Running Man: Episode 70

by gummimochi

Get ready to jump from new heights with this week’s episode of Running Man. There are acts of courage, deceit, betrayal, heartbreak, and funny all stuffed in today’s Phone Race mission. Need a dose of laughter? Yes, let me fill out that prescription for you.

EPISODE 70. Broadcast on November 27, 2011.

We’re introduced to our first guest, of three, right off the bat: Sohn Ye-jin (Personal Taste). I’m impressed that Running Man has been enlisting more A-list celebrities as of late, but shouldn’t be surprised since the show is so popular. It occurs to me now that today’s guests are here to promote their new movie, Chilling Romance.

Ye-jin takes a call from Mr. PD who explains her mission – today, she’s the spy. It’s her job to find unknown partner-in-crime and the twist? Her partner doesn’t know that they are a spy… yet. She gives herself a little boost of confidence while her heart races at the challenge.

She then asks what we’ve all been wondering, “So why are we talking on the phone now?” and the camera pans back to Mr. PD sitting right across from her. He explains that it’s a Phone Race today so it’s fitting to talk to her this way. Naturally, he asks who she’d like to be spy buddies with and, “Kim Kwang-soo?” That’d be sweet if she didn’t mess up his name.

Our cast is together again at Kangnam Station and Mr. PD introduces today’s Phone Race mission. They’ll acquire hints for each mini-mission they succeed in, which they’ll need for the final mission. In addition, they’ll be broken up into four teams of (including our guests) one to four members.

Thus, it’s time for ring around the rosy to determine who gets singled out, and we’ve seen this before. Basically you have to create groups of whatever number Mr. PD yells out, for instance, 3. Not surprisingly, Suk-jin gets pushed out first, followed by Jae-suk and both mat-hyungs are furious for being thrown out of the group by Spartakooks.

Our Monday Couple sticks together, and Jong-kook forms the final team with Haha and Kwang-soo.

The guests are waiting at various stops along the subway line, and Suk-jin gets out first, wondering who might be waiting for him. The almost-silent train station speaks for itself and well, Big Nose Hyung, you’re on your own today.

His loneliness is in stark contrast to Jae-suk, whose jaw drops when he finds out he’s paired with Ye-jin. His isn’t the only one and the other boys are left flabbergasted and speechless by the pretty. When Ye-jin tells him that they need to win, he brushes it over, saying that winning isn’t as important as just having a good ol’ time playing some games together for the day. Oh, and he thanks Jong-kook. Or karma.

It’s definitely karma that’s kicking them in the train, the boys astounded at Jae-suk’s good fortune. But no worries for Gary who tells Ji-hyo that she’s still prettier. Awww.

I’m cringing at the next stop as the cast mistakes our next guest for MC Kim Jae-dong. But it’s really Park Cheol-min (Cyrano Agency). It doesn’t take much for the boys to identify our last guest, and I love the priceless shocked face of Lee Min-ki (Dal Ja’s Spring) when they call out his name while he’s still hiding. It reads: How did they know?

Today’s first mission is to pick up a ringing phone hidden in a locker within 30 seconds to receive their first clue. They run and the timer ticks down. One, two, three teams pick up the phone in time… and the final team squeeze in with one second to spare. They’re perplexed at the first hint, “F” and head out to the next location.

Jae-suk is quick to notice Ye-jin competitive nature, which I’m not surprised at, since he’s seen the same quality in other female guests. But before he can press the issue, he berates his VJ for only filming her. Hehehe.

The teams arrive at the next location at a park and the card reveals they have to retrieve the next hint that’s waiting for them on top of the bungee jump structure. Although scared at the possibility of jumping, Ye-jin’s determined to do it to win it. Go big or go home, right? Kwang-soo on the other hand, thinks that they won’t have to jump at all.

Tell that to scaredy-cat Suk-jin, who’s paralyzed with fear at the top about jumping after watching the guy bungee jump away with his clue.

Look at those hyungs’ faces of pure mischievous evil as they stare at Kwang-soo, the unfortunate one who will jump for their team. And to rub it in, Haha asks the VJs to choose too, and they all choose Kwangvatar. Can’t back out now buddy.

Time for some words of encouragement for pitiful Kwang-soo and Haha tells him that this will make him the Running Man hero he’s always dreamed about. He reluctantly steps to the landing, and the instructor coaches him the mantra, “I can do it” to Kwang-soo’s response, “I’d like to want to do it.” So they enlist the help of the crowd who shout his name.

Kwang-soo makes a silent decision and with a look of determination, he inches… and backs away. HAHAHA.

His hyungs count down – this is his final chance, and… he jumps. Kwang-soo I am SO proud of you right now. This moment is totally yours.

Meanwhile the Monday Couple and Cheol-min arrive at the landing, the latter with a deflated expression on his face. They play rock-paper-scissors to determine who will jump, and what do you know – it’s Cheol-min. He sees the guy jump off the landing, which fuels his anger at the RM staff.

But it’s so sweet how he jumps for his movie, for Running Man, and his daughter to get into college, then making a running start and bungee jumps. Think you just racked up some awesome Dad points there. And then he shouts, “I nearly DIED!” Hahaha, he cracks me up.

”

Whoops – looks like Ye-jin overheard the next hint (the letter “A”) and she innocently muses, “Does that mean I don’t have to jump?” Hello Mr. PD Panic Mode as Jae-suk notes that he saw their faces fall when they told them.

So they present a new proposition: if the both of them jump, they’ll give away a bigger hint. That’s nice… until Mr. PD spills that it’ll give away around 70 to 80% of the hint and PD Jr. smacks his hand in response. Heh.

They settle to jump together and Jae-suk’s repeated questions of worry towards Ye-jin make me wonder if they’re self-directed questions. They jump, and their ‘big clue’ is to let them know now only 2 teams will get the third hint, and Ye-jin sighs that it isn’t much of a great clue.

The third mission is a food mission and the teams are invited to eat as they please. They’re wary, but they eat, memorizing food items and the order it was presented. Neither method helps to answer the brunch questions and whether they passed (the hint as “C”) or not, move to their final destination.

The last clue revealed at the final destination, “E”, spells out the clue as “FACE” which currently stumps them. Furthermore now it’s every man or woman to themselves and Ye-jin feigns anxiety while Jae-suk proclaims to remember that they’re a team. Once he’s gone, she looks to the camera: “Team? What team…”

Ye-jin checks in with PD Jr. who delivers her final mission: to find her spy partner by linking arms with them and take out the other Running Man. The snag is that her partner will have an identifying clue of their own and neither knows what this signal is. Hm, this ought to be interesting.

She starts rounding out her initial suspects, starting with Gary. But he’s too truthful, and we’ve seen what being a spy can do to him. No response from Jong-kook either – so who can it be?

A few of them join together to brainstorm ideas about their ‘FACE’ clue and Jae-suk wonders if it has to do with one’s appearance, and looks at Cheol-min. Hehe. And Cheol-min basically tells him that he’s confident he’s better looking than Yoo Hyuk.

Ye-jin continues her search, linking arms with one person after the next but no one catches on which leaves her frustrated and her mind fills with questions. Did they not catch on? Aren’t they supposed to give a signal back?

Meanwhile, Haroro is busy giving a soliloquy to the camera about his love for Ye-jin, training his guns (with wimpy pink weights) to impress her. He even writes a little “I like you!” note to give to her with some chocolate. Aww, your player methods are just as childish as you are, Haroro. It’s sweet and endearing.

Jong-kook calls him out on his absence, suspicious that he could be the spy. Haha simply replies that Jong-kook’s about to get a new sister-in-law but hesitates when he finds out he’s number one on his future wife, Ye-jin’s, suspicion list. She appears before them that next moment and Haha takes the opportunity to hand over his love note and another surprise one – his cell phone number. The best part? Ye-jin; “I’ll prank-call him.”

Too bad Haha’s love remains unrequited, and one farewall photo of betrayal later, he’s eliminated. The icing on the cake is how Ye-jin shows the number to the others (Jae-suk confirms it’s real) and Cheol-min quips, “Then I’ll prank-call him.” HA!

Tensions run high after Jae-suk’s elimination and now you can’t trust anyone. Ye-Jin is hesitant about attacking the Ace, and so the boys show her how she can. And then she rips off Kwang-soo’s name tag. Oops.

The remaining members, both still in the mission and in jail, rack their brains to deduce who the spy is as well as how many. In jail, Kwang-soo points out that there are 2 chairs missing and Haha’s sure it’s the ladies: Ye-jin and Ji-hyo. And then another announcement: Min-ki is out (And we see the Ace and Spartakooks eliminate him with ease).

Ji-hyo and Jong-kook’s next target is Gary and they watch him from above, waiting for their moment. But soon there’s a ruckus from downstairs and all hell breaks loose. In its aftermath, both Gary and Cheol-min’s name tags are torn off.

After witnessing the havoc, Ji-hyo proposes they be honest with one another and both claim they’re not spies with a pinky-swear. They turn the corner, and Ye-jin slinks in, asking if they’re the spies. Ji-hyo gives chase down a few feet, and Jong-kook grabs Ji-hyo… wait,what?

Flashback to a few hours earlier back at the café and Jong-kook was told he’s the other spy by phone. His identifying clue was to touch the other person’s face with his finger. So he went around, just like Ye-jin, testing out each person, growing more frustrating after every attempt. He and Ye-jin had a few encounters, but neither considered the other as a spy until Haha’s elimination and finally they found each other.

One by one, they took everyone else down by persuasion or force, until we travel back to Ji-hyo. Her elimination comes swift, but ends in a fury, her eyes burning from betrayal. And somehow Suk-jin hyung is still alive, to which he wonders, “Wait, am I the spy today?” I think not.

Now it’s a matter of the ‘FACE’ clue and Ye-jin plays with the cell phone in her hand – what if it had something to do with phones? They speculate it alludes to an office extension, that the letters match the digits, but that doesn’t work. So Jong-kook tries a slightly different method (like F is the sixth letter of the alphabet). It works and they head upstairs to track the missing name tags.

Ye-jin skips out of the room, wondering if there isn’t a reversal and Jong-kook reaches to her back, “Why wouldn’t there be” and he apologizes when she screams in terror.

They place the tags in their rightful positions and the box rises, making the Spy Team the winners, and possibly effectively ruining the future relationship of the Ace and Spartakooks.

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