@Musicappreciator7 that's fair. I haven't watched the previous season so I can't compare them.
I enjoy picking favorites and voting for them when I'm watching a season in progress, especially when some of my lower-ranked faves start getting more attention and votes.
I know that my handful of votes won't change any outcomes, but I like to do it anyway. 😊
In last week's episode (where Blackpink's Lisa was a guest mentor), the trainees talked about how they'd had no access to the outside world for 2 or 3 months. No phones, no computers, not allowed to leave the hotel complex.
That sucks for a bunch of reasons, but it also highlighted that they don't want the trainees to know anything about the public voting results. I guess to make their reactions more dramatic when they get revealed to the trainees (this weekend maybe??)
So fans know that Hu Yetao, Thi-O and Dorn seem to have a lock on the top 3 spots. But *the trainees* don't know that yet. As far as they know, they could be well down the rankings (like Yetao was in the last show he was in).
I must confess that I'm quite looking forward to seeing his reaction in particular, and if it changes anything about how he presents himself.