long. Before I go further, this is your spoiler warning. If you want to see my Part 1 thread, you can start reading it here: https://twitter.com/TrishMilburn/status/1280013031842500609

First off, congratulations to the six who made it through the global voting and advanced to Part 2: Ni-ki, Daniel, Sunoo, Geonu, Ta-ki and Hanbin. In all honesty those were the six all the indicators to me said were going to advance.

That said, I'm so sad for the rest of the trainees who didn't make it and absolutely brokenhearted for Seon and Nicholas in particular. For whatever reason, I believe that BH, working with Mnet, didn't want Seon there and did all they could to make sure he left. +

From Episode 1, he was unfairly cast as a villain. If he hadn't been, I think the fact that he'd never been voted out by his fellow trainees would have carried more weight with viewers. I dearly hope he continues and some smart company picks him up and treats him right.

And poor Nicholas. He was shaking so much up on that podium, and then to find out he placed 7th in voting, so close and yet so far, was just cruel. My heart aches for him. And for the rest of them to now know for sure that they didn't even get that close. I want to hug them all.

On a positive note, I think Daniel is an absolute sweetheart. He was so overwhelmed to get in and by how well he did in the voting that he cried. I just love that sweetie pie. I'm sure some of those tears were for having to leave friends behind too.

You can tell how close they all were by moments like when Hanbin teared up that Nicholas didn't make it and Sunoo being upset that EJ didn't. They knew there were only so many spots and everyone couldn't make it, but they still wanted everyone to, just like so many viewers.

And it was revealed there will be more tearful goodbyes because, despite the calls to debut all 12, there are only going to be seven. There will be four tests, two of which will be judged by the producers and two by global fan votes. +

I guess the split is so it doesn't become a 100% popularity contest. And speaking of popularity, the fact that they revealed who got the most global votes has understandably caused some hurt feelings and put a target on the backs of those who are popular.

And now that Seon is unfortunately no longer in the competition, I see who the editing has targeted, K. Please remember that you are only seeing part of what was said, and it's completely understandable that he's concerned. Also note his concern was for Heeseung, not himself. +

Those global fan voting rankings ended up in this order, from first place: Sunoo, Daniel, Heeseung, Sunghoon, K, Jay, Jungwon (thus the 7 who are in the debut spots as of now), Jake, Ni-ki, Ta-ki, Geonu and Hanbin. +

Next up we had the I-LANDers surprised by the appearance of BTS, who gave them advice, encouragement and presents and announced that the first test will be three units of four squaring off using BTS's "I NEED U," "DNA" and "Fake Love." +

First, a mini mission, a dance-off to see which three trainees would serve as unit leaders and get to pick their units. Cue the appearance of Sungdeuk and scary lady from Produce 101. Ta-ki won the dance off, which surprised me, followed by K and Jungwon. +

So, the units are:
Ta-ki, Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo - Fake Love (struggling at the midway point)
K, Hanbin, Ni-ki, Jay - DNA (loaded with dancers!)
Jungwon, Jake, Daniel, Geonu - I NEED YOU (loaded with vocals!) +

We won't see the performances until next week, and then afterward one person will be eliminated. +

Now this message is for Seon, Nicholas, EJ, Kyungmin, Jaeho, Jimin, Youngbin, Jaebeom, Sungchul, Taeyong and also Yoonwon. Please don't give up. You're all sweet, talented, hardworking young men, and there are a lot of us out here supporting you. Keep believing in yourselves.

Also, if you own an entertainment company in Korea, take note. If you sign on the young men in my previous tweet and debut them as a group, you've got a ready-made fan base already. People willing to spend money and spread the word online. #ILAND

So now we can vote for two of our favorites each day on the site/Weverse app. When people are eliminated, they'll be removed from the voting. Today I cast my votes for K and Geonu. Again, it's hard to choose and only two is brutal. I'll likely be spreading my votes around. +

I hate how the trainees who were eliminated are nowhere to be found on the site. It would be understandable for them not to be on the voting page, but they've been completely erased as if they were never there. Damn, that's cold. +

And my parting thoughts for today's segment of this thread:
#SeonIsLovedParty #thankyounicholas Fighting to all the eliminated trainees!
Also, Mnet, if you continue to evil edit K and Heeseung, even approaching what you did to Seon, I will breathe fire on this here app. #ILAND