History Series / TheGenius

The Genius brings together 13 contestants from various areas to compete for the top spot in rounds involving various games. Every episode, a contestant is eliminated following a main match and a death match. The winner of the main match will gain a token of life as assurance to proceed to the next round, and in some cases, receives an additional token of life to give to another player as well as a predetermined number of garnets. The worst performer in the main match is automatically sent to the death match, and is allowed to choose their opponent. However, they cannot choose a person with a token of life. The winner of the death match gains their opponents garnets (only applies for the first 2 seasons) and the right to stay in the game.

S2: A token of life was added to the game, with clues given to main match winners [[spoiler: Its eventually found by Sangmin ]]

S3: The winners of the death match are given a black garnet, which when three are presented a black mission can be attempted which would save the player from the death match if completed [[spoiler: However they become a non-factor as none of the missions are completed successfully and the remaining black garnets are traded for normal garnets at the beginning of the tenth episode ]]

S4: Besides being an all-stars season, S4 introduced 3 "Garnet Matches" where the person with the most and least garnets will be the winner and death match candidate of the episode. Also, all of the death matches have been played before and are now chosen by lottery with contestants able to veto those they don't wish to play.

* BackForTheFinale: For the final, all the eliminated contestants are each given an item to give to the player of their choice. Along with 3 items for each of the specific games, there's always the First Game pick item (discontinued starting in Black Garnet), the Copy item, and the item blocker.
* BandagedFace: the announcer [[RuleOfCool for some reason]] is wearing bandages over his face.

** More generally when a player survives at the expense of eliminating a close ally. [[spoiler: for example Kyungran in S1 E3 loses Jimmy Cha who secured her victory in that round]].

* BrainlessBeauty: Sung-Gyu of boy-band Music/{{INFINITE}}. He claims he didn't even understood the rules of the first few main matches and becomes an easy target of manipulations for Kyungran and Sangmin. [[spoiler: At least ''some'' of it must be an act, considering how deep into season 1 he goes.]]
* BrandishmentBluff: in "Swords and Shields" game player can bluff that they have a sword or a shield and it will work exactly as real stuff, unless challenged.

* CrazyEnoughToWork: [[spoiler: Dongmin]] in the S3 E10's Death Match. [[spoiler:Realizing that he played himself into a corner, he managed to win by confusing Yeonjoo into copying his crazy move.]]

* CurbStompBattle: There are many examples of this throughout the whole series.
** [[spoiler: Jinho curb stomps Kyungran in S1's finals. In the first game (Indian Poker), Jinho manages to fool Kyungran into folding while holding a 10, making her flustered for the rest of the game. In the second game (Gyul! Hap!), Jinho managed to get many Haps and Gyuls thanks to Jungmoon and Junseok's help.]]
** An episode earlier, [[spoiler: (S1 E11), Kyungran curb stomps Sangmin at "Same Picture Hunt"]]

** Arguably, the finals in Season 4 ([[spoiler:Dongmin vs. Kyunghoon]]) can also be considered this. [[spoiler: Kyunghoon's troll tactics that usually work on other people don't work on Dongmin. In the first game (Number Janggi), Kyunghoon keeps moving one his pieces back and forth to confuse Dongmin. The latter, instead of getting flustered, immediately executes his plan to reveal as many of the former's pieces with as few pieces as possible. In the second game (Mystery Sign), Kyunghoon uses [[http://abload.de/img/finalroundmath42osn.jpg insane 897,687,543,217 number]] as a hint for the equation. Even with the long number, Dongmin still manages to get the mystery sign and answers it right.]]

* FlashForward: Occasionally used, less common in later seasons.
* FlockOfWolves: [[spoiler: Junseok's]] alliance in S4 E6 (Garnet Thief). Out of his four "teammates", [[spoiler: Jung-moon is Dongmin's spy, Kyunghoon is ALSO Dongmin's spy who intentionally reveals Jungmoon's betrayal to gain Junseok's trust, and Yeonseung betrays Junseok at the end]].

** The first obvious example is in [[spoiler: S1 E4 (Zombie Game). Changyeop asked Jungmoon whether she is a human or a person. He is asking this for the exact wording on human card. If you draw zombie card you would never see how human card looks like.]] In later games producers fix this exploit by [[spoiler: showing how all cards look like on a wall]].
** Jinho has a knack for "breaking" games so hard, it becomes impossible to play these games ever again, like he did with [[spoiler: "Open, Pass" and "5:5"]].

* GoodWithNumbers: Jung-moon, Hyunmin and Kyunghoon all have exceptional math skills at the expense of weaker social play.

* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: In Season 2, [[spoiler: Doohee]] gets tricked four times one after another, ALL in one round, with the final betrayal leading to elimination.

* {{Leitmotif}}: because of [[spoiler: Junghyun]]'s general cluelessness in games, producers gave him a special theme emphasizing his "bumbling old man" personality. It always plays when he aimlessly roams the mansion alone, because other players didn't include him in their plans. This is twice as funny because he obviously plays this up himself and even notices his own leitmotif in one of the episodes.
* LivingLieDetector: [[spoiler: Dongmin]] uses his outstanding observational skills to see through others' lies. [[spoiler: In S4 E5 (Loyalists and Rebels) he identified two rebels out of three just by looking at and observing them. He also managed to discover Hyunmin's betrayal plan immediately in S4 E9 (Horror Race 2).]]

** "Confined Scamming Horse Race" in season 1 is the same as previously played "Scamming Horse Race" but now players are locked alone in their rooms and have to rely on partners who can move freely to relay information.

* MirthlessLaughter: [[spoiler:Yoyoong's histerical laugh when she sees her team implode due to Doohee's betrayal]] in King Game (S2 E3).
* MistakenForAnImposter: when in S1 E6 [[spoiler: (Catch the Thief) Sung-Gyu comes clean about being a thief, Sangmin doesn't believe him and bluntly shooes him away]]. He will come to regret this error dearly because thief's cooperation in this match basically decides the outcome.
* MouthfulOfPi: Sequence of Pi was used in [[spoiler: Season 4's "Loyalists and Rebels"]] game to give advantage to a person who memorized digits of Pi ([[spoiler:Jungmoon]]).

* ObviousRulePatch: "Garnet Match" mechanic is a trap to block Yohwan's "keep low profile" style of play from season 2 -- where he basically ignored main matches and didn't care to get garnets. Now, come garnet match and the player with the least garnets goes to the Death Match immediately. [[spoiler: Appropriately, Yohwan is the first victim of this rule.]]

* OnceMoreWithClarity: Frequently used, often to help clear up a GambitPileup
* PickedLast: happens to Junghyun in Blackout game, much to his annoyance. Nobody wants him on their team (despite that he won every single game up to that point in the season).
* PottyEmergency: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YksfsZ_NM3c Happened to Jung-hoon]] in S3, as they were filming the end of the main match.

* ProfessionalGambler: many contestants are professional players in poker, pool, go and even Starcraft.

* RecurringCharacter: Every season except the first featured at least one returning players.

** Everyone in Season 4, since it's an all-star season.
* RightBehindMe: when Jinho and Yuram are discussing the outcome of Election game (S1 E2), Jinho tries to throw suspicion on to Kyungran [[spoiler: as one of the traitors that lead to their loss]]. She just happens to be in the same room, behind the folding screen shooting her confession cam interview, when she hears the diss and angrily storms out to confront him.

* ShipTease: happens several times, often accompanied by hearts special effects added by producers. It never comes to fruition at best (due to somewhat more uptight and professional atmosphere on the set compared to other Reality TV). At worst: alleged pair face each other in deathmatch:

* SitcomArchNemesis: Eunji to Sunggyu, because she keeps accidentally ruining his play like [[spoiler: feeding him wrong hint]] in "Scamming Horse Race" and [[spoiler: exposing his differently coloured decks]] in "Open! Pass!".
* SlaveToPR: celebrities on the show have to be careful not to betray people too hard because they have a very public image to keep.
** Sung-Gyu gained "icon of betrayal" status through his sly moves on the show.
** Yo-young's announcer career tanked after the hate she got online for infamous incident on season 2.
** Averted with Sangmin who went through enough scandals, problems with law and bankruptcies in real life, so that it is actually expected for him to be a shady character.

* StopCopyingMe: "repeating your opponent's move" is a legitimate strategy in a number of 1x1 games where you open obscured board turn after turn. If you grabbed a lead, you can deny your opponent of new information by repeating his last move.

* StunnedSilence: majority alliance's reaction to [[spoiler: Gura's resignation in Election game]], complete with a [[IdiotCrows crow leaving dots as it flies by]].

** Played straight during Season 3 Episode 7 against [[spoiler: Dongmin and Hyunmin]].
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: each time Sung-Gyu happens to be in the same team with Eunji, who he claims to be completely incompatible with, because she is an [[WesternZodiac Aries]].

* ThirtyFiveMinutesAgo: [[spoiler: Kim Gura in [=S1E2=] Election game. During preparation time, when all other contestants are hurriedly forming fractions and determine who they will appoint to be their fraction leader to vote for, Gura sits all by himself and ignores all and everyone. That's because he has already won by forming a secret fraction thirty minutes earlier, while all others were still casually chatting and intermingling]].
** [[spoiler: Sangmin in S2E7's God's Judgment game. While most of the contestants don't figure out that the dice can be rearranged until right before before the end of the game, it's revealed at the end that Sangmin figured it out a mere fifteen minutes in.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler: Jinho]] during the Open, Pass game [[spoiler: uses a single colored pack of cards [[note]] The buyable packs have different colored backs [[/note]] and using only the cards design, getting the highest score winning the main match]]
** [[spoiler: Yeonseung]] during the Fish Shop game, teams up with [[spoiler: Junseok]] to [[spoiler: constantly underbid Hyunmin and Dongmin]] using [[spoiler: Junseok]] as a distraction to allay suspicion .
** Arguably [[spoiler: Kyunghoon in Season 4, especially the later rounds]]
* ViewersAreGeniuses: it's in the name. In stark contrast with other reality shows (or even game shows) The Genius uses complicated rules, game theory and math. Explaining rules takes significant part of each episode.

** Kyunghoon and Ahyoung. [[spoiler: Same result: Kyunghoon eliminates Ahyoung]].

* BestServedCold: [[spoiler: Ahyoung]] and [[spoiler: Sangmin]] admit that wanting [[spoiler: Kyunghoon]] out is the main reason they participate in Horror Race 2.

** More generally when a player survives at the expense of eliminating a close ally. [[spoiler: for example Kyungran in S1 E3]]

* WaistcoatOfStyle: Dongmin.

** Jinho has a knack for "breaking" games so hard, it's becomes impossible to play these games ever again, like he did with [[spoiler: "Open, Pass" and "5:5"]].

** "Fighting!"

* FakinMacGuffin: In S1 E4 Zombie game, [[spoiler: Changyeop drank his zombie cure, but kept the bottle and filled it with water and his saliva creating the illusion that it wasn't used. He then trades that concoction to Sangmin who proceeds to drink it and immediately figures that something's wrong by the taste and freaks out because he is going to become a zombie unless he find the real cure in 10 minutes]].

** Averted with Sangmin who went through enough scandals, law problems and bankruptcies in real life, so that it is actually expected for him to be a shady character.

* {{Leitmotif}}: because of [[spoiler: Junghyun]]'s general cluelessness in games, producers gave him a special theme emphasizing his "bumbling old man" personality. It always plays when he is aimlessly roams the mansion alone, because other players didn't include him in their plans. This is twice as funny because he obviously plays this up himself and even notices his own leitmotif in one of the episodes.

** An episode earlier [[spoiler: (S1 E11), Kyungran curb stomps Sangmin at "Same Picture Hunt"]]

** Arguably, the finals in Season 4 ([[spoiler: Dongmin vs. Kyunghoon]]) can also be considered this. [[spoiler: Kyunghoon's troll tactics that usually work on other people don't work on Dongmin. In the first game (Number Janggi), Kyunghoon keeps moving one his pieces back and forth to confuse Dongmin. The latter, instead of getting flustered, immediately executes his plan to reveal as many of the former's pieces with as few pieces as possible. In the second game (Mystery Sign), Kyunghoon uses [[http://abload.de/img/finalroundmath42osn.jpg insane 897,687,543,217 number]] as a hint for the equation. Even with the long number, Dongmin still manages to get the mystery sign and answers it right.]]

* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Dongmin in S3 E8 (Investment and Donation), says he wants to go to the Death Match and tries to, but fails.]]

* GuileHero: both Sangmin and Dongmin.
* ImNotHereToMakeFriends: Subverted, (perhaps Reality TV ValuesDissonance). Despite the game being packed with betrayals, almost everyone gets on really well in RealLife.

* {{Leitmotif}}: because of Junghyun's general cluelessness in games, producers gave him a special theme emphasizing his "bumbling old man" personality. It always plays when he is aimlessly roams the mansion alone, because other players didn't include him in their plans. This is twice as funny because Junghyun obviously plays this up himself and even notices his own leitmotif in one of the episodes.

* LovableTraitor: Sangmin.

* LockedInARoom: In "Loyalist and Rebels" (S4 E5), Dongmin severely limits Rebels' options by forcing everyone to stay in one room so that they can't communicate with each other without revealing themselves.